Many in Congress have never faced a shutdown. They’re scrambling to learn the ropes.

It’s been less than five years since the last shutdown, but Congress has seen significant turnover since then, leaving a large pool of members and aides with little to no experience on how to handle a funding standoff. Now offices are scrambling to make preparations and figure out any possible tips or tricks to help lessen the blow for their staff and constituents.

Multiple Democratic and Republican House offices have advanced bonuses to staff in the event they have to skip a pay period during a shutdown. Some chiefs-of-staff have prioritized adding staff during the August break and September in anticipation of upcoming hiring freezes. Staffers are gaming out how a shutdown might affect their participation in student loan programs for government employees and the scheduled October 1 restart for payments. There’s a question if congressional interns, who had not been paid before 2022, will be considered “essential” workers. Similarly, it’s not clear if caucus staff are considered essential.

“If the McCarthy speakers’ race is an indication of how government operations get held hostage to meet the extremist MAGA goals, then we should all scenario plan for a lengthy shutdown,” Sarah Ghermay Iddrissu, chief of staff for Rep. Jamaal Bowman, told Semafor. “Hopefully this isn’t the case, but we are in this new reality.”