A National Park Service information kiosk for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is closed on December 22, 2018, in Washington, DC. The government partially shut down at midnight after Congress failed to pass a spending bill. (Photo by Olivier Douliery/Getty Images)The US government could shut down at midnight. We’re a month away from Donald Trump’s second inauguration, and Republicans in the House of Representatives are reportedly hunkering down on a “Plan C” to keep the federal government funded. If that’s unsuccessful, here’s what’s likely to happen. I’m a fed. What will happen to me? The Office of Management and Budget keeps agencies’ contingency plans on this web page. At the Department of Transportation, for example, air traffic control, St. Lawrence Seaway operations, and operations of component agencies like the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Federal Highway Administration will continue—though the people doing those jobs and most of the other ones mentioned in this article are unlikely to get paid until after a shutdown ends. Training of new air traffic controllers will cease, as will random drug testing of non-safety personnel and inspector general investigations. I’m planning to visit DC over the holidays. Will I be able to go to the museums? The Smithsonian’s plan is to use prior-year appropriations to stay open as long as possible. When that money is gone, the museums will close, and only employees who perform certain activities will be excepted: People responsible for the care of animals at the zoo, for instance, people who keep the buildings and collections secure, and people engaged in ongoing laboratory experiments. And yes, the pandas’ planned debut will likely be delayed. RelatedThe Story Behind the Viral “Sad Zoo Kid” Photo From the 2013 Shutdown What about national parks? The National Park Service tells Washingtonian it has enough funding to staff parks through Sunday. Beyond that, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. The 2013 shutdown was deeply unpopular in part because it turns out Americans like going to national parks. Perhaps that’s why Trump attempted to keep some national parks open during his 2018-2019 shutdown, but, alas, it turns out that move was illegal. (One park many people like is the National Mall, where people tend to gather during inaugurations.) Whatever happens, DC residents—who have no say in what Congress does—will foot the bill to clean up federal parks in town. I’m a contractor. Will I get paid? That depends on who you work for. Feds will get back pay after a shutdown ends but low-wage contractors generally get left out in the cold. Take a look at these messages that US Representative Don Beyer, who represents a district in Northern Virginia, received during the last shutdown. “Do I borrow more money or do I layoff my hardworking employees,” one contract-firm owner asked. Another person wrote that if they pulled their son out of daycare, they’d lose his spot, so they had to find a way to pay more than $1,500 a month. “My ability to provide for my children stops the moment the government goes into shutdown,” another said. What will it mean for the economy? The most recent shutdown took an $8 billion chunk out of the US’s gross domestic product. And while it’s fun to hate on Washington as the seat of government, our area only accounts for about 15 percent of government employees. It doesn’t take long for economic pain in Washington to ripple outward. That’s why shutdowns are very unpopular with voters. What about staff on the Hill? Depends on whether their boss designates them “essential.” How about members of Congress who caused the shutdown? Don’t worry, they get paid anyway.The post What Yet Another Government Shutdown Could Mean for DC first appeared on Washingtonian.