The US federal government is shutting down again, but it won’t be like last time.
Funding for a slew of federal agencies runs out at midnight late on Friday, and lawmakers on Capitol Hill failed to send a series of bills to fund those agencies to President Donald Trump’s desk in time.
Even though the Senate passed a series of bills to fund the government on Friday, the House is not set to vote on them until late Monday at the earliest, meaning the shutdown will last at least a few days.
Some parts of the federal government have already been funded, meaning that the shutdown, even if it drags out, is only partial.
Additionally, it’s unlikely that this shutdown will last as long as the one that began in October, which stretched for 43 days and became the longest government shutdown in American history.
Here’s what could be affected — and what won’t be
In October, funding for the entire federal government was being held up, and the shutdown was far-reaching. This time, some parts of the federal government would remain operational.
That’s because Congress has already passed a series of spending bills that fund agencies and programs through September 30.
Among those programs are SNAP and WIC, which were notably affected by the previous shutdown. Additionally, national parks would likely remain open, veterans would continue to receive benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs, and staff on Capitol Hill would continue to be paid.
But plenty of other government agencies and programs would be affected if the shutdown drags out, including the Department of Defense (including troops), the State Department, the Treasury Department, the Transportation Security Administration, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Notably, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection would remain operational, even though it’s funded via the Department of Homeland Security.
That’s because DHS received $190 billion in funding via the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” in July, including $75 billion for ICE and roughly $65 billion for CBP.
It’s unlikely to last as long as before
Unlike in the fall, lawmakers in both parties are working together to try to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.
The odds of a shutdown first rose following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis on Saturday.
Democrats vowed to oppose a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE and CBP, until reforms to immigration enforcement are made.
The House had already passed a package of six funding bills, including the DHS bill, and they had been stitched together into one package in the Senate.
The Senate has now passed a reformulated version of that package, with DHS funding continuing for only two weeks to allow for a renegotiation.
It’s unclear as of now whether that package will pass the House when lawmakers return to the lower chamber next week.
