About 12,000 federal workers across Maine braced for a federal government shutdown that started at midnight— a move that could lead to furloughs and firings, close national parks and monuments, and result in reduced services for other federal programs.

The full impacts of the shutdown remained unclear, however, after Senate Democrats voted down the Republicans’ stopgap spending bill, 55-45, Tuesday night.

Sens. Susan Collins, a Republican, and Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, voted in favor of a Republican measure that would have funded the government through Nov. 21.

King had voted against that proposal last week but said in an interview Tuesday night that voting with Democrats, which would have ensured a shutdown, would give President Donald Trump more power and he didn’t want to take that risk.

“I think people saw this as a chance to stand up to him, but it’s going to be the opposite,” King said. “He’s talked about firing people, cutting programs … this could harm a lot of people.”

The Trump administration has wide discretion to designate essential federal workers who would remain on the job without pay and his top officials have proven unpredictable and eager to push the boundaries of presidential power, including threatening to fire nonessential workers who would be furloughed.

“This was a difficult vote, but in the end, I could not, in good conscience, vote to shut the government down and hand even greater power to the trio of Donald Trump, Stephen Miller and Russell Vought,” King said in an email Tuesday night.

Gov. Janet Mills said in a memo to the state’s workforce, which includes about 2,500 workers funded either in part or entirely by federal funds, that she has not received any information from the Trump administration about possible impacts.

“In years past when a federal government shutdown was a possibility, the federal administration would distribute guidance to the states,” Mills said Tuesday. “However, the Trump administration has not communicated with the state at all about a shutdown or its potential impacts. … In the event of a shutdown, our administration hopes we will receive guidance from the federal government about which specific funding would be disrupted.”

One thing is clear — the longer a shutdown lasts, the more widespread the effects become, especially for services like food assistance, which can continue only for as long as there is funding.

HOW’D WE GET HERE?

Senate Republicans and Democrats are at loggerheads over a temporary funding bill that would fund the government into late November. Trump and congressional leaders met at the White House on Monday, but they failed to reach an agreement and resumed casting blame.

Republicans want to maintain existing spending levels, originally set by former President Joe Biden, until a full-year funding bills is approved by Congress. That bill already cleared the House, where U.S. Rep. Jared Golden was the only Democrat to support it.

The Senate voted against it last week and again on Tuesday.

A spending bill needs 60 votes to pass the Senate. Republicans currently hold 53 seats, so they needed at least seven Democrats to enact a short-term spending bill.

Golden said in a Substack post over the weekend that a federal shutdown would empower the Trump administration.

“Historically, shutdowns erode the quality and availability of federal services on day one, and it gets worse each day,” he said. “But this is a unique administration, and banking on historical precedent is a mistake. In a shutdown, the executive branch issues guidance on how the government will operate during a lapse in funding, and it has broad flexibility in shaping those orders.”

Golden said Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits will be funded through October. However, people receiving benefits through SNAP’s Women, Infants and Children program will likely see lower payments, since the federal share will stop while state and local funding would continue.

Senate Democrats are holding out for an extension of health care subsidies under the Affordable Care Act set to expire at the end of the year and restoring $900 million in Medicaid cuts included in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill. They’re also seeking limits on the administration’s ability to rescind Congressionally approved funding for programs Trump doesn’t like.

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT IMPACTS

A federal shutdown could have wide-ranging consequences in Maine, including potentially shuttering Acadia National Park and the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument at the height of foliage season.

The federal government was last shut down in 2018 over Trump’s demands for funds to build a wall along the southern border. The 35-day shutdown, the nation’s longest, stretched into early 2019 and affected several loan programs for prospective homebuyers, small businesses and farmers.

Acadia National Park remained open, but without staff or access to restrooms. It was also in the winter. The nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association recently asked the administration to completely close the parks to avoid damage and protect public safety.

“The damage that occurred took many parks months, some years, to recover from,” the association said of the 2018-19 shutdown. “And in some cases, it was irreparable.”

A closure of Acadia National Park would send ripple effects through the economy in Bar Harbor and beyond, as businesses there and around the state count on the fall surge to help get them through the slow winter season.

Some services would not be impacted. Entitlement programs, such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid would continue, though some support staff may be furloughed and unavailable to answer questions about benefits.

The U.S. Postal Service will continue to operate and veterans will still receive health care, though other programs, such as education and job training, support for veteran-owned businesses and assistance for homeless veterans, could be disrupted.

Other essential workers, such as law enforcement, airport security officers and members of the military, will report to work but will not be paid until a budget bill is passed.

The University of Maine System sent a notice this week to say that nearly 3,000 faculty, professional staff, and student workers are fully or partially funded through federal sources. The system has begun developing contingency plans for any lapse in appropriations.

FULL IMPACTS STILL UNKNOWN

This shutdown comes with even more uncertainty than those in the past.

The Trump administration has said it will fire many nonessential workers, and the administration has wide latitude to determine which workers are essential. As of Tuesday afternoon, though, no details had been released.

Among those who could permanently lose their jobs are many of the 75 workers at Acadia National Park, according to U.S. Sen. Susan Collins’ office, while hundreds of border agents, federal law enforcement and U.S. attorneys would continue to work without pay.

Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said in a written statement that Congress must find a way to fund government and “rein in an out-of-control executive branch.”

“Without safeguards, federal employees will continue to face untenable working conditions,” Kelley said. “I urge both parties to come to the negotiating table and find common ground on the key issues facing most Americans — including the high cost of living, access to health care, and, for many of us, fair treatment on the job.”

With a shutdown all but assured Tuesday evening, King said “we’ll see if a nightmare plays out.”

“We’ve never had a presidency like this before, so I don’t know that we can say this shutdown will be like others,” he said during the interview.

A new state law would help soften the blow to some federal workers here.

State lawmakers have established an assistance program for any workers affected by a federal government shutdown that lasts at least seven days. That program allows furloughed or unpaid workers to receive no-interest loans of up to $6,000. It’s not clear if it applies to laid-off workers. Furloughed employees and laid-off workers would likely still be eligible for unemployment benefits in most states.

“We believe the administration must fix the mounting health care crisis and find a funding solution now to avoid a costly government shutdown,” said Andy O’Brien, spokesperson for the Maine AFL-CIO. “Federal workers will fortunately have more of a safety net than the last time the federal government shut down for 35 days in 2018 and 2019.”