31 days from Trump’s 2025 Inauguration Day, government shutdown looms

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Just a month from Inauguration Day and a government shutdown looms. Here's what you need to know.

President-elect Donald J. Trump is set to be welcomed back into the White House on Inauguration Day, which falls on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 20, 2025. 

MORE RELATED STORIES: Inauguration Day 2025: Why is Inauguration Day on MLK Day?

Will the government shutdown? 

On Thursday, the House rejected a new plan backed by Trump that would have funded operations and suspended the debt ceiling. 

Lawmakers failed to reach the two-thirds threshold needed for passage, as Democrats and dozens of Republicans refused to accommodate Trump’s sudden demands. The plan didn’t even get a majority, with the bill failing 174-235.

Without a new funding agreement, a shutdown will take effect at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 21.

It was a big setback for Trump and his billionaire ally, Elon Musk, who railed against House Speaker Mike Johnson’s earlier bipartisan compromise earlier this week, which Republicans and Democrats had reached to prevent the government shutdown.

But despite the failed passage, Johnson appeared determined to reassess before Friday's midnight deadline.

"We're going to regroup and we will come up with another solution, so stay tuned," Johnson said after the vote.

Before 9 a.m. ET on Friday, a number of Johnson's biggest critics brought their grievances to a private meeting, according to the Associated Press.  

Reps. Chip Roy, Andy Biggs, Bob Good and others, all who voted against the Trump-backed plan Thursday, met with the speaker as Republicans look for a way forward on a short-term spending deal that includes a suspension of the nation’s debt limit.

Good of Virginia came out and said he would surprised if there was a vote Friday on any path forward. Moments later, Rep. Lauren Boebert said Republicans were making progress and having Vice President-elect JD Vance in the room is helping move things toward a resolution that can get a majority on the floor.

"I think President Trump was possibly, sold a bad bill yesterday," the Colorado lawmaker said. "I did not want to see a failure on the House floor for the first demand that President Trump is making."

But, she added, the failure on the floor has forced many of her colleagues to come together Friday.

How could a government shutdown affect the inauguration? 

With Congress now in a dispute with President-elect Donald Trump over a possible government shutdown, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine (D) tells FOX 5 he’s concerned a shutdown could stall work on the inauguration, and the massive security needed to safely hold the event.

"He should be concerned about that. I see this security being undertaken every day, not only construction of the traditional stand and grandstand on the west side of the capitol, but we’re beefing up the entrances to the capitol and things like that," said Kaine.  "You don’t want to jeopardize all that work. President Trump should know that we need to get that work done just to keep his own team and everyone who comes, the citizens who come to the inauguration, to make sure everyone has a good experience, and they’re safe." 

FOX 5 reached out to the Joint Congressional Inaugural Committee about the effect of a government shutdown on planning for the inauguration. We have not heard back. 

Effect on DC economy

The inauguration is expected to bring a $107 million impact to Washington, D.C. 50% of D.C. hotels are already booked for the week of the inauguration, and that number is expected to increase to 94-97%. 

Last inauguration, the COVID-19 pandemic limited the number of people that came to D.C., and the amount of money the District brought in as a result. 

Carmine’s, an Italian restaurant located in a prime location half a mile from the National Mall, says they’re expecting a big week around the inauguration. 

"The numbers are very good, and going into this year, we were tracking ahead of the year before the pandemic and that’s the best indication to see how your business is doing now," said Carmine’s Kevin Alexander. 

Some restaurants and hotels are creating special inauguration packages for the week, with the goal of creating customers for the week, but also returning customers.

"Inaugurations are huge in that regard. They are economically great for the city, and in the month of January when we just don’t have as much business taking place in cities expediting winter, it’s traditionally been really good for Washington," said Elliot Ferguson of Destination D.C. 

Inauguration Day preparation

Ahead of Inauguration Day, D.C. leaders have already expressed their commitment to a peaceful transfer of power. 

D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith said her team and other partners have been planning for the January 20 inauguration since mid-summer. 

As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take the oath of office, there are questions surrounding what a second Trump term could look like for the District. D.C. Mayor Muriel said her office has requested a meeting with the president-elect.

"We have been discussing and planning for many months in the case that the District has to defend itself and its values on all regards. In terms of what we should know is that we’re still a country of laws and the district has home rule and the congress could change it, they could. It is possible. That is probably, as you mentioned, not a likely occurrence," Bowser said. 

"What I think is important for all D.C. residents to recognize, we’re not in a new place. We’ve been in this place before. What we have done, is we have followed the law, and we defended ourselves and that would be our approach in any further occurrence."

According to FOX NEWS, attorneys at the Department of Justice have also been thinking about safety and are urging federal judges to reject petitions from at least two Jan. 6 defendants who are asking that they be allowed to return to the nation's capital for President-elect Trump's inauguration.

FOX News reports, that U.S. attorneys are suggesting that two defendants in particular pose a danger to the D.C. community. 

A large amount of uncertainty remains around whether Trump will pardon any, some or all of those defendants who were convicted of crimes as a result of their involvement in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. 

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