Washington • Absent some last-minute deal, parts of the federal government will shut down Friday night, shuttering many government services until Congress can pass — and President Donald Trump signs — a new budget.
But unlike the 16-day government shutdown in 2013, when national parks and monuments were locked and closed off, the Interior Department has a contingency plan to keep the parks open to tourists, though the public treasures will be unstaffed.
National park closures became one of the most viral narratives in the last extended shutdown, when President Barack Obama’s administration ordered facilities closed and erected fences around Washington’s iconic monuments, including the Lincoln Memorial and the World War II Memorial.