3.2.2.2 – US Congress: Legislative
3.2.2.3 – US Congress: Oversight
The United States government has now been closed since 1 October 2025, following the failure of Congress to agree on a new funding package. Negotiations between congressional leaders have stalled over the inclusion of provisions to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits, which are due to expire at the end of the year. Democrats argue that allowing the credits to lapse would sharply increase health insurance premiums for millions of Americans. Broader disagreements over discretionary spending levels and the inclusion of policy riders have made compromise increasingly difficult.
Public opinion suggests that the political consequences of the shutdown are beginning to take shape. According to a YouGov poll conducted on 28 October 2025, 34 per cent of Americans blamed Republicans in Congress for the shutdown, while 30 per cent blamed Democrats and 27 per cent held both sides equally responsible.
The episode demonstrates the constitutional importance of Congress’s power of the purse and its capacity to hold the executive to account. However, it also highlights the limits of that oversight when political polarisation prevents compromise. In exercising its fiscal authority, Congress can expose competing priorities and ensure public scrutiny, but without cross-party agreement, this oversight function risks paralysing government rather than enhancing accountability.