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OCTOBER 23, 2025 |
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Harvard Kennedy School | | | |
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The U.S. Capitol is seen on the second day of the federal government shutdown on October 2, 2025. (Photo by Mehmet Eser/Middle East Images/AFP) | | |
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Democracy & Governance |
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The economic and human costs of a government shutdown |
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Why do government shutdowns happen, what do they cost us, and how can we avoid them? Professor Linda Bilmes explains why the United States is so prone to shutdowns and what it would take to break the shutdown cycle. “A series of reforms could help make the budget process work better. These include reorganizing and realigning the committee structure in Congress,” she says. And the costs are not just economic. “For federal workers, this shutdown is really personal. At the most basic level, missed paychecks force them to scramble, delaying their mortgage payments and their credit card payments and borrowing money and so on. Beyond the paycheck, it’s really a gut punch to morale.”
See also: Professor Mark Shepard discusses the health insurance subsidies behind the shutdown.
Learn more about Democracy & Governance at HKS » | | |
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What we're Doing |
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New research by Professor Erica Chenowth and the Crowd Counting Consortium has found that the 2025 No Kings protests in the United States have been more geographically diverse than any other in the country’s history. | | | | | |
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International Relations & Security |
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What the Pentagon’s new media policy might mean |
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Journalists from more than 30 news organizations left their Pentagon offices last week, refusing to sign on to a new restrictive media policy that would limit access and information. We asked former Defense official and current Belfer Center fellow Mick Mulroy to explain the significance of this policy change and its implications. “The U.S. citizen must have confidence in the military,” Mulroy says. “It has traditionally been one of the most respected, if not the most respected, parts of the government. That comes with a certain amount of transparency in a free society. Without that transparency, that trust and respect could diminish.”
Learn more about International Relations & Security at HKS » | | |
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Science, technology, & data |
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What happens when politics and science collide |
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The tension between politics and science is omnipresent when it comes to setting health policy in America, Dawn O’Connell, former Health and Human Services assistant secretary, and Rochelle Walensky, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, explain in an HKS conversation. They discuss why it is important to continue to fund innovative biomedical technologies, like mRNA vaccines, and the price the United States may pay by stepping away from evidence-backed medical interventions. “[H]ow quickly you have a vaccine versus how quickly it spreads wildly through your population matters the most,” says Walensky. “When it has already spread wildly before you have a vaccine, that is when you see the most deaths. Time is so critically important.”
See also: Former White House science advisor Arati Prabhakar discussed the future of technology and science and the role of the public sector at a recent John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum.
Learn more about Science, Technology, & Data at HKS » | | |
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Lead America Into Tomorrow |
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Take the next step in your public service journey on a full scholarship. Apply to Harvard Kennedy School's American Service Fellowship. | | |
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