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News and updates

Government Shutdown Nears Historic Milestone as Congressional Standoff Deepens

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With no resolution in sight, the federal government is barreling toward a grim milestone: one full month of shutdown. If the impasse continues through November 4, it will become the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, eclipsing the 35-day closure during President Trump’s first term.

The deadlock stems from a bitter standoff between House Republicans and Senate Democrats over a stopgap spending bill passed by the House on September 19. Since then, the lower chamber has not held a single vote. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), in a strategic move to pressure Senate Democrats, has kept the House in a “district work week” for four consecutive weeks—effectively sending lawmakers back to their home districts rather than convening in Washington.

Senate Democrats have blocked the House-passed spending bill a dozen times, citing concerns that it would gut healthcare subsidies and drive-up costs for millions of Americans. Republicans, meanwhile, argue that the bill is a necessary first step to keep the government open and that healthcare provisions can be negotiated separately.

The consequences of the shutdown are set to intensify in the coming days. More than 40 million Americans who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) face the expiration of their benefits on November 1. The Trump Administration has stated it will not use emergency funds to extend the program.

Meanwhile, millions of federal employees and active-duty military personnel are bracing for another missed paycheck. The National Federation of Federal Employees, the country’s largest federal worker union, issued a scathing statement this week, urging Congress to “immediately pass a funding bill and restore full pay to the public servants who keep this country running.”

The prolonged shutdown is taking a toll on both parties. A Gallup poll conducted in early October shows public frustration boiling over: Congressional approval has plummeted from 26% to just 15% in a matter of weeks. Analysts warn that the longer the shutdown drags on, the more political damage lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are likely to suffer.
Despite the growing pressure, leadership in both parties remains entrenched. Democrats continue to insist that the House bill is a “non-starter” due to its impact on healthcare, while Republicans maintain that the Senate’s refusal to negotiate is prolonging the crisis.

Vice President Vance will be on the Hill today to have lunch with congressional Republicans, and the issue of the shutdown is sure to dominate conversation. Despite growing concerns for both parties, there appears to be no end in sight.

 

Federal Government Shuts Down

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Efforts by both parties to pass competing versions of a spending bill collapsed Tuesday night in the Senate, triggering the first federal government shutdown since President Trump’s first term. After months of partisan stalemate, last-ditch negotiations failed, leaving federal agencies officially without funding.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates the shutdown will cost agencies $400 million per day, with roughly 750,000 federal employees furloughed. While these workers won’t be paid during the shutdown, a 2019 law guarantees back pay once it ends for those who are retained.

Under guidance from the Office of Management and Budget, thousands of furloughed employees may receive layoff notices. Federal unions filed suit Tuesday to block the move, while the White House budget office urged agencies to consider terminating programs that lose funding. President Trump and his OMB Director Russ Vought have long sought to permanently reshape the government and appear poised to do so under the shutdown.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said he will continue pushing votes on the House-passed budget bill, betting that prolonged pressure will prompt more Democrats to cross the aisle. So far, Democratic Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (NV), Angus King (ME), and John Fetterman (PA) have broken ranks to support the GOP measure. Cortez Masto and King, who is an independent that caucuses with Democrats, cited concerns that a shutdown would only grant the Trump Administration more power to dismantle the government as the rationale for their votes. Despite these defections, Republicans still need at least five more Democratic votes to reopen the government.

White House Tells Agencies to Prepare for Mass Firings

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The White House budget office is instructing federal agencies to prepare reduction-in-force (RIF) plans for mass firings during a possible government shutdown, specifically targeting employees who work for programs that are not legally required to continue.

In a recently released memo, the Office of Management and Budget told agencies to consider RIF notices for all “employees in programs, projects, or activities (PPAs) that satisfy all three of the following conditions: (1) discretionary funding lapses on October 1, 2025; (2) another source of funding, such as H.R. 1 (Public Law 119-21) is not currently available; and (3) the PPA is not consistent with the President’s priorities.”

These RIF notices will be in addition to any furlough notices sent out as a result of a potential shutdown. Furthermore, the memo stipulates that once FY26 appropriations are enacted, agencies should “revise their RIFs as needed to retain the minimal number of employees necessary to carry out statutory functions.”

