WASHINGTON – The ongoing government shutdown is about to become the longest in United States history, even as millions of Americans feel the increasingly painful consequences of the crisis on their daily lives.
The Senate on Tuesday failed to pass for the 14th time a short-term funding measure on Tuesday, all but ensuring the shutdown will surpass the previous 35-day record.
"I’ll be honest with you, I don’t think any of us expected that it would drag on this long," House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, said at his daily briefing. "We couldn’t have imagined it’s now tied with the longest shutdown in history."
Though lawmakers have said in recent days that bipartisan negotiations are gaining steam, no deal has emerged yet to reopen the federal government. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, told reporters Monday he’s "optimistic" that the government shutdown could come to an end this week and that lawmakers are "getting close to an off-ramp."
Also on Monday, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers released a tentative framework for a potential deal that would extend expiring the health insurance subsidies that have been at the center of the shutdown debate. The legislation would extend the tax credits, which will sunset at the end of the year, for two years and include guardrails to prevent fraud. It's not clear, however, that the Senate would support the bill.
No major agreement is expected Tuesday, especially while Washington turns its attention to a series of much-anticipated off-year elections in Virginia, New Jersey, New York and a major ballot initiative in California. Congressional Republicans have marked the contests as a potential turning point in their opponents' shutdown posture, though Democrats have refuted that notion.
Still, Tuesday's shutdown vote results show how far apart Republicans and Democrats remain, especially amid widespread questions about whether the more than 40 million Americans reliant on food assistance could starve this month. Following a judge's order, the Trump administration said Monday that it would send out only partial payments to beneficiaries of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Trump on Tuesday morning appeared to reject that plan.
"Providing partial SNAP benefits is a floor, not a ceiling," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, said Monday. "The administration must do more."
The uncertainty for food insecure families is one of a number of pain points amping up the pressure on lawmakers to come together and reach a compromise. Funding for heat assistance is expiring, too. Flight delays are mounting. Military wages are still in flux. And lawmakers' own employees are going without pay, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of other federal workers who've been furloughed.
"There are no winners in a government shutdown," Thune said Monday. "But there are plenty of losers."
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene slams House Speaker, Republicans on ‘The View’
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene appeared on “The View” on Tuesday, taking issue with her colleagues in Congress and mainly House Speaker Mike Johnson over the ongoing government shutdown.
While Greene said she does still “love” President Donald Trump and “that’s OK” if he’s upset with her over calling out fellow Republicans, the Georgia congresswoman’s main problem is with Johnson.
“Here’s something you may all not know about me: I think a lot of people on the Left are learning that when I ran for Congress in 2020, I ran criticizing Republicans and Democrats equally,” Greene said, citing her working-class background and experience running a family construction company.
“The government has failed all of us and it purely disgusts me,” Greene said. “The worst thing that I just can’t get over is (Congress is) not working now and I put that criticism directly on the Speaker of the House.”
Greene continued, telling the co-hosts that "all the people sitting in this audience, they go to work every day, people at home watching the show, they go to work every day. Ladies, you go to work every day.”
"It is an embarrassment to me that we're not in session and getting paid," Greene added, according to ABC News.
- Jay Stahl
Senate fails again to reopen government
The Senate failed for the 14th time to advance House-passed legislation to reopen the government on the day the shutdown tied the longest in history.
The 54-44 vote fell short of 60 votes needed under Senate rules to advance the bill that would have provided short-term funding through Nov. 21.
Three senators who caucus with Democrats – Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada nad John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, and independent Sen. Angus King of Maine – have consistently voted with Republicans.
But GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky opposes the measure for continuing to spend too much. That leaves Republicans needing five Democrats, who have insisted on increasing health care funding for Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, to reopen the government.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, said he was “optimistic” the handful of Democrats needed to approve the bill could begin peeling away this week, after Tuesday's state and local elections nationwide.
Trump does an about-face on SNAP benefit payout
President Donald Trump appeared to reject his administration’s plan to partially pay out SNAP benefits, saying in a social media missive on Tuesday morning that the program for low-income Americans would only be funded when the government reopens.
“SNAP BENEFITS, which increased by Billions and Billions of Dollars (MANY FOLD!) during Crooked Joe Biden’s disastrous term in office (Due to the fact that they were haphazardly 'handed' to anyone for the asking, as opposed to just those in need, which is the purpose of SNAP!), will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before!” Trump said.
Trump sent the message just ahead of the latest round of voting in the Senate on legislation to reopen the government, and it was not immediately clear how USDA would respond.
The administration told a federal court on Monday in a legal filing that it would use funds from a contingency fund to cover a $4.65 billion payment for SNAP benefits for a reduced number of households. USDA says the full program takes $9.2 billion to administer.
Former OMB chief criticizes Trump position of 'my way or the highway'
Shalanda Young, a former budget chief during the Biden administration, told "The Briefing with Michael Waldman" podcast that Republicans should be governing rather than campaigning to end the shutdown.
Young, the former director of the Office of Management and Budget, said the Trump administration needs to move past the partisan "getting elected" phase and toward governing.
