The federal government will start to shut down early Saturday morning unless Congress passes a bill to fund it beyond a Friday night deadline.
If a shutdown happens, most federal offices will close and an estimated 875,000 government workers will be furloughed, meaning that they keep their jobs but temporarily won’t come to work until the government reopens.
National parks, monuments and some museums would close their doors.
Federal courts would be scaled back with civil proceedings paused, while criminal prosecutions would continue to move forward.
Essential government agencies like the military, FBI, the Border Patrol and the Coast Guard would continue to operate more or less as usual.
Transportation Security Administration officers would continue to staff airport checkpoints and air traffic controllers would still be on the job.
Long lines are seen at Miami International Airport during the last government shutdown in 2019. (Getty)
Airport staff and some other workers would be expected to work but would not be paid until the shutdown ends. Delays are likely; last time the government shut down during President-elect Trump’s first term, significant numbers of TSA workers called out sick in protest, leading to longer lines at security checks.
The U.S. Postal Service also won’t be affected because it’s an independent agency.
Troops would stay at their posts, but many civilian employees of the military would be sent home.
Recipients of both Social Security and Medicare would continue to receive their benefits, which are part of mandatory spending that’s not subject to annual appropriations measures. But there could be delays processing claims and new applications.
A sign is posted on the door of an IRS office in Seattle during the last government shutdown in 2019. (AP)
Most functions of the Internal Revenue Service would come to a halt, and tax refunds would likely be delayed if a shutdown stretches into the new year when Americans start filing their taxes.
State and local government offices would be mostly unaffected.
The last shutdown took place six years ago before Christmas in 2018 when then-President Trump backed shutting down the government in an effort to force congressional Democrats to agree to increased funding for a border wall and other measures.
He effectively caved and agreed to end the shutdown 35 days later without winning any significant concessions.