Sky Roberts, left, brother of Virginia Giuffre, who was abused by Jeffrey Epstein, and his wife Amanda Roberts hold up a photo of Giuffre during a news conference on the Epstein Files Transparency Act outside the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 18, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

This story contains mention of sexual abuse and suicide. If you or a loved one are in crisis, help is available 24 hours a day by dialing 988 or visiting 988hotline.org.

WASHINGTON — A bill is heading to President Donald Trump’s desk compelling the release of unclassified investigative files from the case against convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a friend to the rich and powerful who died in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 awaiting federal trial on sex trafficking charges.

Senate Republicans on Tuesday night did not object to a unanimous consent request from Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to accept and pass the legislation, as is, after the U.S. House overwhelmingly approved the measure earlier in the day.

The Senate did not receive the bill from the House before adjourning Tuesday night.

A senior administration official told States Newsroom the president will sign the bill “whenever it gets to the White House.”

The lawmakers in the lower chamber voted 427-1 to compel the Department of Justice to release materials related to the government’s investigation of the financier who harmed over 1,000 victims, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., was the lone “no” vote.

Survivors and their supporters watched the vote from the chamber’s gallery seats. Among them was Sky Roberts, the brother of the late Virginia Giuffre, who sued Epstein’s co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell and the British royal family’s Andrew Windsor, who recently was stripped of his title of prince. Giuffre died by suicide in April.

“I’m very happy with the outcome, but this is just the beginning, and we have a lot of work ahead of us, a lot more to do,” Haley Robson told States Newsroom in an interview after the vote. Robson is prominent among those who have shared their stories of abuse by Epstein.

The bill now goes to Trump, who said Monday he will sign it.

‘Courage and advocacy’ of survivors cited

Schumer, a New York Democrat, wrote on social media earlier the vote would “not have been possible without the courage and advocacy of Jeffrey Epstein’s survivors. They made this vote possible. They risked their safety coming out of the darkness to share their stories and to tell the truth.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said earlier Tuesday he expected the bill to move through the Senate “fairly quickly” and likely without changes, according to reporting by CNN.

The legislation compels the Justice Department to publicly disclose “all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials in its possession that relate to Epstein or Maxwell.” They include records related to Epstein’s detention and death; flight logs from Epstein’s planes; names of those connected with Epstein’s alleged crimes; records of civil settlements, and sealed and unsealed immunity deals and plea bargains; records pertaining to entities with ties to Epstein’s trafficking or financial networks; and internal DOJ communications “concerning decisions to investigate or charge Epstein or his associates.” 

The bill carves out exceptions for records containing victims’ identities, images of death or physical abuse, and information that could jeopardize a federal investigation. 

The bill also notes that the “DOJ may not withhold or redact records on the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity.”

Trump, Johnson opposition

Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson opposed the House effort to release the files until this week.

Johnson said Tuesday morning that he will vote for the measure that has been forced to the floor after Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., gathered enough signatures on a discharge petition to override leadership.

The Louisiana Republican told reporters at his regular House leadership press conference that the “forcing mechanism here prevents the very deliberate, professional, careful manner in which Congress is supposed to do this.”

“But having now forced the vote, none of us want to go on record and in any way be accused of not being for maximum transparency,” Johnson said.

The vote comes less than a week after lawmakers on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released some 20,000 pages of emails from Epstein’s estate that repeatedly mentioned Trump’s name. 

In one email from Epstein to Maxwell, the financier and sex offender claimed Trump “knew about the girls.”

Trump denies any involvement with Epstein’s alleged crimes, and has said that he kicked Epstein out of his private Florida club, Mar-a-Lago, because he alleged the financier had poached young female staffers from the club. Epstein was convicted in Florida of soliciting minors for sex in 2008. 

During a press conference in the Oval Office Tuesday alongside the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Trump told reporters, “As far as the Epstein files, I have nothing to do with Jeffery Epstein. I threw him out of my club many years ago because I thought he was a sick pervert.”

Trump added, as he has repeatedly said before, that the files are a “Democratic hoax.”

Plaskett text messages

The thousands of documents released by Epstein’s estate revealed the sex offender’s correspondence with academics, journalists, lawmakers and at least one spiritual leader. 

Among the revelations were text messages between Epstein and U.S. Democratic Delegate Stacey Plaskett, who represents the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Epstein owned a residence.

An effort by Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., is underway to formally reprimand Plaskett for texting with Epstein during a 2019 congressional hearing that featured testimony from Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen. News of the text exchange was originally published by the Washington Post.

The official censure would remove Plaskett from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. A vote was expected Tuesday night.

Plaskett defended herself on the House floor Tuesday afternoon, saying, “We all know that Jeffrey Epstein’s actions were absolutely reprehensible as a constituent, as an individual who gave donations to me. When I learned of the extent of his actions after his investigation, I gave that money to women’s organizations in my community.”

Stories of abuse 

Women who told stories of being abused by Epstein as teens rallied outside the U.S. Capitol Tuesday morning, alongside Massie, Khanna and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., whom Trump attacked online this weekend, nicknaming her a “traitor.”

Robson told the crowd that as a Republican herself, the advocacy from Massie and Greene is “unbelievable to watch, and we are so grateful.”

“And to the president of the United States of America, who is not here today, I want to send a clear message to you: While I do understand that your position has changed on the Epstein files, and I’m grateful that you have pledged to sign this bill, I can’t help to be skeptical of what the agenda is,” Robson said.

In a Sunday night post on his own social media platform, Trump told Republicans to vote in favor of the bipartisan legislation Tuesday, which lawmakers have named the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

Greene, who also spoke at the press conference, said the administration’s refusal to release what are collectively referred to as the Epstein files “has ripped MAGA apart.”

“The only thing that will speak to the powerful, courageous women behind me is when action is actually taken to release these files, and the American people won’t tolerate any other b- – – -t,” Greene said.

GOP Reps. Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Lauren Boebert of Colorado were the other Republicans to join Massie, Greene and all Democrats to sign the petition.

Grijalva signature

In a second press conference outside the Capitol later Tuesday morning, the House’s newest Democratic member, Arizona’s Adelita Grijalva, spoke alongside sexual abuse prevention advocates. 

“The momentum behind this did not come from politicians. It came from survivors and the public who demanded answers. This is why the discharge petition crossed 218 signatures, despite Speaker Johnson doing everything in his power to prevent this from happening, including calling an early summer release, and delaying myself my swearing in for seven weeks,” Grijalva said.

Grijalva became the petition’s 218th signature on Wednesday, immediately after her swearing-in ceremony. 

Johnson refused to swear in Grijalva, who won her seat on Sept. 23, during the government shutdown despite precedent of other representatives swearing an oath while the House is out of session.

U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., also spoke at the press conference, warning that Senate leadership should not “delay this any further.”

“They need to schedule a vote on this so this can get passed into law,” Kelly said.

Trump told NBC News Monday he would sign the legislation.

Roughly a dozen public protesters stood outside the police barricade surrounding the press conference, holding signs demanding the release of the Epstein files.

Robin Galbraith, 61, of Maryland, held a sign protesting Johnson’s refusal to allow an earlier floor vote to disclose the files.

“These survivors deserve justice. And you know, all women and girls deserve justice,” Galbraith told States Newsroom in an interview. “Like when you have the richest people in the world trafficking girls, I mean, as somebody who has daughters and sons, we all want to see that children are not victims like this anymore.”

FBI memo 

In July, the FBI issued a memo stating the department would not publicly release any further information on the Epstein case.

The sudden reversal, after Trump and his supporters campaigned on releasing the files, sparked upheaval among the president’s base and trained a magnifying glass on Trump’s well-documented friendship with Epstein.

Trump denies any wrongdoing.

The president sued The Wall Street Journal for reporting on a 50th birthday card Trump allegedly gave to Epstein. The card featured a cryptic message and a doodle of a naked woman with Trump’s apparent signature mimicking pubic hair. Trump denies that he created and signed the birthday doodle.

The Journal also reported that Attorney General Pam Bondi briefed the president in May that his name appeared in the Epstein case files. The context in which his name appeared is unclear. 

A series in the Miami Herald in 2018 by journalist Julie K. Brown drew wide attention to Epstein’s crimes and Trump’s appointment in 2017 of former Miami federal prosecutor Alex Acosta, who cut a deal in 2008 to end a federal investigation into Epstein, as the secretary of Labor.

Jennifer Shutt contributed to this report.

Women who say they were abused by disgraced financier and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein raise their hands as attorney Bradley Edwards speaks at a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 3, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Sunday night abruptly changed his tune, telling House Republicans to vote on a bill to compel the Department of Justice to release all files related to its investigation into sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 awaiting federal trial.

In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump wrote “House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide, and it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our recent Victory on the Democrat ‘Shutdown.’”

Trump continued in his signature style of arbitrary capital letters: “The Department of Justice has already turned over tens of thousands of pages to the Public on “Epstein,” are looking at various Democrat operatives (Bill Clinton, Reid Hoffman, Larry Summers, etc.) and their relationship to Epstein, and the House Oversight Committee can have whatever they are legally entitled to, I DON’T CARE!” 

The House is expected to vote Tuesday after a bipartisan discharge petition garnered 218 signatures last week, forcing House Speaker Mike Johnson, of Louisiana, to bring a bill to the floor that would compel the DOJ to release Epstein investigation materials. 

It’s unclear whether Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., would bring the legislation to a floor vote in the GOP-controlled chamber.

Kentucky’s Thomas Massie co-sponsored the petition with Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif. Three other House Republicans, Georgia’s Marjorie Taylor Greene, South Carolina’s Nancy Mace and Colorado’s Lauren Boebert, joined all Democrats in signing. 

The House’s newest Democrat, Arizona’s Adelita Grijalva, became the 218th signature after she was sworn in Wednesday by Johnson, following weeks in which the chamber was out of session. Johnson refused to swear in Grijalva until after the government shutdown, breaking a precedent of swearing in new members when the chamber is out.

Johnson has not been in favor of a vote, and rather has pointed to the ongoing House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform’s investigation into the Epstein documents.

Committee Republicans released more than 20,000 pages of Epstein’s emails on Wednesday, many of which contained Trump’s name. 

The committee, led by Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., revealed the massive trove of emails from Epstein’s estate after the panel’s Democrats released a selection of the correspondence that included the allegation that Trump “knew about the girls because he asked ghislaine to stop.”

Epstein was referring to Ghislaine Maxwell, his co-conspirator, who would later be convicted on federal sex trafficking charges.

Emails and subpoenas

Trump denies any involvement with Epstein’s alleged crimes, and has said that he kicked Epstein out of his private Florida club, Mar-a-Lago, because Epstein had poached young female staffers from the club. Epstein was convicted in Florida of soliciting minors for sex in 2008. 

Trump had a well-documented friendship with Epstein, who surrounded himself with the rich and powerful.

Committee Republicans did not respond to States Newsroom’s request for comment Wednesday on how long the committee has had possession of the emails and their timing of the data dump.

The committee has subpoenaed several people in relation to the probe, including Maxwell, several former U.S. attorneys general and former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Trump dispatched Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who is also the president’s former personal defense attorney, to interview Maxwell in a Florida prison in July. 

According to transcripts, Maxwell told Blanche that she “never witnessed the president in any inappropriate setting in any way. The president was never inappropriate with anybody. In the times that I was with him, he was a gentleman in all respects.”

Soon after, Maxwell was moved to a minimum-security prison in Texas, and House Democrats claimed this month that a whistleblower revealed the convicted sex offender was being “pampered” by the warden. House Democrats also claimed the whistleblower revealed Maxwell was preparing a commutation application to Trump for release from her 20-year sentence.

FBI memo

The FBI issued a July memo stating the Department of Justice would not be releasing any further information on the government’s sex trafficking investigation into Epstein.

The announcement sparked a firestorm of demands over the summer to release all investigative material, even among Trump’s supporters in Congress and far-right media influencers, including Megyn Kelly and the late Charlie Kirk. 

Trump promised on the campaign trail to release the files.

Since the FBI memo, a magnifying glass has been fixed on Trump’s past relationship with Epstein. 

The president sued The Wall Street Journal for reporting on a 50th birthday card Trump allegedly gave to Epstein. The card featured a cryptic message and a doodle of a naked woman with Trump’s apparent signature mimicking pubic hair. Trump denies that he created and signed the birthday doodle.

