Overview
- The Economist/YouGov finds 31% approval and 58% disapproval for the president’s handling of the shutdown, a net -27 that marks a new low.
- Overall standing also worsened this week, with Newsweek’s tracker at net -13 and Nate Silver’s aggregate near net -11.
- The shutdown that began October 1 has surpassed prior records, with coverage noting it has stretched past the 36-day mark into the high 30s.
- USDA moved to tap a $4.65 billion contingency fund and initially planned about half, later 65%, of typical SNAP benefits for roughly 42 million people.
- Two federal judges ordered SNAP payments resumed and the White House says it is complying, even as the president posted that benefits would flow once Democrats reopen the government; polling shows both parties in Congress underwater on handling the crisis.