Posts by Marc Sanchez

Assuming Congress passes and the President signs the pending continuing resolution Backlog and Recovery Timeline: Even after funding is restored, both FDA and USDA face operational backlogs. Expect a staged recovery—FDA typically clears urgent submissions (recalls, safety-critical reviews) within the first week, while standard user-fee submissions and inspections may take two to four weeks to normalize.…

Day 35 Shutdown Update A Record-Breaking Shutdown—And No End in Sight Today marks Day 35 of the federal government shutdown—tying the longest in U.S. history. What began as a short-term funding dispute has evolved into a full-scale breakdown of regulatory continuity. Across FDA, USDA, and related agencies, internal coordination, submission review, and enforcement work are…

Day 33 Shutdown Update: A Second Month Without Movement The federal government shutdown has now reached Day 33, marking the start of its second month and solidifying its place as one of the longest funding lapses in U.S. history. As the shutdown enters this new phase, the implications for FDA, USDA, and related regulatory bodies…

Day 30 Shutdown Update Thirty days in, the shutdown has reached a threshold that few agencies were designed to withstand. What began as a temporary funding lapse has become an operational drought, and for several FDA centers—particularly the Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) and the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM)—the margin for continuity is disappearing. The broader government…

Day 29 Shutdown At Day 29, the shutdown has outlasted every modern benchmark for administrative endurance. While many agency websites still display the illusion of normalcy, beneath the surface the system is fractured: databases idle, renewal deadlines lapse unnoticed, and the flow of federal benefits—once a constant—is grinding to a halt. This week, the USDA’s…

Day 28 Shutdown Update: The federal shutdown reached Day 28 today, entering its fifth week with no funding resolution in sight. What began as a temporary budget impasse is now a slow-motion systems collapse across agencies responsible for food safety, public health, and regulatory oversight. While FDA and USDA have managed to preserve a skeleton…

Day 27 The shutdown has now reached Day 27, making it the longest lapse in FDA funding since the user-fee era began. While the visible symptoms—silent websites, frozen comment periods, suspended outreach—have persisted for weeks, a quieter crisis is now emerging: the slow depletion of review momentum and the near-total halt of new user-fee submissions. FDA:…

Day 23 Shutdown Update The shutdown has now entered Day 23, officially becoming one of the longest government funding lapses in U.S. history. What began as a stoppage of new appropriations has deepened into a systemic strain: critical agencies are still running on carryover funds, contingency staffing, and increasingly brittle infrastructure. This week’s updates illustrate…

FDA Shutdown Update As the shutdown stretches into its third full week, its effects are evolving from delay into erosion. Agencies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) remain officially operational, but the strain on review systems, registrant requirements, and workforce continuity is becoming more acute. Agency…

Day 18 As the government shutdown moves into its eighteenth day, regulatory paralysis has settled into routine. Systems remain online but unmanned, deadlines continue to pass without acknowledgment, and the long tail of administrative disruption is becoming apparent. Among the most consequential emerging issues: registration renewals—for manufacturers, facilities, and importers—are being missed or left unprocessed…

Day 17 By the seventeenth day of the government shutdown, the most striking thing isn’t what’s closed—it’s what’s still open but inert. Many federal websites remain online yet frozen in time, showing the same front pages and outdated notices day after day. The illusion of accessibility masks a deeper truth: regulatory infrastructure depends not only…

Day 16 Update As the shutdown enters its sixteenth day, the machinery of regulation is no longer paused—it’s corroding. Quiet losses in personnel, data, and coordination are eroding the capacity of agencies like FDA and USDA to recover cleanly when funding resumes. The visible crises have given way to quieter failures: deferred oversight, expired comment…