The US government could shut down at midnight. How you could be impacted, what that means

Congress has until midnight Friday to come up with a way to fund the government or federal agencies will shut down, meaning hundreds of thousands of federal employees could be sent home — or stay on the job without pay — just ahead of the holidays.

Republicans abandoned a bipartisan plan Wednesday to prevent a shutdown after President-elect Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk came out against it. Trump told House Speaker Mike Johnson to essentially renegotiate the deal days before a deadline when federal funding runs out.

On Thursday, Republicans did just that, putting together a revamped government funding proposal that would keep the government running for three more months and suspend the debt ceiling for two years, until Jan. 30, 2027. But the House rejected Trump’s new plan to fund operations and suspend the debt ceiling, as Democrats and dozens of Republicans refused to accommodate his sudden demands.

Friday afternoon, House Speaker Mike Johnson proposed a new plan that would temporarily fund federal disaster aid but punts Trump's demands for a debt limit increase into the new year.

“We will not have a government shutdown,” Johnson said as he left the basement session at the Capitol. Johnson declined to disclose more on the new proposal under consideration.

The debate over the debt ceiling remains at the middle of the dispute over funding, pushing Washington to the brink of a shutdown -- and the clock is ticking.

If a deal isn't struck by midnight Friday, workers could be furloughed, air travel could be interrupted, Medicare could be impacted and more.

Here's what a government shutdown means, and how it could impact you.

What does it mean if the government shuts down?

A government shutdown happens when Congress doesn’t pass legislation either temporarily or more permanently funding the government, and such a measure isn’t signed by the president.

When would a government shutdown start?

If Congress doesn’t approve a continuing resolution or more permanent spending measure by Friday, the federal government will shut down.

When the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, Congress passed a temporary funding bill to keep the government in operation.

That measure expires on Friday.

How will government agencies and services be impacted by a shutdown?

Each federal agency determines its own plan for how to handle a shutdown, but basically any government operations deemed non-essential stop happening, and hundreds of thousands of federal employees see their work disrupted.

Furloughed workers

Sometimes workers are furloughed, meaning that they keep their jobs but temporarily don’t work until the government reopens. Other federal workers may stay on the job but without pay, with the expectation that they would be paid back in full once the government reopens.

The basic rules for who works and who doesn’t date back to the early 1980s and haven’t been significantly modified since. Under a precedent-setting memorandum penned by then-President Ronald Reagan budget chief David Stockman, federal workers are exempted from furloughs if their jobs are national security-related or if they perform essential activities that “protect life and property.”

Air travel

Essential government agencies like the FBI, the Border Patrol and the Coast Guard remain open. Transportation Security Administration officers would continue to staff airport checkpoints.

During the 2019 shutdown, many travelers endured longer lines at airports as some security staffers and air traffic controllers chose not to report to work. TSA workers are deemed essential, meaning they're required to stay on the job even if the government shuts down.

But without funding flowing, TSA employees' paychecks would be halted, which could lead to many to simply stay home. If that happens, airport checkpoints could see bottlenecks during the busy holiday travel period, when the TSA has been projecting a 6.2% increase in screening volumes.

“While our personnel are prepared to handle high volumes of travelers and ensure safe travel, please be aware that an extended shutdown could mean longer wait times at airports,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske warned Thursday.

During the last shutdown, TSA officer call-outs increased by up to 300% at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, with the national absence rate among airport screeners rising from 3% to 10%, according to research firm Tourism Economics.

Courts, national parks and more

National parks and monuments would close, and while troops would stay at their posts, many civilian employees in agencies like the Department of Defense would be sent home. Court systems would be affected, too, with civil proceedings paused, while criminal prosecutions continue.

Automated tax collection would stay on track, but the Internal Revenue Service would stop auditing tax returns.

USPS mail, social security checks and Medicare

The U.S. Postal Service also won’t be affected because it’s an independent agency.

The U.S. Postal Service runs as usual through shutdowns because the independent entity is generally funded by its own sales and services, not by tax dollars. As a shutdown neared in September 2023 — before being resolved just hours before it was set to begin — the Postal Service clarified that it would be able to deliver packages uninterrupted.

The nearly 73 million people who receive Social Security benefits would keep receiving their checks if the government shuts down. That's because Social Security is considered a mandatory program that doesn't rely on the short-term funding that hangs in the balance on Capitol Hill.

But anyone who may need to reach the Social Security Administration for help could experience longer wait times as agency staffers are furloughed. The agency's staffing is already at a 50-year low, as House Republicans rejected boosting funds for it in the package passed in September.

Recipients of both Social Security and Medicare would continue to receive their benefits, which are part of mandatory spending that’s not subject to annual appropriations measures. Doctors and hospitals would also continue to get their Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.

But it’s possible that new applications wouldn’t be processed. During a government shutdown in 1996, thousands of Medicare applicants were turned away daily.

What is the debt ceiling?

The debt ceiling, or debt limit, is the total amount of money that the United States government can borrow to meet its existing legal obligations. For the Treasury Department to borrow above that amount, the limit must be raised by Congress.

The federal debt stands at roughly $36 trillion, and the spike in inflation after the coronavirus pandemic has pushed up the government’s borrowing costs such that debt service next year will exceed spending on national security.

The last time lawmakers raised the debt limit was June 2023. Rather than raise the limit by a dollar amount, lawmakers suspended the debt limit through Jan. 1, 2025. At that point, the limit will be automatically raised to match the amount of debt that has been issued by the Treasury Department.

The debt limit vote in recent times has been used as a political leverage point, a must-pass bill that can be loaded up with other priorities.

What happens if the debt ceiling isn’t raised?

On Jan. 1, when the debt limit is triggered, the Treasury Department can begin using what it calls “extraordinary measures” to ensure that America doesn’t default on its debts.

Some estimate these accounting maneuvers could push the default deadline to the summer of 2025 — but that’s exactly what Trump wants to avoid, since an increase would then be needed while he is president.

Lawmakers have always raised the debt ceiling in time because the consequences of failure are stark. Without action, the government would go into default on its debts, a first-ever situation that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and economic experts have said could be “catastrophic” for the economy and global markets.

Raising or suspending the debt limit does not authorize new spending or tax cuts; it merely acknowledges past budgetary decisions — that is, current budget law — and so allows the federal government to meet its existing legal obligations. For that reason and others, some have advocated doing away with the limit altogether.

What is an omnibus bill?

It’s a massive, all-encompassing measure that lawmakers generally had little time to digest — or understand — before voting on it.

There are a lot of spending measures all rolled into one, and sometimes that’s what happens if the dozen separate funding measures haven’t worked their way through the congressional spending process in time to be passed in order to fund the federal government.

But Republicans opted against an omnibus this time, hoping instead to renegotiate all federal spending next year when Trump is in the White House and they will control both chambers of Congress.

Is a government shutdown going to happen?

Maybe — and maybe not.

There is often a scramble on Capitol Hill to put together a last-minute funding package to keep the government open just before a deadline, at least temporarily. But shutdowns have happened, most recently six years ago, when Trump demanded funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. That shutdown was the longest in U.S. history.

Jimmy Carter saw a shutdown every year during his term as president. And there were six shutdowns during Reagan’s time in the White House.