Editor’s Note: The views expressed in this editorial do not represent the Minnesota Daily’s newsroom and are not necessarily representative of any individual on the Opinions Desk. This piece has been agreed upon for publication by a majority vote of all members of the Daily’s Opinions Desk.

If you’ve been reading the news lately, you may have noticed the federal government hasn’t been in the best shape. Due to its current dysfunction and representatives’ failure to negotiate on a budget, the government is now completely shut down. 

After budgetary proposals from both Republicans and Democrats failed to pass the Senate, the government shut down on Oct. 1, marking the 21st time since 1977 that funding for the federal government lapsed.

Federal leaders were quick to point fingers, with Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries demanding a floor debate and Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson saying the shutdown is entirely in the Democrats’ hands. 

All of this rhetoric, and the federal government is still without funding.

While this may seem like a dispute centered around Washington, the shutdown of the federal government will impact people across the country.

As students, we should be particularly concerned with the shutdown’s impact on federal student loans and financial aid. 

Even though student aid funding is a mandatory appropriation and is protected, Department of Education officials would be powerless to help students if student aid problems arose during an extended shutdown.

The Department of Education is an important example of how the government shutdown will worsen existing staffing cuts, as the department saw around 1,600 employees cut since President Donald Trump took office in January.

University of Minnesota political science lecturer Tim Collins said some agencies could even close permanently, and the effects of that would be felt far and wide. 

“If students want to do anything with, like, federal data, or have any control over, like, wrongdoing by loan providers or travel on a plane, it’s gonna be bad,” Collins said. “It’s only going to get worse and worse every day.” 

Many vulnerable Minnesota groups, such as farmers, seniors or those living on tribal lands who are reliant on the federal government, may lose access to critical information and services as funding dries up and applications for services aren’t processed.

Because federal workers who collect data on the economy are furloughed during the shutdown, the government is not gathering the data needed to analyze the implications of the shutdown, Collins said. But that doesn’t mean we won’t see economic effects. 

“Any effects of the economy won’t be felt in the data at this point, but it’ll be felt if anyone wants to get a job right now,” Collins said. 

Other key social programs, such as supplemental nutrition and childcare programs, would also be vulnerable if the shutdown drags on. Even people not as dependent on government services may still feel the shutdown in unique ways.

Almost all Transportation Security Administration workers are considered essential employees, meaning they will continue to show up to work in spite of the shutdown. However, experts warn that travel delays are a risk if the government shutdown lasts for an extended period of time.

So, if you hope to travel over the holiday season, you may want to pay more attention to Congress. Given that the stalemate federal legislators are in is being covered by news outlets around the clock, that should be easy.

All of this coverage does not appear to have prompted action, as different budgetary measures have failed to pass the Senate multiple times since the shutdown began a week ago.

Collins said part of the problem is the conflict between institutional Republicans and Trump Republicans within the party. There are steps House and Senate leaders could take to end the shutdown, but they can’t agree or get enough votes within their own party to do so.

“That’s why you’re seeing Trump and the Republican caucus in the Senate and House, mostly the House, saying this is on Democrats, because they’re trying to deflect blame,” Collins said. “Because they know that people are gonna feel this, and they want to have the narrative baked in that Democrats are at fault.” 

The Trump administration certainly is not helping cut through the gridlock. In fact, the administration is using the shutdown to play the partisan blame game.

Numerous government websites, including the pages for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Agriculture, Department of the Treasury and the U.S Forest Service, have been altered to include notices blaming Democrats for the government shutdown. 

The language used in these notices is particularly incendiary, with all of them pejoratively referring to the “radical left.”

Additionally, five furloughed Department of Education employees spoke out after the administration changed their out-of-office messages without their knowledge or consent to blame Democratic senators for the shutdown.

This utilization of existing government platforms to control a political narrative is unprecedented and may face legal challenges. A former Idaho Democratic official already filed a complaint about these actions to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, saying they violated the Hatch Act.

Collins said the Hatch Act won’t have much impact because its power is weak, and any violation would be referred to the president. However, the out-of-office message alteration also potentially violates a federal statute that makes it a crime to force anyone to engage in political activity.

Overall, the future of this government shutdown is uncertain. Leaders could negotiate and reach a deal tomorrow to restore funding, or they could continue to blame each other for months, leaving critical federal programs to fall through the cracks.

It’s also important to recognize that the shutdown is being used as a political tool beyond just who gets the blame. Trump has used the shutdown to plan out cuts to federal programs, saying he would meet with his budget director to figure out which “Democratic agencies” to defund.

Everyone in the United States will feel the ripple effects of the shutdown, no matter their background or party affiliation. The most vulnerable among us will be left to figure out how to cope with the programs they rely on losing funding.

Even if your life may go on while the government is shut down, that does not mean you shouldn’t pay close attention to what happens in Washington, D.C. 

You would be surprised at what parts of society you rely on depend on the federal government.