The federal courts may not be able to fully sustain paid operations after next week if Congress does not avert a partial government shutdown by passing stopgap spending legislation before October 1, the U.S. judiciary warned on Wednesday.
Judge Robert Conrad, the director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, in a memo distributed to judges and other court officials nationally, said the judiciary currently estimates it could sustain operations only through October 3.
Amid shutdown threats in recent years, the judiciary had projected that it could sustain operations for several weeks by relying on fees and other available balances, should a lapse in congressionally authorized appropriations take place.
Conrad acknowledged the short duration was a "very sharp change" from how the courts were able to sustain paid operations for the entirety of a five-week shutdown that began in December 2018 during President Donald Trump's first administration.
But he said tight budgets in recent years had reduced the availability of balances that could fund paid operations during a shutdown.
He said the October 3 date was based on preliminary estimates and that the Administrative Office would make every effort to extend paid operations through October 17. Staff would still receive paychecks as scheduled for October 10, he said.
"However, current carryforward projections are not sufficient to cover the entire pay period," Conrad said.
He said should Congress fail to pass a so-called continuing resolution by September 30, judiciary employees must still report to work as normal on October 1 and await further guidance.
Peter Kaplan, a spokesperson for the Administrative Office, the judiciary's administrative arm, in a statement confirmed the October 3 date and said the judiciary would "continue to assess available fees and balances after FY 2025 closes to determine if operations can be sustained beyond that date."
The memo was issued a day after Trump on Tuesday scrapped a meeting with top congressional Democratic leaders to discuss government funding, raising the risk of a partial government shutdown.
Lawmakers are at odds over so-called discretionary funding, which accounts for about one-quarter of the roughly $7 trillion federal budget.
The Republican-led House passed a bill last week to extend government funding through November 21, but it failed in the Senate where Republicans hold 53 of the 100 seats. Sixty senators would need to vote in favor of such legislation.
In past shutdowns, the federal judiciary has retained some ability to remain open and avoid furloughs among its 33,000 employees by using money not dependent on Congress appropriating new funding.
The courts were last forced to furlough employees during a shutdown in 1995 and 1996 that lasted 21 days during former President Bill Clinton's tenure.
Kaplan said should fees and balances be exhausted before Congress enacts a continuing resolution, the judiciary would operate under the terms of the Anti-Deficiency Act.
"Federal courts would continue operating, but would be limited to activities needed to support the exercise of the judiciary’s constitutional functions and to address emergency circumstances," he said.
Should money run out, judges and Supreme Court justices would still get paid, thanks to a constitutional bar against a diminution in their pay. But law clerks, probation officers, and other employees would not.
Criminal defendants have a constitutional right to a speedy trial and a trial before a jury of their peers, making delaying their trials complicated.
But during past shutdowns, courts have paused deadlines or entertained requests for delays in civil litigation involving the U.S. government and its agencies.
Read more:
Trump scraps meeting with Democrats, raising government shutdown risk
