U.S. Federal Government Status

Is the Government
Shut Down?

Partial shutdown — DHS affected

The best single website to check if the U.S. government is shut down.

Yes

Day 18 · Since Feb 14

18days
:
16hrs
:
39min
:
17sec

What's happening now (2026 DHS partial shutdown)

A partial government shutdown is in effect: Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding lapsed after Congress failed to pass the DHS appropriations bill (H.R. 7147). The Senate has blocked the House-passed bill over ICE reform demands. TSA, FEMA, and other DHS agencies are affected.

Congress.gov — auto-updated
DHS (HR-7147) — 2026-02-24: Motion by Senator Thune to reconsider the vote by which the second cloture on the motion to proceed to the measure was not invoked (Record Vote No. 39) entered in Senate.
  • 01Senate Democrats have blocked the House-passed DHS funding bill (H.R. 7147) over demands for ICE reforms — including barring ICE agents from wearing masks, mandating body cameras, and requiring warrants for home searches — following the shooting deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good during an ICE operation in Minneapolis.
  • 02TSA officers are missing paychecks; Global Entry was suspended at airports on Feb. 22. ICE, Border Patrol, and most of the Coast Guard remain funded under Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill, while TSA, FEMA and other DHS components are not.
  • 03DHS Secretary Kristi Noem is set to testify before Senate and House Judiciary committees. A Senate vote to end the shutdown was expected March 2.

Why shutdowns happen (the structural cause)

  • 01Every fiscal year, Congress needs to pass appropriations bills (or a stopgap "continuing resolution") to authorize government spending for agencies and programs.
  • 02If those bills don't pass before the previous funding expires (usually September 30), there's a funding lapse — meaning no legal authority to spend on many operations.
  • 03Under the Antideficiency Act, government agencies are prohibited from incurring obligations (i.e. spending money) without an appropriation. That law forces the government to shut down non-essential functions during a funding gap.
  • 04Politically, shutdowns usually emerge when parties (or branches of government) clash over budget priorities — what gets cut, what gets expanded, how much to spend, etc. These fights often include policy demands tied to funding (so it isn't just dollars, it's also politics).

Latest Coverage

8 articles

Democrats reject ‘ridiculous’ GOP demand to fund DHS after Iran attack - Politico

Politico/20h ago

One week into DHS shutdown, dogs in costume parade through the Senate - The Washington Post

The Washington Post/5d ago

Secretary Noem threatens to again suspend TSA PreCheck amid DHS shutdown - CNN

CNN/6d ago

Column | DHS shutdown could go on for a while — because voters aren’t paying attention - The Washington Post

The Washington Post/3d ago

Democratic lawmakers say they are 'closely' reviewing new White House offer on DHS - PBS

PBS/3d ago

DHS funding impasse here to stay as administration ratchets up pressure - Politico

Politico/3d ago

‘Thugs’: The Moderate Democrat Railing Against ICE - The New York Times

The New York Times/Feb 19

Opinion | TSA PreCheck closure is another reason to privatize airport security - The Washington Post

The Washington Post/Feb 24

Frequently Asked Questions

What you need to know about government shutdowns.

The status is shown at the top of this site as a live yes/no indicator, with the latest check time and affected agencies. It is updated continuously using official government and congressional data sources.

Use the homepage status indicator for the current answer. The tracker is designed to provide a clear real-time status signal and timestamp so you can verify whether a shutdown is active right now.

When a shutdown is active, the homepage counter shows the exact running duration (days, hours, minutes, and seconds) from the active shutdown start time.

The homepage and updates section list the agencies currently affected in the active funding lapse so you can quickly see operational impact.

A government shutdown occurs when funding legislation required to finance the federal government is not enacted before the next fiscal year begins. During a shutdown, the federal government curtails agency activities and services, ceases non-essential operations, furloughs non-essential workers, and retains only essential employees in departments that protect human life or property.

During a shutdown, non-essential federal employees are furloughed (sent home without pay), national parks and museums close, passport and visa processing is delayed, and many government services are disrupted. Essential services like national security, air traffic control, law enforcement, and medical care in federal hospitals continue operating.

Essential employees (military, law enforcement, air traffic controllers, doctors and nurses in federal hospitals) continue working but may not receive paychecks until the shutdown ends. Members of Congress continue to be paid because their pay cannot be altered except by direct law. Non-essential federal workers are furloughed and typically receive back pay once the shutdown ends.

Services that remain operational include active duty military, federal law enforcement, air traffic control, National Weather Service operations, emergency medical services in federal hospitals, mail delivery (USPS is self-funded), and Social Security payments. The Patent Office can operate on reserves for a limited period.

Closed or disrupted services can include national parks and federally managed museums, passport and visa processing, IRS tax refund processing, EPA inspections, NASA non-essential operations, and work at many regulatory agencies.

Shutdowns vary in length. The longest was 35 days (December 2018 to January 2019), followed by 21 days (1995 to 1996) and 16 days (2013). Many shutdowns last only 1 to 5 days.

Shutdowns are expensive. The 2018 to 2019 shutdown cost approximately $5 billion in back pay and lost revenue. The 2013 shutdown cost about $2.1 billion and reduced GDP growth by 0.6 percent. Costs include back pay, lost tax revenue, reduced economic activity, and disrupted services.

Shutdowns occur when Congress and the President cannot agree on spending bills before the fiscal year deadline. They typically result from political disagreements over budget priorities, policy riders attached to funding bills, or disputes over specific programs.

Yes. Congress can pass a continuing resolution to temporarily extend funding while negotiations continue. Automatic continuing appropriation policies have been proposed to reduce shutdown risk, but no permanent federal mechanism is currently in place.

Shutdowns like those in the United States are uncommon in most other democracies. Many parliamentary systems use mechanisms that keep government funded while budget negotiations continue.