What photos show about the U.S. government shutdown
The U.S. government shutdown began Wednesday after President Trump and Congress failed to reach a funding deal.
Stairs lead to the Capitol Visitors Center with just days to go before federal money runs out with the end of the fiscal year, in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
President Donald Trump walks from Marine One after arriving on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., center, flanked by Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., left, and Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., arrives to speak on the steps of the Capitol to insist that Republicans include an extension of expiring health care benefits as part of a government funding compromise, in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The sun sets behind the Capitol and Washington Monument, as a vote fails in the Senate which is expected to lead to a government shutdown, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, as seen from inside the Capitol, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Visitors tour the Capitol Rotunda as the government lurches toward a shutdown at midnight if the Senate does not pass a House measure that would extend federal funding for seven weeks, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks to reporters Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, as the U.S. government is on the brink of the first federal government shutdown in almost seven years.. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., listens as he speaks to reporters Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Kaitlin and Kurt Wilhelm, of Sandusky, Ohio, foreground, and others gather on the rocky coast to watch the sunrise, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Acadia National Park, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
A visitor walks at the Lincoln Memorial at sunrise on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
American flags fly in front of the U.S. Capitol at sunrise, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
The U.S. Capitol is seen at sunrise as cars drive on Pennsylvania Ave. during rush hour traffic, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Tourist view Independence Hall from outside a barricade in Philadelphia, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., gives a tour of the Capitol to a group of students from New York after their previously-scheduled tour was canceled due to the government shutdown on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the Senate GOP whip, left, and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., right, arrive for a news conference with top Republicans on the government shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
A sign alerting visitors that the Royal Palm Visitor Center is closed hangs in a display case reflecting the landscape, inside Florida's Everglades National Park, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
A sign announces that the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center is closed, on the first day of a partial government shutdown, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
People take photos with a sign announcing that the Library of Congress is closed, on the first day of a partial government shutdown, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
People look through fence to get a glance at the Statue of Liberty in New York, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
A tourist stops to read the sign announcing that the Washington Monument is closed on the first day of a partial government shutdown, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, inWashington.(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Christy Lock and Curt Rohrman, from Houston get a phone call informing them their tickets for a tram ride to the top of Gateway Arch are cancelled due to the federal government shutdown and that they will be receiving a refund on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025 in St. Louis. (David Carson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)
National Park Service law enforcement ranger Greg Freeman opens a locked gate closing vehicle access to the Shark Valley section of Florida's Everglades National Park, as he drives into the park, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
People look at the Golden Gate Bridge outside the Fort Point National Historic Site, which is closed due to a government shutdown, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, of N.Y., walks to a press conference on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Layne Morrison, left, of Washington, and Courtney Creek, of Silver Spring, Md., who were let go from their jobs with the Education Department and a USAID funded grant respectively, hold signs about the looming government shutdown, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington, during a rally with former federal employees. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
As featured on
President Trump and other high-ranking Republicans falsely claim Democrats forced the government shutdown fight because they want to give free health care to immigrants in the U.S. illegally.
If you’ve been in Washington long enough, you’ve most likely argued both sides of a government shutdown. Each side insists the American people are on their side.
During the shutdown, essential EPA staff will continue to work, but many functions will cease. That could lead to increased pollution risks and halted cleanup efforts.
