The federal government officially entered a shutdown at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday after both Republican and Democratic spending proposals failed in the Senate, triggering constitutional questions and threatening the operations of the nation’s courts and law enforcement agencies.
The impasse centers on competing congressional spending bills, with Democrats demanding extensions to subsidies under the Affordable Care Act—the 2010 federal law that expanded health insurance coverage, also known as Obamacare—and reversals of Medicaid cuts. Republicans, in turn, proposed a seven-week funding extension at current levels.
The Republican measure, H.R. 5371, passed the House 217-212 on September 19 but fell short of the required 60 votes in the Senate on September 30, receiving only 55 votes. The bill would have funded government operations through November 21 at fiscal year 2025 levels and included $28 million for Supreme Court justice protection, $30 million for U.S. Marshals protective operations, and $30 million for Capitol Police mutual aid.
The Democratic alternative, S.2882, failed 47-53. The measure would have funded the government only through October 31 but included a permanent extension of enhanced ACA premium tax credits and repeal of recent Medicaid funding cuts. It also proposed creating an Office of Inspector General for the Office of Management and Budget and provided higher funding levels for federal defender services and courthouse security.
The federal judiciary will continue paid operations through at least Friday, Oct. 3, using court fees and carryover balances. The judiciary is assessing whether operations can be sustained through Oct. 17. If funds are exhausted, courts will operate under the Anti-Deficiency Act, which allows work necessary to support constitutional judicial powers to continue. Justices and federal judges will continue receiving pay due to constitutional protections against diminishing judicial compensation.
The Justice Department’s contingency plan designates more than 102,000 DOJ employees as “excepted” from furlough, including all FBI agents and prosecutors handling national security and law enforcement operations. Federal law enforcement personnel, including those in federal prisons, will be required to work without pay.
Under federal law, furloughed employees are to receive retroactive pay once funding resumes.
