US govt on verge of shutdown as Trump pushes unilateral budget cuts

The longest government shutdown in US history during President Trump's first term, lasting 35 days from December 2018 to January 2019

With less than two weeks remaining before federal funding expires on March 14, negotiations between Republicans and Democrats in Congress have stalled, once again raising the risk of a government shutdown in less than four months. US media reports suggest President Donald Trump’s efforts to assert control over government spending, bypass congressional authority, and implement widespread budget cuts have exacerbated the deadlock.

 

This is not the first time the US government faced the threat of closure under Donald Trump’s leadership. In December 2024, Congress rushed to approve a last-minute funding bill to prevent a shutdown. However, a bipartisan deal collapsed after then-President-elect Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk urged Republicans to reject it, prompting House Speaker Johnson to renegotiate at the last minute.

 

 

The longest government shutdown in US history also occurred under Trump’s first term, lasting 35 days from December 2018 to January 2019. That standoff stemmed from Trump’s demand for funding to build a wall along the US-Mexico border, a dispute that crippled government operations for over a month.

 

Stalemate over Trump’s budget authority

At the heart of the dispute is Trump’s decision to override spending laws passed by the Congress, suspend foreign aid, and initiate mass layoffs of federal workers. Democrats argue that these actions violate constitutional provisions granting lawmakers control over government spending. They are demanding guarantees that Trump, alongside his budget chief Russell Vought and adviser Elon Musk, will adhere to any new funding agreement instead of unilaterally slashing programmes or terminating contracts.

 

Trump, however, maintains that the executive branch has the authority to withhold funds allocated by the Congress. His administration has defended its actions as a necessary effort to reduce government waste, with Musk’s US DOGE Service, a newly empowered federal agency, leading the charge in terminating contracts and cutting jobs.

 

House Speaker Mike Johnson has sided with Trump, rejecting Democrats’ demands for spending assurances as a “gross separation-of-powers violation”. Over the weekend, Republican negotiators walked away from talks aimed at determining the overall federal budget for the remainder of the US 2025 fiscal year, which ends on September 30.

 

Mass federal layoffs

The Trump administration has already dismissed or offered buyouts to 100,000 federal workers, with officials directing agencies to brace for more layoffs. As of last year, the government employed approximately 2.3 million civilian workers, and further cuts could impact key services across various federal departments.

 

What happens if federal funding is not passed?

If a spending agreement is not reached by the March 14 deadline, the government will be forced to furlough hundreds of thousands of employees and shut down ‘nonessential’ operations.

 

Essential services such as law enforcement and national security would continue, but financial regulation, national park maintenance, and other government functions would come to a halt.

 

Trump to address budget on Tuesday

With time running out, all eyes are on Trump’s upcoming address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, where he is expected to outline his administration’s budget priorities. Democrats insist they will not approve any new spending bill unless it includes safeguards against further unilateral cuts by the White House. As negotiations remain in limbo, the possibility of a government shutdown looms large.