As the Government Shuts Down, People Want to Know if the USPS Will Be Affected
The federal government is shut down as of Oct. 1, 2025.
Published Oct. 1 2025, 2:16 p.m. ET
People are panicking after learning the federal government has shut down as of Oct. 1, 2025, and they are wondering how the USPS will be affected. According to the Courier-Journal, the government shutdown is the result of Congress failing to pass funding for the 2026 fiscal year.
The shutdown means that federal programs and agencies will stop or slow operations due to a lack of funding. Services that are considered "essential," such as military operations, will continue to operate, per Newsweek.
Services deemed "nonessential," such as housing support and food assistance programs, are either shut down or experience delays. Thousands of federal workers will have to work without pay or be sent home without pay during a government shutdown.
So, is the USPS affected by the government shutdown?
Is the USPS affected by the government shutdown?
According to a Sept. 25 statement from the USPS, the federal agency will not be affected by the government shutdown.
"U.S. Postal Service operations will not be interrupted in the event of a government shutdown, and all Post Offices will remain open for business as usual," read the statement. "Because we are an independent entity that is generally funded through the sale of our products and services, and not by tax dollars, our services will not be impacted by a government shutdown."
Other federal employees who will work during the government shutdown include employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers, air traffic controllers, and border protection workers, per The Hill. Services such as veterans’ benefits, disaster aid, Social Security payments, Medicare, and Medicaid payments will all still be paid. However, the payments could be delayed or interrupted.
Who doesn't get paid during a government shutdown?
The government shutdown has folks wondering who doesn't get paid as a result, and the answer is upsetting. Air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration employees, for example, still have to work without pay during the federal government shutdown, per NPR. Social Security Administration employees also have to report to work without pay.
Active-duty military service members will also not be paid during the shutdown. Government contractors will also not be paid, nor will they receive back pay when the furlough is over. However, President Donald Trump and members of Congress will receive their paychecks during the government shutdown.
The last government shutdown was also under Trump's watch — in December of 2018 through January of 2019 — and it cost the economy roughly $11 billion.
The National Park Service programs, Department of Health and Human Services federal grants, and National Institutes of Health clinical trials will all stop during the shutdown. Disruptions to financial aid for college students, including Pell Grants and federal direct student loans, will occur, but students are still required to make payments during the shutdown.
Democrats rejected the Republicans' stopgap funding bill because it doesn't reverse Trump's cuts to Medicaid, and they also oppose the bill's cuts to government health agencies. According to Reuters, Trump has threatened to lay off federal workers if Congress doesn't pass the stopgap funding bill.