WASHINGTON – The US government has reached a major milestone of dysfunction as Congress has allowed a federal shutdown to drag into its 36th day – the longest in history – amid a stalemate over health-care and spending priorities.

As the standoff continues, the economic pain is deepening.

Budget manoeuvres to pay active-duty troops and partially fund food aid will likely run out before the end of November. Air traffic controllers working without pay are calling out at higher rates as one of the busiest travel periods of the year approaches.

And policymakers could be working with flawed or missing data for months to come after the Labour Department stopped collecting crucial data on employment and prices.

Economists say the shutdown is beginning to leave a permanent scar.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates the shutdown will cut fourth-quarter growth by as much as 2 percentage points if it continues for eight weeks, followed by a short-term rebound early in 2026. Even then, the economy would lose billions in output.

About 600,000 federal employees are working without pay, 650,000 more are furloughed, and unemployment could rise by 0.4 of a percentage point if all furloughed employees are counted as temporary layoffs.

The shutdown hits the longest-ever milestone hours after Democrats landed a series of electoral wins in the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial races and in the New York City mayoral contest. President Donald Trump blamed the GOP losses – in part – on the ongoing impasse in Washington.

The shutdown has gone on so long that it is now about two weeks from outlasting the House-passed Bill that would have kept the government funded through Nov 21. That means even if lawmakers were to quickly negotiate an end to the shutdown – an outcome that still appears unlikely – Congress would imminently face a new funding lapse threat.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the Nov 21 date is “going to have to change” in any new B...