The government shutdown, now the longest in history, entered Day 40 on Sunday, continuing to affect federal workers and services in Massachusetts and across the U.S.
Reports late on Sunday indicated that a critical bloc of Senate Democrats are prepared to vote yes on a bill that would reopen the government. The fate of the bill was uncertain at press time, though the Senate began the first of at least four votes necessary for passage at 8:30 p.m.
With the shutdown extending into November, many families in Massachusetts lost access to federally funded programs that cover childcare, heating bills, and school lunches. Organizations such as Head Start rely on federal grants, typically given in October or November. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for November are also delayed.
“Every event that I go to around the city, I run into a Boston resident who’s affected by this in one way or another,” Mayor Michelle Wu said Oct. 22.
The nation’s air traffic control system, which was already at sometimes dangerously low staffing levels, is also stressed by the shutdown. Though air traffic controllers are considered essential employees, and thus continue to report to work, they will not be paid until the shutdown ends. Nonessential government employees were sent home until the government reopens.
Transportation Security Administration officers also continue to work without pay.
Beginning Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration required a 10% reduction in flights at the country’s 40 busiest airports to alleviate the staffing shortages. At Boston Logan International Airport, approximately 5% of outbound flights on Sunday were canceled. Another 16% were delayed, according to data from FlightAware.
The Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit organization that promotes civil service, estimates that “between 650,000 and 800,000 federal employees have been furloughed nationally.” More than a million are still working without pay.
According to the American Federation of Government Employees, about 25,000 of these workers are in Massachusetts.
Additionally, military families across the country have faced uncertainty about their paychecks. President Donald Trump instructed the Department of Defense to use its funds to ensure troops were paid on time on Oct. 15, but a large number of military workers were left out.
Trump also said he intends to lay off thousands of workers during the shutdown, especially those aligned with the Democratic Party. A federal judge in California temporarily blocked the layoff attempts Oct. 28, the Associated Press reports. Trump has also suggested that federal workers will not receive backpay for their work during the shutdown, though he later backtracked on that point.
“It’s terrible that they have been working without pay because of the federal shutdown. And now, President Trump won’t even commit to ensuring federal workers get back pay once the government reopens,” Gov. Maura Healey, who visited Logan Airport to thank federal workers, said in a statement Oct. 10. “I want them to know that we see them, we appreciate their service, and we are going to fight to make sure they get the pay they have earned.”
The shutdown began when Republicans and Democrats in Congress failed to come to an agreement on a budget before it expired Oct. 1. The constitution prohibits the government from spending any money that isn’t appropriated by an act of Congress.
Increased subsidies for the Affordable Care Act are set to expire this year, and Democrats have been fighting to keep the measure in place to allow low-income Americans to retain their healthcare assistance. Republican lawmakers have expressed interest in extending the subsidies, but only if Democrats vote to reopen the government.
Trump and the White House have publicly blamed Democrats for the shutdown, with the White House’s website displaying a timer that states “Democrats have shut down the government,” and a list of organizations underneath the claim “Americans don’t agree with Democrats’ actions.”
The shutdown has now lasted five days longer than the previous record of 35 days, set during the first Trump administration beginning in 2018.
“It’s a clown show,” said Mike Stier, the president of PPS. “They’re using the shutdown as another vehicle to pursue unconstitutional and illegal management of public resources.”
Bridget Lord contributed research. Joshua Levin contributed reporting. The Mass Media will continue to cover this story as it develops. Click here to read live updates.
