A partial government shutdown is here, not like we haven’t seen one before, albeit not this late in the year.
The good thing is that about three-quarters of the federal budget is already funded through next year.
The unfunded departments are State, Justice, Treasury, Transportation and Homeland Security -about 800,000 of the 2.1 million federal workers nationwide The IRS will stay closed.
What else will be open and closed?
For military bases in the US, the commissaries will have to close, though the exchanges will stay open. The commissaries will have discretion to stay open to sell their supplies of produce so nothing will go to waste.
Facilities like libraries may close but essential services like fitness centers and dining facilities will stay open.
Even with a shutdown, service members have to eat, work out, take a shower.
How about the museums and the mall?
Thankfully the Smithsonian Museums are funded for a couple of weeks and will remain open through Jan. 1, although the museums will close as scheduled on Christmas Day, Dec. 25.
The National Zoo will be closed but Zoolights will go on as usual and all staff charged with taking care of animals will report to work.
The National Park Service says that some parks will be open to visitors, but access could change without notice. Websites will not be updated. Many services, including restrooms and visitor’s centers, may be closed.
The Library of Congress will remain open and all performances at the Kennedy Center will go on as scheduled. The National Archives, however, will be closed.
Jose Andres promised to give federal workers and their families free sandwiches at the bar of any of the famed chef’s restaurants, including Oyamel, Zaytinya, America Eats Tavern and Beefsteak. The offer stands from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. daily until the shutdown ends, Andres tweeted.