Here's what to expect if the government shuts down at midnight

It’s the end of another fiscal year, and with it comes what can feel like a federal government tradition: the threat of a government shutdown. The key deadline to fund the government and keep agencies running is Tuesday at 11:59 p.m.

Republicans have crafted a short-term measure to fund the government through Nov. 21, but Democrats have insisted that the measure needs to address healthcare concerns.

If the two parties cannot come to an agreement within hours, hundreds of thousands of federal employees could be furloughed, while others will be expected to work without paychecks.

Here’s what to know.

When would a shutdown begin and how long would it last?

Right now, the government is funded through Tuesday at 11:59 p.m., when Fiscal Year 2025 ends. Without a new funding plan, a shutdown will take effect at midnight on Wednesday.

The length of any government shutdown would depend on how long it takes Congress to pass funding bills that the president is willing to sign.

What happens when the government shuts down?

Many government functions would be severely curtailed or will be put on pause entirely. Some essential government functions will continue, and each administration gets some leeway to choose which services to freeze and which to maintain in a shutdown.

According to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)’s, essential government functions include:

• Social Security
• Medicare
• veterans’ benefits
• military operations
• law enforcement
• Immigration and Customs Enforcement
• Customs and Border Protection
• air traffic control

Each federal agency develops its own shutdown plan, accessible on the OMB’s public website. Some agencies had not posted their plans yet as of Tuesday afternoon.

What is a furlough and who will continue to work?

“A furlough is the placing of an employee in a temporary nonduty, nonpay status because of lack of work or funds, or other nondisciplinary reasons,” the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) says in its Guidance for Shutdown Furloughs.

When workers are put on leave because there isn’t money budgeted for their job, they’re on what’s called shutdown furlough. Those employees won’t get paychecks during the shutdown.

Employees who are “excepted” may continue to work — but their pay may be delayed. Excepted employees “are performing tasks that, by law, are allowed to continue during a lapse in appropriations,” OPM said. Examples include tasks related to protecting human life or property.

Conversely, employees who are “exempt from furlough” are those whose jobs aren’t funded by annual appropriations. “Employees performing those functions will generally continue to be governed by the normal pay, leave, and other civil service rules,” the OPM said in its guidance.

Will workers still get paid during a government shutdown? What about members of Congress?

Millions of federal employees, including members of the military, would not receive paychecks during a shutdown.

Federal employees will receive backpay once the government reopens, whether they were furloughed or expected to work through the shutdown. That requirement was put into law in 2019.

Although they will eventually get paid, the furloughed workers, as well as those who remain on the job, may have to go without one or more of their regular paychecks, depending upon how long the shutdown lasts, the AP reports. That will create financial stress for many people.

Senators and members of the House will still get paid during a shutdown because their pay is constitutionally protected — though, in the past, some members of Congress had foregone or donated their paychecks until a shutdown ends as a gesture of solidarity.

What about layoffs?

Some of those furloughed employees may not have a job to return to. In an unprecedented move, the OMB has this time threatened the mass firing of federal workers in the event of a shutdown.

In a memo released last week, the OMB said those programs that did not get funding through Trump’s mega-bill this summer would bear the brunt of a shutdown, the AP reports. Agencies should consider issuing reduction-in-force notices for those programs whose funding expires Wednesday, that don’t have alternative funding sources and are “not consistent with the President’s priorities,” the memo said.

A reduction in force would not only lay off employees but eliminate their positions, which would trigger yet another massive upheaval in a federal workforce that has already faced major rounds of cuts this year due to efforts from the Department of Government Efficiency and elsewhere in the Trump administration.

Are government contractors affected by shutdowns?

Contractors who work with the federal government could also be affected: They might be barred from accessing closed government facilities or unable to get direction from agencies they’re working with, the Washington Business Journal (WBJ) reported in 2023 during a near-shutdown.

Federal agencies wouldn’t be able to award to modify contracts. Late payments, stopped work and other challenges could lead to contractors getting furloughed, and layoffs aren’t out of the question.

Contractors are not guaranteed back pay like workers employed directly by the federal government are, the WBJ said.

What would change in D.C. during a shutdown?

This time around, much would stay the same in Washington, D.C.:

• The D.C. government would operate normally.
• All D.C. agencies, such as the Department of Motor Vehicles, would remain open.
• Trash would be picked up.
• Schools would be open.
• Parking rules would be enforced, so you’d still need to pay for your parking spots.
• Metro trains and buses would operate normally.
• For the most part, D.C. Superior Courtrooms would operate, so if you have jury duty or a court date, you need to show up.

But, if you’re getting married soon, you should get your marriage license before a shutdown.

The bigger effects of a shutdown, and the harder-to-predict consequences, come if and when federal workers stop coming into the District.

If you’re in retail or work for a restaurant, you may feel a big hit if a shutdown drags on. A prolonged shutdown would also affect tourism, hotels and business travel. Some businesses are still recovering from federal remote work policies and the impact of the federal law enforcement surge and National Guard surge.

Federal agents will remain on the streets of D.C. as part of the Trump administration’s federal surge, News4’s Mark Segraves reports. However, it’s unclear whether National Guard members will stay as essential employees or be furloughed, but if they do continue their work, it may be without pay for a time: Oct. 1 paychecks have already been issued, a source tells NBC News, but if a shutdown continues for weeks, paychecks in mid-October or on Nov. 1 may be delayed.

News4 reached out to a National Guard spokesperson for more information and was referred to the White House, which did not answer.

What federal government agencies and services may be affected?

Other departments will remain open but with furloughed employees and limited services, effectively running on a skeleton crew for essential tasks.

