In 2013, Mitch McConnell led Senate Republicans in a strategy to shut down the federal government unless Democrats agreed to defund the Affordable Care Act — a law that had been passed by Congress, signed by the president, and upheld by the Supreme Court.

The government shut down for 16 days. National parks closed. Federal workers — including air traffic controllers, food safety inspectors, and NIH researchers — were furloughed or forced to work without pay. Small businesses lost access to SBA loans. Veterans' benefits processing was delayed.

How It Harmed Americans:

Standard & Poor's estimated the shutdown cost the U.S. economy $24 billion and reduced GDP growth by 0.6% in the fourth quarter of 2013. About 850,000 federal employees were furloughed each day. Countless Americans who depended on federal services — from small business owners to veterans to families on WIC nutrition assistance — were caught in the crossfire.

The shutdown achieved nothing. The ACA was not defunded. McConnell's strategy was purely destructive — using Americans' livelihoods as leverage in a political fight he knew he couldn't win.

Reference List:

• Standard & Poor's, "The U.S. Shutdown: Economic Impact" (October 2013)

• Office of Management and Budget, "Impacts and Costs of the October 2013 Federal Government Shutdown"

• Congressional Research Service, "Shutdown of the Federal Government: Causes, Processes, and Effects"

• Government Accountability Office, "2013 Government Shutdown: Three Departments Reported Varying Degrees of Impacts on Operations"