The Journal also reported that Attorney General Pam Bondi briefed the president in May that his name appeared in the Epstein case files. The context in which his name appeared is unclear. 

Trump has denied all reports.

A series in the Miami Herald in 2018 by journalist Julie K. Brown drew wide attention to Epstein’s crimes and Trump’s appointment in 2017 of former Miami federal prosecutor Alex Acosta, who cut a deal in 2008 to end a federal investigation into Epstein, as the secretary of Labor.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., left, accompanied by Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., points to a poster depicting rising medical costs if Congress allows the Affordable Care Act tax credits to expire in December as he speaks to reporters following a Democratic policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 15, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Congress has roughly two months to find bipartisan agreement to curb rising health insurance costs if lawmakers want to avoid another government shutdown.

That herculean task would be difficult in the best circumstances, but is much more challenging after lawmakers spent the last 43 days criticizing each other instead of building the types of trust that are usually needed for large deals. Democrats maintained they wanted to address skyrocketing premiums for individual health care plans, while Republicans insisted those talks had to occur when the government was open.

At the same time, congressional leaders will try to wrap up work on the nine full-year government funding bills that were supposed to become law before Oct. 1 and weren’t included in the package that reopened the government. 

Congress must pass all of those bills or another stopgap measure before the new Jan. 30 deadline, regardless of how well or disastrous talks on a health care bill turn out. 

The two-track negotiations will push party leaders to compromise on issues they’d rather not, especially as next year’s November midterm elections inch closer. 

Early signs were not good.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said during a Wednesday night press conference the enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits set to expire at the end of the year are a “boondoggle” and that “Republicans would demand a lot of reforms” before agreeing to extend those in any way. 

“We currently have 433 members of the House of Representatives. There’s a lot of opinions in this building. And on our side, certainly, a lot of opinions on how to fix health care and make it more affordable. I have to allow that process to play out,” Johnson, R-La., said. 

While Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., made a commitment to hold a vote on a health care bill before the end of December to conclude the shutdown, Johnson has avoided giving a timeline for when he would bring any similar legislation to the floor. 

President Donald Trump, aside from throwing insults at Democrats, largely stayed on the sidelines of the shutdown fight, though he suggested the funds used for the tax credits should in some way go directly to individuals instead of large insurance companies.

Pessimism over progress

The shutdown highlighted the stark differences Republicans and Democrats hold on health care as prices for insurance continue to spike, forcing millions of Americans to choose between taking care of themselves and breaking their budgets, States Newsroom found in interviews with members of Congress. 

GOP leaders held together throughout the funding lapse and didn’t negotiate on the expiring ACA marketplace tax credits, or anything else. 

Now that it’s over, Republicans will need to put something forward.

Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said her sense is that Congress will “probably be in the same place on January 30th that we are now.”

“We have two parties here, two sides,” DeLauro said. “In the past … we’ve had serious negotiation back and forth, and that’s what we need to do, and that’s not happening.”

While Republicans have unified control of government, major legislation needs the support of at least 60 senators to advance in that chamber. Republicans hold 53 seats at the moment, meaning at least some Democrats must support a bill for it to pass. 

DeLauro did not rule out another shutdown, saying Democrats plan to take the next few months “one day at a time,” while closely watching what Republicans are willing to do on the nine full-year appropriations bills and health care costs. 

Maryland Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer, former House majority leader and a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, said Republican leaders keeping that chamber in recess for nearly two months leading up to and during the shutdown significantly delayed work on the full-year government funding bills. 

Hoyer said that scheduling decision was a clear “indication they’re not interested in solving the problem.”

“If they were, they would have had members here working on appropriation bills,” Hoyer said. “And the only way you’re going to ultimately solve this problem is to pass appropriation bills.”

Hoyer said the real question facing Congress now isn’t whether there is time to work out agreement on the remaining nine government spending bills, but whether there’s a will to make the types of compromises needed. 

Untangling spending bills

The spending package that reopened the government included three of the dozen full-year bills, funding the Agriculture Department, Food and Drug Administration, Legislative Branch, military construction projects and Department of Veterans Affairs.

The remaining appropriations bills will be considerably tougher to resolve, especially because the House and Senate have yet to agree on how much they want to spend across the thousands of programs. Trump proposed major cutbacks in multiple programs in his budget request earlier this year that Democrats have strongly resisted.

The Defense, Homeland Security, Labor-HHS-Education and State-Foreign Operations bills will be some of the more difficult to settle. 

Congress could always lean on another stopgap spending bill to keep funding relatively flat for the departments and agencies not covered by a full-year bill before Jan. 30. But lawmakers will need bipartisan support to advance in the Senate.

Washington Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal, former chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said Republicans don’t seem to grasp how much Americans are struggling with the cost of living, including for health insurance and health care. 

“My constituents are already telling me that they’re making that choice between having health insurance or having a house to live in, and they’re going to choose the house,” Jayapal said. 

Whether or not a partial government shutdown begins in early 2026 will likely depend on whether Republican lawmakers from swing districts force bipartisanship on a health care bill. 

“I really don’t know,” Jayapal said. “I think it depends on these vulnerable House Republicans, who are not going to be able to go back to their constituents without telling them that they’ve done something on health care.”

Political juice and a backbone

Democratic Rep. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico said she wouldn’t be surprised if Congress is unable to strike a deal on government funding and winds up in a partial shutdown by February. 

“Do I think that the Republicans have the political juice to get … the rest of their appropriation bills across the finish line and a health care deal? No,” Stansbury said. 

She added that she hopes a handful of Republicans decide to join Democrats on the discharge petition bill that would force a floor vote on a bill to extend the ACA marketplace subsidies for three years. 

“We gotta find a few brave Republicans who still have a backbone and some guts to stand up to this administration and actually care for their constituents,” Stansbury said. 

But any bipartisan deal to extend those health care tax credits seems fraught, as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries slammed Republicans as having “zero credibility on this issue.”

He pointed to Republicans trying several times to repeal the Affordable Care Act, including their last attempt in 2017, when GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine and the late John McCain of Arizona crossed party lines to vote against repealing the 2010 law.

“There’s no evidence that they’re serious about extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits,” Jeffries, of New York, said. “Republicans have zero interest in fixing the health care crisis that they’ve created.”

‘No point in taking 41 days to cave’

When Democrats controlled both chambers, temporary health care subsidies were originally passed as part of the COVID-19-era American Rescue Plan in 2021 for two years. 

With Democrats still controlling both chambers, lawmakers approved the Inflation Reduction Act, the 2022 signature climate policy bill from the Biden administration, that extended those health care subsidies for three years, expiring at the end of December 2025.

The outcome of the just concluded shutdown is shaping some House Democrats’ views.

Virginia Democratic Rep. Bobby Scott said if there is a new shutdown come February, Senate Democrats will have to decide whether they’re going to “cave again, or at least engage in negotiations.” 

“When the (Senate) Democrats say: ‘Our strategy wasn’t working,’ it wasn’t working because they assume you’re going to cave, which you just proved,” Scott told States Newsroom. “Their strategy worked — trying to get them to negotiate and talk to you doesn’t because they know you’re going to cave.”

Scott said “there’s no point in taking 41 days to cave,” pointing to the eight members of the Senate Democratic Caucus who broke ranks to advance and later approve the package to reopen the government. 

“Why don’t you just cave right at the beginning, on February 2nd?” he said. “If the Republican strategy is: ‘We’re not going to negotiate at all because you’re going to cave,’ you have to show them that you’re not going to cave, then you can have a discussion.”

Scott said the same health care issues will still exist if nothing happens between now and the package’s Jan. 30 government funding deadline.  

“By then, we’ll know that several million people don’t have health insurance, we’ll know that rural hospitals are beginning to suffer,” Scott said. 

Delaware Democratic Rep. Sarah McBride said that “from today through November (2026) and after, we will continue to be talking about health care, to be fighting for health care.”

“I think what you’ve seen over the last several months, you will continue to see from us through November and then, God willing, once we’re in a majority, we’ll do all that we can to reverse these cuts and restore care and expand access to it,” she said. 

U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., was sworn in to office on Nov. 12, 2025, by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. (Screenshot courtesy of C-SPAN)

WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. Adelita Grijalva was sworn in to office Wednesday after a delay that U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson attributed to the long government shutdown, but that critics allege was because the Arizona lawmaker pledged to be the deciding signature on a petition to release the so-called Epstein files.

Grijalva, who was elected on Sept. 23, has publicly vowed to add her name to a bipartisan measure that would force the House to vote on the release of files from the government’s investigation of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.

The Trump administration said in July it would not release further information related to the case. President Donald Trump had campaigned on releasing the files.

Grijalva, Arizona’s first elected Latina, called the delayed ceremony an “abuse of power.”

“It has been 50 days since the people of Arizona’s 7th Congressional District elected me to represent them. … One individual should not be able to unilaterally obstruct the swearing-in of a duly elected member of Congress for political reasons,” said Grijalva, who filled the seat occupied by her late father, Raúl Grijalva, who died earlier this year.

“Our democracy only works when everyone has a voice. This includes the millions of people across the country who have experienced violence and exploitation, including Liz Stein and Jessica Michaels, both survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse,” Grijalva said. “They are here in the gallery with us this evening.”

To cheers from her Democratic colleagues in the chamber, Grijalva said she was going to sign the petition “right now.”  

Massie, Khanna lead petition drive

As of early September, the discharge petition, led by Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., had garnered the signatures of all Democrats and four Republicans, leaving the petition just one shy of the 218 signatures needed to bypass Johnson and force a vote on the House floor.

The three Republicans who joined Massie in signing were Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Nancy Mace of South Carolina.

The petition forces to the floor, likely at some point in the next few weeks, a Massie-sponsored resolution from July compelling the Department of Justice to “disclose all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials in its possession that relate to Epstein” and his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted on federal sex trafficking charges.  

The resolution attracted 50 cosponsors, nearly a dozen of them Republicans.

Johnson defends delay

Grijalva and her supporters have outright accused Johnson of delaying the swearing-in because of the Epstein petition.

“When the American people vote, this chamber respects their will and seats them immediately. Politics should never come into play,” said Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., on the House floor moments before Johnson administered the oath to Grijalva.

Democrats pointed to the fact that Johnson has previously sworn in other lawmakers when the House was not in session. 

Johnson argued in mid-October that Grijalva hadn’t yet been sworn in because she won her special election after the House went home on Sept. 19, followed shortly thereafter by a government shutdown on Oct. 1.  “As soon as (Sen.) Chuck Schumer opens the government … we’ll have that as soon as we get back to business,” he said. 

At a press conference on Oct. 15, Arizona Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego accused Johnson of protecting “pedophiles, whether it’s involving Donald Trump or any of his rich, elite friends.”

Trump had a well-documented friendship with Epstein. Trump maintains he booted Epstein from his private Florida club, Mar-a-Lago, because the financier had poached young female employees.

A deluge of Epstein documents

New emails revealing details about the relationship between Trump and Epstein surfaced Wednesday. Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released three exchanges with content suggesting Trump was aware of Epstein’s abuse of underage girls. 

Republican leaders on the committee soon followed by releasing more than 20,000 documents they received from the Epstein estate.

Reports also surfaced that the Trump administration had reached out to two GOP lawmakers, Boebert and Mace, about removing their names from the petition.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt appeared to confirm during Wednesday’s briefing that Trump had met with Boebert in the Situation Room, a secure center of national and global information for the president.

“I’m not going to detail conversations that took place in the Situation Room,” Leavitt said when asked about Trump approaching Boebert to remove her name.

Boebert’s office pointed States Newsroom to the lawmaker’s afternoon social media post that read,“I want to thank White House officials for meeting with me today. Together, we remain committed to ensuring transparency for the American people.”

Mace’s office did not respond to questions to confirm the White House reached out to the South Carolina lawmaker. Rather, Mace’s Communications Director Sydney Long said, “​​The Congresswoman is not removing her name from the discharge petition because of her personal story.”

Mace has publicly shared her own story of sexual assault.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks to reporters while walking to his office on Nov. 10, 2025 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Tom Brenner/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate approved a stopgap spending bill Monday that will end the longest government shutdown in American history once the measure becomes law later this week.

The 60-40 vote sends the updated funding package back to the House, where lawmakers in that chamber are expected sometime during the next few days to clear the legislation for President Donald Trump’s signature. 

