2013 History repeated for the United States in 2013. It again occurred with a Democratic President, Barack Obama. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives boycotted the budget to protest the Affordable Care Act. The failure of the House to pass a continuing budget resolution forced a closure of most non-essential United States government offices for several weeks in October 2013. Uses in popular culture In the episode "Shutdown" of The West Wing, a budget crisis situation like the 1995-1996 federal government shutdown was depicted when Josiah Bartlet and Republican Speaker of the House Haffley disagree over budget cuts and shuts down the government for a number of days. See also Political economy Cabinet crisis Constitutional economics Constitutional crisis Gridlock (politics) Government shutdowns in the United States Financial crises Crisis Political crisis