federal government shutdown

President Biden and Vice President Harris met with House Speaker Mike Johnson and other top congressional leaders in the Oval Office on Tuesday to discuss government funding and Ukraine aid.

Congressional leaders hope to avoid a shutdown. But Ukraine aid is still unclear

9:27pm February 27, 2024

by Tamara Keith

After tense talks in the Oval Office, congressional leaders said they were hopeful they could reach a deal to avert a partial government shutdown on Friday. But they appeared divided on Ukraine aid.

Queue Listen Now

The head of the USDA says most WIC beneficiaries would lose access to the program within a few days of a government shutdown, leaving them unable to buy healthy food.

Millions of Americans will lose food assistance if the government shuts down

2:12pm September 26, 2023

by Rachel Treisman

A shutdown would affect the nearly 7 million women and children who rely on WIC for healthy food. Free school lunch and Meals on Wheels are also at risk, and SNAP could be impacted eventually too.

Queue Listen Now

Congress is moving to avert one crisis while putting off another. Both the House and Senate approved legislation Thursday that would fund the federal government through Dec. 3.

Politics & Government

Biden Signs Funding Bill, Avoiding A Shutdown, But Other Standoffs Persist

7:37pm September 30, 2021

by Kelsey Snell

The short-term spending bill avoids a partial government shutdown, but other major issues, such as suspending the debt limit, remain unresolved.

With some Democrats calling to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement, congressional negotiators want to cap the number of the agency's detention beds.

ICE Detention Beds New Stumbling Block In Efforts To Prevent Another Shutdown

5:06pm February 11, 2019

by Brian Naylor

Democrats want to cap the number of beds ICE may use to detain people arrested for overstaying their visas or committing minor crimes. President Trump says the idea is "crazy."

Environmental activists Liz Brandt (from left), with her daughters, Natalia, 3, and Valencia Bednar, 5; Martha Roberts, and Molly Rauch pose for a photograph while welcoming Environmental Protection Agency employees back to work on Jan. 28 in Washington,

Politics & Government

The Shutdown Is Over. Now The Federal Workforce Faces 'Untold Morale Problems'

1:45pm February 01, 2019

by Brian Naylor

"The federal government already has a recruitment problem, right?" said one expert. If "you watch this play out for the last 35 days, are you saying to yourself, 'Sign me up for that?' Probably not."

A TSA employee visits a Baltimore food pantry for government workers affected by the federal shutdown.

Politics & Government

Senate Fails To Approve Measures To End Partial Shutdown

5:00pm January 24, 2019

Neither of the bills were considered likely to pass, but they mark the first time the Senate has taken action on the issue since the new Congress was sworn in earlier this month.

Politics & Government

Local Food Pantries Increase Outreach During Government Shutdown

7:52am January 23, 2019

by Keri Brown

Area nonprofits are raising alarms about how the partial federal government shutdown may affect those in the Triad. This comes amid uncertainty as to how federal food assistance will impact people in the community.

A Week Of Big Gestures But No Movement As Shutdown Nears 1-Month Mark

8:02am January 20, 2019

by Mara Liasson

NPR's Mara Liasson joins Lulu Garcia-Navarro to discuss the president's negotiation-by-spectacle strategy on the shutdown, and to examine the latest moves in the Mueller investigation.

Shutdown Could Do Long-Term Harm To Already-Thin Air Traffic Control Teams

8:02am January 20, 2019

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

The number of air traffic controllers was at a record low before the government shutdown. With sickouts and resignations, union leader Joel Ortiz says the shutdown is making the skies less safe.

As House Democrats Reject Trump Proposal, Senate GOP Embraces It

8:02am January 20, 2019

by Scott Detrow

While Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi spurned President Trump's shutdown deal before he even officially offered it, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will push for a vote on it this week.