Tensions Escalate Amidst Dem Offer
Today, the government shutdown stretched to its 38th day, the longest in U.S. history, as tensions escalated in the Senate and the consequences felt by the American people continue to mount.
This afternoon, Senate Democrats offered a new pathway to end the shutdown led by a clean, one-year extension of the enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits that would prevent the doubling of health insurance premiums for more than 24 million Americans. At press time, the proposal was still being debated on the floor, while reports indicated Republicans would huddle later this afternoon.
Meanwhile, the effects of the shutdown continue, from reduced and delayed SNAP benefits to flight cancellations. And now, with the colder months upon us, millions of Americans are likely to face a gap in energy assistance provided by the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The program, which helps 6 million households across the country pay their heating and cooling bills, has been delayed in releasing funds as a result of the shutdown. However, even after the shutdown ends, it will likely take weeks to release the funds, likely made more problematic since the White House fired LIHEAP administration staff earlier this year.
Republicans refuse to include healthcare commitments in funding bills
Earlier this week, Congress had seemingly shown progress toward a deal, with Senate moderates coalescing around a minibus appropriations package, which would include FY26 appropriations bills for agencies like the FDA and Departments of Agriculture and Veterans Affairs, to the continuing resolution (CR).
However, the Republican refusal to make any commitments toward resolving the issue of expiring healthcare subsidies has stymied talks. Democrats, buoyed by strong election performances Tuesday and polls that show Americans blame Trump the most for the shutdown, continue to hold out for a resolution to the healthcare issue.
For his part, President Trump has continued to ignore calls from Democratic leadership for a bipartisan meeting to discuss a path forward. Instead, the President has pushed the unlikely solution of berating Senate Republicans into ending the Senate’s filibuster and vote to fund the government with only Republican votes. This move, which would be a consequential break from Congressional precedent, has little support from GOP lawmakers.
White House flip flops – and flips again – on SNAP funding after court order
The Administration continues to go round-and-round on SNAP benefits. Earlier today, the Department of Agriculture released a statement that it would provide full SNAP benefits for the month of November. However, this statement was released before Attorney General Pam Bondi issued tweets doubling down on the Administration’s position to block benefits as required by two federal judges earlier this week. It’s truly not clear if the Administration fully knows what it wants to do, but at the moment, they have an active appeal against a court order mandating they provide food aid in accordance with federal law, while providing only partial benefits to the more than 40 million SNAP recipients, with nearly 5 million of them potentially receiving no benefits at all.
White House leaves door open to illegally withhold back pay from furloughed workers
Though federal law requires the government to provide back pay to workers furloughed during a government shutdown, recent notices sent to agency employees no longer states that workers will get back pay. The change in message comes after Trump signaled in October that workers might not automatically receive back pay once the government reopens, a move that has received bipartisan criticism.
Meanwhile, despite a federal judge blocking agencies from carrying out reductions-in-force during the shutdown, the Trump administration revealed that most layoffs have been put on hold, but not all. According to court documents submitted this week, the agencies claim nearly 10% of the 4,000 RIFs can proceed despite the court’s injunction.
Amidst this, agencies are implementing patchwork layoff policies. While the Interior Department paused its plans to eliminate more than 2,000 positions, the Department of Education appears to be moving forward with the termination of over 200 employees.
