by Calculated Risk on 2/08/2018 07:55:00 PM

From CNBC: White House instructs government agencies to prepare for shutdown

The Trump administration instructed federal agencies to get ready for a possible government shutdown as Congress moved closer to the midnight Thursday deadline without passing a funding bill, CNBC confirmed.

An Office of Management and Budget official said the office is preparing for funding to lapse as a Senate stalemate drags on with only hours until current funding expires. The Trump administration supports the massive bipartisan budget deal working its way through Congress and wants lawmakers to pass it, the official said.

Some government agencies will run out of money and have to furlough workers if Congress lets funding lapse. A shutdown would be the second in less than a month.

Hundreds of thousands of workers would not go into work Friday if a shutdown takes place through the start of the day. Others would have to work without getting paid at first.

If the shutdown happens - and doesn't end quickly - several agencies will probably not release regular government reports. There are no major economic releases scheduled for tomorrow (Friday), so there will probably be no impact on data if the shutdown ends before Monday morning.

If the shutdown continues, the following week Housing Starts, CPI and Retail Sales will all probably be delayed.  Also, next week is the reference week for the February employment report, and that report will probably be delayed if the data isn't gathered on a timely basis.

Private data will still be released. All Federal Reserve data will continue to be released (separate funding).

Also, the DOL will continue to process unemployment claims and release the weekly initial unemployment claims report.