BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 19, 2024
If Congress doesn’t pass a spending plan by the end of Friday to temporarily fund the federal government through March, the looming government shutdown will affect Maine in various ways. A bipartisan array of lawmakers were initially optimistic about passing a continuing resolution before midnight Saturday to avoid a shutdown and provide about $100 billion in disaster aid to states hit by extreme storms such as Hurricanes Helene and Milton. But President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office in January, threw a wrench in those plans Wednesday when he and Vice President-elect JD Vance demanded Republicans renegotiate the stopgap measure. National parks would close, though Acadia National Park and its surroundings on Mount Desert Island still have accessible areas for winter visitors.