Live updates: Government shutdown reaches tenth day, Congress still deadlocked on funding plan | CNN Politics

Live Updates

White House says federal firings have begun as government shutdown drags on

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Marjorie Taylor Greene blames Republican leaders for government shutdown
10:02 • Source: CNN
10:02

Where things stand

Shutdown-related firings begin: White House budget chief Russell Vought announced the government has started firing federal workers as the shutdown drags on. So far, it appears the Departments of Treasury, Education and Health and Human Services are among those impacted. Has the government shutdown affected you? CNN wants to hear your story.

• Stalemate continues: The government shutdown is on track to extend into next week. Congress remains deadlocked on a funding plan, and the Senate isn’t scheduled to hold any votes until Tuesday. The House is out of session.

• Missed paychecks for troops: It now seems almost certain that military members won’t get their next paychecks, which were on schedule to go out Wednesday. House Democrats attempted but failed to gain recognition on the floor today to advance legislation that would have guaranteed pay for US troops during the shutdown.

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Air traffic controllers must show up for work and should not be blamed for shutdown, union leaders say

Local leaders of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association spoke about the importance of air traffic controllers continuing to show up to work in a video message published on the tenth day of the federal government shutdown.

“Even though some aspects of the government may shut down, we never do,” Vanesa Hess, Facility Vice President at Denver Center, said in the video.

Patrick James, a facility president at Kansas City Center, said it was “vitally important” for air traffic controllers to “continue to show up to work and maintain the safe skies the American people deserve.”

“I urge you – if you’re fit for duty, continue to serve the American flying public,” Alex Cisneros, facility president at Southern California TRACON, said in the video message.

In a separate video released Friday, the head of NATCA urged elected officials to end the federal shutdown and pushed back on the “persistent false narrative that air traffic controllers somehow control its outcome.”

“Let me be clear: air traffic controllers did not start this shutdown, and we will not be responsible for ending it,” NATCA president Nick Daniels said in a video statement Friday.

NATCA represents nearly 11,000 certified Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controllers and more than 3,300 trainees, according to the organization.

He thanked air traffic controllers for their “unwavering professionalism.”

“You are highly trained, highly skilled, and uniquely positioned to make sure that the system remains the safest and most efficient in the world,” Daniels said. “You remain the unsung heroes of the aviation system even as you work without a paycheck with no clear end in sight.”

Trump says federal layoffs targeting "Democrat oriented" workers

US President Donald Trump walks to board Marine One helicopter on the South Lawn of the White House, on Friday.

President Donald Trump said Friday that he plans to fire “a lot” of federal workers in retaliation for the government shutdown, vowing to target those deemed to be aligned with the Democratic Party.

“It’ll be a lot of people,” he said from the Oval Office. “I must tell you, a lot of them happen to be Democrat oriented.”

Trump did not specify how many workers would be laid off as part of the reduction in force that his administration announced earlier in the day, nor did he provide details on what qualified them as “Democrat oriented.”

The Trump administration revealed in a court filing this evening that more than 4,000 federal employees were laid off today.

Trump blamed Democratic lawmakers for the cuts, arguing that their refusal to reopen the government forced his administration’s hand.

“These are people that the Democrats wanted that, in many cases, were not appropriate,” Trump said. “We fought them at the time and it was ultimately signed in, and some of these people— these are largely people that the Democrats want. Many of them will be fired.”

More than 4,000 federal workers were laid off today, court filing reveals

The Trump administration revealed in a court filing that more than 4,000 federal employees were given layoff notices today across seven departments.

Here are the number of employees given notices at each department:

  • Around 315 workers at the Department of Commerce
  • Around 466 workers at the Department of Education
  • Around 187 workers at the Department of Energy
  • Between 1,100 and 1,200 workers at the Department of Health and Human Services
  • Around 442 workers at the Department of Housing and Urban Development
  • Around 176 workers at the Department of Homeland Security
  • Around 1,446 workers at the Department of Treasury

The filing came in a lawsuit in California brought by federal unions fighting efforts to lay off employees during the government shutdown.

DC mayor signs emergency bill to resume marriage license issuances

Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser announced today that she signed a measure to resume marriage license issuances, which were paused due to the federal government shutdown.

“The LOVE Act of 2025 is officially signed into law,” Bowser said in a post on X. “DC marriage licenses have been on pause during the federal shutdown—but starting Tuesday, we will be able to issue them ourselves.”

While marriage license issuances were suspended, DC residents were still able to obtain certified copies of marriage certificates, according to the DC courts website.

During the 2018-2019 shutdown, DC passed a similar measure to allow the city to issue marriage licenses.

GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski calls Trump admin’s lay off moves "punitive actions toward the federal workforce"

Sen. Lisa Murkowski on Thursday.

Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski criticized the Trump administration’s moves to lay off federal workers during the shutdown, calling the action “poorly timed” and punishing for the federal workforce.

“While few details have been shared about Russell Vought’s latest layoffs, there is no question this is poorly timed and yet another example of this administration’s punitive actions toward the federal workforce,” Murkowski posted on X.

