The US is about to set a new record – what happens if the government stays shut down?

The current US government shutdown is set to become the longest ever this week as the impasse between Democrats and Republicans drags into a new month.

Millions of people in America could lose food aid benefits, and healthcare subsidies are set to expire, with no upcoming talks between the parties planned to resolve the matter.

President Donald Trump said he ‘won’t be extorted’ by Democrats who are demanding negotiations to extend the Affordable Care Act subsidies that expire at the end of the year for millions of Americans.

Echoing congressional Republicans, the US president said on CBS’s 60 Minutes that he will only negotiate when the government is reopened.

Trump’s comments signal that the shutdown could continue to drag on for some time as federal workers, including air traffic controllers, are set to miss additional paychecks.

42 million Americans who receive federal food aid fear they won’t be able to access the assistance.

Senate Democrats have now voted 13 times against reopening the government, insisting that they need Trump and Republicans to negotiate with them first.

Both parties are blaming each other, but polls show more Americans hold Republicans responsible.

The president said that Democrats ‘have lost their way’ and predicted that they will eventually give in to Republicans.

‘I think they have to,’ Trump said. ‘And if they don’t vote, it’s their problem.’

He also reiterated his pleas to Republican leaders to change Senate rules and scrap the filibuster.

Senate Republicans have repeatedly rejected that idea since Trump’s first term, arguing that the rule requiring 60 votes to overcome any objections in the Senate is vital to the institution and has allowed them to stop Democratic policies when they are in the minority.

‘Republicans have to get tougher,’ Trump said. ‘If we end the filibuster, we can do exactly what we want.’

With the two parties at a standstill, the shutdown, now in its 33rd day and approaching its sixth week, appears likely to become the longest in history.

The previous record was set in 2019, when Trump demanded that Congress give him money for a US-Mexico border wall.

The last three government shutdowns in America have occurred while Trump was in office.

A shutdown happens when Congress does not agree on a budget. This means that parts of the federal government must close until a spending plan is approved.

During a shutdown, ‘non-essential’ federal services are halted or reduced, and many government employees are placed on unpaid leave.

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