Shortly before the vote, Trump said he plans to follow the agreements included in the revised measure, including the reinstatement of thousands of federal workers who received layoff notices during the shutdown. 

“I’ll abide by the deal,” Trump said. “The deal is very good.”  

Republicans, he added, will soon begin work on legislation to provide direct payments to Americans to help them afford the rising cost of health insurance, one of the core disagreements between the political parties that led to the shutdown. 

“We want a health care system where we pay the money to the people instead of the insurance companies,” Trump said from the Oval Office. “And I tell you, we are going to be working on that very hard over the next short period of time.”

House members told to head to D.C.

Earlier in the day, House Speaker Mike Johnson urged representatives to begin traveling back to Capitol Hill as soon as possible to ensure they arrive in time to vote on the bill to reopen the government, after the measure arrives from the Senate. 

The Louisiana Republican’s request came as airlines were forced to delay or cancel thousands of flights on the 41st day of the shutdown, a situation that could potentially impact a House vote on the stopgap spending bill if members don’t follow his advice. 

“The problem we have with air travel is that our air traffic controllers are overworked and unpaid. And many of them have called in sick,” Johnson said. “That’s a very stressful job and even more stressful, exponentially, when they’re having trouble providing for their families. And so air travel has been grinding to a halt in many places.”

Johnson then told his colleagues in the House, which hasn’t been in session since mid-September, that lawmakers from both political parties “need to begin right now returning to the Hill.”

Trump threatens air traffic controllers

Trump took a markedly different tone over the challenges air traffic controllers have faced during the shutdown in a social media post that he published several hours before he spoke to reporters about the deal to reopen government. 

“All Air Traffic Controllers must get back to work, NOW!!! Anyone who doesn’t will be substantially ‘docked,’” Trump wrote, without explaining what that would mean for workers who had to take time off since the shutdown began Oct. 1. 

Trump added that he would like to find a way to provide $10,000 bonuses to air traffic controllers who didn’t require any time off during the past six weeks.

“For those that did nothing but complain, and took time off, even though everyone knew they would be paid, IN FULL, shortly into the future, I am NOT HAPPY WITH YOU. You didn’t step up to help the U.S.A. against the FAKE DEMOCRAT ATTACK that was only meant to hurt our Country,” Trump wrote. “You will have a negative mark, at least in my mind, against your record. If you want to leave service in the near future, please do not hesitate to do so, with NO payment or severance of any kind!” 

An end in sight

The Senate-passed package will provide stopgap funding for much of the federal government through January 30, giving lawmakers a couple more months to work out agreement on nine of the dozen full-year spending bills.  

The package holds several other provisions, including the full-year appropriations bills for the Agriculture Department, the Legislative Branch, military construction projects and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. 

Seven Democrats and one independent broke ranks Sunday on a procedural vote that advanced the package, drawing condemnation from some House members and outside advocacy groups unhappy that no solution was arrived at to counter skyrocketing health insurance premium increases for people in the Affordable Care Act marketplace.

Republicans hold 53 seats in the Senate, where bipartisanship is required for major bills to move forward under the 60-vote legislative filibuster. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said during a floor speech Monday he was “grateful that the end” of the stalemate was in sight. 

“We’re on the 41st day of this shutdown — nutrition benefits are in jeopardy; air travel is in an extremely precarious situation; our staffs and many, many other government workers have been working for nearly six weeks without pay,” Thune said. “I could spend an hour talking about all of the problems we’ve seen, which have snowballed the longer the shutdown has gone on. But all of us, Democrat and Republican, who voted for last night’s bill are well aware of the facts.”

Schumer bid for deal on health care costs fails

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., was far less celebratory after his bid to get Republicans to negotiate a deal on health care costs by forcing a shutdown failed. 

“The past few weeks have exposed with shocking clarity how warped Republican priorities truly are. While people’s health care costs have gone up, Republicans have come across as a party preoccupied with ballrooms, Argentina bailouts and private jets,” Schumer said. “Republicans’ breach of trust with the American people is deep and perhaps irreversible.” 

“And now that they have failed to do anything to prevent premiums from going up, the anger that Americans feel against Donald Trump and the Republicans is going to get worse,” Schumer added. “Republicans had their chance to fix this and they blew it. Americans will remember Republican intransigence every time they make a sky-high payment on health insurance.” 

Schumer was insistent throughout the shutdown that Democrats would only vote to advance a funding bill after lawmakers brokered a bipartisan deal to extend tax credits that are set to expire at the end of December for people who purchase their health insurance from the Affordable Care Act marketplace. 

That all changed on Sunday when Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Tim Kaine of Virginia, and Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada voted to move the bill toward a final passage vote.

Maine independent Sen. Angus King of Maine, who caucuses with Democrats, also voted to advance the legislation.  

Jeffries still supports Schumer

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said during a press conference Monday afternoon that he still believes Schumer is effective and should keep his role in leadership, despite the outcome. 

“Leader Schumer and Senate Democrats over the last seven weeks have waged a valiant fight on behalf of the American people. And I’m not going to explain what a handful of Senate Democrats have decided to do. That’s their explanation to offer to the American people,” Jeffries said. 

“What we’re going to continue to do as House Democrats, partnered with our allies throughout America, is to wage the fight, to stay in the coliseum, to win victories in the arena on behalf of the American people notwithstanding whatever disappointments may arise,” he said. “That’s the reality of life, that’s certainly the reality of this place. But we’re in this fight for all the right reasons.” 

Speaker Johnson said earlier in the day that the “people’s government cannot be held hostage to further anyone’s political agenda. That was never right. And shutting down the government never produces anything.”

Johnson reiterated that GOP lawmakers are “open to finding solutions to reduce the oppressive costs of health care,” though he didn’t outline any plans to do that in the weeks and months ahead. 

Furloughed federal workers stand in line for hours ahead of a special food distribution by the Capital Area Food Bank and No Limits Outreach Ministries on Barlowe Road in Hyattsville, Maryland, on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — Senators on Friday said they plan to remain in town for the weekend, a sign negotiations may be picking up to approve a stopgap spending measure and end the government shutdown, now at day 38.

A vote on a package of spending bills could come either Saturday or Sunday that would partially fund the government, Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters.

“Our members are going to be advised to be available if there’s a need to vote,” Thune said. “We will see what happens and whether or not, over the course of the next couple of days, the Democrats can find a way to reengage again.”

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer offered a proposal from Democrats to agree to reopen the government if health care tax subsidies are continued for a year. 

As open enrollment begins, people who buy their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace are seeing a drastic increase in premium costs.

“We’d like to offer a simple proposal,” the New York Democrat said. “To reopen the government and extend the (Affordable Care Act) tax credits simultaneously.” 

Republicans have maintained that any discussion on extending the health care tax credits set to expire at the end of the year will only happen after government funding resumes. House Speaker Mike Johnson this week said he would not promise a vote on the GOP-controlled House floor regarding the issue. 

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office in September found that if lawmakers permanently extend the enhanced tax credits for certain people who buy their health insurance through the ACA Marketplace, it would cost the government $350 billion over 10 years and increase the number of those with health insurance by 3.8 million.

But it was unclear how much traction Schumer would get. Several Republicans called the proposal a “non-starter,” such as Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota. 

Rounds also questioned if the stopgap spending bill that Democrats agreed to support is the House-passed version that would extend government funding only to Nov. 21 or another that would run longer. 

“It’s good that they’re recognizing that we have to open up the government,” Rounds said of Democrats. 

Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin called the proposal from Democrats “absurd,” and said there was no way senators could negotiate a deal on health care quickly.

He added that Trump also wants to be part of the negotiations on health care.

“Whatever we do as Republicans, we’ve got to really work close with the president,” Mullin said. “The President wants to be involved in this negotiation.”

Separately, senators failed Friday in a 53-43 vote to move forward on a bill from Wisconsin GOP Sen. Ron Johnson to pay federal workers who Friday missed their second paycheck. Georgia’s Democratic Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock voted with Republicans. Sixty votes were needed.

President Donald Trump on social media said, “The United States Senate should not leave town until they have a Deal to end the Democrat Shutdown. If they can’t reach a Deal, the Republicans should terminate the Filibuster, IMMEDIATELY, and take care of our Great American Workers!”

Flight cutbacks, food aid disruption

The Senate has failed 14 times to move forward on approving a stopgap spending measure to fund the government until Nov. 21. 

As the government shutdown has dragged on for nearly seven weeks, major airports have been hit as they struggle to maintain flight schedules, with air traffic controllers now more than a month without pay.

Meanwhile, federal courts have forced the Trump administration to release billions in emergency funds to provide critical food assistance to 42 million people. On Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it would issue full November benefits for food assistance in compliance with a court order.

As the debate in Congress goes on, Democrats have refused to back the House-passed version of the GOP stopgap measure over their concerns about the expiration of health care subsidies.

Democrats also want to see federal workers laid off by the Trump administration amid the shutdown rehired. Major wins across the country for Democrats in Tuesday elections in the states bolstered their resolve to reject efforts to end the government shutdown that do not include certain policy wins.  

Historically, lawmakers who have forced shutdowns over policy preferences have not been successful. 

In 2013, the GOP tried to repeal or delay the Affordable Care Act, which did not happen, and in the 2018-2019 shutdown, Trump, in his first term, insisted on additional funding for a border wall. But that shutdown — which set a record exceeded only by the ongoing shutdown — concluded 35 days later with the same amount of money included in the original appropriations bill. 

Thune lament

Thune told reporters Friday that he thought progress was being made on striking a deal to resume government funding, but he said after Democrats’ Thursday caucus meeting, their tune changed. 

“Right now, we’ve got to get the Democrats kind of back engaged,” Thune said.

Following Thursday’s meeting, Democrats remained tight-lipped and did not seem any closer to an internal agreement on how to move forward with resolving the government shutdown.

“I thought we were on a track,” Thune, a South Dakota Republican said. “We’d give them everything they wanted or had asked for.”

Senate Republicans have agreed to allow a floor vote on the Affordable Care Act subsidies and have opened the door to rehiring federal workers, but have not gone further.

“At some point … they have to take yes for an answer, and they were trending in that direction,” Thune said. “And then yesterday, everything kind of, the wheels came off, so to speak, but it’s up to them.”

Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut told reporters Thursday that voters this week made a strong showing in rebuking the Trump administration and that Democrats need to continue their fight amid the government shutdown.

“On Tuesday, all of us in the caucus heard that loud and clear,” Murphy said. “We want to stay together and unified. I think everybody understands the importance of what happened on Tuesday, and wants us to move forward in a way that honors that.”

Bill to pay federal workers

Federal workers going without salaries for more than a month now remains a concern, and Johnson tried to pass his bill through unanimous consent that would send them paychecks. Employees are paid after the end of a shutdown, under the law.

Michigan’s Gary Peters objected to Johnson’s bill over concerns that the Trump administration would not use the funds to pay federal workers, and the measure would not prevent the firing of federal workers. 

Peters pointed to how the Trump administration initially appealed a federal court order that compelled the U.S. Department of Agriculture to pay $9 billion in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits. 

Peters offered his own bill to set “guardrails” on the president’s authority to ensure that the funds are used to pay federal workers and not moved around. The Trump administration has moved around billions in multi-year research funds within the Defense Department to ensure that troops are paid. 

“He walks over Congress all the time,” Peters said of the president while on the Senate floor. 

Johnson objected to Peters’ bill. He argued that his bill does not expand presidential powers.

“We were very careful that it wouldn’t do that,” Johnson told reporters of his bill.

The American Federation of Government Employees, a union that represents 800,000 federal workers, urged Democrats Friday to support Johnson’s bill.

AFGE National President Everett Kelley said in a letter to senators Friday that with Thanksgiving in less than three weeks, Congress needs to come to an agreement on funding the government. 

“Every missed paycheck deepens the financial hole in which federal workers and their families find themselves,” Kelley said. “By the time Congress reaches a compromise, the damage will have been done to their bank accounts, their credit ratings, their health, and their dignity.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks as his wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom looks on during an election night gathering at the California Democrats' headquarters on Nov. 4, 2025 in Sacramento. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Democrats’ sweep of the biggest races in Tuesday’s off-year elections, including a California ballot measure to redraw that state’s congressional lines to give the party up to five more seats in the U.S. House, gave the party new confidence heading into the midterm elections next year.

Democrats proclaimed the performances of Govs.-elect Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey, Abigail Spanberger in Virginia and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani showed voters’ rejection of President Donald Trump. 

