Government shutdown will crash into the weekend as Senate votes fail

Two Democrats and an independent voted for a GOP measure to end the shutdown, but the 54-44 vote left Republicans short of the 60 votes needed.Show Caption

Senate votes to reopen the federal government failed over Democratic demands that Medicaid cuts be restored.The shutdown delayed the monthly Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report, “arguably the most important piece of information” for the Federal Reserve ahead of its next meeting, Bank of America said.President Trump posted to social media an AI video of himself and Vice President JD Vance in a band - with Budget Director Russ Vought as the grim reaper.Vought announced a pause of $2.1 billion in federal infrastructure money for Chicago as the administration continues to target money for blue cities and states.WASHINGTON ‒ The government will remain closed for the weekend after the Senate failed to reach the 60 votes needed on competing Republican and Democratic plans to fund the government.Two Democrats and an independent voted for a GOP measure to end the shutdown, but the 54-44 vote left Republicans short of the 60 votes needed. Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky also voted against it."We could be considering bipartisan appropriations bills through regular order... but instead we are stuck in a shutdown mess of Democrats’ making. And the American people are suffering as a result," Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-North Dakota, said on the Senate floor.“Republicans would rather shut down the government than address a health care crisis that is threatening to shut down small businesses across the country," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington.Democrats have refused to pass the funding bill until the GOP restores cuts to Medicaid and Obamacare that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says will cost 10.9 million people their health insurance.The failed vote came as the shutdown continued for a third day and President Donald Trump moved closer to cutting programs and firing federal workers.Republican leaders were expected to send senators home for the weekend in hopes that frustrated voters will pressure Democrats into supporting a GOP funding plan and to give up their demand for the reversal of health care cuts. About 750,000 federal workers have been furloughed.House won’t return until Oct. 13, leaving Senate to end shutdownHouse Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, announced Oct. 3 that his lawmakers would remain out of town for another week, leaving the Senate to resolve the government shutdown.The House previously approved a temporary measure to extend government funding through Nov. 21. But Senate Democrats have blocked a vote on that measure over complaints about GOP cuts in healthcare funding.The House was scheduled to return Oct. 7. But a clerk announced during a brief session that Johnson extended what is called a “district work period,” when lawmakers are back in their home states, until Oct. 13.The move came after the Senate rejected the House spending proposal for the fourth time.--Bart JansenThree Dem defections can't end shutdownFor a third time, three senators who caucus with the Democrats voted with Republicans to reopen government, but the 54-44 vote fell short of the 60 needed.Sens. John Fetterman, D-Pennsylvania; Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nevada; and Angus King, an independent of Maine who caucuses with Democrats, joined Republicans as they have in previous votes. But Republicans needed five more Democrats to join them.Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, voted against the measure.--Bart JansenLayoffs, agency closures looming, but not yet: White HouseWhite House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated that layoffs and agency closures are still pending during the government shutdown, but have not yet been decided.She told reporters that Trump and Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought are meeting with Cabinet secretaries and agency staffers to determine where cuts should be made.“Their discussions continue,” Leavitt said. “They are actively identifying where these layoffs and these cuts have to be made.”--Bart JansenTrump pulls billions from blue states in shutdown battleThe Trump administration is withholding roughly $26 billion in federal funding from Democratic led states and cities amid the government shutdown.Budget Director Russell Vought announced the funding cuts and freezes on social media.They include $2.1 billion paused for Chicago rail infrastructure, $18 billion frozen for a Hudson River tunnel project and the subway in New York City and nearly $8 billion in energy projects eliminated in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.At the same time, Republican-run Florida was reimbursed $608 million for two controversial immigration detention facilities, including the so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” that Trump recently toured.