2026 United States federal government shutdowns
Website of the United States Department of State during the first shutdown | |
| Date | First shutdown: January 31 – February 3, 2026 (4 days) Second shutdown: February 14, 2026 – present (31 days) |
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| Cause | End of certain appropriations from the Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026 |
| This article is part of a series on the |
| Budget and debt in the United States |
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Two shutdowns of the U.S. federal government have occurred in 2026, both arising from disputes in Congress about reforms to federal immigration enforcement after the killing of Alex Pretti by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents. The first shutdown lasted four days from January 31 to February 3, affecting about half of the departments of the federal government; it was caused by delays in approving a funding package that would allow time for reform negotiations. The second began on February 14 due to a lack of progress in the reform negotiations, and only affects the Department of Homeland Security.
On January 22, 2026, a package containing the final six of the twelve annual appropriations bills passed the House. After CBP agents killed Alex Pretti two days later, Senate Democrats said they would no longer support the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) bill, which includes funding for CBP, favoring a continuing resolution to allow time for negotiations to include reforms in the bill. After a week of negotiations, Democrats and Republicans reached an agreement on January 29 to pass a package containing five of the bills plus a two-week continuing resolution for DHS, which passed the Senate the following day. Although the Senate passed the bill before funding ran out, the House only approved it on February 3, and the first shutdown ended that day.
Negotiations on Homeland Security did not reach a resolution during the extended two weeks negotiating period, leading to the second shutdown on February 14, 2026. The first major effect of the second shutdown was the suspension of Global Entry on February 22.