Record 43-day government shutdown tops 2025’s political controversies
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As temperatures drop in the nation’s capital and politicians retreat for the holidays, let’s take a look at some of the political controversies that have chilled Washington, D.C. this year.
1. Shutdown reckoning: 43 days that froze Washington
The government was shut down for 43 days in 2025, breaking the record for the longest shutdown in US history.
While Republicans blamed Democrats, Democrats blamed Republicans and brought Capitol Hill to a standstill over a baffling process that jeopardized Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, federal paychecks, and even air traffic safety.
TRUMP SAID THE ECONOMY WILL ‘ROCKET’ AFTER SIGNING THE ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL ACT’: ‘IT WILL BE REALLY GREAT’
Congress failed to find common ground on the short-term spending bill, as Senate Democrats refused to support any plan that did not include extending enhanced Obamacare subsidies that expire at the end of the year.
President Donald Trump speaks with law enforcement members and National Guard soldiers in Washington, D.C., on August 21, 2025 (Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo)
Ultimately, eight Senate Democrats broke with leadership to reach a bipartisan agreement to reopen the government, and six House Democrats followed suit, ending the shutdown without providing the subsidies their party demanded.
TRUMP SAID THE ECONOMY WILL ‘ROCKET’ AFTER SIGNING THE ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL ACT’: ‘IT WILL BE REALLY GREAT’
2. DOGE days: Trump and Musk take on bureaucracy
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Inauguration Day creating the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with the authority to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse across the federal government.
Trump appointed Tesla CEO Elon Musk as a “special government employee” to lead spending reductions.
According to DOGE, the agency has saved approximately $214 billion through asset sales, contract cancellations, improper payment collections, grant terminations, regulatory rollbacks and workforce reductions.
President Donald Trump said he likes Elon Musk “so much” after the two clashed over the One Big Good Bill earlier this year. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
As Musk cut spending, the agency overhauled federal operations by laying off tens of thousands of workers, cutting foreign aid programs including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and shaking up global health efforts such as the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
3. No Kings Days: Protest movements break out across the country
The DOGE cuts and Trump’s sweeping second-term agenda have triggered a wave of protest movements across the country.
In February, the 50501 Movement, a coalition of activists who reject Trump’s “managerial overreach,” organized “Not a President’s Day” or “No Kings Day” demonstrations across the country. From Austin to Orlando, Boston to Phoenix, crowds marched with handmade signs, chanted slogans and sang in protest. On President’s Day, more than a thousand people gathered at the Capitol Reflecting Pool in Washington, DC.
Protesters gather in Washington, D.C. for a No Kings Day protest on October 18, 2025. (Fox News Digital/Emma Woodhead)
While Musk has led efforts to cut government spending, some protesters have targeted Tesla cars, dealerships and showrooms, with Attorney General Pam Bondi calling the attacks “domestic terrorism.”
By October 18, millions of Americans participated in a new “No Kings Day”; because the protest movement showed no signs of abating during Trump’s second term.
4. ICE released: Reaction to deportations
During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump promised to carry out the largest mass deportation operation in American history.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement made good on that promise this year, launching an aggressive nationwide effort to deport illegal immigrants.
While Republicans celebrated what they long saw as a restoration of security at the southern border, many Americans rejected the crackdown, protesting wrongful deportations, due process concerns and ICE’s increase in enforcement.
A protester wearing an inflatable cybara costume stands outside U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) headquarters in Portland, Oregon, on October 6, 2025. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)
Democratic lawmakers and local officials attended demonstrations at ICE processing centers and immigration courts, urging voters to know their legal rights.
In June, Trump deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles after anti-ICE protests turned into riots. This was the first time in more than 60 years that a president overruled a governor and federalized a state’s National Guard for a local law enforcement role.
5. Soldiers on the streets: Trump’s fight against crime
After Trump federalized the National Guard in Los Angeles in June, the administration deployed troops to the nation’s capital in August as part of its fight against crime nationwide.
The White House later moved to deploy the Guard to other Democratic-led cities, including Chicago and Memphis, and attempted a similar deployment in Portland before the courts intervened.
National Guard troops are seen following the shooting of two National Guardsmen near the White House in Washington, DC, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)
Democrats and progressive activists have denounced the strategy as dangerous federal overreach, arguing that importing troops into local jurisdictions would escalate rather than defuse tensions.
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On Nov. 26, two National Guardsmen — U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24 and Spc. 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom was shot just blocks from the White House. Beckstrom later died from his injuries. Federal authorities are investigating the attack as a potential act of terrorism.
“God bless our Great National Guard and our entire Military and Law Enforcement. These are truly Great Men. I, the President of the United States, and all those connected with the Office of the President, stand with you!” Trump said in response.
