The U.S. Federal government could enter a partial shutdown if Congress fails to pass the necessary bills to fund the government before the Jan. 30 deadline.

During the making of the deal that ended the government shutdown that occurred last year, three of the twelve funding bills were passed. A continuing resolution was created to extend the allotted time Congress had to pass the bills through Jan. 30.

The passing of the nine remaining funding bills has come with political complications as fiscal hawks, conflicts from the previous government shutdown, and the need for Democratic assistance to pass these bills have introduced other factors to the budgeting and drafting processes, delaying the funding process.

During December of last year, Congress decided to delay the creation of a funding plan until January. This, along with the upcoming mid-term elections could further delay matters due to lawmakers wishing to avoid giving their competition any spotlight.

The recent capturing of the Venezuelan president and his spouse, as well as the recent release of the Epstein files, could also extend the delay of the passing of the nine remaining bills.

Members of the Democratic and Republican parties have demanded that Trump be held accountable for executing military action without the approval or consent of Congress. Trump’s plans for Venezuela and the demand for Congressional interference could be prioritized to satisfy the criticism, which could push the funding plan to the bottom of Congress’s list.

The slow release of the Epstein files has evoked feelings of frustration within certain members of the Democratic and Republican parties due to the belief that the victims should receive immediate justice.  After releasing many of the pages of the files on Dec. 19, The Department of Justice made a post explaining that the rigorous viewing and redacting processes of the files due to the great number of them would extend the releasing process by a few weeks.

With the many major political events and conflicts Congress must address and manage, the possibility of a partial government shutdown remains a reasonable outcome if a deal cannot be created.