The federal government is experiencing
another partial government shutdown after the continuing resolution expired on January 31, 2026, for agencies funded by six appropriations bills.
The six appropriations bills that have lapsed include:
- Defense
- Financial Services and General Government;
- Department of Homeland Security;
- Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies;
- National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs; and
- Departments of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
This is the second shutdown of fiscal year (FY) 2026. The first shutdown lasted a record 43 days, from October 1, 2025, to November 12, 2025. While the first shutdown covered all 12 appropriations bills, full-year funding has been enacted for the other six bills.
Each federal agency is
required to have a plan to respond to a lapse in appropriations. These plans are often referred to as “contingency plans” or “shutdown plans.”
While a lapse in appropriations is often called a “
government shutdown,” as the agency contingency plans show, it could be more accurately understood as a “temporary slowdown of nonessential government activities.” The vast majority of the federal workforce is retained and continues their work, even during a “shutdown.”
Contingency Plans for Major Federal Agencies Experiencing a Shutdown
The table below provides an updated analysis of the most recently available contingency plans for major federal agencies affected by the current shutdown, showing the number of employees who would be retained and non-essential employees who would be furloughed during a lapse in appropriations.
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About half of the affected agencies updated their shutdown plans since the first FY 2026 shutdown. If an agency does not update its plan, the prior plan remains in place. The table below compares the shutdown plans for the shutdown that began on October 1, 2025, to the plans in place for the shutdown beginning on January 31, 2026.
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The tables show contingency plans publicly available as of February 2, 2026.
“Essential” Activities May Continue Despite a Lapse in Appropriations
During a lapse in appropriations, certain essential activities can be deemed “excepted” from a shutdown. The
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) provides guidance on excepted functions that may continue during a lapse in appropriations.
A government function may be carried out in the absence of appropriations if it is:
- Expressly authorized or required by another law or court order;
- Necessary to execute other lawfully continuing functions;
- Necessary to discharge the President’s Constitutional duties and powers; or
- Addressing an imminent threat to the safety of human life or the protection of property.
Furthermore,
many programs, projects, and activities will already be fully funded. As OMB guidance clarifies, “functions that are financed with appropriations that have not lapsed may continue” during a shutdown.
