Government shutdown: What impact is it having on everyday Americans?

4 November 2025, 16:08 | Updated: 4 November 2025, 19:02

The US government shutdown is approaching the record for the longest ever as the stand-off between the Democrats and Republicans on the Hill continues.

The shutdown, triggered by lawmakers failing to pass new funding bills, began on 1 October, has affected millions of Americans who rely on support programmes normally funded by the federal government.

By the end of 5 November, it will be the longest shutdown in US government history, beating the previous record of 35 days set during Donald Trump's first term in 2019, when he demanded Congress allocate money for his promised US-Mexico border wall.

Healthcare is the principal sticking point for the two parties, but the ramifications of the shutdown go far beyond that, with critical federal services struggling to function.

Here are some of the biggest impacts of the government shutdown so far.

Flight delays piling up

US airports are seeing a pile-up of flight delays due to staff shortages, as those who turn up are not being paid.

More than 3.2 million passengers have had flights delayed or cancelled due to air traffic control staffing issues since the shutdown began, according to Airlines for America, which represents some of the biggest airlines in the country.

Air traffic controllers, who coordinate aircraft within the airspace, and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers are classed as essential workers, meaning they must keep operating even though they don't get paid until after it resumes.

It means nearly 13,000 air traffic controllers have been working without pay for weeks, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), along with 50,000 TSA officers.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told CNBC on 3 November: "None of them can miss two paycheques.

"Their home finances fall apart, and they're all going to have to look at taking second jobs or quitting and getting into another line of work. And the consequence of that is very real for our air system."

And the next day he blamed Democrats for the shutdown - Republicans currently have a majority in both houses - and told ABC: "So if, if you bring us to a week from today, Democrats, you will see mass chaos.

"You will see mass flight delays. You'll see mass cancellations, and you may see us close certain parts of the airspace, because we just cannot manage it because we don't have the air traffic controllers."

The FAA was already dealing with a long-standing shortage of about 3,000 air traffic controllers before the shutdown.

Many have questioned the safety of air travel amid such shortages, but the flights are intentionally slowed down amid staff shortages to make them more manageable.

Mr Duffy suggested the delays would become more extreme the longer the shutdown went on, with staff being "confronted with a decision" on whether they should stop turning up for work.

Food stamps reduced for millions of Americans

The shutdown is affecting the 42 million Americans who receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme (SNAP).

The federal programme provides food benefits, also known as food stamps, to low-income families to supplement their grocery budget so they can afford more nutritious food than they would otherwise be able to afford.

The government planned to freeze payments to the programme, estimated to cost $8bn per month nationally, starting 1 November, saying it could no longer keep funding it due to the shutdown.

Judges halted the move and said the Trump administration would need to at least partially fund it.

The government has indicated it will use an emergency fund of $4.65bn to cover about half of the normal benefits.

Payments for November had already been delayed for millions of people, and now they will only receive half of their usual benefits.

Many Democrats suggest the government can afford to make the full payments during the shutdown but is choosing not to.

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries has accused Mr Trump and Republicans of attempting to "weaponise hunger" to pressure political rivals into accepting their funding proposals.

Whatever the reasons, the impact on struggling families is already being felt.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a floor speech on Monday 3 November: "The stories from this weekend were shameful, sickening.

"People overwhelming food banks, handing out groceries in lieu of Halloween candy, teachers paying out of pocket to give their students extra food. Across America, appalling scenes were seen of people worried they wouldn't be able to feed their families and even themselves."