Why is there a government shutdown?
I'm not talking about why Congress hasn't agreed on a budget or whether Democrats or Republicans are to blame. I'm asking why there are government shutdowns at all.
It's not as simple as "there's no budget." The answer is more complex.
Article I, Section 9 of the US Constitution says "No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law." However, this didn't result in shutdowns when Congress hadn't approved a budget. For two centuries, the government continued to operate even if Congress hadn't approved any spending.
The Antideficiency Act of 1870 (ADA) codified the Constitution by specifying "it shall not be lawful for any department of the government to expend in any one fiscal year any sum in excess of appropriations made by Congress for that fiscal year, or to involve the government in any contract for the future payment of money in excess of such appropriations."
However, even this didn't result in government shutdowns for over a century after the ADA was passed. That concept originated with Benjamin Civiletti, the Attorney General under President Carter, who stated in a 1980 memo that the government cannot operate if Congress has not approved a spending bill. Government shutdowns only went into effect after that. The first official government shutdown due to a lapse in appropriations was in 1980, for one day. Subsequent shutdowns were for less than a week, until 1995-1996 when the government shut down for 21 days. The longest shutdown to date was in 2018-2019 for 35 days. The current shutdown is the second-longest at 33 days and counting. There are also several instances where there was a lapse of funding for several hours, from midnight until the next morning, that did not result in actual shutdowns as they were resolved before federal employees arrived at work.
Trump could theoretically order his own AG Pam Bondi to reinterpret Civiletti's memo and state that the relevant clause in the Constitution and the ADA do not, in fact, require the government to shut down during a lapse in appropriations, and spending could continue as normal. However, this would raise the question of why Trump didn't do that a month ago.
It's not as simple as "there's no budget." The answer is more complex.
Article I, Section 9 of the US Constitution says "No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law." However, this didn't result in shutdowns when Congress hadn't approved a budget. For two centuries, the government continued to operate even if Congress hadn't approved any spending.
The Antideficiency Act of 1870 (ADA) codified the Constitution by specifying "it shall not be lawful for any department of the government to expend in any one fiscal year any sum in excess of appropriations made by Congress for that fiscal year, or to involve the government in any contract for the future payment of money in excess of such appropriations."
However, even this didn't result in government shutdowns for over a century after the ADA was passed. That concept originated with Benjamin Civiletti, the Attorney General under President Carter, who stated in a 1980 memo that the government cannot operate if Congress has not approved a spending bill. Government shutdowns only went into effect after that. The first official government shutdown due to a lapse in appropriations was in 1980, for one day. Subsequent shutdowns were for less than a week, until 1995-1996 when the government shut down for 21 days. The longest shutdown to date was in 2018-2019 for 35 days. The current shutdown is the second-longest at 33 days and counting. There are also several instances where there was a lapse of funding for several hours, from midnight until the next morning, that did not result in actual shutdowns as they were resolved before federal employees arrived at work.
Trump could theoretically order his own AG Pam Bondi to reinterpret Civiletti's memo and state that the relevant clause in the Constitution and the ADA do not, in fact, require the government to shut down during a lapse in appropriations, and spending could continue as normal. However, this would raise the question of why Trump didn't do that a month ago.
