The federal government officially shut down at 12:01am EST on Saturday, following the inability of Senate Republicans and Democrats to reach a spending deal. As a result, all nonessential federal employees are now on furlough—basically, a forced leave of absence without pay. In total, about 800,000 federal workers are expected to be furloughed.
What does that mean to the average American? Mostly, parks and landmarks around the country are either operating with heavily reduced staffing or are closed entirely.
Philadelphia's Independence Hall, which houses the Liberty Bell, will be closed, for example. Although Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty in New York had to temporarily shut down this weekend, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Sunday that the state itself "would step in and keep the two federally run properties open throughout the shutdown" by paying "for the $65,000 daily cost of operations [...] until Congress is able to reopen the government."
Given the fact that the Postal Service operates on its own revenue stream, the mail will continue to be delivered regularly and all postal offices will stay open. Social security checks will also go out, and services aimed to aid the homeless should continue to operate normally.
During a White House press briefing, President Trump's administration also noted that the shutdown won't affect active-duty military personnel, airport security screeners, border patrol agents and firefighters.
This is not the first shutdown in the country's history. The last one happened in 2013 and lasted 16 days. According to the Congressional Research Service, we've lived through 12 shutdowns since 1981—ranging in duration from one to 21 days.
Fun fact: Congress will still get paid because House and Senate members' salaries are written into permanent law. Go figure.