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Which agencies had partial or limited operations in the 2025 shutdown?
Executive Summary
The assembled sources converge on a clear finding: during the 2025 federal shutdown many agencies continued partial or limited operations—notably the Department of Homeland Security components (air traffic control, TSA, ICE), key health programs (Medicare/Medicaid), the U.S. Postal Service, certain Department of Defense functions, and selected units in HHS and USDA—while large swaths of nonessential staff were furloughed. Reporting varies on scope and numbers, reflecting agency-specific contingency plans and differing reporting dates.
1. Extracting the central claims reporters made about who stayed partially open
The reporting repeatedly claims that critical national security, public-safety and healthcare functions remained operational, while administrative and research units were furloughed or curtailed. Sources say air traffic control and FAA-managed flight throttling continued with reduced capacity, TSA and selected DHS law-enforcement staffing persisted, Medicare and Medicaid payments and VA core care continued, and the Postal Service operated normally because of its self-funded status [1] [2] [3] [4]. Multiple accounts add that NIH and CDC had research or noncritical activities paused, SNAP and WIC experienced scaled or delayed benefit delivery, and the IRS furloughed substantial staff while maintaining essential tax-collection systems. These claims are consistent across contemporaneous pieces but differ in emphasis and numeric specifics depending on the agency briefings cited [5].
2. A compact inventory: which agencies had partial or limited operations, per the reporting
Across the sources the same core list appears: Department of Homeland Security components (air traffic/FAA, TSA, ICE) operated in reduced or essential-only modes; Department of Defense kept active duty and mission-essential personnel working; HHS and its sub-agencies (Medicare/Medicaid payments, some CDC surveillance) remained partially active; the USPS continued full operations; select USDA functions (SNAP benefit adjustments, some county offices for farm aid) operated in limited form; the IRS and the National Nuclear Security Administration kept mission-critical functions while furloughing large workforces [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]. Reporting quantifies furloughs in the high hundreds of thousands and notes daily economic cost estimates tied to compensation gaps, underlining that partial operations often meant skeletal staffing, delayed services, or capacity reductions rather than full continuity [6].
3. Why the patchwork: legal authority, funding mechanisms and contingency plans explain the differences
The sources uniformly explain that agencies’ operational choices during the shutdown followed statutory exemptions, advance contingency plans and independent funding streams: programs funded by mandatory or trust-fund appropriations (Medicare/Medicaid, Social Security) continued; mission-essential national-security and public-safety roles were legally excepted; agencies with revolving or fee-based funding like USPS and some GSA functions remained functioning; and others followed department contingency plans that OMB did not compile centrally, leaving variability in which activities qualified as essential [6] [4]. That framework meant operational outcomes were predictable by legal/funding structure but unpredictable in precise staffing patterns, because agencies exercised discretion in interpreting “excepted” work and because some administrations announced ad hoc restorations or reductions, such as FAA flight throttling or USDA SNAP payment adjustments [1] [2].
4. Contradictions, reporting gaps and political framing you should weigh
The coverage contains discrepancies: counts of furloughed employees vary from roughly 750,000 to 900,000, and specific statements about which units—NIH labs, CDC fieldwork, USDA county offices—were paused conflict across articles and dates [6] [5]. Part of this arises from real-time changes and agency-by-agency contingency plans; part stems from different editorial focus and political framing, with some outlets emphasizing human-service impacts (food stamps, SNAP) and others highlighting national-security continuity (air traffic control, DOD). Several sources cite administration announcements that later shifted; readers should treat single snapshots as provisional and prefer agency press releases or updated contingency lists for final determinations [3] [6].
5. What this meant in practice: immediate effects and longer-term implications
Practically, the partial operations picture translated to capacity reductions, delayed benefits, and operational risk: FAA-mandated reductions cut flight capacity in major markets, SNAP and WIC recipients faced reduced or delayed benefits, NIH and CDC suspensions interrupted research and some surveillance activities, and large furloughs strained service delivery and morale [1] [2] [5]. Economically, analysts estimated substantial daily compensation and GDP impacts tied to furloughs and lost productivity; politically, the patchwork invited scrutiny over who lawmakers protected and who bore the brunt, influencing state responses like governors redirecting funds to food banks or temporary SNAP backstops. The factual record shows a dual reality—mission-critical government functions largely persisted, while many public-facing and research activities were curtailed with measurable social and economic consequences [5] [4].