2 million servicemembers and more than 1.5 million federal civilian employees will go without a paycheck during shutdown
A general view of the U.S. Capitol, where Congress will return Tuesday to deal with a series of spending bills before funding runs out and triggers a partial U.S. government shutdown, in Washington, U.S. September 25, 2023.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
The Biden administration estimates that an estimated 2 million U.S. servicemembers and more than 1.5 million federal civilian employees will go without a paycheck during a government shutdown.
The Office of Management and Budget also estimates that approximately 820,000 federal employees may be furloughed for as long as the shutdown lasts.
— Amanda Macias
Government shutdown is ‘unacceptable,’ Biden says
President Joe Biden called the looming government shutdown “unacceptable” on Saturday morning.
“There are those in Congress right now who are sowing so much division, they’re willing to shut down the government tonight. It’s unacceptable,” Biden wrote on X.
— Amanda Macias
‘Total failure by everybody in government,’ GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie says of shutdown
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie launches his bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics in Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S., June 6, 2023.
Sophie Park | Reuters
Republican presidential candidate and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie slammed lawmakers for the pending U.S. government shutdown.
“Total failure by everybody in government,” Christie told NBC’s Emma Barnett following a town hall in Keene, New Hampshire, on Friday. Christie said both Democrats and Republicans are “guilty” of creating the looming government crisis.
When asked how he would handle the situation if he were president Christie slammed Biden by saying, “I would not be sitting around like Joe Biden acting like it’s not my problem.”
“They’d be in the White House and we’d work on it until they fixed it,” Christie said of congressional leaders.
— Amanda Macias
Tens of thousands of civilian defense workers will go without a paycheck during the shutdown
The Pentagon in Washington, DC, on Mya 10, 2023, in an aerial view.
Daniel Slim | AFP | Getty Images
The largest government agency will have to furlough tens of thousands of civilian defense workers if there’s a lapse in federal funding.
The Pentagon, which oversees a workforce of approximately 950,000 civilians and more than 1.3 million active-duty servicemembers, will begin to shut down non-essential military services on Monday if a budget resolution is not passed by Congress on Saturday.
Depending on the military installation, servicemembers and their families may experience canceled elective medical procedures at military hospitals, a halt in temporary duty movements and other shuddered services due to the shutdown.
Civilians and servicemembers will not be paid for as long as the shutdown persists, however, Department of Defense employees will receive back pay following a budget deal.
— Amanda Macias
National parks, Smithsonian museums to close in government shutdown
If the government is shut down tomorrow, you may have to postpone that Sunday hike.
The U.S. Department of the Interior announced on Friday that national parks will be closed “in the event of a lapse in annual government appropriations.”
“This means that the majority of national parks will be closed completely to public access. Areas that, by their nature, are physically accessible to the public will face significantly reduced visitor services,” the Department said.
The Smithsonian Institution has also released its contingency plan, saying services that protect “life or property” such as taking care of the national collections and National Zoo animals will continue. However, Smithsonian museums will close to the public.
The National Parks Service, or NPS, will also maintain operations to keep property and life in the park protected. And visitors will still have physical access to areas like the National Mall where “it is impossible or impractical” to keep people out. But visitor services that require NPS resources like restroom maintenance, sanitation, road upkeep, campground and emergency operations “will vary and are not guaranteed.”
Employees of NPS and the Smithsonian will be furloughed, except those whose jobs are exempt from the pause.
As the midnight government shutdown deadline looms, government officials are scrambling to negotiate a resolution that will pass among House Republicans who want big spending cuts and congressional Democrats. The government will officially shut down at 12:01 a.m. ET on Sunday if they fail to find a middle ground and make a deal.
— Rebecca Picciotto
