While the U.S. Government shutdown looks like it’s finally coming to an end, the cleanup is just beginning. There are bills to pay, data to pull, benefits to update, federal services to reinstate, and a backlog of loans, permits and contracts to address and clear out.
The remnants of old booze, political posturing, stale food, woozy insults, finger-pointing, and the partisan blame game still lingers — and the aftermath and aftershocks will not only impact the U.S. economy but also your personal investments.
The Debris Field
As of this writing, Democrats and Republicans have agreed to end the longest government closure in U.S. history — but it will actually take days to fully reopen the government. First and foremost a new funding bill must be passed by both chambers of Congress and then signed by the president.
Then it will take time for government agencies to restart and for federal budgets and systems to populate and resume normal function. The furloughs, pay lapses, and the post shutdown debris field includes federal contracts, infrastructure spending, loans and permits, inspections, student aid, economic data, and the patrolling and staffing of national parks and monuments.
“The practical realities of the standoff have become impossible to ignore. The shutdown … has strained everything from food assistance programs to airport operations. The Agriculture Department has warned of lapses in SNAP benefits, while the Federal Aviation Administration has been forced to cancel thousands of flights to relieve overworked, unpaid controllers.”[1]
Re-starting the government is a complex process with logistical, operational and personnel challenges that involve the restoration of countless federal services and the reinstatement of millions of federal employees. According to Bipartisan Policy Center some 670,000 federal employees were furloughed, while roughly 730,000 worked without pay. 1.3 million active-duty personnel and over 750,000 National Guard and reserve personnel also continued to serve and some without pay.[2]
The Air Traffic Mess
Among the most notorious disruptions of the shutdown, has been the cancellations, delays and sheer havoc of air travel. On Monday alone more than 2,000 flights were canceled across the country due to limited capacity at major airports and winter weather slamming various parts of the country.
And, the air travel nightmare doesn’t look like it will be remedied anytime soon. According to NBC News, the number of scheduled flight cancellations is expected to increase to 6% on Tuesday, up from the initial 4% that started on Friday as the FAA continues to cut flights due to stress, absences and fatigue among air traffic controllers.
“The airports where the FAA was restricting flights Monday include Chicago O’Hare International Airport; Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport; Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport; Boston Logan International Airport; Los Angeles International Airport; Dallas Fort Worth International Airport; George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston; Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas; Denver International Airport; Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport; Seattle-Tacoma International Airport; and two of the three major airports in the New York City metropolitan area.”[3]
Even after the government is back up and running, travelers should expect increasing cancellations as the numbers of controllers who show up for work will likely not return to normal for some time. Essential FAA employees who stayed on the job during the shutdown will not immediately receive their back pay, and some may choose not to return to work right away. Others have taken second jobs and may keep their side hustles until they get all of their missed paychecks. And, of course, older controllers who are close to retirement may not come back at all. [4]
The Economic Impact
Even as the deadlock draws to a close, the fallout of powering down the massive government machine for six weeks, should not be underestimated. Shutdowns result in lost paychecks, disruption of federal services, reduced business confidence, changes in consumer behavior and ongoing economic policy uncertainty.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the delay in federal spending will also undoubtedly have an impact on economic growth.
“The agency estimates that real gross domestic product (GDP), which has been adjusted to remove the effects of inflation, will be lower in the fourth quarter of 2025 than it would have been in the absence of a shutdown. Depending on its length, the government shutdown will reduce annualized real GDP growth in that quarter by 1.0 to 2.0 percentage points. After the shutdown, real GDP will be temporarily higher than it would have been otherwise. Although most of the decline in real GDP will be recovered eventually, CBO estimates that between $7 billion and $14 billion (in 2025 dollars) will not be.”[5]
And the full ramifications and repercussions of what is now the longest shutdown in U.S. history may not be apparent for months. But one thing is for certain — it comes at a time when the United States is battling historic debt, a challenging job market, stubborn inflation, and a business environment weighed down by tariff, trade, and financial uncertainty.
While there are increasing concerns that stocks, bonds and overall investor sentiment could weaken amid the post-shutdown chaos and volatility, Yahoo Finance is reporting that the price of gold is likely to remain strong. “Gold is a safe haven asset that can appreciate when stock prices falter or when economic conditions sour.”[6]
Why Precious Metals Are Sitting Pretty
Re-opening the government could reveal troubling government data, a stifled U.S. consumer, pronounced economic drag, a potentially weakened U.S. dollar, faltering GDP, and a host of rising investment risks.
In this environment, precious metals thrive. Gold, silver, platinum and palladium rally on uncertainty, volatility, and loss of confidence — and, of course, are the go-to assets for investors seeking safety, security and financial stability.
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[1] https://time.com/7332596/government-shutdown-update-end-date/
[2] https://bipartisanpolicy.org/explainer/who-is-missing-paychecks-in-the-2025-shutdown-when-and-where/
[3] https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/flight-delays-arent-slowing-move-end-shutdown-rcna243029
[4] https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/11/us/shutdown-travel-problems-linger
[5] https://www.cbo.gov/publication/61823
[6] https://finance.yahoo.com/personal-finance/banking/article/government-shutdown-money-153356710.html
