The government has been shut down for well over 3 days. Catch up here
The countdown clock on this page tells the story: We’re still in a federal government shutdown.
Let’s take a step back and review some of our most recent reporting, if you’re just getting up to speed.
• How we got here: Democrats are pressuring Republicans to extend enhanced Obamacare subsidies as part of any stopgap bill to fund the government, while the GOP says the issue can wait until the end of the year. Failure to extend the subsidies could spike premiums by 75% on average, according to KFF, a nonpartisan health policy research group.
• We’re still seeing a lot of finger-pointing: Democratic senators say they’re ready for “real negotiation” on health care policy and a bill to fund the government, accusing Republicans of following President Donald Trump’s lead and trolling Democrats rather than working on a compromise. The GOP is accusing Democrats of using the shutdown for political gain. Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer told Fox News today that the House GOP has done its job by passing a stopgap funding bill, laying the blame on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
• But the impacts go well beyond political spats: Federal employees, a significant majority of whom work outside the Washington, DC, area, face uncertainty about their next paycheck. Food banks are preparing for increased demand from furloughed workers. Americans who wanted to spend the weekend at national parks and museums are making new plans.
• Faint signs of concern in Trump’s orbit: Trump has embraced the political battle, but quiet concerns are building among his allies that the politics of the shutdown may prove more complicated than they initially hoped. In early polling, Americans are just as likely to fault Trump as they are congressional Democrats.
Trump seen golfing and taking calls on fourth day of government shutdown
President Donald Trump was spotted making some phone calls while he played a round today at his Trump National golf course.
The president spoke to someone by phone briefly a few times between holes as he played around 2:30 p.m. ET.
The president has embraced the ongoing political battle in Congress over funding the government, with his administration threatening waves of retaliatory layoffs and trolling Democrats online.
West Virginia is covering the cost to keep its national parks open
With many national parks closed due to the government shutdown, West Virginia signed a “donation agreement” earlier this week to reopen the state’s two national parks.
State funds and resources will keep New River Gorge National Park and Preserve and Harpers Ferry National Historical Park open for at least two weeks under the agreement, according to Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s office.
“October is one of our busiest months for visitation, and thanks to Governor Morrisey for allowing us to use state funds, travelers can still visit our parks for stunning fall foliage,” state Tourism Secretary Chelsea Ruby said in a statement.
Food banks are preparing for increased demand during government shutdown
As the government shutdown continues with no end in sight, a food bank in Washington, DC, is gearing up to help additional people in need who may have been furloughed or are working without pay.
The Capital Area Food Bank is keeping its warehouse stocked, as it estimates around 75,000 federal workers are living paycheck-to-paycheck, according to CNN affiliate WJLA.
And the shutdown’s impacts stretch well beyond Washington. In Iowa, food banks are similarly preparing for possible increase in demand.
Patty Sneddon-Kisting, CEO of the Urbandale Food Pantry, told CNN affiliate KCCI that she predicts the food bank will serve more people in the coming days.
About 80% of federal employees work outside the Washington metropolitan area.
We're hearing from Americans about the ripple effects of the shutdown in their community
Outside the halls of the Capitol and far from Washington, the way a government shutdown affects life in the US can range from minor inconvenience to serious concern.
It might be as simple as a trip to the museum thwarted, or finding that national parks are either closed or unstaffed.
In communities where federal workers make up a significant portion of the economy — like in Atlanta or Dayton, Ohio — small business owners are watching anxiously to see if they’ll receive fewer customers while furloughed employees go without a paycheck.
Federal funding for WIC, the food assistance program for low-income women, infants and young children, could run out within one to two weeks if Congress doesn’t allocate more money.
What are your top concerns about the federal government shutdown? Share your story in the form below:
CNN’s Tami Luhby contributed to this report.
Jeffries: White House and Democrats not engaged in high-level talks to end shutdown
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he and fellow Democrats are committed to extending the shutdown until they and Republicans can reach a deal to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies.
“Our fight is to make sure we continue to stand up to address the Republican health care crisis,” Jeffries told MSNBC today. “Democrats are not going to break because we’re standing up for the health care of working-class Americans, middle class Americans and everyday Americans.”
But Jeffries said high-level talks between both sides “are not” happening “at this moment.”
“The White House and Republicans have gone radio silent since the Oval Office meeting on Monday,” Jeffries said. “It’s because they wanted to shut the government down, and they don’t want to provide health care to everyday Americans.”
