How a Government Shutdown Could Affect Travel During the Holidays

The U.S. government could shut down right before the holidays.

The House was set to pass a spending bill to fund the government through March, but those efforts were tanked after President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk urged Republican representatives to not support the bill.  

If Congress can’t reach a deal, the government will shut down at 12:01 a.m. ET December 21. 

A shutdown would cause federal agencies to stop work, and thousands of federal workers would be furloughed. 

However, federal employees deemed as “essential” would still have to work through a government shutdown. And much of travel, ranging from the TSA to air traffic control, falls into that category. 

The looming shutdown also comes during what is expected to be one of the busiest holiday travel seasons on record. The TSA is preparing to screen 40 million passengers from December 19 to January 2. The airline industry is expecting to fly up to 54 mi