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One marker to often watch to divine the possible length of any government shutdown is the schedule for paying federal workers.
For instance, this potential partial shutdown, covering six areas of the government and addressing 78% of all federal spending, is set to begin at 12:00:01 am et on Saturday, Jan. 31.
That’s where there would be a “lapse in appropriations” over the weekend.
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The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on May 18, 2025. (Alex Wroblewski/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
For starters, that technicality of a “lapse in appropriations” gives lawmakers some wiggle room to resolve the issue before 9 a.m. ET on Monday, Feb. 2, when most federal workers return to the job.
But another important barometer to gauge is when federal workers miss paychecks.
Federal workers were last paid on Jan. 21, one day later than usual because of the Martin Luther King federal holiday.
However, the next batch of checks is due to go out Monday, Feb. 2. They technically cover the work period which runs through Thursday, Feb. 5. The checks are actually cut on Feb. 2.
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President Donald Trump walks to Marine One for departure from the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)
But Fox News Digital is told that workers would at least receive a partial paycheck, through work completed on Friday, Jan. 30. That’s the last day the the government was funded. Those checks still go out on Feb. 2.
Any money covering expenditures beginning on Jan. 31 is illegal. It’s a violation of the Antideficiency Act, where the executive branch is spending money not appropriated by Congress.
So the weekend gives lawmakers a bit of a breather to figure things out. And the next day to cut checks is Tuesday, Feb. 17. That is one day later than usual because of Presidents Day on Monday, Feb. 16.
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House Speaker Mike Johnson briefs the media on the government shutdown in the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, Nov. 10, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
In short, Congress and the executive branch have nearly three weeks to solve this before most federal workers would miss an ENTIRE paycheck.
However, there are some anomalies.
The FAA (which includes air traffic controllers but not TSA) employees are scheduled to be paid on Tuesday, Feb. 3. Fox is told that FAA workers will receive a full paycheck. That’s because the FAA pay period ended on Saturday, Feb. 24. Thus, that work was completed before the shutdown deadline, and Congress appropriated money for that pay. Therefore, payment on Feb. 3 is NOT a violation of the Antideficiency Act. That said, the next FAA pay period ends on Feb. 7, with paychecks due to be sent on Feb. 17. FAA and air traffic controllers would receive a PARTIAL paycheck at that point. That’s because some work was performed before the shutdown. This scenario mirrors what happened during the fall shutdown. Air traffic controllers received a portion of their paycheck because of the staggered pay schedule.
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Lawmakers will watch these calendars closely if this gets to be a drawn-out fight. However, a minimal “partial” shutdown over the weekend gives lawmakers a bit of cushion to come to a resolution.
