The US federal government partially shut down over the holiday weekend when lawmakers and President Donald Trump were unable to come to an agreement over funding the government, ScienceInsider reports, noting that the point of contention was Trump's request for $5 billion in funding for a border wall. This affects, Nature News notes that some federal science agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration, NASA, and the National Science Foundation.
At the affected agencies, only employees whose work is deemed essential will remain, Nature News adds. That means, according to ScienceInsider, that the grant application and awarding process at NSF will be interrupted, and some 90 percent of NASA workers will be told to stay home. NPR adds that the FDA is furloughing about 40 percent of its staff, keeping on employees whose work is funded through user fees, and that it will continue work needed to protect public health and safety.
Other agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health, are not affected, as they have been funded through separate bills.
This, Nature News notes, is the third government shutdown of 2018.
Reuters reports that Trump has said this shutdown will last until he has secured funding for building a wall on the southern US border.