The deadline came and went and President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats were unable to make a deal, blaming each other for the funding standoff. The federal government shut down at midnight, Oct. 1.
This is the 15th government shutdown since 1981 and the fourth under a Trump presidency, and there’s no end in sight as Democratic lawmakers demand health care policy changes that Trump and Republicans have refused to consider.
Hundreds of thousands of federal workers are expected to be placed on furloughs while workers in essential services such as the military, law enforcement, air traffic controllers and the TSA won’t be paid while they work. White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought sent a memo to department heads telling them to execute their plans for an orderly shutdown.”
Unlike previous shutdowns, the White House indicated that it is considering mass layoffs rather than temporary furloughs.
There were about 95,167 federal employees in Florida as of as of Sept. 2024, according to the latest data from the Office of Management and Budget
Here’s what happens next.
When did the government shut down?
Funding for the federal government ran out at midnight, Sept. 30. The shutdown began at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1.
What closes during a government shutdown?
Essential workers remain on the job but staff deemed nonessential are furloughed (or possibly laid off, this time) and nonessential services and agencies are closed.
Hiring and training of new employees stops. Funding for SNAP and WIC programs stops. New Head Start grants will not be available. Many food, health and clean water inspections from the FDA, OSHA and the EPA would stop. The Small Business Administration stops reviewing or approving loans.
How long can a government shutdown last?
As long as it takes for Congress to agree on the necessary appropriations bills and President Donald Trump to sign them. That could be a while as neither side shows evidence of budging.
There have been 21 shutdowns since 1977, with an average of eight days each. The longest government shutdown was 35 days during Trump’s first term, from Dec. 22, 2018 to Jan. 25, 2019.
The president with the most shutdown days was Jimmy Carter, with 56. The president with the most shutdowns was Ronald Reagan, with eight.
Will a government shutdown affect Florida hurricane forecasts?
Not directly. Workers at the National Hurricane Center are considered essential and will be working without pay. But social media posts may be limited to forecast and warning information only and needed maintenance or repair of equipment may not happen.
Hurricane analysis and research on improving forecast models will stop, as will training for new emergency managers and any outreach or education programs.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration which oversees the National Weather Service and the hurricane center has already been forced to lay off employees as part of Trump’s mass overhaul of the federal government. It’s unclear how this may affect operations and weather forecasts.
Will a government shutdown affect Social Security?
Social Security recipients will still get their checks, and Medicare benefits will not be interrupted. But customers may see longer wait times for service due to employees in those departments getting furloughed or laid off.
What happens to Medicare and Medicaid during a shutdown?
The federal Medicare and Medicaid health insurance programs are considered mandatory spending, meaning benefits won’t be impacted if the government shuts down.
As of Aug. 31, more than 5 million Floridians were eligible for Medicaid, with 5,031,192 enrolled in Medicare as of 2023.
Will the government shutdown affect food stamps (SNAP)?
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as SNAP, would continue as long as it has funds.
Each month’s benefits are sent out the month before, a U.S. Department of Agriculture spokesperson told Nexstar, so benefits may still go out in October and there is reserve funding to keep SNAP going for a time. But a lengthy shutdown could result in hardships for the nearly 3 million Floridians who receive food safety net benefits. Some USDA employees may also get furloughed or laid off, potentially adding delays.
Funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) would stop immediately. The USDA has a contingency fund that may extend the program for a short time, and some states may have leftover unspent WIC benefits that could be used to keep it going in that state for up to a few weeks.
Once funding starts to run low, the program prioritizes pregnant women, breastfeeding women, and infants determined to be at nutritional risk because of serious medical problems, with funding for the next priority tiers going out if available.
Will a government shutdown affect FEMA?
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will still respond to disasters but a federal shutdown would greatly reduce its impact. Former FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told a House transportation panel in 2023 that a shutdown would restrict the agency to whatever was in its Disaster Relief Fund for existing and new relief efforts.
