For weeks, federal offices stood empty, workers went without pay, and vital programs, from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to air traffic control, were deprived of essential funds. The reason was simple: Congress could not agree on how to fund the government.
While the United States has been no stranger to shutdowns — ten since 1980 — none lasted this long. The primary reason was the Republican majority’s aim to pass a budget that would cut Affordable Care Act subsidies, meaning the government would provide less financial assistance to help people pay for health insurance, affecting many low and middle-income Americans. The Democratic Party, currently the minority in the legislative branch, refused to pass the budget. Locked in a stalemate, the shutdown continued for 43 days, leaving the nation in limbo.
Naturally, citizens wanted to know who was to blame. The Trump administration implicated Democrats across government websites, accusing the “radical left” of obstructing progress. Yet, as a recent Quinnipiac University poll demonstrated, 45 percent of voters held Republicans primarily responsible.
Now, the shutdown has ended. A stopgap funding bill that will last until January was passed in the Senate 60-40 with the support of seven Democrats, one independent, and every Republican except Senator Rand Paul. The bill then passed the House 222-209, with the support of six Democrats. President Trump has signed the bill, officially passing a budget and reopening the government.
The Senate’s passage only occurred after Democrats accepted a Republican budget on the agreement that the Trump administration would reverse shutdown-related layoffs and hold a vote on the continuation of ACA subsidies by mid-December. Among those who conceded was Pennsylvania’s own Senator John Fetterman, whose vote to reopen the government without a guarantee on subsidies has angered many Democrats.
For college students, the stakes of the shutdown extended beyond politics. Young adults remain among the most uninsured Americans, with over 15 percent lacking health coverage and many being full-time students without employer-based insurance. The Affordable Care Act has played a crucial role by expanding Medicaid, providing subsidies, and allowing young adults to remain on their parents’ plans until age 26. The Republican budget plan would result in these safety nets fraying, leaving students uninsured and vulnerable. Yet, as Congress prepares to reopen the government, Americans are bracing for a differently funded future. Without a concrete commitment to preserve the Affordable Care Act subsidies, millions could see their health care costs double, and even if Democrats push for an extension in December, the odds of it passing through a Republican-dominated House and securing President Trump’s signature are slim. In Philadelphia alone, over 30,000 people are estimated to lose healthcare access, especially as marketplace insurance premiums are projected to rise by as much as 300 percent. While the government will slowly begin reopening, the end of the shutdown does not guarantee the end of uncertainty and may only mark the beginning of a new chapter in the nation’s long struggle over who gets access to what care, and at what cost.