If the government shutdown extends beyond New Year's Day, Donald Trump's political tantrum will close the Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo in Washington, DC, among many other sites important to Americans.
After January 1, the museum network will be forced to close all its doors along the National Mall and at the National Zoo. The closures would go into effect on January 2, and continue until lawmakers reach a deal to fund the government.
This is just one of many ways people are feeling the shutdown, writes Dave Jamieson of the Huffington Post:
Because the museums have so far remained open, many people assumed the Smithsonian Institution was among the roughly three-quarters of government functions that Congress had already appropriated money for before the partial shutdown began on Dec. 22.
But Smithsonian spokeswoman Linda St. Thomas explained that it had been running on last year’s funds to get through the week between Christmas and New Year’s ― typically one of the busiest times of the year. The Smithsonian Institution receives its federal dollars through the Interior Department, which is among the unfunded agencies.
“We used prior-year funding, and we can’t continue to do that,” St. Thomas said. “I think it was a great service to tourists, but on Jan. 2 and beyond we will be closed” until a deal is reached.
Affected institutions would include the American History Museum, the Air and Space Museum, the African American Museum and the Portrait Gallery, as well as more than a dozen others.
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