US records longest govt shutdown in history as it enters Day 36

WASHINGTON -- At 00:01 am (0501 GMT) on Wednesday, the US federal government shutdown entered its 36th day, surpassing the previous 35-day record set during the 2018-2019 shutdown, making it the longest government shutdown in US history.

At midday on Tuesday, the US Senate made its 14th attempt to advance a short-term funding bill proposed by Republicans and already passed by the House, but the procedural vote fell short of the 60 votes required for approval.

As has been the case throughout the more than month-long government shutdown, leaders of both the Republican and Democratic parties continued to trade blame on Tuesday, with no signs of negotiation or compromise.

"Republicans refuse to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, which is going to result in tens of millions of Americans experiencing dramatically increased premiums, co-pays and deductibles," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrat in the lower chamber, warned at a press conference.

US House Speaker Mike Johnson, the top Republican in the chamber, meanwhile, said at a separate press conference that "the Schumer shutdown was never about health care or any other policy," referring to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

"Right now, the Democrats fear political retribution from far-left activists in their party more than they fear the consequences of keeping the government closed for weeks on end," said Johnson.

As the two parties remained locked in a war of words, the impact of the record-breaking shutdown continued to spread, dealing a heavy blow to multiple areas affecting people's daily lives, including aviation safety and food assistance programs.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned on Tuesday that the ongoing government shutdown has increased risks to air travel, cautioning that widespread flight cancellations -- and even potential airspace closures -- could occur if air traffic controllers go without a second full paycheck next week.

Data from the US flight-tracking website FlightAware shows that thousands of flights across the country are experiencing delays every day.

A widely watched food assistance program has also been impacted. After interventions by two federal judges, US President Donald Trump's administration announced on Monday that it would use emergency funds to maintain half of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for this month. Some states may take weeks or even months to resume full distributions. On Tuesday, however, Trump wrote on social media that relief funds would only be distributed once the government reopens.

The program covers 42 million Americans -- roughly one-eighth of the national population -- most of whom live below the poverty line. Democrats have accused Trump of "weaponizing hunger."

In addition, more than 1 million federal employees have gone without pay, with some forced to line up for free food assistance, potentially leading to reduced consumer spending.

The delay in releasing key economic data has also heightened uncertainty. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell recently said it remains unclear whether the ongoing government shutdown -- and the resulting lack of crucial economic data -- will affect the Fed's December policy decision. "What do you do if you're driving in a fog? You slow down," Powell said.

The US Congressional Budget Office recently warned that, depending on the duration of the shutdown, the annualized growth rate of US real GDP in the fourth quarter could decline by 1 to 2 percentage points. If the shutdown lasts six weeks, economic losses would rise to 11 billion US dollars; if it continues for eight weeks, losses would reach 14 billion dollars.

Public sentiment has fallen amid the government shutdown. A recent Gallup poll showed that public approval of Congress has dropped to 15 percent, with nearly 80 percent of US adults disapproving of its performance.

According to a recent ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll, 68 percent of Americans said the Democratic Party is out of touch with the concerns of most citizens, while 61 percent said the same about the Republican Party.