The 2019 Government Shutdown Now Holds This Disappointing Record

Let's face it: It doesn't seem like the partial government shutdown is ending any time soon. It's been more than three weeks, 22 days to be exact, since the government closed and President Trump and Congress have yet to reach an agreement on funding for border security that would make this all go away. With that, you might be wondering: When was the longest government shutdown? Well, if you think that this one is taking forever to end, you're on the right track.

If you guessed that the 2019 shutdown is the longest one in history, you're right. When the clocks struck midnight on Saturday, Jan. 12, the current partial shutdown officially became the longest in U.S. history at 22 days, surpassing the 21-day shutdown that occurred in 1995 under the Clinton administration, according to The New York Times. That shutdown apparently stretched from Dec. 16, 1995 to Jan. 5, 1996, stemming from a clash between President Clinton and congressional Republicans over federal spending. According to CNN, Republicans wanted deep budget cuts, namely to Medicare and Medicaid, and wanted the White House to use budget projections from the Congressional Budget Office. The shutdown only ended after Clinton agreed to a seven-year budget plan "scored by the Congressional Budget Office."

Obviously, people are super upset that the 2019 shutdown, which has reportedly left some 800,000 people without income, per USA Today, has gotten this far, and are taking to the Twitterverse to air their frustrations. Elite Daily reached out to White House for comment on the current state of negotiations regarding the reopening of the government, but did not hear back at the time of publication.

What's even more unfortunate is the fact that the shutdown might go on for much longer than it already has. On Jan. 4, Trump announced that he would be willing to keep the government closed for "years" if that's what it takes to get the $5 billion-plus he's requested for a wall at the U.S. southern border. Meanwhile, Democrats have repeatedly refused to give him anything more than $1.3 billion for border fencing and barriers, maintaining that a wall would be "expensive" and "ineffective."

Being the staunch guy that he is, however, the president is reportedly weighing other options to go around them, but they might not be the best decisions. For one, he's considering declaring a national emergency, which would allow him to pull funds from the Department of Defense and other sources to finance his wall. According to The Hill, Democrats are already considering filing a lawsuit against Trump if he sidesteps them in such a way. Elite Daily reached out to the White House for further comment on the matter, but did not hear back.

Trump is also reportedly considering using money meant for disaster aid to pay for the wall. Sources told The New York Times that such an aggressive move could cause more tension between the president and Congress regarding some of his other efforts. More importantly, there are places that could really use those funds, like Puerto Rico, which reportedly has yet to fully recover from 2017's Hurricane Maria. Elite Daily reached out the White House and FEMA for further comment on the matter, but did not hear back.

It's unclear when this shutdown will end, but with all this said, it doesn't look like it'll be anytime soon. Here's to hoping the shutdown doesn't break any other unenviable records.