Government Shutdown Deepens Amidst Furlough Threats and Targeted Funding Pressure
The federal government shutdown continues, threatening 750,000 employee furloughs and pausing $33 billion in infrastructure funds, with the administration targeting blue states to pressure Democrats.
Senate leaves for the weekend with no shutdown deal in sight
Washington Examiner
Government shutdown likely to bleed into second week
Washington Examiner
No calamity
Reason
A Government Shutdown, Weaponized
The Atlantic
Shutdown Becomes a Big Apple Battle
Daily Signal
Donald Trump’s Shutdown Power Play
The New Yorker
Government Shutdown and Free Speech Showdown
The Intercept
Parties hope to make shutdown blame stick
World News Group
Trump dials up shutdown pressure on Democrats
Washington Examiner
This U.S. Government Shutdown Is Different—Especially for Science
Scientific American
The government shuts down, and Trump goes online — very online
Associated Press
Trump to decide federal staffer cuts amid shutdown
World News Group
Trump vows to shutter ‘Democrat agencies’ amid government shutdown
New York Daily News
The dog that caught the car
The Blaze
How long can Democrats keep the government shut down?
Washington Examiner
GOP presses Democrats over national security in shutdown fight
Washington Examiner
Government Shutdowns and Pandemic-Level Spending: The New Normal? –
The American Spectator
Democrats voted for a shutdown. Now they have to find a way out
Associated Press
Trump leans on Vance's Senate background to win shutdown battle
Washington Examiner
What polling shows about the politics of government shutdowns
Associated Press
Federal agencies continue some operations as funding lapses
World News Group
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Overview
- The federal government shutdown has entered its third day and is expected to extend into a second week, with no immediate negotiation plans or weekend votes scheduled by Senate leaders.
- The deadlock centers on Obamacare subsidies and healthcare benefits, with Democrats demanding ACA and Medicaid funding, while Republicans seek a clean funding measure.
- Approximately 750,000 federal employees face potential furloughs, risking $400 million in daily wages, exacerbating economic strain due to the government's funding lapse.
- The administration is now targeting funding in blue cities and states, using this strategy to pressure congressional Democrats amidst the ongoing government shutdown.
- President Trump views the shutdown as an opportunity for significant federal agency cuts, considering firings, while polls show Americans increasingly blame him and Republicans for the impasse.
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Analysis
Center-leaning sources collectively frame the government shutdown as an entrenched political standoff, emphasizing both parties' intransigence. They highlight the "fading hopes" for a quick resolution and the "high-risk strategy" employed by Democrats. Some sources also draw attention to President Trump's confrontational actions, such as his plans for layoffs and a controversial executive order.
"Hopes for a quick end to the government shutdown were fading Friday as Republicans and Democrats dug in for a prolonged fight and President Donald Trump readied plans to unleash layoffs and cuts across the federal government."
ABC News"The U.S. government shutdown entered its third day Friday with no resolution in sight."
NBC News"But with negotiations appearing stalled, it’s looking like the shutdown could extend through the weekend."
ABC News"One of the great dirty little secrets of every government shutdown—which, again, is a misnomer, because vast swaths of the federal bureaucracy continue to operate—is that everything remains mostly fine, and many functions that the federal government currently performs could be phased out or replaced by the private sector."
Reason"The federal government's partial shutdown entered its third day on Friday, Oct. 3, after shuttering much of its operations just after midnight on Wednesday, Oct. 1, following Congress's failure to reach a funding deal, with only essential services continuing."
USA TODAY"The federal government shutdown rolled on to its third day on Friday as President Donald Trump appeared to be moving closer to cutting programs and firing workers across the federal government."
USA TODAY"The shutdown, no matter how long it lasts, could have far-reaching effects on the economy."
Chicago Tribune"Hopes for a quick end to the government shutdown were fading Friday as Republicans and Democrats dug in for a prolonged fight and President Donald Trump readied plans to unleash layoffs and cuts across the federal government."
Associated Press"As politicians traded barbs, US government services started to grind to a halt and thousands of federal workers stayed home."
BBC News"Nothing is too petty to be corrupted in Trumpworld."
ARS Technica"The Trump administration is using the shutdown to take aim at the Democratic Party."
NPR"Thune called it 'stupid' and said a negotiation with his Democratic counterpart, Sen. Chuck Schumer, is not 'going to accomplish a lot.'"
NBC News"Trump was expected to meet with Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought on Thursday to discuss the cuts and made it clear in a social media post and in recent interviews that he is targeting "Democratic Agencies.""
ABC News"The shutdown is only in its second day and, as Republicans and Democrats sharpen their messages, it’s not clear how long the impasse will last."
NBC News"The automatic response is the latest example of the Trump administration using the formal levers of government in new, controversial ways to pressure Democrats to end the shutdown."
USA TODAY"It’s unclear how long the stalemate will last, and lawmakers do not appear to be any closer to coming to an agreement that could reopen the government."
NBC News"At the core of the GOP’s shutdown argument is painting a grim picture of any non-citizen receiving any government benefit."
Semafor"Trump seems determined to post his way through it."
Associated Press"The partial government shutdown rolled on Thursday with both sides dug in and President Donald Trump using the funding lapse as an excuse to cut billions of dollars in “dead wood,” as he put it, throughout the executive branch."
Roll Call"Understanding why this is the case is crucial to ensuring that it remains so."
