The federal government has shut down. Here’s what it means for D.C.

For all of their quirks and faults, this morning the D.C. government and its 35,000 employees got to work teaching the city’s kids, picking up trash and recycling, patching potholes, and policing the streets. 

The much larger federal government we share a city with, though, is a different story. Due to Congress’ inability to agree on an annual budget or any temporary fix, funding for the government’s agencies and employees dried up as of midnight, resulting in the first federal shutdown since 2018. That means offices are closed and most federal workers are staying home and not getting paid. 

If you’ve lived through any of these, you know there’s nothing academic about them. Shutdowns have local impacts, from mere annoyances like popular museums closing to more profound pains for federal workers and contractors who suddenly face financial uncertainty. And those are only going to be compounded this year, when the federal workforce – and the Washington region as a whole – has already taken big hits from the Trump administration’s government-slashing plans.

Politico and NBC have great rundowns of the broader impacts to federal services; below are  answers to questions we’ve gathered about the D.C.-specific impacts of the federal shutdown.

Will any of D.C.’s services be impacted by the federal shutdown?

Mostly no. Local government services will continue largely uninterrupted. Unlike their brethren on Capitol Hill, D.C.’s elected officials managed to write and approve an operating budget that goes into effect today, the first day of the 2026 fiscal year. 

“D.C. will remain open, our students will be in class, our parks will be clean, our streets will be safe, and we will continue to function as a world-class city no matter what happens in Congress,” said Mayor Muriel Bowser in a statement.

“The federal government could learn by the example set by the District of Columbia,” said D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson in his own statement. (If Congress needs remedial budget-writing lessons, D.C.’s hourly tutoring charges are quite competitive.) 

Now,  D.C.’s government remaining open isn’t something that’s always happened. During federal shutdowns in the mid-1990s, D.C.’s government was forced to close, denying residents basic services like trash pickup and access to libraries. The city also had to furlough 13,000 of its workers – but not the ones who wrote parking tickets, of course. (For real.) 

This was because while the city operates largely independently of the federal government, its budget is still somewhat tethered to the federal government’s. That only changed after the 2013 federal government shutdown (which lasted 16 days), when D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton worked a provision into federal budget bills that exempts D.C. from any federal shutdowns. 

What about D.C.’s courts?

This is where things can get a bit complicated. While D.C. Superior Court is the city’s local court, it’s federally funded – which means it can fall victim to federal government shutdowns. The same goes for the D.C. Public Defender Service, the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency, and other such agencies that form a critical part of D.C.’s criminal justice system.

Now, the Superior Court won’t close entirely. According to guidance published last week, “The operations of the District of Columbia Courts will be limited to those functions necessary to continue the resolution of cases without interruption.” That means that if you’re due to go in for jury duty, do so.

Following up on her work to exempt the D.C. government from shutdowns, Norton introduced a similar bill this week to exempt D.C. Superior Court, the D.C. Public Defender Service, and other similar agencies that are federally funded but perform local functions.

“These agencies provide critical local services to D.C., including law enforcement, and should continue to function as usual during a federal government shutdown. Congress should pass this bill to prevent irreparable damage from being done to the District’s justice system as soon as possible, before the specter of yet another inevitable shutdown looms,” she said.

Can I legally get married during a federal shutdown?

Nothing can stand in the way of true love. Well, except maybe a federal government shutdown. 

“The issuing of marriage licenses and performing marriage ceremonies will cease during the lapse,” says the shutdown guidance from the Superior Court. So while you can certainly get married, getting the required legal paperwork to formalize your union will have to wait until Congress finds a way to resolve the current spending standoff. 

A similar issue arose during the 35-day shutdown in December 2018 and January 2019, and D.C. responded by passing emergency legislation allowing the mayor to issue marriage licenses. But the D.C. Council never passed a permanent version of the bill; the last version expired in September 2024. 

Now, the council could try again – its first legislative session of the month is  October 7.

Will the Smithsonian’s museums and the National Zoo close?

Yes – but not immediately. According to the Smithsonian, museums and the National Zoo will stay open to the public using leftover funds from past fiscal years. But that will only last until Saturday, October 11. After that, the popular attractions will be closed. 

Other popular destinations like the National Gallery of Art could stay open depending on how long the shutdown is, largely because it operates with a mix of government and private funds. The Kennedy Center is somewhat similar and can stay open. 

