A bill to end the government shutdown was approved by the Senate and officially signed into law by President Donald Trump on Nov. 12.
The shutdown occurred because officials were unable to pass a budget law, preventing nonessential government departments from spending money. This led to major disruptions beyond the shutdown of these government agencies and sites, including food insecurity for families who rely on federal assistance, widespread furloughs of government workers, flight delays, and airport staffing shortages.
“The budget lays out how much money they are going to spend that year on the various executive departments and agencies and everything that the federal government spends money on,” said Palo Alto Council Member Greer Stone, a former attorney and Advanced Placement (AP) Government and Economics teacher at Carlmont.
The shutdown, which lasted 43 days, was the longest in American history.
Senate Democrats refused to support a spending bill unless it allocated more money toward healthcare, while Republicans insisted on a clean funding measure without healthcare provisions.
“Ultimately, eight democrats defected and voted alongside the Republicans to pass the appropriations bill. They got some concessions the Democrats wanted,” Stone said.
The legislation has pushed a vote on health care funding until mid-December, but the rift between both parties has had an impact on citizens.
“There was sort of a promise by the Republicans that they would hold a vote on that issue of extending the Obamacare tax credits to mid-December,” Stone said.
This conflict highlights how rapidly political polarization is increasing and how this shutdown reflects that growing divide.
“I think the biggest thing that young people need to do is stop political polarization. I feel like the reason why more radical voices are given authority and power is because of political polarization,” said sophomore Alina Robinson, captain of the competitive speech and debate team at Carlmont.
During the shutdown, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was suspended, resulting in low-income individuals going without food. This caused other organizations and restaurants to step in.
After the shutdown, full funding for SNAP has been resumed. However, due to the One Big Beautiful Bill, SNAP benefits will decrease by approximately $185 billion over the next 10 years.
“Especially with SNAP benefits, I feel like nowadays people are just very insensitive to those in poverty,” Robinson said.
Approximately 42 million Americans rely on SNAP benefits, which is one in every eight people.
“Food and health benefits are a really big deal. I feel like nonprofits need to be provided for more because they have a really big effect,” said sophomore Kylie Tseng.
