What Does a Shutdown Have to Do With the Budget or Elon Musk? Here’s a Guide.

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A short-term spending bill, a 10-year budget plan and Musk’s cost-cutting team are all progressing at once.

By Margot Sanger-Katz and Alicia Parlapiano

Reporting from Washington

Republicans in government are hard at work refashioning federal spending through three major efforts, proceeding along parallel tracks. They may seem to be all the same story — and they do relate to each other — but they each have their own goals, deadlines and constraints. Here, a guide to all three.

Potential changes: The bill would fund a portion of the budget — hundreds of billions of dollars — for the rest of the fiscal year.

Deadline: Saturday at 12:01 a.m.

Status: A House vote is scheduled for Tuesday.

If Congress doesn’t pass a bill to fund ongoing government programs by the end of Friday, there could be a shutdown.

Congress is supposed to pass yearlong spending bills before a fiscal year begins, through a process known as regular appropriations. That process often breaks down, so Congress frequently passes shorter-term spending bills every few months instead to keep the government funded. The latest such “continuing resolution” expires this week, and a new one, which would fund the government through the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, is on the table.

The bill would reduce discretionary funding by a

small amount for the rest of the fiscal year.

FEDERAL BUDGET, 2025

SPENDING

$7t

REVENUE

$5.2t

Discretionary

Mandatory

Interest

DEFICIT

$1.9t

The bill would reduce discretionary funding by a small amount

for the rest of the fiscal year.

FEDERAL BUDGET, 2025

SPENDING

$7t

$5.2t

REVENUE

Discretionary

Mandatory

Interest

DEFICIT

$1.9t

Each square represents $50 billion. Spending figures are projected outlays before any changes to budget authority in the bill.

Source: Congressional Budget Office

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The appropriations process deals with only a portion of all federal spending — often called discretionary. It doesn’t affect “mandatory” programs like Social Security, which pay out benefits on a kind of autopilot, based on a formula. The resolution is also subject to a filibuster in the Senate, which means that at least seven Democrats will need to vote for it even if every Senate Republican supports it.

The current bill mostly allows the government to spend the same amount on most government agencies it has been spending all year, with a few key exceptions, including cuts to programs earmarked by lawmakers for their home districts, and an increase in military spending. Compared with last year’s funding, it reduces the amount allowed by around $7 billion — roughly 0.1 percent of the estimated $7 trillion in annual government spending.

The House budget plan would make changes to

spending and taxes over the next 10 years.

FEDERAL BUDGET, 2025-34

SPENDING

$86t

REVENUE

$65t

Discretionary

A little more than

half is defense

Proposed

increase

+$300 bil.

Taxes and

other income

Mandatory

Includes Social

Security (which cannot be cut), Medicare, Medicaid and other benefits

Proposed cut

–$4.5 tril.

DEFICIT

$21t

Proposed cut

–$2 tril.

Interest

Higher deficits would add

more to the federal debt

Payments on

more federal debt

+$3.4 tril.

+$600 bil.

The House budget plan would make changes to spending and

taxes over the next 10 years.

FEDERAL BUDGET, 2025-34

SPENDING

$86t

REVENUE

$65t

Discretionary

A little more than

half is defense

Proposed

increase

+$300 bil.

Taxes and

other income

Mandatory

Includes Social

Security (which cannot be cut), Medicare, Medicaid and other benefits

Proposed cut

–$4.5 tril.

DEFICIT

$21t

Proposed cut

–$2 tril.

Interest

Higher deficits would add

more to the federal debt

Payments on

more federal debt

+$3.4 tril.

+$600 bil.

Note: Each square represents $50 billion. The House budget requires at least $1.5 trillion in mandatory spending cuts. If cuts are less than $2 trillion, the amount of allowed tax cuts would be reduced. Tables released with the bill assume aggressive economic growth that would help cover the bulk of the deficit increase, but budget experts say the assumptions are unrealistic.

Source: Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget; Congressional Budget Office

The New York Times

Elon Musk has said his goal is for DOGE to cut $1 trillion in spending from the 2026 budget.

–$1 tril.

FEDERAL BUDGET, 2026

SPENDING

$7.3t

$5.6t

REVENUE

Discretionary

Mandatory

Interest

DEFICIT

$1.7t

Elon Musk has said his goal is for DOGE to cut $1 trillion in spending from the 2026 budget.

–$1 tril.

FEDERAL BUDGET, 2026

SPENDING

$7.3t

$5.6t

REVENUE

Discretionary

Mandatory

Interest

DEFICIT

$1.7t

Each square represents $50 billion. Figures are projections before any changes by DOGE.

Source: Congressional Budget Office

The New York Times

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