--Zac AndersonCrucial jobs report delayed by shutdownThe government shutdown delayed the Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report, “arguably the most important piece of information” for the Federal Reserve to review before its meeting at the end of the month, according to Bank of America Global Research economists.The jobs report was due out Oct. 3. However, the federal shutdown forced the bureau to furlough employees as well as pause data collection and dissemination. If the shutdown lingers, it could also postpone the bureau’s next Consumer Price Index report, a key benchmark for inflation, expected Oct. 15.While BLS releases are widely viewed as gold standard of economic data, the Fed and economists rely on a broad range of reports to gauge the health of the economy.--Rachel BarberState money keeps national parks openWest Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said his state was the first in the country to reach a donor agreement with the National Park Service to reopen its parks despite the government shutdown.New River Gorge National Park and Preserve and Harpers Ferry National Historical Park had closed visitor centers and halted public transportation. But Morrisey directed state resources to reopen the facilities to full operations in the next few days.“We recognize the importance of our parks to the local economy and hardworking West Virginians, as well as the many visitors who want to enjoy our state’s natural beauty,” Morrisey said in a statement Oct. 3.--Bart JansenSpeaker Mike Johnson presses Senate to reopen the governmentHouse Speaker Mike Johnson said on "Today" that he's "still waiting on the specifics" of what Vought and Trump plan to cut. Johnson was at the White House on Thursday and met with members of Trump's legislative team.Johnson continued to argue on Friday morning that the House had done it's job in passing legislation that would fund the government through mid-November. "We got it done," he said. "Now we await the upper chamber."The House speaker and Senate Majority Leader John Thune plan to hold a joint news conference at 11:00 am EDT. -- Francesca ChambersIs the DMV open during the government shutdown? DMV operations will not be impacted by the government shutdown. Motor vehicle departments are "primarily funded" through state budgets and are "often supplemented by fees collected for various services," according to the LegalClarity Team. Read more about what the shutdown means for the DMV. --Amaris Encinas How long will the federal government be shut down?The government shutdown is on its third day. Later Friday the Senate is scheduled to vote again on the Democratic and Republican plans to keep the government open. Unless something big changes before 1:30 p.m. ET, neither plan is expected to get the 60 votes needed to pass. Republican Senate leaders are expected to send senators home in hopes they will hear from angry constituents and come back with changed minds. Leaders of both parties have dug in and don't appear to be negotiating. That means it looks like the government will be closed for the entire weekend at least and likely for at least part of next week.--Sarah D. WireWill a government shutdown impact my flight? For the most part, no. Air passengers should still be able to continue with their flights during a partial government shutdown. Those workers who screen at airport security checkpoints, give flight clearance, and verify at border control are deemed essential, so they are still required to work. Instead, a shutdown puts federal funding on hold for agencies such as the Federal Aviation Administration, the Transportation Security Administration, and Customs and Border Protection. As a result, actions like hiring or training are put on hold, and workers aren't paid until the issue is resolved. However, you may encounter longer lines and wait times, so plan accordingly. Read more about what the shutdown means for air travel. --Kathleen WongSenate test vote to determine if government is closed all weekendAt 1:30 p.m. ET, the Senate takes two test votes related to the competing Democratic and Republican proposals to temporarily fund the government.Both plans need 60 yes votes to break a filibuster. These votes are procedural and not on the actual bills themselves. Both plans are expected to fail to get the 60 votes needed to pass, sending senators home for the weekend. Republicans are hoping that Democrats will hear enough grumbling from their constituents about the shutdown that they will come back with changed minds.--Sarah D. WireTrump calls Russ Vought the ReaperPresident Donald Trump on Thursday posted to social media an AI video of himself, Vice President JD Vance in a band and Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought as the grim reaper."Russ Vought is the Reaper," it says to the tune of the 1976 Blue Oyster Cult classic (Don’t Fear) The Reaper. "He wields the pen, the funds and the brain."Congressional Republicans say by shutting down the government, congressional Democrats have ceded spending authority to the White House, and in turn, Vought.Trump and Vought have threatened mass federal worker layoffs and cuts to federal spending if Democrats don't capitulate and support the GOP spending bill to reopen the government.