The US government shutdown has entered its 36th day, breaking the record as the longest ever.
President Donald Trump’s first term at the White House set the previous government shutdown record.
Federal programme cuts affecting food assistance, among other critical aspects of everyday life, flight delays, and federal workers nationwide forced to work without pay, were set to continue with no end in sight today, Wednesday, November 5, 2025.
Senate Majority Leader, John Thune, said that this has been not only the longest shutdown but also “the most severe shutdown on record.”
The Republican leader has urged the Democrats to accept his overtures to vote on the health care issue and keep negotiating a solution once the government reopens, arguing that no one wins politically from the standoff. “Shutdowns are stupid,” Thune said.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that there could be chaos in the skies next week if air traffic controllers miss another paycheck.
Democrats and Republicans remain unwavering over the main sticking point in the current stoppage; healthcare spending.
Democrats say that they will provide votes to end the funding lapse only after a deal has been struck to make healthcare affordable for millions of Americans.
Republicans, on the other hand, insist that they will address healthcare only when Democrats have voted to reopen the government.
While both sides’ leadership have shown little appetite for compromise, there have been signs of life on the back benches, with a handful of moderate Democrats working to find an escape hatch.
A separate bipartisan group of four centrist House members unveiled a compromise framework on Monday for lowering health insurance costs.
Democrats believe that millions of Americans seeing skyrocketing premiums as they enrol into health insurance programmes for next year will pressure Republicans into seeking a compromise.
Trump has sought to apply pressure to force Democrats to cave by threatening mass layoffs of federal workers and using the shutdown to target progressive priorities.
Yesterday, he repeated his threat to cut off a vital aid programme that helps 42 million Americans pay for groceries for the first time in its more than 60-year history, even though the move was blocked by two courts.
Central to any endgame will be a series of agreements that would need to be upheld not only by the Senate, but also the House, and the White House, which is not at all certain.
Trump To Meet Republican Senators Amid Shutdown
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump is set to meet with Republican Senators early today for breakfast but no talks have been scheduled with the Democrats.
Trump has refused to negotiate with Democrats over their demands to salvage expiring health insurance subsidies until they agree to reopen the government. claiming they are “extorting” him.
However, skeptical Democrats question whether the Republican President will keep his word, particularly after the administration restricted SNAP food aid, despite court orders to ensure funds are available to prevent hunger.
Trump’s approach to this shutdown stands in great contrast to his first term, when the government was partially closed for 35 days over his demands for funds to build the US-Mexico border wall.
At that time, he met publicly and negotiated with congressional leaders, but unable to secure the funds, he relented in 2019. This time, it’s not just Trump declining to engage in talks.
The Congressional leaders are at a standoff and House Speaker Mike Johnson, sent lawmakers home in September after they approved their own funding bill, refusing further negotiations.
In the meantime, food aid, child care funds and countless other government services are being seriously interrupted and and hundreds of thousands of federal workers have been furloughed or expected to come to work without pay.
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