In brief: All 12 annual appropriations bills lapsed on October 1, 2025. Permanently funded benefits such as Social Security and Medicare kept paying, but SNAP, air travel, small-business lending, federal courts, and Head Start were disrupted as the lapse stretched into November. P.L. 119-37 ended it on November 12.
Why it started
Fiscal year 2026 began on October 1, 2025 with none of the 12 regular appropriations bills enacted and no continuing resolution in force. The main dispute was whether a stopgap should extend enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits that were scheduled to expire at the end of 2025. The Senate repeatedly fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance a House-passed continuing resolution, so funding lapsed for every agency that depends on annual appropriations.
Because no full-year bill had been enacted, this was a government-wide lapse, unlike the 2018–19 partial shutdown, when five bills were already law.
Timeline
- Oct. 1FY2026 begins without enacted appropriations or a continuing resolution. Agencies activate lapse plans; E-Verify goes offline.
- Oct. 7A draft OMB memo, reported publicly, argues the 2019 back-pay law is not self-executing for furloughed employees.
- Oct. 8The IRS exhausts other funds and furloughs 46.4% of its workforce.
- Oct. 9E-Verify returns. USDA announces $300 million in Section 32 funds to keep WIC operating.
- Oct. 10About 4,000 reduction-in-force notices go out across several agencies; a federal court later blocks shutdown layoffs.
- Oct. 15Troops are paid on schedule using about $8 billion in unobligated defense research funds.
- Oct. 20Federal courts move to limited operations after fee balances run out on Oct. 17.
- Oct. 24USDA says November SNAP benefits will not be issued.
- Oct. 28Air traffic controllers receive a $0 paycheck.
- Oct. 29CBO publishes its estimate of the economic cost.
- Oct. 31Federal courts in Massachusetts and Rhode Island order USDA to use SNAP contingency funds. Troops are paid again with reprogrammed funds.
- Nov. 1SNAP benefits are not issued on schedule. 140 Head Start programs miss Nov. 1 grant funding.
- Nov. 7FAA orders flight reductions at 40 major airports. The Supreme Court temporarily stays an order for full SNAP benefits.
- Nov. 10The Senate passes the amended funding bill, 60–40.
- Nov. 12The House passes it 222–209; the President signs P.L. 119-37 the same day. The lapse ends.
- Nov. 15–19Retroactive pay reaches most federal employees, depending on payroll provider.
- Nov. 17FAA lifts its flight-reduction order. Full November SNAP benefits go out in most states.
Federal workers
At least 670,000 employees were furloughed, with some estimates near 750,000; hundreds of thousands more—including air traffic controllers, TSA officers, and many law enforcement staff—worked without pay (Scripps News). Agency plans varied widely:
| Agency | Furloughed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Education Department | About 87% of staff; Federal Student Aid planned 632 of 747 | PBS NewsHour |
| IRS | 46.4% from Oct. 8, after five days funded by other money; 39,870 kept working | Journal of Accountancy |
| Social Security Administration | About 12% of 51,825 employees | FOX 9 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | About 3%; roughly 97% kept working | Military.com |
Two developments made 2025 different from earlier lapses. On October 7, a draft Office of Management and Budget memo was reported to argue that the 2019 back-pay law did not automatically cover furloughed employees (ABC7). And on October 10, agencies including Commerce, Education, HHS, DHS, HUD, Treasury, and EPA issued about 4,000 reduction-in-force notices; a federal judge in California preliminarily blocked shutdown-related layoffs (JURIST).
Congress settled both issues in the reopening law. P.L. 119-37 requires back pay under 31 U.S.C. 1341(c), voids reductions in force taken from October 1 through enactment—reinstating affected employees with back pay—and bars new ones through January 30, 2026 (enacted text; OPM guidance). Back pay began November 15 and was mostly complete by November 19 (Government Executive). Estimate an individual amount with our back pay calculator.
Military pay
Service members were paid on October 15 using about $8 billion in unobligated FY2025 research and development funds, and on October 31 using funds the administration identified from the 2025 reconciliation law and Navy shipbuilding accounts. The Defense Department also accepted a $130 million private donation toward service member pay. See military pay during a shutdown.
SNAP, WIC, and Head Start
The 2025 lapse produced the most serious food-assistance disruption of any shutdown. On October 24, USDA said November SNAP benefits would not be issued; its roughly $5.25 billion contingency fund fell short of a full month’s $8.5–9 billion cost (Agri-Pulse). Federal judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island ordered the contingency money used, USDA moved to partial benefits, and the dispute over full payment reached the Supreme Court before the reopening law mooted it (SCOTUSblog). Because P.L. 119-37 included full-year Agriculture appropriations, full benefits went out the week of November 17.
WIC stayed open on $300 million in Section 32 funds announced October 9, followed by additional transfers. Head Start was hit by grant timing: as of November 1, 140 programs serving more than 65,000 children had not received grants due that day (National Head Start Association). Details: SNAP and WIC during a shutdown.
Air travel
About 13,000 air traffic controllers worked without pay and received a $0 paycheck on October 28 (NATCA). Citing staffing strain, the FAA ordered flight reductions at 40 high-traffic airports beginning at 4% on November 7, with a planned rise to 10% (FAA). Cuts peaked at 6%, were eased after the reopening, and ended November 17. See air travel during a shutdown.
Other services
- Social Security and Medicare: payments continued; some SSA services such as benefit verifications paused. Medicare telehealth flexibilities lapsed October 1 and were restored retroactively by P.L. 119-37.
- Federal courts: fee balances carried operations through October 17; limited operations began October 20 (U.S. Courts).
- Small business and farm lending: SBA 7(a) and 504 loans stopped; SBA estimated $5.3 billion did not reach about 10,000 businesses (SBA). Farm Service Agency offices reopened October 23 with limited staff.
- Flood insurance: National Flood Insurance Program authority lapsed, halting new policies and renewals until it was restored retroactively.
- Immigration and employment checks: fee-funded USCIS kept interviewing; E-Verify was offline October 1–9.
- National parks: many roads, trails, and open-air memorials stayed accessible, supported in part by recreation-fee balances; some sites closed.
- Mail: the self-funded Postal Service was unaffected.
How it ended
The Senate passed an amended House bill 60–40 on November 10. The House approved it 222–209 on November 12, and the President signed the Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026 that day (P.L. 119-37). It:
- funded most agencies through January 30, 2026;
- enacted full-year FY2026 Agriculture-FDA, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction-VA bills, securing SNAP for the rest of the fiscal year;
- guaranteed back pay for federal employees and reimbursed states and grantees that kept federal programs running;
- voided shutdown-period reductions in force and barred new ones through January 30.
The January 30 deadline produced a short partial lapse; see the 2026 shutdowns.
Economic cost
CBO estimated on October 29 that the shutdown would reduce annualized fourth-quarter 2025 real GDP growth by 1.0 to 2.0 percentage points, and that output permanently lost would total about $7 billion for four weeks, $11 billion for six weeks, or $14 billion for eight (CBO). The actual lapse was just over six weeks. For comparison, CBO estimated the 34-day 2018–19 partial shutdown permanently cost about $3 billion (CBO).
Lessons for the next deadline
- Length matters more than the start date. Most programs absorbed the first two weeks; SNAP, Head Start, courts, and aviation strained in weeks three through six.
- Mandatory benefits held. Social Security, Medicare, and VA compensation continued throughout.
- Back pay was not assumed. Congress wrote it explicitly into the reopening law; watch for the same language in any future deal.
- Contractors were not covered. The law’s back-pay provisions applied to federal employees, not contractor staff. See the contractor guide.
Track the current deadline on the funding deadline page.