“The termination of federal employees in a shutdown will further hurt hard-working Americans who have dedicated their lives to public service and jeopardize agency missions once we finally re-open the government,” the Alaska Republican added.

Murkowski is the second Republican senator to question the Trump administration’s mass layoff plan, joining GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine.

The Alaska senator previously told CNN she worried about the “uncertainty” the threat of mass layoffs posed to her state.

Virginia Democrats blast Trump admin’s move to lay off federal workers in shutdown as a "deliberate choice"

Democratic Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, who represent a large federal workforce in Virginia, blasted the Trump administration’s move to fire federal workers during a shutdown, accusing the administration of using “public servants as pawns.”

“Donald Trump and Russ Vought are once again showing us exactly who they are: reckless ideologues willing to inflict real pain on hardworking Americans to score political points,” they wrote in a statement. “Now, in the middle of a shutdown manufactured by Republicans – who control the House, the Senate, and the White House – they’re doubling down by laying off federal workers, turning their own failure to govern into a direct attack on the people who keep this country running and jeopardizing vital government services.”

“Let’s be very clear: this is not an unfortunate byproduct of the government shutdown, but a deliberate choice,” they said. “It’s irresponsible, it’s cruel, and it won’t work. It’s time for Republicans in Congress to end this shutdown and work with us to keep health care affordable for all Americans.”

Transportation secretary says he won't let air traffic controllers' sick outs hold the country "hostage"

Empty chairs sit underneath an airplane painting at the TWA hotel at John F. Kennedy International Airport in the Queens borough of New York on Friday.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy he will not allow air traffic controllers to use their position as a “bludgeon” for political purposes, including calling out sick during the government shutdown.

There has been a shortage of air traffic controllers for years, so even a small number of unscheduled absences can lead to delayed flights

“When we have small sick outs, if you will, it has massive impacts on the airspace,” the secretary said in an interview with Scripps News yesterday. “We can’t be held hostage, anywhere in government or in our lives, with people who are going to use their positions as a bludgeon.”

Controllers are considered essential employees and are required to work during the shutdown, but they are not currently being paid.

Duffy noted most controllers are “great people,” but he reiterated his commitment to fire the “small few” who chose not to come to work to protest the shutdown.

“If they’re sick, they’re sick. I’m fine with that. But if they’re not showing up to work, and they’re calling out for other reasons, and it’s coordinated and they collaborate on it, I don’t want those people working in air traffic,” he said. “I’m not going to have them leverage our system, our air travel system, for political benefit. I don’t like it, and so I’m willing to make changes that are necessary so that doesn’t happen again in the future.”

In the first part of the year, about 5% of delays were caused by problems with air traffic controller staffing, but now that number is greater than half, Duffy said.

GOP Sen. Susan Collins "strongly" opposes Trump administration's move to lay off federal workers during shutdown

Sen. Susan Collins at the Senate Subway on Thursday.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, said she “strongly” opposes the White House’s decision to conduct layoffs of furloughed workers while placing blame for the shutdown on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

“I strongly oppose OMB Director Russ Vought’s attempt to permanently lay off federal workers who have been furloughed due to a completely unnecessary government shutdown caused by Senator Schumer,” Collins said in a statement.

“Regardless of whether federal employees have been working without pay or have been furloughed, their work is incredibly important to serving the public,” she added. “Arbitrary layoffs result in a lack of sufficient personnel needed to conduct the mission of the agency and to deliver essential programs, and cause harm to families in Maine and throughout our country.”

Collins was one of several Republican senators to express unease with the White House threats of mass firings, previously saying federal workers “should not be treated as pawns” in the funding fight.

With limits on email access, some federal employees ponder how they'll know if they're laid off

How will you know if you’ve been laid off?

It’s a question on the minds of many federal government workers after the Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought announced on X: “The RIFs have begun.”

Furloughed employees are only allowed to access their email in limited cases. For many, it’s a violation of federal law to work during shutdowns.

It’s called the Antideficiency Act, which is the federal law that governs shutdowns. Before every shutdown, employees are reminded of the act’s ban on accepting voluntary services. Even if employees who are not deemed essential would like to keep working, they can’t do so for free without violating the statute.

“So I guess we won’t find out we’re laid off until after the shutdown ends?” one federal worker from the Department of Agriculture told CNN, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid violating office policy.

Administration officials said employees impacted by the layoffs will also be notified by the US Postal Service, which still operates during the government shutdown.

The White House said furloughed employees can use government-issued equipment for purposes related to a shutdown, which include “checking for any Reduction in Force (RIF) updates.”

Trump expected to posthumously award Charlie Kirk the Medal of Freedom next week

Charlie Kirk hands out hats before speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on September 10.

President Donald Trump is expected to award Charlie Kirk a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom next week on what would have been Kirk’s 32nd birthday, three sources familiar with the event told CNN.

It was not immediately clear how Trump’s plans to travel to the Middle East would impact this.

The event is expected to take place next Tuesday, October 14.

Phoenix airport reports delays due to staffing shortage

Phoenix Sky Harbor International airport joined the list of places dealing with short staffing at Federal Aviation Facilities.

