United States President Donald J. Trump has shut down the government over border control, protection and money disputes involving Congress. This shut down has become the longest in US history, surpassing the 21-day shutdown of 1995–1996 during President Bill Clinton’s presidency.

The shutdown began on Dec. 22 and is continuing to leave many federal employees to work without pay or to find new jobs altogether.

According to NBC News, “A terminal at Houston’s George Bush International Airport remained closed Monday for a second day amid a shortage of security workers who have gone unpaid during the partial government shutdown.”

Garbage has been collecting in National parks with no one to dispose of it, and public bathrooms have been locked up leaving civic groups and private businesses providing portable toilets.

Andrea Diaz, a journalist for CNN, was able to speak with park Superintendent David Smith at the Joshua Tree National Park in California over the problems that have appeared since the governments shut down.

“We had destruction of government property with the cutting of chains and locks for people to access campgrounds,” Smith said. “We’ve never seen this level of out-of-bounds camping. Every day-use area was occupied every evening. Joshua trees were actually cut down in order to make new roads.”

Those who are on government assistance may need to find help else were or find new solutions towards the end of Feb. The USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) is one of the many agencies affected by the shutdown. The USDA overlooks SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), WIC (Women, Infants and Children), and TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) along with a few other programs. The USDA does not have the funds to continue helping those on government assistance.

Some states beneficiaries are receiving their assistance for the month of Feb early. Americans who are on assistance are advised by the USDA to be wise with their choices: “Be aware that since there will be no FNS (Food and Nutrition Service) benefits issued in the month of February, recipients should plan accordingly.”

The shutdown has put almost 800,000 federal workers across the country in financial difficulty. Many are filing for unemployment and trying to find other work that can help pay their mortgages.
Twent-seven year-old Andrew Leyder, a data analyst on contract at the Department of Transportation in Washington, D.C., spoke with NBC’s Annie Nova about his current situation.

“I didn’t think it could have come down to this,” Leyder said, “Being in D.C. where the majority of us work for the government, it’s very hard to find another job when everyone is also trying to find a new job. I have co-workers who are maxing out their credit cards in order to survive these past few weeks.”

Hopefully, we will see the end of the government shutdown soon.