Twenty-seven days into the government shutdown, the immediate outlook for reopening the federal government remains grim.
President Donald Trump is thousands of miles from Washington on a trade trip to Asia. Meanwhile, the U.S. House has not been in session for more than a month, and Democrats in the U.S. Senate have blocked a GOP short-term spending bill in a dozen consecutive votes.
Tensions between congressional Republicans and Democrats have only intensified in the more than three weeks since the shutdown began on October 1. Each day on Capitol Hill is marked by a blame game between leaders of both parties, with virtually no sign of legislative compromise.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has repeatedly accused Democrats of playing “political games” by using negotiations on extending federal subsidies for the Affordable Care Act—set to expire at the end of the year—as leverage.
“They’re using all of these hardworking Americans and their families as leverage for their political purposes to cover their own tails with the radical left,” Johnson said recently.
In turn, Democratic leaders have blasted the president and Republicans, arguing they are putting millions of Americans at risk of facing soaring health insurance costs.
“They can’t find a moment to talk with Democrats, to find a bipartisan solution forward to reopen the government and to address the health care crisis that they are inflicting on the American people,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Currently, this shutdown is the second-longest in U.S. history. After this week, it could surpass the longest on record, which lasted 34 days.
No president in D.C., no deal to reopen the government.
U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.) expressed that he is “astonished and beyond disappointed” that President Trump chose to leave Washington to participate in trade talks in Asia while the shutdown drags on.
Like many Democrats, Warner believes the only way to end the shutdown is if the president agrees to discuss a pathway toward an agreement.
“For him to jet off now to international meetings means that it’s virtually impossible to get this resolved, because no Republican will do anything without Donald Trump’s blessing,” Warner said.
Warner, a moderate Democrat, has worked across the aisle with Republicans numerous times over the years. He has been part of so-called “gangs”—bipartisan groups of senators who have worked behind the scenes to reach difficult agreements. However, he said this impasse is different.
Warner noted that Senate Republicans he has worked with privately acknowledge they can’t do much without sign-off from Trump.
“There can’t be an independent solution that doesn’t involve Donald Trump, is my fear,” Warner said.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has indicated he would be open to discussing an extension of the Affordable Care Act subsidies with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, but only after Democrats stop holding the country “hostage” and the government is reopened.
### Shutdown Is Taking a Growing Toll on Federal Workers
Hundreds of thousands of federal workers went without their first full paycheck last week due to the shutdown.
Members of both parties proposed bills aimed at providing pay to more federal workers and U.S. troops during the shutdown, but both proposals failed.
Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) tried to pass a bill by unanimous consent that would have guaranteed pay for all federal employees and contractors and prohibited the Trump administration from firing federal workers during the shutdown. This motion was objected to by Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who introduced his own bill extending payments during the shutdown to excepted federal workers—including air traffic controllers—and military personnel.
Democrats prevented Johnson’s bill from advancing on a floor vote.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned during a Capitol Hill news conference that air traffic controllers will miss their paycheck this Tuesday, an issue affecting nearly 13,000 controllers.
In addition, approximately 50,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees are working without pay.
Duffy cautioned that air travelers could experience the impact of controllers calling out, especially those who have taken second jobs to make ends meet.
Air safety remains “paramount,” Duffy emphasized. He warned that if there is insufficient staffing in airport towers, delays and cancellations will follow.
“You will see us delay traffic. You will see us cancel flights, because I want you to get to where you’re going,” Duffy said.
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https://wtop.com/government/2025/10/government-shutdown-on-track-to-become-longest-in-history/
