What’s affected by a government shutdown? Here’s which departments close down
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are on the clock to avoid a government shutdown after a bipartisan funding agreement fell through Wednesday.
President-elect Donald Trump and allies Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy came out against the agreement, sending House Republicans back to the drawing board.
The current funding runs out at the end of the day Friday, when Congress had planned to adjourn for the holidays.
If another agreement is not passed, the government will have to reduce federal services, but not all services will stop completely. Here is the breakdown:
Will there be a government shutdown? Live updates on the latest from Congress
What departments and federal functions are impacted?
While many federal agencies may continue to operate, they may be delayed or impacted by furloughs and employees working without pay.
Here is a breakdown of potentially impacted agencies, according to Reuters.
Nearly half of the Pentagon's civilian employees would be furloughed, impacting approximately 400,000 people. Military personnel would stay active at their posts.
At the Federal Trade Commission, most employees would be furloughed, along with half of antitrust employees.
National parks' and monuments' services will be closed to the public, though some states may fund park functions themselves.
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency would suspend security reviews
Federal courts can continue to operate for several weeks but eventually may have to scale back.
Congressmembers will continue to be paid but staff would not.
TSA would have to continue to work but could not hire new security screeners.
The majority of staff at the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA could be furloughed.
Federal Communications Commission will suspend consumer-protection activities and other functions.
Food and Drug Administration food safety inspections could be delayed.
More than half of staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could be furloughed, though the agency would continue to monitor disease outbreaks.
Most of the staff at the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission will be furloughed, halting most activities.
The Internal Revenue Service will pause tax return audits and responding to taxpayer questions.
Most Education Department employees could be furloughed, resulting in possible loan and grant disbursement delays.
The Small Business Administration would not be able to issue new loans, with limited exceptions.
The National Labor Relations Board could furlough staff, disrupting the ability to mediate disputes.
The Agriculture Department would no longer be able to issue loans to new homebuyers in rural areas.
In the 2018-2019 shutdown, the White House furloughed more than half of the staff in the Executive Office of the President.
All agencies have their own contingency plans for an appropriations lapse. To see the full list of agencies and their detailed plan, visit the White House Office of Management and Budget breakdown.
What are essential services? These functions will continue
Any federal agencies that provide "essential" services will continue to provide them. According to the bipartisan nonprofit Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, examples of functions that have continued during previous shutdowns include:
Air traffic control
Law enforcement
Border protection
Power grid maintenance
Social security and Medicare payments
The U.S. Postal Service will not be impacted as it does not rely on Congress for funding.
Contributing: Kinsey Crowley, Saman Shafiq and Fernando Cervantes Jr., USA TODAY; Andy Sullivan, Reuters
Kinsey Crowley is a trending news reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected], and follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Which departments are affected by a government shutdown? What to know