How about Rock Creek Park and other federal sites in D.C.?

It’s pretty hard to “close” a place like Rock Creek Park or any of the city’s federal memorials and monuments, though, during the 2013 shutdown, the National Park Service did try it. 

This time around, NPS says “park roads, lookouts, trails, and open-air memorials will generally remain accessible to visitors.” But: “As a general rule, if a facility or area is locked or secured during non-business hours (buildings, gated parking lots, etc.) it should be locked or secured for the duration of the shutdown.” (This, of course, could mean that no one will be available to open the gates on Beach Drive for the planned Scenic Driving Day in Rock Creek Park scheduled for October 11, should a shutdown last that long.) 

It remains to be seen whether NPS can keep up with trash pickup in federal sites in D.C. Back during the 2019 shutdown, it was D.C.’s trash crews that helped keep popular federal destinations clean and trash-free. The agency’s shutdown plan says trash pickup will occur in parks where fees are paid for entry, but D.C.’s most popular federal sites are free. 

In those cases, it seems, NPS “will not issue permits, conduct interpretive or educational programs, collect trash, operate or provide restrooms, maintain roads and walkways (including plowing and ice melting) or provide visitor information.” If things do get bad enough, NPS says it can fully close sites that are otherwise going to remain open.

There’s always the National Guard available to pick up trash, we guess?

What about D.C.’s economy? How does the shutdown impact that?

There’s no sugarcoating this one: Shutdowns suck for D.C.’s economy. 

On a basic level, federal workers and contractors who still have jobs won’t be coming into the office, which means local businesses like coffee shops and restaurants that serve them will lose customers and revenue. (The 35-day shutdown in 2018-2019 cost D.C. almost $50 million in lost revenue.) 

“The main issue is that because while the shutdown is happening, federal workers don’t get paid, that leads to a local drop in discretionary spending,” says Tracy Hadden Loh, an expert in D.C. region at Brookings Metro. “And then also contractors experience permanent economic harm because they don’t get back pay.”

Beyond local workers, an important driver of D.C.’s economy is visitors – both domestic and international. But Loh says that with an extended federal shutdown, many of those visitors may choose to stay home or go somewhere else. 

“Spring and fall are the two peak seasons for hotel demand in the city. The spring demand is very cherry blossom-oriented and spring break trips. The fall demand is conference-driven. If they are not happening or no one from the federal government is participating, they might be canceled altogether,” she says. “And if the Smithsonian shuts down, some people might decide not to come here.”

In a revenue estimate issued on Tuesday, D.C. CFO Glen Lee warned that a prolonged shutdown could place a “significant strain on the economy.” 

Of course, an additional concern is what a shutdown could mean for broader federal employment. Trump and his aides have already raised the possibility that they will use the shutdown to take even bigger swings at the federal workforce, which is a significant part of the D.C. region’s employment base. According to Lee’s revenue estimate, the cuts to federal employment that have already taken place have “led to a noticeable increase in unemployment, widening the gap between the District’s unemployment rate and the national average.” In August, the national unemployment rate was 4.3%, while in D.C. it stood at 6%.

On top of all that, shutdowns aren’t great for Metro. The transit agency still has to provide its usual rail and bus service, but with a fraction of the paying riders. If a shutdown drags on long enough and the hit to Metro grows, it’s left to D.C., Maryland, and Virginia to close any budget deficit. 

Are there any other unexpected local impacts of the federal shutdown?

Given how intertwined D.C. is with the federal government, of course. 

Take the National Capital Planning Commission, for instance. It’s a federal agency, but it plays a big role in shaping and approving development projects in the city – especially any large-scale public projects and actions by the D.C. Zoning Commission. At its scheduled October 9 meeting, for example, NCPC is set to review plans for a long-delayed development project across from Brookland Metro station that needs a change to the city’s zoning plan. Well, if the federal government shutdown extends past this week, that meeting will be postponed. 

Or the Old Georgetown Board, another federal commission that has to approve pretty much any development or renovation project in Georgetown’s historic district. Well, it’s also closed because of the shutdown, so any projects it was set to review will have to wait. (Those projects range from an office-to-residential conversion to a single homeowner who wants to make alterations to their garage.)

This post was updated to reflect a change in date for when the Smithsonian museums and National Zoo will close.