SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — As the latest government shutdown enters day 2, we're taking a look at the previous government shutdown seven years ago.
The last government shutdown occurred in 2018 and continued into early 2019 during Donald Trump's first term as president, lasting 35 days and becoming the longest government shutdown to date.
The shutdown began in December 2018 and extended into January 2019, marking the second government shutdown of Trump's first administration. The primary issue causing the impasse was funding to build a border wall.
The five-week shutdown had significant impacts across San Diego County. Cabrillo National Monument was closed to all visitors, preventing public access to the popular tourist destination.
At local airports, TSA agents were deemed essential workers but had to work without pay. This led to employee absences and longer security lines for travelers.
As the shutdown continued and people went longer without their paychecks, the need for assistance grew daily. Community members across the county stepped in to collect and donate food to military members who were not getting paid.
In the South Bay, the Marlow B. Martinez Foundation collected more than 100 bags of groceries in just three days. In North County, an Escondido woman used social media to collect additional food donations, providing a week's worth of food to families with only a government-issued ID required as proof.
"We had savings and working more hours and we are trying to spend less money and just living day by day," said one woman who's husband wasn't getting paid during the shutdown.
Families were in desperate need of assistance during the prolonged shutdown.
"They are running out of food and that they don't have their monthly rent, they're afraid they might be moving because they won't be able to pay the rent," said Patti Thompson, who collected food out of her home in Escondido.
Restaurants also stepped in to offer free meals or discounted meals for furloughed government workers throughout the region.
After 35 days, the president eventually agreed to a temporary spending bill to reopen the government without the border wall funding. Employees who went without pay for that month did receive back pay once the government reopened.
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