Impact on national parks and museums
National parks with open access, such as trails or outdoor monuments, will remain accessible. However, those that depend on gates or closed facilities will not open.
This means that places like the Washington Monument or Harpers Ferry museums will not be available, while iconic parks such as Yellowstone or Zion will remain largely accessible. To sustain basic services such as trash collection, restrooms, or campgrounds, parks may use revenue from visitor fees.
Economy and cybersecurity at risk
The shutdown also halts the publication of official statistics. The Department of Labor confirmed that the Bureau of Labor Statistics suspended all its operations, which delays the publication of key economic data, such as September's employment figures.
In terms of cybersecurity, the situation is delicate: 65% of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is on leave, which limits the ability to respond to possible cyberattacks in a context of increasing hostile activity from China and other international actors.
Background of the government shutdown
This shutdown is the first since December 2018, when a partial closure lasted 34 days, becoming the longest in United States history. The new crisis once again reflects the difficulty of reaching consensus in Congress and anticipates a scenario of political and economic uncertainty.
