Overview

• The federal government entered a partial shutdown on Oct. 1 after Congress failed to pass a short-term funding bill, and negotiations remain stalled.
• Speaker Mike Johnson and Vice President J.D. Vance assert Democrats conditioned any deal on restoring healthcare for undocumented immigrants, a claim Democrats and multiple networks dispute.
• MSNBC and ABC hosts fact-checked those assertions on air and, in two instances, cut audio or pulled feeds during remarks by Vance and Johnson, citing the need to avoid spreading misleading information.
• Democrats are pressing to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act premium subsidies and to reverse Medicaid provisions in July’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” which Republicans defend as tightening eligibility.
• Republicans note Senate Democrats rejected a GOP “clean” continuing resolution, while coverage highlighted policy nuance such as Emergency Medicaid reimbursements and state-funded programs that do not change federal bans.