Overview

• Two days into the funding lapse, Senate Democrats show little sign of relenting as they cast the standoff as a push to protect Affordable Care Act subsidies that expire at year’s end.
• Republican leaders and the White House say they will not negotiate policy until the government reopens, with Speaker Mike Johnson saying he has nothing to negotiate and Sen. Mike Rounds insisting talks wait until after a funding bill passes.
• With votes paused for Yom Kippur and no movement in talks, Sen. John Thune is weighing sending senators home for the weekend as the shutdown approaches the length of the 2018 three‑day episode.
• A small group of Democrats backed a stopgap to limit immediate harm, with Sens. John Fetterman, Catherine Cortez Masto, and Angus King supporting a temporary funding bill while others argue the long‑term health‑care stakes justify holding out.
• The messaging battle has intensified, with a White House spokeswoman blaming Democrats for seeking benefits for undocumented immigrants, Democrats arguing voters will remember their push to cut health costs, and one early poll showing Republicans taking more blame.