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A government shutdown could occur on Dec. 21. Here’s what services and payments could be impacted.
With a federal spending bill now scrapped, the U.S. faces a possible government shutdown that could begin at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 21, when current funding is set to lapse. That raises questions about what types of services and payments could be impacted just days before the holidays.
A looming shutdown stems from controversy over a spending bill that would have extended funding through March 14, but which was nixed by House Speaker Mike Johnson after some Republicans — including President-elect Donald Trump — objected to billions of dollars in spending that had been added to the bill.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a billionaire who spent almost $300 million to back Trump and other Republican candidates in the November election, had also voiced opposition to the spending bill, which he called “terrible.” When the measure was scrapped, Musk proclaimed on X, “The voice of the people has triumphed!”
Without congressional approval for new spending, federal agencies are typically barred from doling out money, although there are some exceptions, such as activities to protect life and property. At the same time, agencies must make decisions about which workers will stay on the job, which can lead to varying impacts on government operations.
“Shutdowns can be disruptive, leading to delays in processing applications for passports, small business loans or government benefits,” David Wessel, senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution, wrote earlier this year in a blog post.
Here’s what could be impacted if the U.S. government shuts down on Dec. 21.
What happens if there is a government shutdown?
If the federal government shuts down, many government workers will be furloughed, although those providing essential services such as law enforcement and air traffic control will continue to report to their jobs.
However, none of those federal workers would get paid until Congress approves a new spending bill. After the shutdown ends, workers will receive retroactive paychecks covering the days they were furloughed or had to work without pay, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
That could create hardships for some government workers, as occurred during a shutdown that stretched for more than 30 days, starting on Dec. 22, 2018. During that stoppage, many federal workers turned to food pantries and other forms of aid to get through the several weeks when they didn’t receive paychecks.
Is Social Security affected by a government shutdown?
The nation’s 67 million Social Security recipients would continue to receive their checks even if the government closes for business. Medicare will also continue to operate, which means seniors covered by the health care plan won’t have their medications or treatments impacted.
That’s because both Social Security and Medicare benefits are authorized by laws that don’t require annual approval.
Even so, Social Security’s administrative budget is discretionary, which means it needs approval from Congress, according to the AARP. As a result, some services offered by the Social Security Administration could be impacted in a shutdown, such as benefit verification and new applications for benefits, the group says.
Would a government shutdown affect the TSA or air travel?
With millions of Americans expected to travel over the holidays, there are plenty of questions about how a shutdown could impact air travel. Because they provide essential services, air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration agents would be required to work without pay.
However, there could be “significant delays and longer wait times for travelers at airports across the country, based on what occurred during previous shutdowns,” the Department of Homeland Security warned last year ahead of a potential shutdown.
Does the USPS deliver mail in a government shutdown?
Yes, because the U.S. Postal Service is an independent agency. In previous shutdowns, operations have continued. That means mail would still be delivered, and post offices will remain open.
Does the military get paid in a government shutdown?
Active-duty members of the military and federal law enforcement would continue to work, but would not be paid until Congress signs off on new spending. But most civilian personnel working for the U.S. Department of Defense would be furloughed.
Veterans Affairs and the Defense Department are expected to start alerting workers about shutdown protocols on Thursday, according to the Military Times. The impact would likely be felt in the first week of January when the first military paychecks of 2025 will be deposited, which are scheduled to include a 4.5% pay increase for all troops, the publication noted.
What closes in a government shutdown?
Many services would be put on hold or delayed if there is a shutdown, including environmental and food inspections by the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a public policy group that focuses on federal spending.
The national parks would likely close, while the National Institutes of Health could also be impacted, the group noted. While taxes are still due, such as quarterly estimated payments due on Jan. 15, the IRS could also be impacted by furloughs, although tax filing season typically doesn’t kick off until late January.
How long could a government shutdown last?
The odds of a government shutdown have increased with the latest developments, according to Goldman Sachs analysts in a Dec. 18 research note. But, they added, “a protracted shutdown looks unlikely in our view.”
A spending measure also could be passed before the Dec. 21 deadline if Republicans can revise it to appease Trump, who objected to billions of dollars in spending added to the bill, Goldman’s analysts added.
“Trump’s opposition was unrelated to the main components — he stated support for the spending extension, and the disaster and agricultural aid — so it is possible that a revised package could still pass before” the deadline, they wrote.
Roger Carstens, the Biden administration’s top official for freeing Americans held overseas, on Friday arrived in Damascus, Syria, for a high-risk mission: making the first known face-to-face contact with the caretaker government and asking for help finding missing American journalist Austin Tice.
Tice was kidnapped in Syria 12 years ago during the civil war and brutal reign of now-deposed Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. For years, U.S. officials have said they do not know with certainty whether Tice is still alive, where he is being held or by whom.
