Economic, Political Stakes Loom as US Shutdown Threat Rises

The White House’s threat to leverage an Oct. 1 government shutdown to conduct mass firings of federal employees — and Democrats’ refusal to cave to President Donald Trump’s demands — raise the political and economic stakes of a perennial event that markets have grown to ignore.

The last government shutdown — the longest in US history — occurred during Trump’s first term, spanning more than a month in late 2018 and early 2019. Since then, last-minute compromises have averted disruptive government closures.