The waste and inefficiency started even before the shutdown began. As the federal government approached the end of the 2025 fiscal year, good agency stewardship required offices to start developing a plan for managing a shutdown.
On September 2, the Congressional Research Service issued Government Shutdowns and Executive Branch Operations: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). Agencies devoted time and resources—that could have been in service to the agency mission—trying to determine, for example, which workers to deem essential, furloughed, excepted; how to handle disruptions to clinical trials and ongoing research; when to cancel advisory committees, review panels, and travel to scientific conferences.
If they are “lucky,” all of that effort will be for naught. As had happened in March 2025, Congress might pass a continuing resolution (CR) at the last moment to keep the government operating. To add insult to injury, consider the complexity of planning for a major disruption that may or may not happen, with no idea of how long it might last. It is also worth noting that passing the annual budget is a core function of Congress and is required to happen every year before September 30.
Staffing
As of October 1, federal agencies are largely shuttered with limited “essential” staff expected to continue performing their duties without pay. According to sources, over 500,000 federal employees determined to be “non-essential” were furloughed and are wholly prohibited from working, including accessing their email or using government equipment like laptops and phones. Federal employees are unable to honor their commitments to attend conferences and convenings, upending careful planning by scientific societies and universities as well as undermining transparency and the obligation to serve the taxpaying public.
Research
NSF, NIH, and the Department of Education have posted guidance for grant applicants and awardees. While many agencies permit grantees to spend funds from existing awards and continue to accept grant proposals, no new research is getting funded, even if proposals have been reviewed and teed up for award. Clinical trials are, reportedly, still in process on the intramural side, mainly limited to keeping people safe. Recruitment is stalled and no purchasing can happen, compromising the efficiency and integrity of certain clinical trials.
Research dependent on ongoing data collection and access is also disrupted. Take, for example, the closure of the Census Bureau’s Federal Statistical Research Data Centers. FS-RDCs house restricted data that can only be accessed by individuals granted special permission—requiring federal staffing. The inability to access data is disrupting NIH-supported research projects on topics such as mental health, adolescent health, nutrition, and post-disaster recovery.
Meetings and Convenings
All NIH scientific, prep, and Council meetings have been cancelled, including meetings of the Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) that provides independent oversight of study data and subject safety for clinical research trials. There were nearly 20 Center for Scientific Review meetings scheduled to review and evaluate NIH grant applications in October, all of which have been scrapped, resulting in monetary loss and time wasted for federal staff and expert advisers. These meetings will, eventually, need to be rescheduled, including all necessary logistics at added expenses. All of these meetings are critical to driving scientific integrity and meeting gold standard science standards.
Everyday that Congress and this administration fail to reopen the government, waste and inefficiency builds, with the U.S. falling further and further behind in our ability to advance knowledge, innovate, and find future cures, all while damaging our economy.
