WASHINGTON (AP) - A prolonged government shutdown looms as Speaker Mike Johnson warned Wednesday it coudl be the longest in modern history, perhaps impacting a wide range of federal services while some agencies are cushioned by previously approved funding. The shutdown began after Congress failed to pass a spending bill before a Friday deadline.
While military personnel were spared immediate financial disruption thanks to an $8 billion transfer from unused research and progress funds within the Pentagon,other critical programs face immediate cuts.The Education Department is already experiencing disruptions to special education and after-school programs.johnson’s warning underscores the complexities of the current impasse, where the “One Big Beautiful bill Act” – a law passed earlier – provides some agencies with flexibility, but leaves others vulnerable.The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has indicated the administration could utilize mandatory funding from the 2025 reconciliation act to maintain activities at various agencies currently funded by direct appropriations. The CBO specifically identified the Department of Defense, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Office of Management and Budget as recipients of funds under the law that could mitigate shutdown impacts.
According to a CBO letter responding to Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, funds within the Department of Defense’s 2025 reconciliation act appropriation could be used to continue paying active-duty personnel, lessening the number of federal workers facing delayed compensation. However, the length of the shutdown remains uncertain, and the full extent of the disruption will depend on the duration of the congressional deadlock.