The deadline to fund the government is the end of the day Saturday.
The deadline to fund the government is the end of the day Saturday.
Everything to know about a government shutdown
With Congress failing to agree on spending, the U.S. is barreling toward what could be one of the largest government shutdowns in history.
Lawmakers have until the end of the day Saturday to reach a deal to keep much of the government open.
If they don’t, 3.5 million of federal workers are expected to go without a paycheck, millions of women and children could lose nutrition assistance, national parks would likely close and more.
A partial government shutdown would hurt military recruitment — as well as its members, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Friday.
Military recruitment, which is already suffering, would take a hit in a shutdown and send a „horrible message to young people“ and deter them from enlisting, Kirby said.
„Young people … graduating high school here, you know, in the spring, they can be forgiven for thinking, ‚Maybe that’s not where I want to go. Why would I want to sign up and do that dangerous work, when I can’t even guarantee that there’s going to be a paycheck for it?'“ Kirby said.
While Kirby said there is patriotism and a sense of duty in serving in the military, he said a shutdown hurt service members.
„You start missing a couple of paychecks when you’re in active-duty service to the nation, and it starts to hurt. You can’t buy groceries, or as many, anyway. Bills are tougher to pay, rent and mortgage payments are tough to cover.“
If the government shuts down, an estimated 3.
