What shuts down in a government shutdown? A U.S. guide

How a shutdown decides what closes

During a shutdown, a law called the Antideficiency Act stops agencies from spending money that Congress has not approved. Three questions decide what happens to each office or program:

• Where does its money come from? Work paid for by yearly funding bills stops. Programs paid for by fees, trust funds, permanent laws or money set aside in advance can keep going.
• Does it protect life or property? Work such as the military, law enforcement, air traffic control and hospital care continues. These "excepted" employees keep working, usually without pay until the shutdown ends.
• Is it a full or partial shutdown? In a full shutdown, none of the 12 yearly funding bills has passed. In a partial shutdown, only the agencies whose bills are missing are affected.

Each agency publishes a plan listing which staff stay on duty. That is why the answer differs from one shutdown to the next, and from one agency to another.

What shuts down or slows down

• Many federal offices. Staff whose work is not excepted are furloughed, which means sent home without pay, so offices close or run with fewer people.
• National parks and museums. National parks may close or stay open without visitor centers and rangers. The Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo closed on October 12, 2025, once their leftover funds ran out.
• Federal courts, after a few weeks. Courts can keep running on fees and other funds for a while. In 2025 they did so until October 17, then switched to limited operations.
• Customer help lines and casework. Call centers and case help at agencies such as Medicare and the VA can be slower or paused.
• Some online tools. E-Verify, which employers use to check that new hires can work in the U.S., was switched off at the start of the 2025 shutdown and restored on October 9, 2025.
• Government reports. Some official data, such as monthly job figures, can be delayed.

What keeps running

• Social Security and Medicare payments continue, because they are mandatory spending that does not need a yearly vote. Some Social Security office services slow down.
• Mail delivery. The U.S. Postal Service pays for itself through postage, so mail keeps coming.
• The military, law enforcement, air traffic control and airport screening. This work continues, but most of these employees work without pay until the shutdown ends, which can mean delayed military paychecks and longer airport lines.
• Veterans' care and benefits. VA hospitals and clinics stay open, and disability and pension payments continue. The VA's plan keeps about 97% of its staff working.
• Student aid. The FAFSA, Pell Grants and federal student loans keep working because they use multi-year or permanent funding. Loan payments are still due.
• Immigration services. USCIS is funded mostly by application fees, so most applications keep moving.
• Banks and deposit insurance. Banks stay open, and FDIC insurance keeps protecting deposits.

Benefits at risk in a long shutdown

Some programs have money for the first weeks of a shutdown, but not beyond. The longer it lasts, the more they depend on agencies finding other funds.

• SNAP (food stamps). Usually unaffected in a short shutdown; a long one can put the next month's SNAP benefits at risk, as happened in 2025.
• WIC. New federal money to states stops. In 2025, the Agriculture Department moved other funds to keep the program running.
• Medicaid. Payments to states are covered for the first quarter of the budget year; a very long shutdown could delay later ones.
• Housing vouchers (Section 8). Payments rely on money the Housing Department committed before the shutdown. In 2025 that kept rent payments going through the end of the year.
• Unemployment offices. Benefits keep flowing from state funds, but the federal share of the cost of running state offices stops, which can strain them over time.

State and local services

A federal shutdown does not close services run by states, counties and cities. Your DMV, public schools, state parks, state courts and local police stay open. Some state programs use federal grants, so a very long shutdown can still reach them, but day-to-day service continues.

Who is affected by a government shutdown?

Is the government open right now?

Yes. The federal government is open, and current funding lasts until 11:59 PM Eastern on December 11, 2026. Our live U.S. government shutdown tracker shows the current answer, the next deadline and which services are affected, checked against official sources.

Frequently asked questions