--- title: A Government Shutdown Could Start Wednesday. Here’s How It Could Affect Your Life | TIME description: The federal government is set to shut down on Wednesday unless Congress manages to strike a last-minute agreement to pass a stopgap spending bill before the Sept. 30 funding deadline. While it's become common practice for Congress to avert a shutdown at the last possible moment, such an outcome appears increasingly unlikely as lawmakers have departed Washington with no agreement in sight. canonical: https://time.com/video/PGEHCYfL/ og:title: A Government Shutdown Could Start Wednesday. Here’s How It Could Affect Your Life og:description: The federal government is set to shut down on Wednesday unless Congress manages to strike a last-minute agreement to pass a stopgap spending bill before the Sept. 30 funding deadline. While it's become common practice for Congress to avert a shutdown at the last possible moment, such an outcome appears increasingly unlikely as lawmakers have departed Washington with no agreement in sight. og:url: https://time.com/video/PGEHCYfL/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/PGEHCYfL/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A Government Shutdown Could Start Wednesday. Here’s How It Could Affect Your Life twitter:description: The federal government is set to shut down on Wednesday unless Congress manages to strike a last-minute agreement to pass a stopgap spending bill before the Sept. 30 funding deadline. While it's become common practice for Congress to avert a shutdown at the last possible moment, such an outcome appears increasingly unlikely as lawmakers have departed Washington with no agreement in sight. twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/PGEHCYfL/poster.jpg?width=720 --- * U.S. # A Government Shutdown Could Start Wednesday. Here’s How It Could Affect Your Life > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Subscription: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME is a general-interest news organization founded in 1923, reporting on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world. A TIME subscription provides full access to that journalism in print and digital, from $20 a year, and can be cancelled at any time. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: A Government Shutdown Could Start Wednesday. Here’s How It Could Affect Your Life [Watch (HLS stream): A Government Shutdown Could Start Wednesday. Here’s How It Could Affect Your Life](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/PGEHCYfL.m3u8) (1:37)  _Published 2025-09-30. The federal government is set to shut down on Wednesday unless Congress manages to strike a last-minute agreement to pass a stopgap spending bill before the Sept. 30 funding deadline. While it's become common practice for Congress to avert a shutdown at the last possible moment, such an outcome appears increasingly unlikely as lawmakers have departed Washington with no agreement in sight._ --- Oct 10, 2025 11:20 AM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [A Government Shutdown Could Start Wednesday](/video/ZiMWYITa/) ### A Government Shutdown Could Start Wednesday [U.S. Congress Returns to Try to Avert Government Shutdown](/video/klyrfTzA/) ### U.S. Congress Returns to Try to Avert Government Shutdown [House Votes to Avert Government Shutdown](/video/zd36wwdi/) ### House Votes to Avert Government Shutdown --- ## Transcript The federal government is set to shut down on Wednesday unless Congress manages to strike a last minute agreement before the September 30th funding deadline. So if it has to shut down, it will have to shut down. Here's how government shutdown could affect you. The most significant impact will be to federal workers, most of whom would be sent home without pay. But in a departure from how past shutdowns have been managed, the white House Budget Office is instructing agencies to prepare plans for permanent mass firings in programs that would lose funding, rather than temporary furloughs. Recreational facilities funded by the federal government, such as national parks and Smithsonian museums, would be forced to close. Social security, Medicare and Medicaid would continue to run during a shutdown. However, in past shutdowns, both agencies have cut back on related services, such as halting the issuance of new Social Security cards, replacement Medicare cards, and benefit verifications services for veterans outside the health system, including some administrative functions and benefits. Processing could be delayed. Families could see delays in food assistance. Ice agents and Customs and Border Protection will remain on duty. Detention facilities will also continue to operate, though court hearings for some immigration cases may be delayed. Air travel might slow as TSA agents and air traffic controllers are asked to work without pay. There may also not be a monthly jobs report on October 3rd, which could impact the Federal Reserve's decision making and create uncertainty in the markets. The last government shutdown took place in December 2018 under President Donald Trump's first term, when most government activity came to a halt for 34 days. It was the longest in the modern era and cost the US economy at least $11 billion. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"A Government Shutdown Could Start Wednesday. Here’s How It Could Affect Your Life","description":"The federal government is set to shut down on Wednesday unless Congress manages to strike a last-minute agreement to pass a stopgap spending bill before the Sept. 30 funding deadline. 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