Donald Trump’s Shutdown is Officially the Longest in History 

Washington, D.C. – Today is day 36 of the Republican government shutdown, officially making it the longest federal shutdown in U.S. history. This grim milestone comes the day after Democrats clinched sweeping electoral victories across the country by centering affordability and highlighting how Trump is making American life more expensive. In Virginia, the impacts of the shutdown also played a role in Democratic victories – demonstrating  that Americans continue to blame Donald Trump and Republicans as the shutdown drags on. The GOP continues to prioritize protecting tax breaks for billionaires over lowering health care costs, reducing utility bills, and helping Americans keep their heat on this winter. 

Climate Power senior advisor for accountability campaigns Alex Witt issued the following statement: 

“Donald Trump’s shutdown has left Americans with higher costs and fewer jobs. The GOP continues to prolong the government shutdown because they refuse to lower health care costs – all to protect massive tax cuts for billionaires. It’s no surprise that voters overwhelmingly rejected their agenda at the polls. Republicans are refusing to come to the table to lower health care costs, and the longer the shutdown drags on, the more American families will pay the price.”

Trump and Republicans have already wreaked havoc on the American people. The Republican shutdown is making it even worse: 

• Trump used the government shutdown as an opportunity to cancel or threaten $24 billion in investment and more than 330,000 jobs across the country, hurting both Republican- and Democratic-led states. These projects would have invested in communities, helped create good-paying jobs, and helped lower skyrocketing energy costs. 

• The Republican shutdown has created uncertainty for Americans who will need assistance from the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to keep their homes warm during the winter. 

• Trump has sewn chaos and uncertainty during the shutdown by using threats of “mass firings” as political leverage. 

• Due to Trump’s staffing cuts, the National Park Service lost 24% of its permanent employees – leaving one-fifth of parks significantly strained and understaffed. The government shutdown has put them under even more strain, undercutting local economies and harming public lands.

• Due to the Republican shutdown, millions of Americans have lost their flood insurance coverage under the National Flood Insurance Program at the same time that Trump’s reckless energy policies are causing utility bills to skyrocket. 

• Trump’s efforts to gut disaster relief and weather monitoring have already left us completely unprepared. The Republican government shutdown is pushing the already understaffed and underfunded agencies responsible for keeping communities safe during disasters to the breaking point.

• Trump laid off hundreds of employees from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including hurricane hunters and researchers at the National Severe Storm Laboratory. During Hurricane Melissa, the shutdown pushed NOAA to the breaking point, forcing the agency to rely on volunteers and send researchers into the storm without pay to capture critical data.