The 119th Congress has been one for breaking records, some more welcome than others. The government shutdown now seems set to be the latest opportunity to enter the history books.
Nov. 1 marked the shutdown’s 32nd day, closing in on the record 35 days set during the first Trump administration. That shutdown was a partial one, meaning the current one has already claimed the record for the longest full shutdown.
It follows a Congress that has already seen Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) break the Senate floor speech record, the longest House floor vote in modern history, the most votes taken in a “vote-a-rama,” and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) breaking the record for a “magic minute” on the House floor.
“Hope they’re [Democrats] not just waiting to try to beat a record, which would be a completely stupid way to govern,” House Energy and Commerce Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY) told the Washington Examiner.
“It’s frustrating when people seem to be governed because they want to break a record, second play to their base,” the chairman later added.
As the government shutdown nears record length after Congress failed to reach a funding agreement, the Supplemental Nutrition Program will lapse for the first time ever on Saturday, leaving millions of families without food stamps as the holidays near, although a federal judge on Friday ruled the Trump administration must tap into a $5 billion contingency fund to cover the benefits.
This Congress is also on course to be one of the least productive in history, thanks to hyperpartisanship and gridlock. Much of its energy was spent on the reconciliation process, in which Republicans passed President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful bill” before they began to turn their focus to government funding.
“When Congress is doing nothing, you have to make it look like you’re doing something,” GOP Strategist Dennis Lennox told the Washington Examiner. “They used to play to the C-SPAN cameras. Now, they play to social media, hoping you’ll click and not scroll past.”
“What we’re seeing today is so far removed from the days of Robert Byrd and Daniel Patrick Moynihan—let alone the all-time greats like Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun. Today, Congress is just cosplay,” Lennox continued.
Democrats have continuously pushed back on the GOP claim that this is a “Democrat shutdown,” as they aim to strike a deal that meets their demands on healthcare following the cuts made to Medicaid in the reconciliation bill.
“Republicans hold the House, Senate, and White House,” one Senate Democratic staffer told the Washington Examiner. “They could heed the President’s instruction and eliminate the filibuster and open the government without Democratic support or they can come to the negotiating table and join with Democrats to stave off a massive increase in healthcare costs. The choice is theirs, and if this shutdown breaks the 35-day record, Republicans are to blame.”
Earlier this year, Jeffries beat former Speaker Kevin McCarthy for the longest House floor speech during his “magic minute” ahead of the final passage vote of Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” McCarthy spoke for eight hours and 32 minutes in 2021. Jeffries surpassed that record with his closing statement, clocking in at 8 hours and 44 minutes.
“I’m going to take my time and ensure that the American people fully understand how damaging this bill will be to their quality of life,” Jeffries said on the floor.
Just before that, the House held the longest vote in modern record for nearly seven hours as leadership spoke with members to pass a procedural vote.
Just a day prior, the upper chamber broke the record for most votes taken on a “vote-a-rama” with the marathon in the Senate bringing in more than 26 hours of debate on and off the floor.
Leading up to all of these records, Booker broke the record for longest floor speech at 25 hours and four minutes in protest of Trump and Elon Musk’s agenda. The senator could not eat or use the bathroom for the entirety of the speech and was only relieved from speaking when other Democratic senators asked questions. The previous record was held by the late Sen. Strom Thurmond’s filibuster of the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
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As the shutdown nears a record of its own, little negotiations are taking place. The House-passed continuing resolution to fund the government until Nov. 21 still sits in the upper chamber, where it has failed to meet the 60-vote threshold over a dozen times. The speaker has kept the House out of session since September, announcing Friday that it will continue to stay out of session next week. The members remain on 48-hour notice.
Of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) caucus, only Sen. Angus King (I-ME) and two Democrats have backed the GOP plan. Lawmakers have begun floating a long-term continuing resolution, which could extend Biden-era funding levels through the end of fiscal 2026.
