Whistleblowers: Casualties of Government Shutdowns
On October 1, 2025, the US government shut down for the 11th time since 1980 and has become the longest government shutdown in US history. Government shutdowns became an unfortunate reality, even though it is a uniquely American problem. Where other nations only shut down their governments during revolution, invasions, or disaster, the United States uses the day-to-day functioning of the government as a bargaining chip between warring political parties. Despite the ongoing media stories and funding negotiations, the impact of the shutdown on government accountability has gone largely unnoticed.
The history of government shutdowns begins in 1980 when the attorney general issued an interpretation of the 1884 Anti-Deficiency Act that banned the government from entering contracts without congressional approval. In other words: no budget, no spending. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan vetoed a funding bill and created the first US government shutdown. Since then, there’s been at least ten others that led to government agencies shutting their doors, with the most recent one occurring due to an inability to pass funding laws on time for executive agencies for fiscal year 2026. While the government is shut down until a 2026 funding bill is passed, non-essential government services like government benefits, IRS taxpayer services, and food inspectors are temporarily closed or have reduced operation. Meanwhile federal operations...
Los Angeles County’s district attorney has opened an investigation into claims of fraud within the largest sex abuse settlement in U.S. history. Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said Wednesday his offic...