(Photo courtesy of Mariam Zuhaib) “The United States Capitol on Oct. 2, 2025”
Benjamin Heffner
Connector Editor
For the first time in over six years, the United States will face a government shutdown, after both a deadlocked House and Senate failed to reach a funding deal over Obamacare subsidies.
The shutdown, which went into effect at 12:01 a.m. on October 1st, will impact several federal organizations and payouts to its employees, including a delay in services for federal programs, partial or full suspensions of operations, missed paychecks, and lost jobs, as well as other statewide impacts.
In Massachusetts, several historical sites, including the JFK Library in Boston and other federal facilities, are expected to shut down. Maritime National Historical Park and National Park Service Visitor Center in Salem are going to shut down, where thousands are expected to visit the city over the next few weeks during the Halloween season. The Connector contacted Lowell Mayor Daniel P. Rourke and the Lowell City Council to see how their operations would be affected by the shutdown but did not hear back.
This is the 21st government shutdown in United States history, the first lasting from September 30th, 1976, to October 11th, 1976, during President Gerald Ford’s administration. The longest shutdown took place during Donald Trump’s first presidency for 35 days between December 22nd, 2018, and January 25th, 2019, in which Congress failed to agree upon an appropriations bill to fund the government for the 2019 fiscal year.
The current shutdown is expected to furlough over 900,000 federal workers, while an additional 700,000 are at risk of no pay. Facing the biggest impact is the General Services Administration (GSA), established in 1949 to help manage and support federal agencies, which is expected to furlough all but six of its 240 employees (98%).
In the days leading up to and during the shutdown, both political parties have thrown blame over who’s at fault.
In a statement, the White House said, “Republicans will not be held hostage by this unserious, shameful political gamesmanship by Democrats.”
A prerecorded message from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt when calling the White House comment line states, “Democrats in Congress have shut down the federal government because they care more about funding healthcare for illegal immigrants than they care about serving you, the American people.”
Vice President J.D. Vance said, “Democrats are shutting down the government and holding the economy hostage because they want to reinstate benefits for undocumented immigrants.”
Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) said, “Instead of building a government that works for the people, Trump and Republicans are choosing to budget for a system that benefits only the privileged few.”
Congresswoman Lori Trahan (D-MA), who represents Massachusetts’ 3rd Congressional District, including the city of Lowell, said “Sadly, Republicans are continuing to push a partisan spending bill that takes health care away from working families.”
UMass Lowell students gave their thoughts on the shutdown. Matt Kelly, a political science major, said that while a shutdown isn’t good, he feels it’s necessary. “We can’t strip people of their healthcare further and expect people to continue to work at the moment while only maybe paying them upon reopening.”
