Sunrise light hits the U.S. Capitol dome on Jan. 2, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Since 1980, there have been 10 government shutdowns. Only three have happened since the turn of the century.
All shutdowns are different, and the impending shutdown is no exception. However, it could have more devastating effects on the federal workforce than previous shutdowns given the administration’s orders to undertake mass firings.
Programs like Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid will continue, along with the Postal Service, Veterans' Affairs hospitals and clinics, and Immigration and Border Patrol security activities, among others. Federal employees will likely go without pay, however, and a string of agencies will see their services hampered by furloughs, like the IRS and Small Business Administration. Housing programs may also see a delay in rental assistance and loans.
Typically, shutdowns see thousands of federal workers deemed "nonessential" furloughed, but the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a memo last week that directed agencies to "use this opportunity to consider reduction in force (RIF) notices for all employees" in programs that have no other available funding source and that don’t comport with Trump’s priorities if lawmakers couldn’t fund the government.
SPEAKER JOHNSON FLIPS SCRIPT ON DEM LEADERS WITH STAUNCH WARNING AGAINST GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., left, hold a news conference at the Capitol in Washington on June 11, 2025. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)
While the subsidies don’t expire until the end of the year, congressional Democrats have noted that insurers are gearing up to send out new rates on Oct. 1.
But Senate Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., have said that conversations about the subsidies can happen after the government is funded, but that has so far not been enough for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate
Democrats.
"Fundamentally, nothing has changed, though, and the choice remains the same: Democrats can either vote for a clean, short-term, nonpartisan CR that prioritizes the American people, or they can choose a completely avoidable shutdown that prioritizes politics above all else," Thune told NBC’s "Meet the Press."
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Both Thune and Schumer, along with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., will meet with Trump Monday afternoon. The confab comes after Trump canceled a meeting with the Democratic leaders earlier this week.
Schumer and Jeffries said in a joint statement after a new meeting was set that "Democrats will meet anywhere, at any time and with anyone to negotiate a bipartisan spending agreement that meets the needs of the American people."
"We are resolute in our determination to avoid a government shutdown and address the Republican health care crisis," they said. "Time is running out."
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/shutdown-explained-who-works-who-doesnt-how-much-costs