The Defense Commissary Agency announced Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, that all military commissaries will be able to operate for a limited time if the government shuts down again. (Defense Commissary Agency)

All military commissaries will be able to operate for a limited time pending a potential government shutdown, the Defense Commissary Agency announced Wednesday.

“In the event of a lapse in appropriation, [the Defense Commissary Agency] has the authority to operate commissaries worldwide through the end of March, using its Defense Working Capital Funds,” the agency said in a statement. “Commissary employees would continue to work and are not subject to furlough during this time frame.”

The federal government could be headed for a partial government shutdown this week, with Republicans and Democrats at odds over funding for President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security after the second fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen by federal immigration officers in Minnesota.

“The White House supports the bipartisan work that was done to advance the bipartisan appropriations package, and we want to see that passed,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday. “We absolutely do not want to see that funding lapse.”

Senate Democrats are demanding changes to legislation funding the Department of Homeland Security.

The Homeland Security funding is attached to five other measures that would fund large parts of the federal government, including the Defense Department and the Department of Health and Human Services.

The funding package passed in the House last week, including $839 billion for the Defense Department.

The government shut down last year for 43 days, breaking the previous record of 35 days during Trump’s first term.