WASHINGTON โ(AP) โค-โ A prolonged government shutdown loomsโ as โSpeaker Mike Johnson warned Wednesday it coudl be the longest in โmodernโ history, perhaps impacting a wide range of โฃfederal services while someโ agencies are โcushionedโ byโข previously approved funding. The shutdown began after Congress failed to โคpass 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,otherโฃ 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 โคbill Act” – a law passed earlier – providesโ some agencies with flexibility,โฃ but leaves others vulnerable.Theโ nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) hasโ indicated the administration could utilize mandatory funding โfrom the 2025โ reconciliation act to maintain activities at various agencies currently funded by direct appropriations.โฃ Theโ CBO specifically โidentified 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 โขthe law that could mitigateโ shutdown impacts.
According to a CBO letter responding to Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, โขfunds within the Department of Defense’s 2025 reconciliation act appropriationโ could be โused to continue paying active-duty personnel, lessening the number of federal workers facing delayed compensation. However, the length of โขthe shutdown remains uncertain, and the full extent of the disruption will depend on โthe duration of the congressional โdeadlock.
