Lawmakers are facing a critical deadline this week as the clock ticks down on federal funding. With government funding set to expire at midnight on **Tuesday, September 30, 2025**, Congress must pass either a full-year budget or a temporary continuing resolution to keep agencies operating.

If no agreement is reached, the federal government will enter a shutdown beginning **Wednesday, October 1**. Such a lapse in funding would force many federal employees in non-essential roles to be furloughed, while others in essential positions—such as military service members, air traffic controllers, and border security officers—would be required to work without pay until funding is restored.

A shutdown would also affect a wide range of public services. National parks could close, passport processing would slow, and certain federal programs could pause operations altogether. However, key mandatory spending programs—including Social Security and Medicare—would continue to operate, as would other critical safety and security services.

This deadline has become a familiar fixture in Washington. In recent years, short-term continuing resolutions have been used repeatedly to avert shutdowns at the eleventh hour. But as partisan divides persist, the threat of disruption once again looms large.

Unless Congress can strike a deal before Tuesday’s midnight cutoff, Americans could wake up Wednesday morning to the start of a partial government shutdown.

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