Shutdown stretches into 28th day as Senate again fails to pass spending legislation | US federal government shutdown 2025

The US government shutdown reached its 28th day on Tuesday with no resolution in sight; The Senate was deadlocked on spending legislation, even as a major food aid program was on the verge of running out of funds.

For the 13th time, Senate Democrats blocked the Republican-backed bill that would have funded federal agencies through Nov. 21. The minority party has refused to provide the necessary support for the bill to clear the 60-vote threshold to advance in the Senate because it does not include funding for health programs or restrictions on Donald Trump’s congressionally approved cuts in funding.

The quagmire continued even after the head of the largest federal workers union called on Congress to pass the Republican proposal, citing the economic pain experienced by government workers.

“Both political parties have voiced their views, and there is still no clear end on the horizon. Today, I’m voicing mine: It’s time to pass a clean continuance resolution and end this shutdown today. No half-measures and no gamesmanship. Put every federal employee back to work with full payback — today,” Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), said in a statement released Monday.

But Chuck Schumer, the Senate’s top Democrat, has signaled no change in his party’s strategy of seeking concessions from Republicans, arguing that premiums for Affordable Care Act health plans will soon rise. Even though tax credits that reduce their costs expire at the end of the year, many people enrolled in plans received notices of steep premium increases ahead of the start of the open enrollment period on Saturday.

“Millions of families across America will be panicking this weekend. How are they going to pay this bill? How are they going to live without health care? This is tragic, and of course it didn’t have to happen, but Republicans are doing nothing,” Schumer told reporters at the U.S. Capitol.

Republican Senate majority leader John Thune used AFGE’s statement to argue that Democrats were irresponsible in refusing to support the bill; House Republicans approved it last month on a near party-line vote before Speaker Mike Johnson ordered the chamber into a recess that has not yet ended.

“I don’t get the chance to say this very often, but I agree with AFGE,” Thune said.

He reiterated that he would negotiate with Democrats over expiring tax credits, but not with “a gun to our heads.”

“I sincerely hope that enough Democrats will come to their senses and cast the five votes needed to move this bill to the president’s desk, for the benefit of every American affected by this shutdown, and especially those who will be truly negatively impacted coming this weekend,” Thune said, adding that he plans to seek more votes on the spending legislation.

Both sides blamed the looming end of funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap), also known as food stamps. The Agriculture Department has said it doesn’t have the money to continue providing aid after Nov. 1, but more than two dozen states on Tuesday sued the Trump administration, arguing that funds are available to continue Snap benefits.

North Dakota senator Kevin Cramer said Democrats should either support fellow Republican senator Josh Hawley’s proposal to allow Snap to continue during the shutdown, “or they can reopen the damn government, which is what they should do and should have done for the past month.”

South Dakota senator Mike Rounds said tax credits should be addressed with bipartisan action, but criticized the affordability of Affordable Care Act health plans. “The Obamacare product itself is fatally flawed. It continues to create a downward death spiral with rising costs. There are people out there, real people, who will be harmed because Obamacare doesn’t work,” he said.

Massachusetts Democrat Elizabeth Warren signaled in an interview that there was no change to the party’s shutdown strategy, which began at the beginning of the month after Congress failed to pass legislation to maintain funding that expired at the end of September.

“Millions of people across this country are getting their health insurance premium notices and telling Democrats and Republicans to cut those costs,” Warren said. “Democrats are fighting to lower healthcare costs for millions of Americans. Donald Trump would rather shut down the government than help these families.”

Susan Collins, a Republican senator from Maine who has repeatedly broken with Trump as he faces what is expected to be a tough re-election contest next year, said she did not believe the agriculture department would lack funding to keep Snap going, but noted that the money on hand was not enough to cover the program’s expenses.

But Collins expressed concern Tuesday about the preparedness of air traffic controllers, who did not receive their full paychecks because of the shutdown. He noted that on the last two flights into Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, his plane had to change direction at the last second.

“I can’t help but think this reflects the pressure on air traffic controllers,” he said.