The government shutdown is a mixed bag for Trump's legal problems


As the partial government shutdown nears the two-week mark with no resolution in sight, the fallout is starting to spread to shuttered Smithsonian museums, trash-strewn and feces-infested national parks, and other visible signs of the standoff in Washington. Some 800,000 federal employees and scores of government contractors are furloughed or working without pay. Washington, D.C., isn't issuing marriage licenses. Oddly, the Old Post Office Tower, a federal landmark that shares a site with the Trump International Hotel, is being reopened with federal funding after initially being shuttered, E&E News reports.
The Justice Department is one of nine Cabinet-level departments deprived of funding during the shutdown, and that has given President Trump a respite from several civil lawsuits filed against him. But Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office "does not rely on congressional action for funding, so its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election has continued unimpeded," The New York Times reports.
The federal courts are using fees and other funds to stay operational through Jan. 11, but then they will run out of money and have to decide which judges, lawyers, staffers would be deemed essential and have to work, even without pay. ("Due to a constitutional prohibition against cutting judicial pay, judges and Supreme Court justices would keep collecting paychecks," PolitiFact notes.) You can read more about what's affected by the shutdown at Politico.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
The secrets of lab-grown chocolate
Under The Radar Chocolate created 'in a Petri dish' could save crisis-hit industry
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK
-
Trade war with China threatens U.S. economy
Feature Trump's tariff battle with China is hitting U.S. businesses hard and raising fears of a global recession
By The Week US
-
Corruption: The road to crony capitalism
Feature Trump's tariff pause sent the stock market soaring — was it insider trading?
By The Week US
-
Hegseth reportedly shared war plans in 2nd group text
Speed Read The defense secretary sent information about an attack in Yemen to a Signal group chat that included his wife and brother
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Judge threatens Trump team with criminal contempt
Speed Read James Boasberg attempts to hold the White House accountable for disregarding court orders over El Salvador deportation flights
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Biden slams Trump's Social Security cuts
Speed Read In his first major public address since leaving office, Biden criticized the Trump administration's 'damage' and 'destruction'
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
El Salvador refuses to return US deportee
Speed Read President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador said he would not send back the unlawfully deported Kilmar Ábrego García
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Trump says electronics tariff break won't last
Speed Read The tariff exemptions on smartphones, laptops and other electronic devices are temporary, the administration says
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Man charged in arson attack on Pennsylvania's Shapiro
Speed Read Governor Josh Shapiro and his family were sleeping when someone set fire to his Harrisburg mansion
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
White House pushes for oversight of Columbia University
Speed Read The Trump administration is considering placing the school under a consent decree
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Supreme Court backs wrongly deported migrant
Speed Read The Trump administration must 'facilitate' the return of wrongfully deported migrant Kilmar Ábrego García from El Salvador, Supreme Court says
By Peter Weber, The Week US