On Tuesday night, the United States Senate adjourned for the evening after failing to pass a federal budget bill before its Oct. 1 deadline, causing a government shutdown. Services within the U.S. Postal Service, Social Security and other federal agencies will continue to operate, but many federal employees will be furloughed until an agreement is reached.

Ari Harris, executive director of communications for Central Michigan University, said that the impact of the shutdown won’t be immediate.

“We might experience some delays in terms of either filing for new grants or requesting reimbursement for existing grants, but we don’t expect to see much impact in other areas,” Harris said.

However, if a shutdown continues, CMU may start to feel an impact, according to Harris.

“I think if we saw the shutdown go on for a very long time, there would probably be an impact just from federal agencies that are shut down,” she said.

Student loans and grants are a major part of higher education’s attachment to the federal budget. Harris said that the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) will continue to help aid students as lawmakers debate.

According to an article by NBC News posted on Sept. 30, the Department of Education will “furlough about 95% of staff who don't work on federal student aid.”

In March, Senate Democrats faced a similar dilemma when House Republicans passed a six-month spending bill. After protesting the spending bill, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) urged his party to pass the bill to avert a shutdown.

“As bad as passing the (continuing resolution) is, allowing Donald Trump to take even more power via a government shutdown is a far worse option,” he said in March.

Senate Democrats are now protesting the budget bill for the 2026 fiscal year, urging Senate Republicans to include funding for health care that was cut in the Big Beautiful Bill.

U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Caledonia) voted in favor of the bill and stated that the budget bill is “simple,” criticizing the senators’ protest.

“Last month, I voted to avoid this situation and extend funding through November 21 with a bipartisan continuing resolution,” Moolenaar stated in a press release. “Unfortunately, Senate Democrats requested that liberal policies be inserted into the bill, and did not support the simple legislation.”

U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) stated that it’s important that support for healthcare is included in the new budget.

“Today, I am voting against the Republican Continuing Resolution,” Slotkin stated in a press release on Tuesday. “This temporary funding bill had no input from Democrats. … Since July, I have been very clear: any conversation about my vote needs to start with health care.”

Republicans hold a slim majority in the Senate, with 53 seats. The bill will need support from at least seven democratic senators to pass.

Harris said that CMU’s Policy Compliance and Communications Committee is continuing to work on understanding federal decisions and their impact on CMU.

“If and when there are changes that have the potential to substantially impact CMU, we will notify the community through those emails that go out from President (Neil) MacKinnon and Provost (Paula) Lancaster,” she said.

The Senate will return on Friday to vote on the budget.