750,000 federal employees could be furloughed every day of US government shutdown

“The effects of a shutdown depend on its duration and on an Administration’s decisions about how to proceed,” the CBO says in its Tuesday analysis.

US government shutdown

The federal government will shut down on Tuesday at midnight as it runs out of money if the Senate does not pass a House measure that would extend federal funding for seven weeks.

Republicans and Democrats have so far failed to reach a consensus on a new funding deal. The government shut down would put hundreds of thousands of “nonessential” federal workers on furlough, meaning they are forced to take a leave of absence without pay, while other “essential” workers will be required to show up to work without getting paid either.

Agencies prepare for shutdown

Several federal agencies and departments have issued guidance in recent days on what to expect if there’s a funding lapse.

The Environmental Protection Agency said a contingency plan for a possible government shutdown would leave more than 10% of its staff in place to handle “significant agency activities.” More than 1,700 employees would be required to go to work if a shutdown begins on Wednesday, the memo said.

The Department of Veterans Affairs says about 97% of its workforce will continue to work if there’s a government shutdown and its medical centers, clinics and vet centers will stay open.

Trump warn irreversible actions

Trump has used the threat of government shutdown to warn that the administration can take actions that are “irreversible” that would be “bad” for Democrats.

This could include “cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like,” Trump said.

Trump said that Russell Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, has become “very popular” because the president said “he can trim the budget to a level that you couldn’t do any other way.”

“So they’re taking a risk by having a shutdown,” Trump said about Democrats. “Because of the shutdown, we can do things, medically and other ways, including benefits. We can cut large numbers of people, but we don’t want to do that … we don’t want fraud, waste and abuse.”

Vice President JD Vance also blamed Democrats for the government shutdown, saying they “are not doing the right thing.”

21 government shutdowns in five decades

Government shutdown is not a new phenomenon in the US, and in the past five decades, there have been a total of 21 such incidents. The last US government shutdown was in December 2018 during Trump’s first term, lasting 35 days, the longest in history.