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What Was the Longest Government Shutdown by Any U.S. President? Data by President, Shutdown Days, Shutdowns Over Time, Cause & Resolution, and Impact

June 24, 2026
Last Updated: July 1, 2026

Research compiled by FPS

Government shutdowns occur when Congress fails to pass legislation or temporary funding measures to finance the government before the expiration of the current funding deal. Shutdowns can cause either a full or partial cessation of government operations, the suspension of non-essential services, and the furloughing of non-essential government workers, who may either be temporarily deprived of work or may work while unpaid.

Government shutdowns have become a common political concern for U.S. Presidents in recent years, particularly since the 1980 Civiletti opinion, which established the current framework of government closures during shutdowns. The guide below examines the longest government shutdowns that occurred during the tenure of a U.S. President, examining data regarding duration, cause, resolution, and financial impact.

Longest Government Shutdowns by President

Since the 1980 Civiletti opinion, there have been several major, long-lasting shutdowns of the U.S. government. Below, we examine the data regarding the longest full federal shutdown by each President since 1980, shutdown start and end dates, and party control during each event.

Longest Full Federal Shutdown Under Each President, Ranked by Duration in Days

The longest full federal government shutdown in U.S. history occurred from September 30, 2025 to November 12, 2025, during the second term of President Donald J. Trump. This shutdown lasted 43 days, exceeding the previous shutdown record of 35 days, which also occurred under President Trump, during his first term. A longer, 76-day partial shutdown occurred from February 14, 2026 to April 30, 2026, but is not considered the record for the longest full government shutdown due to the government being only partly-closed.

Rank	President	Term(s)	Party	Shutdown Dates	Days
1	Donald Trump	2025-Present	Republican	09/30/2025-11/12/2025	43
2	Donald Trump	2017-2021	Republican	12/22/2018-01/25/2019	35
3	Bill Clinton	1993-2001	Democrat	12/16/1995-01/06/1996	21
4	Barack Obama	2009-2017	Democrat	10/01/2013-10/16/2013	16
5	Jimmy Carter	1977-1981	Democrat	09/30/1978-10/13/1978	11
6	Ronald Reagan	1981-1989	Republican	10/03/1984-10/05/1984	3
7	George H.W. Bush	1989-1993	Republican	10/05/1990-10/09/1990	3
8	George W. Bush	2001-2009	Republican	None	0

Sources: Congressional Research Services (CRS) (September 2025); U.S. House of Representatives (2026)

Shutdown Start and End Dates by President

President	Shutdown Year	Start Date	End Date
Donald Trump	2025	September 30, 2025	November 12, 2025
Donald Trump	2018-2019	December 22, 2018	January 25, 2019
Bill Clinton	1995-1996	December 16, 1995	January 6, 1996
Barack Obama	2013	October 1, 2013	October 16, 2013
Jimmy Carter	1978	September 30, 1978	October 13, 1978
Ronald Reagan	1984	October 3, 1984	October 5, 1984
George H.W. Bush	1990	October 5, 1990	October 9, 1990

Sources: CRS (September 2025); U.S. House of Representatives (2026)

Party in Control of Congress During Each Shutdown

President	Shutdown Dates	President's Party	Party in Control of House	Party in Control of Senate
Donald Trump	09/30/2025-11/12/2025	Republican	Republican	Republican
Donald Trump	12/22/2018-01/25/2019	Republican	Split	Republican
Bill Clinton	12/16/1995-01/06/1996	Democrat	Republican	Republican
Barack Obama	10/01/2013-10/16/2013	Democrat	Republican	Democrat
Jimmy Carter	09/30/1978-10/13/1978	Democrat	Democrat	Democrat
Ronald Reagan	10/03/1984-10/05/1984	Republican	Democrat	Republican
George H.W. Bush	10/05/1990-10/09/1990	Republican	Democrat	Democrat

Sources: CRS (September 2025); U.S. House of Representatives (2026)

Total Shutdown Days by President

Total shutdown days by President is a statistic that measures how many cumulative days each President since 1976 has overseen a closed or shut down government. Notably, funding gaps prior to 1980 are not considered true shutdowns, as they did not yet cause government closure. However, they are still notable and worth including in statistics.

