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WASHINGTON – The Senate failed for the 11th time to reopen the federal government, leaving the third-longest shutdown in history to continue with workers missing paychecks, flights increasingly delayed and lower-income families threatened with losing food assistance.
Multiple Democrats have joined Republicans in voting to approve a House-passed bill to fund the government through Nov. 21. But the GOP needs another five Democrats to join them, to overcome a 60-vote threshold to send the legislation to President Donald Trump.
Most Democrats continue to push for the reversal of health care cuts, while Republicans said they can discuss that only after the government reopens.
“Our country is staring down the barrel of a health care catastrophe,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, said Democrats set tax credits for the Affordable Care Act to expire at the end of the year and are now blaming Republicans for not extending them.
“Democrats may not win a lot of points for truthfulness, but you have to give them credit for gall,” Thune said.
Meanwhile, with Trump leaving Oct. 26 for a multi-country visit through Asia that could last five or six days, the shutdown is at risk of lasting much longer if a deal is not reached before the weekend. Catch up with live updates from USA TODAY.
House leaders spoke about shutdown – but mum’s the word
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, told reporters he spoke with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, over the weekend.
But then he walked away from reporters rather than describe the chat.
“Speaker Johnson and I had a conversation this weekend,” Jeffries said with a smile. “Thank you everyone.”
The revelation came as Democrats continue to complain about Republicans refusing to negotiate greater health care spending as a condition of reopening the government. Republicans have argued the government should reopen before health care talks begin.
Federal courts furlough non-essential workers
Federal courts had been running on the fumes of funding reserves during the first three weeks of the shutdown, but have now furloughed non-essential workers. The Supreme Court has closed its building to the public, although the justices will continue hearing cases.
While other federal judges − district, bankruptcy and appellate − will also continue working, they will be joined only by essential staffers, the U.S. Administrative Office of the Courts announced.
The court announcements come as the high court prepares for arguments in several high-profile cases. On Nov. 5, the justices are scheduled to hear arguments about whether Trump overstepped his authority in imposing tariffs on countries around the world. Trump has said he might attend the hearing.
Will I still receive my Social Security check?
Yes, Social Security payments, including Supplemental Security Income and benefits for retirement, disability and survivors, continue during a government shutdown.
Because Social Security benefit programs are considered mandatory spending by law, they are not impacted by the lapse in funding appropriations. Payments are still distributed on a regular schedule during the shutdown.
Social Security offices are still open during the shutdown, but only some services are available.
– Sudiksha Kochi and Melina Khan
House speaker will meet with Trump to discuss shutdown
House Speaker Mike Johnson told CBS News he is meeting with President Trump at the White House on Oct. 20 to discuss the shutdown.
The meeting comes in advance of a lunch Trump is expected to host at the White House on Oct. 21 with GOP senators. Lawmakers are huddling with Trump on the shutdown before he leaves Oct. 24 for a multi-day trip to Asia.
GOP leaders criticize Democrats and No Kings rallies
In a news conference on Monday, House Speaker Mike Johnson joined other Republican leaders to criticize Democrats for the shutdown, claiming the party is treating the weeks-old impasse as a “political stunt.”
Johnson also cast the weekend’s nationwide No Kings protests, which largely criticized the Trump administration, as a Democrat-led stunt, and repeated many Republican leaders’ claims in recent days blaming the demonstrations for prolonging the shutdown.
He also took aim at the name of the protests.
“They called it No Kings rally,” Johnson said. “With great irony, of course, as we pointed out over and over, was if President Trump was a king, the government would be open.”
Democratic leaders have condemned the characterizations, and several prominent party figures attended the non-violent protests, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sens. Bernie Sanders and Chris Murphy, among others.
Millions of protesters attended roughly 2,700 rallies around the country on Oct. 18 to celebrate free speech and protest many of the Trump administration's actions.
White House official says shutdown likely to end this week
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said he believes the shutdown is likely to end this week, predicting Republicans will start peeling off more moderate Democrats in the Senate to reopen the government.
“I think the Schumer shutdown is likely to end sometime this week,” Hassett said in a Monday morning interview on CNBC, adding that if it doesn’t, the White House will look at “stronger measures to bring them at the table.”
