Shutdown threatens some of the FDA's staff

About a quarter of the government — including parts of the FDA — will go into shutdown mode at midnight today unless lawmakers and President Trump can agree on a spending bill to keep the government funded. Trump, who wants money for a border wall, rejected a Senate proposal Thursday that would have kept the government open through February 8. The House put forward a proposal last night that included $5 billion in border wall funding, which the Senate will take up today. If it doesn't pass and an agreement isn't reached, about 40 percent of FDA employees may be forced to take leave without pay. The last time that happened, it halted some inspections, research, and labeling updates, former FDA officials told STAT. HHS, the NIH, and the CDC will remain up and running, since they were funded separately by a bill Trump signed in September.