Impact of a federal government shutdown: Information we can confirm.

On December 18th, President-elect Donald Trump suddenly criticized a bipartisan proposal aimed at averting an imminent partial government shutdown. Instead, he urged House Speaker Mike Johnson and fellow Republicans in Congress to renegotiate, mere days before federal funding faces expiration on Friday evening.

Prior to the rejection of the proposal, tech mogul and Trump supporter Elon Musk incited anger towards the extensive 1,500-page temporary spending bill in numerous posts on his social networking platform X. Musk also showed support for Republican legislators who declared their disapproval.

Musk stated in one of his posts, “Opting for a government shutdown (which, by the way, does not halt essential operations) is far superior to passing an unfavorable bill.”

Many people agreed with Musk’s claim while others disagreed, arguing that a shutdown could adversely affect many Americans. Here’s what we can VERIFY about what will be affected if the federal government shuts down.

Shutdowns happen when Congress doesn’t approve funding legislation, which prevents the government from spending the money it needs to remain open. If Congress enacts some, but not all, of the 12 annual appropriations bills, this is known as a partial government shutdown.

Each federal agency determines its own plan for how to handle a shutdown, but basically any government operations deemed nonessential stop happening, and hundreds of thousands of federal employees’ work gets disrupted. Here’s what would be impacted during a partial government shutdown.

All U.S. post offices will remain open and mail will still arrive as usual if the federal government shuts down, according to the United States Postal Service.

The USPS is not affected by a government shutdown because it is an independent entity that receives no tax dollars for operations. Instead, the USPS is generally funded through the sale of products and services, such as collectible stamps and shipping supplies.

“U.S. Postal Service operations will not be interrupted in the event of a government shutdown, and all Post Offices will remain open for business as usual,” the USPS said on its website in 2023. “Because we are an independent entity that is generally funded through the sale of our products and services, and not by tax dollars, our services will not be impacted by a government shutdown.”

Airports will remain open during a government shutdown, but there may be significant travel delays nationwide — especially during the holiday season.

During the most recent government shutdown, which lasted for 35 days between Dec. 22, 2018 and Jan. 25, 2019, travelers faced longer lines as some air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents, who are employed by the government and do not get paid during a shutdown, did not report to work, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonprofit that focuses on fiscal policy issues. Many security checkpoints were also closed.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) are the two major food stamp programs in the U.S. The programs help more than 40 million needy people across the country buy food.

Depending on the program and the state, WIC and SNAP funding could run out in as little as a few days or as long as a month if the government shuts down, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which oversees both programs.

SNAP and WIC benefits remained available the last time the government shut down in 2018. That’s because the government passed a special funding bill that allowed certain programs, including SNAP, to be funded for 30 days, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and the USDA.

The USDA issued February 2019 SNAP benefits early, so it could use those guaranteed funds to pay for February’s benefits. The agency was also able to keep WIC benefits from running out during that shutdown because it had unspent funds from the previous year that it was able to use.

Military service members and furloughed Department of Defense (DOD) personnel would not be paid during a government shutdown. But, like other federal employees, they will receive back pay when it ends.

Active duty military personnel and a limited number of civilian employees with the DOD would continue to work during a shutdown, according to shutdown guidance issued by the DOD in 2023. Other DOD employees would be furloughed and not required to report to work.

Furloughed and essential government employees who have to report to work aren’t paid during a government shutdown. However, they eventually get back pay.

Historically, Congress has approved retroactive pay for essential and furloughed employees, according to the Congressional Research Service. But that back pay was not guaranteed until Congress passed a federal law in January 2019.

The law, called the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, requires both essential employees who worked without pay, as well as furloughed workers who did not report to work, to be paid after a shutdown ends. These employees must be compensated “at the earliest date possible,” regardless of scheduled pay dates, the law says.

Medicare and Social Security recipients, including people who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits, would still get their checks in the event of a government shutdown.

Social Security benefits are among those that would continue to be paid during a government shutdown because they are “authorized by Congress in laws that do not need annual approval,” according to David Wessel, senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution.

Funding for entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare falls under a category called “mandatory spending” rather than “discretionary” spending, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. Mandatory spending programs continue to function during a government shutdown, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget explains.

While Social Security would still make benefit payments on time, a government shutdown could cause issues for other aspects of the program.

“We know from past government shutdowns that the federal government will be able to send out Social Security benefit payments, even if it is partially shut down,” said Shai Akabas, executive director of economic policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

“What is impacted in Social Security is the ability of new beneficiaries to apply for benefits because some of the employees who would be handling that will be furloughed for that period of time and not working,” Akabas added.

That means the program may be unable to issue any new Social Security cards and verify applicants’ eligibility for benefits, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

You can still apply for or renew a U.S. passport during a government shutdown, but processing times may take longer than usual, a Congressional Research Service report says.

During the 2018-2019 government shutdown, the U.S. Department of State said people were able to apply for a U.S. passport book or passport card at all passport agencies and centers, including post offices, libraries or county clerk’s offices, as well as renew their passport by mail.

“We continue to offer passport services during the lapse of appropriations for the federal government,” the U.S. Department of State said.

It is unclear whether national parks will remain open in the event of a government shutdown.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says the National Park Service (NPS) turned away millions of visitors at more than 400 parks, national monuments and other sites in 2013 when the government shut down for 16 days. That shutdown led to more than $500 million in lost visitor spending nationwide, per NPS estimates.

Meanwhile, during the 2018-2019 shutdown, many national parks remained open to the public, but no visitor services were provided, which led to reports of damage and trash build-up at many parks.

NPS has the authority to accept donations to keep some park operations running when the government shuts down, according to the Congressional Research Service. Some states, such as Utah in 2013, have donated money to support national parks in their state during a shutdown.

As a result of funds provided in the Inflation Reduction Act, essential Internal Revenue Service operations would continue in the event of a partial government shutdown, but nearly 60,000 IRS employees could be furloughed, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says.

This means that automated tax collection would stay on track, but the IRS would stop auditing tax returns if the government shuts down.

During the 2013 shutdown, a backlog of 1.2 million income and Social Security number verification requests delayed mortgage and other loan approvals, and billions of dollars of tax refunds were also delayed, according to the Committee for a Responsible Budget. At least 26,000 furloughed IRS employees were recalled to work during the 2018-2019 shutdown in preparation for tax season, but 14,000 did not show up to work without pay.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.