Jeffries condemned what he sees as Trump and Republicans using “hardworking, federal civil servants” as expendable “pawns” because they face potential mass layoffs due to the shutdown.
“(The Trump administration has) been engaging in mass firing since January 20… And so, to the extent that they’re claiming that a government shutdown may force their hand, that’s just pretext for something that they’ve already been doing,” Jeffries said. “This is why it’s important for us as Democrats to continue to hold the line on behalf of the American people while also making it clear we’ll sit down with the Republicans.”
“This administration is trying to bully us, and we’re not going to be bullied,” he added.
Democratic senators say they're ready for "real negotiation" as shutdown drags on
Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware says he hopes lawmakers strike a deal ending the government shutdown soon, but that GOP compromise on health care policy would have to be part of those negotiations.
In an interview on CNN’s “Smerconish,” the senator acknowledged that a months-long standoff could benefit Democrats politically but said the consequences for Americans and the US health care system would be devastating.
Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona slammed House Speaker Mike Johnson this morning, saying on MSNBC’s “The Weekend” that Republican leadership doesn’t actually want to negotiate.
“I’m here in Washington, DC. I’m ready to sit down with my Republican colleagues. Many of them left,” he said.
Kelly called for “real negotation” around extending enhanced Obamacare subsidies, which is the central sticking point for a funding deal. Kelly said the issue is highly personal for his constituents:
Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota also spoke to MSNBC this morning, where she blamed the White House for holding up real talks:
Georgia Democrat says constituents were already reeling from Trump's government overhaul before shutdown
Democratic Rep. Nikema Williams of Georgia says protecting access to health care for her constituents is her top concern as the party digs in to a funding standoff with Republicans.
Williams said residents in her district, which includes a large portion of Atlanta, had already been feeling the impact of President Donald Trump’s efforts to massively shrink the federal government since his inauguration.
“People in Atlanta — at the CDC, at the EPA, at the Veterans Affairs Administration, at the airport — they’ve been faced with these layoffs and this threat of what is going to happen,” she told CNN.
Lawmakers announce they will forgo salaries amid shutdown
A growing number of lawmakers on Capitol Hill say they will forgo their paychecks until federal operations continue. Some lawmakers are saying they will donate their salaries, while others have formally requested that their pay be withheld.
“If a shutdown forces servicemembers and veterans to go without pay… members of Congress should not be collecting a paycheck,” said Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks in a statement.
Among those announcing plans to give up their salaries are Republican Sen. Ashley Moody and Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Mike Lawler and John James. Several Democrats have also said they will withhold their pay during the shutdown, including Sen. Andy Kim and Reps. Josh Gottheimer, Nellie Pou, and Mikie Sherrill.
Moody said she would donate her salary to the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay.
Lawler requested his salary be withheld in a letter to the House Chief Administrative Office.
“If our partners in the Senate are incapable of finding their senses and passing a clean Continuing Resolution… then no member of the House or Senate should receive a salary,” Lawler wrote. “We were not sent here to play partisan politics.”
Most rank-and-file members of Congress earn $174,000 annually, while those in top leadership positions are paid more.
GOP senator defends Trump administration's hold on New York funding
Republican Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt defended the White House’s decision to withhold funding for New York City infrastructure projects amid the government shutdown.
“My understanding is that those are unconstitutional programs. They violate, because of DEI programs, the Civil Rights Act,” Schmitt told CNN yesterday on Capitol Hill. “So, I think they’re taking a closer look at a lot of these Biden-era contracts, and I would expect more of that. I mean, when you shut down the government like the Democrats have, there’s going to be consequences. It’s needless. It’s stupid.”
His comments come after White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought announced that the Trump administration is freezing roughly $18 billion in New York City infrastructure projects.
Vought said the funds will be “put on hold to ensure funding is not flowing based on unconstitutional DEI principles,” referring to diversity, equity and inclusion policies. The Trump administration has focused on dismantling programs considered to promote DEI initiatives since President Donald Trump returned to office.
Vought’s announcement received pushback from New York officials, with Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand calling the hold “just spiteful and political and probably illegal.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused Vought of using New York and New Jersey residents as political pawns.
Here's how Ohio residents say the shutdown is already impacting daily life
We were in Dayton, Ohio, yesterday talking to residents about the way the ripple effects of the shutdown are being felt by average Americans.