“The election results were not vague,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters Wednesday. “They were not unclear. They were a lightning bolt: Trump, America doesn’t like what you’re doing. Change course.”

Republicans won control of the White House and both chambers of Congress one year ago, leaving Democrats without a clear leader or agenda at the national level. 

Tuesday’s results helped clarify for the party that a focus on economic issues was a winning message that Democrats could carry into the midterms.

Those messengers included Sherrill and Spanberger on the one end of the party’s ideological spectrum, and the Democratic Socialist Mamdani on the other. All three shared a campaign message centered on addressing the cost of living.

More remaps 

Effective campaigning may not be the only path Democrats are expected to take as they seek to regain power at the federal level. A wing of the party led by California Gov. Gavin Newsom is pushing other Democratic governors to redraw congressional lines to be more favorable to them.

The new California map is likely to be tied up in courts, at least in the short term. California Republicans sued in federal court Wednesday morning to block it. 

Republicans, meanwhile, sought to downplay the importance of elections in largely Democratic areas while attempting to make Mamdani the new face of Democrats nationally.

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday there were “no surprises” in the previous day’s elections. 

“What happened last night was blue states and blue cities voted blue,” the Louisiana Republican said. “We all saw that coming, and no one should read too much into last night’s election results — off-year elections are not indicative of what’s to come.” 

The wins in Tuesday’s elections galvanized congressional Democrats to restart negotiations to end the government shutdown on their terms, with Democratic leaders of the House and Senate sending Trump a three-sentence letter “to demand” a meeting to negotiate an end to the longest government shutdown in history.

Control of Congress

Democrats said Wednesday the results showed they were within striking distance of regaining majorities in both chambers of Congress.

Democrats would have to net four seats in the House and the Senate to win control of a respective chamber.

Schumer said Tuesday’s results showed that was possible in the Senate.

“The election showed that Democrats’ control of the Senate is much closer than the people and the prognosticators realize,” Schumer said. “The more Republicans double down on raising costs and bowing down to Trump, the more their Senate majority is at risk.”

Vice President JD Vance was dismissive of Democratic gains Wednesday, saying on social media it was “idiotic to overreact to a couple elections in blue states” and praising Republican organizing efforts.

But Democratic campaign officials said Wednesday that analysis belied wins lower on the ballot, including flipping 13 Virginia House of Delegates seats, half of which Republicans held for decades, and statewide wins for low-profile offices in the key swing states of Georgia and Pennsylvania.

Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin responded to Vance’s claim during a press call.

“That’s bullsh—,” he said. “We won all over the country in red counties and purple counties and in blue counties. The reality is, is this was a huge rejection of the Trump extremism and an embrace of the hopeful, positive message that Democrats are offering up.”

Martin and other Democrats praised Tuesday’s winners for relentlessly focusing on economic issues, and said Democratic candidates in 2026 would keep that focus.

Redistricting arms race

Newsom, the chief backer of the referendum to temporarily revoke power from the state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission, told other Democratic governors to take similar measures to enhance the party’s chances of winning a U.S. House majority.

“We need Virginia … we need Maryland … we need our friends in New York and Illinois and Colorado — we need to see other states meet this moment head-on as well,” Newsom said in a fundraising email Wednesday.

Martin characterized the passage of the California referendum, known as Proposition 50, as a reaction to Republican states’ moves to redraw their lines. 

“What happened in Prop 50 was the counterpunch to level the playing field,” Martin said. 

He indicated Democratic states would be happy to leave congressional districts as they are, but said the party would not hesitate to respond to GOP gerrymanders.

“Now, they want to keep doing it? Guess what: This is not your grandfather’s Democratic Party,” Martin said. “We will meet you in every single state that you decide to try to steal more seats. We’re going to meet you in other states. We are not going to play with one hand behind our back. We’re not going to roll over. We are going to meet you, fire with fire.” 

Rep. Richard Hudson, a North Carolina Republican who chairs the U.S. House Republican campaign organization, predicted in a statement that efforts to redraw congressional districts would not allow Democrats to win a majority in that chamber. 

“No matter how Democrats redraw the lines to satisfy Gavin Newsom’s power grab, they can’t redraw their record of failure, and that’s why they will fail to take the House majority,” Hudson said. “Even under this new map, Republicans have clear opportunities to flip seats because Californians are fed up with Democrat chaos. We will continue to compete and win because our candidates are stronger, our message is resonating, and Californians are tired of being ignored.”

Trump zeroes in on filibuster 

At a Wednesday breakfast with GOP senators, Trump had another idea for solidifying GOP power, saying the Senate needs to abolish the filibuster in order to end the shutdown and enact GOP policy while the party is still in the majority. 

Senate rules require at least 60 senators to advance a bill past the filibuster. Republicans’ narrow 53-seat majority has created obstacles in moving forward their agenda — including the House-passed stopgap spending bill to keep the government open that’s now failed more than a dozen times. 

“It’s time for Republicans to do what they have to do and that’s terminate the filibuster,” Trump said at the breakfast. “It’s the only way you can do it, and if you don’t terminate the filibuster, you’ll be in bad shape — we won’t pass any legislation.” 

He added: “We will pass legislation at levels you’ve never seen before, and it’ll be impossible to beat us.” 

In a social media post Tuesday night, Trump said pollsters attributed Republicans’ election losses to his name not being on the ballot along with the ongoing shutdown.

Trump wrote in a separate post earlier Tuesday that “the Democrats are far more likely to win the Midterms, and the next Presidential Election, if we don’t do the Termination of the Filibuster (The Nuclear Option!).” 

GOP senators tepid

However, Trump’s push to do away with the filibuster has garnered little enthusiasm from GOP senators, including Majority Leader John Thune. 

The South Dakota Republican reiterated on Wednesday that “there are not the votes there,” telling reporters that “the main thing we need to be focused on right now, in my view, is get the government opened up again.” 

But some GOP senators appear to be on board with the idea, including Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who said he expressed his support for eliminating the filibuster during the breakfast.

“President Trump made a very convincing case,” Johnson told reporters. “We know the minute Democrats get (a) majority in the Senate, they’re going to get rid of the filibuster.” 

“We better beat them to the punch and act while we can pass legislation for the benefit of the American public,” he added.  

Sen. Jim Justice said that though he’s not in favor of getting rid of the filibuster, he wants to support Trump and would like the shutdown to end. 

“I mean, because you got a lot of people that are really hurting, that’s all there is to it, and if it’s the only option to stop this nonsense, then I would support,” the West Virginia Republican said. 

Sen. John Kennedy remained firm in his position, telling reporters that “the role of the senator is not just to advance good ideas, the role of the senator is to kill bad ideas, and when you’re in the minority — we’re not now, but we could be someday — it’s important to have a filibuster.” 

The Louisiana Republican noted that “we killed a lot of (former) President Biden’s goofy ideas through a filibuster, and someday the shoe will be on the other foot, and that’s why I’ve always supported the filibuster.” 

Republicans lash Democrats to Mamdani

Speaker Johnson and fellow House Republican leaders also sought to tie Mamdani to the Democratic Party. 

Johnson said Mamdani “is truly a committed Marxist, and the results of that race tell you everything you need to know about where the Democrats in their party are headed,” adding that “from the backbench to their leadership, Democrats have fallen in line behind the socialist candidates.” 

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana echoed that “when the city of New York elected Zohran Mamdani, he became the new leader of the Democrat(ic) Party.” 

Scalise said that while the Democratic Party “had no problem making the shift to socialism — which they embraced wholeheartedly, led by Hakeem Jeffries and others here — America, mainstream Americans, Blue Dog Democrats across America, have not embraced socialism.” 

House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain of Michigan said “over the past year, Democrats have wandered around with no plan, no vision and no leader, but today, they finally found their leader — the radical communist mayor(-elect) of New York City, a self-proclaimed communist who wants Americans to pay for global health care.” 

She added: “Well, you wanted it. You got it: A communist who wants the government to own grocery stores and a communist who wants the government to tell you what to do with your hard-earned money.” 

Ariana Figueroa contributed to this report 

Volunteers with the Capital Area Food Bank distribute items to furloughed federal workers in partnership with No Limits Outreach Ministries in Hyattsville, Maryland, on Oct. 28, 2025. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)

This report has been updated.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate Tuesday failed for the 14th time to advance a stopgap spending bill to fund the government, as the ongoing shutdown hit 35 days and is now tied with the shutdown of 2018-2019 as the longest ever.

The 54-44 vote was nearly identical to the previous 13 votes, as Republicans and Democrats remained unwilling to change positions. The legislation extending funding to Nov. 21 needed at least 60 votes to advance, per the Senate’s legislative filibuster. 

Even though the upper chamber has been unable to pass a stopgap spending measure for more than a month, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters Tuesday that he believes senators are “making progress.” 

He floated keeping the Senate in session next week. The chamber is scheduled to be in recess for the Veterans Day holiday. 

“We’ll think through that as the week progresses, but I guess my hope would be we’ll make some progress,” he said.

Thune added that any stopgap spending bill will need to be extended past Nov. 21, “because we’re almost up against the November deadline right now.”

Duffy warns of flight ‘chaos’ due to staff shortages

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned during a Tuesday press conference at the Department of Transportation that if the government shutdown continues into next week, it would lead to “chaos” and certain airspace would need to be closed due to a shortage of air traffic controllers who have continued to work amid the shutdown.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said at a separate press conference at the Capitol that he would bring the House back to vote on a stopgap spending measure if the Senate extends the funding date.

“If the Senate passes something, of course we’ll come back,” Johnson said. “We’re running out of (the) clock.”

Johnson said he is “not a fan” of extending the bill to December and would prefer a January deadline. 

He said extending a stopgap funding bill “into January makes sense, but we got to, obviously, build consensus around that.” 

Senators at odds

On Tuesday’s Senate vote, Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, both Democrats, and Maine independent Sen. Angus King voted with Republicans to advance the legislation. Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul voted no.

Senate Democrats have refused to support the House-passed GOP measure over concerns about the expiration of health care tax subsidies. As open enrollment begins, people who buy their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace are seeing a drastic spike in premium costs. 

Republicans have maintained that any negotiations on health care must occur after Democrats agree to fund the government. 

The Trump administration has also tried to pressure Democrats to accept the House stopgap spending measure by instructing the U.S. Department of Agriculture to not tap into its contingency fund to provide critical food assistance to 42 million Americans. 

SNAP fight

Two federal courts have found the Trump administration acted unlawfully in holding back those benefits, and on Monday USDA announced it would partially release Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits. 

However, President Donald Trump Tuesday morning wrote on his social media platform that SNAP benefits would only be released when Democrats vote to reopen the government, a move that would likely violate the two court orders.

“SNAP BENEFITS, which increased by Billions and Billions of Dollars (MANY FOLD!) during Crooked Joe Biden’s disastrous term in office (Due to the fact that they were haphazardly ‘handed’ to anyone for the asking, as opposed to just those in need, which is the purpose of SNAP!), will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before!,” he wrote.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a Tuesday briefing that the president’s social media post did not refer to the court order, but was referring to future SNAP payments.

“The president doesn’t want to tap into this (contingency) fund in the future and that’s what he was referring to,” she said.

‘Republican health care crisis’ 

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York stood firm in his party’s demands over extending health care tax credits in order to back a stopgap spending bill during a Tuesday press conference at the Capitol.

“We want to reopen the government — we want to find a bipartisan path forward toward enacting a spending agreement that actually makes life better for the American people, that lowers costs for the American people, as opposed to the Trump economy where things are getting more expensive by the day,” Jeffries said. 

“And, of course, we have to decisively address the Republican health care crisis that is crushing the American people all across the land.” 

He noted that Republicans’ refusal to extend the enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits would result in “tens of millions of Americans experiencing dramatically increased premiums, co-pays and deductibles.” 

An analysis by KFF shows that those enrollees in the Affordable Care Act marketplace who currently receive a tax credit are likely to see their monthly premium payments more than double by about 114% on average.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the spike in health care premiums will cause some people to choose to forgo health care insurance.

“It’s a five-alarm health care emergency,” Schumer said. 

Johnson’s January CR rationale 

Meanwhile, Johnson said at his press conference that “a lot of people around here have PTSD about Christmas omnibus spending bills,” when speaking out against a December extension of the stopgap spending bill. 

