In shutdowns past — including during Trump’s first term — presidents normally scaled back their schedules. With staffers deemed “non-essential” sent home, the White House often sought to appear sympathetic to Americans affected by disruptions to health care, veterans benefits and other key services.

The Department of Veterans Affairs says the government shutdown has forced nearly 37,000 employees to be furloughed or work without pay, disrupting key veteran programs.

The shutdown, now in its fifth week, halted funding for Medicare’s telehealth program, leaving many patients without vital services.

The Congressional Budget Office outlined the shutdown’s potential effects on real GDP if it ended Wednesday, in two weeks and at the end of November. If the government reopened immediately, $7

FBI investigations have been slowed or stalled by the second-longest U.S. government shutdown in history, leaving the bureau without funds to pay informants or make undercover drug or gun buys, gaps that an FBI spokesperson said are putting national security at risk.

The federal government shut down on Oct. 1, when Congress failed to pass a full spending bill. Legislation to temporarily fund the government so negotiations can continue has also been held up. The standoff is over an extension of healthcare subsidies through the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers remain at a stalemate on finding a government funding solution to end what is now the second-longest shutdown in U.S. history.The Senate failed for the 13th time on Tuesday to advance a bill that would reopen the government until Nov.

Millions of Texans are expected to be impacted by the halt in SNAP benefits next month, as a result of the government shutdown. Austin-area food banks stay open to help those facing food insecurity.