“We would have to further reduce those types of life-saving operations that we are working on based on the amount of funding that we have available,” she said.
The Trump administration also laid off more than 200 FEMA employees in March, according to NBC News, and Trump has argued the agency should be abolished entirely with disaster relief returning to the states.
Will a government shutdown affect the military and national defense?
Active-duty military service members will remain on active duty, including more than 69,000 military personnel in Florida, but they won’t be paid until the shutdown is over. However, many other aspects of the U.S. military such as systems testing and production will be affected.
“If the government shuts down, testing [of systems] will stop and acceptance by the government of equipment when it is finished and ready to be accepted [could] stop,” William A. LaPlante, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, said last year.
Contracts awarded before the shutdown will continue, according to Reuters, but federal contractors impacted by the shutdown will not be compensated for the time.
Will the government shutdown affect the Post Office? Will I still get mail?
The U.S. Postal Service is funded by sales of stamps and other services and is not impacted by a shutdown, the USPS said on Sept. 25. Mail service will continue and employees will be paid as usual.
Will the government shutdown affect veterans benefits?
Not directly. The Veterans Benefits Administration has received advance appropriations since 2017 and any carryover balances in discretionary accounts can be allocated for current operations, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. There are over 414,000 VA employees and the department says 96% of them will be fully funded or considered essential and required to work without pay.
But applications for changes or new applications may see longer wait times.
VA healthcare payments and pensions will continue, as would the National Cemetery Administration’s assorted burial functions. But direct oversight of the NCA’s programs would stop. So would IT functions that are deemed unnecessary, anything beyond basic HR support, representation by the VA Secretary before the courts for veterans claims, any public outreach or education, investigations of misconduct for a VA leader, and multiple oversight and quality review teams.
Does the government shutdown affect passport renewal?
According to the Department of State’s contingency plan, consular services such as passports, visas and assisting U.S. citizens abroad will remain “100% operational,” as long as there are sufficient fees to support operations. Passport offices that are in larger government buildings may be forced to shut down, however, for lack of access.
Will the government shutdown affect air travel?
Possibly, if the shutdown keeps going.
In the short term, you may not notice since TSA agents and air traffic controllers are considered essential employees. They won’t be paid, though, and the longer that goes on the more TSA employees may choose or be forced to leave the job.
What stops will be development of new air traffic control specialists, facility security inspections, routine background investigations, development and testing of new technologies, air traffic performance analysis, law enforcement assistance support and various other administrative functions.
During previous shutdowns, effects on travel were minimal. However, the Trump administration has fired hundreds of air traffic controllers — although he had to bring more in — and fired more than 200 TSA employees.
Will national parks be closed during the government shutdown?
National parks will remain partially open during the shutdown, but more than 60% of all federal park employees are expected to be furloughed according to an Interior Department contingency plan posted Tuesday evening.
Park roads, lookouts, trails, and open-air facilities such as memorials will remain open but any buildings that require staffing will be closed. Law enforcement, border and coastal protection, firefighting and other essential activities will continue.
Recreation fees will cover basic visitor services such as cleaning restrooms and collecting trash, the Interior Department said. Park services may also be funded by state, local or tribal governments, with approval.
Park staffing has already been an issue following Trump administration’s budget cuts, buyouts and layoffs. Courts rolled back some of the February cuts, but roughly 2,400 to 2,500 staff positions have been lost, according to a preliminary estimate by the National Parks Conservation Association, a nonprofit advocacy group.
During a government shutdown, do I still have to pay my student loan bills?
Yes.
Does Congress still get paid if the government shuts down?
Yes, but their staffs will be working unpaid. Salaries for members of Congress have been funded by a permanent appropriation since 1983, according to the Congressional Research Service.
The president will also get paid, per Article II, Section I of the U.S. Constitution.
(This story was updated to meet our standards.)
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Did the government shut down? What to know about mail, parks, Florida federal workers
Reporting by C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
