The federal government is now in the midst of its second-longest shutdown, after Congress has repeatedly failed to pass a bill to fund the government on a temporary basis. The 2025 shutdown is a few days shy of the record set by the 2018-2019 shutdown, which lasted 35 days and took place during President Trump’s first administration.
On Sept. 19, the House passed a measure that would have kept the government running through Nov. 21, but the bill failed to make it out of the GOP-led Senate the same day. Since government funding lapsed on Oct. 1, the Senate has held a number of votes, but Republicans have not been able to garner the support they need from Democrats to advance the bill.
Here’s the government shutdown by the numbers:
13: Number of times the Senate has held failed votes to end the shutdown
Since just before the shutdown began on Oct. 1, the Senate has voted 13 times on a House-passed resolution to fund the government until Nov. 21. There are 53 Republicans in the Senate, 45 Democrats and two independents who caucus with the Democrats. When all senators are present, there have been 55 votes in favor of funding the government, five short of the 60 needed to move the bill forward.
The Senate, which has 100 senators, requires only a simple majority to pass most legislation. But the Senate’s filibuster rule effectively requires nearly all legislation — including the continuing resolution to temporarily fund the government — to reach a 60-vote threshold first. A single senator may delay a bill during debate by invoking a filibuster, which can only be ended if a supermajority of 60 senators vote to end debate.
52: Senate Republicans supporting resolution to fund the government and end the shutdown
43: Senate Democrats/independent opposed, plus 1 Republican
GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky is the lone Republican joining most Democratic senators in voting against advancing the resolution to fund the government. He opposes the measure because it adds to the nation’s rising debt.
3: Senate Democrats/independent supporting resolution to fund the government and end the shutdown
Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada have voted with Republicans in support of the measure, as has independent Sen. Angus King of Maine.
5: Number of senators necessary to change their votes to advance the resolution
“We need five Democrats to show a little courage,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said on Oct. 23, a day after the 12th vote failed. “Reopen the government and let’s get to work.”
42 million: The number of people who will lose food stamp benefits on Nov. 1
Roughly 42 million Americans rely on food stamps that arrive every month on their electronic benefit transfer cards, according to data from the USDA. On Nov. 1, that aid is set to abruptly stop amid the ongoing U.S. government shutdown. On Oct. 28, 25 states asked a federal judge in Massachusetts to order the Agriculture Department to provide benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for November, including by tapping into a contingency fund to ensure the assistance continues to flow to more than 25 million people living within their borders.
They argue the administration’s decision to cut off food stamp payments is unlawful and threatens to deprive millions of Americans of essential food benefits that help protect against food insecurity and hunger.
$9.2 billion: The cost of funding food stamps for November
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins says it would cost about $9.2 billion to keep SNAP benefits flowing next month. The Agriculture Department’s contingency fund has around $5 billion, which Rollins has argued the administration doesn’t have the legal ability to use.
Some lawmakers from both parties have called for standalone legislation to fund SNAP.
At least 670,000: Government workers who have been furloughed since the shutdown began
According to the Bipartisan Policy Center’s analysis of daily Treasury statements and the center’s own workforce estimates, at least 670,000 federal employees are furloughed. The Congressional Budget Office estimated last month that compensation for furloughed workers is roughly $400 million per day.
About 730,000: Federal employees who are working without pay
Government workers who are determined to be essential are still working, albeit without pay, and there are about 730,000 of these employees, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.
Over 4,000: Federal workers the government disclosed it was trying to lay off during shutdown
On Oct. 28, a judge indefinitely barred the Trump administration from firing government employees due to the shutdown while a lawsuit challenging the effort makes its way through the courts.
In mid-October, the administration already sent “reduction in force” layoff notices to over 4,000 federal employees across seven agencies.
Here are the approximate numbers:
$130 million: The private donation Trump says he’s used to help pay the military
President Trump says an unnamed “patriot” donated $130 million to fund troops’ paychecks, which are normally cut off during shutdowns. The New York Times reported that donor is Timothy Mellon, a reclusive billionaire and scion to the Mellon family banking fortune.
That nine-figure check likely isn’t enough to cover the military’s entire payroll. There are around 1.3 million active-duty service members, so the donation comes out to roughly $100 per person.
At least $7 billion: The economic cost of the shutdown
The shutdown could temporarily cut the nation’s economic output by billions of dollars as unpaid federal workers curtail their spending and SNAP benefits are paused, leading to a 1-percentage-point GDP drop if the shutdown lasts four weeks and a 2-point dip if it drags on for eight weeks, the Congressional Budget Office said in an Oct. 29 estimate.
Much of that decline will be reversed after the government reopens and the spigot of federal spending turns back on — but not all of it. The GDP will face a sustained drop of $7 billion after a four-week shutdown, $11 billion after six weeks and $14 billion after eight weeks, the CBO says.
