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WASHINGTON – The longest-ever government shutdown is about to create even more problems for Americans hoping to travel soon.
Federal officials said Wednesday, Nov. 5, that flight cuts are coming to major airports amid the funding crisis, which has now lasted for 37 days. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said there will be a 10% reduction in flights at 40 major airports at the end of the week.
"We are going to work with the airlines to do this in a systematic way," he said.
Duffy did not specify how long the restrictions might last, but officials stated they will begin on the morning of Friday, Nov. 7. ABC News and CBS News have reported major airports, including in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Chicago, will be affected.
The flight cancellations are the latest indication of the rising stakes of the shutdown, which President Donald Trump acknowledged on Wednesday seemed to hurt Republicans at the polls on Election Day this week. Democrats swept a series of high-profile races in New York, Virginia and New Jersey, as well as a consequential ballot initiative in California that could help them gain more seats in Congress next year.
Those wins may cause Democrats to dig their heels in even more, potentially prolonging the shutdown. However, bipartisan talks to reopen the government have been gaining steam in recent days, as the consequences of the political gridlock are already hurting millions of Americans, and the situation is getting worse with each passing day.
Hundreds of thousands of federal workers have missed paychecks for more than a month now. People reliant on government services to eat and stay warm are terrified as funding for those programs runs out. Even lawmakers are having issues flying back home to their districts amid shortages of air traffic controllers.
Senators tee up Friday vote on amended bill to end shutdown
In a sign of tensions notably thawing between Republicans and Democrats, GOP leaders in Congress expect to tee up a vote Friday on legislation to potentially end the shutdown, according to a congressional staffer familiar with the plan.
The revised bill would likely keep the federal government's lights on past Thanksgiving. It would also include full-year funding for some, but not all, agencies.
Still, it's not clear whether more moderate Senate Democrats would support the proposal, particularly given pressure from progressives to hold firm in the wake of their sweeping election wins this week. Democrats have refused to vote to reopen the government without major investments in health care costs.
Lawmakers didn't fly back to their districts on Thursday as they normally do. Several said they expect to be working through the weekend as shutdown negotiations ramp up.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, told USA TODAY that if the bill doesn’t include any changes to health care, it’s a “nonstarter” for many members of his caucus.
– Zachary Schermele
Trump warns Republicans: Don’t let Democrats end filibuster first
Trump said Senate Republicans need to eliminate the filibuster now before Democrats have the opportunity to do so to pass their agenda whenever they take control of the chamber again.
“They’ll immediately do it,” Trump said in Thursday afternoon remarks from the Oval Office, predicting Democrats would end the filibuster in order to grant statehood to Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia and add justices to the Supreme Court.
“They’re going to end up with more electoral votes. They’re going to end up with four senators because of the two states. And they’re going to do this – 100%,” Trump said.
Trump has called on Senate Republicans to get rid of the filibuster – which creates a 60-vote threshold to pass most legislation – to reopen the government. But beyond ending the shutdown, he’s said Republicans need to eliminate the filibuster to pass pieces of Trump’s policy agenda while they remain in power.
Above all, Trump has pointed to changes he wants to see to election laws: legislation to require voter ID, ban mail-in voting and eliminate early voting.
“There’s so many things we could put in – including taxes cuts that we can get – and we can do it all ourselves. But to do that, we need to end the filibuster,” Trump said.
−Joey Garrison
SNAP disruptions leave grocers bracing for lost sales
Like the millions of Americans who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, retailers are bracing for the effects of reduced or delayed funding to a program that typically injects billions of dollars into the U.S. economy each month.
The federal government spent $99.8 billion on SNAP in fiscal year 2024, averaging more than $8 billion per month. The Congressional Budget Office in January estimated outlays of more than $100 billion for the program in 2025, though the actual spending this year is uncertain due to recent budget shifts and the ongoing government shutdown.
Read more about how grocery stores are preparing.
−Sarah D. Wire and Rachel Barber
Federal judge orders government to fund SNAP by Friday
A federal judge in Rhode Island has ordered the Trump administration to fully cover federal food assistance for 42 million Americans in November by Friday.
According to CNN, federal District Judge John McConnell said during a hastily called hearing Nov. 6 that USDA has not worked quickly enough to release the funds pursuant to his earlier order and that the government had acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” in deciding not to shift other funds to fully fund SNAP.
