A government shutdown comes with many unknowns, chief among them how long it will last. Some have ended within a day, while the longest stretched 35 days from December 2018 to January 2019.

As in previous shutdowns, executive branch agencies have prepared contingency plans that spell out which employees would be furloughed and which activities would be paused when funding lapses. Major programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are not be affected because they are funded separately from the annual appropriations process.

This time around, however, there's even more at stake for federal workers. The Trump administration has threatened mass, permanent layoffs due to additional powers granted to the president during a shutdown. The Office of Personnel Management raised the poss

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