What's at stake in next week's possible government shutdown

Flashback: Thanks to a law passed during the 2019 shutdown, federal workers will automatically receive back pay once funding resumes.

State of play: If the government shuts down next week, Trump will have broad discretion to decide which government services are essential.

• During the 2013 shutdown, iconic American landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty and the National Mall closed to visitors until Congress resolved funding.
• The 2019 shutdown under Trump hit the National Park Service exceptionally hard, with already strained parks unable to maintain trails, resulting in overflowing human waste and trash.
• In Vought's OMB memo, first reported by Politico, he warned agencies to prepare for possible layoffs. The administration hasn't announced what services might be at risk if the government shuts down.
• In previous shutdowns, in-hospital medical care, border patrol, air-traffic control and law enforcement were considered some of the essential services not at risk, along with mandatory spending not subject to annual appropriations like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

Threat level: OMB has instructed agencies to draft plans to permanently cut roles that may not align with Trump's priorities, leaving federal employees uncertain about their jobs.

• Trump has already shown he's willing to target international development staff, climate scientists and health and human services employees based on DOGE layoffs earlier this year.
• If the shutdown hits, OMB's new directive could signal that similar agencies and jobs are on the chopping block.

The bottom line: If Trump uses his expanded authority in the shutdown to permanently cut staff, this shutdown could have an even longer lasting effect than those in the past.

• Any new layoffs would add to the roughly 300,000 fewer federal workers expected by the end of December, Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor told The New York Times.