US Government Shuts Down As Congress Fails To Pass Funding

🚨BREAKING: US Government Officially Shuts Down – Congress Fails To Advance Funding Bill As Midnight Deadline Passes

EXCLUSIVE: Most Federal Operations Grind To Halt As Political Warfare Over Healthcare Subsidies Brings Washington To Its Knees

WASHINGTON, October 1, 2025 — The United States federal government officially shut down at 12:01 AM EDT on Wednesday after Congress failed to advance funding legislation before the fiscal year deadline, marking the first shutdown since 2019 and plunging the nation into uncertainty. The shutdown represents a dramatic failure of governance as Republicans and Democrats remain locked in an intractable standoff over healthcare spending, with neither side showing any willingness to compromise.

⚡ THE MIDNIGHT COLLAPSE

As the clock struck midnight on September 30, the federal government’s funding authority expired after the Senate failed to pass competing partisan funding bills from both parties. The shutdown officially began at 12:01 AM on October 1, the start of the new fiscal year, with most federal operations immediately grinding to a halt.

This is the twenty-first funding gap and eleventh government shutdown in modern American history, and the third to occur during a Trump presidency. It’s also the first shutdown since the record-breaking 35-day closure that lasted from December 2018 to January 2019 during Trump’s first term.

The numbers are staggering:

• Approximately 900,000 federal employees furloughed
• Another 700,000 workers forced to continue working without pay
• Hundreds of federal agencies affected
• No clear timeline for resolution

💥 THE SENATE VOTES THAT SEALED THE SHUTDOWN

On September 30, just hours before the shutdown began, the Senate held critical votes on two competing funding proposals – both failed:

The Republican Plan: Proposed a seven-week extension of current funding levels with additional money for security across legislative, executive and judicial branches. The plan passed the House on September 19 but failed in the Senate.

Despite receiving a majority of votes, the Republican plan couldn’t overcome the 60-vote filibuster threshold required in the Senate. All Republicans except Senator Rand Paul voted for it, along with three Democrats: John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, and independent Angus King of Maine who caucuses with Democrats.

The Democratic Plan: Proposed increased health spending by $1 trillion with extensions of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies. The plan failed in the Senate on strict party lines, with only one Democrat – John Fetterman – crossing over to vote with Republicans.

After both votes failed, the Office of Management and Budget immediately directed federal agencies to execute their shutdown contingency plans.

🎯 THE HEALTHCARE BATTLE TEARING CONGRESS APART

The core issue preventing a deal? Enhanced Affordable Care Act premium subsidies that have become the political lightning rod splitting Washington.

Democrats’ Demands: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer made clear his party will not support any funding bill unless it contains an extension of enhanced ACA premium subsidies. Democrats argue these subsidies are critical to keeping healthcare costs affordable for millions of Americans.

Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have repeatedly stated they need these provisions included to deliver Democratic votes necessary to pass legislation in the Senate, where Republicans need at least seven Democratic senators to overcome procedural hurdles.

Republicans’ Position: GOP leaders want a “clean” continuing resolution – a straightforward seven-week funding extension without additional policy provisions. They’ve dismissed Democratic healthcare demands as something to “possibly discuss later” and accused Democrats of holding the government hostage over partisan priorities.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune accused Democrats of “hostage-taking” and “hijacking” the appropriations process. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Schumer and Jeffries “refuse to acknowledge the simple facts.”

🔥 TRUMP’S ROLE IN THE COLLAPSE

President Donald Trump’s actions in the days before the shutdown raised serious questions about whether he actually wanted to prevent the funding lapse.

The Failed White House Meeting: On Monday, September 29 – just one day before the deadline – Trump held a meeting with congressional leaders including Schumer, Jeffries, Johnson, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune. The meeting was Jeffries’s first with Trump and Trump’s first invitation to Democrats to the White House.

The session ended in complete failure with no progress toward a deal. Vice President JD Vance emerged predicting: “I think we’re headed to a shutdown.”

Trump Cancels Earlier Talks: Before the Monday meeting, Trump had abruptly canceled a previously scheduled meeting with Democratic leaders, calling their demands “unserious.”

The Controversial AI Video: Hours after the failed Monday meeting, Trump posted an AI-generated deepfake video to Truth Social mocking Schumer and Jeffries. The video featured fake audio of Schumer saying Democrats want to “give all these illegal aliens free health care” while Jeffries appeared with a mustache and sombrero as Mexican hat dance music played.

The video sparked immediate outrage and accusations of racism, with critics arguing it showed Trump wasn’t taking negotiations seriously.

⚔️ WHAT AGENCIES AND OPERATIONS ARE AFFECTED

This is classified as a “full shutdown” because lawmakers failed to pass any of the 12 appropriations bills that make up the federal discretionary spending budget.

Essential Services Continuing:

• Medicare and Medicaid programs (though staffing shortages may cause delays)
• Social Security benefit payments
• Transportation Security Administration operations
• Air traffic control
• Active duty military operations
• Veterans healthcare services
• Amtrak rail operations
• National Weather Service forecasts
• FEMA emergency operations

Operations Suspended or Limited:

• National Institutes of Health (research contracts frozen, no new patients except medical emergencies)
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (reduced surveillance and public health monitoring)
• FDA (no new drug applications or medical device submissions processed)
• WIC nutrition program (facing suspension)
• National Parks (remaining open but with minimal staffing and reduced services)
• Federal courts (operating through October 17 using fee balances, then uncertain)
• Bureau of Labor Statistics (monthly jobs report delayed)
• Census Bureau economic data releases
• Federal student loan services (IDR backlog processing halted)

Completely Halted:

• Freedom of Information Act request processing
• New federal contracts and grants
• Non-essential federal hiring
• Routine facility maintenance and upgrades

💔 THE UNPRECEDENTED LAYOFF THREAT

What makes this shutdown fundamentally different from previous funding lapses is the Trump administration’s threat to permanently fire federal workers rather than simply furlough them temporarily.

Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought told House Republicans on a private conference call Wednesday that reductions-in-force (RIF) – permanent layoffs – would begin within “one to two days.”

This represents a dramatic departure from standard shutdown procedures, where furloughed employees are typically reinstated and receive back pay once government operations resume.

Vice President JD Vance reinforced the threat during a White House briefing: “Let’s be honest, if this thing drags on, we are going to have to lay people off. We don’t like that.”

Trump posted on Truth Social: “Republicans must use this opportunity of Democrat forced closure to clear out dead wood, waste, and fraud. Billions of Dollars can be saved.”

🌍 ECONOMIC AND PRACTICAL IMPACTS

The shutdown’s economic effects are already being felt:

Data Blackout: The September nonfarm payrolls report, scheduled for release Friday, will not be published due to the Bureau of Labor Statistics shutdown. Critical inflation data expected in mid-October could also be delayed.

Federal Reserve Implications: The Fed is expected to announce an interest rate decision at its upcoming October meeting, but will be making that decision without key economic data that’s normally available.

Military Pay Crisis: The Defense Department informed active duty and reserve members in late September they will not be paid after September 30 until Congress approves funding – though they must continue reporting for duty.

Airport Concerns: Aviation industry groups warned that furloughing many FAA employees will create backlogs in critical services “long after funding resumes.”

Student Loan Chaos: More than one million borrowers are already stuck in a backlog to enroll in income-driven repayment plans. Federal Student Aid staff “will not be able to perform regular operations, including working on the IDR backlog” during the shutdown.

National Parks Tourism: An estimated 8 million recreation visits and $414 million were lost during the 16-day shutdown in 2013, according to National Park Service data cited by the National Parks Conservation Association.

🤔 STATES STEP UP – BUT NOT EVERYWHERE

Several states have announced they will provide funding to keep national parks and other federal facilities open:

Colorado: Governor Jared Polis said the state will use limited funds to keep parks “fully operational if necessary” during peak fall tourism season.

Utah: Planning to keep its five national parks open with reduced services.

South Dakota: Committed to keeping Mount Rushmore National Memorial and other sites “as open as possible.”

New York – NOT Helping: In a departure from past practice, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced the state will NOT pay to keep the Statue of Liberty open this time. During the 2018 shutdown, New York provided funding after the monument initially closed.

“We’re not going to let Donald Trump and these Republicans extinguish the values that our Statue of Liberty symbolizes,” Hochul said.

🚀 NO END IN SIGHT – What Happens Next

The outlook for ending the shutdown is grim:

No Talks Scheduled: President Trump has not scheduled any new meetings with congressional leaders. No behind-the-scenes negotiations are taking place.

Senate Timeline: The Senate won’t hold its next votes until Friday afternoon, in observance of Yom Kippur on Thursday. This guarantees the government will remain shut down for at least three full days.

Historical Precedents: Wall Street analysts point to previous shutdowns for clues about what might force politicians to act:

The 2018-2019 shutdown (35 days) ended partly due to:

• Increasing delays at airports
• Temporary shutdown of LaGuardia Airport operations
• Federal workers missing multiple paychecks

Citi analyst Daniel Tobon noted the last shutdown was resolved partly due to “frustration over increasing delays at airports.”

Raymond James analyst Ed Mills specifically pointed to LaGuardia’s operational shutdown as a crisis that forced politicians’ hands.

⚡ THE BLAME GAME INTENSIFIES

Both parties are aggressively pointing fingers:

Republicans Blame Democrats:

• White House webpage features “Democrats Have Shutdown the Government” with a real-time clock
• Trump posted: Democrats forced the closure
• GOP leaders say Democrats are engaging in “hostage-taking”

Democrats Blame Republicans:

• “Donald Trump just shut down the government” – California Governor Gavin Newsom
• “Republicans are in charge of the White House, House, and Senate. This is their shutdown” – Former VP Kamala Harris
• “President Trump’s behavior has become more erratic and unhinged” – Schumer and Jeffries joint statement

💥 THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT

The U.S. Constitution vests Congress with the authority to appropriate funds drawn from the Treasury in Article One. Since 1977, the federal budget process has involved a fiscal year running October 1 to September 30, with twelve individual spending bills that must be passed.

Political polarization has increasingly affected the appropriations process, forcing lawmakers to rely on continuing resolutions to temporarily fund the government rather than passing full-year budgets.

The failure to pass these funding bills leads to government shutdowns, where federal agencies continue only work categorized as “essential” while other employees and contractors are furloughed without immediate pay.

The authority to determine which work continues is vested in the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, though the President has broad authority over the process.

This shutdown marks a troubling continuation of dysfunction that has plagued Washington for decades, with no clear solution emerging as both parties dig in for what could be a protracted battle.

DEVELOPING STORY — Updates expected as the situation evolves…