US federal government shuts down: about 750,000 workers furloughed, first shutdown in nearly seven years

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Reuters reports that about 750,000 federal employees have been furloughed without pay. Military personnel, air traffic controllers and border patrol agents classified as "essential" are working temporarily without pay, with back pay due once the shutdown ends. White House budget director Russell Vought wrote to agency heads hours before midnight ordering them to execute shutdown plans.

The sticking point is Democrats' demand to include an extension of pandemic-era health insurance tax credits, due to expire at year's end, in the funding bill; Republicans want that handled separately. The House passed a "clean" continuing resolution on September 19 funding the government through November 21, but it stalled in the Senate.

Vice President JD Vance warned on October 1 that a prolonged shutdown could trigger layoffs; White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said federal layoffs are "likely" and would happen "soon." According to an internal letter seen by Reuters, the Commerce Department's Patent and Trademark Office plans to cut about 1% of its 14,000 staff.

Public services are already disrupted: the Capitol Visitor Center closed for lack of funding and the Washington Monument shut to visitors; more than 11,000 of the FAA's 44,000 staff are furloughed while over 13,000 controllers work unpaid, prompting aviation groups to warn of flight-delay risks; the Labor Department suspended economic data releases including the September jobs report. National parks remain broadly open but understaffed, and the Smithsonian will stay open through October 6 on prior-year funds.