Howard Patterson, a 44-year-old DHL worker, had hoped to visit the National Museum of the US Air Force and the Wright Cycle Company on his day off, but found the doors to both centers closed due to the shutdown.
Toyoua Jackson, a 39-year-old factory worker in Dayton, blamed President Donald Trump for the shutdown. She pointed to GOP cuts to health care spending.
Tierra Freeman, the 23-year-old manager of the Fashion Remedy Boutique in Dayton, said when military members start not receiving paychecks and other federal workers are furloughed, she worries her newly opened business will feel the effects.
Daniella Martinez, 35, is set to start a new job Monday after being laid off when her previous employer, a company that handled moves for military members, lost its government contract.
Keep in mind: Many of the employees affected by the shutdown work far from Washington
Much of the attention during a government shutdown naturally centers on the nation’s capital, where lawmakers negotiate stopgap funding bills and employees at major federal agencies face uncertainty at work.
But it’s worth keeping in mind that many federal workers clock in for government jobs far from the DC area:
It's Saturday and the government is still shut down. Here's the latest
Welcome to our live coverage. It’s a new day but the same state of affairs, so far.
The government shutdown looks very likely to stretch into next week after competing Democratic and Republican proposals to fund the government failed again in the Senate yesterday afternoon.
Lawmakers have left Washington, with no votes planned over the weekend as of now.
Here’s a look at all that happened yesterday and where things stand moving forward:
- What’s going on in Congress: As expected, the Senate failed to advance competing GOP and Democratic short-term funding bills yesterday. The impasse largely centers on enhanced Obamacare subsidies, which Democrats say need to be addressed now and Republicans argue should wait to be debated until the end of the year. Meanwhile, Speaker Mike Johnson said the House won’t return to Washington next week.
- Firings: There has still been little concrete news about possibly thousands of federal employee layoffs that the Trump administration has threatened will accompany a sustained shutdown. In light of his meeting with OMB Director Russ Vought, the controversial architect of Project 2025, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted President Donald Trump and his team are the ones deciding the “blueprint” for cuts across the federal government and that those discussions are still continuing. One White House official said Thursday the layoffs could come as soon as the weekend.
- Blame game: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Trump and Republicans are “not behaving in a serious manner” and don’t want to end the shutdown. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also accused Republicans of refusing to negotiate with Democrats. Meantime, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he’s open to meeting with Schumer “if he’s got something to say.” Leavitt indicated Trump is not directly speaking to Democratic senators.
- Ripples around Washington: An automatic reply from the US Department of Agriculture’s press office blames the “Radical Left Democratic shutdown” for furloughing its staff. One CNN employee who received a summons for jury duty was notified that she wouldn’t be paid a juror fee until after the shutdown. The Smithsonian says its museums, research centers and the National Zoo will remain open through at least October 11.
Some quiet concerns are emerging in Trump's orbit over shutdown
Over the past few days of live coverage, we’ve told you how Republican lawmakers remain publicly in lockstep with President Donald Trump, who has signaled he’s ready to dig in his heels in the shutdown stalemate with Democrats.
But privately, there are concerns within Trump’s orbit that the politics of the shutdown may prove more complicated than they initially hoped, according to new reporting from our CNN colleagues Adam Cancryn and Sarah Ferris.
Democrats are still largely unified behind their demands, defying some Republicans’ predictions they would quickly fold under pressure. In early polling, Americans are just as likely to fault Trump as they are congressional Democrats.
And as the White House prepares a wave of retaliatory mass layoffs, there’s little certainty over how Trump’s efforts to ramp up the pressure will play with the broader public.
“I’m supposed to say this is killing the Democrats,” one Trump adviser said of the shutdown. “But I don’t think it helps either side, to be honest with you.”
The mixed reaction has appeared to alleviate political pressure felt by Democrats to quickly seek an off-ramp, with some lawmakers instead beginning to broaden their messaging beyond the party’s initial set of health care demands.
Smithsonian will be open to public through next Saturday
The Smithsonian says its museums, research centers and the National Zoo will remain open through at least October 11 despite the ongoing government shutdown.
Previously, officials said the centers would be open through Monday.
“If the government shutdown continues past October 11, the Smithsonian will then close to the public,” the Smithsonian said on its website.
You can see a full list of what is affected by the government shutdown here.