North Texans will undoubtedly feel the effects of the government shutdown.
Thousands of federal workers and contractors could be furloughed — or possibly fired — since a spending bill remains unfunded after Congress failed to pass the measure amid political squabbling.
Texas has the fourth-most federal employees in the nation compared to other states, not including the District of Columbia. Nearly 52,000 are in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, according to the Federal Reserve.
Many work at the Fritz G. Lanham Federal Building downtown, which houses workers for the Social Security Administration, the Internal Revenue Service and the National Weather Service. The Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base and the Federal Medical Center Carswell also employ federal workers.
Officials at Fort Worth-based Lockheed Martin Corp., which has billions in defense contracts through its assembly plant at the naval air station, said the company will “continue to serve our U.S. government customers and deliver mission-critical solutions” as they work with customers to understand the scope of a shutdown.
Local reaction
United Way of Tarrant County, a nonprofit providing various services to county residents, said the shutdown will not affect them in the short term. Only two of its programs rely on federal funding: the Area Agency on Aging, which serves seniors, and the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, which provides free tax preparation services.
“We are monitoring the situation in Washington, D.C., closely to determine if there will be any impacts in the future,” said Deanna Titzler, a spokesperson for United Way of Tarrant County. “We will continue to serve our most vulnerable populations as we do today.”
Some North Texas agencies are planning for interim funding.
The Regional Transportation Council, for example, will provide temporary funding to maintain transit programs, Michael Morris, transportation director for the North Central Texas Council of Governments, previously told the Fort Worth Report.
The council, an independent policy group of the council of governments, approved $400,000 on Sept. 11 for programs that support transit-oriented developments, safety and pedestrian and bicycle routes.
Delays or cuts in federal funding over the last year already affected North Texas agencies. Transportation programs with earmarked funds could be delayed or eliminated if $500 million isn’t distributed, officials said.
Nonprofits and social agencies are also feeling pinched. Those agencies lost an estimated $127 million for the first half of 2025, according to a survey conducted by the North Texas Community Foundation, Communities Foundation of Texas and The Dallas Foundation.
Tarrant Area Food Bank officials said they are working to boost more than 500 partnerships to aid the agency as it addresses increasing food insecurity in 13 counties amid a loss of $4.2 million in federal funding.
Local reps reaction
The Fort Worth Report reached out to Tarrant County’s U.S. House representatives, including Craig Goldman, Jake Ellzey, Marc Veasey, Beth Van Duyne, Brandon Gill and Roger Williams, for comment.
Williams, a Willow Park Republican, said North Texans “should not have to shoulder the cost of Washington’s deadlock during a government shutdown.”
“Our service members and federal workers could see paychecks delayed, and veterans could face delays in receiving the benefits they earned,” Williams said in a statement. “Small businesses that contract with the federal government would face uncertainty, too. Inaction has consequences.”
Gill, a Flower Mound Republican, said the crisis is perpetuated by Democrats in Congress.
“Republicans did our job and passed bipartisan legislation to keep the government open, but Democrats are holding the government hostage by refusing to vote for the same continuing resolution they’ve voted for in the past,” Gill said in a statement.
Goldman, a freshman Republican congressman from Fort Worth, said he joined House Republican colleagues in passing a short-term funding bill to keep the government open two weeks ago.
“The bill maintains the same funding levels that Democrats have repeatedly supported, but now, for reasons I do not understand, they are supporting a government shutdown,” Goldman said in a statement.
On social media, Veasey posted that he planned to stay in Washington despite Speaker Mike Johnson’s dismissal of Congress after failing to pass a spending bill.
“I don’t care what @SpeakerJohnson says,” Veasey posted. “I’m staying in Washington. He can run away if he wants to, but @HouseDems aren’t going anywhere. We’ll stay and fight for the health and safety of the American people.”
Representatives Ellzey, Van Duyne and Veasey did not respond to requests for comment prior to publication.
The previous government shutdown occurred during President Donald Trump’s first administration from December 2018 to January 2019. Approximately 800,000 federal workers were temporarily let go or were forced to work without pay, according to NPR.
Congressional projects
A government shutdown would delay money for projects sponsored by the local representatives.
Ellzey, a Midlothian Republican who represents parts of Tarrant County, is one of the 33 in Congress who pushed for funding specific projects throughout the appropriations process.
Ellzey earmarked the most funds for projects in the state, with $86.7 million set for 14 projects. The most expensive project approved in Texas at risk is $50 million for improvements to the U.S. Marine Corps facility at the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth.
Some of the most expensive projects at risk in Tarrant County include $3.1 million for the affordable housing developments Hughes House II & III in Stop Six, sponsored by Veasey, and a $4.2 million safety improvement program at booming Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, sponsored by Van Duyne.
The Hughes House project previously received more than $8 million in federal funds. The mixed-use development has completed some of the project.
DFW Airport is expanding with billions in capital improvement projects, including the addition of a new terminal and the expansion of Terminal A. Van Duyne lobbied for several project funds for the airport, including two robots for its bomb squad.
Goldman was one of four Texas representatives who did not request funding during the appropriations process.
Federal agencies reaction
Senate Democrats have repeatedly voted against the appropriations package and against any short-term extension of the current congressional budget.
The Democrats are concerned that the appropriations bill severely defunds federal health care programs.
“The Republicans have had 45 days over and over and over to come to us and talk about protecting your health care,” Democratic New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, minority leader, posted on social media. “They didn’t. They would rather shut the government down than protect your health care.”
Trump said he will cut federal staffing in reaction to the shutdown.
Some government agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, posted politically partisan messages about the shutdown on their websites.
“The Radical Left are going to shut down the government and inflict massive pain on the American people unless they get their $1.5 trillion wish list of demands,” the HUD website said.
In a statement, the Environmental Protection Agency officials also blamed Democrats.
The EPA’s contingency plan will see most of the agency’s 15,166 workers furloughed, but up to 828 EPA employees will be compensated by a resource other than the annual appropriations. Nearly 600 will remain on duty “to protect life and property.”
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said a government shutdown will affect the U.S. Department of Agriculture programs in Texas, including the related Farm Service Agency, which provides loans and credit to farmers as well as disaster assistance.
“Their world’s not going to stop,” Miller told the Fort Worth Report. “They’re still going to have to milk the cows, tend the flock and plow the fields. As long as they can get diesel fuel, they’ll keep working.”
Miller said some USDA programs, including efforts to deter screwworms, will continue under state management. “We’re still working, we won’t shut anything down,” he said.
Eric E. Garcia is a senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org.
Ismael M. Belkoura is the health reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at ismael.belkoura@fortworthreport.org.
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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