[Facing intense pressure of the federal government potentially shutting down within days and disaster aid coffers that need replenishment, lawmakers are racing to cobble together a temporary government funding plan after President-elect Donald Trump torpedoed their last package on Wednesday.
The now-dead agreement would have kept the federal government operating through March 14, as well as provided nearly $100 billion in disaster aid and economic relief for farmers in rural communities. The deal would have also provided lawmakers with their first pay raise since 2009.
Here’s what Americans could soon face if Congress doesn’t reach a deal by midnight on Friday:
Aid for disasters and farmers
The bipartisan deal struck earlier in the week would have provided nearly $100 billion to help Americans trying to recover from multiple natural disasters in 2023 and 2024. Every state in the nation was set to get a portion of the funds. States like North Carolina and Florida, which were hit hard by Hurricanes Helene and Milton earlier this year, were expected to get some largest amount of funding.
Some $29 billion would help replenish the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Disaster Relief Fund, which has dwindled after contending with the two hurricanes, as well as other disasters. The package also included $21 billion in disaster relief for farmers – a big sticking point in negotiations earlier this week.
Lawmakers have until midnight Friday to fund the federal government – at least temporarily – to avoid a shutdown. Since Congress has not approved appropriations for any agencies, all would be affected.
The White House Office of Management and Budget is sending additional guidance to federal agencies on shutdown preparations, an administration official told CNN. Every department and agency has its own set of plans and procedures for a shutdown.
The impact of a shutdown differs each time, but the consequences could be felt early. About 875,000 civilian federal workers will be furloughed, while another 1.4 million employees are considered essential and will have to continue working – most of them without pay.
“A government shutdown would deliver a devastating blow to hardworking federal employees and the millions of citizens who rely on essential government services,” said Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees.
Federal employees are “rattled” by the sudden threat of a shutdown, said Doreen Greenwald, national president of the National Treasury Employees Union. But the move would also have broader consequences.
“Shutdowns waste taxpayer money, harm the economy and jeopardize the paychecks and essential services that hardworking Americans and their families depend on every day,” Greenwald said.
Previous shutdowns have closed national parks and museums, wreaked havoc on the Internal Revenue Service just before the start of the tax filing season, and delayed some federal lending to homebuyers and small businesses, among other impacts.
However, some agencies can continue certain operations – and keep paying their employees – from other sources of funding. Also, some essential government functions continue even if the government shuts down. Notably, Social Security recipients would receive their monthly payments, and Medicare and Medicaid benefits would continue.
Government agencies had to prepare multiple times for a shutdown during the last fiscal year since Congress repeatedly punted on approving a full funding plan before finally passing one in March.
Trump presided over the longest government shutdown in four decades during his first term. The 35-day impasse, which shuttered part of the government just before Christmas in 2018, ended in late January when Trump agreed to a temporary funding measure that did not include billions of dollars for a border wall.
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