Hundreds of Thousands Miss Paychecks in Shutdown

The partial government shutdown has entered its 24th day, with estimates that hundreds of thousands of federal employees missed their first full paychecks — roughly 500,000 missed Friday's payroll and as many as 1.4 million civilian employees are affected overall. Officials warn that nearly 4.5 million paychecks could be withheld if the shutdown lasts until Dec. 1; about half of affected workers are furloughed while the other half are deemed essential and continue to work without pay, and some departments have kept active-duty troops and certain DHS law-enforcement on payroll. Employees report being unable to cover rent, mortgages, childcare and groceries, and charities and food banks across the country — including groups such as The Pantry in Kalihi, VEAP and Second Harvest Heartland — are expanding distributions and preparing for sustained increases in need. Services have been disrupted: SNAP benefits and some research programs have been paused, thousands of flights have faced delays because of air-traffic controller shortages, and federal grants and student loan services risk interruption, while border protection, law enforcement and in-hospital care continue. The judicial branch has begun furloughing court staff after reserve funds ran out though judges continue to work and be paid to carry out constitutional duties, and a federal judges panel rejected the VA's request to pause veterans' appeals, leaving backlogged claims to proceed amid ongoing funding uncertainty.