So the government shut down… now what? First, don’t panic. Essential services continue even during a shutdown. According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and USAFacts.gov, programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and veterans’ benefits remain funded. Mail delivery, TSA screening, air traffic control, and military operations also continue without interruption.
What changes? Nonessential federal employees are furloughed and many agencies pause discretionary work. Bloomberg and CRS reports note that national parks, research projects, economic data releases, and small business loans typically stop or scale back. During the 2018–2019 shutdown — the longest in U.S. history — about 800,000 federal workers were affected and the economy lost an estimated $11 billion. The Government Employee Fair Treatment Act ensures federal employees now receive back pay once funding resumes.
What happens next? Agencies operate under contingency plans until Congress restores funding through a continuing resolution or full budget.
If the shutdown drags on, programs like food assistance and grants may be strained, research further delayed, and state budgets squeezed. The longer the lapse, the bigger the risks to economic growth and public services.
