On October 1st, the Democratic and Republican parties failed to agree on a funding bill, triggering a government shutdown with wide-reaching effects beyond federal employees. Military personnel, school districts reliant on federal funds, and aviation workers are among those significantly impacted.
During the shutdown, active-duty service members and deployed National Guard members must work without immediate pay unless legislation, like the “Pay Our Military Act,” is passed to guarantee their compensation. Some civilians in the Department of Defense continue working, while others are furloughed.
U.S. History teacher Chris Lowery supports paying military personnel during a shutdown, stating, “Somebody who is in active duty serving in an area where action is sane, would absolutely, 100% deserve to be paid.”
Federally funded school districts also struggle, with South Carolina potentially losing $90 million in federal funding due to earlier cuts. Impact Aid payments, supporting districts with federal property, will be unavailable during the shutdown.
Districts have already faced challenges this year. According to an article for News19, “School districts brace for ripple effect of federal funding delay in South Carolina,” South Carolina could lose out on $90 million in federal funding. This is due to the Trump administration withholding $6 billion in federal grants to schools nationwide.
Aside from the withholding of funds, Impact Aid payments to districts containing federal property will not be available during the shutdown. According to the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools, Impact Aid is a Federal education program that reimburses school districts for the lost revenue and additional costs associated with the presence of nontaxable Federal property.
On October 28, air traffic controllers missed their first full paychecks. On October 24, the Transportation Security Administration officers missed their first full paychecks. According to a CBS News article, “Airlines are feeding air traffic controllers as they miss their first full paychecks.” Some airlines are stepping in to help feed air traffic controllers and other unpaid federal aviation workers who missed their first full paycheck on day 28 of the shutdown.
Meanwhile, President Trump is focused on a ballroom construction project and taking trips to South Korea, threatening to send U.S. military troops there to American cities. On Monday, October 20, demolition of the East Wing of the White House began.
The plan is to construct a 90,000 square-foot ballroom near the White House in July. Initially, it was suggested that the East Wing would not be affected by the construction. But in less than three months, the East Wing has been fully removed.
U.S. History teacher Mr. Lowery believes Trump is putting more focus into the ballroom than into reopening the government, stating,
In a briefing on October 23, press secretary Karoilne Leavitt said that the president’s main priority was the ballroom. A clip of this went viral on platforms such as X, causing an uproar within the Democratic Party.
According to an article written for CNN, “Fact check: Democratic leaders misleadingly snip White House press secretary’s ‘main priority’ quote out of context,” The House Democratic Caucus’s official account on the social media platform posted the five-minute clip of her stating this, leaving out the question asked beforehand.
A reporter asked press secretary Leavitt during the Thursday briefing whether or not the president was looking at any other renovations at the White House besides the Rose Garden patio and ballroom, to which she responded that the president’s main focus is the ballroom.
With this government shutdown going into its first month, many people are already beginning to feel the consequences of the disagreement between the Democratic and Republican parties.
