House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, hold a press conference with House and Senate leadership on the first day of the federal government shutdown on Oct. 1, 2025, after President Donald Trump and congressional leaders failed to reach a funding compromise.

WASHINGTON − President Donald Trump has begun firing federal workers amind the ongoing government shutdown while vowing to continue paying members of the military.

At least 4,000 civil-service workers were notified Oct. 10 they were being laid off, rather than simply furloughed as in past shutdowns, and the administration warned that more are coming.

Meanwhile, civil servants got reduced paychecks Oct. 10, and members of the military expected to miss their first paycheck Oct. 15 without Trump's intervention.

Here are the latest updates for where the shutdown stands:

Is the Marine Corps marathon affected by a government shutdown?

The shuttering of national sites, parks and federally run lands has disrupted thousands of Americans’ weekend plans and vacations – and put several popular October races on shaky ground.

One of the most popular marathons in the country, the Marine Corps Marathon, is expected to go forward in DC later this month on Oct. 26, after organizers responded to growing concerns that the route would be impacted by the shutdown.

Organizers of the marathon, which snakes through some of the most iconic national landmarks and federal lands, told local outlet WUSA9 that “planning and preparations for all events are continuing as scheduled,” but continue to closely monitor the situation.

The Army Ten-Miler is also taking place in DC on Sunday. However, a few elements of the race were altered, including the event expo.

The updates came after organizers of two other DC races, the 2025 National Capital 20 Miler and Janet Braunstein 5 Miler, canceled the events on Oct. 3, due to the government shutdown.

What happens to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid during a shutdown?

The Social Security Administration will continue to issue retirement and disability benefits, but will furlough 12% of its staff and pause marketing campaigns, according to the agency’s shutdown plan.

Payments will likewise continue under the Medicare and Medicaid health programs.

Do Trump and Congress still get paid during a shutdown?

The president’s salary of $400,000 per year is generally not affected by a shutdown.

"With regard to the President’s pay, Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution forbids the salary of the President to be reduced while he or she is in office, thus effectively guaranteeing the President of compensation regardless of any shutdown action," reads a 2018 Congressional Research Service report.

During his first term, Trump donated his presidential salary to various departments and agencies and says he plans on doing the same during this term as well.

Lawmakers will continue to receive paychecks during a shutdown under Article I, Section 6 of the U.S. Constitution, which protects Congress' pay.

While members of Congress are expected to receive their paychecks, some lawmakers such as Sen. Andy Kim, D-New Jersey, Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-New Jersey, and Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Florida, say they will not take compensation during the shutdown.

– Samin Shafiq

Do teachers get paid during a government shutdown?

An increasing number of federal agencies and workforces are feeling the effects of the government shutdown, which is heading toward its third week with no clear end in sight.

That includes the Department of Education, which was hit with a wave of layoffs on Oct. 11, cutting roughly a fifth of the agency's already-hamstrung workforce.

Though the staffing cuts could lead to a reduction of support and services for schools across the country, schoolteachers largely continue to get paid, as most public schools are funded significantly through local and state means. However, the shutdown is more acutely felt in some schools where government funding plays a larger role.

According to the National Education Association, Department of Defense Education Activity employees who teach and support students of families on military bases will go without pay during the shutdown.

Further, the union said the shutdown also halts a decades-old federal funding program that provides payments to schools where the presence of tax-exempt federal property limits its local tax revenue, directly affecting the funding of military bases, tribal lands and other federally impacted areas.

Will food aid continue under SNAP and WIC?

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the nation’s largest food aid program, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC, will continue operations during a shutdown as funds allow, according to a shutdown planning document published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

– James Powel

Poll finds Americans lean toward blaming GOP for shutdown

An Economist/YouGov poll conducted Oct. 4-6 found 41% of Americans are more likely to blame Republicans and Trump for the shutdown, compared to 30% holding congressional Democrats responsible and 23% choosing neither side.

Among respondents who could correctly identify which party holds the majority in Congress, 49% blamed Republicans and 34% blamed Democrats, the poll found.

The poll surveyed 1,648 U.S. adult citizens with a margin of error of approximately 3.5%.

Thousands laid off as shutdown grinds on

The Trump administration said about 4,000 federal workers had so far received reduction-in-force notices. The figure was detailed in a court document the Justice Department submitted in response to a lawsuit from unions representing government workers.

Additional layoffs are coming, a senior administration official told USA TODAY.

The initial wave of layoffs included 315 workers in the Commerce Department; 466 in the Education Department; 187 in the Energy Department; between 1,100 and 1,200 in the Department of Health and Human Services; 442 in the Department of Housing and Urban Development; 176 in the Department Homeland Security; and 1,446 in the Treasury Department.

The cuts wiped out the Education Department's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.

Trump vows to pay military despite funding lapse

The threat that 1.3 members of the military would miss their first paycheck Oct. 15 became a potent argument for both sides to resolve the impasse.

But Trump announced on social media Oct. 11 the Pentagon found the money to pay about 1.3 million active members of the military, relieving pressure to end the stalemate sooner.

"I will not allow the Democrats to hold our Military, and the entire Security of our Nation, HOSTAGE, with their dangerous Government Shutdown," Trump said.

When will the Senate vote again on funding deals?

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the chamber would vote again Oct. 14 on a bill to end the shutdown, but that he still needed a handful of Democrats to reopen the government.

The Senate has already failed seven times to approve a House Republican bill to reopen the government until Nov. 21. Three senators who caucus with Democrats joined Republicans to support the bill but the 55-45 majority was short of the 60-vote majority needed to end the debate.

Thune, R-South Dakota, continued to blame the shutdown on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York. Most Democrats have blocked the bill while aiming to restore cuts to Medicaid and extend subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. Republicans said they can negotiate health care issues after the government reopens.

“Let’s hope there are 5 more Democrats who will join us, because despite all of the good work we’ve done, there’s a lot more we could do if the Schumer Shutdown ends,” Thune said on social media.

Will GOP end Senate filibuster?

Senate Republicans have started thinking about abolishing the filibuster for legislation, which would allow them to end the shutdown without Democratic cooperation.

Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate. But under the chamber's rules, a 60-vote majority is needed to end debate on legislation. This ability for the minority to filibuster to block legislation is one of the biggest things that distinguishes the Senate from the House of Representatives.

So far, three senators who caucus with Democrats have joined Republicans in voting to approve House-passed legislation to reopen the government until Nov. 21. But the 55-45 votes failed to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to send the bill to the president.

The Senate has previously abandoned the filibuster for presidential nominations to federal courts and the executive branch. Some senators say the time is right to abolish it for legislation, too, through a rules change nicknamed the "nuclear option."

“Let’s make this a Republican-only vote,” Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, said during an Oct. 8 appearance on Fox News.

But Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, opposed the strategy and said he hasn't discussed it with Trump.

House Democrats to meet despite being out of session

House Democrats plan to meet Oct. 14 at the Capitol "to discuss the path forward" despite the chamber being out of session.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, called the caucus meeting for 6 p.m. as Senate Democrats have prevented approval of House GOP legislation that would reopen the government through Nov. 21.

Most Senate Democrats want to restore previously approved Medicaid cuts and extend subsidies under the Affordable Care Act to reopen the government. But Republicans say healthcare talks must wait until after the shutdown is over.

“That is why it is critically important for House Democrats to once again return to Washington to stand up for the healthcare of everyday Americans, pay our active duty troops and support hardworking federal civil servants,” Jeffries wrote in a letter Oct. 11.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Government shutdown live updates; Trump begins layoffs but assures military pay

Reporting by Bart Jansen and Kathryn Palmer, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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