Coast Guard operating in "crisis" as shutdown halts pay, strains missions overseas

The U.S. Coast Guard cannot wage its bills. The subject subdivision – present 75 days into the longest shutdown successful U.S. past – owes implicit $300 cardinal successful unpaid obligations. And with thousands of inferior bills overdue, totaling $5.2 million, work stations and subject lodging worldwide are facing work shutdowns. 

"It seems similar a fearfulness movie, but it's really happening. It's astir unbelievable," Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday told CBS News successful an exclusive interview. 

"Suddenly, the lights spell out"

Undated photo: Station Channel Islands U.S. Coast Guard successful California, was struck by h2o outages successful April 2026 due to the fact that of unpaid inferior bills during DHS backing lapse. U.S. Coast Guard

In the past week alone, h2o outages deed work stations successful Port Huron, Michigan, and Station Channel Islands, California. 

Air Station Barbers Point, Hawaii, had earthy state lines temporarily locked. A powerfulness outage astatine a recruiting presumption successful St. Louis, Missouri, forced officers to run by flashlight until energy could beryllium restored. 

Electricity was besides chopped disconnected to the residence of a Coast Guard rear admiral successful New Orleans, forcing his household to thrust to a edifice until work was restored. That residence is 1 of astir 1,000 Coast Guard lodging units astatine hazard of energy shutoffs due to the fact that of unpaid bills. Across the service, 43% of lodging units person invoices much than 30 days past due.

"It's unacceptable," said Lunday. "I deliberation the American radical would beryllium furious to cognize this is happening," Lunday said. "We person implicit 6,000 inferior bills that person been unpaid due to the fact that DHS is not funded. And so, present we're starting to spot electricity, water, earthy gas, different services unopen disconnected that are impacting not lone our operational units and bases wherever our radical work, but starting to interaction wherever radical live."

Jessica Manfre, a Coast Guard spouse for 18 years, said the inferior shutoffs aren't isolated incidents, and Coast Guard families crossed the work person been vocal astir their concerns.

"When I heard that h2o is getting unopen disconnected astatine my friends' stations and they're having to telephone metropolis officials to beg to person it turned backmost connected due to the fact that bills aren't getting paid," she recounted, "I knew this shutdown was different." 

"These are stations wherever our crews are lasting by to respond astatine a moment's announcement to immoderate Mariner successful distress oregon immoderate menace to the nation," Lunday said. "And they motorboat 24/7, 365 — and suddenly, the lights spell retired oregon they don't person water."

In galore cases, utilities are lone restored aft Coast Guard unit telephone providers and beg for leniency.

"In astir cases, the radical we're talking to … those providers are turning it backmost on, adjacent though they're not being paid," Lunday said. "I don't cognize however agelong that's going to last."

Our workforce is "furious"

The shutdown has present stretched 75 days since backing lapsed astatine the Department of Homeland Security. Unlike subject branches that are funded done the Defense Department, the Coast Guard falls nether DHS, truthful it's susceptible erstwhile DHS backing lapses.

"This is incredibly frustrating," Lunday said. "In fact, I would accidental our workforce, our men and women and their families, are furious."

"It's much than a breach of trust," the commandant continued. "Our Coast Guard men and women, whether they're progressive work oregon reserve subject civilians, they've stepped guardant and taken an oath to enactment and support the Constitution. What they expect successful instrumentality is conscionable to beryllium paid and supply services." They don't expect "to person to interest astir whether their families are going to beryllium taken attraction of," Lunday added.

In aboriginal April, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said DHS employees who had been moving without wage and the Coast Guard would beryllium paid for the archetypal six weeks of the shutdown and the adjacent wage period, and said the payments were made imaginable by enforcement enactment and existing backing flexibility. Now, that backing is exhausted. 

The Coast Guard volition tally retired of backing to wage unit connected May 1, with the archetypal missed paychecks expected May 15.

Lunday pointed to the acquisition of a civilian Coast Guard idiosyncratic successful Ketchikan, Alaska — a machinist and longtime worker — who continued reporting to enactment during the past shutdown adjacent aft going without wage for weeks. At 1 point, helium said, the idiosyncratic had to merchantability his motortruck to wage his mortgage. 

Manfre, who is based successful Elizabethtown, North Carolina, explained that the shutdown has made already tenuous situations worse for galore families, peculiarly those relying connected a azygous income oregon those with some wage earners moving for the work branch. 

"So galore of our spouses enactment connected base. So they miss 3 and a fractional paychecks successful a satellite wherever you request 2 paychecks," Manfre said. "That means sacrificing vacations, that means skimping, that means utilizing nutrient pantries conscionable to get by due to the fact that those paychecks are abruptly each gone."

Deployed successful struggle zones, uncertain of pay

Even arsenic backing runs out, Coast Guard unit stay deployed worldwide — including successful struggle zones. Roughly 300 are present stationed successful the Middle East amid the war successful Iran, portion others stationed successful the Indo-Pacific are boarding "ghost fleet" lipid tankers successful high-stakes missions. 

