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3h ago

Shutdown Reaches Day 9 as ACA Subsidy Standoff Hardens and GOP Divisions Grow

Early polling points to Democratic leverage over a splintered GOP.

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer takes a question during a "pen and pad" meeting with reporters at the US Capitol on October 8, 2025. The government remains shut down after Congress failed to reach a funding deal last week.
Members of the US Army participate in the 250th birthday parade on June 14, 2025 in Washington, DC. The U.S. Army is marking its 250th birthday with a military parade including roughly 6,600 troops, 150 vehicles, and over 50 aircraft. The parade, which coincides with President Donald Trump's 79th birthday, is designed to tell the history of the Army.
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Overview

  • Senators blocked dueling funding plans for a sixth time, with Democrats largely unified against the GOP’s clean stopgap and insisting on extending Affordable Care Act subsidies.
  • President Trump questioned automatic back pay for furloughed workers and floated that some “won’t qualify,” as Republicans such as Sen. John Kennedy pushed back and mass layoffs have not occurred.
  • More than 1 million service members could miss Oct. 15 paychecks, and Speaker Mike Johnson signaled he would not bring the House back for a standalone military pay bill after briefly suggesting he might.
  • The IRS furloughed 34,000 employees, contributing to roughly 750,000 furloughs government-wide, while a Reuters/Ipsos poll found broad blame assigned to both parties and to Trump.
  • Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries have kept their caucuses aligned, while some Republicans, including frontline members and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, have shown openness to addressing the ACA subsidies.