Hassett based his optimism on the nationwide “No Kings” protests now being over. Republican senators and Trump officials accused Democrats of wanting to keep the government closed while they held the “No Kings” rallies in cities across the nation on Saturday.
Last week, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire became the fourth Democratic senator to join Republicans to vote for a Republican-backed bill to reopen the government. Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Angus King, an independent from Maine who caucuses with Democrats, have also voted for the bill.
“It means there are sort of cracks in the Schumer armor,” Hassett said.
Democratic senator also offers optimism – with a caveat
Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona on Sunday said the shutdown can end this week if Republicans agree to negotiate health care policy – something they have refused to entertain.
"We should be able to wrap this up this week, if they will sit down and have a negotiation with us," Kelly said.
But Hassett expressed hesitation about Democrats’ top demand – that expiring health care subsidies in the Affordable Care Act are extended to keep insurance premiums from increasing.
“That’s up to the Senate to decide,” he said. “But if you look at the expiring subsidies, the vast majority of people – certainly low-income people – aren’t affected at all. It’s just that the policy was expanded to people up to four times of the poverty level.”
If the Affordable Care Act subsidies are not renewed, premiums are expected to double, according to the research organization KFF. About 22 million people receive the ACA subsidies that are set to expire.
White House shelves projects in blue cities, fires workers
The White House has continued to ratchet up pressure on Democrats by pausing federal infrastructure projects in blue cities and laying off thousands of workers. The mass firings, however, were dealt a setback by a federal judge in California, who ordered the Trump administration to temporarily halt the layoffs.
The shutdown has resulted in about 750,000 federal workers being placed on furlough. Trump has threatened that some of them might not receive backpay when they return to work.
Republican leaders have shown no interest in adding Democratic policy demands to a funding resolution. Democrats have said they won't support a bill to reopen the government unless it also reverses Medicaid cuts Republicans passed this summer and extends expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies.
Senate to again vote on funding measure
The Senate for the 11th time is scheduled to vote Monday on a Republican-backed bill to fund the government through Nov. 21. The vote is set for 5:30 pm. ET.
Senate Democrats have blocked passage of the legislation the 10 previous votes. Republicans have fallen short of the 60 Senate votes in needs to block a Democratic filibuster.
Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine who caucuses with Democrats, have each voted for the Republican funding measure. Republicans have called on more moderate Democrats to follow their lead.
Trump to host Republican senators
Trump returned to the White House on Sunday night after a weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
The president is expected to host Republican senators on Tuesday at the White House Rose Garden for a "thank you" lunch, Punchbowl News reported.
Trump is thanking the Republican senators for sticking together during the shutdown and for confirming more than 100 Trump nominees by changing the Senate rules to allow most presidential nominees to be confirmed in a bloc.
Is mail affected by the government shutdown?
Postal services, including mail delivery, continue even when the government shuts down.
In a Sept. 25 statement, the U.S. Postal Service confirmed that its operations will not be interrupted in a shutdown, and post offices will remain open for "business as usual."
"Because we are an independent entity that is generally funded through the sale of our products and services, and not by tax dollars, our services will not be impacted by a government shutdown," the statement said.
Are flights impacted by the government shutdown?
It's complicated. Transportation Security Administration officers and Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controllers are considered essential employees. So they're required to work during the shutdown, even as they don't receive paychecks.
While delay numbers have been fairly low overall, staffing at some air traffic control facilities have led to issues. Earlier this month, the FAA had to delay flights into Burbank, California, because the tower there was unstaffed for a few hours in the evening.
It's important to note that not all delays during the shutdown are attributable to the funding lapse. Weather is still a major driver of flight delays, regardless of what's happening in Washington.
Still, in previous shutdowns, these essential workers have eventually started to call out from work in increasing numbers, which has led to longer security lines and delays at some airports.
– Zach Wichter and Kathleen Wong
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Government shutdown latest; Senate rejects funding deal
Reporting by Joey Garrison, Kathryn Palmer, Zac Anderson and Bart Jansen, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
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