Live Updates: Shutdown Grinds Many Government Services to a Halt
“A government shutdown began after President Trump and Democrats failed to agree on a spending plan. While critical services like Social Security and the Postal Service will continue, many other federal functions are halted, impacting hundreds of thousands of workers. The shutdown is expected to disrupt the economy, with potential long-term consequences if it persists.
A bitter deadlock between President Trump and Democrats in Congress over federal spending is expected to disrupt services and leave many workers furloughed, and possibly cause mass job losses.
Time Since Government Shutdown
8 hours, 50 minutes
Pinned
Services that millions of Americans rely on were upended Wednesday, and many government functions ground to a halt as a bitter impasse between President Trump and Democrats in Congress over spending shut down much of the federal government for the first time in nearly seven years.
Critical services will continue to operate. The Postal Service will still deliver mail, and Social Security and Medicare will still send payments. But a sprawling mass of other federal functions has ceased.
Private employers cut 32,000 jobs in September, according to a report from ADP, the payroll processor. Economists generally consider ADP’s data less reliable than figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But with the federal government shut down, the B.L.S. won’t be releasing the monthly jobs reporton Friday as planned. That means economists will be paying more attention than usual to other indicators.
In an interview on Fox News, Vice President JD Vance again blamed Democrats for the shutdown, saying they had refused to back a short-term Republican spending proposal in part because it did not extend a set of expiring Obamacare subsidies. “You don’t shut the government down, you don’t take the government as a hostage, because you want to engage in a negotiation about healthcare costs,” he said.
Hundreds of thousands of workers have been furloughed
| Agency | Total employees | Furloughed | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
Environmental Protection Agency | 15,166 | 13,432 | 89% |
Education | 2,447 | 2,117 | 87 |
Commerce | 42,984 | 34,711 | 81 |
Labor | 12,916 | 9,792 | 76 |
H.U.D. | 6,105 | 4,359 | 71 |
Source: Official government agency websites
Note: Data does not necessarily reflect the most up-to-date employment numbers for an agency’s total work force; some agencies provided numbers based on personnel data from as early as March 2025.
Elena Shao and Lazaro Gamio/The New York Times
Markets wavered on Wednesday morning, as investors appeared anxious about the effects of a U.S. government shutdown that took effect at midnight.
S&P 500 futures were down about 0.4 percent in premarket trading. Bond yields and the dollar also dipped. The price of gold, a haven during times of turmoil, set another record high.
The government shutdown that began on Wednesday is expected to have limited immediate effect on air travel. But it could become more disruptive to travelers and the travel industry the longer it lasts.
Air traffic controllers who guide planes across American skies and Transportation Security Administration staff members who screen travelers at airports will continue to work during the shutdown, but they will be paid only once it ends. Other activities that will continue include hiring and training of air traffic controllers, on-call accident investigations and safety oversight, according to the Transportation Department’s contingency plans.
U.S. stock markets are slipping, with about two hours to go until trading officially begins in New York. Futures for the S&P 500 are down about 0.5 percent.
Typically, markets have been unfazed by government shutdowns. But the longer a shutdown runs, the deeper its potential effect on the economy, and President Trump’s threats to fire “a lot” of civil servants and make other “irreversible” cuts may have longer-lasting consequences.
The failure to reach a budget agreement will shut down much of the federal government on Wednesday, but that won’t stop the flow of several critical benefits, including Social Security retirement and disability payments, which are sent to more than 74 million people each month.
Applying for benefits will also still be possible, either online, over the phone or at the agency’s field offices, which generally remain open in the event of a budgetary lapse.”
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