❓WHAT HAPPENED: The Trump administration has outlined plans for a potential government shutdown, including furloughs and service pauses.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: President Donald J. Trump’s administration, federal agencies, and Congress.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Plans were detailed on Monday, with a shutdown potentially beginning at midnight on Tuesday across the United States.
🎯IMPACT: Federal agencies will furlough workers, pause economic data releases, and suspend certain services.
The Trump administration has begun outlining plans for which government services will be paused in the event of a federal shutdown beginning at midnight. Among the measures, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is expected to furlough 41 percent of its workforce, while other agencies plan to suspend various operations.
Unlike previous shutdowns, the administration has indicated it may use the funding lapse to implement mass layoffs and reduce the size of the federal government. According to a memo from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), training and onboarding of new federal employees will be prohibited during a shutdown, but those overseeing potential terminations will continue working. Furloughed employees will also be allowed to check government-issued emails for layoff notices.
Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), the top Democrat member of the Senate committee overseeing shutdown operations, criticized the administration’s approach, stating it “threatens to cause lasting damage to the country and the safety of the American people by mass firing nonpartisan, expert civil servants.”
The Department of Labor (DOL) announced that economic data releases, including the September employment report, would be suspended during a shutdown. Similarly, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) would halt GDP statistics reporting. However, crucial government benefits such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid will remain unaffected, as they are funded through mandatory spending.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), backed by supplemental funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, will continue full operations. Meanwhile, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has stated medical care and benefits would continue, though cemetery maintenance would cease.
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