WASHINGTON (AP) — The partial government shutdown is vastly different from the record closure in the fall.
That is mostly because this shutdown, which started Saturday, does not include the whole of government and may not last long, even as it now drags into the new week.
The House had hoped to pass funding legislation quickly when lawmakers return Monday evening, and that would have ended the shutdown. But House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., now says he is hoping to have the package considered “at least by Tuesday” as he scrambles to round up votes and Democrats hold out for deeper changes to immigration enforcement.
Congress already has passed half this year’s funding bills, ensuring that several important federal agencies and programs continue to operate through September. Nutrition assistance programs, for example, should be unaffected.
Funding is lapsing, at least temporarily, for the Pentagon and agencies such as the departments of Homeland Security and Transportation. Essential functions are continuing, but workers could go without pay if the impasse drags on. Some could be furloughed.