The current government shutdown is the first one since 2019; the third one under the Trump administration. Photo courtesy of Politico. 

ELLIOT MUEHLHAUSEN | STAFF REPORTER | emuehlhausen@butler.edu

President Donald Trump and Congress failed to reach an agreement on the nation’s budget on Wednesday, Oct. 1, resulting in a government shutdown. Many government employees will go without pay until the budget is resolved. 

The budgeting issues stem from a failure to allocate spending on Medicaid and other healthcare-related expenses. 

The White House informed the public to be prepared for mass firings and budget cuts to “Democratic agencies” due to lack of funds coming into the federal government following the shutdown. 

 A government shutdown happens when Congress fails to enact the 12 annual appropriations bills, resulting in some federal agencies stopping work and funding for government programs. The Senate needs 60 votes to pass a spending bill that would resume the government, but there are currently 53 Republicans, meaning some Democrats would need to flip to reach the 60-vote mark. 

Senior political science major Brady Stinson, founder of Butler University College Democrats, expressed that every Butler student should care about the government shutdown. 

“People might not think it affects them, but it truly, in nearly every facet of their everyday lives, they will be impacted in some way,” Stinson said.

Stinson expressed two primary examples of how people will be affected: travel and student loans. The Department of Education has remained open for a week after the government shutdown and will continue to send out grants and loans, but it is unclear how long they will be able to operate without pay. TSA and air traffic control will continue to operate without pay, so smooth airport experiences are not to be expected.    

Senior political science major Justin Deem-Loureiro also thinks that Butler students should be aware of and care about the government shutdown. 

“I think we should care because it affects how our government is run, and it’s affecting our tax dollars as well,” Deem-Loureiro said. 

Medical research loans and funding, although not as heavily used at Butler compared to a public institution, will be impacted by frozen applications and the lapse of federal support. Students who are currently participating in research might struggle to receive further funding or communicate with NIH staff.   

JJ Thomas, a senior finance and business technology and analytics double major, was unaware of how a government shutdown could affect students.  

“I’ve heard about the government shutdown but know little to nothing about it, or even how a government shutdown works,” Thomas said. 

A poll completed by The Washington Post on Oct. 2 found that about 40% of Americans blame the president for the government shutdown, and 25% of Americans are unsure who to blame. The poll also found that 66% of Americans were concerned with the government shutdown, and on average, Democrats were more concerned than Republicans. 

 Stinson believes that congressional Republicans are to blame. 

“Republicans previously have always voted against [Biden’s previous] spending levels, and they went through this appropriations process without any input of House Democrats or Senate Democrats,” Stinson said. “Obviously, [the Republicans] control a trifecta in the government, so they can plow through their legislative agenda without Democratic approval, whether the president likes them or not.”

Last March, a similar issue occurred between Democrats and Republicans over debate related to health care. In order to avoid a government shutdown, the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, was signed by President Trump on March 15. Since then, the President and Republicans have made revisions and cuts to the act. Congressional Democrats expect there to be even more cuts to the budget, as a result, using the government shutdown as a way to protest the president and his administration. 

Stinson, alongside many Democrats, feels that congressional Republicans are not taking the shutdown seriously and are too focused on their agenda. An AI video was posted by President Trump, mocking two congressional Democrats. Stinson explained that these videos are “not going to exactly get them to the bargaining table.” 

Butler University College Republicans was not available for comments before printing deadlines. 

One of the primary reasons the Republicans are against the Democrats’ proposed spending is that they believe allocated health care money will be spent on illegal immigrants. While illegal immigrants are not eligible for health care, Medicaid requires hospitals to help people who need emergency care. 

The fallout from the budgeting plan does not just affect workers and individuals in the medical field, but rather the entire government. According to the Government Executive, more than 600,000 government employees have been sent home without pay. 

One of the primary determinants in deciding which government employees are furloughed is based on who is considered “essential.” For example, traffic control and security guards will remain working without pay, compared to National Park workers, where more than half will be sent home. 

Many of the workers who are considered essential are directly correlated to the Trump administration’s agenda. The Bureau of Land Management has found that oil and fossil fuel drilling staff are essential, an area of politics that Trump has historically backed. 

In past years, government shutdowns do not tend to last longer than a week. The most recent government shutdown that happened under President Trump lasted for 30 days. It is unclear how long this shutdown will last, but Americans will just have to wait until a budget is agreed upon.