Record Shutdown Leaves Communications Agencies Strained Despite Senate Action

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10, 2025 — The Senate advanced a stopgap funding bill late Sunday that could end the nation’s longest government shutdown, as almost all aspects of federal government faced some measure of disruption after 40 days without funding.

The shutdown, which began Oct. 1 after Congress failed to pass fiscal 2026 appropriations, stalled many aspects of operations at the Federal Communications Commission, the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the Federal Trade Commission, and other agencies and departments.

The FCC furloughed more than 80 percent of its staff, leaving 171 of 1,476 employees to handle interference detection and emergency communications support. 

Reviews of major mergers, including Charter Communications’ $34.5 billion acquisition of Cox Communications, remain frozen. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in late October that the shutdown had slowed license processing for network deployments and delayed approvals for consumer electronics entering the market. The commission held their open meeting on Oct. 28 despite the shutdown.

The FTC, one of two major antitrust agencies and which enforces consumer protection laws (including involving the tech sector), said it had suspended many of its operations, including pausing its consumer services and slowing down its antitrust  investigations. Staff are also not processing Freedom of Information Act requests, and the agency has canceled all public events until further notice.

About two-thirds of the agency’s workforce has been furloughed, leaving roughly 400 employees in place. 

The slowdown has delayed antitrust cases involving Amazon and Meta, as attorneys seek extensions and hearings are postponed. 

NTIA continued operating

But the NTIA, Commerce Department’s executive agency telecom advisor, said it had continued continued operating its broadband programs, including the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, since the initiative is funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and not subject to annual appropriations. 

As of Nov. 3, 53 of 56 states and territories had submitted their final BEAD proposals to the agency.

NIST, EPA largely in hiatus

The broader Commerce Department remains largely shut down, with about 43,000 employees on furlough. Most research at the National Institute of Standards and Technology has also stopped, pausing work on cybersecurity and artificial intelligence standards, the agency said.

Federal permitting essential to broadband deployment also remains fragmented.

The Environmental Protection Agency, operating with just 11 percent of staff, has halted most permit reviews. Expedited FAST-41 evaluations, which fast-track federal environmental reviews for major infrastructure projects, continue for projects above $100 million, but many BEAD-funded builds fall below that threshold.

FAA role in ending shutdown?

Aviation impacts deepened over the weekend after the Federal Aviation Administration ordered a 4 percent capacity cut at 40 major airports Friday, citing air traffic controller shortages. 

More than 1,500 flights were canceled over the weekend, with delays averaging four hours at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and three hours at Houston Hobby Airport. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned cuts could reach 20 percent if negotiations collapse.

Back to work?

The Senate on Sunday advanced a Republican stopgap funding measure, though the timing for final passage remains uncertain. Eight Democrats, including Sens. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., joined Republicans in supporting the procedural motion. 

Senate leaders plan to attach the funding package to a House-passed bill for final approval, after which the House is expected to return from its seven-week recess to send the measure to President Donald Trump.

The 40-day shutdown has outlasted every previous lapse in federal funding.