By Ashlee Banks
Special to the AFRO
President Donald Trump and members of Congress failed to reach a funding deal by the Oct. 1 deadline, shutting down the federal government and throwing hundreds of thousands of workers into uncertainty.
Officials ordered agencies to shutter offices, furlough nearly 750,000 employees and even plan permanent layoffs. The White House directed departments not only to pause routine services but also to eliminate jobs, accelerating Trump’s pledge to shrink the federal workforce.
U.S. Rep. and Congressional Black Caucus Chair (CBC) Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.- 11) said in a statement that the government shutdown is a “crisis entirely of the Republican party’s making.”
“Unfortunately, Black communities will be forced to bear the brunt of their political games,” said the CBC chair. “The GOP spending proposal includes the most aggressive attack on healthcare in modern history, slashing Medicaid and Medicare at unprecedented levels. These cuts are not abstract, they are life-or-death decisions for millions of Americans, especially the 1 in 5 Medicaid enrollees who are Black.”
U.S. Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.-4) told the AFRO that due to the shutdown families face immediate harm.
“They’ve dug a gigantic healthcare hole for working Americans,” he said. “The trillion in cuts to Medicaid is devastating. Letting the ACA tax credits expire is going to be devastating in just a few months, and people are going to end up having to either pay a lot more for health care coverage or just give it up altogether.”
U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.-4) criticized Republican lawmakers for their absence as the government faces a shutdown, saying the American people need a Congress that advocates on their behalf.
“Democrats are in D.C., while our Republican colleagues are missing in action,” said Johnson. “The American people need a Congress that works for them.”
Congress failed to meet its funding deadline after Democrats pressed for an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies, cautioning that millions of Americans could face sharply higher premiums if the credits lapsed. Republicans declined to negotiate, leaving the nation to confront its first federal government shutdown in six years.
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.-12) said in a statement that this shutdown “was preventable.”
“Trump and Republicans slashed Medicaid in the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act and refused to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits to keep health insurance more affordable,” she said. “With their control of the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives, they had the opportunity to mitigate this harm but instead refused to negotiate in good faith and chose to shut down the government.”
The Senate rejected multiple temporary funding bills on Sept. 30, including one backed by House Republicans and another drafted by Democrats. Senate Majority Leader John Thune insisted Republicans would discuss health care separately but refused to link it to a stopgap deal.
However, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) vowed to keep pressing the issue.
“Americans are hurting with higher costs,” the Senate minority leader said after Tuesday’s failed votes.
On Oct. 1, agencies began closing offices, canceling contracts and suspending services. Furloughed employees stayed home, while air traffic controllers, TSA agents and Homeland Security officers reported to work without pay. Medicare and Medicaid continued, but staffing shortages slowed responses.
U.S. Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.-37) characterized the shutdown as a deliberate decision, saying it “is a choice” made by the GOP “that shows exactly where their priorities lie.”
“Instead of working across the aisle to protect health care for millions of Americans, they walked away from the table, dismissed basic proposals as ‘ridiculous and stupid,’ and flooded the zone with racist AI slop to distract from the health care crisis they created,” said the California congresswoman.
In Maryland, state officials are working to support thousands of federal employees and contractors.
At the close of 2024, the state had 269,000 workers employed by the federal government, with another 210,000 federal contractors. Since the top of the year, Maryland has lost more than 15,000 federal jobs, more than any other state in the nation.
In response, the state has created different resources to help affected workers. If the shutdown is not over by the close of the weekend, starting Oct. 6, the Department of Labor will launch a special loan program. The initiative will offer no interest loans of $700 to essential workers that are still working during shutdown, but not being paid. The loans are expected to be paid back when the essential workers receive their back pay. Officials within the Moore administration are also calling on landlords, banks and utility providers to also figure out a way to provide relief.
The state has already set up a broad range of support for those impacted by DOGE cuts that can be useful to those impacted by the shutdown, including help finding new jobs through 33 job centers around the state, resume centers and a virtual workshop held every Wednesday.
Still, the general public will not be shielded from all of the effects of the shutdown.
Officials within Moore’s office warned that “when you need a call answered” or “something routine, like reissuing a social security card” or getting a permit, it “will take longer.”
“People waiting on payments or reimbursements will face major impacts on the states,” added the officials in a call on Oct. 1.
An administration official for Moore’s office warned that the uncertainty surrounding the shutdown could force difficult choices if it drags on, with some supports reprioritized if necessary.
“We don’t know how long this will last. The longer this shutdown goes, the more risk that the state incurs in terms of the cost that we are going to bear to keep things flowing,” said the officials from Moore’s office. “We’re hoping that President Trump Republicans in Congress decide to reopen the government sooner rather than later.”