"We person radical successful harm's mode astatine this hour, conducting subject operations on with different subject services," Lunday said. "And it is hard to ideate that portion of our equipped forces would not beryllium funded. And what it shows is the dedication of our men and women, that they're inactive committed to stepping into the breach and getting that ngo done, adjacent successful the look of danger, adjacent while, adjacent portion the authorities is not moving to money the DHS and the Coast Guard and guarantee they get paid."

The U.S. Coast Guard's astir 45,000 active-duty members are uniquely susceptible during authorities shutdowns due to the fact that the subdivision is the lone 1 of the six equipped services that falls nether DHS. The Army, Navy, Air Force, Space Force and Marines autumn nether the Defense Department.

"It is truly disheartening due to the fact that our members rise their manus conscionable similar each different work member. Only 1% of this state serves, and they willingly spell wherever — they are warring close present against Iran," Manfre said. "It feels similar it doesn't matter. Like we don't substance due to the fact that we are not DOD oregon DOW. We're someway lesser — that's however it feels."

The commandant explained that uncertainty astir wage has delayed large beingness decisions among his ranks and their families. "Even aesculapian treatments, due to the fact that they're disquieted astir making the co-pay," Lunday exclaimed. 

For families astatine home, that contradiction is stark.

Manfre said she was shocked to ticker members of Congress spell connected recess portion subject families canceled vacations and summertime camps for their ain children due to the fact that of the fiscal uncertainty. 

The parent of 2 compared Congress' inaction to a temper tantrum: "The quality betwixt children having a temper tantrum and Congress shutting america down is they're doing it connected our backs." 

"We're the ones that are suffering," Manfre said. "Congress continues to get paid. But we're sitting present waiting, wondering and suffering the consequences of their legislative crippled of chicken."

"Hollowing out" our readiness

The Coast Guard has canceled 30 nationalist information exercises and halted grooming up of large events, including the World Cup and America 250.

"It's hollowing retired our operational readiness," Lunday said. "We are inactive performing our highest precedence nationalist information missions… but underneath our quality to proceed to support the assets, our cutters, our aircraft, our boats, that's challenged due to the fact that we don't person the funds indispensable to wage radical to bash each of the attraction enactment we need."

"My biggest interest astir readiness is whether oregon not their heads are successful the game," helium said, referencing the men and women successful uniform. "Whether they're acceptable to look those threats, alternatively than disquieted astir whether they're going to get paid into May and whether their families are going to request much support."

Going into idiosyncratic indebtedness to travel orders

About one-third of the Coast Guard relocates each year, but moving advances are unavailable close present due to the fact that of the shutdown.

"Right now, they're not getting those advances," Lunday said. "So they're putting those thousands of dollars connected recognition cards. They're depleting their savings. They're taking retired loans that they can't afford."

When asked if they're going into idiosyncratic indebtedness to travel orders, Lunday nodded. "Yes, that's precisely right."

Manfre said families are preparing for that world up of question season. "I would ideate if determination are nary funds, but the Coast Guard's ngo has to continue, we volition beryllium asked to prevention up oregon usage our recognition cards if we person to successful bid to beforehand this move."

"That is the reality," she added. "Many of them are already successful indebtedness due to the fact that of moving expenses and tuition reimbursement that's not coming through."

Commerce and infrastructure stalling

The effects widen beyond Coast Guard bases. There is present a backlog of astir 19,000 merchant mariner credentials – representing astir 10% of the full workforce – on with astir 5,000 aesculapian certifications.

"These are the commercialized mariners that are truthful captious to maritime commerce and the U.S. emblem fleet," Lunday said. "We can't turn this commercialized merchant mariner workforce astatine a clip wherever America is trying to rebuild our maritime might, and that's truthful captious to nationalist security."

Bridge projects are besides astatine risk, since the Coast Guard has suspended permitting during the shutdown. "And successful immoderate cases, that's putting task backing to rebuild bridges oregon physique caller bridges astatine risk," Lunday said. 

Roughly $5.4 trillion of commerce moves done U.S. waterways, each year. "And the Coast Guard's liable for making definite that happens safely and securely," Lunday said. "So that impacts each American."

"The Coast Guard is operating successful a crisis"

Both Lunday and Manfre accidental the semipermanent effects of the shutdown are already being felt successful recruitment and retention. "It is hard to look a enlistee successful the oculus and say, 'This is the vocation for you.'"

Asked astir her connection to lawmakers, the subject spouse paused. "You can't archer maine successful 1 enactment that you, you judge successful our military… and past ballot against backing an bureau that protects this state each day. You conscionable can't."

On Wednesday, Day 75 of the shutdown, the commandant said the consequences are nary longer administrative oregon abstract. "Today, the Coast Guard is operating successful a crisis."

Pressed connected however overmuch longer his men and women successful azygous tin run without funding, Lunday paused. "Well, we've taken an oath, each of america successful the military, successful the DHS, to enactment and support the Constitution. And we're going to bash it arsenic agelong arsenic we person the ability. But we're successful territory we haven't been successful before."

Seiji Yamashita and Catherine Cannon contributed to this report.

In:

• United States Department of Homeland Security
• United States Coast Guard
• Government Shutdown