WASHINGTON —

The government shutdown has officially lasted 22 full days as of Thursday, making it the second longest shutdown in history.

It passed the 21-day shutdown that lasted from Dec. 16, 1995 to Jan. 6, 1996 in President Bill Clinton’s administration.

The shutdown ending in 1996 came to an end on the 22nd day, bringing the lapse in funding to an end. An estimated 284,000 federal employees were furloughed, according to the Congressional Research Service .

It was the second shutdown that year, with the first being a five-day shutdown from Nov. 13 to 19 resulting in more than 800,000 employees furloughed.

The current shutdown as of Thursday was the second longest. If the shutdown were to last until midnight on Nov. 5, it would make it the longest shutdown ever, surpassing the

See Full Page