"That means sitting down with Democrats and finding a way out of this," Young said. "It does not mean just talking on television and saying my way or the highway."
Americans rethink holiday travel plans: US Travel Association
The U.S. Travel Association warned in a letter to congressional leaders that the industry has already lost $4 billion from the shutdown and travelers are rethinking holiday plans.
The association, which represents 500 companies and organizations, urged approval of a temporary funding measure to resume paying essential government workers such as air-traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration officers, who are working without paychecks.
"Thanksgiving should be about spending time with family, not worrying about flight disruptions or canceled plans," said Geoff Freeman, the association’s CEO. "The damage from this shutdown is growing by the hour with 60% of Americans reconsidering their travel plans."
Congress ties record for longest shutdown in US history
The shutdown tied for the longest in U.S. history as it went into its 35th day on Tuesday.
The other 35-day shutdown took place from December 2018 to January 2019 during Trump's first term. This current shutdown will become the longest ever if it continues into day 36 on Wednesday.
Over the last five decades, every president except George W. Bush and Joe Biden has weathered at least a few-day shutdown. During their tenures, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama all experienced shutdowns lasting more than two weeks.
-Natalie Alund
Republican Speaker Mike Johnson blames NYC Mamdani movement for shutdown
Johnson is tying the enthusiasm of many New Yorkers for Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani to the federal government shutdown. In an appearance on Fox News on Monday, Johnson noted Democratic leaders in Washington are New Yorkers, and said the support for Mamdani made them fear backing a bill that would have kept the government open.
"We know that Mamdani is, is expected to win the mayor's office," Johnson said. "That terrifies the establishment in Washington. Remember you have two New Yorkers in charge of both chambers."
Schumer leads the Democratic minority in the Senate, while New York Congressman Hakeem Jeffries heads the Democratic minority in the House. New York City's mayoral election is taking place Tuesday.
"They're worried about the political retribution from the radical left activists in their party, more than they're worried about an extended government shutdown that hurts real Americans," Johnson said.
Johnson repeated the argument in a post on X on Tuesday: "Schumer is TERRIFIED of his radical Marxist base — led by the next Mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani — which has COMPLETELY taken over the Democrat Party."
Democrats refused to support a Republican bill that would have kept the government open because Republicans wouldn't extend subsidies that reduce health insurance premiums for millions of Americans. The subsidies are set to expire at the end of 2025.
Trump's latest argument for eliminating the filibuster: winning the midterm elections
Trump has been pressuring Republicans to abolish the Senate filibuster and put forward a new argument for doing so on Tuesday: winning the midterms and the 2028 presidential election.
The threshold for legislation to make it to the Senate floor is 60 votes. Republicans need five more Democrats to side with them to reopen the government, unless they give in to Trump’s demands and eliminate the filibuster.
Trump said Tuesday that upcoming elections will be "rightfully brutal" for the GOP if it does not eliminate the legislative hurdle.
"The Democrats are far more likely to win the Midterms, and the next Presidential Election, if we don’t do the Termination of the Filibuster (The Nuclear Option!), because it will be impossible for Republicans to get Common Sense Policies done with these Crazed Democrat Lunatics being able to block everything by withholding their votes," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
Republicans' majority in Congress is in danger, and surveys this week showed Trump's approval rating dropping.
"If we do terminate the Filibuster, we will get EVERYTHING approved, like no Congress in History," Trump said.
Trump administration to use emergency funds to partially pay for SNAP
The Trump administration said it plans to partially fund SNAP after two federal judges ruled the U.S. Department of Agriculture must use its contingency funds to cover food stamps during the government shutdown.
In a federal court filing Monday, the administration said the USDA is complying with the order and "will fulfill its obligation to expend the full amount of SNAP contingency funds today."
Johnson says he hopes election will change shutdown discussions
Johnson on Monday said he hopes that Democrats will be willing to pass the short-term funding bill after Tuesday’s closely-watched elections.
The gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, as well as the New York City mayoral race are key elections that could be an early signal for the 2026 midterm elections.
Currently, the House-passed short-term funding bill would reopen the government until Nov. 21. Democrats in the Senate have blocked the bill from passing as they push for expanded healthcare subsidies to be included in the spending agreement.
Johnson said that GOP leaders are "mindful of the calendar" and it’s a matter that they’re "giving all of our attention to." The House Speaker has previously said he will not bring his chamber back into session until the government shutdown has ended.
GOP leaders defend filibuster amid pressure from Trump
As Trump continues to call for the Senate to end the filibuster so they can reopen the government, Johnson said the rule is an "important safeguard" for lawmakers.
"I understand desperate times call for desperate measures. I also understand that traditionally we’ve seen that as an important safeguard," Johnson said at his daily press conference on Monday.
Johnson said he personally spoke "frankly and honestly" with the president about the matter over the weekend, who he said is "very passionate" about the issue.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune made similar comments to reporters hours later.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Senate vote fails ensuring longest government shutdown. Follow live updates
Reporting by Zachary Schermele, Bart Jansen, Francesca Chambers, Aysha Bagchi and Rebecca Morin, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
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