The federal government has shut down — at least for a few days. Here’s what could be affected

The federal government partially shut down early Saturday as Congress did not agree on funding for several agencies before the midnight deadline.

But this shutdown is likely to be less painful than the record-long impasse last fall for two main reasons. First, only certain agencies are shuttering since others have already been fully funded for the rest of the fiscal year. Second, the House is expected to take up the Senate-approved version of the spending package – which is backed by the White House – when representatives return next week.

“Overall, the impact felt will be negligible,” Rachel Snyderman, managing director of economic policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, told CNN.

Several agencies, including the departments of Agriculture, Veterans Affairs, Interior, Energy, Justice and Commerce, will remain open since Congress passed legislation fully funding them for the rest of the fiscal year.

That means tens of millions of people won’t be in danger of losing their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits this time. In the most recent shutdown, some food stamp recipients had to wait days or even a few weeks to get their payments, leaving them scrambling to find ways to put food on the table for themselves and their families.

Still, even a partial government shutdown can cause a lot of pain if it is prolonged. Travelers could face delays at airports; many federal workers could miss paychecks, and people may not be able to obtain certain federal loans to buy homes or operate small businesses.

The White House Office of Management and Budget sent guidance to agencies on Friday on implementing the shutdown process, including informing employees whether they will be furloughed or have to work without pay, an OMB spokeswoman told CNN.

The shutdown comes even as the Senate on Friday evening passed a spending bill that would fund all remaining agencies, except for the Department of Homeland Security, for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends September 30.

DHS would be funded for two weeks to give lawmakers time to negotiate reforms in the agency’s immigration enforcement operations — a demand by Senate Democrats after federal immigration agents fatally shot two US citizens in Minneapolis in January.

The House earlier in January approved a different package to fully fund the rest of the government. It must now act on the Senate version.

President Donald Trump is no stranger to government shutdowns. He also presided over one in his first term, which lasted 35 days and had been the longest on record until last year.

Here’s what we know about the government shutdown:

Congress must provide funding for many federal departments and functions every fiscal year, which begins on October 1. If lawmakers fail to pass a spending package for the full year or extend funding for a shorter period, known as a continuing resolution, then many agencies and activities must shutter until Congress appropriates more money.

If none of the 12 appropriations bills that make up the federal discretionary spending budget passes both chambers, the government fully shuts down.

But since Congress has approved annual funding for certain agencies since the last shutdown ended, they can continue operating while other federal departments go dark. So the current impasse resulted in a partial shutdown.

The partial shutdown began early on January 31.

The affected agencies include DHS, Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, State, Labor and Treasury, among others. They account for more than three-quarters of federal discretionary spending, Snyderman said.

What programs and payments will stop?

Every government shutdown differs somewhat but typically functions that are critical to the protection of lives and property are deemed essential and remain open. Other operations close down until Congress approves a funding package for the rest of the current fiscal year.

Some of a shutdown’s impact is known in advance. Agencies file what are known as contingency plans that detail what operations will continue and how many employees will remain on the job, many of them without pay. However, in an unusual move, the OMB is not posting agencies’ shutdown contingency plans on its website. Instead, the plans are hosted only on each agency’s site — making it harder to assess how the Trump administration will handle the shutdown and which activities it will deem essential.

For instance, the Department of Education said in its plan from last fall that it would furlough most of its staffers in a shutdown, though it would continue to dole out Pell Grants and federal student loans and keep making Title I and IDEA grant funding available.

The Washington, DC, court system said during the last shutdown that it would not issue marriage certificates or perform wedding ceremonies. And the National Flood Insurance Program would not be able to issue new policies, potentially snagging the closing of home sales.

Some government functions can continue — at least for a certain period of time — if they are funded through fees or other types of appropriations.

It’s likely that immigration, border patrol and defense activities funded through the GOP’s tax and spending package, which Trump signed into law last July, will continue.

The Defense Department said in its contingency plan from last fall that it considers its highest priorities to be securing the southern border, Middle East operations, the Golden Dome missile defense system, among others.

With the tax season underway, all of the Internal Revenue Service’s nearly 75,000 employees will continue working until February 7th, the agency said in an updated contingency plan posted Friday. They will be funded through other sources, such as the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

Agencies and administrations have some amount of choice in which services they deem essential, said Molly Reynolds, interim director of the governance studies program at the Brookings Institution.

In Trump’s first term, Reynolds noted that the administration took some measures to make the shutdown less painful, such as allowing the IRS to process tax refunds — a departure from prior shutdowns.

The shooting deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, both US citizens, by DHS immigration agents during protests in Minneapolis in January have sparked widespread public outcry.

