WASHINGTON (AP) — government shutdown This week is expected to be the longest on record as the deadlock between Democrats and Republicans enters a new month. Millions of people could lose food aid benefits, health subsidies are expiring, and there are few serious talks between the parties over how to end them.
president donald trump In an interview aired Sunday, he said he was “not going to be extorted” by Democrats who are demanding a deal to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies for millions of Americans that expire at the end of the year. The president echoed the sentiments of Republicans in Congress, telling CBS’s “60 Minutes” that he would only negotiate if the government was reopened.
President Trump’s comments suggest the shutdown could drag on for some time, as federal workers, including air traffic controllers, are not expected to receive additional pay and it is unclear whether the 42 million Americans receiving federal food aid will receive it. Gain access to support. Senate Democrats have voted against reopening the government 13 times, arguing that President Trump and Republicans must first negotiate.
The president said Democrats had “lost their way” and predicted they would surrender to Republicans.
“I think we have to do that,” President Trump said. “And if they don’t vote, that’s their problem.”
He also appealed to Republican leaders: Change Senate rules to eliminate filibuster. Senate Republicans have repeatedly rejected the idea since President Trump’s first term. Rules that require 60 votes to overcome objections Support in the Senate was critical to the agency, allowing it to block Democratic policies in the minority.
“Republicans have to get tougher,” President Trump told CBS. “If we end the filibuster, we can accomplish exactly what we want.”
Senate Republican leader Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) (left) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) arrive for a government shutdown press conference with Republican leaders on Oct. 1, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
With the standoff between the two sides, the shutdown is now in its 33rd day and into its sixth week, likely to be the longest in history. The previous record was set in 2019 when President Trump asked Congress to fund construction of a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Could be a decisive week
President Trump’s push for a filibuster could be a distraction for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and other Republican senators who have instead chosen to hold the line as the effects of the government shutdown become more severe.
Moderates have been negotiating with rank-and-file Republicans for weeks on a potential compromise that would guarantee votes on health care in exchange for reopening the government, and Republicans are hoping that at least some Democrats will eventually give them the votes they need. Republicans need five more Democrats to pass the bill.
“We need five people with the backbone to say they value American lives more than political influence,” Thune said Thursday on the Senate floor as the Senate left Washington for the weekend.
Democratic Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that people are talking about “a path to fixing the health care debacle” and the Republican promise not to lay off any more federal workers. However, it is unclear whether these talks can produce a meaningful compromise.
Obamacare subsidies are widely divergent
Trump said in an interview on “60 Minutes” that the Affordable Care Act (known as Obamacare because it was signed and supported by then-President Barack Obama) is “terrible” and that if Democrats vote to reopen the government, “we will work to fix the poor health care that we have.”
Democrats take a different view, arguing that the marketplace created by the ACA is working because record numbers of Americans are signing up for coverage. But they want to extend subsidies first enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic to avoid seeing premiums rise for millions of people on Jan. 1.
“We look forward to sitting down with Mr. Thune, Speaker (Mike) Johnson, and Mr. Trump to negotiate a way to address this terrible health crisis,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said last week.
no bipartisan intent
As the Democratic Party presses President Trump and the Republican Party to negotiate, President Trump took the following stance. have little interest in doing so. He called for an end to the Senate filibuster. travel to asia While the government is shut down.
White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt said on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” that the president spoke directly to Thune and Johnson about the filibuster. But a spokeswoman for Mr. Thune said Friday that his position had not changed, and Mr. Johnson said Sunday that Republicans have traditionally resisted calls to end the filibuster to protect them from “the worst impulses of far-left Democrats.”
Trump told “60 Minutes” that he likes Thune, but “I don’t agree with him on this.”
The president spent much of the shutdown mocking Democrats, posting a video of House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries online. mexican sombrero. The White House website has a satirical “MySpace” page for Democrats, a parody based on social media sites popular in the early 2000s. The page says, “We love playing politics with people’s lives at stake.”
Democrats have repeatedly said they need to get serious and ask Trump for his opinion. Virginia Sen. Mark Warner said he hoped the government shutdown would end “this week” now that Trump is back in Washington.
Warner said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that Republicans “cannot move forward with anything without President Trump’s approval.”
Record-breaking shutdown
of 35 day shutdown The policy, which lasted from December 2018 to January 2019, ended when President Trump backed away from his demands for a border wall. This comes as delays at the nation’s airports escalate and hundreds of thousands of federal workers miss multiple paydays.
Transport Secretary Sean Duffy told ABC’s “This Week” that there were already delays at some airports and “things are only going to get worse.”
The control tower near the American Airlines hangar at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, DFW Airport, Texas, October 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)
Many workers “are having to make a decision,” he said. “Do I put food on my kids’ tables, put gas in my car, pay my rent, or go to work and not get paid?”
as Flight delays are increasing across the countryNew York City’s Office of Emergency Management posted Sunday that it was experiencing ground delays at Newark Airport due to “control tower staffing shortages” and was limiting arrivals to the airport.
“The average delay is about 2 hours, with some flights delayed for more than 3 hours,” the account posted. “The FAA’s planning notes indicate the possibility of a complete grounding later if staffing shortages or demand increases.”
snap crisis
The 42 million Americans receiving SNAP benefits are also under fire. Department of Agriculture Plans to set aside $8 billion needed for payments Food program starts on Saturday two federal judges order The government funds it.
Brock Brooks, a disabled Marine veteran, cries as he talks about the impending SNAP closure while waiting in line to enter food pantry services at Calvary Episcopal Church in Louisville, Kentucky, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/John Cherry, File)
Democratic House Minority Leader Jeffries of New York accused Trump and the Republican Party of trying to “weaponize hunger.” He said the government has managed to find ways to fund other priorities during the government shutdown, but progress on SNAP benefits has been slow despite court orders.
“But somehow we can’t find the money to keep Americans from going hungry,” Jeffries said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on his CNN appearance Sunday that the administration continues to wait for direction from the courts.
“The best way to get SNAP benefits is for Democrats, five Democrats, to cross the aisle and reopen the government,” Bessent said.
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Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.
