The US government shutdown came into effect from October 1 for the first time in seven years, after Republican and Democrats failed to resolve a budget stand-off.
The shutdown affects the funding of government operations in October and beyond, and is poised to cause widespread disruption for Americans in areas ranging from air travel to zoo visits.
The political stand-off is expected to put 40 per cent of the federal workforce – about 750,000 people – on unpaid leave, as per reports, including the one in BBC.
This is how the shutdown will have impact across the US and beyond
The US government has seen shut down 14 times since 1980. Three of these have happened during Trump’s first term (2017-2021) alone. The present one is first in this term.
What is a government shutdown?
The US Congress has to approve about a dozen appropriations bills, which determine the funding of federal agencies, and get the president’s assent. This has to happen before October 1 every year.
So technically, a shutdown comes into play when the Congress in the US is unable to authorise funds within the deadline lapses.
Why is it happening now?
The present shutdown followed the Democrats’ demand for an extension on expiring healthcare subsidies and to restore Medicaid cuts introduced as part of Donald Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill – the tax cut package cleared by the Republican-majority Senate three months ago. The Bill expanded the scope of tax breaks to the wealthy, increased defence spending through cuts in federal programs such as Medicaid, and sought to expand the scope of mass deportations. As a result of the Bill, some departments such as the Department of War and the Department of Homeland Security will receive funding and continue to function through the shutdown.
In the run up to shutdown that started midnight October 1, Republican lawmakers in Congress championed a ‘clean’ continuing resolution to ensure federal funding would continue at current levels until November 21. Democrats opposed this and instead presented a counterproposal to keep the government functional through October. The resulting impasse has led to the what is now the present shutdown.
Will federal workers be paid?
Federal employees are feared to be hardest hit. Federal workers will largely not be paid during a shutdown. Employees who are considered essential must still report to work, although they will not be paid until the government reopens. Furloughed and essential employees will receive back pay after a shutdown ends.
Law enforcement officers will, however, continue to work through the government shutdown. As many as 200,000 of them will go to work unpaid, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on X.
Other employees who will continue to work include those in the border protection staff, including ICE Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, in-hospital medical care staff and air-traffic controllers.
According to CBS News, the five government departments with the most furloughed staff are:
-US Department of War: (civilian staff): 334,904 furloughed, 406,573 retained
-US Department of Health: 32,460 furloughed, 47,257 retained
-US Department of Commerce: 34,711 furloughed, 8,273 retained
-US Department of State: 16,651 furloughed, 10,344 retained
-Nasa: 15,094 furloughed, 3,124 retained
There is also a provision in which some workers may choose to take second jobs, as used to happen during previous shutdowns. Employees who are not deemed to be essential will be forced to stay at home. In the past, these workers have then been paid retroactively.
US President Donald Trump, who has slashed government spending and cut federal jobs since taking office, has warned repeatedly that a shutdown could accelerate further layoffs and allow him to cut services and programmes he says are important to Democrats.
Will there be Layoffs?
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Wednesday that layoffs would be “imminent.” Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought also told House Republicans during the day that federal employees would begin to be fired in “one to two” days, according to reports in US media
Trump said in a Truth Social post on Thursday that he would meet with Vought to decide which “Democrat Agencies” the OMB director “recommends to be cut, and whether or not those cuts will be temporary or permanent.”
Will the Members of Congress be paid?
Members of Congress, however, will still be paid. They are protected under the US Constitution – a convention that has been opposed by some lawmakers.
How does shutdown affect the air travel?
A federal shutdown will potentially hit flyers in many ways and might as well result in long security queues and delays caused by unpaid air traffic controllers choosing to stay home rather than work for free, according to a BBC report.
Air traffic control and Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) workers are considered “essential”, so they will continue to go to work. But they will not be paid until the shutdown ends. Air traffic control services will continue, allowing more than 13,000 air traffic controllers to work through a shutdown — but without pay until the government is funded again.
In the 2018-2019 shutdown, these workers increasingly began to call in sick, leading to delays that had a ripple effect across the country.
Is the military affected in shutdown?
As things stand, majority of veteran benefits and military operations will continue to be funded regardless of the shutdown. The salary of military and civilian workers will potentially be delayed until a funding deal is reached. Most of these workers might be forced to continue going to work without pay.
Military personnel on active duty, including active guard reserves, remain on duty, but no new orders may be issued except for extenuating circumstances — such as disaster response or national security, the CBS report said. Some National Guard members serving through federal funding could have their orders terminated unless performing an essential duty.
Federal employees will largely not be paid during a shutdown.
The Department of Veterans Affairs said ahead of the shutdown that it expected 97 per cent of its employees to work. The Army and Navy has said they will provide “limited updates” on their websites during the shutdown.
The Air Force and Space Force said their websites are “not being updated.
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