Cumulative Shutdown Days During Each Presidency, 1976-2026

President	Term(s)	Party	Cumulative Shutdown Days
Gerald Ford	1974-1977	Republican	10
Jimmy Carter	1977-1981	Democrat	59
Ronald Reagan	1981-1989	Republican	14
George H.W. Bush	1989-1993	Republican	3
Bill Clinton	1993-2001	Democrat	26
George W. Bush	2001-2009	Republican	0
Barack Obama	2009-2017	Democrat	16
Donald Trump	2017-2021; 2025-Present	Republican	161
Joe Biden	2021-2025	Democrat	0

Sources: CRS (September 2025); U.S. House of Representatives (2026); Brookings (April 2026); EBSCO (2023); CBS News (November 2025);

Number of Separate Shutdowns per President

President	Party	Number of Separate Shutdowns	Number of Shutdowns Post-Civiletti
Gerald Ford	Republican	1	0
Jimmy Carter	Democrat	6	0
Ronald Reagan	Republican	8	8
George H.W. Bush	Republican	1	1
Bill Clinton	Democrat	2	2
George W. Bush	Republican	0	0
Barack Obama	Democrat	1	1
Donald Trump	Republican	6	6
Joe Biden	Democrat	0	0

Sources: CRS (September 2025); U.S. House of Representatives (2026)

Average Shutdown Length by President

President	Party	Number of Shutdown Events	Total Days	Average Shutdown Length
Gerald Ford	Republican	1	10	10 days
Jimmy Carter	Democrat	6	59	9.8 days
Ronald Reagan	Republican	8	14	1.75 days
George H.W. Bush	Republican	1	3	3 days
Bill Clinton	Democrat	2	26	13 days
Barack Obama	Democrat	1	16	16 days
Donald Trump (1st Term)	Republican	3	38	12.7 days
Donald Trump (2nd Term)	Republican	3	123	41 days

Sources: CRS (September 2025); U.S. House of Representatives (2026)

Shutdowns Over Time

All Federal Funding Gaps by Year Since 1976, With Duration

President	Fiscal Year	Date Funding Ended	Date Funding Restored	Duration of Funding Gap
Ford	1977	September 30, 1976	October 11, 1976	10 days
Carter	1978	September 30, 1977	October 13, 1977	12 days
Carter	1978	October 31, 1977	November 9, 1977	8 days
Carter	1978	November 30, 1977	December 9, 1977	8 days
Carter	1979	September 30, 1978	October 18, 1978	17 days
Carter	1980	September 30, 1979	October 12, 1979	11 days
Reagan	1982	November 20, 1981	November 23, 1981	2 days
Reagan	1983	September 30, 1982	October 2, 1982	1 day
Reagan	1983	December 17, 1982	December 21, 1982	3 days
Reagan	1984	November 10, 1983	November 14, 1983	3 days
Reagan	1985	September 30, 1984	October 3, 1984	2 days
Reagan	1985	October 3, 1984	October 5, 1984	1 day
Reagan	1987	October 16, 1986	October 18, 1986	1 day
Reagan	1988	December 18, 1987	December 20, 1987	1 day
Bush	1990	October 5, 1990	October 9, 1990	3 days
Clinton	1996	November 13, 1995	November 19, 1995	5 days
Clinton	1996	December 15, 1995	January 6, 1996	21 days
Obama	2014	September 30, 2013	October 17, 2013	16 days
Trump	2018	January 19, 2018	January 22, 2018	2 days
Trump	2019	December 21, 2018	January 25, 2019	34 days
Trump	2026	September 30, 2025	November 12, 2025	43 days
Trump	2026	January 31, 2026	February 3, 2026	3 days
Trump	2026	February 14, 2026	April 30, 2026	76 days

Sources: CRS (September 2025); U.S. House of Representatives (2026)

Frequency of Shutdowns by Decade

Decade	Number of Shutdown Events	Total Shutdown Days	Average Days per Event	Presidents With Shutdowns
1970s (pre-Civiletti)	7	69	9.9	Ford, Carter
1980s	8	14	1.8	Reagan
1990s	2	26	13.0	Clinton
2000s	0	0	0	None
2010s	4	54	13.5	Obama, Trump
2020s	3	123	41.0	Trump

