UPDATE, 8:40am: The United States Embassy in Nairobi has announced the suspension of some of its operations following a lapse in appropriations in Washington, which has triggered a partial shutdown of government services.
In a notice issued on Wednesday, the embassy indicated that its official X account will not be updated regularly until full operations resume. The embassy clarified that the only exceptions will be urgent safety and security information meant for U.S. citizens and residents in Kenya.
Less than a year after taking office, President Trump's U.S. government has shut down, effective midnight, throwing the future of bilateral relations with Kenya, which are currently at a critical negotiation stage, into limbo.
The shutdown has been fuelled by sharp divisions between Trump's Republican Party and the Democratic Party, the minority party in Congress, who have previously blamed each other for the lack of progress on healthcare and spending.
A breakthrough would have extended funding for federal operations for seven weeks to allow lawmakers to finish their work on annual spending is at stake.
What It Means for Kenya
Kenya is among the countries affected by key funding cuts since Trump took control of the White House. Democrats have been calling for hundreds of billions of dollars in healthcare spending to be restored, but this does not seem to be a decision that the Trump administration is willing to make, according to US media outlets.
The Democrats also opposed the cutting of previously approved funds by President Donald Trump and Republicans by using the economic rescissions that Trump has been advocating for.
U.S. remaining funding to NGOs, development partners, and global programs (including in Kenya) may be slowed, paused, or reassessed. This could affect health, education, and food security grants.
Economically, markets may lose confidence, leading to lower investor appetite, currency volatility, which could affect the currency strengths, and even delayed trade agreements, among them the ongoing multilateral agreements, such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
Additionally, a prolonged shutdown can lead to a downgrade of the U.S. credit rating, like in 2011, which can cause global economic uncertainty, affecting Kenya through rising dollar costs and interest rates.
Meanwhile, Kenyan manufacturers requested a one- to two-year extension of the AGOA following its expiry on Tuesday.
The manufacturers, along with their counterparts in Africa, lobbied the United States Congress in a last-ditch effort to protect them from the effects of Trump’s tariffs.
What Happens During a Shutdown?
According to the White House, a shutdown would see nonessential government operations suspended.
This happens because the government has not agreed on its annual budget, in whole or in part. This, according to DW, will impact discretionary spending, which must be appropriated each year.
This means that the US federal government will stop paying federal employees and contractors who work for the government, impacting critical services.
During a full shutdown, all nonessential US government agencies and programs close since they depend on annual government funding.
