The federal government shut down at midnight, prompting more political mudslinging, confusion about government services and fears from workers worried they might lose their jobs for good.
The shutdown — which grinds much of the government’s work to a halt — comes after the Trump administration and Congress failed to reach a deal on spending before funding ran out early Wednesday.
Democrats and Republicans continue to blame the other side for the funding impasse, which could drag on for days or weeks, potentially disrupting government services such as national park staffing, environmental enforcement and energy permitting.
Federal employees were frustrated Wednesday as they awaited updates about the next steps for their jobs and their agencies. Along with the uncertainty that normally comes with a government shutdown is a Trump administration suggestion that they’ll use the shutdown to pursue widespread layoffs of government workers — beyond the furloughs that typically keep employees home until there’s a funding deal.
Here’s what to know on Day 1 of the shutdown:
Feds are fuming
Many government employees woke up Wednesday morning to the news of the shutdown. Hundreds of thousands of workers could be furloughed and many are worried the Trump administration will lay them off while the shutdown continues.
“We’re in really dark times for the federal workforce,” said one EPA employee granted anonymity because they fear reprisal. “This is something new under the sun,” that person said. “We’ve never had a president trying to weaponize a shutdown against federal employees.”
One Interior employee said workers at the department feel “numb.” Employees at the department were told to take their computers home with them, and staffers worry they’ll receive layoff notices when they check their emails, the employee said.
Interior employees were told they’d have up to four hours Wednesday to conduct “orderly shutdown activities,” including time to put up an out-of-office message.
Several Interior employees told POLITICO’s E&E News on Wednesday outside of Interior’s Washington headquarters that they went in to complete shutdown activities such as paperwork and notifying contractors of their status.
One longtime agency staffer said Interior employees were advised by email Tuesday that precise shutdown plans would be “forthcoming,” though they had not yet been shared by the start of the Wednesday workday.
EPA employees still working
Employees at EPA got word Tuesday evening that they could continue working thanks what many believe are “carryover funds” that are not affected by the shutdown.
One EPA employee said Wednesday morning they were told the agency was indeed using carryover funds, but managers had been instructed not to put that in writing.
“It’s bleak,” a different EPA employee said Wednesday.
DOE staffers say they’re in the dark
Energy Department staffers who filed into the agency’s headquarters in Washington on Wednesday said they hadn’t received guidance from management and were confused about what activities are allowed.
“We have received zero direction from DOE leadership regarding how this shutdown affects us,” said one staffer granted anonymity to speak freely. “I came to the building today unsure if the door would even open. It’s really disheartening to have bosses that think so little of you.”
The staffer said the mood within headquarters is “confusion” and that “people can’t figure out if they are allowed to have meetings with external stakeholders, if they need to cancel travel, or if they are allowed to perform certain normal actions.”
DOE in a post Tuesday provided a summary of its shutdown plans and said about 13,800 staffers left at the agency won’t see changes for a period of up to five days but furloughs and the halting of some operations could follow if the funding lapse continues. About 3,000 workers have accepted a deferred resignation, according to DOE.
Late Wednesday morning, DOE staffers said they received a memo from leadership stating that the agency would operate through Wednesday and management is closely monitoring each office’s funding and prior year balances.
Agency employees said funding is still intact for the Loan Programs Office and the National Nuclear Security Administration, the branch of DOE that deals with nuclear weapons.
“We usually have funds to carry us over for a month or two,” said an NNSA staffer granted anonymity to speak freely. “This time, I think we have funds to last a week.”
The U.S. Energy Information Administration — the data-crunching arm of DOE — said Wednesday that the office “will be able to operate for a period of time during the lapse in appropriations.”
Parks are mostly open
The administration has opted to keep most national parks open to the public under the shutdown.
The move mirrors the Trump administration’s approach during the last government shutdown that occurred from December 2018 until January 2019.
The National Park Service plans to furlough about 9,290 workers — more than half of its workforce of between 14,500 and 15,500 employees —starting Wednesday. The administration plans to use recreation fees to pay for skeleton crews of staff at many sites.