GOP leaders have sought to do away with the practice of bundling at the end of the year the final versions of the dozen annual government funding bills into what’s known as an omnibus package. 

“We don’t want to do that. It gets too close, and we don’t want to have that risk,” Johnson said. “We’re not doing that.” 

However, it’s unclear how long the new stopgap spending bill will extend. Thune, during a Tuesday press conference, said a year-long continuing resolution, or CR, was not on the table. 

“There’s a conversation around what that next deadline would be,” Thune said, adding that there is not an agreement yet.

Canned foods on grocery store shelves. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

WASHINGTON — The stakes of the ongoing government shutdown rose Monday as the U.S. Department of Agriculture doubled down on its position that food benefits for November could not be paid and a union for federal workers implored lawmakers to pass a stopgap measure.

As the government shutdown entered day 27, President Donald Trump’s administration sought to add pressure on U.S. Senate Democrats to approve the House Republicans’ stopgap government funding bill by refusing to use USDA resources to stretch critical food assistance benefits to the most vulnerable Americans. 

USDA confirmed over the weekend it will not follow its own contingency plan — which the department has removed from its website — to tap into its multi-year contingency fund to cover food assistance for more than 42 million people for November. 

The department also pinned a fiery message to its website blaming Democrats for the lapse in benefits and U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson called on Democrats to approve a stopgap funding measure to restore food assistance.

Democrats have voted against the GOP short-term spending bill to draw attention to and force negotiations on tax credits that will expire at the end of the year for people who buy their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace.

“Bottom line, the well has run dry,” according to the banner across USDA’s website. “At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 1. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats.”

The banner falsely indicated that Democrats’ sole goal was to provide health insurance to immigrants in the country without legal authorization and transgender patients.

Reversal on SNAP contingency

But the move represents a reversal from the administration’s own policy, laid out in a Sept. 30 contingency plan on the eve of the shutdown that States Newsroom reported Friday. 

The plan detailed how the agency would use the contingency fund provided by Congress to continue benefits. The fund holds roughly $6 billion, about two-thirds of a month of SNAP benefits, meaning USDA would still have to reshuffle an additional $3 billion to cover the remainder for November.

Hundreds of Democratic lawmakers, and the top Senate Republican appropriator, Susan Collins of Maine, have pressed USDA to use its contingency fund. 

Democrats, such as New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, have also criticized the Trump administration for refusing to use its resources, despite the contradiction in its own Sept. 30 contingency plan and its shuffling of funds for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC.

“We know that Trump has the resources to continue SNAP and other programs like WIC,” Booker said. “Weaponizing food assistance is, simply put, a new and disgusting low.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer echoed that sentiment in a floor speech Monday.

“The administration is making an intentional choice not to fund SNAP this weekend,” the New York Democrat said. “The emergency funding is there. The administration is just choosing not to use it.”

USDA did not respond to a request for comment Monday. 

Millions of vulnerable people, such those who have low incomes or are living with disabilities, rely on SNAP. About 40% of SNAP recipients are children 17 and younger.   

Union calls for stopgap

Another form of pressure on Democrats arrived Monday with the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest union representing federal workers, calling for lawmakers to strike a deal to reopen the government.  

As the shutdown nears a month, most of the roughly 2 million civilian federal workers have already missed paychecks. 

The AFGE is typically more politically aligned with Democrats and had held off on publicly weighing in in favor of a stopgap until Monday when Everett Kelley, the union’s president, called for Congress to end the government shutdown and pass a continuing resolution to resume funding.

“Because when the folks who serve this country are standing in line for food banks after missing a second paycheck because of this shutdown, they aren’t looking for partisan spin,” Kelley said in the statement. “They’re looking for the wages they earned. The fact that they’re being cheated out of it is a national disgrace.” 

Johnson added that he hopes the recent statement from the union representing 800,000 federal workers pushes Senate Democrats to approve the House’s stopgap.

“They understand the reality of this,” he said. 

Johnson defends USDA move

Johnson defended USDA’s decision not to use its contingency fund for SNAP during a morning press conference.

USDA has argued that those funds can only be used for natural disasters or similar emergencies. 

Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, agreed with that reasoning.

“It certainly looks legitimate to me,” he said. “The contingency funds are not legally available to cover the benefits right now. The reason is because it’s a finite source of funds. It was appropriated by Congress, and if they transfer funds from these other sources, it pulls it away immediately from school meals and infant formula. So … it’s a trade off.” 

USDA earlier this month reshuffled funds to several nutrition programs, including WIC,  the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, and the Child and Adult Care Food Program. 

States scrambling

States are demanding answers about why USDA has paused SNAP benefits. On Friday, 23 state attorneys general sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and questioned the legal basis for the agency to pause benefits for SNAP.

In the face of disappearing federal funds, states may choose to spend more on food assistance,  

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said Monday she would “fast-track” $30 million in state emergency food assistance to supplement SNAP benefits.

Johnson said that if Senate Democrats are worried about SNAP benefits not being available for November, they should pass the House’s stopgap government funding bill. 

“The best way for SNAP benefits to be paid on time is for the Democrats to end their shutdown, and that could happen right now, if they would show some spine,” Johnson said. 

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., talks to a reporter in the basement of the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — The Senate Thursday failed to advance a Republican measure and rejected unanimous agreements on two related bills from Democrats that would have paid federal employees and contractors who have continued to work amid the government shutdown, which entered day 23. 

The stalemate constituted the latest example of how dug in to their arguments both parties are as the shutdown that began Oct. 1 drags out, as well as the heightened political tensions in the upper chamber when it comes to striking a deal to resume government funding.  

Most federal employees will miss their first full paycheck on Friday or early next week. More than 42 million Americans, some 40% under the age of 17, are also at risk of delayed food assistance if Congress doesn’t address a funding shortfall expected by Nov. 1 in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. 

Senate Democrats Wednesday sent a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins over concerns that the agency has warned states to hold off on processing SNAP benefits. They contended the agency has the resources to keep payments flowing.

“We were deeply disturbed to hear that the USDA has instructed states to stop processing SNAP benefits for November and were surprised by your recent comments that the program will ‘run out of money in two weeks,’” according to the letter. “In fact, the USDA has several tools available which would enable SNAP benefits to be paid through or close to the end of November.”

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., introduced a bill Wednesday to continue SNAP funding through the shutdown. During Thursday’s briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration would “absolutely support” the legislation.

Deadlock on federal worker pay

In the Senate, a measure from Wisconsin GOP Sen. Ron Johnson on a 54-45 vote did not reach the 60-vote threshold needed to advance in the chamber. Its failure means that federal employees who have continued to work will not be paid until the shutdown ends.

Democratic senators who agreed to the measure included Pennsylvania’s John Fetterman and Georgia’s Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota changed his vote in order to reconsider the measure. 

“I don’t think it makes sense to hold these federal workers hostage,” Warnock told States Newsroom in an interview on his vote Thursday. “If I could have a path to give some of these folks relief while fighting for health care, that’s what I decided to do.”

A separate measure from Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen also failed to move forward after Johnson objected. Van Hollen requested unanimous consent to approve his bill that would have also protected federal workers from mass Reductions in Force, or RIFs, that President Donald Trump has attempted during the shutdown. 

A second Democratic bill, from Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., was narrower, only including pay for federal workers. But when he requested unanimous approval for his measure, it was also blocked by Johnson.

Senators then left Capitol Hill for the weekend. On Wednesday, the Senate took a failed 12th vote to provide the federal government and its services with flat funding through Nov. 21.

Senate Republicans have pressed Senate Democrats to approve the GOP-written stopgap measure. But Democrats have maintained that they will not support the House measure because it does not extend tax credits that will expire at the end of the year for people who buy their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace.

Layoffs cited by Van Hollen

Van Hollen argued his bill would protect workers from the president’s targeting of certain federal agencies and programs.

“We certainly shouldn’t set up a system where the president of the United States gets to decide what agencies to shut down, what they can open, who to pay and who not to pay, who to punish and who not to punish,” Van Hollen said on the Senate floor before asking for unanimous consent to move the bill forward.

Johnson objected to including Van Hollen’s provision to ban federal worker layoffs during a shutdown. President Donald Trump’s efforts to lay off thousands of federal workers during the shutdown have been on hold since last week, after a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order that was later expanded.  

However, Johnson said he was willing to add into his own bill the provision from Van Hollen to pay furloughed workers.

“I’m more than happy to sit down with you. Maybe we should do that later today,” Van Hollen told Johnson during their debate on the floor.

Shortly after, Peters introduced a near-mirror version of Van Hollen’s bill, except that his measure would not prohibit layoffs — essentially what Johnson told Van Hollen he would agree to.

“We all say we agree on this, so let’s just pass this bill now,” the Michigan Democrat said before asking for unanimous consent to advance the legislation.

Johnson also objected to that proposal.

“It only solves a problem temporarily. We’re going to be right back in the same position,” Johnson said in an interview with States Newsroom about why he rejected Peters’ proposal.  

Johnson said he talked with Peters and Van Hollen after the vote and “we’ll be talking beyond this.”

‘Waste of time’ for House to meet

Even if the Senate passed the bill sponsored by Johnson or Van Hollen, it’s unlikely the House, which has been in recess since last month, would return to vote on either measure.

At a Thursday morning press conference, House Speaker Mike Johnson argued that Republicans already passed a stopgap measure to pay federal workers and that Senate Democrats should support that legislation. 

Johnson said bringing back the House would be a “waste of time,” noting that Democrats would not vote on the Republican proposal. 

“If I brought everybody back right now and we voted on a measure to do this, to pay essential workers, it would be spiked in the Senate,” said the Louisiana Republican. “So it would be a waste of our time.”

Duffy warns of flight delays due to shutdown

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy joined Johnson and House Republicans during their press conference. 

He said that flight delays have increased due to staffing shortages.

More than 50,000 TSA agents and more than 13,000 air traffic controllers have continued to work without pay during the government shutdown. 

“They’re angry,” Duffy said of air traffic controllers. “I’ve gone to a number of different towers over the course of the last week to 10 days. They’re frustrated.”

Next Tuesday, air traffic controllers will not receive their full paycheck for their work in October, Duffy said.

He added that the agency is already short-staffed — by up to 3,000 air traffic controllers.

“When we have lower staffing, what happens is, you’ll see delays or cancellations,” Duffy said. 

The FlightAware tracker said there were 2,132 delays within, into or out of the United States of unspecified length reported by Thursday afternoon, compared to 4,175 on Wednesday, 3,846 on Tuesday and 6,792 on Monday.

A shortage of air traffic controllers helped play a role in ending the 2019 government shutdown, which lasted 35 days, after thousands of commercial flights were ground to a halt. 

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., talks with reporters inside the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — The government shutdown became the second longest in U.S. history Wednesday, though the mounting repercussions for dozens of federal programs, including food aid for some of the country’s most vulnerable residents, failed to spur any momentum in Congress. 

The Senate was unable for the 12th time to advance a stopgap spending bill that would have reopened the government and kept funding mostly on autopilot through Nov. 21. 

The 54-46 vote was nearly identical to those that have come before, a predictable outcome since neither Republicans nor Democrats are talking to each other. The legislation needed at least 60 votes to advance under the Senate’s legislative filibuster. 

Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, both Democrats, and Maine independent Sen. Angus King voted with Republicans to advance the legislation. Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul voted no.

The vote came shortly after Oregon Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley held the floor for nearly 23 hours, speaking at length about his concerns and objections to President Donald Trump’s administration. 

The government staying shut down much longer will lead to a funding shortfall for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which is relied on by 42 million low-income Americans, nearly 40% of them children younger than 17. 

Despite that looming deadline, congressional leaders remain in their political silos, just as they have since before the shutdown began 22 days ago. They’ve repeatedly held press conferences and meetings with their own members instead of making the types of compromises needed to keep government functioning on the most basic level. 

Republican leaders are waiting for Democrats to help advance the stopgap spending bill in the Senate and say they won’t negotiate on anything until after that happens. 

Democrats maintain they won’t support the House-passed continuing resolution until there is bipartisan agreement to extend tax credits that are set to expire at the end of the year for people who buy their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace. 

Johnson warns funding process at risk

The stalled short-term spending bill is supposed to give lawmakers more time to work out agreement on the dozen full-year government funding bills, which Congress was supposed to pass by the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year. 

But Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., warned during a morning press conference that lawmakers may scrap that process for a second year in a row if Democrats don’t advance the continuing resolution soon. 

“We’re getting closer to November. It is going to be more and more difficult with each passing hour to get all the appropriations done on time,” Johnson said. “We acknowledge that, but we have to do this on a day-by-day basis.”

House Democratic leadership dismissed the notion of a longer temporary spending bill or continuing resolution, possibly for a full year, during an afternoon press conference. 

Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, of Massachusetts, said her message to Republicans is, “Why are you talking about the length of the (continuing resolution)? Come to the table and negotiate with us. End this health care crisis, help the American people.”

Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries sidestepped specifics when asked about a longer stopgap funding bill.

“At this point, we need to reopen the government. We need to enact a spending bill that actually meets the needs of the American people in terms of their health, their safety and economic well-being, particularly in terms of driving down the high cost of living, while at the same time decisively addressing the Republican health care crisis that grows greatly by the day,” the New York Democrat said.

Lawmakers have been unable to approve all the annual funding bills on time since 1996 and have consistently relied on stopgap spending bills to give themselves more time to work out agreements between the House and Senate. 

The alternative to full-year government funding bills is to use a series of stopgap spending bills, or one that lasts the entire year that keeps spending mostly on autopilot. 

Either option requires bipartisanship to gain the support of at least 60 senators, since Republicans control 53 seats. That means the only solution to the shutdown is for Republican and Democratic leaders to compromise. 

But that seemed like a remote possibility Wednesday. 

Democrats criticize layoffs

House Democrats’ Steering and Policy Committee held a mock hearing where they railed against Republicans and Trump for how they’ve managed unified control of government. 

House Appropriations Committee ranking member Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., rebuked Trump administration officials for trying to lay off federal workers by the thousands and for canceling funding to projects in regions of the country that vote for Democrats. 

“It is a corrupt abuse of power that they have chosen to carry out,” DeLauro said. 

White House budget director Russ Vought and Trump, she said, “have launched a scorched earth campaign to decimate the federal government and the programs and services the American people depend on.”

Rob Shriver, managing director of the civil service strong and good government initiatives at Democracy Forward, who worked as deputy director at the Office of Personnel Management during the Biden administration, said the layoffs could negatively affect federal operations for years. 

“The government has had historic challenges in recruiting young people and recruiting tech talent, and what this administration is doing is turning it into a workforce that doesn’t try to recruit the best and the brightest, but that tries to recruit the most loyal,” Shriver said. 

Lawsuit gains more unions

The Trump administration’s efforts to lay off thousands of workers during the shutdown have been on hold since last week, when a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order that was later expanded.  

The lawsuit was originally brought by the American Federation of Government Employees and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. It expanded last week to include the National Federation of Federal Employees, the National Association of Government Employees and the Service Employees International Union.

The updated restraining order issued by U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Judge Susan Illston applies to any federal department or agency that includes employees represented by those unions, even if the Trump administration doesn’t recognize their contracts. 

Illston on Wednesday granted a request to add the National Treasury Employees Union, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers and American Federation of Teachers to the case. 

Illston wrote that she found “good cause exists to modify the existing TRO without a written response from defendants due to the emergency nature of this case.” 

Those three unions represent hundreds of thousands more federal workers, including those at the departments of Commerce, Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, Interior, Justice and Veterans Affairs. 

Employees at the Environmental Protection Agency, Internal Revenue Service, National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Social Security Administration are also represented by the three new unions seeking to join the case. 

The next stage in the lawsuit comes on Oct. 28, when the judge has set a hearing to determine whether to issue a preliminary injunction in the case. 

‘Patently illegal’

AFGE National President Everett Kelley wrote in a statement released Wednesday that the “administration’s move to fire thousands of patriotic civil servants while the government is shut down is patently illegal, and I’m glad we are able to expand our lawsuit to protect even more federal workers from facing termination.”

“President Trump has made no secret that this is about punishing his political enemies and has nothing to do with the actual work that these employees perform,” Kelley added. “Data provided by the administration under court order illustrates how vast and unlawful these intended firings are and validates our union’s determination to challenge this illegal action.”

Ashley Murray contributed to this report. 

Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., joined by Democrats and members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, outside the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 15, 2025. (Photo by Ariana Figueroa/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — Outside the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, who won her election last month and will become Arizona’s first elected Latina, said the House speaker’s delay in swearing her in was “intentional.”

“This delay is not procedural,” she said, joined by members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has repeatedly argued that he’s holding off on swearing in the Arizona Democrat elected last month to fill the seat of her late father, Raúl Grijalva, who died earlier this year, until Senate Democrats vote to reopen the government. The shutdown now has continued for 15 days.  

“She won her election after the House was out of session,” said Johnson, who has kept the House out while the shutdown extends. “That hasn’t been scheduled because we haven’t had that session yet. As soon as (Sen.) Chuck Schumer opens the government…we’ll have that as soon as we get back to business.” 

Epstein petition

Johnson has previously sworn in three members when the House was not in session — two Republicans and one Democrat. 

But Democrats charge that Johnson is holding off on swearing in Grijalva because she would give Democrats and a handful of Republicans the final vote to compel the Department of Justice to release documents regarding the late sex offender and wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein, who frequently socialized with the president. Republicans control the House by a slim 219-213 majority.

“Speaker Johnson knows that I will be the 218th signature on the discharge petition,” Grijalva said, referring to a bipartisan petition to force a vote on the measure. “He is doing everything in his power to shield this administration from accountability.” 

Democrats earlier this month tried to get recognition during the House pro forma session to swear in Grijalva, but Republicans presiding over the chamber ignored those efforts. 

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has also threatened Johnson with legal action if Grijalva is not sworn in.

The chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Rep. Adriano Espaillat of New York, said Democrats are “looking at all possible options.”

“But we are demanding from Speaker Johnson to seat her immediately so that the folks that she represents, the people that she represents, continue to get the services that they deserve to get,” he said.

Senators from Arizona speak out

Arizona’s Democratic Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego said they have pressed for Johnson to swear in Grijalva and have demanded answers. 

Kelly, who lives in Grijalva’s district, said those constituents don’t have representation in Congress.

“And that is wrong,” he said.

Gallego was blunt about the reason for Grijalva’s delay.

“Speaker Johnson is protecting pedophiles,” he said. “He has one more day to protect all those pedophiles, whether it’s involving Donald Trump or any of his rich, elite friends.”

Last month, through a subpoena, House Democrats revealed a lewd image and inscription they alleged was a birthday note that President Donald Trump provided for Epstein’s 50th-birthday book compiled by the financier’s co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell.

The subpoena stems from records in the government’s 2019 federal sex trafficking case against Epstein, which was brought to light after a year-long investigation by the Miami Herald that tracked down more than 60 women, most of whom were underage at the time, who detailed their sexual abuse.

The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., is pictured on Oct. 8, 2025. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate returned to Capitol Hill on Tuesday following a four-day weekend, but neither Republicans nor Democrats appeared ready to work toward ending the government shutdown following another failed vote to advance a short-term funding bill. 

President Donald Trump and administration officials also didn’t seem inclined toward compromise anytime soon, if ever, previewing more spending cuts and layoffs as soon as this week. 

“We are closing up programs that are Democratic programs that we wanted to close up or that we never wanted to happen and now we’re closing them up and we’re not going to let them come back,” Trump said. “We’re not closing up Republican programs because we think they work.”

Trump said his administration will release a list of projects it’s cancelled or plans to eliminate funding for on Friday — another step that’s unlikely to bring about the type of bipartisanship and goodwill needed to end the shutdown. 

The White House’s Office of Management and Budget posted on social media it will try to alleviate some of the repercussions of the funding lapse and reduce the size of government while waiting for at least five more Senate Democrats to break ranks to advance a stopgap spending bill. 

“OMB is making every preparation to batten down the hatches and ride out the Democrats’ intransigence,” agency staff wrote. “Pay the troops, pay law enforcement, continue the RIFs, and wait.” 

RIFs refers to Reductions in Force, the technical term for layoffs. The administration announced Friday it sent notices to employees at several departments, including Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Treasury telling them they would soon not have jobs.

Labor unions representing hundreds of thousands of federal workers filed a lawsuit to block the layoffs from taking effect. The judge overseeing that case scheduled a Wednesday hearing to listen to arguments before deciding whether to grant a temporary restraining order. 

Back pay in question

The Trump administration has made several moves during the shutdown that are not typically taken during prolonged funding lapses.

Trump and Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought have indicated they may not provide back pay to furloughed federal workers after the shutdown ends, which is required by a 2019 law. And they have sought to cancel funding approved by Congress for projects in sections of the country that vote for Democrats. 

The Pentagon is also reprogramming money to provide pay for active duty military members this week, despite Congress not taking action on that issue.

The Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the size of government during the shutdown are widely seen as an effort to pressure Democrats to vote for the stopgap spending bill, but they haven’t had any measurable effect so far. 

Another failed Senate vote

The Senate deadlocked for an eighth time Tuesday evening on the House-passed funding bill that would last through Nov. 21. The vote was 49-45. The bill needs at least 60 senators to advance under the chamber’s rules. 

Nevada Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and Maine independent Sen. Angus King voted with Republicans to advance their bill. Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, who has been voting to advance the bill, didn’t vote. Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul voted no.

Trump said during his afternoon event he wanted Democrats to sign something to reopen government, though it wasn’t clear what he meant since lawmakers in the Senate vote by giving a thumbs up or down. 

“This was a position that’s being forced upon us by Democrats and all they have to do is just sign a piece of paper saying we’re going to keep it going the way it is,” Trump said. “You know, it’s nothing. It shouldn’t even be an argument. They’ve signed it many times before.”

No strategy

During a morning press conference, House Speaker Mike Johnson said he would not change his approach or negotiate with Democrats on a stopgap measure. 

“I don’t have any strategy,” the Louisiana Republican said. “The strategy is to do the right and obvious thing and keep the government moving for the people.”

Johnson has kept the House out of session since late September but has been holding daily press conferences with members of his leadership team to criticize Democrats and press them to advance the short-term funding bill. 

GOP Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, the chairwoman of the House Rules Committee, said starting Tuesday an additional 400,000 civilian federal workers would receive partial paychecks due to the government shutdown. Those federal employees work at the departments of Education and Interior, as well as the National Science Foundation. 

“This will be the last paycheck that these federal workers receive until Democrats grow a spine and reopen the federal government,” she said. 

Last week, 700,000 civilian federal workers received about 70% of their usual paycheck, due to the shutdown. Those employees work for the Executive Office of the President, Health and Human Services, Department of Veterans Affairs, civilians at the Defense Department, NASA, General Services Administration and the Office of Personnel Management, among others.

Active duty military members were set to miss their first paycheck Wednesday until the Pentagon shifted $8 billion in research funds to pay the troops on time. 

U.S. Capitol Police Labor Committee Chairman Gus Papathanasiou released a statement Tuesday that the thousands of officers who protect members of Congress missed a full paycheck Friday. 

“The longer the shutdown drags on, the harder it becomes for my officers,” Papathanasiou wrote. “Banks and landlords do not give my officers a pass because we are in a shutdown — they still expect to be paid. 

“Unfortunately, Congress and the Administration are not in active negotiations, and everyone is waiting for the other side to blink. That is not how we are going to end this shutdown, and the sooner they start talking, the quicker we can end this thing.”

Maryland, Virginia Dems rally

Seeking to pressure the Trump administration to negotiate, Democratic lawmakers who represent Maryland and Virginia, where many federal workers live, held a rally outside the Office of Management and Budget in the morning.

Virginia Sen. Mark Warner rebuked GOP leaders, including OMB Director Vought, for using federal workers as “political pawns” and “trading chips in some political debate.”

He said that when an agreement is brokered to reopen government, the Trump administration must adhere to it and not illegally withhold or cancel funds approved by Congress, which holds the power of the purse. 

“We’ll get the government reopened, but we have to make sure that when a deal is struck, it is kept,” Warner said. “Russ Vought at the OMB cannot pick and choose which federal programs to fund after Congress and the president have come together.”

Maryland Sen. Angela Alsobrooks sought to encourage Republicans to negotiate with Democrats to extend the enhanced tax credits that are set to expire at the end of the year for people who purchase health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace. 

“The Republicans would prefer to shut down the government than to ensure your family has affordable health care,” Alsobrooks said. “It is more than shameful, it is immoral and it is the kind of immorality that will hurt our country for generations to come.”

