The federal government entered a partial shutdown at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, after Democrats and Republicans failed to agree on a stopgap funding measure to keep agencies operating.
The lapse followed the Senate’s rejection of a short-term proposal and came days after the House advanced a continuing resolution to extend current spending levels through November 21.
The White House Office of Management and Budget instructed agencies to begin an orderly shutdown process once it became clear the deadline would pass without legislation.
The shutdown is the latest in a series of standoffs over timing and scope of federal spending. Negotiators worked through Tuesday but did not reach a deal acceptable to both chambers. As the deadline approached, leaders in both parties signaled they would continue talks, but agencies were told to implement contingency plans.
What triggered the shutdown
The immediate trigger was a standoff over a continuing resolution, commonly called a CR, that would have kept funding at current levels to give lawmakers more time to negotiate full-year appropriations for fiscal 2026. The Republican-led House passed such a measure on September 19.
Senate Democrats blocked the bill on September 30, arguing it failed to include extensions of enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits that are set to expire at the end of 2025.
Republicans said those health provisions should be handled separately from a temporary funding measure. They argued for a limited bill that maintains current spending and buys time for broader negotiations.
With both sides holding firm, neither chamber produced a plan that could pass both the Senate and the House before the deadline.
What the House bill would have done
The House-passed CR would have extended funding through November 21, maintaining most accounts at fiscal 2025 levels.
The measure was pitched as a narrow extension to prevent disruption while appropriators finalize full-year bills for fiscal 2026. It advanced largely along party lines, reflecting the broader divide over spending and policy riders.
Senate Democrats pushed to add the Affordable Care Act subsidy extension and related items. Republicans said those additions would increase spending and complicate a bill intended only to keep the lights on. As the deadline neared, Senate votes were scheduled, but none resolved the impasse in time to avoid a lapse.
How agencies will operate
Following the deadline, the Office of Management and Budget directed departments to implement shutdown contingency plans.
Agencies identify excepted functions that continue during a lapse, including activities necessary for life and safety, and pause nonexcepted operations. Employees must report for their next scheduled shift to carry out wind-down tasks, then follow agency instructions.
In past shutdowns, national parks and museums have closed or reduced services, regulatory reviews and grant processing have slowed, and many public-facing services have been curtailed.
The scope and timing vary by department based on their plans. Normal operations resume only after the President signs appropriations or a stopgap bill.
Impact on federal workers and services
The Congressional Budget Office estimated that about 750,000 civilian federal employees could be furloughed each day in a shutdown, with a roughly 400 million dollar daily cost of their compensation if work is halted.
The estimate is based on prior shutdowns, and the number can change as agencies adjust staffing. Longer lapses generally produce larger economic effects.
Under current law, furloughed employees receive back pay once funding is restored. Pay for active-duty military personnel pauses during the lapse unless separate legislation is enacted, as occurred in some previous shutdowns. Critical operations performed by excepted employees, including certain law enforcement and national security functions, continue during the funding gap.
Members of Congress remain on salary under constitutional provisions, even as many legislative and constituent services slow.
