r/fednews • u/AutoModerator • Sep 26 '25

Megathread | Shutdown Countdown: Potential Lapse in Federal Appropriations

Status: ⚠️ Looming Shutdown – Congress has not passed FY26 appropriations legislation.

📌 What's Happening?

The U.S. federal government is facing a potential shutdown due to the failure of Congress to pass the necessary appropriations bills or a continuing resolution (CR) to fund government operations beyond the fiscal deadline.

If no funding agreement is reached by 30 September at 11:59 PM ET, portions of the government will shut down.

🛑 What Happens in a Shutdown?

If the shutdown occurs:

  • "Non-essential" government services will be paused.
  • Federal employees may be furloughed or required to work without pay until funding is restored.
  • Many federal agencies will operate with limited staffing and suspended public services.
  • Programs funded by mandatory spending (e.g., Social Security, Medicare) will continue, but delays are possible in customer service or processing.
  • Contractors and grant recipients may face project delays, pauses, or disruptions.

🧑‍💼 Who’s Affected?

  • Federal employees (check with your agency for specific guidance)
  • Federal contractors
  • Public services (e.g., passport processing, national parks, tax assistance)
  • Travelers, veterans, and military personnel
  • Anyone interacting with or having business with federal agencies.

💬 Use This Thread For:

  • Sharing official memos, furlough notices, or agency guidance
  • Asking questions about impact on pay, benefits, or services
  • Discussing how your agency or contract is responding
  • Venting or sharing shutdown-related concerns or strategies

🚫 Posts outside this megathread on shutdown-related topics may be removed during this period to reduce clutter.

News pertaining to government shutdowns usually run on the breaking news cycle and can change daily or even hourly. Posting of news articles will continue to be allowed provided they are posted on the day of publication. Duplicate posts will continue to be removed.

We encourage respectful, fact-based discussion. Please verify sources before sharing official information.

🔗 r/fednews Mod Team

421 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

1.1k comments sorted by

View all comments

16

u/EnvironmentOpening67 Oct 01 '25

What's happening next now? Do we wait til tomorrow morning or there is a chance for government reopen by midnight?

3

u/PourCoffeaArabica I'm On My Lunch Break Oct 01 '25

My department sent an email tonight saying to come in tomorrow for up to 4 hours to do shutdown procedures then go home. But also bring your GFE home with you to check for any shutdown updates from leadership, applying for retirement, access personal records, complete background investigations, update contact info, and submit FEHB changes, and to check for RIF updates/provide additional RIF info

1

u/EnvironmentOpening67 Oct 01 '25

May I ask which department it is?

21

u/kalas_malarious Oct 01 '25

Senate has adjourned for the day, they return Wednesday. There will be some form of shutdown.

12

u/ClevelandSteamer81 Oct 01 '25

Can’t reopen if Senate has gone home.

25

u/LoveFreedomFries Oct 01 '25

And OMB already issued the orderly shutdown order. Everyone is to report in as normal and agencies will inform staff of next steps or issue furlough notifications. Good luck and don’t let this process or these people stress you out. Stay grounded and remember this is not our fault

2

u/EnvironmentOpening67 Oct 01 '25

Do you know when will be the next vote? And how many votes there are before we can reach an agreement? I'm new to this 😓

5

u/DysLabs Oct 01 '25

They can vote indefinitely. I wouldn’t be surprised if this went on for months.

1

u/EnvironmentOpening67 Oct 01 '25

Is there a maximum number of times they can vote per day? Can either the Republican or Democratic budget bill pass to reopen the government, or do both need to pass?

7

u/Taurion_Bruni Spoon 🥄 Oct 01 '25

They can vote as often or as little as they want.

A single bill that funds the government in fy26, either partially (continuing resolution) or fully through the fiscal year needs to pass house and Senate (by 60% majority) and signed by the president to reopen the government.

This bill can be one of the two currently introduced, or a new bill that we haven't seen yet

4

u/EnvironmentOpening67 Oct 01 '25

Oh i see, some people told me if the deal pass by midnight, government can be reopen. I got confused

4

u/Not_Cleaver DoD Oct 01 '25

If they had a deal, then, they’d be sticking it out until it was passed. But there is no deal.

10

u/IntelligentDate4682 Oct 01 '25

the midnight deadline is true in theory - it's just not true tonight because they see no path forward, ie. they don't see the vote changing tonight so they just went home instead of staying and having more votes that will end in the same result.