The shutdown would likely be short, though not the shortest ever. In 2018 funding lapsed for several hours when Sen. Rand Paul briefly filibustered a two-year bipartisan spending bill.
Ten months later came the longest shutdown in history. While government shutdowns have become rarer, they now typically stretch on longer as parties dig in.
The guidelines that a funding gap should lead to a government shutdown emerged in the early 1980s, and short federal funding gaps were common in that decade.
Some shutdowns were resolved in a matter of days as negotiators worked out a deal to reopen the government. Other funding gaps lasted such a short time, such as overnight or on weekends, that government agencies did not fully shut down.
Kate Rabinowitz contributed to this report. Data from the Congressional Research Service and news reports.
