Senate Stalemate Keeps US Shutdown Rolling into Week Two

Mon Oct 20 2025 23:22:11 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

The US government remains in shutdown mode as Senators fail to pass crucial spending proposals for the fourth time, with both parties unwilling to compromise.

The ongoing US government shutdown continues as the Senate fails to reach an agreement on spending proposals, extending the deadlock into a second week. Both Democratic and Republican proposals fell short of the necessary votes. As essential services hang in the balance, discussions of potential layoffs loom. The conflict centers around disagreements on healthcare funding, with both sides blaming each other for the impasse. Meanwhile, the White House warns of economic consequences, hinting at layoffs and budget cuts if the situation remains unresolved.

US Senators have for a fourth time failed to pass spending proposals to reopen the federal government, extending the ongoing shutdown into next week.

Two separate spending proposals - one from the Democrats and one from Republicans - failed to reach the required 60-vote threshold.

With both sides deadlocked, the White House on Friday said it would be left with the unenviable task of mass lay-offs to keep essential government services operating if the shutdown continues, which Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described as fiscal sanity.

The scope of those potential lay-offs remain unclear but the White House has been in discussions with the Office of Management and Budget, or OMB.

Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have dug in their heels on the main point of disagreement: healthcare. Democrats have hoped to capitalise on the impasse to ensure health insurance subsidies for those with low-income do not expire and reverse the Trump administration's cuts to the Medicaid health programme.

Republicans, for their part, have repeatedly accused Democrats of shutting down the government in a bid to provide healthcare to undocumented immigrants - a charge that Democratic leaders have denied.

A total of 54 Senators voted in favour of a Republican-led proposal to fund the government, with 44 against and two not voting.

A separate, Democrat-led proposal also failed, with 45 voting in favour and 52 against.

Both sides have continued to blame the other for the shutdown, with little sign of any progress in negotiations.

During a news briefing at the White House, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt accused Democrats of holding Americans hostage over their demands.

The economic consequences of this shut down are piling up every day, she added, noting that $15bn (£11.1bn) in GDP could be lost each week as unemployment rises.

White House officials have repeatedly vowed to lay off federal workers if the shutdown continues, and earlier this week President Donald Trump posted that he would meet with Russell Vought, who heads OMB, to examine which of the many Democrat agencies that should be cut.

The White House has provided no scope or timeline for any potential lay-offs or cuts to agencies. Leavitt said that most of those cuts would come from agencies that do not align with this administration's values of putting our country first.

On the Senate floor, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said that Democrats are fighting the healthcare issue because we know Americans want this.

Early polls have suggested that Americans are deeply split on the shutdown, with one Washington Post poll conducted on 1 October finding that 47% of US adults blame Republicans, compared to 30% who blame Democrats. Another 23% said they were unsure.