‘Whoa! Look at this!’ What CEOs are saying about the government shutdown

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  • In today’s CEO Daily: Diane Brady on what CEOs are saying about the government shutdown.
  • The big story: Trump using shutdown to cut spending, fire workers. 
  • The markets: Up, up, up!
  • Plus: All the news and watercooler chat from Fortune.

Good morning. I was talking to a CEO over the phone yesterday about the potential business impact of a government shutdown when the news broke that the White House is withholding $18 billion in federal infrastructure funds for New York City. “Whoa! Look at this,” he said, reading out allegations that the city has “discriminatory, unconstitutional” contracting processes.  “If you work with the government, that could be more significant.”

Maybe. The impact of a shutdown will, of course, depend on its length and the reaction of those impacted. Investors aren’t happy, but that could pass. While roughly three-quarters of federal employees are classified as “essential” workers who must stay on the job, some may stop showing up if they’re not paid. As another CEO pointed out yesterday, a raft of no-show TSA workers can make for annoying security lines, but a dozen “sick” air traffic controllers can seriously disrupt air travel.

The U.S. has weathered 10 shutdowns since the current budget policy was established in 1976.

One difference this time around is that DOGE cuts and policy shifts have already disrupted various aspects of government operations, from education grants to public health programs, making yesterday’s “orderly shutdown” yet another challenge to navigate. The main message from the CEOs I reached yesterday: Check back in a week or two.

While CEOs are keeping an eye on the economic impact of a shutdown, they have to stay focused on growing their business, recruiting top talent and leveraging or developing breakthrough technologies in areas from clean energy to AI. That’s why gatherings like the Fortune Global Forum in Riyadh on the 26th and 27th of this month are so important. It’s an opportunity for leaders to learn and connect around shared challenges and opportunities. Among the CEOs joining us are Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon, Masdar’s Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Delta’s Ed Bastian, Abhijit Dubey of NTT Data, Mary Callahan Erdoes of JPMorgan Chase, JLL’s Christian Ulbrich, Bill Winters of Standard Chartered, Cohere’s Aidan Gomez, Nokia’s Justin Hotard, Tony Han of WeRide, Jenny Johnson of Franklin Templeton, Zimmer Biomet’s Ivan Tornos, Tan Su Shan of DBS Group, Gilberto Tomazoni of JBS, Jonathan Ross of Groq and many more. You can check out more about the upcoming forum here and click here to apply to attend.



Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at diane.brady@fortune.com

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com



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