--Sarah D. WireWho is Russ Vought?It was Russ Vought who huddled with House Republicans on the first day of the government shutdown to tell them that mass layoffs of federal workers would begin in "a day or two."It was Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, whom President Donald Trump praised on social media Oct. 2 for helping him determine what would be cut during the shutdown and whether the cuts would be permanent.Vought, who helped write the policy blueprint known as Project 2025, is playing a major role during the shutdown, including on decisions over whether there are mass layoffs of federal employees instead of furloughs and what funding is cut and what is allowed to flow.-Sarah D. WireTrump administration freezes $2.1 billion for Chicago amid shutdown fightPresident Donald Trump's budget director announced $2.1 billion in federal infrastructure money for Chicago is being paused as the administration continues to target money for blue cities and states amid the government shutdown.White House office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought said the frozen dollars had been allocated to support improvements to Chicago Transit Authority rail lines.Vought earlier announced that $18 billion in infrastructure funds for New York, the home state of Democratic congressional leaders Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer, had been put on hold and $8 billion in Department of Energy projects in 16 blue states was cut.--Zac Anderson‘Public sentiment’ will force Trump to negotiate, Jeffries saysTrump convened with Vice President JD Vance on Thursday night at the vice president’s Naval Observatory residency, where the two men had dinner alongside their spouses. Trump has given no indication he’s willing to negotiate and entertain Democratic demands for changes to health care policies as part of a funding resolution to reopen the government.The White House has also continued to troll House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries with AI videos portraying Jeffries in a sombrero and fake mustache.Nevertheless, Jefferies on Wednesday predicted Trump will come back to the negotiating table because of “public sentiment.”“The public knows that Donald Trump and Republicans have shut the federal government down,” Jeffries told reporters, “and that they’re continuing to engage in the chaos and the cruelty and the corruption that we’ve seen from the administration from day one of the presidency.”‒ Joey GarrisonGovernment out-of-office emails blame Dems for shutdownOfficial email accounts at the U.S. Department of Education began sending out-of-office messages are pointing fingers at Democrats for the funding crisis."Thank you for contacting me," said one message. "On September 19, 2025, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5371, a clean continuing resolution. Unfortunately, Democrat Senators are blocking passage of H.R. 5371 in the Senate which has led to a lapse in appropriations."The automatic response is the latest example of the Trump administration using the formal levers of government in new, controversial ways to pressure Democrats to end the shutdown. Other federal agencies have crafted similarly partisan messages from the typically apolitical civil service amid a legislative standoff largely over disagreements related to health care cuts.‒ Zachary SchermeleMain sticking point remains health careThe main sticking point remains Democratic demands to restore funding to Medicaid and Obamacare after cuts Trump signed into law this year that the Congressional Budget Office says will leave 10.9 million people without health insurance.Republicans want to keep the government operating at existing funding levels, but they lack a filibuster-proof 60 votes in the Senate despite their majority.What's behind White House claims of 'illegal' immigrants on Medicaid?Trump and Republicans have countered by accusing Democrats of wanting to provide health care for immigrants who are in the country illegally. Democrats have called the claims a lie, noting that undocumented immigrants aren’t eligible for payments from Medicare, Medicaid, or the Affordable Care Act.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Trump’s attacks by pointing to millions of immigrants the Biden administration allowed to enter the United States under humanitarian “parole” or under temporary programs for economic or environmental crises in their home countries.Trump officials have referred to these immigrants as “illegal,” but they entered lawfully under formal government programs.“It was a complete abuse of our immigration system,” Leavitt told reporters Oct. 2 at the White House. “They slapped a Band-Aid. They called it Temporary Protected Status.”The Biden administration admitted about 3 million immigrants under parole and 1.4 million from 16 countries were granted acceptance into Temporary Protected Status, according to House testimony and the Judiciary Committee.“You know who would like free benefits? Hard-working Americans who work their butts off every day,” Leavitt said. “That is fundamentally unfair and this administration is not going to support it."But immigrants admitted under parole of less than a year, those seeking asylum and those under Temporary Protected Status are generally barred from Medicaid, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.While undocumented immigrants are barred from receiving federal health benefits, eligible immigrants who are in the country legally make up 6% of the total enrollment in Medicaid and the CHIP child health care program, according to the health policy nonprofit KFF.‒ Bart Jansen and Joey Garrison