Government Shutdown 2025 Update: Day 34 with no deal as standoff nears historic record

Government Shutdown 2025 Update: Day 34 with no deal

The government shutdown is on track to become the longest in U.S. history this week, as the stalemate between Democrats and Republicans stretches into a new month.

WASHINGTON - The government shutdown is on track to become the longest in U.S. history this week, as the stalemate between Democrats and Republicans stretches into a new month.

Shutdown nears record

Millions could lose food assistance as health care subsidies near expiration, and meaningful negotiations remain scarce between the parties.

President Donald Trump said in a Sunday interview that he "won’t be extorted" by Democrats pushing to negotiate an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire at year’s end for millions of Americans.

Echoing congressional Republicans, the president told CBS’s "60 Minutes" he won’t negotiate until the government is reopened.

Trump’s comments suggest the shutdown could stretch on, with federal workers, including air traffic controllers, facing missed paychecks and uncertainty growing for 42 million Americans who rely on food aid.

Senate Democrats have voted 13 times against reopening the government, saying they won’t move forward without negotiations from Trump and Republican leaders.

The president said Democrats "have lost their way" and predicted they’ll eventually give in to Republicans.

"I think they have to," Trump added. "And if they don’t vote, it’s their problem."

He also urged Republican leaders to change Senate rules and eliminate the filibuster.

Talks remain stalled

Senate Republicans have repeatedly rejected the idea since Trump’s first term, saying the 60-vote threshold is essential to the chamber’s integrity and has helped them block Democratic policies while in the minority.

"Republicans have to get tougher," Trump told CBS in an interview. "If we end the filibuster, we can do exactly what we want."

With both parties at a standstill, the shutdown has stretched into its 33rd day and is nearing a sixth week which is on pace to become the longest in U.S. history.

The previous record was set in 2019, when Trump demanded funding for a U.S.-Mexico border wall.

Trump’s push to scrap the filibuster could be a distraction for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and fellow Republicans, who have chosen to stay the course as the shutdown’s fallout grows more severe.

Republicans are hoping that a few Democrats cross the aisle, as moderates continue weeks of talks with GOP lawmakers over potential compromises.

One solution could be possibly trading health care votes for a deal to reopen the government. They need five Democratic votes to pass their bill.

"We need five with a backbone to say they care more about Americans’ lives than political leverage," Thune said Thursday on the Senate floor as lawmakers left Washington for the weekend.

In the "60 Minutes" interview, Trump called the Affordable Care Act "terrible" and said if Democrats vote to reopen the government, "we will work on fixing the bad health care that we have right now."

Democrats disagree, saying ACA marketplaces are working as intended, with record numbers of Americans signing up for coverage.

But they want to extend the COVID-era subsidies to prevent premium hikes for millions of Americans on Jan. 1.

"We want to sit down with Thune, with (House Speaker Mike) Johnson, with Trump, and negotiate a way to address this horrible health care crisis," said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer last week.

As Democrats push for negotiations, Trump has shown little interest in engaging with them.

Airport delays worsen

The 35-day shutdown from December 2018 to January 2019 ended when Trump backed off his demand for border wall funding. That came as airport delays worsened nationwide and hundreds of thousands of federal workers missed multiple paychecks.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Sunday on ABC’s "This Week" that delays have already hit several airports and warned, "it’s only going to get worse."

Many of the workers are "confronted with a decision," he added. "Do I put food on my kids' table, do I put gas in the car, do I pay my rent or do I go to work and not get paid?"

As flight delays increased nationwide, New York City’s emergency management office said Sunday that Newark Airport was under a ground delay due to "staffing shortages in the control tower," with arrivals being limited.

SNAP crisis

Also on the line are the 42 million Americans who receive SNAP benefits.

The Department of Agriculture had planned to withhold $8 billion in food program payments starting Saturday until two federal judges ordered the administration to release the funds.

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., accused Trump and Republicans of attempting to "weaponize hunger."

He said the administration has found ways to fund other priorities during the shutdown but is dragging its feet on releasing SNAP benefits despite court orders to do so.

"But somehow they can’t find money to make sure that Americans don’t go hungry," Jeffries said on CNN’s "State of the Union."

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday on CNN that the administration is still waiting for guidance from the courts.

"The best way for SNAP benefits to get paid is for Democrats — for five Democrats to cross the aisle and reopen the government," Bessent said.

The Source: Information in this article comes from the Associated Press.

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