Federal funding expires at midnight, putting Washington back on shutdown watch

Wednesday, September 30, is the last day of the 2026 federal fiscal year, and once again it is arriving with funding for much of the government set to run out at midnight.

Unless Congress passes a new spending bill or a short-term continuing resolution before then, parts of the federal government will begin shutting down on Thursday, October 1. During a shutdown, many federal employees are furloughed while employees considered essential keep reporting to work, often without pay until funding is restored, and a range of government services can be delayed or disrupted in the meantime. This is a familiar pattern for federal workers and contractors, who have already lived through two shutdowns earlier in 2026: a brief four-day lapse at the end of January, and a second, much longer 76-day shutdown limited mostly to the Department of Homeland Security that ran from mid-February to the end of April and became the longest in US history.

That earlier round of funding fights was resolved when Congress passed legislation, known as H.R. 7148, that funded most of the government through September 30 of this year, the deadline now arriving. Lawmakers have had months of advance notice of today's cutoff, and after living through this year's earlier shutdowns, both parties have said they are eager to avoid a repeat, especially with the midterm elections approaching. Even when a shutdown is ultimately avoided at the last minute, agencies are legally required to prepare for the possibility, which is why federal employees have already been receiving contingency notices and updated planning guidance in recent weeks regardless of how the funding talks are going.

The stakes go beyond paperwork. A shutdown, even a short one, delays paychecks for troops and federal workers, disrupts benefit processing for veterans, and can snarl services many Americans rely on day to day, from national parks to certain economic data releases. Given how disruptive this year's shutdowns already were, lawmakers on both sides have pointed to the earlier lapses as a cautionary example while negotiating this latest deadline.

Watch Capitol Hill through the evening for any vote on a funding bill or short-term continuing resolution before the midnight deadline.

When would a new shutdown start?

If Congress does not act, a shutdown would begin just after midnight, on Thursday, October 1.

Has the government shut down before this year?

Yes, twice in 2026: a four-day shutdown in late January and early February, and a 76-day shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security that ran from mid-February to the end of April.

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