Dallas-Fort Worth is home to thousands of federal employees, many of whom could soon be without a paycheck.
By Sarah Bahari
Staff writer
J. Scott Applewhite / AP
The federal government shut down early Wednesday as President Donald Trump and GOP congressional leaders remained gridlocked with Democratic lawmakers over spending.
Republicans had proposed keeping the government funded at current levels through mid-November. Democrats want more than $1 trillion to extend health care subsidies and to reverse Medicaid cuts in Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill.
This is the first shutdown since December 2018, when the government shut down under Trump for 35 days, the longest in U.S. history.
Thousands of federal employees will likely be furloughed or work without pay. Work at some agencies could stop, while other operations are likely to continue as normal. Here’s what a shutdown means for Texas.
Ben Curtis / AP
Will federal workers be paid?
Texas is home to roughly 130,000 federal employees, not counting military service members, and has the most workers of any state behind California, Virginia and Maryland. Dallas-Fort Worth alone has about 51,000 federal workers.
Many will be furloughed, but others deemed essential will continue working, albeit without pay. Both federal employees and military service members do not receive paychecks during a shutdown. They will get paid when the government reopens, though. In 2019, Congress passed a law requiring the government to pay furloughed employees after a shutdown.
One exception: members of Congress still get paid. Lawmakers have repeatedly proposed bills that would stop that practice, but none have become law.
How will immigration enforcement work?
Immigration offices across Texas will remain open, and federal officers will still conduct regular check-ins with migrants. The Department of Homeland Security will continue its operations, but some planning, research and training will pause. Enforcement work by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection will continue. Roughly 14,000 of the agency’s 270,000 employees could be furloughed, according to a plan posted on the department’s website.
Will my Social Security check be affected?
Roughly 4.4 million people — about one in seven Texans — receive Social Security benefits. Because Social Security is considered mandatory, funding is generally not affected by a shutdown. However, employees with the Social Security Administration could face furloughs, so new applications could face delays.
What about Medicare and Medicaid?
Medicare and Medicaid programs and services will also continue uninterrupted, though staffing shortages could mean delays for some services, like the mailing of Medicare cards. The government has enough money to fund Medicaid through the first quarter of the next fiscal year, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
Will I get mail?
The U.S. Postal Service will continue to deliver mail and all post offices will remain open. The agency generally does not receive tax dollars for operating expenses, instead relying on revenue from its sales.
Can I get a passport?
U.S. passport agencies in Dallas and Texas will remain open, but it could take longer to process applications with furloughed employees.
Will national parks close?
National parks will remain partially open. Open-air sites will remain open to the public, but buildings that require staff, such as visitor centers, will close. Texas is home to more than a dozen national park sites, including Big Bend National Park and Guadalupe Mountains National Park.
Conservation groups and former park leaders had urged the Trump administration to close the parks if the government shut down. During the 2018 shutdown, parks remained open but with skeleton crews, resulting in widespread damage, including illegal off-roading, stolen artifacts and vandalism, according to the National Parks Conservation Association. At Big Bend, prehistoric petroglyphs were vandalized, the nonprofit said.
This time, more than half of employees will be furloughed, according to the service’s contingency plan. Of some 14,500 employees, more than 9,000 will not report to work.
Will airports remain open?
Texas airports, including DFW International Airport and Dallas Love Field, will remain open. Still, airlines are warning that a shutdown could cause delays as air traffic controllers and security officers work without pay. In 2018, the shutdown slowed travel as security agents stopped showing up for work without pay, leading to long lines and closed checkpoints.
Will FEMA provide disaster relief?
FEMA’s core disaster relief will not be affected in the short term, but a shutdown could cause delays. Some grant approvals would be paused, and no new policies could be written under the National Flood Insurance Program, halting new mortgages that require flood insurance.
By Sarah Bahari
Sarah Bahari is a trending news reporter. She previously worked as a writer for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where she covered a bit of everything. She is a graduate of Kansas State University.
This story, originally published in The Dallas Morning News, is reprinted as part of a collaborative partnership between The Dallas Morning News and Texas Metro News. The partnership seeks to boost coverage of Dallas’ communities of color, particularly in southern Dallas.
