What to Expect From the Government Shutdown

The US government officially shut down on Wednesday, effectively laying off all “non-essential” federal employees and furloughing others’ payments. About 40% of federal workers are now on unpaid leave, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Here is what else to expect.

Government Assistance: Medicare, Social Security, and food assistance (SNAP and WIC) programs are not expected to be greatly impacted; however, Medicare recipients may receive benefits more slowly, and – according to the Department of Agriculture – the continuation of food assistance is “subject to the availability of funding.”

Military/Security: Military and civilian officers’ payments will be delayed until after the shutdown. However, workers, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, are expected to continue with their usual duties. 

Education: Educational programs are not expected to change drastically at this time, because the majority of federal education funding is distributed during the summer. 

Health Departments: Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will likely furlough about 40% of its workers. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) paused drug application processing, and the National Institute of Health (NIH) froze some funding and services. 

Travel: Air traffic controllers’ payments will be delayed until after the shutdown, and some security measures are set to be suspended. National parks will remain partially open.

How The Media Covered It: Analytical coverage of the government shutdown cuts was less prevalent overall from media on the right. NBC News (Lean Left bias) highlighted both continued and discontinued programs and factions. Washington Examiner (Lean Right) provided a similar balance of coverage, but noted potentially negative impacts for the future, including possible strikes from unpaid workers. BBC (Center) asserted, “Government shutdowns are easy to get into, but not so easy to get out of,” noting the longest shutdown in history spanning 35 days.

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