The Nov. 6 order from McConnell comes days after the administration, in response to an earlier order, said it would provide only partial food stamp benefits for November by using some of the nearly $6 billion in a contingency fund maintained by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
−Sarah D. Wire
Senate Democrats tight-lipped after private huddle
Senate Democrats walked out of a long lunch meeting Thursday afternoon with few details about whether they’re any closer to striking a deal with Republicans to end the shutdown.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer emerged from the room calling the sit-down a “very good, productive meeting.”
Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Delaware, said there was “real momentum,” and Sen. Andy Kim, D-New Jersey, said senators were “unified” after the discussion.
Asked whether lawmakers were inching toward an agreement, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, a key bipartisan negotiator, said she couldn’t say.
Other senators were more frank in their assessments.
“I don’t know how productive it was,” said Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pennsylvania, who has repeatedly voted to reopen the government.
−Zachary Schermele
Companies step up to help SNAP recipients
As millions of Americans who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) await their partial November benefits, some nationwide companies have stepped up to help provide relief with discounted food:
- Instacart: 50% off — up to a $50 discount — on one grocery order: Instacart customers who used EBT SNAP benefits to get groceries delivered at any point in October will receive a personal discount code via email to redeem the offer. The offer can be redeemed nationwide at any Instacart store that accepts SNAP payments.
- Gopuff: $50 total off two grocery orders: Gopuff users who add a SNAP EBT card to their account can redeem the offer using a discount code for $25 off two orders of SNAP-eligible items throughout November. From Nov. 1-15: Use code SNAPRELIEF1 at checkout. From Nov. 16-30: Use code SNAPRELIEF2 at checkout.
- DoorDash: Delivery fees waived on one order: DoorDash customers who have a SNAP/EBT card linked to their profile can access the deal using the promo code SNAPDD at checkout when placing an order at eligible stores.
- TGI Fridays: Free kids meal with adult entrée: From Nov. 6-20, SNAP recipients who dine in at a participating TGI Fridays location and present a valid EBT card can get one complimentary kids meal with each adult entrée purchase ($10 minimum) at participating U.S. locations. After Nov. 20, the offer will continue every Tuesday until the end of the year.
-Melina Khan
Johnson rejects 'smoke-filled room' to resolve shutdown
House Speaker Mike Johnson strongly rejected the possibility that Republican and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate could negotiate a compromise alone over health care costs to end the government shutdown.
Most Senate Democrats have refused to join Republicans in voting to reopen the government by insisting on greater spending on Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.
After the Nov. 4 election, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, wrote Trump a letter demanding a bipartisan meeting to negotiate an end to the shutdown. They met in October at the White House without reaching a consensus with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, and Johnson, R-Louisiana.
Johnson told reporters Nov. 6 all members of Congress should have a voice in reaching a consensus on health care costs, rather than the four leaders known as the "four corners."
"It’s not something where four people can go in a smoke-filled room in the back and make a deal on," Johnson said. "I reject it."
-Bart Jansen
Johnson says 'Seinfeld' shutdown is about 'nothing'
Johnson invoked the name of "Seinfeld," a television sitcom famously about "nothing," to ridicule the requests of Democrats to end the shutdown.
Most Democrats have insisted on more spending on Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, which is nicknamed Obamacare, in exchange for joining Republicans in voting to reopen the government.
But Johnson said Republicans oppose the Medicaid demands and had always anticipated negotiating the extension of Obamacare subsidies, which expire Dec. 31, during October, November and December.
"Somebody said this is the 'Seinfeld' shutdown," Johnson, R-Louisiana, told reporters. "It’s about nothing."
-Bart Jansen
Which 40 airports are facing flight reductions?
Major airports in New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles and more are included in the list of 40 sites facing flight reductions, according to reports from ABC News and CBS News, which cited anonymous sources. USA TODAY has reached out to the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration.
The reductions, announced by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy at a Nov. 5 news conference, come after he earlier warned of the pressure facing air traffic controllers, who have been working without pay since the shutdown started Oct. 1.
The airports named to face flight cuts are listed here, but could change when an official list is released by the FAA, according to reports from ABC News and CBS News.
-James Powel and Jay Cannon
SNAP recipients to get as much as two-thirds of promised benefits
SNAP recipients will receive at most 65% of benefits in November, rather than 50%, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced in a guidance to states Nov. 5.
A family of four will receive at most $646 for the month, according to the new guidance. The Department said initially said it couldn't legally use the contingency fund to fund SNAP because of the government shutdown, but has been ordered by two federal judges to use it.
-Sarah D. Wire
Compass Coffee offers a free drink daily to furloughed federal workers
Compass Coffee is offering to "help fuel the federal workforce" with a free drink and a food item daily to anyone with a valid employee ID in the DC, Maryland and Virginia region, to soften the blow of the government shutdown.
