How many federal government shutdowns have occurred since 1976, and which party controlled the House at each shutdown?
Executive summary
Official tallies of federal "shutdowns" since the modern budget process began in 1976 vary: reputable trackers and analysts report between 20 and 22 funding gaps or shutdown events depending on definitions and cut‑off dates [1] [2] [3] [4]. The variation stems from whether short, hours‑long lapses or funding gaps that did not produce furloughs are counted, and from updates after 2019 that added longer, high‑profile shutdowns in 2018–19 and 2025 [3] [5] [2].
1. How many shutdowns: contested tallies and why counts differ
Some sources count every funding gap lasting at least a full day and list roughly 20 shutdowns since 1976 (Statista citing events through 2019) while others cite 21 funding gaps or shutdowns through recent updates (PBS noted 21 as of 2019; the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget reported 21 funding gaps since 1976 in January 2026) and at least one compendium lists 22 events by late 2025 — the differences reflect divergent definitions (hours vs days, partial vs full shutdowns) and the inclusion or exclusion of post‑2019 events such as the December 2018–January 2019 lapse and the 2025 43‑day closure [1] [2] [3] [4] [5].
2. First and most consequential shutdowns in the record
The first funding gap often identified in modern accounts occurred in September–October 1976 under President Gerald Ford, which many histories treat as the opening case for modern shutdown practice [6] [7]. The most consequential recent shutdowns cited by multiple sources include the 21‑day 1995–96 shutdowns that closed much of government and the December 2018–January 2019 partial shutdown that furloughed hundreds of thousands of workers; the 43‑day October–November 2025 shutdown has been reported as the longest in U.S. history [2] [6] [5].
3. Why the “which party controlled the House at each shutdown” question is tricky
Mapping party control of the House for every shutdown is straightforward in principle (compare event dates to House majorities), but the supplied sources do not include a compiled, source‑cited list linking each funding gap to House control in one place; the House History Office maintains a table of funding gaps and shutdown procedures, and CRS and Congress.gov provide historical resources that let a researcher cross‑reference dates against party majorities, but those primary records are needed to produce a definitive, cited mapping [8] [9]. Because the documents provided here do not contain an explicit, ready‑made list of House party control for each shutdown, this analysis cannot responsibly assert a complete per‑shutdown party list without consulting those primary tables and rollups directly [8] [9].
4. How to get a definitive party‑by‑shutdown list (sources and method)
The clearest path to a definitive answer is to use the House of Representatives’ History, Art & Archives table of funding gaps and then cross‑reference each shutdown date against official House party majorities for that Congress (the Congressional Research Service and Congress.gov provide the required congressional composition and dates); those repositories are explicitly designed for this cross‑check but would need to be queried directly to compile and cite the full party‑by‑shutdown mapping [8] [9]. Analysts differ in counting methodology — for example, some exclude brief, hours‑long lapses and some count only gaps that produced furloughs — so any final list should state which counting rule it follows [3] [10] [11].
5. Bottom line and transparency about limits of reporting
Reliable public sources agree that shutdowns began after the 1976 budget process and that there have been roughly two dozen funding gaps or shutdown‑style events since then, with mainstream tallies ranging from 20 to 22 depending on definition and date of update [1] [2] [3] [4]. A precise, fully sourced table assigning House party control to every shutdown cannot be responsibly produced from the set of excerpts provided here because the needed date‑by‑event and House composition crosswalks are present in separate primary resources (House History/CRS/Congress.gov) rather than in a single compiled list in the supplied material [8] [9]. Researchers seeking a definitive mapping should start with the House History funding‑gap table and the CRS/Library of Congress records and explicitly note whether they count partial/short lapses or only funding gaps that caused furloughs [8] [9] [3].