The Government Shutdown Is Here

Plunged into a government shutdown, the US is confronting a fresh cycle of uncertainty after President Trump and Congress failed to strike an agreement to keep government programs and services running by Wednesday's deadline, the AP reports. Roughly 750,000 federal workers are expected to be furloughed, some potentially fired by the Trump administration. Many offices will be shuttered, perhaps permanently, as Trump vows to "do things that are irreversible, that are bad" as retribution. His deportation agenda is expected to run full speed ahead, while education, environmental, and other services sputter. The economic fallout is expected to ripple nationwide. "We don't want it to shut down," Trump said at the White House before the midnight deadline.

But the president, who met privately with congressional leadership this week, appeared unable to negotiate any deal between Democrats and Republicans to prevent that outcome. The AP looks at what to expect:

• Most Department of Homeland Security employees would continue to work, because much of the department's workforce is connected to law enforcement or works in areas funded by user fees as opposed to Congressional appropriations.
• Medicare and Medicaid programs and services will also continue, though staffing shortages could mean delays for some services. The government has enough money to fund Medicaid for the first quarter of the next fiscal year, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Also, eligible states will continue receiving payments from the Children's Health Insurance Program.
• The National Park Service has not said whether it will close its more than 400 sites. Park officials said Tuesday afternoon that contingency plans were still being updated.

• FEMA's core disaster relief functions would not be affected, at least in the short term, but some grant approvals would be paused, and no new policies could be written under the National Flood Insurance Program, halting new mortgages that require flood insurance. Still, an extended shutdown could exhaust FEMA's existing Disaster Relief Fund, which stands at about $10 billion.
• Air traffic controllers already certified and on the job would be among the essential workers who would continue working but their pay could be affected. A shutdown could also set back the multibillion-dollar effort to overhaul and modernize air traffic control equipment.
• At the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than half the agency's workers will be furloughed. Those still working include people who deal with infectious disease outbreaks and care for research animals and maintain laboratories. Federal officials said CDC would continue to monitor disease outbreaks.
• Research and patient care at the National Institutes of Health would be upended, with about 75% of the staff furloughed. Patients currently enrolled in studies at the research-only hospital will continue to receive care during a government shutdown. Additional sick patients hoping for access to experimental therapies can't enroll except in special circumstances, and no new studies will begin. Scientists face the prospect of costly laboratory research going to waste because most of the sprawling campus of the nation's premier medical research agency will empty out.

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• Most of the Food and Drug Administration's core responsibilities would continue, including responding to public health threats and managing product recalls and drug shortages. Some routine activities, including previously scheduled inspections of company manufacturing plants, will be halted. But the agency will continue to conduct inspections when it has reason to suspect a problem that could endanger consumers.
• The State Department expects to furlough more than half of its remaining direct-hire personnel in the US, although embassies and consulates abroad will remain open and provide services to American citizens.
• The Environmental Protection Agency says a contingency plan for a shutdown would leave more than 10% of its staff in place to handle "significant agency activities" that are required by law or necessary to protect life and property.

More at the AP.