Shutdown Spurs Furloughs, Prioritizes Fossil-Fuel Permitting

A federal government shutdown began after Congress failed to pass a spending bill, triggering widespread furloughs and selective agency operations that align with the Trump administration’s energy priorities. Interior will furlough more than half of its roughly 58,600 employees but continue onshore fossil-fuel permitting through the Bureau of Land Management; the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will furlough over 70% of staff and pause offshore renewable work while continuing oil-and-gas lease activity. The Department of Energy says it can use multiyear funding to avoid immediate furloughs but could furlough about 60% of staff if the shutdown drags on. Administration officials were directed to prepare for potential mass firings, and White House rhetoric has heightened partisan tensions around the standoff. Economists expect the shutdown to be relatively short-lived but warn it could shave about 0.2 percentage points off GDP growth per week and quickly disrupt key data releases such as the monthly jobs report and, if prolonged, the CPI, complicating Federal Reserve decisions. Market watchers say short shutdowns often have limited broad economic impact but predict localized hits—particularly in the D.C. area—and near-term jolts to activity if the impasse continues.