How worried should Georgians be about another government shutdown?
After the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, Congress is again racing to beat another funding deadline to start 2026.
On Thursday’s episode of the “Politically Georgia” podcast, Atlanta Journal-Constitution journalists Greg Bluestein and Tia Mitchell discuss the latest on government funding.
Congress has until Jan. 30 to avoid a partial shutdown by either passing nine funding bills, including crucial funding for national defense, or agreeing on a short-term spending plan.
Missing the funding deadline would leave millions of federal workers without pay just a few months after the last shutdown, which ended Nov. 12 after a record 43 days.
Mitchell and Bluestein talked to AJC Washington Insider Jamie Dupree about the roadblocks in negotiations.
Dupree commented on how Georgians could be impacted by a repeat of last October’s shutdown when Democrats originally blocked funding to demand an extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits.
“On one hand, it seems hard to believe that Democrats will force another shutdown,” said Dupree. “But there has been so little progress on the nine unfinished government funding bills for 2026 that anything is possible.”
Dupree added that Republicans worked on a plan before the holiday recess.
“Republicans cut a deal among themselves on how much the feds should spend next year, but they didn’t even make that number public,” said Dupree. “So if you’re a federal worker, you might want to pay attention in January.”
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About the Author
Natalie Mendenhall is an award-winning producer for the "Politically Georgia" podcast. She also steps in front of the mic, creating compelling segments for the show. Before joining the AJC, the Chicago native worked as a senior producer at Georgia Public Broadcasting.
