WASHINGTON — Thousands of US federal employees stopped working on Wednesday when the government shut down due to a budget impasse in Congress.

Following are the longest shutdowns since 1980, when US administrations started furloughing some federal workers when budgets expire.

2018-2019 — 35 days

The longest shutdown on record started December 22, 2018, during President Donald Trump’s first term in the White House. Democrats in Congress refused to back a spending bill that included Trump’s US$5.7 billion (RM23.9 billion) request for fencing on the US-Mexico border. Lawmakers eventually approved a spending bill without border wall money that Trump signed into law on January 25, 2019, ending the shutdown.

1995-1996 — 22 days

The government partially shut down on December 16, 1995, as part of a clash between the Republican-controlled Congress and then-President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, over how to balance the budget. Clinton signed a bill to re-open the government on January 6, 1996. Some polls showed the public largely blamed Republicans in Congress for the shutdown and some analysts said the spat helped Clinton win re-election in 1996