Trucking Rolls On as Shutdown Stalls Other DOT Sectors
FAA Hit Hard While Highway Agencies Stay Fully Funded
Key Takeaways:
- The Department of Transportation said its trucking and highway agencies will continue normal operations during the federal government shutdown, supported by Highway Trust Fund revenue.
- Other DOT offices, including the Federal Aviation Administration, announced thousands of furloughs, while essential services such as air traffic control will remain staffed.
- The shutdown began Oct. 1 after Congress failed to pass fiscal 2026 funding, with Republicans and Democrats trading blame as business groups urged swift resolution.
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WASHINGTON — Days into a partial federal government shutdown, the Department of Transportation explained trucking regulators and officials who manage the country’s surface transportation network would operate under mostly normal conditions in the near term.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration with jurisdiction over trucking transportation “has sufficient balances of liquidating cash to operate during a short-term lapse of annual appropriations,” according to a guidance document the department published Sept. 30. The Federal Highway Administration, which manages freight and commuter corridors, also has sufficient liquidating funds to “continue as normal” during this lapse in congressionally approved funding.
MORE: What DOT’s Shutdown Plan Means for Trucking
Both agencies are backed primarily by the Highway Trust Fund account, which operates through revenue generated via a 24.4-cents-per-gallon diesel tax and 18.4-cents-per-gallon gas tax. None of the workforce at these agencies — 1,084 staffers at FMCSA and 2,268 staffers at FHWA — will be furloughed amid the interruption of funding.
Other agencies within DOT, however, will experience varying levels of furlough. For instance, the Federal Aviation Administration indicated it will furlough 11,322 employees. The Federal Railroad Administration listed 239, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 190, the Maritime Administration 192 and the Office of the Inspector General 239.
DOT emphasized essential personnel, such as air traffic control services, will continue to report to work during the shutdown, as well as partners from other agencies, such as the Transportation Security Administration.
The government on Oct. 1 entered into a partial shutdown due to an inability by Congress and the White House to sign off on fiscal 2026 funding legislation. Disputes were linked to health care accounts and immigration statuses. As of Oct. 2, the Republican-led Senate had yet to clear for President Donald Trump a House-passed short-term bill meant to prevent a shutdown through mid-November.
RELATED: Trump to Keep Oil Permits Moving in Shutdown
On Capitol Hill, weeks of negotiations between congressional leaders resulted in an impasse, paving the way for the shutdown. The leadership has explained funding disputes through a partisan lens.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune laid the blame for the shutdown at the feet of Democrats. (Al Drago/Bloomberg)
“Democrats are well aware of the damage of a government shutdown. We’ve heard it from them time and again,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) soon after the shutdown was triggered. “But apparently none of that matters to Democrats today. All that seems to matter is that their far-left base sees them ‘fighting’ against President [Donald] Trump.”
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.) recently issued a warning specific to a federal government shutdown. “Government shutdowns hurt hardworking Americans and cause uncertainty at agencies responsible for improving our infrastructure, ensuring the safety of the transportation network, responding to natural disasters and more. Critical infrastructure projects and programs may be unnecessarily delayed.
RELATED: Trump to Keep Tariff Probes Running Through Shutdown
“Our air traffic controllers, Coast Guard members and many others are among the government employees now being asked to work without pay. The House of Representatives acted responsibly by passing a simple, clean continuing resolution, and I urge Senate Democratic leaders to join Republicans in voting to reopen the government immediately.”
“After months of making life harder and more expensive, Donald Trump and Republicans have now shut down the federal government because they do not want to protect the health care of the American people," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (above) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries said. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg)
In a joint statement, congressional Democratic leaders from New York, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, observed, “After months of making life harder and more expensive, Donald Trump and Republicans have now shut down the federal government because they do not want to protect the health care of the American people.
“Democrats remain ready to find a bipartisan path forward to reopen the government in a way that lowers costs and addresses the Republican health care crisis. But we need a credible partner.”
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The White House has not ruled out mass layoffs throughout the federal government during the partial shutdown. Vice President JD Vance, speaking to reporters at the White House on Oct. 1, affirmed, “We’re going to have to make things work. And that means that we’re going to have to triage some certain things. That means certain people are going to have to get laid off.”
An blamed Democrats for Washington’s funding impasse: “President Trump and Republicans have been clear: Republicans will not be held hostage by this unserious, shameful political gamesmanship by Democrats. This shutdown is 100% on Democrats, whose radical agenda is poisoning our politics and punishing our people.”
Meanwhile, freight stakeholders, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have urged the Senate to clear for the president a House-passed short-term funding fix, noting “shutdowns are harmful to the economy, the American people and our national security.”
The National Retail Federation said, “We urge Congress to act swiftly to reopen the federal government. With the holiday season fast approaching, the economic uncertainty caused by a government shutdown is both unnecessary and damaging, further eroding consumer confidence at a critical time. While retailers face many external challenges beyond the control of policymakers, this is not one of them. A shutdown is avoidable, and its impact is entirely within the power of Congress to resolve.”
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