Senate Democrats vowed to block the House-passed bill unless several reforms were made to DHS or unless DHS funding was spun off separately — changes that would require another vote in the House.

Among the Democrats’ demands are restricting roving patrols, tightening parameters around warrants for searches and arrests, toughening use-of-force policies and requiring ICE agents to wear body cameras and remove their masks.

Still, nearly all DHS personnel will continue working during a shutdown, according to the agency’s most recent contingency plan.

The vast majority of employees in Customs and Border Patrol and ICE will be retained, as will those who work for the Transportation Security Administration, the Secret Service, Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem posted on X last fall that 70,000 law enforcement personnel, including in CBP, ICE and other divisions, would receive their paychecks.

Social Security payments to senior citizens, people with disabilities and other Americans will not be interrupted, according to the Social Security Administration’s contingency plan.

“In the event of a lapse in appropriation, SSA will follow the contingency plan for continued activities, and Social Security beneficiaries would continue receiving their Social Security, Social Security Disability Insurance and SSI (Supplemental Security Income) payments,” the agency told CNN last fall.

Also, the unemployed will continue to receive their jobless benefits, as long as state agencies have administrative funding to process them, according to the Department of Labor.

Medicare and Medicaid payments will also continue to be distributed, HHS said in its contingency plan from last fall.

Yes, the 400-plus national park sites will remain open, as will the Smithsonian museums and National Zoo, since they have been fully funded through September 30.

The effects of government shutdowns on the national parks and museums are among the most tangible for Americans and tourists. Past impasses have led to the shuttering of the museums and zoo and have either limited or restricted access to parks. Some visitor services in parks have also been unavailable during shutdowns at certain parks.

Air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration officers are typically deemed essential and must remain on the job, though they are not paid.

Critical support staff would be furloughed and vital support programs would be suspended in a shutdown, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association said in a statement last fall. That would make it more difficult for air traffic controllers and other aviation safety workers to operate at full capability.

“In a time when aviation safety is under heightened public concern, a government shutdown would significantly add to the distractions our members must manage on the job every day,” Nick Daniels, the union’s president, said.

During the most recent shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration mandated flight reductions at 40 airports amid air traffic controller shortages. That resulted in thousands of flight delays and hundreds of cancellations nationwide on an almost a daily basis.

The mail will still be delivered, and post offices will remain open during the 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,” the US Postal Service said in a statement.

Federal workers bear the brunt of government shutdowns. Some are furloughed, while others are considered essential and have to continue working. But many don’t get paid until the impasse ends.

This partial shutdown will affect about 45% of the roughly 2.2 million civilian federal workers. More than 500,000 federal workers could be working without pay, while another 480,000-plus could be furloughed, according to Snyderman.

But if the impasse is resolved quickly, they should receive their full paychecks on their next scheduled payday in mid-February, she noted.

That said, planning and executing a shutdown places a significant burden on federal agencies, which takes them away from their regular duties, Snyderman continued.

Even during the last impasse, some workers didn’t miss their pay. The Trump administration found ways of compensating certain workers. In addition to Noem paying DHS employees, Trump said during the last shutdown that the administration had identified funds to pay the military. The money was pulled from the Pentagon’s research and development funds.

Federal workers are guaranteed to receive their back pay after an impasse is resolved, thanks to a 2019 law. But the Trump administration last fall floated a different interpretation of the law, initially calling into question whether federal workers who had been furloughed will be made whole. They were eventually paid.

Also, federal contractors who may be furloughed or temporarily laid off by their employers during a shutdown are not guaranteed to receive back pay.

Shutdowns can have real consequences for the economy since federal spending is delayed, and many federal workers pull back on their purchases while they aren’t receiving paychecks.

The five-week shutdown in 2018-2019 resulted in a $3 billion loss in economic growth that would not be recovered, according to a Congressional Budget Office estimate. It noted that some private sector businesses would never make up their lost income.

Also, because the IRS reduced its compliance activities during the shutdown, CBO estimated that tax revenues would be roughly $2 billion lower — much of which would not be recouped.

What’s more, it would become difficult to determine the health of the economy — which is currently in flux — during a shutdown.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics would not issue most economic reports, including the closely watched monthly jobs report, during a shutdown, the Department of Labor said in shutdown plan last fall.

The impact stretches beyond the federal government.

The US Travel Association wrote a letter to congressional leaders in late September urging them to avoid a shutdown, which it said would result in flight delays, longer airport security lines and canceled trips.

“A shutdown is a wholly preventable blow to America’s travel economy — costing $1 billion every week — and affecting millions of travelers and businesses while placing unnecessary strain on an already overextended federal travel workforce,” wrote Geoff Freeman, the association’s CEO. “The consequences of inaction and immediate and severe.”