President Trump on Thursday surpassed a government shutdown record previously set by former President Carter: Across his two terms, Trump has now overseen the most cumulative days under a funding gap.
Why it matters: The Trump administration has taken advantage of the government shutdown to advance its mission with the federal bureaucracy, including cutting agencies and firing employees.
By the numbers: As of Thursday, Trump has led the country through 57 days of a government shutdown across his two terms. Of those, 36 were during his first administration.
- Carter oversaw the government through 56 days during five shutdowns.
- Former President Clinton had the third most with 26 days across two shutdowns.
The fine print: The federal government counts shutdown days as starting after the final day on which budget authority was available and ending the day before new budget authority was enacted.
Driving the news: The current government shutdown began on Oct. 1 after Congress failed to reach a deal on Sept. 30.
- Congressional Democrats took a hardline stance on extending expiring tax credits for the Affordable Care Act and a reversal of Trump's Medicaid cuts.
Flashback: In 2019, Trump threatened to keep the government unfunded for "years" to secure money for a border wall.
- He ended up supporting a short-term spending bill to reopen the government without getting any border wall funding.
Go deeper: Exclusive: Why the White House is convinced it's winning the shutdown