Democrats in Congress insisted before the shutdown began and for the 14 days it’s been ongoing that they will not vote to advance the short-term government funding bill without a bipartisan agreement on the expiring subsidies. 

GOP leaders have said they will negotiate on that issue, but only after Democrats advance the stopgap spending bill through the Senate.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries argued during an afternoon press conference that Republicans need Democratic votes in the Senate to advance the stopgap funding bill and should try to negotiate a deal.

“We need them to abandon their failed ‘my way or the highway’ approach,” the New York Democrat said. “If Democratic votes are needed to reopen the government, which is the case, then this has to be a bipartisan discussion to find a bipartisan resolution to reopen the government.”

This report has been clarified to say President Donald Trump referred to “Democrat programs.”

Marines assigned to the U.S. Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon congratulate newly promoted Gunnery Sgt. Nathan Cox, platoon sergeant, during a field event at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, on Sept. 4, 2025. (Photo by Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Brynn Bouchard/Department of Defense)

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration plans to send paychecks to active duty troops this week, despite Congress not passing legislation to allow it during the ongoing shutdown.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has refused to bring the House back into session to pass a stand-alone bill to provide pay for troops, welcomed the action during a Monday press conference, though he didn’t comment on whether the administration holds that legal authority.  

“We are so very grateful that President Trump, again showing strong leadership, has stepped up to ensure that our troops are going to be paid on Oct. 15,” Johnson said. 

Congress approved a bill just before the 2013 government shutdown began, titled the Pay Our Military Act, that appropriated funding to ensure on-time paychecks for active duty and reserve troops during that funding lapse. 

A similar bill wasn’t necessary during the 2018-2019 shutdown since Congress had already approved the annual Defense Appropriations bill, one of the dozen full-year government spending bills that are supposed to become law by the start of the fiscal year on Oct. 1. 

Johnson and other Republicans have faced questions for weeks about whether the House would return to pass a similar bill, but he declined. The Louisiana Republican has said repeatedly that if Democrats wanted to ensure troops get paid during the funding lapse, they would pass the stopgap spending bill that remains stalled in the Senate. 

President Donald Trump announced this weekend on social media that in the absence of congressional action, his administration would provide paychecks for military members.

“That is why I am using my authority, as Commander in Chief, to direct our Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to use all available funds to get our Troops PAID on October 15th,” Trump wrote. “We have identified funds to do this, and Secretary Hegseth will use them to PAY OUR TROOPS.”

A Pentagon spokesperson said Monday the department “has identified approximately $8 billion of unobligated research development testing and evaluation funds (RDTE) from the prior fiscal year that will be used to issue mid-month paychecks to service members in the event the funding lapse continues past Oct. 15. 

“We will provide more information as it becomes available.“

The White House did not immediately respond Monday to States Newsroom’s request for comment.

Removes pressure point

Typically during a government shutdown, federal workers are categorized as exempt, meaning they keep working, or are furloughed. All are supposed to receive back pay under a 2019 law that Trump signed, though he is now looking for ways to reinterpret it.

Active duty military members are considered essential to federal operations and keep working during a shutdown, but a missed paycheck for troops has been viewed in the past as a pressure point on lawmakers to negotiate a deal.

Trump’s actions have removed that incentive for Republicans and Democrats to broker some sort of agreement sooner rather than later. 

Wendell Primus, a visiting fellow of economic studies at Brookings, said the administration’s decision to move “this amount of funds between defense accounts is highly illegal. But in many ways, it is not more illegal than all the illegal impoundments that are happening. It also has the effect of lessening the pressure on Congress to end the shutdown.”

Primus worked for former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., as her senior policy advisor on health and budget issues for nearly two decades. 

Johnson maintained during his press conference that Republican leaders will not negotiate with Democrats on their health care concerns until after the shutdown ends. 

Democratic leaders have said for months that lawmakers must reach an agreement to extend enhanced tax credits for people who buy their health insurance from the Affordable Care Act marketplace. The credits are set to expire at the end of the year.

Democrats have blocked the House-passed stopgap spending bill, which would fund the federal government through Nov. 21, from advancing until there is a bipartisan agreement on the subsidies. 

Johnson said Democrats chose to sunset those tax credits at the end of this year because they were tied to helping people afford health insurance coverage during the coronavirus pandemic.

Since then, he said, the enhanced tax credits have become “a boondoggle” that caused the cost of health insurance to rise faster than he believes it would have otherwise. 

“It’s a subsidy for insurance companies. When you subsidize the health care system and you pay insurance companies more, the prices are increased. That’s been the problem,” Johnson said. “So if indeed the subsidy is going to be continued, it needs real reform.” 

Health care overhaul?

Johnson said lawmakers need October and part of November to determine how best to address the expiring tax credits, though he also appeared interested in overhauling other elements of the Affordable Care Act.

“Can we completely repeal and replace Obamacare? Many of us are skeptical about that now because the roots are so deep. It was really sinister, in my view, the way it was created,” Johnson said. “I believe Obamacare was created to implode upon itself, to collapse upon itself.”

Johnson, who was a freshman lawmaker in 2017 when Republicans tried to repeal and replace the ACA, said he still has post-traumatic stress disorder from the effort falling apart in the Senate amid opposition from the late Arizona Sen. John McCain, a Republican. 

“It was a great frustration of mine and it always has been of President Trump’s, and we know that American health care needs dramatic reform,” he said. “Let’s just state it simply: Obamacare failed the American people.” 

Johnson said any efforts to overhaul the 15-year-old law would take considerable time, but he didn’t preview any of that during his press conference. 

“You can’t just rip it out at the roots and start over,” Johnson said. “It’s a very, very complicated series of measures and steps you have to take to fix it.”

President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Oct. 9, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday he’s prepared to cancel funding approved by Congress that he believes is going toward programs supported by Democrats, though he didn’t share any additional details during a Cabinet meeting. 

“We’ll be cutting some very popular Democratic programs that aren’t popular with Republicans,” he said. “They wanted to do this, so we’ll give them a little taste of their own medicine.” 

Meanwhile, on day nine of the government shutdown, members of the U.S. Senate for the seventh time failed to advance either a Democratic or Republican stopgap spending bill, and House Speaker Mike Johnson said partisan tensions in his chamber are so intense he is reluctant to bring members back until a resolution is found. 

“This gets personal. Emotions are high. People are upset. I’m upset,” Johnson told reporters at a morning press conference.

Layoffs, denial of back pay also threatened

Trump has signaled throughout the shutdown he wants to unilaterally cancel funding approved by Congress, lay off federal workers by the thousands and may try to reinterpret a 2019 law that requires back pay for furloughed federal employees after the funding lapse ends. 

He has yet to give any real details on those plans or say exactly when he’ll try to take those steps, which would likely result in additional lawsuits. 

Trump said during the hour-long public portion of the Cabinet meeting that Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought would be able to share more details, but Vought never spoke and Trump didn’t call on him. 

“The shutdown has been, you know, pretty damaging. I mean, not yet, because it’s early. But it gets a little bit worse as it goes along,” Trump said. “And we’ll be making cuts that will be permanent and we’re only going to cut Democrat programs. I hate to tell you. I guess that makes sense, but we’re only cutting Democratic programs. But we’re going to start that and we have Russell, who can talk to you about it if he wants to.”

The president is generally required to faithfully execute the laws that Congress approves, including the government funding bills. 

The White House budget office has frozen or canceled funding several times this year without going to lawmakers for approval, which is required under a 1970s law. 

That has led to a slew of lawsuits and the Government Accountability Office repeatedly citing the administration for illegally impounding funds. 

No progress on votes

On Capitol Hill, lawmakers remained deadlocked over how to advance a stopgap bill to fund the government for a few weeks. 

The Senate voted 54-45 on the House-passed bill that would fund federal programs through Nov. 21 and 47-50 on Democrats’ counterproposal that would provide spending authority through Oct. 31 and make substantial changes to health care policy. 

The tally for the seventh vote to advance those two proposals wasn’t much different from the previous ones. Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, both Democrats, as well as Maine independent Sen. Angus King voted with Republicans to advance their bill. Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul voted no.

Legislation needs the support of at least 60 senators to advance under that chamber’s legislative filibuster rule. 

The vote came shortly after Speaker Johnson, R-La., made disparaging remarks about Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer during his press conference, with the two increasingly blaming each other for the funding impasse.  

“There is one thing that Chuck Schumer cares about more than anything else and that is his Senate seat,” Johnson said. “The guy has been in Congress for 44 years. He doesn’t know how to live life outside this building and so he will do anything to make sure that he keeps that seat.”

Johnson, asked about the increasing tensions between Republicans and Democrats over the funding lapse and health care policy, said it is likely better to keep lawmakers in that chamber separated until a resolution is reached. 

“I’m a very patient man, but I am very angry right now because this is dangerous stuff,” Johnson said. “And so, is it better for them, probably, to be physically separated right now? Yeah, it probably is, frankly. 

“I wish that weren’t the case. But we do have to turn the volume down. The best way to turn the volume down is to turn the lights back on and get the government open for the people.”

Shutdown pay for members of the military 

Johnson reiterated that he does not intend to bring the House back from an extended recess to vote on a stand-alone bill to provide on-time paychecks to military members during the shutdown. 

Johnson stuck to his position that the best way to ensure pay for U.S. troops is for Democrats to pass the GOP stopgap spending bill, despite Trump breaking with Johnson on that particular issue. 

Trump, asked Wednesday about the upcoming Oct. 15 payday for military members, said “that probably will happen” and that the “military is always going to be taken care of.”

But, Johnson said during his Thursday press conference the only way out is through the Republican stopgap bill that remains stalled in the Senate. 

“We have already voted to pay the troops. We did it three weeks ago. We put that bill on the floor, and the Republicans voted to pay the troops, TSA agents, border patrol, air traffic control and everybody else,” Johnson said. “So coming back here and doing it and having a duplicative vote to do the same thing they already did would accomplish nothing.”

Schumer, D-N.Y., said during a floor speech the shutdown will not end until after Republicans and Democrats find a way to extend tax credits for people who buy their health insurance from the Affordable Care Act Marketplace past the end of the year. 

Schumer also rebuked Johnson for the House schedule, which has only had members in Washington, D.C., for 12 days since the end of July. 

“If you’re someone who works two jobs or weekends or overtime to make ends meet, what on Earth are you supposed to think when House Republicans can’t even be bothered to show up to reopen the government?” Schumer said. 

New England senators initiate talks

Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she has been speaking with New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen about possible solutions to the impasse. 

“I have been in very close contact with Sen. Shaheen, who is very constructive, and is trying to find a path forward,” Collins said.  

“The ACA issue is important to a lot of us, not just to Democrats,” she added. “The tax subsidies were enhanced during COVID. They do need to be reformed, but they do need to be extended as well. They expire at the end of the year. We need to open up government today before more harm is done, before people in the military don’t have their paychecks.”

 Ariana Figueroa and Shauneen Miranda contributed to this report. 

Adelita Grijalva speaks to the media during a primary election-night party at El Casino Ballroom in South Tucson, Arizona, on July 15, 2025. Grijalva, the Pima County supervisor, won a special election for the state's 7th District seat vacated by the death of her father, longtime U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva. (Photo by Rebecca Noble/Getty Images) 

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Democrats failed again Wednesday to force Speaker Mike Johnson to swear in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva. 

Johnson has said he’s holding off on swearing in Grijalva — an Arizona Democrat elected in September to fill the seat of her father, Raúl Grijalva, who died in March — until he brings the House back into session, which he says will happen as soon as Senate Democrats vote to reopen the government.  

But Democrats have accused Johnson of delaying Grijalva’s swearing-in to stall a vote on the Department of Justice’s release of files regarding the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Louisiana Republican has denied that accusation.

Grijalva has vowed to be the 218th and final signature needed on a bipartisan petition to force a vote on the measure.

Rep. Greg Stanton of Arizona led his Democratic colleagues in trying to gain recognition on the House floor to get Grijalva sworn in Wednesday. 

But GOP Rep. Russ Fulcher of Idaho, presiding over the House during its pro forma session, quickly gaveled out and did not recognize the Democrats. 

Several Democratic House leaders joined Stanton on the floor, including Minority Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, the chair and vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus, Pete Aguilar and Ted Lieu of California, and Arizona’s Rep. Yassamin Ansari, the Democratic freshman class president. 

