When was the last time the US government shut down?
There were two US Government shutdowns in 2018, to the “last time” was in January of 2018.Prior to Trump’s presidency, the last time was in 2013. That shutdown resulted because Congress couldn’t agree on a continuing resolution to keep it open, with funding for the Affordable Care Act a major issue. It lasted 17 days. See: 2013 United States federal government shutdown - Wikipedia
When was the last time there was a Government shutdown in the US when the same party controlled all three branches of government?
When was the last time there was a Government shutdown in the US when the same party controlled all three branches of government?OK, I’m assuming the intended question was about this happening when the same party controlled the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate and presidency. (The three branches are legislative, executive and judicial; the judiciary has no role in the budget process.)The answer: 1980. Jimmy Carter was president and Democrats controlled the House of Representatives and Senate. The Federal Trade Commission was shut down for one day because of a budget stalemate.In every shutdown from then to the shutdowns of 2018, at least one house of Congress has been controlled by the party opposite of the president’s.
Government Shutdown ?
Of course it does nothing for anyone. But the government cannot legally spend money if Congress has not approved the budget. It has to appropriate money (vote for how much should be spent and what on) and if it doesn't, ANY government spending in the new spending year is illegal. It doesn't matter what the argument is about, they're voting on the WHOLE budget. I'm sure you will agree that this is right and proper so there is democratic control of what happens to your taxes. So if Congress doesn't pass a budget by October 1, or the President vetoes it, the government has to save as much money as possible until a budget IS passed. Government employees can't be paid and the less essential ones get sent home. And this continues until such time as Congress and the President get their act together and pass the budget. It's almost impossible for this to happen in other countries. Either they have a stronger executive, or they have a parliamentary system where it's possible to cut through the problem by a snap general election - which happened in Australia in 1975, for example. In that case, the Governor-General, representing the Queen, was able to sack the Prime Minister and appoint his opposite number in the other main party on condition that he ask for an immediate election - which of course he did, having engineered the situation in the first place just so this would happen. But having a combined head of state and head of government, and the insistence on total separation of the executive and legislature, makes this impossible in the USA. There can't be a snap election because the constitution doesn't provide for it, and it doesn't provide for it because that would make the President too powerful. So there's no way out of it except to have a government shutdown until Congress comes to its senses. Government employees won't lose pay, they'll just be paid late. Which of course is going to cause them a problem with paying bills if it goes on too long. Fortunately it rarely does for more than about 2 weeks at most.
How long can government shutdown last in theory? What is the legal outcome if there is no consensus?
It could last as long as the people in congress want it to last. I guess also in this case the president since he wants to build the wall so badly. If that wasn’t the case we wouldn’t be in this situation. The government will be shut down until either congress pleases the man or he comes to his senses and decides to let it go. I’m scared that he may be persistent and let the government stay shut down if congress doesn’t give him what he wants. But he could also realize that he missed his opportunity to get funding for the wall a while ago. If congress decides to let him have the wall, then the shutdown will cease. If they don’t, we could be talking a couple days to weeks. Most government shutdowns in my lifetime have been very short so I’m sure this one won’t be much different.Not as many services are affected by this as you’d think. But obviously over 400,000 people will be working without pay.
How long can a government shut down last in America?
Until Congress passes a funding bill, and the President signs it, the part of the government that is unfunded will continue to remain so, there is no “upper limit.”Eventually, employees who are furloughed (told to stay home) and those who are forced to go to work without being paid (like air traffic controllers) will quit and find jobs that actually pay them. If it gets to that point, and our infrastructure begins to suffer, someone is going to blink.(By the way, President Trump isn’t keeping the government shut down. The majority of votes in the House and Senate are in favor of funding both the government and border security, it is Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat, who is blocking the bill to do so. It is the Schumer Shutdown.)