The State Department’s top diplomat for the Middle East, Barbara Leaf, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, accompanied Carstens to Damascus as a gesture of broader outreach to Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, known as HTS, the rebel group that recently overthrew Assad’s regime and is emerging as a leading power.
Near East Senior Adviser Daniel Rubinstein was also with the delegation. They are the first American diplomats to visit Damascus in over a decade, according to a State Department spokesperson.
They plan to meet with HTS representatives to discuss transition principles endorsed by the U.S. and regional partners in Aqaba, Jordan, the spokesperson said. Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Aqaba last week to meet with Middle East leaders and discuss the situation in Syria.
While finding and freeing Tice and other American citizens who disappeared under the Assad regime is the ultimate goal, U.S. officials are downplaying expectations of a breakthrough on this trip. Multiple sources told CBS News that Carstens and Leaf’s intent is to convey U.S. interests to senior HTS leaders, and learn anything they can about Tice.
Rubinstein will lead the U.S. diplomacy in Syria, engaging directly with the Syrian people and key parties in Syria, the State Department spokesperson added.
Diplomatic outreach to HTS comes in a volatile, war-torn region at an uncertain moment. Two sources even compared the potential danger to the expeditionary diplomacy practiced by the late U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, who led outreach to rebels in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012 and was killed in a terrorist attack on a U.S. diplomatic compound and intelligence post.
U.S. special operations forces known as JSOC provided security for the delegation as they traveled by vehicle across the Jordanian border and on the road to Damascus. The convoy was given assurances by HTS that it would be granted safe passage while in Syria, but there remains a threat of attacks by other terrorist groups, including ISIS.
CBS News withheld publication of this story for security concerns at the State Department’s request.
Sending high-level American diplomats to Damascus represents a significant step in reopening U.S.-Syria relations following the fall of the Assad regime less than two weeks ago. Operations at the U.S. embassy in Damascus have been suspended since 2012, shortly after the Assad regime brutally repressed an uprising that became a 14-year civil war and spawned 13 million Syrians to flee the country in one of the largest humanitarian disasters in the world.
The U.S. formally designated HTS, which had ties to al Qaeda, as a foreign terrorist organization in 2018. Its leader, Mohammed al Jolani, was designated as a terrorist by the US in 2013 and prior to that served time in a US prison in Iraq.
Since toppling Assad, HTS has publicly signaled interest in a new more moderate trajectory. Al Jolani even shed his nom de guerre and now uses his legal name, Ahmed al-Sharaa.
U.S. sanctions on HTS linked to those terrorist designations complicate outreach somewhat, but they haven’t prevented American officials from making direct contact with HTS at the direction of President Biden. Blinken recently confirmed that U.S. officials were in touch with HTS representatives prior to Carstens and Leaf’s visit.
“We’ve heard positive statements coming from Mr. Jolani, the leader of HTS,” Blinken told Bloomberg News on Thursday. “But what everyone is focused on is what’s actually happening on the ground, what are they doing? Are they working to build a transition in Syria that brings everyone in?”
In that same interview, Blinken also seemed to dangle the possibility that the U.S. could help lift sanctions on HTS and its leader imposed by the United Nations, if HTS builds what he called an inclusive nonsectarian government and eventually holds elections. The Biden administration is not expected to lift the U.S. terrorist designation before the end of the president’s term on January 20th.
Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder disclosed Thursday that the U.S. currently has approximately 2,000 US troops inside of Syria as part of the mission to defeat ISIS, a far higher number than the 900 troops the Biden administration had previously acknowledged. There are at least five U.S. military bases in the north and south of the country.
The Biden administration is concerned that thousands of ISIS prisoners held at a camp known as al-Hol could be freed. It is currently guarded by the Syrian Democratic forces, Kurdish allies of the U.S. who are wary of the newly-powerful HTS. The situation on the ground is rapidly changing since Russia and Iran withdrew military support from the Assad regime, which has reset the balance of power. Turkey, which has been a sometimes problematic U.S. ally, has been a conduit to HTS and is emerging as a power broker.
A high-risk mission like this is unusual for the typically risk averse Biden administration, which has exercised consistently restrained diplomacy. Blinken approved Carstens and Leaf’s trip and relevant congressional leaders were briefed on it days ago.
“I think it’s important to have direct communication, it’s important to speak as clearly as possible, to listen, to make sure that we understand as best we can where they’re going and where they want to go,” Blinken said Thursday.
At a news conference in Moscow Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had not yet met with Assad, who fled to Russia when his regime fell earlier this month. Putin added that he would ask Assad about Austin Tice when they do meet.
Tice, a Marine Corps veteran, worked for multiple news organizations including CBS News.
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