WASHINGTON: United States (US) federal courts are expected to run out of money on Feb 1 after deferring non-critical operating costs and utilising court filing fees and other available balances, the Administrative Office of the US Courts said Tuesday.
“No further extensions beyond Feb 1 will be possible,” the administrative agency said in a statement.
“Most of the measures are temporary stop-gaps, and the Judiciary will face many deferred payment obligations after the partial government shutdown ends.”
According to Xinhua news agency, in recent weeks, courts and federal public defender offices have delayed or deferred non-mission critical expenses, such as new hires, non-case related travel, and certain contracts, the office said, adding that judiciary employees were reporting to work and currently in full-pay status.
When the remaining funds run out, each court would determine the staff necessary to support its “mission critical work”, the office said.
In response to requests by the Department of Justice, some federal courts have issued orders suspending or postponing civil cases in which the government was a party, it added.
The Department of Justice is among the nine Cabinet-level US departments affected by the partial government shutdown, which resulted from an impasse between the White House and Congress over whether to provide billions of US dollars for the construction of a US-Mexico border wall.
As the record-long shutdown entered its 32nd day on Tuesday, the White House and Democratic congressional leaders appeared to remain far apart on a deal to break the deadlock. – Bernama
