Who will blink to end this ‘shutdown?’ How previous lapses ended

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Government “shutdown” is something of a misnomer because when funding lapses, much of the government does not shut down.

Lawmakers failed to pass spending bills on time, but Social Security checks and Medicare payments will continue since those appropriations are not covered by the annual funding process. Veterans’ health care will continue. Border Patrol will continue their efforts and so will the National Weather Service. Most of the military and national security apparatus will continue to show up for work.

There will be hiccups in daily life for Americans and real headaches for the federal workers who are furloughed or who work without pay during the funding lapse, although the government has generally made those people whole when the shutdown ends. The Trump administration has also threatened to fire, rather than furlough, many federal workers. The government will be less efficient not running as intended even if much of it remains technically open.

The last shutdown overseen by Trump — the longest in US history — ended in January 2019 after ten air traffic controllers didn’t show up for work, temporarily shutting down La Guardia airport in New York, as CNN reported at the time.