National parks often become a political football during funding lapses, as parks emptied their normal cadre of rangers and law enforcement can face vandalism.
Athan Manuel, director of the Sierra Club’s Lands Protection Program, said that in many regions, public lands are the face of the government and are the places where residents may first notice the shutdown’s effects, such as stalled trash collection at parks and dirty bathrooms.
“Once people notice that, they’re going to start ratcheting up the grassroots pressure to reopen the government,” Manuel said.
Courts still have some cash
The federal courts can continue paid operations through at least Friday thanks to fees and other funds not subject to a new congressional appropriation, with a possibility of an extension through Oct. 17.
If the shutdown outlasts the judiciary’s funding, the courts will continue operating, potentially with fewer staff, under the Antideficiency Act, which protects the exercise of judicial power during a funding lapse.
The zoo is open, the Archives are not
“Our museums, research centers, and the National Zoo are open today, and will remain open through at least Monday, October 6,” a banner across the Smithsonian Institution’s website said Wednesday morning.
The National Archives facilities are closed due to the shutdown, its website said Wednesday.
Army Corps still at work
The shutdown’s effects on the Army Corps of Engineers appear to be minimal thus far.
According to the agency’s plan, the vast majority of the Army Corps’ 36,610 employees’ compensation comes from a funding source other than annual appropriations, with just 1,119 employees expected to be furloughed.
However, in the event of a prolonged shutdown, the agency’s capacity to process and approve permits under the Clean Water Act through its regulatory program could be disrupted, according to agency watchers.
Staff feels ‘fairly safe’ at National Weather Service
With the recent string of deadly weather disasters and an increasingly busy Atlantic hurricane season, several thousand National Weather Service employees considered essential to protect life and property will remain on the job, according to a Commerce Department shutdown plan.
“I feel like the weather service is fairly safe right now,” said one NWS employee reporting to NOAA’s Silver Spring, Maryland, office Wednesday morning. The employee said they were furloughed from another federal agency during the 2018-2019 shutdown.
Staff at NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service will continue to control orbiting satellites to collect data on potential volcano eruptions, oil spills, wildfires and smoke, and tropical cyclones, the shutdown plan said. Aircraft and vessels operated by the Office of Marine and Aviation will continue data collection if the work “directly aims to protect a trust resource from significant and imminent threats.”
Infrastructure delays
The Transportation Department said the shutdown could stall billions of dollars in payments for two of the country’s biggest infrastructure projects, the Gateway railroad tunnel that connects New Jersey and New York City, and the city’s Second Avenue subway project.
DOT was reviewing funding for both those projects to see if they complied with a Trump administration order barring minority hiring practices, according to a statement.
“Thanks to the Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jefferies shutdown, however, USDOT’s review of New York’s unconstitutional practices will take more time,” because the department’s civil rights staff is furloughed, the statement said.
The delay will affect a $300 million payment for the subway project, the statement said. The two projects together are scheduled to receive $18 billion in federal funds.
About 22 percent of DOT’s 53,000-person workforce was furloughed, according to the agency’s shutdown plan.
The administration blames ‘radical left’
The Trump administration is using federal websites and communications with federal employees to blame the shutdown on Democrats.
“The Radical Left in Congress shut down the government,” the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s website said Wednesday morning.
Agency communications sent out to employees on the eve of the shutdown Tuesday similarly said any funding lapse would be “forced by congressional Democrats.”
Democrats aren’t giving in
Democrats are similarly digging in their heels, suggesting this shutdown could be a long one.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer posted a video at midnight declaring that the “Republican shutdown has just begun because they wouldn’t protect Americans’ health care. We’re going to keep fighting for the American people.”
Reporters Robin Bravender, Hannah Northey, Michael Doyle, Heather Richards, Miranda Willson, Brian Dabbs, Mike Lee, Daniel Cusick, Timothy Cama, Ellie Borst, Pamela King, Kevin Bogardus, Finya Swai and Ian Stevenson contributed.
