Federal workers receive partial pay as government shutdown nears third week | US federal government shutdown 2025

On Friday, federal workers received their last paycheck until the end of the U.S. government shutdown; this looks set to drag on into the third week with no resolution in sight.

Because federal funding ends at the beginning of October, public employees who were scheduled to be paid for the period from September 21 to October 4 will not receive pay for the days they worked this month.

The two parties in Congress are deadlocked on legislation to reopen the government; Democrats have insisted that any funding deal must include a series of concessions focused on health care. After eight unsuccessful votes on party spending bills, the Senate’s Republican leaders adjourned the chamber until next Tuesday, meaning the dispute is unlikely to be resolved before then.

At a news conference Friday morning, Republican House speaker Mike Johnson criticized Senate Democrats for not supporting a bill that passed his chamber on a near party-line vote to extend funding for seven weeks. U.S. military personnel will miss a paycheck if the government doesn’t reopen by next Wednesday.

“This is the last paycheck that 700,000 federal workers will see until Washington Democrats do their job and reopen the government,” Johnson said at a news conference Friday morning.

“Starting next week, American soldiers, many of whom live paycheck to paycheck, will miss their entire paycheck. If Democrats don’t end this shutdown by Monday, then October 15th will pass by.”

Johnson kept the House out of session throughout the shutdown in an effort to pressure Senate Democrats to support the Republicans’ funding proposal. Earlier this week, a group of House Democrats sent a letter to the speaker asking him to allow a vote on legislation that would keep U.S. troops paid during the shutdown, but Johnson refused to bring lawmakers back to Washington.

The Senate has become a logjam in the funding fight because any legislation needs at least 60 votes to advance in the chamber. In exchange for their support, Democratic senators are demanding that premium tax credits for Affordable Care Act health plans be extended beyond the year-end expiration date.

They are also seeking assurances against Donald Trump’s reversal of congressionally approved funding, refunds to public media outlets and reversal of cuts to the Medicaid health program for poor and disabled Americans.

Max Stier, president and CEO of the nonprofit Public Service Partnership, decried the impact of congestion on government workers.

“It is wrong to cause federal employees to suffer because our leaders in Congress and the White House have failed to keep our government open and functioning,” Stier said.

“Our air traffic controllers, VA nurses, smog protection officers, and food inspectors are not responsible for the government shutdown and should not bear the financial burden created by the failures of elected officials. The irony is that members of Congress and senior White House leaders continue to be paid.”