The U.S. Capitol is 776 miles away from the closest spot on UF’s campus. Yet the effects from the government shutdown that began at midnight Wednesday were felt instantly by the community.
The government shut down because Congress couldn’t agree on a funding bill for government services. The last government shutdown lasted 35 days, from December 2018 to January 2019.
While UF researchers and VA workers worry what could happen if the shutdown persists, TSA and NASA employees have already begun working without pay.
Most UF students won’t feel effects immediately, as federal financial aid and student loan disbursement will continue as normal. But student aid, loans and veteran education funds could eventually be delayed.
During the shutdown, the U.S. Education Department will not issue new grants or renew existing projects, according to PBS, because most of its workers are considered non-essential and don’t work during government shutdowns.
The FAFSA will not be impacted, and students shouldn’t expect delays unless the Education Department says otherwise, according to CBS.
UF researchers who rely on federal funding will feel the effects first.
Stephanie Manrique, a 21-year-old UF biosystems engineering junior, participates in federally funded biochemical and chemical engineering research. She said new graduate students will be most affected, particularly those who are part of the Graduate Research Fellowship Program, an initiative by the National Science Foundation funding Ph.D. research.
“The shutdown will pause all review for that, and they will not be awarded that,” Manrique said, referring to the people receiving program funding.
Manrique said if funding is cut, it will ultimately delay undergraduate graduation and the start of postgraduate degrees for the program’s students.
In the 2025 fiscal year, UF spent over $1 billion in research, the most ever recorded for the university, according to a July 22 press release. Over $600 million of that funding was federally funded.
The shutdown, if extended, could halt federally funded UF research projects in the middle of the school year. Manrique said it could also cause students like herself to be rejected from doctoral or master’s programs.
“Without the new funding that they need, they’re not going to be able to take on new students,” Manrique said. “Those grants are what pays our stipends.”
Manrique said she thinks most federally sponsored projects that are underway will not face major interruptions at UF unless the shutdown is extended.
Cynthia Roldán, a UF spokesperson, said in an email Thursday she was “not aware of any immediate impacts” to federally funded research projects, scholarships or financial aid.
The Malcom Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Gainesville is the largest hospital in the North Florida and South Georgia region of the VA system. Over 96% of its employees are considered essential and are required to work during the shutdown, according to its September 2025 contingency plan.
Tieresha Daniel, a 30-year-old patient advocate office worker at the VA hospital, said the shutdown has not personally impacted her, but she is worried about what could come if it lasts longer than two weeks. She gets paid biweekly.
“I have bills, I have kids,” Daniel said. “I’m a single parent of four girls.”
The VA has more than 6,800 employees in its local service area, according to the department website.
“It’s going to be crazy,” Daniel said. “People probably losing their houses and their jobs.”
Unlike Daniel, who is still receiving pay, TSA and Federal Aviation Administration essential workers at Gainesville Regional Airport must work through the shutdown without pay. Striking TSA and FAA employees have historically created public pressure on Congress to end shutdowns due to airport slowdowns, according to CNN.
TSA is expected to have about 50,000 agents working, unpaid, during the shutdown, while the FAA is expected to have over 13,000 air traffic controllers in the same position, according to a Reuters report released 9 a.m. Tuesday.
Beyond Alachua County, NASA employees are among the most affected in Florida.
About 83% of NASA employees have been required to take furloughs, or mandatory, unpaid leaves of absence, due to the shutdown, according to Steve Shinn, the acting chief financial officer at NASA. As of 2021, NASA supported more than 38,000 jobs in Florida.
Representatives from NASA were unavailable for comment because of the shutdown.
The Senate will resume its session on Monday, but the House doesn’t resume until Oct. 14, signaling the shutdown could continue until then unless U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson calls an emergency session.
Contact Noah Lantor at nlantor@alligator.org. Follow him on X at @noah_lantor.
Noah is the Fall 2025 assistant multimedia editor at The Alligator. He previously worked as a staff photographer for two semesters, covering community stories and sports across Gainesville. Before his time at UF, Noah worked on the sidelines at Maryland and Penn State photographing their football teams. He has also done freelance and graduate photography work in his home state of Maryland. In his free time, he enjoys following hockey, football and traveling to rural places.
