Politics Reporter
Kaia Hubbard is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital, based in Washington, D.C.
What to know on Day 36 of the government shutdown:
The government shutdown became the longest in U.S. history on Tuesday night, surpassing the previous record set in 2019.
Senate Republicans are heading to the White House this morning for breakfast with President Trump, who has in recent days repeatedly urged the Senate to do away with the filibuster, the 60-vote threshold needed to advance most legislation, which would allow Republicans to fund the government without Democratic votes.
The Senate is not currently scheduled to vote on a House-passed measure to reopen the government today, after it failed to advance for the 14th time on Tuesday.
Still, the contours of a deal to end the stalemate began emerging Tuesday, and senators expressed cautious optimism that a resolution remains possible this week. Some Republicans have said they expect Democrats to be more willing to vote to reopen the government following Tuesday’s elections, but the party’s election night victories may not inspire Democrats to end their fight soon.
Updated 13m ago
Government shutdown now the longest in U.S. history
The shutdown became the longest in U.S. history on Tuesday night, eclipsing the record previously held by the shutdown of late 2018 and early 2019.
That funding lapse ended on the evening of the 35th day, when President Trump signed a bill to extend government funding for three weeks. The White House announced the bill had been signed at 9:23 p.m. on Jan. 25, 2019.
The current shutdown began during daylight saving time and has lasted through the change to standard time, meaning it passed the comparable length of time one hour earlier, or 8:23 p.m. on Tuesday.
Shutdowns are a relatively recent phenomenon, having only begun in their current form in 1980, when the attorney general issued a series of legal opinions saying it was illegal for government agencies to continue spending without authorization from Congress. There have been 15 shutdowns since then, including the current impasse.