During previous shutdowns, the government has issued temporary furloughs to most federal employees, bringing them back once Congress voted to reopen the government. This time, however, the Trump Administration is using the threat of permanent job cuts as leverage, seeking to make a potential shutdown as painful as possible for congressional Democrats. Agencies have been instructed to submit their proposed RIF plans to OMB and to issue notices to employees whose jobs may be cut.

According to Politico, a number of programs will continue regardless of a shutdown, including “Social Security, Medicare, veterans benefits, military operations, law enforcement, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection and air traffic control.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who voted with Republicans in March to keep the government funded, is holding firm in his opposition to the Republican funding plan. Schumer faced considerable criticism from the party base after his decision in March, which he claimed was aimed at preventing the very dismantling of federal agencies proposed by this memo. This time around, however, Schumer says he has revised that view, arguing that the administration’s attacks on federal agencies “will get worse with or without [a shutdown], because Trump is lawless.”

The memo states that RIF plans submitted to OMB will not be implemented if the government receives funding by September 30. That outcome, however, appears increasingly unlikely.

 

 

Budget Showdown Intensifies

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With just one week remaining before federal funding runs out, a partial government shutdown is looking increasingly likely. On Tuesday night, President Trump abruptly canceled a scheduled meeting with Democratic Congressional leaders Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). In a post on Truth Social, he wrote, “after reviewing the details of the unserious and ridiculous demands made by the Minority Radical Left Democrats…I have decided that no meeting with their Congressional Leaders could possibly be productive.”

The cancellation came after Trump reportedly met with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD). House GOP leaders had expressed concern that a meeting between Democrats and the president could weaken their negotiating position. Democrats quickly responded, accusing Trump of steering the government toward a shutdown.

Currently, the House has passed a Republican-authored Continuing Resolution to keep the government open until November 21. After its passage, Speaker Johnson announced the House would recess until October 1—one day after the shutdown deadline—hoping to pressure Senate Democrats into supporting the bill. Senate Democrats rejected the proposal and introduced their own version, which was then blocked by Senate Republicans, leaving Congress at an impasse.

Any funding bill will require 60 votes in the Senate, but bipartisan talks have stalled. Senate leaders John Thune and Chuck Schumer have refused to initiate discussions, each claiming the other should make the first move. Schumer argues Thune needs Democratic votes and should reach out, while Thune insists Republicans are offering a clean seven-week extension similar to ones Democrats have previously supported.

A key sticking point is the expiration of health insurance subsidies at the end of the year. While there is bipartisan interest in extending them, GOP leaders have rejected including the measure in any short-term funding bill. Speaker Johnson called it “a December policy issue, not a September funding issue.” Democrats and insurers argue the extension is urgent, with open enrollment beginning November 1.

As the deadline approaches, both parties remain entrenched, and federal agencies have begun preparing for a shutdown.

 

Trump Administration Releases FY27 Research Priorities Document

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On Thursday, the Trump Administration released its Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Administration Research and Development Budget Priorities and Cross-Cutting Actions Document. The document, signed by OMB Director Russ Vought and OSTP Director Michael Krastios, outlines the administration’s research priorities, describing its mission to align the government’s “role in the S&T enterprise to once again drive R&D that is bold, mission-driven, and unapologetically in service of the American people.”

Vought and Krastios list 5 top administration priorities in the coming fiscal year. The priorities are to:

  1. Ensure Unrivaled American Leadership in Critical and Emergin Technologies
  2. Unleash American Energy Dominance and Explore New Frontiers
  3. Strengthen American Security
  4. Strengthen and Safeguard American Health and Biotechnology
  5. Assure America’s Continued Space Dominance

The memorandum also describes the administration’s intent to undertake a number of crosscutting actions to “usher in the Golden Age of American Innovation.” These include:

  1. Implementing and Supporting Gold Standard Science
  2. Building the S&T Workforce of the Future
  3. Expanding and Making Accessible World-Class Research Infrastructure
  4. Revitalizing and Strengthening America’s S&T Ecosystem
  5. Focusing on High-Value Research Efforts.

Specifics regarding each priority can be found in the document linked above.