The government shutdown is in its third week. What it means for Californians
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Shutdown hits third week; no major service disruptions for Californians yet.
- Furloughs and unpaid staff spread; courts block recent federal layoff orders.
- Health subsidy lapse threatens 400,000 Covered California enrollees and premiums.
As the federal government shutdown enters its third week, there’s still no end in sight with no talks scheduled between Republicans and Democrats in Washington.
Each side blames the other for the shutdown: President Donald Trump and Congressional Republican leaders blame Democrats for not agreeing to a short-term spending deal, while Democrats refuse to sign on without extending federal health care subsidies, which could increase insurance premiums for millions of Americans.
Hundreds of thousands of federal employees are furloughed and many more have been working without pay since Oct. 1.
So far, day-to-day impacts are minimal: mail is still being delivered, most federal benefits are still being paid out and there have been few disruptions at airports. But the longer the shutdown drags on, the likelier it becomes for service disruptions and other impacts.
Here are the ways the shutdown is already impacting Californians:
Health care
Renewal notices for Obamacare-inspired health insurance policies began going out this week–and they are expected to involve a huge spike in premiums.
That’s because the enhanced subsidies approved in 2021 are expiring at the end of this year. Democrats have made extending the help their chief demand to end the shutdown, and while some Republicans are sympathetic, the GOP leadership isn’t going along at this point.
According to KFF, a nonpartisan organization that studies health care issues, losing the subsidies could mean that in the Sacramento area, a family of four, with each parent 40 years old and with children 8 and 11 and a $100,000 annual income, would pay $721 a month next year for a “silver plan.” Their monthly premium is now $543.
Silver is one of the options offered by the Obamacare marketplace. A family or individual’s income determines the amount of the credit.
Covered California, which manages the state program, estimates that as many as 400,000 of the nearly 2 million state residents using the program may have to drop their coverage if the credits end.
Social Security and Medicare
While Social Security and Medicare benefits are not affected by the shutdown, anyone needing special help is likely to feel the impact.
Phone lines are still manned and offices are staying open in California.
But the Social Security Administration advises people to expect “reduced services.”
“We may not be able to assist with all in-person service requests at this time. For example, we cannot provide proof of benefits letters, or update or correct earnings records. These in-person services will resume when the federal government is operating normally,” SSA said in a statement.
The offices will be available to aid people who apply for benefits, request an appeal, change an address or direct deposit information, report a death, verify or change citizenship status, replace a lost or missing Social Security payment, obtain a critical payment, change a representative payee or obtain a new or replacement Social Security card.
There will be an annual cost of living increase in benefits next year, but it was not announced during the usual timeframe, which would have been this week. It’s expected to be announced next Friday.
Federal worker layoffs
The Trump administration followed through on its threat to use the shutdown to layoff federal employees last Friday.
Over 4,100 employees at various agencies have received layoff notices, according to the sworn declaration of an Office of Management and Budget official filed Wednesday.
On Wednesday, a federal district judge in San Francisco directed the Trump administration to stop firing government workers. The temporary restraining order came in response to a lawsuit filed by the American Federation of Government Employees and another union, alleging that the Trump administration was illegally terminating workers.
During a Wednesday hearing, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said the layoffs appear to be politically motivated and are being conducted without an apparent rationale, according to the Associated Press. Trump has repeatedly said that he intends to use the shutdown to cut “Democratic programs.”
It’s not clear how many of the laid off workers live in California. Nearly two thirds of those affected employees worked for either the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or the Treasury Department, which is one of the top federal agency employers in California, according to the National Treasury Employees Union.
A local of the National Federation of Federal Employees that represents U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development employees told the Bee that at least 20 employees were laid off last week.
Energy grants pulled
On the first day of the shutdown, Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced he was canceling nearly $8 billion in grants for hundreds of energy projects in states that had voted for Kamala Harris.
In California, the cancellations total more than $3 billion for dozens of hydrogen, electrification and carbon capture projects as the state moves to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.
The largest was a $1.2 billion grant to a public-private partnership supporting the production and development of hydrogen fuel markets in industries, including transportation and energy.
Angelina Galiteva, CEO of the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES), said the project stood to create 220,000 jobs.
In the Sacramento area, SMUD will lose out on $50 million to help the utility modernize its electric grid and reach a zero-carbon goal by 2030. Rep. Ami Bera, D-Sacramento, called the cancellation “a reckless and vindictive decision that punishes Sacramento County families.”
Other canceled grants include more than $600 million for the state to dole out smart home rebates and half a billion to construct a facility to capture carbon emissions at a Kern County cement plant and store them underground.
National Parks
While most national parks remain accessible during the shutdown, visitor centers are closed and other staffing and services are limited. Other sites, like Muir Woods National Monument, are closed.
In Yosemite, which sees more than 4 million visitors a year and is California’s most-visited park, multiple reports and circulating social media posts indicate visitors have taken part in unpermitted BASE jumping and cliff scaling, entered sections of the park without a permit, and camped illegally since park rangers and other workers were furloughed starting Oct. 1.
A park employee told SFGATE that “there are lots of squatters in the campgrounds” and “lots of people that truly believe they can do whatever they want because of the lack of rangers.”
This story was originally published October 15, 2025 at 3:32 PM with the headline "The government shutdown is in its third week. What it means for Californians."
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