The State Department, for example, would furlough almost 17,000 employees in the event of a shutdown, but will continue “all activities necessary for national security.” That includes “keeping all U.S. embassies and consulates abroad operational,” and helping U.S. citizens in other countries while the shutdown continues.

Passports and visas will still be issued during a shutdown, the State Department said. However, in the past, passport and visa work has been delayed during shutdowns, or stopped when the buildings where the work is done are shuttered.

The Department of Veterans Affairs will keep 97% of its employees working, according to OPM, and the VA says its medical centers, clinics, suicide prevention services and vet centers will stay open through a shutdown.

Social Security and Supplemental Security Income recipients would continue to receive payments, as it’s considered a mandatory program not funded by short-term appropriations bills. But response times for people with issues could be delayed due to furloughs.

You’ll still need to pay your student loans, too: Payments will not be paused during a shutdown, according to the OPM and the Department of Education.

The U.S. Postal Service will also stay open, per a statement shared last week. You’ll still get mail throughout a shutdown. “Because we are an independent entity that is generally funded through the sale of our products and services, and not by tax dollars, our services will not be impacted by a government shutdown,” a USPS statement said in part.

Congress, the office of the president and the U.S. Supreme Court will all remain operational and all members will get paid during a shutdown — though any members of their staff deemed “nonessential” will get furloughed.

The Department of Interior will use a “make things accessible when you can” approach when ut comes to national parks, according to a senior administration official familiar with the draft plan. Open-air sites, including monuments, will stay open, but buildings that require staff, including the Washington Monument, would close.

What would close?

Even for agencies that remain open, public communications will be affected.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), for example, said that Centers for Disease Control (CDC) communication about health-related information will be hampered, and the department will not process Freedom of Information Act requests during a shutdown.

Hiring and training for some agencies that remain open will be affected.

The Department of Transportation will stop facility security inspections, air traffic controller hiring and field training of air traffic controllers.

Your ability to get assistance from agencies may also be affected.

The Department of Veterans Affairs would close its regional benefits offices during a shutdown, and transition program assistance and career counseling will be unavailable, federal contingency plans say. Hotlines for help with the GI Bill and for National Cemetery Applicants will be closed, and public affairs outreach and press communications will also cease.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) could be affected by a shutdown, several congressional offices told NBC News.

“USDA funds cover SNAP benefits for roughly one month of a shutdown, but a longer shutdown could mean that this funding runs out,” added the office of Rep. Sarah Elfreth, D-Md.

The program has not put out a contingency plan for this year.

And, while student loan payments are expected to continue, the Department of Education will furlough the vast majority of employees not involved with federal student aid for at least the first week of a shutdown. That also pauses review and investigation by the Office of Civil Rights.

What about the parks and Smithsonians?

The Smithsonian Institution said it will use prior year funding to stay open for a few days after a shutdown begins.

“In the event of a government shutdown, our museums, research centers, and the National Zoo will remain open through at least Monday, October 6,” a banner on the Smithsonian website read as of 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

If the shutdown lasts longer than that, the museums and zoo will need to close.

Animals at the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute will still be cared for by staff in the event of a shutdown, according to Zoo guidance.

During the last lengthy government shutdown in late 2018 and early 2019, a long list of D.C. institutions closed, including: 

• The White House Visitor Center
• Smithsonian museums
• The National Zoo
• The National Gallery of Art
• The National Archives 
• Ford’s Theatre

The National Park Service (NPS) has not yet released a contingency plan for this year’s looming shutdown, so it’s unclear exactly when, how or if their services would be affected.

Per a March 2024 contingency plan memo, National Park sites will generally be closed and areas that remain accessible to the public will face significantly reduced services.

The short version is, if the facility — like a building or bathroom — is locked during non-business hours, it probably won’t be open during a shutdown.

The 2024 plan would furlough 68% of the NPS workforce, affecting services, but the NPS has not yet released its contingency plan for 2025.

Why would a government shutdown happen?

In simple terms: The government is funded by passing 12 funding bills, called appropriations bills, that promise money to different parts of the federal government so they can function.

Lawmakers are supposed to pass these bills to fund agencies across the government; those bills then need to be signed by the president.

So far, the House and the Senate have each passed only three appropriations bills, and they are not the same versions of those bills — meaning, effectively, none of the necessary work of funding the government has been completed.

What’s the political fight behind the shutdown?

While Republicans have drafted a funding bill on their own, without input or negotiations from Democrats in Congress, they need some Democratic support to pass any legislation.

Although the Republicans can pass their funding bill in the House with a simple majority, all funding bills need 60 votes in the Senate. With a 53-member Republican majority in the Senate, the GOP will need seven Democrats to sign on to keep the government open.

Democrats say they’re refusing because the Republican funding bills do not extend tax credits in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that provide lower premiums to people who get their health insurance through marketplaces established by the ACA.

Without an extension to those subsidies, healthcare costs would go up for millions of Americans, they say.

Democrats are also looking to reverse cuts to Medicaid that were passed in the Trump administration mega-bill over the summer. Even some GOP members of Congress who voted for the megabill are on record as saying they disagreed with those cuts, with some introducing their own legislation to try and reverse them.

The top two Democratic leaders met with President Donald Trump — who earlier this month urged his party to not “even bother” with Democrats while drafting a funding bill — on Monday to try to negotiate, with seemingly little results.

Still, Republican leaders in control of both the House and the Senate say the Democrats’ healthcare demands are a nonstarter and are the issue holding up a funding deal.

“It’s a purely hostage-taking exercise on part of the Democrats,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, said after Monday’s meeting at the White House. “We are willing to sit down and work with them on some of the issues they want to talk about, whether it’s extension of premium tax credits with reforms — we’re happy to have that conversation. But as of right now, this is a hijacking of the American people.”

The Associated Press and NBC News contributed to this report.