U.S. government shutdown: A symptom of governance paralysis

Editor's note: Xu Ying, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is a Beijing-based international affairs commentator. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN. 

The U.S. government shuts down as Congress has not agreed on a short-term funding bill. What has become almost routine in American politics is, in fact, a stark reflection of the chronic dysfunction embedded within the U.S. governance system. Far from being a one-off budgetary mishap, repeated shutdown crises underscore the erosion of institutional capacity in the world's largest economy.

The immediate cause of this looming crisis is familiar: Congress has failed to pass a temporary spending bill to keep the federal government open beyond the close of the fiscal year on September 30. Without such a measure, federal agencies will run out of funding, forcing "non-essential" workers into furloughs and halting a wide range of public services. Yet this ritual of brinkmanship is hardly new. Since the 1970s, the U.S. government has shut down more than 20 times, making it a recurring feature of political life rather than an extraordinary disruption.

At its core, the budgetary deadlock is not about fiscal prudence, but about partisan calculation. U.S. politics has become defined less by problem-solving than by obstruction. Budget bills have long been weaponized as tools of political leverage, turning legislative sessions into spectacles of ideological confrontation.

The 2013 shutdown over health care reform and the shutdown beginning in 2018 over border wall funding are vivid reminders that policy disputes, when filtered through hyper-partisan politics, often escalate into crises that paralyze governance.

Today, the situation has grown even more precarious. Unlike past shutdowns, which have largely meant temporary furloughs for federal workers, the White House has directed agencies to prepare for potential layoffs – a move that breaks with decades of bipartisan practice. Such preparations suggest that this shutdown could have lasting structural consequences rather than being a temporary setback. The signal is clear: Political gamesmanship is now eroding not just the functionality but also the very capacity of the federal government.

The costs of shutdowns are well-documented and deeply felt. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the record 35-day shutdown in 2018-2019 shaved $3 billion off U.S. GDP permanently. Every week of federal closure is projected to reduce growth by approximately 0.2 percentage points, taking into account secondary impacts.

Beyond abstract figures, the social costs are immediate and tangible. Hundreds of thousands of workers without paychecks, families cut off from nutrition and housing assistance, small businesses losing access to federal loans and communities near closed national parks suffering economic losses.

What is striking, however, is how normalized such disruption has become. For much of the world, the idea that the government of a superpower can repeatedly grind to a halt over budgetary disputes seems bewildering. Yet in the U.S., this dysfunction has been absorbed into the political cycle, with each side more concerned about shifting blame than about avoiding damage. "Shutdown politics" has turned into a recurring theater of partisan confrontation.

The deeper problem lies in a governance system increasingly crippled by polarization. The U.S. Constitution was designed with checks and balances to prevent the concentration of power. However, in today's hyper-partisan environment, those mechanisms function less as safeguards than as chokepoints, where compromise is virtually impossible. What was once a framework for stability now acts as a breeding ground for paralysis.

The wider consequences are profound. Persistent dysfunction undermines global confidence in America's capacity to govern itself effectively, let alone provide leadership internationally. Allies watch with unease as Washington stumbles over its most basic function – funding its government.

At the same time, the domestic consequences erode public trust. When ordinary citizens see federal employees furloughed, social programs interrupted and economic costs mounting, faith in institutions inevitably weakens.

This cycle of dysfunction reflects another political malaise: Governance is increasingly subordinated to short-term partisan advantage. Shutdowns are not a fiscal necessity, but rather a form of political theater. Yet the costs are real, borne by citizens and the economy alike. And with each recurrence, the damage compounds, hollowing out administrative capacity, eroding trust and deepening the sense of drift.

The U.S. government shutdown saga is thus more than a budgetary standoff; it is a symptom of a governance system in decline. Political polarization has corroded the ability to reach compromise, turning even routine legislative processes into high-stakes crises. By threatening permanent layoffs, this time Washington risks crossing a new threshold – from temporary disruption to long-term institutional damage.

In the final analysis, the cycle of shutdowns reveals a troubling truth. The U.S. political system, once lauded as a model, now struggles to perform even its most basic tasks. What was intended to be a system of balanced governance has become one of recurring stalemate. For the American people and for the world, the spectacle of shutdown politics is no longer just a partisan squabble; it is a sobering reminder of a superpower caught in the grip of governance paralysis.

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