The Impact of the US Government Shutdown on Daily Life and the Environment

Fri Oct 10 2025 17:40:05 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

As the US government enters a shutdown due to budgetary disagreements, various sectors including air travel, national parks, and food assistance programs will face significant disruptions, affecting millions of Americans.

The recent US federal government shutdown, initiated by a budget impasse, threatens to significantly disrupt numerous services and employment for 40% of federal workers. Key areas of impact include air travel delays, uncertain operations at national parks, and interruptions to health and food assistance programs. Notably, households serving the elderly and low-income populations will likely notice meaningful changes in service continuity. As communities brace for these changes, the effectiveness and future of governmental programs are put to question.

The US federal government has shut down after Republican and Democratic lawmakers failed to resolve a budget stand-off.

The impasse affects the funding of government operations throughout October and beyond, and is poised to cause widespread disruption for Americans in areas ranging from air travel to zoo visits.

The political gridlock is also expected to put 40% of the federal workforce – about 750,000 people – on unpaid leave.

This is how its impact could be felt across the US.

Your next flight

A federal shutdown could hit flyers in a variety of ways, potentially leading to long security queues and delays caused by unpaid air traffic controllers choosing to stay home rather than work for free.

Air traffic control and Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) workers are considered essential, so they will continue to go to work. But they will not be paid until the shutdown ends. When this last happened in 2018-2019, these workers increasingly began to call in sick, leading to delays that had a ripple effect across the country.

Americans planning to travel abroad could also be impacted, with US passport agencies warning that it could take longer than usual to process travel documents.

No work - or pay - for federal workers

Federal employees are expected to be hardest hit, as they will not receive any pay cheques while the shutdown continues.

Law enforcement officers will continue to work through the government shutdown - though more than 200,000 of them will do so unpaid, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on X.

Also continuing their work as usual are border protection staff, including ICE Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, in-hospital medical care staff and air-traffic controllers.

According to CBS News, the BBC's US media partner, the five government departments with the most furloughed staff are:

Department of Defense (civilian staff): 334,904 furloughed, 406,573 retained
Department of Health: 32,460 furloughed, 47,257 retained
Department of Commerce: 34,711 furloughed, 8,273 retained
Department of State: 16,651 furloughed, 10,344 retained
NASA: 15,094 furloughed, 3,124 retained

Some workers may choose to take second jobs, as they have done during previous shutdowns. Employees who are not deemed to be essential will be forced to stay at home. In the past, these workers have then been paid retroactively.

Several agencies, like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), are likely to furlough many workers, affecting ongoing research and experiments already in progress.

National Parks with no staff

Federal lands, including National Parks and National Forests, have been closed off to visitors during past shutdowns, since the rangers and other employees were asked to stay at home.

During the last shutdown, the Trump administration made the decision to leave parks open, with few to no federal workers there to staff them.

The decision led to vandalism in parks, as visitors drove through protected landscapes, looted historical sites, and rampantly littered, according to park advocates.

A group of more than 40 former park superintendents have appealed to the White House to completely close the parks in the event of a shutdown.

We don't leave museums open without curators, or airports without air traffic controllers - and we should not leave our national parks open without National Park Service workers, said Emily Thompson of the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks.

Healthcare for the elderly and poor

Medicare and Medicaid, social health programs for the elderly and poor, will continue, but staffing shortages could lead to some interruptions.

Food assistance programs will also be impacted, with the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) expected to rapidly run out of funds.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as food stamps) is expected to continue for longer, but is at risk of running out of funding.

Emergency disaster relief will also be largely unaffected; however, other work done by disaster agencies will be impacted.

Mail will still arrive

The US Postal Service has previously been unaffected by government shutdowns - and this time is no different.

In a statement posted on its website earlier this week, the service said all post offices would remain open for business as usual.

This is because the postal service does not depend on Congress for funding. It is an independent entity that is generally funded through the sale of its products and services, not by tax dollars.

As communities navigate these tough times, the long-term consequences of the government shutdown could reshape public services and environmental stewardship across the nation.