Government shutdown hits Day 22 as Senate Democrats block reopening a 12th time

The government shutdown has entered its 22nd day with no end in sight after the GOP’s 12th attempt to reopen the government was stalled and then blocked by Senate Democrats on Wednesday evening.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-Y) and his caucus have brought Republicans’ bid to reopen the government to its knees for the 12th time. The latest failed vote came on the heels of Schumer demanding another meeting with President Donald Trump and a filibuster by Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., that lasted nearly 24 hours and pushed the vote late Wednesday.

During his marathon speech, which began at 6:23 p.m. Tuesday, Merkley spoke about authoritarianism, which he called the Trump Administration’s overreaching on immigration, separation of powers and more.

“Republicans shut down the government to continue their strategy of cutting Americans’ health care,” Merkley said, referring to the health-centered debate that has delayed consideration of government funding. he said.

He completed his remarks at 17.00 on Wednesday.

Little has changed in the upper room since the shutdown began. While Schumer and the Senate Democratic caucus are demanding a real, tough deal to extend expiring Obamacare subsidies, Senate Republicans remain adamant that there is no path forward on this issue until the government reopens.

SCHUMER WANTS TO MEET WITH TRUMP ANYTIME, ANYWHERE AS DEMOCRATS DEADCONTINUE CONTINUES

But what’s old is new in a repeating cycle, and Schumer wants to meet with Trump again.

Schumer, speaking on behalf of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (DY), requested another meeting with Trump before the vote in order to get around Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R.S.D.) and congressional Republicans to broker a deal.

There have been informal talks (casual conversations rather than actual negotiation) between Republicans and Democrats, but nothing has occurred that would move lawmakers any closer to resolving the ongoing impasse.

“Hakeem and I reached out to the President today and urged him to sit down and negotiate with us to solve the health crisis, address this problem, and end the Trump shutdown,” Schumer said. “He should sit down; things are getting worse every day for the American people. He should sit down with us, negotiate seriously before he leaves.”

The last time senior Democrats in Congress met with Trump was just a day before the critical vote to avert the shutdown. Neither side walked away with a compromise or agreement to keep the lights on.

SENATE DEMS STRENGTHENED BY WEEKEND MEETINGS BLOCKED GOP PLAN TO END SHUTDOWN FOR THE 11TH TIME

President Donald Trump, Senate Majority Leader R.S.D. He listens as John Thune speaks during lunch with Republican senators on the Rose Garden porch of the White House in Washington, Oct. 21, 2025. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

Fast forward to the fourth week of the shutdown, and Trump has signaled that he will talk to Schumer and Jeffries only after the government reopens.

“The government must be open,” he said. “Do you know how long it takes them to do that? Just say, ‘OK, the government is open.’ That’s it. There’s nothing; they’re not negotiating.”

“What they’re doing is saying they lost the negotiation,” Trump continued. “And when we have the great ‘big beauty’ [bill]’ over, they lost the negotiation. Now they say, ‘We want to get back some of what we lost.’ “But the problem is, what they’ve lost is very bad for our country.”

Congressional Democrats’ initial demands, included in the House-passed continuing resolution (CR) counteroffer, called for, among other things, a permanent extension of enhanced Obamacare premium tax credits and guardrails on Trump’s ability to roll back congressionally approved funding.

SCHUMER’S CLOSURE PROGRAM ANNOUNCED: DISTANCE ON LENGTH DEMS DOUBLES OBAMACARE LOANS

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., left, and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., photographed at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

A White House official doubled down on Trump’s stance, telling Fox News Digital: “We’re not going to have policy conversations while Democrats hold the American people hostage. Reopen the government.”

While Democrats wanted more than just an extension of the Covid-19-era subsidy, they made their main argument about tax credits.

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Thune has offered Senate Democrats a vote on subsidies, but they have so far refused to take that step and are instead holding out for a guaranteed outcome in the shutdown fight. But that’s unlikely to happen, as Republicans and the White House have been equally opposed to Schumer’s demands so far.

“According to me [Trump] “We want Democrats to take ‘yes’ for an answer,” Thune said. “We’ve offered them a lot of the things they want – a normal appropriations process, the opportunity to get votes on some of the issues they want to see voted on regarding expiring Obamacare enhanced subsidies. But that can’t happen until we open the government.”