The U.S. federal government is currently in a shutdown because congress can't agree on how much money to spend moving forward. This is far from the first government shutdown, but they are relatively rare. Unless you happened to be in school during a government shutdown, you probably didn't get taught in class what would happen if Congress didn't pass a budget. MORE: https://www.wthr.com/article/news/politics/national-politics/a-beginners-guide-to-government-shutdowns-medicare-medicaid-budget-congress-social-security-funding-trump-schumer-johnson-federal-military-loans/531-38a1c31d-45ba-47d4-aeda-574da6288dd6