The Dispatch"Republicans appear increasingly comfortable with their position, reflecting Trump’s firm control on the party’s agenda."
ABC News"Federal workers, already drained and demoralized by months of layoffs and funding cuts, are scrambling to figure out how to cope with the possibility of weeks without pay and a new round of layoffs."
NBC News"The shutdown, which began Wednesday, shows no sign of resolution."
Associated Press"The damage could be worse this go-around."
ABC News"The National WIC Association warned that a shutdown that lasts longer than one or two weeks could cause "devastating disruptions" for people who rely on the program."
NBC News"The move, sparked by expiring health benefits, ignited what could be a long bitter standoff, and ultimately furloughed hundreds of thousands of federal workers, although some workers will continue to receive pay."
USA TODAY"Federal workers have described their state of uncertainty, with many now on unpaid leave due to a government shutdown and one remarking that their salary was being "held hostage.""
BBC News"The federal government shutdown entered Day Two on Thursday as President Donald Trump, his Republican allies in Congress and Democrats showed no signs of budging amid their impasse over funding the government."
USA TODAY"President Donald Trump has seized on the government shutdown as an opportunity to reshape the federal workforce and punish detractors, by threatening mass firings of workers and suggesting “irreversible” cuts to programs important to Democrats."
ABC News"The White House is also calling the proposed layoffs one of the "unfortunate consequences to a government shutdown," as press secretary Karoline Leavitt put it on Wednesday."
NPR"President Donald Trump has seized on the government shutdown as an opportunity to reshape the federal workforce and punish detractors, by threatening mass firings of workers and suggesting “irreversible” cuts to programs important to Democrats."
ABC News"For now, we're stuck with a government that borrows like it's fighting World War III while insisting that it's merely conducting business as usual."
Reason"Both parties have used the threat of shutdowns to force a policy outcome, and both sides have decried the other for doing the same."
Associated Press"The aggressive approach coming from the Trump administration is what certain lawmakers and budget observers feared if Congress, which has the responsibility to pass legislation to fund government, failed to do its work and relinquished control to the White House."
Associated Press"Now they have to figure out how to get out of it."
ABC News"Now they have to figure out how to get out of it."
ABC News"Amid the tumult, bars and restaurants offered "shutdown happy hour" specials and filled up with federal workers musing about the furloughs, when they think they’ll return to work, and what they’ll do in the meantime."
USA TODAY"Mass layoffs of US federal workers will begin within two days, the White House says, as lawmakers trade blame over the first government shutdown in almost seven years."
BBC News"Mass layoffs of federal workers will begin in "a day or two" if the government shutdown continues."
USA TODAY"The divisions in the caucus pose a dilemma for Schumer, who was blasted by base voters and activists in March when he voted with Republicans to keep the government open."
Associated Press"After the federal government shut down at midnight, the two parties aren’t any closer to resolving their impasse."
NBC News"The federal government shut down partially because of an impasse between President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats over healthcare funding."
USA TODAY"What this administration is doing is unprecedented, illegal and flat-out wrong."
NBC News"The fact that the shutdown occurred at all is an increasingly rare example of Congress managing to fulfill its constitutional role of checking the executive."
Reason"Such is the uncertain reality of the first government shutdown in seven years, and the partisan atmosphere in Washington after lawmakers plunged the country into its latest chapter of political dysfunction."
USA TODAY"The GOP law prohibited those “lawfully present” immigrants from accessing federal health care programs."
NBC News"The shutdown could also delay some specialty pays and stipends."
Military Times"Congress had few fans with the American public, even before the shutdown."
Associated Press"The shutdown means hundreds of thousands of workers are furloughed, but some lawmakers and the president will continue to receive their salaries."
USA TODAY"Democrats say they are pushing for the inclusion of key health care provisions in the next congressional spending package."
Associated Press"At the moment, of course, overheated rhetoric and acrimony is pretty much all there is."
BBC News"The Trump administration will start firing federal employees in the next “one to two” days, according to Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought."
NBC News"The Senate on Wednesday -- the first day of a government shutdown -- once again failed to pass bills aimed at funding the government as congressional leaders continue to trade blame for the shutdown."
ABC News"The expiration of health insurance subsidies would more than double what subsidized enrollees currently pay for premiums next year, according to an analysis by KFF."
ABC News"The shutdown means several hundred thousand federal employees and active-duty service members will work without pay."
NPR"The ongoing government shutdown has led to a breakdown of trust between Democrats and Republicans, complicating negotiations over funding and healthcare."
NPR"the United States is in a shutdown after members of Congress failed to reach an agreement to keep the federal government running."
USA TODAY"Trump told reporters he is "very confident" there will soon be peace in Gaza."
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FAQ
The shutdown is primarily caused by a deadlock over Obamacare subsidies and healthcare benefits, with Democrats insisting on ACA and Medicaid funding, while Republicans want a clean funding bill without these provisions.
Approximately 750,000 federal employees face furloughs, risking $400 million in daily wages, which increases economic strain caused by the funding lapse.
The administration is targeting funding in blue cities and states — typically Democratic strongholds — using this as leverage to pressure Democrats amid the shutdown.
President Trump views the shutdown as an opportunity to enact significant federal agency budget cuts and is considering personnel firings.
Polls indicate that an increasing number of Americans blame President Trump and Republicans for the impasse causing the shutdown.
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