Author | Dr. H
Doctor of Political Communication
In the U.S. political context, the “government shutdown” was once seen as an accidental consequence of a failed budget negotiation: Congress failed to pass the appropriation bill in time, federal agencies were forced to suspend operations, federal employees were forced to leave or work unpaid. For example, in 2018-19 the U.S. government experienced the longest shutdown in history, 35 days, due to a budget shutdown against border wall appropriations.
However, In 2025, the meaning of government shutdowns changed; it was no longer a budget dispute, but a political punishment mechanism aimed at cutting off the flow of funds to the opponent camp.Within the political framework of Trump and his camp, the shutdown is being used as an important weapon in undermining the legitimacy of the federal government and reshaping the "people vs. establishment" narrative.
Why did the government stop?
From the perspective of * 's design, the financial operation of the U.S. federal government has a clear path: the executive branch uses the federal budget expenditure, and Congress (especially the House of Representatives) has the "power of the purse": Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution clearly stipulates that the federal government cannot spend public funds without the authorization of Congress. So, as commonly understood, The government budget process is roughly as follows: departments submit demands, the president submits budgets, Congress reviews appropriations, and the administrative department executes them.。But in a highly polarized partisan political environment, this mechanism is being transformed by the Trump administration into a tool to check and balance opposition parties.
However, Under what circumstances will the government stop?When Congress fails to pass a full appropriations bill or a continuing resolution (CR) at the end of the fiscal year (September 30), non-"essential/continuing" projects will be temporarily suspended due to lack of funding authorization. Influenced by partisan politics, the reality is often that budget negotiations are not just about statistics and priorities, but about "Stop the projects under whose control" and "whose resources are cut off"Opening up, of course. In the eyes of both parties, the answers to this question are each other.
The following two key time points played the prelude to this lockout:
On September 23, Trump cancelled a meeting with Democratic leaders, directly abandoned the conventional consultation mechanism, and created institutional conditions for the shutdown by breaking the negotiations.
On September 30, Congress failed to pass the Republican and Democrat-backed allocation bill. The Senate failed to obtain the required 60 votes to block the row over the Republican-proposed temporary allocation scheme.
Because the appropriation bill has neither been passed nor there is an acceptable temporary solution, the federal government has entered a state of shutdown from October 1, 2025. As of the time of publication, the shutdown has lasted for 24 days, which is Second longest government shutdown in U.S. history。
Politico reports: Trump cancels meeting with Democratic leaders
02 Stopped political significance and ideological color
The significance of this shutdown goes far beyond the level of fiscal savings or budget restructuring. On the one hand, it is a purposeful resource control of groups benefiting from public services; on the other hand, it is an impact on the legitimacy of federal government governance.
First of all, from the perspective of resource control, the shutdown does not affect all projects evenly, but selectively affects those projects closely related to the policies of the Democratic camp: especially those located in blue states and closely related to green transformation (clean energy, power grid upgrades), environmental governance (coastal flood control projects), housing subsidies, public medical care and nutrition subsidies. In other words, In this round, the shutdown has become a "political sanctions" mechanism: by suspending government spending, it has left local governments in rival camps and groups that rely on public projects in a weak position.
Secondly, a deeper analysis of the political significance of shutdowns from the perspective of legitimacy—organ shutdowns, unpaid employees, and disrupted services—is exactly the paralyzing system of governance that provides narrative resources for Trumpism: "The federal government is too incompetent" and "the Washington establishment is too failed".
To give a specific example: Democrats are demanding the resumption of billions of dollars in spending on the Affordable Care Act/Obamacare, which have been previously included in the Big and Beautiful Act (Big Beautiful BillFor this budget divide, House Speaker Mike Johnson blamed the Democratic Party for the government shutdown:
"The Democrats have once again dragged our country into a reckless government shutdown... whether this shutdown is over or not is up to them."
Vice President Wans expressed a similar view in the Fox and Friends show, saying the government shutdown was the Democratic Party’s fault:
"Democrats restart government first, and then we talk about health insurance premiums."
House Democrats prepare to deliver speeches urging Republicans to include an extension for expiring health care benefits in a government funding compromise in front of the steps of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025 (Photo by AP J. Scott Applewhite)
Talking From This Stop: The Conflict Between Trumpism and Neoliberalism
First of all, it is clear that neoliberalism emphasizes "reducing the size of the government" and advocates "market priority"。 The relationship between Trump and neoliberalism is characterized by both contradiction and integration.
Note: Wednesday, October 1, 2025, a news group filmed the report next to a sign that read “Congress Tourist Center closed due to government shutdown.” — Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call, Inc./Getty Images
On the one hand, he continued the typical neo-liberal fiscal logic in economic policy, i.e. advocating the relaxation of regulation, cutting government spending, reducing taxes for the rich and corporate, and weakening social welfare, these practices reflect the core philosophy of "ridden government" and "market priorities".The Trump Administration's "fast governance" experiment in immigration and education: efficiency revolution or institutional tearing?）
However, despite Trump’s preservation of a market- and capital-centric governance structure, he Combine this neoliberal fiscal philosophy with populist political discourse to portray the government as an inefficient and corrupt power machine through “anti-constructive” and “anti-elite” narratives.To consolidate its authority by weakening the public sector and the social security system: the paralysis and chaos of government functions is not mismanagement, but further argues that “the more the government is incompetent, the more the government itself is the problem.” ”Trump directly broke the neutral appearance of the technical bureaucracy system, its core team adopted administrative measures such as budget freezing, institutional withdrawal and appointment rights, seriously challenging the government's technical pursuit of efficiency, stability, and risk-controllable."Who will I use who will obey": From removing Cook, see why Trump has to take the Fed), Trump's core team is trying to complete the control of the technocratic system by gaining further control over the budget take over。
Trump released a video generated by artificial intelligence showing him driving a jetship called “King Trump” bombing protesters with brown liquids.
The cost of government shutdowns is never divided on average.Who's budget cut, who's project saved, who's waiting for relief, who's making a profit, these are not random outcomes, but political choices. The nature of fiscal stagnation is not only a temporary paralysis of the government, but a process of directed and objective redistribution.In the next article, what we need to ask is not only "how big is the loss caused by the shutdown", but "who is suffering the consequences and who is benefiting". Stay tuned.
This article is published exclusively in Tencent News.