New FCC Shutdown Plan Likely 'Similar' to Last Fall, Carr Says
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr told reporters Thursday that he anticipates that the commission “would be able to continue to operate at least to some degree for some period of time” if federal appropriations lapse at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, as the agency did during the government shutdown in the fall (see 2509300060). The chances of an appropriations lapse substantially increased Thursday after the Senate failed to clear a procedural hurdle to advance a House-passed minibus FY 2026 appropriations package that includes funding for the FCC and FTC (HR-7148).
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Carr said during a news conference after the FCC’s meeting (see 2601290048 and 2601290044) that the commission has “contingency plans” that are likely to be very “similar to what we did” during the previous shutdown, which lasted Oct. 1-Nov. 12 (see 2511130050). The FCC immediately shuttered most of its operations when the appropriations lapse began and furloughed 81% of its 1,288 staff members (see 2510010065). It also extended most of its filing deadlines in a bid to control the anticipated avalanche of filings upon reopening (see 2511130050).
“We’re still working through” the FCC’s shutdown contingency plans, Carr said. “We’ve gotten to be fairly routine about” developing such plans, given that congressional negotiations on appropriations now frequently continue up to the brink. “My hope and expectation is that [the standoff] does not get” to the point of a lapse, he said. “Hopefully we don’t have to pull the ripcord on” the shutdown plan.
The Senate voted 45-55 against invoking cloture on the motion to proceed on HR-7148 amid objections from Democrats and a handful of Republicans. Democrats uniformly oppose passing HR-7148's proposed funding for the Department of Homeland Security over recent immigration enforcement actions in Minneapolis. The House asked the Senate to combine consideration of HR-7148 and an earlier minibus spending package (HR-7006), which would give the FCC $416.1 million for FY 2026, including $13.5 million for its Office of Inspector General (see 2601120056). That’s more than a 6% increase over what the commission received in FY 2024 and FY 2025 (see 2403250015 and 2503170058). The appropriations package would also give the FTC $383.6 million, almost 10% less than it received in FY24 and FY25.
The White House and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., were still negotiating Thursday afternoon to reach a deal that would pass non-DHS funding included in HR-7148 and potentially enact a short-term continuing resolution to maintain that department’s funding. Such a deal would still result in a short-term government shutdown, as it would require House approval. The House isn’t set to reconvene until Monday, and chamber leaders have opposed gaveling in early. “Congress has to step up to the plate,” Schumer said on the floor. “The Republican majority must step up to the plate.”