The company commended federal workers for working often without recognition to keep the skies safe and care for the parks.
"Federal workers are the backbone of Washington,” the company said in a statement. “Now, many of them are facing a difficult time."
-Bart Jansen
Airports advocate urges Congress to reopen government
Kevin Burke, CEO of an advocacy group for airports, urged Congress to reopen the government because airline travel is "reaching a breaking point" from absences of air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration officers during the shutdown.
About 13,000 controllers and 50,000 TSA officers remain on the job as essential workers during the shutdown. But they aren’t getting paid, so absences are higher than usual, leading to longer security lines and delayed and canceled flights.
"From the start, airports and their partners have stepped up in inspiring ways to support these workers and their families," said Burke, head of Airports Council International-North America. "But we are reaching a breaking point, and the current trajectory is unsustainable."
-Bart Jansen
Flight reductions illustrate safety risks of shutdown: union president
Sara Nelson, president of a flight-attendants union with 55,000 members at 20 airlines, said the Federal Aviation Administration’s warning about reducing flights at 40 airports illustrates the risks of reduced air traffic control staffing during the government shutdown.
"Safety is not a political game," said Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. "The only way aviation keeps moving during a shutdown is because air traffic controllers and TSA officers come to work without getting paid, while everyone who supports their work for our safety and security is sent home without pay."
Nelson said reducing flights will cut deliveries of medicine and packages, and curb the amount of food heading to restaurants and grocery stores. She urged lawmakers to "end this shutdown now."
-Bart Jansen
How does the shutdown affect air traffic controllers?
Air traffic controllers and many other Federal Aviation Administration employees are considered essential workers, so they're required to report for duty even though they're not earning paychecks during the government shutdown.
While employees at both agencies are expected to get back pay for the duties they performed once the shutdown ends, many advocates say going weeks without pay puts them under additional stress and can result in them having to find other ways to earn temporary income.
When air traffic controllers or Transportation Security Administration officers fail to show up for work, it can result in flight delays and longer security lines.
-Zach Wichter
Trump's push to end the filibuster divides Republicans
Despite the president's pleas Wednesday to end the filibuster, many Senate Republicans remained unwavering in their support for the 60-vote threshold, which they say incentivizes bipartisanship and will protect the country when Democrats regain power in the future.
"We killed a lot of President Biden's goofy ideas through the filibuster," said Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana. "And someday the shoe will be on the other foot."
Still, notable defections began to emerge after GOP lawmakers met with Trump at the White House for breakfast. Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican who's up for reelection next year and is still waiting on an endorsement from the president, indicated he could be open to nixing the rule, specifically for budget bills.
"Having a willful minority being able to shut down the government any time they want to, obviously we can't tolerate that," he said. "I think that calls for some changes."
-Zachary Schermele
Will Americans receive SNAP benefits for November?
Partial payments are expected to be sent out to the millions of Americans who receive benefits through SNAP, the Trump administration said.
The administration said Monday, Nov. 3, in a court filing that it would "fulfill its obligation to expend" funds during an emergency, using a reserve to cover "50% of eligible households’ current allotments."
It's unknown when those funds will actually reach SNAP recipients, though Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said payments could begin as soon as Wednesday during an interview on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday.
SNAP benefits were to be paused on Nov. 1 due to the government shutdown, the U.S. Department of Agriculture posted on its website, saying the "well has run dry." The message continues to be displayed on the USDA website, though rulings by judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island ordered the department to use contingency funds to cover benefits.
- Natassia Paloma
When will SNAP benefits be paid in November?
There isn't a national distribution date for SNAP benefits, so recipients will have to look to their state governments for information about when their next benefits could be sent out.
Here's how a few states are handling the situation:
- The North Carolina DHHS said on Nov. 4 that partial payments will be loaded onto Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards "by next week" if federal funds are provided as expected.
- Pennsylvania and Ohio stopped short of estimating a time frame for benefit distribution, adding that state officials will notify recipients when they can expect payments.
- A handful of states have mitigated the disruption by taking action with their own funds. California, Colorado, Connecticut and others have announced plans to supplement SNAP funding in some capacity or use state money to purchase food for food banks.
-Mary Walrath-Holdridge
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Flight cuts coming amid record-breaking government shutdown
Reporting by Zachary Schermele, Rebecca Morin, Bart Jansen, Kathryn Palmer, Joey Garrison and Sarah D. Wire, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
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