Compiled from news service reports
The government is poised to shut down on Wednesday if Congress can’t pass a stopgap funding bill before midnight.
Democrats want an extension of Obamacare subsidies and a rollback of the Medicaid reforms in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in exchange for keeping the government open.
Republicans have said the Democrats’ demands are nonstarters.
Earlier this month, the House passed a GOP stopgap funding bill, known as a continuing resolution, to fund the government through Nov. 21. This failed to advance in the Senate after being blocked by Democrats.
Congressional leaders met with President Donald Trump on Monday, but no breakthrough was reached. There are no plans for another meeting before the shutdown deadline.
The Senate will vote again on the House-passed stopgap funding bill and an alternative Democratic proposal on Tuesday. Both are expected to fail, again on largely party-line votes.
The following are summaries of news reports of the events leading up to the expected deciding votes on Tuesday evening:
Trump: Government Shutdown Likely
Trump said Tuesday a government shutdown was “probably likely.”
“Nothing is inevitable,” Trump said from the Oval Office after an announcement on lowering drug prices. “But I would say it’s probably likely because [the Democrats] want to give health care to illegal immigrants, which will destroy health care for everybody else in this country.”
While Republicans don’t want a shutdown, Trump said, the administration could do things that are “irreversible” during a shutdown, like “cutting vast numbers” of federal workers.
GOP Senator Skeptical Democrats Want Shutdown
Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., expressed skepticism about whether Democrats want a government shutdown.
“I don’t know whether Democrat leadership can actually accept not going to a shutdown,” Rounds told reporters on Capitol Hill. “They may very well feel they have to do a shutdown just to show their far left base that they’ll do it, at which time, it makes it more difficult to come out of a shutdown, but hopefully cooler heads prevail.”
US Airlines Warn Government Shutdown May Delay Flights
A group representing major U.S. airlines warned that the looming government shutdown could cause flights to be delayed because air traffic controllers and other federal employees may be forced to work without pay.
Airlines for America said that furloughing tens of thousands of workers would mean longer wait times and other issues at airports. The group represents major carriers including United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines, JetBlue, UPS Airlines, FedEx Express, Atlas Air and Hawaiian Airlines.
“When federal employees who manage air traffic, inspect aircraft and secure our nation’s aviation system are furloughed or working without pay, the entire industry and millions of Americans feel the strain,” the group said in a Tuesday statement. “We appreciate the men and women who will be going to work, despite not receiving a paycheck, to ensure the safety and security of the traveling and shipping public.”
The group also stated that the midnight “shutdown threat is coming at a critical moment” after Congress approved a $12.5 billion plan to modernize the Federal Aviation Administration’s air traffic control systems.
“We urge elected leaders to act with urgency and in good faith to identify a solution that will keep the government open beyond Oct. 1. Travelers, the shipping public and the dedicated federal employees who protect and maintain our nation’s aviation system deserve continuity,” Airlines for America said.
GOP Senator Agrees with Fetterman on Avoiding Shutdown
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said he agrees with Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., on avoiding a government shutdown.
“I thought Fetterman was very articulate and very right. It’s very disruptive,” Tillis said. “We’re forgetting how disruptive and how wasteful government shutdowns are, and hopefully there’s six more just like Fetterman, and we can get a short-term CR and move on.”
Fetterman had said that the key to Democrats getting their way on government funding is to “win elections.”
Rep. Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., disagreed with Fetterman (D-Pa.): “No,” Tonko said. “D-Day is here. Tomorrow, the notices start going out about the [Obamacare] premiums.”
A key issue for Democrats is the extension of the Affordable Care Act’s expanded premium tax credits, which function as subsidies that help some 20 million middle-income people pay for health insurance. Other demands appear aimed at dismantling health care spending changes made by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed in July.
Congressional Republican leadership said that this is not the time to have that discussion.
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said a rollback of the Big Beautiful Bill was a nonstarter. “If my Democratic colleagues shut [the government] down, I assume they have a plan for getting it back open. But if their plan requires us to rescind the One Big Beautiful Bill, that’ll happen when donkeys fly backwards.”
“This is purely a political shutdown,” Kennedy added.
Top Democrat on House Appropriations Committee Criticizes OMB Director
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., the ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, criticized Office of Management and Budget Director Ross Vought on the issue of appropriations.
In an interview, DeLauro accused Vought of “systematically trying to dismantle public health, education, the ability of the federal government to deliver services to the American people.”
She also said that it is Congress, not Vought, who has the power of the purse.
Jeffries Holds Press Conference on Capitol Steps
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., was joined on the Capitol steps by around 100 Democrats.
Jeffries reiterated Democratic demands to extend health care subsidies and undo Medicaid reforms in the GOP megabill passed over the summer.
“Cancel the cuts. Lower the cost. Save health care. That’s what this fight is all about,” he said.
He was also joined by a group of citizens affected by Medicaid and Obamacare subsidies who shared their stories of what government services have meant to them.
Trump Says He May Fire a Lot of Federal Workers If Government Shuts Down
Trump said that he may lay off “a lot” of federal workers if the government shuts down. Trump made the remarks before boarding Marine One on his way to Quantico, Virginia, to address a meeting of U.S. military generals and flag officers.
During government shutdowns, many federal employees are placed on furlough, and those who are required to report to work to perform essential services do so without pay. When funding is restored, they are given back pay.
Last week, the White House directed agencies to prepare plans for layoffs if the government were to shut down.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., criticized Trump for threatening to lay off federal workers if the government shuts down.
“Trump admitted himself that he is using Americans as political pawns,” he told reporters on Capitol Hill. “If the government shuts down, it’s because Republicans would rather shut it down rather than help people afford health care.”
No Clear Path Forward for Stopgap Bill
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said on Monday: “Republicans are united to keep the government open. All it takes is Senate Democrats agreeing to the clean, nonpartisan CR already sitting at the Senate desk.”
In support of that idea, Vice President JD Vance noted on Monday that the Senate has already passed three appropriations bills with bipartisan support.
During a meeting at the White House on Monday between Trump and congressional leaders, no progress was made on a short-term funding bill that would have funded the government until December. In response, Trump released an artificial intelligence-generated video that made fun of Jeffries, who was shown in the clip wearing a sombrero, and Schumer.
Responding to Trump’s video, Schumer said in a post on X, “If you think your shutdown is a joke, it just proves what we all know: You can’t negotiate. You can only throw tantrums.”
During remarks to the media after the meeting, Schumer likewise said that it’s Republicans who need to decide on averting the shutdown.
“It’s up to the Republicans whether they want a shutdown or not,” Schumer said.
“I think we’re headed to a shutdown because the Democrats won’t do the right thing,” Vance told reporters outside the White House after Monday’s meeting.
In that same press event, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters: “If the Democrats make the decisions to shut the government down, the consequences are on them.”
Jackson Richman, Nathan Worcester, Jack Phillips, Arjun Singh, Lawrence Wilson, Stacy Robinson and Reuters contributed to this report.
