Nov. 5 (UPI) -- As the clock struck midnight overnight, the current federal government shutdown entered its sixth week and set a record as the longest in U.S. history.
There had been whispers of negotiations in recent days among a small group of U.S. House members, but the shutdown nonetheless entered its 36th day Wednesday.
Over the past five weeks, hundreds of thousands of government employees have missed paychecks, air traffic controller staffing issues have threatened to shut down air travel and more than 40 million people have gone without food assistance.
Previously, the longest government shutdown was in 2019, during President Donald Trump's first term, and lasted 34 days.
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