Impacts linger following longest government shutdown in history

JACKSON, Tenn. — The longest government shutdown in history has come to an end. The funding bill was signed Wednesday night by President Trump to end the shutdown. We spoke with local residents about how the shutdown affected them and how they are feeling about it reopening.

The shutdown began on October 1 when lawmakers failed to pass a new funding bill. It would go on to mark the longest shutdown in history, as it lasted a total of 43 days.

The shutdown impacted many individuals including federal workers, travelers who had flights delayed and canceled, and those who relied on SNAP benefits.

Thursday, we spoke with Jackson residents for their reactions.

Robert Hollis recently just moved back to Jackson, and he describes how the shutdown affected him.

“The government shutdown affected me like everybody else, especially food, I needed my food stamps,” Hollis said. “Health-wise, the pharmaceutical gives you medicine and everything has changed health-wise, so it affected me in a lot of ways.”

Another resident, Autumn Landers, also says the shutdown affected her.

“It was hard, but when we came to Jackson, we didn’t have anything to eat or no money,” Landers said.

She also said she was excited about the government reopening.

We tried to speak with some federal workers, but they said they were unable to speak to us about the shutdown.

Senator Marsha Blackburn released a statement regarding the end of the shutdown saying: “Tennesseans will receive essential services, our brave service members will be paid, and families will get the paychecks they rely on.”

The funding bill extends pay for most agencies until January 30 and includes three bills that pay other parts of the government through September of 2026.

Some federal employees will start receiving back pay in the coming days, while others may have to wait until late next week.

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