How an enduring debate over healthcare sparked a now record-long shutdown

Sam Gringlas

November 05, 2025 / 2:00 am

The government shutdown is now the longest in U.S. history. The ongoing 36-day closure has sparked disputes over a range of topics — from the separation of powers and the federal workforce, to food assistance and air traffic control.

But at the heart of the impasse is a debate about health care, specifically expiring subsidies for health insurance premiums purchased on the Affordable Care Act marketplace.

Democrats have gone all-in on their fight to preserve the subsidies, withholding votes 14 times for a Republican-backed short-term spending measure even as shutdown pain ratchets up with flight cancellations, delayed SNAP benefits and missed paychecks for federal wor

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