A government shutdown, which is scheduled to begin at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday unless Congress can work out a funding deal, could have more permanent impacts than previous funding lapses.
The White House Office of Management and Budget issued a memo this week directing agencies to prepare for workers not to just be furloughed but fired en masse if there is no temporary funding deal.
“Programs that did not benefit from an infusion of mandatory appropriations will bear the brunt of a shutdown,” the memo said, according to Politico.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said the threat of mass firings is “an attempt at intimidation.”
“Donald Trump has been firing federal workers since day one — not to govern, but to scare,” the New York Democrat said in a statement. “This is nothing new and has nothing to do with funding the government.”
But House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said voters should take the threats seriously, especially in states like Virginia that have a high percentage of federal employees.
“Donald Trump and MAGA extremists are plotting mass firings of federal workers starting Oct. 1,” he wrote on X. “Their goal is to ruin your life and punish hardworking families already struggling with Trump Tariffs and inflation.”
As of last year, Georgia was home to roughly 130,000 military and civilian federal employees. Upon his return to the White House in January, Trump began slashing employment rolls and cutting spending in ways that already have caused that number to decrease.
It is uncertain what the impact of a sustained shutdown would be, although any attempt to fire government workers will likely be challenged in court.
Georgia also anticipates receiving billions of dollars in federal funding and grants. If a shutdown drags on, grant funding for education, transportation, agriculture and disaster relief projects could begin to dry up.
Usually during a shutdown, most federal workers are put on unpaid leave of absences unless their roles are deemed “essential.” These employees must show up on the job even though they are not paid, although they would receive back pay once the shutdown ends.
In past shutdowns, essential workers have included people in roles at federal health care facilities, airports, law enforcement agencies and in the military. But the Trump administration will have wide authority to determine which workers are essential and which are not.
Government programs like Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security and food stamps likely have enough funding to continue to provide benefits for several months even in a shutdown. But there could be longer wait times for customer service or for people who want to enroll or change their plans.
During a shutdown, museums, certain historic sites and other tourist attractions are often closed to the public or limited in access. Park rangers will likely not be deemed essential workers, and bathrooms could be locked even if open-air parks remain accessible.
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