After one year into President Donald Trump’s second term, there has already been two government shutdowns.
What is a government shutdown?
The first shutdown took place on October 1, 2025 and lasted until November 12th, 2025 lasting a total of 43 days. The 2025 shutdown has overtaken as the longest government shutdown (beating Trump’s previous record of 35 days) since 1995 under the Clinton Administration, whose shutdown lasted 21 days. This heavily impacts families and their own personal budgets. Senior at Colonia High School, Alexa Beck expresses her concerns that “This has happened before and has stopped a few people I know from coming home when flying. I think the president should be trying to fix something [a government shutdown] like that rather than let it happen twice in a few months. This is something that should not be happening as often as it has been and I think they should try harder to prevent it.”
A government shuts down when Congress fails to pass, and the President does not sign, required legislation to fund federal agency operations. During a shutdown there could be delays in social security and medicare along with air travel. This could be related to funding over anything such as healthcare or education budgets. However this shut down was caused by the overwhelming pressure to fund the I.C.E. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agency. House Democrats refused to move forward with funding the agency after their inhumane methods to capture and deport undocumented immigrants.
Why the battle to defund I.C.E.?
Over the last year tensions over I.C.E. continue to grow as they are accused of abusing human rights to capture alleged illegal immigrants. They have gone into colored communities and have been accused of racially profiling their victims based off of the color of their skin. The officers fail to identify themselves and do not ask for proof of documentation while kidnapping these individuals.
The second government shutdown began on February 2 after lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on the federal budget before the previous funding deadline expired. While Republicans pushed for increased funding and expanded authority for the agency, many Democrats refused to support a budget that would continue what they view as harmful practices. This shutdown affected thousands of federal workers, many of whom were required to work without pay. In addition to this, ICE is also breaking the Fourth, Fifth, and Tenth amendments.
What will happen moving forward?
In response to the public pressure and growing economic concerns, lawmakers have begun working toward a temporary funding agreement to reopen the government. This is expected to include short-term funding for federal agencies while Congress continues to negotiate immigration and border policies. Some officials also propose cheating independent oversight committees to review I.C.E practices.
Moving forward, many members of Congress call for long-term budget solutions instead of short-term fixes. These plans include increasing accountability within federal agencies and focusing on humane immigration policies. Lawmakers hope that these efforts will reduce the risk of future shutdowns and restore public trust in the government.
