US Government Shutdown Exceeds 28 Days Affecting 42M SNAP Recipients

The United States government has been in a shutdown for nearly a month, severely impacting government workers and public services, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which is now at risk of running out of funds affecting millions of Americans. This shutdown, the longest in U.S. history, has left essential workers like military personnel and TSA agents working without pay, and has led to a halt in benefits critical to low-income families. Some view the shutdown as a necessary confrontation with the country's unsustainable fiscal policies, highlighting the growing national debt that consumes a significant portion of federal spending just to service interest payments. Treasury officials have indicated the shutdown is severely impacting government operations, with no legal means currently available to use contingency funds allocated for SNAP, prompting legal challenges from several states. Political negotiations remain stalled, with lawmakers like Senator Shelley Moore Capito advocating for reopening the government and supporting bills to free up SNAP funding, though party leaders remain entrenched, prolonging the impasse. The broader economic implications are also felt in financial markets, as the Federal Reserve navigates policy decisions amid the backdrop of the shutdown and its economic uncertainties.