The government shutdown, which stretched into its 35th day Tuesday, has tied the record for the longest in U.S. history.

The current shutdown began Oct. 1, after Congress failed to strike a deal to fund the government. Since it started, thousands of federal workers have been furloughed while others are working without pay, flights have been delayed nationwide and many Americans have been left without food assistance. 

The last shutdown that lasted this long occurred during President Trump’s first term, from Dec. 22, 2018, to Jan. 25, 2019, and stemmed from a dispute over funding for a border wall. 

This time, the central issue in the shutdown fight has been healthcare. Democrats have urged Republicans to extend the Affordable Care Act subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of the year, and have not supported a Republican “clean” stopgap measure to reopen the government. 

The Senate failed to advance the measure for the 14th time Tuesday, making it likely that the shutdown will surpass the record as it continues past Tuesday night.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said at a Tuesday press conference that he didn’t think anyone expected the shutdown would “drag on this long,” blaming Democrats for not supporting the Republican stopgap measure. The measure would fund the government at current levels until Nov. 21.

“With federal workers entering their fifth week without a full paycheck, Democrats ought to be taking a hard look in the mirror,” Johnson said. “Will they continue to bend the need to the radicals who run their party, or will Democrats finally do something to serve the working Americans they abandoned long ago?”

Democrats, in turn, argued that Republicans are to blame in the shutdown fight.

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the former House majority leader, told The Hill he’s always believed “shutdowns are a stupid, costly, and arrogant policy.”

“Donald Trump, however, revels in them. That was true when he set the record for the longest shutdown back in 2019, and it’s true now as he breaks that record once again,” he said. 

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said at a Tuesday press briefing that Democrats want “to find a bipartisan path forward toward enacting a spending agreement that actually makes life better for the American people, that lowers cost for the American people, as opposed to the Trump economy where things are getting more expensive by the day.”

Lawmakers are discussing a new stopgap measure that would fund the government past November. Both Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) are eyeing a measure lasting into January. Thune said he was “optimistic” there could be a deal to reopen the government by the end of the week.

The government shutdown, which stretched into its 35th day Tuesday, has tied the record for the longest in U.S. history.

The current shutdown began Oct. 1, after Congress failed to strike a deal to fund the government. Since it started, thousands of federal workers have been furloughed while others are working without pay, flights have been delayed nationwide and many Americans have been left without food assistance. 

The last shutdown that lasted this long occurred during President Trump’s first term, from Dec. 22, 2018, to Jan. 25, 2019, and stemmed from a dispute over funding for a border wall. 

This time, the central issue in the shutdown fight has been healthcare. Democrats have urged Republicans to extend the Affordable Care Act subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of the year, and have not supported a Republican “clean” stopgap measure to reopen the government. 

The Senate failed to advance the measure for the 14th time Tuesday, making it likely that the shutdown will surpass the record as it continues past Tuesday night.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said at a Tuesday press conference that he didn’t think anyone expected the shutdown would “drag on this long,” blaming Democrats for not supporting the Republican stopgap measure. The measure would fund the government at current levels until Nov. 21.

“With federal workers entering their fifth week without a full paycheck, Democrats ought to be taking a hard look in the mirror,” Johnson said. “Will they continue to bend the need to the radicals who run their party, or will Democrats finally do something to serve the working Americans they abandoned long ago?”

Democrats, in turn, argued that Republicans are to blame in the shutdown fight.

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the former House majority leader, told The Hill he’s always believed “shutdowns are a stupid, costly, and arrogant policy.”

“Donald Trump, however, revels in them. That was true when he set the record for the longest shutdown back in 2019, and it’s true now as he breaks that record once again,” he said. 

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said at a Tuesday press briefing that Democrats want “to find a bipartisan path forward toward enacting a spending agreement that actually makes life better for the American people, that lowers cost for the American people, as opposed to the Trump economy where things are getting more expensive by the day.”

Lawmakers are discussing a new stopgap measure that would fund the government past November. Both Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) are eyeing a measure lasting into January. Thune said he was “optimistic” there could be a deal to reopen the government by the end of the week.