U.S. records longest gov't shutdown in history as it enters Day 36

At 00:01 a.m. (05:01 GMT) on Wednesday, the U.S. federal government shutdown reached its 36th day, surpassing the previous 35-day record set during the 2018-2019 shutdown and becoming the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

At midday on Tuesday, the U.S. Senate made its 14th attempt to pass a short-term funding bill proposed by Republicans and already approved by the House, but the procedural vote fell short of the 60 votes needed for approval.

As has been the case during the more than month-long government shutdown, leaders of both the Republican and Democratic parties kept blaming each other on Tuesday, with no signs of negotiation or compromise.

"Republicans refuse to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, which is going to result in tens of millions of Americans experiencing dramatically increased premiums, co-pays, and deductibles," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrat in the lower chamber, warned at a press conference.

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, the leading Republican in the chamber, meanwhile, stated at a separate press conference that "the Schumer shutdown was never about health care or any other policy," referencing Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

"Right now, the Democrats fear political retribution from far-left activists in their party more than they fear the consequences of shutting down the government for weeks on end," said Johnson.

As the two parties remained engaged in a war of words, the effects of the record-breaking shutdown continued to spread, heavily impacting multiple areas of people's daily lives, including aviation safety and food assistance programs.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned on Tuesday that the ongoing government shutdown has increased risks to air travel, cautioning that widespread flight cancellations – and even potential airspace closures – could occur if air traffic controllers do not receive a second full paycheck next week.

Data from the U.S. flight-tracking website FlightAware shows that thousands of flights nationwide are experiencing delays each day.

A widely watched food assistance program has also been affected. After intervention by two federal judges, U.S. President Donald Trump's administration announced on Monday that it would use emergency funds to sustain half of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for this month. Some states may take weeks or even months to restore complete distributions. However, on Tuesday, Trump stated on social media that relief funds would only be distributed once the government reopened.

The program reaches 42 million Americans – about one-eighth of the country's population – most of whom live below the poverty line. Democrats have accused Trump of "weaponizing hunger."

Furthermore, over 1 million federal employees have gone without pay, with some having to line up for free food assistance, which could decrease consumer spending.

The delay in releasing important economic data has increased uncertainty. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell recently said it is still unclear whether the ongoing government shutdown – and the resulting lack of vital economic data – will influence the Fed's December policy decision. "What do you do if you're driving in a fog? You slow down," Powell said.

The U.S. Congressional Budget Office recently warned that, depending on how long the shutdown lasts, the annualized growth rate of U.S. real GDP in the fourth quarter could decrease by 1 to 2 percentage points. If the shutdown lasts six weeks, economic losses would amount to $11 billion; if it extends to eight weeks, losses would reach $14 billion.

Public sentiment has declined amid the government shutdown. A recent Gallup poll showed that public approval of Congress has dropped to 15 percent, with nearly 80 percent of U.S. adults disapproving of its performance.

According to a recent ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll, 68 percent of Americans said the Democratic Party is out of touch with most citizens' concerns. In comparison, 61 percent expressed the same view about the Republican Party.