The government shutdown ended on after lasting 35 days, making it the longest gap in government funding ever.
The shutdown began at midnight of Dec. 22 and dragged the economy for weeks. With hundreds of thousands without pay, facilities dependent on government funding found themselves understaffed. This led to the TSA closing a George Bush Intercontinental Airport security checkpoint for Terminal B due to staffing issues a few weeks ago. The absent TSA workers are among the 30,000 federal employees in the Houston area required to work without pay according to the Houston Chronicle. Early Wednesday morning, the terminal reopened.
Many students have family members affected by the shutdown as well. While there may be a temporary reopening of the government and some degree of recovery, awareness, and action regarding the government is emphasized on students.
“Most of my government students are 18 or are going to be 18, and if anyone’s watching the news they’ll be running in the upcoming election and need to be involved.” Government teacher Peter Wood said. “Not much got done in those weeks, and it might happen again where they postpone Trump’s executive order.”