Court announces funding will run out on Oct. 18

The fallout from the federal government shutdown, now in its 17th day, has come to the Supreme Court. Patricia McCabe, the head of the court’s Public Information Office, said in a statement released to reporters by email on Friday afternoon that the court “expects to run out of funding on October 18” and “if new appropriated funds do not become available” after that, “the Court will make changes in its operations to comply” with federal law.

“As a result, the Supreme Court Building will be closed to the public until further notice. The Building will remain open for future business. The Supreme Court will continue to conduct essential work such as hearing oral arguments, issuing orders and opinions, processing case filings, and providing police and building support needed for those operations,” the statement said.

The government shutdown began on Oct. 1. At that time, McCabe told ABC News that the court would continue business as usual, “rely[ing] on permanent funds not subject to annual approval, as it has in the past, to maintain operations through the duration of short-term lapses of annual appropriations.”

Under the Constitution, Supreme Court justices have life tenure, which means that they generally cannot be fired and their pay cannot be reduced, including during a shutdown.

The justices finished their October argument session on Oct. 15, hearing arguments in a major voting rights case from Louisiana and a Fourth Amendment case from Montana. They are expected to issue orders on Monday, Oct. 20, from their private conference on Friday, but they are not expected to take the bench again until Monday, Nov. 3. They are scheduled to hear oral arguments on Nov. 5 in the challenge to President Donald Trump’s power to impose sweeping tariffs.