CATENAA, Friday, November 14, 2025- The 43-day federal shutdown ended Wednesday, yet agencies across the United States are returning to heavy backlogs, slow restarts and thin staffing.
Hundreds of thousands of employees are back at work, but many say normal operations remain far off.
Air travel disruptions are expected to continue as air traffic control centers cope with shortages. Workers who missed weeks of paychecks must still wait for back pay.
Agencies that issue research grants, safety inspections and economic data are sorting through weeks of halted activity.
Airport operations remain strained. Controller shortages grew during the shutdown as some retired and others quit, leaving the system short by thousands. Delays and cancellations could persist for weeks. Staff returning to the Internal Revenue Service, the Food and Drug Administration and the Education Department face large piles of mail, pending complaints and overdue maintenance that stalled during the shutdown.
National parks must assess damage reported at several sites. Volunteer groups helped keep some areas clean, but law enforcement gaps allowed vandalism and off-road activity in places like Arches and Glen Canyon.
Programs that support low-income households are also recovering. States are working to resume food stamp distributions paused or reduced during the shutdown. Energy assistance and Head Start programs could take longer to restart because of earlier staffing cuts at the Department of Health and Human Services.
Economic reporting will resume once agencies issue new schedules. Some data may never be released because collection stopped during the closure, leaving gaps for analysts and policymakers.
Many federal employees say they now face months of catch-up work while coping with financial strain and concerns about another possible shutdown early next year.
