The U.S. government could shut down on Wednesday if Congress fails to approve funding for federal agencies. Here's how that could affect Social Security recipients.

Simply put: Any shutdown will be the result of an inability of the two parties to come together and pass a bill funding government services into October and beyond. The Republicans control both chambers of Congress, but in the Senate - or upper chamber - they are short of the 60 votes they need to pass a spending bill.

The 2018-19 shutdown — which lasted 35 days, making it the longest in history — was also the second to occur during Trump’s first presidency. That shutdown ended after East Coast airports faced major delays when unpaid air traffic controllers stopped coming to work.

The Senate returns to Washington on Monday with less than two days to fund the government amid a stalemate between Democrats and Republicans on the path forward that has increased the likelihood of a government shutdown this week.

The possible government shutdown that seems imminent this week would be like no federal funding crunch before it.

Social Security is considered mandatory, and funding for those programs is generally unaffected by a shutdown. Medicare benefits also continue uninterrupted. The federal government has enough money for Medicaid to fund the first quarter of the next fiscal year, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Congress faces midnight Wednesday deadline to avoid government shutdown as President Donald Trump meets with congressional leaders to negotiate funding deal.

The White House’s call for mass layoffs in a looming shutdown tracks with past administration efforts to defang much of the federal government.