Sources: CRS (September 2025); U.S. House of Representatives (2026)

Funding-Gap Days Before vs. After the 1980 Civiletti Opinion

Metric	Pre-Civiletti (1976-1980)	Post-Civiletti (1981-2026)
Funding Gap Events	7	19
Calendar Gap Days	~69 days	N/A (Furlough Days Used)
Actual Furlough Days	~1 (FTC only)	~217 days
Longest Single Event	17 days (1978)	43 days (2025)

Sources: CRS (September 2025); U.S. House of Representatives (2026)

Cause & Resolution

Government shutdowns can be caused by a variety of factors, including debates over spending, budget deficits, healthcare, immigration, and presidential policies. Below, we examine the causes of each major government shutdown, break down the cumulative length by cause type, and consider how often shutdowns occurred under party-unified or party-divided governments.

Each Major Shutdown by Trigger Issue and How It Ended

Shutdown	President	Cause Type	Specific Cause	Resolving Legislation
October 3, 1984-October 5, 1984	Ronald Reagan	Spending/Deficit	Omnibus CR Deadlock	H.J. Res. 656 Pub. L. 98-453 98 Stat. 1731
October 5, 1990-October 9, 1990	George H.W. Bush	Spending/Deficit	Deficit Reduction Standoff	H.J. Res. 666 Pub. L. 101-412 104 Stat. 894
November 13, 1995-November 19, 1995	Bill Clinton	Spending/Deficit	Medicare Premium & Balanced Budget	H.R. 2020 Pub. L. 104-52 109 Stat. 468 H.R. 2492 Pub. L. 104-53 109 Stat. 514 H.J. Res. 123 Pub. L. 104-54 109 Stat. 540
December 15, 1995-January 6, 1996	Bill Clinton	Spending/Deficit	Seven-Year Balanced Budget	H.J. Res. 134 Pub. L. 104-94 110 Stat. 25
September 30, 2013-October 17, 2013	Barack Obama	Healthcare	ACA Defunding/Delay Effort	H.R. 2775 Pub. L. 113-46 127 Stat. 558
January 19, 2018-January 22, 2018	Donald Trump	Immigration	DACA/CHIP Spending Bill Blockage	H.R. 195 Pub. L. 115-120 132 Stat. 28
December 21, 2018-January 25, 2019	Donald Trump	Immigration	Border Wall Funding Demand	H.J. Res. 28 Pub. L. 116-5 133 Stat. 10
September 30, 2025-November 12, 2025	Donald Trump	Spending/Deficit	FY2026 Full-Year Appropriations Collapse	H.R. 5371 Pub. L. 119-37 139 Stat. 495
February 14, 2026-April 30, 2026	Donald Trump	Policy Rider	DHS Partial Shutdown	H.R. 7148 Pub. L. 119-75 140 Stat. 173

Sources: CRS (September 2025); U.S. House of Representatives (2026)

Length by Cause Type

Cause Type	Number of Shutdown Days
Spending/Deficit	79
Healthcare	16
Immigration	38
Policy Rider	76

Sources: CRS (September 2025); U.S. House of Representatives (2026)

Unified vs. Divided Government Share

Metric	Unified Government	Divided Government
Shutdowns	5	14
Total Shutdown Days	95	~122
Average Length of Shutdown	19 days	8.7 days
Share of Days	44%	56%

Sources: CRS (September 2025); U.S. House of Representatives (2026); U.S. Senate (2025)

Economic & Federal Impact

Government shutdowns have extensive economic and federal impacts, particularly on government workers, essential services, and overall national GDP. Below, we break down how much each major shutdown cost, how many federal workers were furloughed, and what impacts this had on the U.S. GDP.

