Government Shutdown 2025 Updates: What does it mean when the government shuts down?

WASHINGTON - Washington is bracing for a potentially lengthy federal shutdown after lawmakers deadlocked and missed the government funding deadline.

Republicans backed a short-term measure to fund the government at current levels through Nov. 21, but Democrats blocked it, insisting it address their health care concerns. 

They want to reverse Medicaid cuts in President Donald Trump's bill passed this summer and extend tax credits that lower insurance premiums for millions who buy coverage through Affordable Care Act marketplaces.

Republicans called the Democratic proposal a nonstarter, saying it would cost taxpayers more than $1 trillion. Neither side shows signs of budging.

Here’s what to know about the shutdown that began Wednesday.

What does it mean when the government shuts down and why?

A government shutdown occurs when Congress fails to pass all 12 appropriations bills or a continuing resolution, which temporarily maintains funding while lawmakers finalize spending legislation.

What happens in a government shutdown?

With the funding lapse, agencies must furlough "non-excepted" employees. Excepted employees, those who protect life and property, remain on the job but aren’t paid until the shutdown ends.

The White House Office of Management and Budget begins the process by instructing agencies that a lapse in appropriations has occurred and they should initiate orderly shutdown procedures. The memo went out Tuesday evening.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that about 750,000 federal employees could be furloughed each day of the shutdown, with their total compensation costing roughly $400 million each day.

READ MORE: Does Social Security stop in government shutdown? What to know

What government work continues during a shutdown?

FBI investigators, CIA officers, air traffic controllers and airport checkpoint agents continue working. So do members of the armed forces.

Programs funded through mandatory spending generally continue during a shutdown. Social Security payments still go out. Seniors relying on Medicare can still see their doctors, and health care providers can be reimbursed.

Veterans health care continues during a shutdown. Veterans Affairs medical centers and outpatient clinics remain open, and VA benefits continue to be processed and delivered. Burials also proceed at VA national cemeteries.

READ MORE: Government shutdown begins: Live updates as shutdown takes effect

Will furloughed federal workers get paid?

Yes. In 2019, Congress passed a law requiring that furloughed employees receive retroactive pay once operations resume.

While they’ll eventually be paid, furloughed workers and those still on the job may miss one or more paychecks, depending on how long the shutdown lasts, creating financial stress for many families.

Service members would also receive back pay for any missed paychecks once federal funding resumes.

READ MORE: How could flights be affected by a government shutdown?

Will I still get mail?

Yes. The U.S. Postal Service is unaffected by a government shutdown. It’s an independent agency funded by the sale of its products and services and not by tax dollars.

READ MORE: Will USPS be affected by a government shutdown?

What closes during a shutdown?

During a shutdown, agencies have some discretion in deciding which services to suspend and which to maintain.

The first Trump administration worked to dull the impact of what became the nation’s longest partial shutdown in 2018 and 2019. But on Tuesday, Trump threatened to intensify the pain of a future shutdown.

"We can do things during the shutdown that are irreversible, that are bad for them and irreversible by them," Trump said of Democrats, according to the Associated Press. "Like cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like."

Each federal agency develops its own shutdown plan, outlining which employees would remain on the job and which would be furloughed.

In a provocative move, the White House Office of Management and Budget has threatened mass firings of federal workers during a shutdown. An OMB memo said programs not funded through Trump’s summer bill would bear the brunt.

Agencies should consider issuing reduction-in-force notices for programs whose funding expires, lack alternative sources and are "not consistent with the president’s priorities," the memo said.

That would be a far more aggressive step than in previous shutdowns, when furloughed federal workers returned to their jobs once funding resumed. A reduction in force would not only lay off employees but eliminate their positions—triggering another major upheaval in a federal workforce already hit by rounds of cuts from the Department of Government Efficiency and other efforts in Trump’s Republican administration.

READ MORE: Government shutdown starts: Here's what closes during a shutdown

What agencies are planning?

• The Department of Health and Human Services will furlough about 41% of its nearly 80,000 employees, according to a contingency plan posted on its website.
• As part of that plan, the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would continue monitoring disease outbreaks, while activities that will stop include research into health risks and illness prevention.
• Research and patient care at the National Institutes of Health would be disrupted. Patients already enrolled in studies at the research-only hospital, nicknamed the "House of Hope," will continue receiving care. Additional patients seeking access to experimental therapies can’t enroll except in special circumstances, and no new studies will begin.
• At the Food and Drug Administration, its "ability to protect and promote public health and safety would be significantly impacted, with many activities delayed or paused." For example, the agency would not accept new drug applications or medical device submissions requiring a user fee.
• The National Park Service had not yet announced whether it would close its more than 400 sites across the U.S. to visitors. Park officials said Tuesday afternoon that contingency plans were still being updated and would be posted on the agency’s website.
• Many national parks, including Yellowstone and Yosemite, remained open during the 35-day shutdown in Trump’s first term. Limited staffing led to vandalism, gates being pried open, and other problems, including an off-roader mowing down one of the namesake trees at Joshua Tree National Park in California.
• Smithsonian Institution: Museums, research centers and the National Zoo will remain open through at least Monday, Oct. 6.

READ MORE: Smithsonian will stay open during government shutdown

Impact on the economy?

Phillip Swagel, director of the Congressional Budget Office, said a short shutdown doesn’t significantly affect the economy, especially since federal workers are paid retroactively by law. But "if a shutdown continues, then that can give rise to uncertainties about what is the role of government in our society, and what's the financial impact on all the programs that the government funds."

"The impact is not immediate, but over time, there is a negative impact of a shutdown on the economy," he told the Associated Press.

Markets haven’t reacted strongly to past shutdowns, according to Goldman Sachs Research. After the three prolonged shutdowns since the early 1990s, equity markets ended flat or higher, even after initial dips.

A governmentwide shutdown would directly reduce growth by about 0.15 percentage points per week, or roughly 0.2 points when private-sector effects are included. Growth would then rise by the same cumulative amount in the quarter following reopening, according to Alec Phillips, chief U.S. political economist at Goldman Sachs.