There’s no sign of an off-ramp to the partisan deadlock three days into the shutdown.
WASHINGTON—The federal shutdown will continue through the weekend as the Senate once again rejected rival funding bills to reopen the government on Oct. 3.
The federal government shut down at 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 1 after both parties failed to reach a deal to pass a short-term plan to fund the government through Nov. 21.
Days into the shutdown, Republicans and Democrats have continued to blame each other for the continuing deadlock that has shown little sign of easing.
The White House has signaled that mass layoffs are imminent and likely to number in the thousands.
Democrats have opposed the House-passed funding plan, demanding that the bill include a rollback of cuts to Medicaid due to reforms enacted in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act over the summer.
They are also demanding an extension of enhanced subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, which were introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic and are due to expire at the end of the year.
The White House and Republicans have flatly rejected these demands. They’ve said that while they were willing to negotiate on certain health care policies, they would not do so in exchange for keeping the government open.
The White House reiterated on Friday that it would not negotiate these health care demands with Democrats right now.
“Democrats must reopen the government if they want to have meaningful policy debate,” White House spokesperson Kush Desa told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement.
On Friday, Republicans first rejected 46–52 a Democratic bill to include those provisions and fund the government through Oct. 31.
Democrats then blocked a 24-page Republican bill to fund the government through Nov. 21 that also includes security funding for the executive branch, Supreme Court justices, and members of Congress. The vote was 54–44.
In order for a bill to advance in the Senate, it must get 60 votes.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) voted against both bills. While Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), and Angus King (I-Maine) joined Republicans in voting in favor of the GOP bill, they also voted for the Democratic bill.
This marks the fourth time the rival bills have failed to advance in the upper chamber.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said the chamber will return on Monday to consider these measures again.