Estimated Cost and Federal Workers Furloughed per Major Shutdown

President	Shutdown	Estimated Workers Furloughed	Workers Working Unpaid	Back Pay Cost
George H.W. Bush	October 5, 1990-October 9, 1990	2,800	-	~$2.6 million
Bill Clinton	November 13, 1995-November 19, 1995	~800,000	~475,000	~$400 million
Bill Clinton	December 15, 1995-January 6, 1996	~284,000	~475,000+	~$1.0 billion
Barack Obama	September 30, 2013-October 17, 2013	~850,000	~1.3 million	$2.5 billion
Donald Trump	January 19, 2018-January 22, 2018	~850,000	~1.3 million	~$0.5 billion
Donald Trump	December 21, 2018-January 25, 2019	~380,000	~420,000	~$3-4 billion
Donald Trump	September 30, 2025-November 12, 2025	~670,000	~730,000	~$17 billion
Donald Trump	February 14, 2026-April 30, 2026	~60,000-90,000	~730,000	~$1-2 billion

Sources: CRS (September 2025); U.S. Congress (January 2026); Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (June 2026)

Cost per Day

President	Shutdown	Days	Estimated Total Cost	Cost per Day
George H.W. Bush	October 5, 1990-October 9, 1990	3	~$2.6 million	$0.9 million
Bill Clinton	November 13, 1995-November 19, 1995	5	~$400 million	~$80 million
Bill Clinton	December 15, 1995-January 6, 1996	21	~$1.0 billion	~$48 million
Barack Obama	September 30, 2013-October 17, 2013	16	$2.5 billion	~$156 million
Donald Trump	January 19, 2018-January 22, 2018	3	~$0.5 billion	~$167 million
Donald Trump	December 21, 2018-January 25, 2019	35	~$11 billion	~$314 million
Donald Trump	September 30, 2025-November 12, 2025	43	$17 billion+	~$400 million
Donald Trump	February 14, 2026-April 30, 2026	76	~$1-2 billion	~$20 million

Sources: CRS (September 2025); U.S. Congress (January 2026); Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (June 2026, October 2013)

GDP Impact Estimate by Shutdown

President	Shutdown	Days	GDP Impact Estimate
George H.W. Bush	October 5, 1990-October 9, 1990	3	Minimal
Bill Clinton	November 13, 1995-November 19, 1995	5	~$0.4-0.8 billion
Bill Clinton	December 15, 1995-January 6, 1996	21	~$1.0-1.5 billion
Barack Obama	September 30, 2013-October 17, 2013	16	~$20 billion
Donald Trump	January 19, 2018-January 22, 2018	3	Minimal
Donald Trump	December 21, 2018-January 25, 2019	35	$11 billion
Donald Trump	September 30, 2025-November 12, 2025	43	$11 billion
Donald Trump	February 14, 2026-April 30, 2026	76	Limited

Sources: CRS (September 2025); U.S. Congress (January 2026); Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (June 2026)

References

Past Government Shutdowns: Key Resources. (2025, September 30). Congressional Research Services. https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/R/PDF/R41759/R41759.40.pdf
Funding gaps and shutdowns in the federal government | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives. (n.d.). https://history.house.gov/Institution/Shutdown/Government-Shutdowns/
Wessel, D. (2026, April 30). What is a government shutdown? Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-is-a-government-shutdown-and-why-are-we-likely-to-have-another-one/
Government shutdowns in the United States | Law | Research Starters | EBSCO Research. (n.d.). EBSCO. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/law/government-shutdowns-united-states
Quinn, M. (2025, November 13). A history of government shutdowns: The 15 times funding has lapsed since 1980. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/government-shutdown-history-congress/
Party Divisions of the House of Representatives, 1789 to present | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives. (n.d.). https://history.house.gov/Institution/Party-Divisions/Party-Divisions/
U.S. Senate: Party division. (2025, February 24). https://www.senate.gov/history/partydiv.htm
Brass, C., Fiorentino, D., Riccard, T., & Schwemle, B. (2026, January 15). Government Shutdowns and Executive Branch Operations: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). U.S. Congress. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R47693
Budget, C. F. a. R. F. (2026, June 11). Appropriations watch: FY 2026-2026-06-11. Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. https://www.crfb.org/blogs/appropriations-watch-fy-2026
Budget, C. F. a. R. F. (2013, October 21). The (Ongoing) cost of the government shutdown-2013-10-21. Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. https://www.crfb.org/blogs/ongoing-cost-government-shutdown