“That’s undemocratic,” Stanton shouted after the group failed to be recognized. 

The attempt followed a similar failed effort by Rep. Jim McGovern to be recognized in the House during its Monday pro forma session.

Johnson blames shutdown

Johnson has received flak from Democrats for having sworn in two of his own party’s members during a pro forma session earlier this year, including Reps. Jimmy Patronis and Randy Fine of Florida. 

“Speaker Johnson needs to stop dragging his feet and follow the same precedent he set in swearing in his Republican colleagues earlier this year,” Grijalva said in a statement.

“If he would simply give me a date and time, I will be there,” she said. 

Wednesday marked the eighth day of the government shutdown, as dueling GOP and Democratic stopgap bills in the Senate failed to advance yet again.

“We will swear in Rep.-Elect Grijalva as soon as the House returns to Session when Chuck Schumer, Mark Kelly and (Ruben) Gallego decide to open up the Government,” a spokesperson for Johnson’s office said Wednesday prior to Democrats’ latest attempt, referencing the respective Senate minority leader from New York and Arizona’s two Democratic senators. 

“It is custom practice in the House to swear in members when the chamber is in session,” the spokesperson said. 

A day prior, Johnson had told reporters “we will swear her in when everybody gets back, it’s a ceremonial duty,” adding: “Look, we’ll schedule it, I guess, as soon as she wants.” 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York speaks to reporters at a press conference at the U.S. Capitol during the third day of a federal government shutdown, on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — An agreement to reopen the federal government was nowhere in sight Friday after U.S. Senate Democrats and Republicans failed Friday, for the fourth time, to move on a deal and House Speaker Mike Johnson announced he won’t bring his members back until the middle of the month.

Two Senate votes to advance funding bills flopped, as expected, as Senate Democrats remained almost unanimous in demanding Republicans extend health care subsidies amid steep insurance premium increases. 

Republicans maintain they will not negotiate until the government reopens.

At the center of the argument are two separate government funding bills. One is a 91-page House-passed Republican bill that would keep the government open until Nov. 21.

The other is a 68-page Democrat counterproposal that aims to provide funding through October while restoring and permanently extending certain federal health funding and subsidies.

Republicans once again failed, 54-44, to gain enough Democratic support to reach the 60 votes needed — though Democratic Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania joined the GOP, as did Maine’s Sen. Angus King, an independent. Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky voted no. 

The Democrats’ plan also fell short in a 46-52 vote.

“It’s always wrong to shut the government down,” Fetterman said outside the Senate chamber after voting yes on both bills. “Why do this s–t?” 

Sens. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, and Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, did not vote on either bill.

The Senate will not return to work until Monday, when two more votes on the same bills are planned.

Johnson said after the votes that the House will stay in recess until Oct. 14, which means the government shutdown could last until at least then, if not longer, if Democrats in the Senate continue their resistance to the House bill.

Nonstop messaging

Republican and Democratic leaders spent another day on Capitol Hill hammering their shutdown messages. 

At a morning press conference in the middle of the Capitol’s grand Statuary Hall, Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune doubled down on their claim that Democrats are blocking government funding over a policy that Republicans say would provide health care to immigrants without legal status. 

“We challenge them to tell us why they’re not trying to give illegal aliens health care again when they put it in their own bill,” Johnson said, pointing to a poster of highlighted language from the Democrats’ proposal.

Democrats’ plan includes language reversing the GOP’s roughly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts that President Donald Trump signed into law as part of a tax and spending cuts package on July 4. 

Johnson hailed a nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office finding in August that the new law would result in about 1.4 million immigrants losing health coverage. 

“That’s exactly what we promised, and that’s what’s gonna be achieved,” the Louisiana Republican said.

The populations slated to lose the coverage comprise lawfully present immigrants, including refugees and asylees, according to analysis by the nonprofit health policy research organization KFF. 

Longstanding federal policy prohibits immigrants without legal status in the U.S. from receiving government-funded health care. 

Health care premium hikes

At their own set of afternoon press conferences, Democratic leaders slammed what they described as a “Republican health care crisis.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries pointed to a poster showing health care premium increases for 2026 plans in Georgia, Idaho and Virginia.

“The crisis is having real impact on working-class Americans right now,” the New York Democrat said.

Jeffries questioned why Republicans extended numerous tax cuts in their July budget reconciliation law, otherwise known as the “one big beautiful bill,” but could not “be bothered” to extend the premium enhanced tax credits for people who buy health insurance on the Affordable Care Act marketplace.

“Republicans spent all year focused on their one big, ugly bill so they could permanently extend massive tax breaks for the wealthy,” Jeffries said.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also came armed with a set of posters to his snap briefing after the funding bill failed yet again. 

One showed a PolitiFact graphic arrow pointing to “FALSE” under the question of whether Democrats were threatening a government shutdown over health care for immigrants without legal status.

“They thought they could bludgeon us and threaten us and scare us. It ain’t working, because my caucus and Democrats are adamant that we must protect the health care of the American people,” Schumer said.

Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii said of the news of the House members not returning next week: “There is not a clearer illustration of their lack of seriousness in terms of reopening the government and solving the health care crisis.”  

‘It shifts the authority to the executive’

Johnson dismissed the Democrats’ fight over health care as “a political talking point.”

When asked about the Trump administration’s threats to permanently lay off thousands of federal workers and cancel funding for projects in blue states, Johnson said “when Congress decides to turn off the lights, shut the government down, it shifts the authority to the executive.”

“The president takes no pleasure in this, but if Chuck Schumer is gonna give Donald Trump the opportunity to determine what the priorities are, he’s gonna exercise that opportunity, and that’s where we are,” Johnson said.

When pressed by a reporter about the memes the White House has posted online in recent days, Johnson responded, “what they’re trying to have fun with, trying to make light of, is the absurdity of the Democrats’ position.” 

On Tuesday the White House posted an AI deepfake video that depicted Jeffries in a sombrero and mustache as mariachi music played while Schumer talks in a fake voice about duping people who do not speak English. 

White House budget director Russ Vought, who is depicted as the Grim Reaper in a video posted by President Donald Trump during the shutdown in October 2025,  speaks with reporters inside the U.S. Capitol building on July 15, 2025. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — Trump administration officials on Friday defended the decision to cancel federal projects in regions of the country that have voted for Democrats, saying the move isn’t political but an effort to reduce the size and scope of government during the shutdown.

Republican leaders in Congress also backed the White House’s decision to punish Democratic voters by unilaterally canceling funding that lawmakers approved on a bipartisan basis. Democrats, however, said it’s an unacceptable escalation that further erodes Congress’ constitutional authority over spending.

“The president and (White House budget director) Russ Vought were not given any additional authority under a shutdown, and they shouldn’t pretend they have it and they shouldn’t act like it and they certainly should not be threatening people,” Senate Appropriations Committee ranking member Patty Murray, D-Wash., said on a call with reporters.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., gave a bit of a mixed message during a morning press conference, saying that while decisions about which projects to cancel are “tough,” President Donald Trump and other officials “are having fun with” the shutdown on social media.

“Are they taking great pleasure in that? No,” Johnson said, referring to the actual governing. “Is he trolling the Democrats? Yes, because that’s what President Trump does and people are having fun with this.”

Later in the day, Johnson opted to further delay bringing the House back into session, canceling a second week of floor votes, which means the earliest that chamber will return to Capitol Hill is Oct. 14. 

Shutdown ‘is not a joke’

Trump has posted frequently on social media during the shutdown, including a video that depicted House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries wearing a sombrero and a video that appeared to be created by artificial intelligence depicting Vought as the Grim Reaper.

Murray said on the call with reporters that Republicans posting the videos show they are treating the shutdown “as a joke.” 

“This is not a joke. This is real,” Murray said. “They need to stop the taunting. They need to stop the childish behavior. They need to stop hurting people and they need to come and work with us to solve a serious problem in front of our country.”

Jeffries, asked about the social media videos during a press conference, said it shows Republicans are on “defense” over their policies on health care and other issues. 

“Donald Trump has behaved in a deeply unserious and deeply unhinged manner and it’s evidence of the fact that Republicans have a weak argument, so they’ve resorted to deepfake videos and to lying about the nature of the policy decisions,” Jeffries said.

Projects axed in Chicago, New York, blue states

Johnson said he spoke earlier this week with Vought — one of the authors of Project 2025 who said previously he wanted “bureaucrats to be traumatically affected” — and that Vought “takes no pleasure in this.”

“Russ wants to see a smaller, more efficient, more lean, effective federal government, as we do. But he doesn’t want people to lose jobs. He doesn’t want to do that,” Johnson said. “But that’s his responsibility. So he’s very carefully, methodically, very deliberately looking through that to see which decisions can be made in the best interest of the American people. That’s his obligation and that’s his real desire.”

Typically during a government shutdown, federal employees are categorized as exempt, meaning they keep working without pay, or are placed on furlough. Both categories receive back pay once Congress votes to approve a stopgap spending bill.

But Vought has indicated he wants to use the shutdown as an excuse to lay off federal workers en masse, a step not taken during past funding lapses. He’s also taken to social media several times to announce canceled or halted projects in areas of the country that don’t regularly vote for Republicans.

Vought wrote in a post on Wednesday, shortly after the shutdown began, that $18 billion in Transportation Department funding for the Hudson Tunnel Project and the Second Ave Subway in New York City was put “on hold.” Both are in Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Jeffries’ home state.

Vought then said the Energy Department would cancel $8 billion in climate funding that was slated to go to projects in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.

The Washington State Standard reported some of the funding would have gone toward the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub and Source New Mexico posted an article detailing a few impacted projects, including funds to the “New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology for the third phase of a project … to develop a storage hub at a commercial scale within (the) San Juan basin.”

Additionally, Vought on Friday froze $2.1 billion in Transportation Department funding for the “Red Line Extension and the Red and Purple Modernization Project” in Chicago, writing it was “put on hold to ensure funding is not flowing via race-based contracting.”

Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin represents Illinois, and the state’s governor, JB Pritzker, has been in a public back-and-forth with Trump over immigration enforcement, which the administration has heightened in Chicago. Pritzker has repeatedly rebuffed Trump’s requests to bring in the National Guard.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said during the press conference with Speaker Johnson that it makes sense the Trump administration would implement the shutdown through a political lens.

“I think they’re going to make decisions that are consistent with their priorities,” Thune said. “And yes, they’re going to have a different political view of the world than the Democrats might have.”

Hatch Act questions

The actions of Trump administration officials have raised questions about whether they could be in violation of the Hatch Act, a 1939 law that “limits certain political activities of federal employees.” 

The Office of Special Counsel writes on its website the law is meant to “ensure that federal programs are administered in a nonpartisan fashion, to protect federal employees from political coercion in the workplace, and to ensure that federal employees are advanced based on merit and not based on political affiliation.”

Any federal employee found to have violated the law can face removal from service or a fine of up to $1,000, among other possible repercussions. 

Public Citizen has filed numerous complaints against the Trump administration, alleging that banners and messages posted on government websites about the shutdown violate the Hatch Act. 

“Even for an administration that flouts ethics guidelines regularly, these messages are a particularly egregious and clear-cut sign that Trump and his cabinet see themselves as above the law,” Craig Holman, a government ethics expert with Public Citizen, wrote in a statement. 

As with many of the Trump administration’s actions, any new precedent set by the Republican administration could be used by a future Democratic president in a way that would very likely be harmful to Republican voters and regions of the country that consistently support GOP policies.

Layoffs still threatened

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during an afternoon briefing that administration officials are trying to determine where to make additional spending cuts and layoffs during the shutdown. 

“The Office of Management and Budget is in constant communication and contact right now with our Cabinet secretaries and agencies across the board to identify, unfortunately, where layoffs have to be made and where cuts have to happen,” Leavitt said. “But again, the Democrats have an opportunity to prevent this if they vote to reopen the government.”

Leavitt declined to say whether the administration would back away from plans to lay off federal workers by the thousands or cancel funding for projects in Democratic areas if Republicans and Democrats in Congress strike a deal to reopen government. 

Leavitt said the “blueprint” for shrinking the size and scope of the federal government is whatever the president and administration officials come up with, after being asked by a Fox News reporter about Trump writing in a social media post earlier this week that Vought was “of PROJECT 2025 Fame,” after the president repeatedly distanced himself from the document on the campaign trail.