The U.S. government shutdown is escalating, with several critical programs facing potential funding cuts by November 1. Programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Head Start, the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) nutrition initiative, and the Essential Air Service are all at risk of running out of money. Federal employees will also miss their first full paychecks this week, which could lead to disruptions in services like TSA screenings and air traffic control operations. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has warned that the situation is set to worsen further as Congress remains deadlocked. President Donald Trump has not allocated emergency funds to maintain SNAP operations, and many states are preparing to suspend benefits, which are crucial for over 40 million Americans. Despite efforts by some lawmakers to address the crisis, no significant legislation has passed, with Congress debating piecemeal solutions that remain stalled. The Trump administration has also warned that the Essential Air Service, which subsidizes airline service to small, often rural, communities, is likely to run out of funding over the weekend. Some airlines serving Alaska and other remote areas of the country might have to increase airfare to have enough cash to pay staff in the absence of federal subsidies. The service is crucial enough that the Transportation Department tapped $42 million to avoid a lapse earlier this month. Meanwhile, the military is also facing funding issues, as members of the military will miss paychecks on Friday if Trump doesn’t intervene again. Trump has used his power to pay active-duty members of the military by tapping other accounts, but the same move may not be possible again since the pot of cash had about $10 billion left before the president pulled from it last time. The White House has not disclosed how much money it believes is still available, and a multibillion-dollar payout twice a month could quickly drain the Pentagon’s leftover cash. Many civilian employees across government agencies will experience their first fully missed paychecks of the government shutdown, with some already going without compensation late last week due to different pay periods for various federal offices. Congressional aides are among the people who will feel the pain, with House staffers due to miss pay Friday and Senate counterparts set to go without compensation the following week. The lawmakers embroiled in the shutdown standoff, however, will continue to get their salaries on schedule thanks to the Constitution. The Trump administration has been looking for ways to pay air traffic controllers during the shutdown following his unilateral action to pay the troops. However, Senate Democrats rejected a measure last week that would pay select government workers and active-duty members of the military. Opponents of that bill argued that it would empower Trump to choose who gets to be paid and who must remain on furlough without a paycheck, strengthening the negotiating position of Republicans as the shutdown continues. Speaker Mike Johnson has also said he would not call House lawmakers back to town to pass piecemeal bills to pay federal workers, arguing that it would ‘take the pressure off’ Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer ‘to get his job done and open the government again.’