Truthout
Government Shutdown
![The Republican majority leader said that he will support the declaration that legal scholars have called dubious.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2019/02/2019_0214-ftg-400x300.jpg)
McConnell Confirms Trump Will Declare National Emergency to Build Wall
McConnell said he would support the emergency declaration, which legal scholars have called dubious.
![Furloughed contract workers, including security officers and custodians who have not been paid during the partial government shutdown, hold unpaid bills to present to the office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., January 16, 2019.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2019/02/2019_0214-fedr-400x300.jpg)
Trump Blocks Back Pay for Contractors Who Worked During Shutdown
Trump is refusing to sign a funding deal that includes back pay for federal contractors.
![Furloughed federal workers and those aligned with them protest the partial government shutdown in the Hart Senate Office Building January 23, 2019, in Washington, D.C.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2019/02/2019_0213-fed-400x300.jpg)
The Last Shutdown Shows How Precarious Federal Jobs Have Become
Private companies profited off the shutdown as federal workers living paycheck to paycheck struggled to get by.
![President Trump pauses while speaking during an executive order signing in the Oval Office of the White House on January 31, 2019, in Washington, D.C. Trump may still declare a national emergency — or plunder disaster funds to get his wall.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2019/02/2019_0212-tr-400x300.jpg)
Shutdown Deal Corners Trump — But He Could Still Wreak Havoc
Trump may still declare a national emergency — or plunder disaster funds to get his wall.
![Airport workers hold signs and march during a rally for employees affected by the government shutdown at Boston Logan International Airport on January 21, 2019, in Boston, Massachusetts.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2019/02/GettyImages-1085887264-400x300.jpg)
Anticipating Another Trump Shutdown, Airport Workers Plan Mass Protests
Air traffic controllers and other airport workers were widely credited for ending the longest shutdown in US history.
![On January 23, hundreds of members of the American Federation of Government Employees, other union members, federal employees and contractors, and allies held a silent protest against the federal shutdown at the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, DC. Among their demands was back pay for federal contractors, who currently are not eligible for it under law.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2019/02/2019_0203-contractors-400x300.jpg)
Government Shutdown Is Over for Now, But Pain for Contractors Is Lasting
An estimated 4 million federal contract workers are not currently legally entitled to back pay following the shutdown.
![Border Wall seen from Nogales, Arizona during an action organized by Organized by School of the Americas Watch (SOA Watch) in November 2017.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2019/02/37558660495_6b341abd3f_k-400x300.jpg)
A “Smart” Border Wall Is Just as Racist as a Physical Barrier
Democrats' “smart wall” would draw upon the same tech tools that have been long criticized by civil rights activists.
![](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2019/01/GettyImages-979032120-400x300.jpg)
Stopgap Measure to Reopen Government Will Strain SNAP Recipients
About 30 million people could face a gap of more than 40 days between monthly payments for food stamps.
![President Trump speaks during a meeting with Latino pastors at the Roosevelt Room of the White House, January 25, 2019, in Washington, DC.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2019/01/GettyImages-1124829482-400x300.jpg)
“Dealmaker” Shutdown Committee Is Probably Doomed
Bottom line: Expect a national emergency declaration and/or another shutdown.
![Donald Trump makes a statement announcing that a deal has been reached to reopen the government through Feb. 15 during an event in the Rose Garden of the White House January 25, 2019, in Washington, DC.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2019/01/GettyImages-1088569186-400x300.jpg)
Trump Folds on Shutdown After Yet Another Historically Bad Week
The walls aren't closing in on Donald Trump; they're sprinting at him like track stars.