- Senate stalled again as Democrats reject GOP continuing resolution, prolonging the shutdown into its third week with major services and paychecks affected.
- Core dispute: Democrats demand extended ACA subsidies; Republicans insist on reopening government first, deepening partisan deadlock and economic fallout.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. government shutdown dragged into its third week on Thursday, with Senate Democrats rejecting a Republican-led funding proposal for the 10th consecutive time, all but guaranteeing the impasse will stretch at least until next week.
The failure came amid escalating finger-pointing between the parties, as furloughed federal workers brace for another paycheck delay and essential services strain under the weight of non-essential operations halting nationwide.
The latest procedural vote in the Senate fell short of the 60 needed to advance a House-passed continuing resolution that would reopen the government through November 21.
Just three Democrats — Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, and independent Sen. Angus King of Maine — crossed the aisle to join Republicans, a pattern that’s held steady across the repeated attempts.
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With senators now adjourning for a long weekend after only three days back in session this week, the chamber won’t reconvene until Monday, October 20, leaving the shutdown — now the fifth-longest in U.S. history — to fester even longer.
At the heart of the deadlock are Democrats’ demands to tie any funding extension to the renewal of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, set to expire at the end of 2025.
These credits, which help lower-income Americans afford health insurance, are a non-negotiable for many in the Democratic caucus, especially with open enrollment kicking off November 1. Republicans, meanwhile, insist on reopening the government first, viewing the subsidies as a separate fight that can’t be leveraged while federal employees and military families suffer.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., reiterated that stance Thursday morning on MSNBC, offering Democrats a guaranteed vote on the subsidies by a set date if they agree to end the shutdown now — but only with potential reforms like income caps baked in.
“At some point, Democrats have to take yes for an answer,” Thune said, adding that he hoped the shutdown wouldn’t drag on through Thanksgiving, over a month away.
He acknowledged the annual cost of a full one-year extension could hit $35 billion, a figure that’s made some Republicans wary without strings attached.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., shot down the overture, telling reporters that Thune “has not come to me with any proposal at this point.” Schumer emphasized that negotiations can’t happen in public and accused Republicans of stonewalling talks altogether.
“The bottom line is Republicans won’t even negotiate with us,” Schumer said earlier this week, framing the fight as a broader crisis for everyday Americans reliant on federal programs.
The partisan trench warfare has roots in the shutdown’s abrupt start on October 1, the first in nearly seven years, after both parties’ competing stopgap bills flopped in the Senate.
A Government in Distress
Republicans passed their clean funding bill in the House weeks ago, but Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has kept the chamber in recess for nearly a month, refusing to reconvene until Democrats show willingness to compromise.
“House Republicans shut the government down, then they ran out of town,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., fumed Thursday on the Capitol steps. “The responsible thing for Donald Trump and House Republicans, along with Senate Republican leaders to do, is for them to sit down so we can work this out in a bipartisan way.”
Even as the shutdown grinds on, glimmers of progress emerged on military funding. The Pentagon and Office of Management and Budget announced earlier this week that troops would receive their October 15 paychecks through reallocated funds, easing one immediate flashpoint.
President Donald Trump touted the move on Truth Social, vowing not to let Democrats “hold our military, and the entire security of our nation, HOSTAGE.”
A separate Senate vote Thursday on a defense spending bill could pave the way for broader military pay guarantees if it advances, though Democrats’ support remains uncertain.
But for the roughly 4,000 federal employees laid off so far — mostly in states like Maryland and Virginia with heavy concentrations of government workers — relief feels distant.
A federal judge in San Francisco temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s push for mass firings on Wednesday, citing political motivations after Trump suggested targeting “Democrat agencies.”
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston’s ruling paused cuts across more than 30 agencies, following lawsuits from unions like the American Federation of Government Employees.
Senate Democrats from affected states, including Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, decried the moves as “all part of the Trump 2025 playbook.”
The Shutdown Hits American Families
The human toll is mounting beyond D.C. In Hampton Roads, Virginia — home to a massive Navy presence — families like that of Shalynn Pugh, whose spouse serves in the military, are rationing groceries and refreshing news apps obsessively. “You’re literally counting down the minutes,” Pugh told reporters, her voice cracking over fears of missing the next paycheck.
Nationwide, non-essential services have ground to a halt: Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo are shuttered, the Social Security Administration has furloughed 12% of its staff (though benefits continue as mandatory spending), and USDA funding delays threaten state-level aid for farmers and rural communities.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned Wednesday that the stalemate could soon siphon $15 billion daily from the economy, urging moderate Democrats to “be heroes” by breaking ranks.
Progressive voices are pouring fuel on the fire. At a CNN town hall Wednesday evening, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., preemptively swatted down Thune’s vote guarantee as insufficient, demanding ironclad legislation signed into law before budging on funding.
Ocasio-Cortez later told CNN that Republicans are “refusing to work to end shutdown,” while attendees — including a father of four pleading for help feeding his kids and a woman at risk of losing her government-backed housing loan — laid bare the personal wreckage.
On the GOP side, frustration is boiling over. Johnson, now dubbing himself “mad Mike,” blasted Democrats for turning the shutdown into a “long conflict” during a Capitol news conference.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., dismissed any quick fix for the subsidies before open enrollment, warning that delaying until after Christmas could turn healthcare into a “political issue” clashing with primaries.
Even some Republicans, like Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, have criticized the administration’s “pocket rescissions” — unilateral spending cuts — as overreach.
What Comes Next?
As informal talks between leaders fizzle, eyes are turning to President Trump for intervention. Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona called on him Thursday to “push his fellow Republicans to negotiate,” while Jeffries echoed that past shutdowns ended only when the White House got involved.
Vice President JD Vance, meanwhile, pinned the blame squarely on Schumer and “far-left radicals” in a White House briefing — a pattern we’ve seen the Vice President commit to instead of taking accountability.
For now, the shutdown’s end feels as remote as ever. Betting markets like Polymarket give slim odds to a resolution before late October, potentially eclipsing the record 35-day shutdown of 2018-2019 if it persists.
Federal workers, from FBI agents to border patrol, continue showing up unpaid — the FBI’s Kash Patel announced Wednesday they’d keep getting checks despite the freeze — but the broader ripple effects on communities and the economy show no signs of abating.
In a rare bipartisan note, Fetterman — who’s bucked his party repeatedly on the funding votes — doubled down Thursday: “It was wrong to shut it down in March. I’m in the same position… Open up the government first, and then we can figure out the rest.”
Whether more like him emerge to tip the scales remains the million-dollar question in a Capitol Hill staring contest that’s costing billions.
Also Read: Republicans Face Growing Backlash as Voters Blame Them for Govt. Shutdown
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