The United States federal government shut down at 12:01am East Coast time (04:01 GMT) on Wednesday after Congress failed to pass a new spending bill, forcing operations considered inessential to close.President Donald Trump has threatened to use the budget deadlock to push through mass layoffs of federal employees.Democrats and Republicans remain divided over spending priorities as Democrats push to protect healthcare, social programmes and foreign aid while Republicans demand cuts.This is not the first time Washington has faced such a standoff. The graphic below shows every US funding gap and government shutdown since 1976, including how long each lasted and under which administration it occurred.(Al Jazeera)What is a government shutdown?A government shutdown happens when Congress does not agree on a budget, so parts of the federal government have to close until a spending plan is approved.Shutdowns tend to happen in October because the government’s fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30.How many times has the government shut down?The current budget process was established in 1976. Since then, the government has had 20 funding gaps, resulting in 10 shutdowns.A funding gap occurs whenever Congress misses the deadline to pass a budget or a stopgap spending bill (also called a continuing resolution), leaving the government without legal authority to spend money.
A history of US government shutdowns: Every closure and how long it lasted
The US government has had 20 funding gaps, resulting in 10 shutdowns since 1976, the longest lasting 35 days.
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