The Trump administration continues to prioritize border control and tariff negotiations during the government shutdown. A shutdown occurs when Congress fails to pass the necessary budget legislation to operate the federal government, temporarily halting all non-essential functions.
On Wednesday, U.S. political news outlet Politico reported that while most government departments will place numerous employees on unpaid leave during the shutdown, departments responsible for immigration enforcement and tariff negotiations will retain more staff than in previous shutdowns.
U.S. government officials assured Politico that core immigration enforcement functions, such as border patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations, will continue without interruption.
Notably, ICE has already secured funding through the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBBA), enacted in July, making its operations less impacted by the shutdown. A government official stated, “ICE will be fine during the shutdown,” adding, “Most of what ICE does will continue.”
The Department of Homeland Security, which handles border and immigration matters, initially planned to maintain 88% of its workforce during the 2023 shutdown crisis but has now increased that figure to 95%.
Trump’s tariff policies are also expected to remain unaffected.
While trade has historically been classified as a non-essential function, the Department of Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) have outlined in their shutdown plans that they will continue to pursue Trump’s trade policies.
For instance, the Department of Commerce will continue processing tasks previously considered non-essential, such as licensing imports for steel and aluminum products, investigating product-specific tariffs, and export controls.
The USTR also plans to continue enforcing tariffs based on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). In its shutdown preparedness plan for 2024, the USTR initially decided to retain 40% of its staff but has now increased that figure to 60%.
The Trump administration aims to advance its agenda without interruption, while using the shutdown as an opportunity to halt government functions favored by Democrats and to significantly reduce the federal workforce.
According to a U.S. media report, the Department of the Interior has exempted fossil fuel employees from furloughs, allowing them to continue working. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which anticipates that over 70% of its staff will be furloughed, plans to use carryover funds to continue priority conventional energy projects, such as offshore drilling permits, while halting renewable energy initiatives
The day before, President Trump told reporters at the White House, “We can do things during the shutdown that are irreversible, that are bad for them (Democrats) and irreversible by them, like cutting vast numbers of people(federal employees) out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like (such as renewable energy projects).”
