The US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Alex Wroblewski/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
For starters, that technically of a "lapse in appropriations" gives lawmakers some wiggle room to resolve the issue before 9 am et on Monday, February 2, when most federal workers return to the job.
But another important barometer to gauge is when federal workers miss paychecks.
Federal workers were last paid on January 21, one day later than usual because of the Martin Luther King federal holiday.
However, the next batch of checks is due to go out until Monday, February 2. They technically cover the work period which runs through Thursday, February 5. The checks are actually cut on February 2.
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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., briefs the media on the timeline to possibly end the government shutdown in the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, Nov. 10, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
In short, Congress and the executive branch have nearly three weeks to solve this before most federal workers would miss an ENTIRE paycheck.
However, there are some anomalies.
The FAA (which includes air traffic controllers but not TSA) are scheduled to be paid on Tuesday, February 3. Fox is told that FAA workers will receive a full paycheck. That’s because the FAA pay period ended on Saturday, February 24. Thus, that work was completed before the shutdown deadline, and Congress appropriated money for that pay. Therefore, payment on February 3 is NOT a violation of the Antideficiency Act. That said, the next FAA pay period ends on February 7 with paychecks due to be sent on February 17. FAA and air traffic controllers would receive a PARTIAL paycheck at that point. That’s because some work was performed before the shutdown. This scenario mirrors what happened during the fall shutdown. Air traffic controllers received a portion of their paycheck because of the staggered pay schedule.
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Lawmakers will watch these calendars closely if this gets to be a drawn-out fight. However, a minimal "partial" shutdown over the weekend gives lawmakers a bit of cushion to come to a resolution.
Chad Pergram currently serves as Chief Congressional Correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC). He joined the network in September 2007 and is based out of Washington, D.C.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/hitchhikers-guide-federal-pay-dates-watch-theres-partial-government-shutdown