The deadlock in Congress persists as both Democratic and Republican proposals to fund the government failed to progress in the Senate on Wednesday. House Speaker Mike Johnson announced on Thursday that he will not reconvene the House to pass a separate bill ensuring military personnel receive their pay during the ongoing government shutdown.

President Donald Trump criticized the Democrats' approach to the shutdown, describing it as a "kamikaze attack" that has provided his administration with the chance to eliminate "billions and billions in waste, fraud, and abuse."

In a related development, the IRS retracted a previous memo that indicated furloughed employees would receive back pay. An email sent to IRS staff on Thursday clarified that the earlier guidance misrepresented the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 regarding compensation for employees in non-pay and non-duty status. The IRS stated that the Office of Management and Budget would issue further guidance on the matter. However, the agency confirmed that the Act mandates back pay for furloughed federal workers once funding is restored.

The Senate again failed to advance a clean short-term funding bill, marking the seventh unsuccessful attempt. The GOP measure was voted down 54-45, falling short of the 60 votes needed to proceed. Notably, Republican Senator Rand Paul opposed the bill, while Democrats Catherine Cortez Masto and John Fetterman, along with Independent Angus King, supported it. Earlier, a Democratic-led funding bill that included health care provisions also failed by a vote of 47-50, with no Republican support.

As the government funding impasse continues, Senate Majority Leader John Thune indicated that the Senate would be in session on Friday, potentially allowing for another vote on the competing funding proposals.

During a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Trump reiterated his criticism of the Democrats, stating, "You have Democrats that they've lost their way. They have no leadership. We don't even know who to deal with over there." He emphasized that Republicans have consistently voted for a clean, nonpartisan bill to reopen the government at existing funding levels.

Democrats have resisted the clean continuing resolution, advocating instead for health care provisions, particularly the extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies. Trump asserted, "We're not going to do anything -- only good for health care," claiming that the Republican Party has become synonymous with good health care.

Trump also threatened to cut funding for certain popular Democratic programs, stating, "We'll be cutting some very popular Democrat programs that aren't popular with Republicans." The ongoing shutdown has now reached its ninth day, with no resolution in sight.