Overview
- The Senate rejected the House’s short-term funding bill for the 14th time on Tuesday, ensuring the shutdown will surpass the 35-day record after midnight.
- Rank-and-file negotiators reported progress, with Sen. John Thune and Appropriations Chair Susan Collins expressing guarded optimism about an emerging path to reopen the government.
- Discussions include drafting a longer continuing resolution that pushes funding into December or January and a House centrist framework to extend ACA premium tax credits for two years with new guardrails.
- Democrats continue to condition their votes on addressing expiring ACA subsidies, while Republicans and the White House insist health talks begin only after the government reopens and have rejected calls to scrap the filibuster.
- The closure is straining services nationwide as SNAP operates on partial contingency funds after court orders and President Trump threatens to halt benefits, with airport operations, military pay and hundreds of thousands of federal workers under mounting pressure.