Gavin Newsom, Governor of California | Official website
President Donald Trump and Republican leaders in Congress, who hold the majority in both the Senate and House, are moving forward with a federal government shutdown. This decision is expected to affect almost 40 million Californians and has raised concerns about its impact on health care, food assistance, pay for military personnel, and other critical services.
California Governor Gavin Newsom spoke out against the shutdown, saying:
“Trump is shutting down the government — making monthly health care costs jump hundreds of dollars for millions, putting food assistance for people in need at-risk, and making troops go without pay. It’s despicable and it’s completely MAGA made!”
According to recent analysis cited by Newsom's office, if current health care support set to expire at year-end is not extended by Congress as Democrats have requested, average premium costs among Californians receiving financial assistance could rise by 97 percent.
The shutdown may also result in several additional impacts across California:
- Non-essential federal employees could be furloughed, affecting over 150,000 federal workers in the state.
- Education programs such as Head Start face potential funding gaps.
- The White House has warned of possible mass firings of federal workers.
- Social Security Administration customer service may experience delays.
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics would pause economic data collection, creating uncertainty for businesses.
- The National Flood Insurance Program would be unable to issue new or renewed policies during the wet season.
- Federal food aid programs might run out of funds, delaying assistance to families.
- Disaster payments following events like wildfires could be postponed.
- Air travel disruptions could occur due to longer TSA lines and delayed flights; industry estimates suggest up to $1 billion per week in losses for the US travel sector.
- National Parks may close and park staff could be furloughed.
Newsom criticized arguments from Trump administration officials regarding proposed Democratic health care subsidies. He stated these subsidies do not provide benefits to undocumented individuals and accused Republicans of trying to “dehumanize” communities.
Historical data shows that previous government shutdowns have had significant economic consequences. For example, a two-week shutdown in 2013 reduced fourth quarter GDP by an estimated $2–6 billion and resulted in 120,000 fewer private sector jobs the following month. The five-week shutdown from late 2018 into early 2019 reduced GDP by approximately $3 billion for that quarter; delayed spending further decreased expenditures by $9 billion.
Newsom concluded that any duration of this shutdown will likely bring unnecessary economic losses totaling billions of dollars nationwide.
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