White House sends guidance to agencies, readies for government shutdown

White House officials say they will provide guidance to federal agencies Friday on contingency plans for a potential government shutdown, a week before the April 28 deadline for Congress to pass a spending bill and keep the lights on.

President Trump’s Office of Management and Budget is sticking to the protocols laid out by the Obama administration in a 916-page budget circular from July 2016, which spells out the steps to take in preparation for shuttering the government.

It remained uncertain Wednesday whether they’ll take a different tack than President Obama, who was accusing in the 2013 federal shutdown of making it as painful as possible on citizens to gain leverage in a budget battle with Republicans over Obamacare.

Shutdown moves by the Obama administration in 2013 that provoked complaints included erecting barricades to keep people out of the outdoor World War II Memorial and Vietnam War Memorial in Washington.

“One week prior to the expiration of appropriations bills, regardless of whether the enactment of appropriations appears imminent, OMB will convene a meeting or teleconference with agency senior officials to remind agencies of their responsibilities to review and update orderly shutdown plans,” reads the Obama administration document being used by the Trump administration.

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