THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2026 47 The Costs of the Government Shutdown When the government shutdown began in October 2025, AFSA reached out to Foreign Service members to ask: With your team furloughed, what work is left undone? And how will this forced work stoppage affect the American people? Below are some of their replies, lightly edited for length and clarity. All responses are anonymous. FEATURE Security at Risk Even as the resources diminish and work pauses, the security risks don’t stop. “A lack of funds to repair armored vehicles means we are using soft-skinned (e.g., non-armored) cars at a post that is rated critical for terrorism.” “Critical border security work is not being accomplished given the embassy’s inability to backfill a consular role. Issuing visas is a vital screening tool for those wishing to enter the United States.” “America is less safe because of the shutdown. Our competitors take every shutdown as an opportunity to demonstrate the lack of American resolve and reliability.” “I cannot effectively keep up with IT requirements. We can’t fix things that break, regular maintenance can’t be done, and we can’t buy replacements. Our society and our government depend on computers and the internet. The Department of State and the U.S. are becoming more vulnerable to cyber- attack by the day.” “The U.S. federal government is facing a sharp increase in cyberattacks coinciding with the shutdown beginning October 1. Attackers are exploiting the financial stress and uncertainty of furloughed or unpaid government workers [and mounting more attacks].” Americans Left Waiting U.S. embassies continue to serve, but limited resources mean slower help for U.S. citizens abroad in need. “We can’t coordinate with foreign governments on crisis preparedness or assist Americans returning home who need emergency loans for plane tickets.” “As funding dries up, we may lose transportation to visit U.S. citizens in prison or hold off-site passport services for those far from our embassies.” “We can’t have external meetings, so we can’t check on overdue airport runway repairs that impact hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizen tourists.”
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