The airport will not have its normal number of staff in its control tower from 9 p.m. ET tonight until 1 a.m. ET tomorrow, but it is already experiencing delays of 30 to 60 minutes due to staffing shortages in the facility that operates the surrounding airspace. The Albuquerque Air Route Traffic Control Center, which manages flights over a large portion of the US Southwest, is short staffed until 3 p.m. ET.

Earlier today, delays were reported at Newark Liberty International Airport due to short staffing in a Philadelphia facility that handles flights approaching or departing the New Jersey airport.

The reasons for the short staffing are not clear, but Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Thursday that a “small fraction” of controllers were “lashing out” because of the government shutdown and not going to work.

Education Department says it will be impacted by layoffs

A Department of Education spokesperson tells CNN “some” of its employees will be impacted by the reduction in force announced by the White House budget chief Friday.

The spokesperson would not detail how many employees would be impacted by the RIF, nor when the layoffs will happen.

The Department of Education has already gone through a significant reduction in force since the start of the second Trump term, cutting nearly 50% of its workforce in March.

Health and Human Services Department confirms layoffs of workers deemed "non-essential"

The US Department of Health and Human Services building in Washington, DC, on March 27.

The US Health and Human Services Department began layoffs across its sprawling bureaucracy on Friday, targeting employees that were deemed “non-essential” workers during the shutdown, an HHS spokesman told CNN.

“HHS employees across multiple divisions have received reduction-in-force notices as a direct consequence of the Democrat-led government shutdown,” the spokesman said in a statement. “All HHS employees receiving reduction-in-force notices were designated non-essential by their respective divisions.”

HHS declined to say how many workers were being fired or in what offices. But two people familiar with the planning told CNN that officials had earlier discussed plans to target for significant cuts the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as two smaller HHS agencies: The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Health Resources and Services Administration.

Administrations are not required to carry out firings when government funding lapses, and the layoffs initiated by the Trump administration are separate from the furloughs that occur when government funding runs out.

In his statement, the HHS spokesman vowed that officials would continue “to close wasteful and duplicative entities, including those that are at odds with the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda.”

House Democrat attempts and fails to advance bill to pay US troops during shutdown

A House Democrat attempted and failed to gain recognition on the floor Friday to advance legislation guaranteeing pay for US troops during the shutdown.

Rep. Sarah Elfreth of Maryland tried to seek unanimous consent during a pro forma session to advance a bill that would continue funding troops’ salaries. But the Republican congressman who was presiding over the session, Rep. Mike Bost, gaveled out without recognizing her.

House Democrats have made a concerted effort during the shutdown to show up to pro forma sessions to raise attention to issues the House isn’t considering while lawmakers work​ in their districts.

As the government shutdown has dragged on without the Senate able to reach a deal to fund the government, the House has been holding brief “pro forma” sessions where the chamber is quickly gaveled out and is not engaged in legislative business.

Elfreth told reporters Friday she thought Democrats would continue to attend the pro forma sessions. “I think the American people want us to be here and work and not be home during this crisis,” she said.

House GOP leaders said repeatedly this week they believe the best path for guaranteeing troops’ pay is passing Republicans’ stopgap funding measure that passed the House but has been blocked in the Senate.

Speaker Mike Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said Friday they also believed the Trump administration was exploring other ways to guarantee troop pay, though neither elaborated further.

Thune says Schumer "is checked out," indicates they won't meet in coming days

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, left, speaks at a press conference alongside Speaker of the House Mike Johnson on Friday.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune called Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer “checked out,” indicating he does not plan to meet with him in the coming days and arguing that the shutdown will end when more Democrats break with their party and vote for the House-passed stopgap funding bill.

“I think leader Schumer is checked out,” he said, when asked if he planned to meet with Schumer soon.

“I don’t think this is going to happen – I think this is going to happen organically, with enough reasonable Senate Democrats who care enough about doing the right thing for their country, and not what’s in the best interest of their left-wing political chiefs, to come forward and help us find a solution, and those conversations continue.”

Thune acknowledged that there are some Democrats discussing options for an offramp out of the shutdown with Republicans, but insisted that the first step to any deal on health care subsidies must be that the government reopens.

“The Democrats who are interested in that sort of some sort of pathway on that need to again come to their senses and vote to open the government,” added Thune.

The Senate GOP leader also firmly dismissed the idea of blowing up the Senate filibuster in order to pass their short-term spending bill with a simple majority.

“The supermajority requirement is something that makes the Senate the Senate,” he said.

White House official blames Democrats for "substantial" layoffs

A White House official told CNN on Friday that layoff notices have begun going out to federal workers, and that the number of government employees being fired “will be substantial.”

White House budget chief announces firing of federal workers has begun during shutdown

Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought during a press conference alongside GOP congressional leaders, outside the White House on September 29.

Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought announced on Friday that the government has started firing federal workers during the government shutdown.

The Trump administration had initially promised to swiftly roll out mass layoffs of federal workers at the start of the government’s lapse in funding, but then – as CNN reported – appeared to shift strategy, holding off on doing so a bit longer as an increasing number of Republican lawmakers and Trump administration officials acknowledged the potential political perils of the move.

But, on Friday, the White House budget chief posted on X: “The RIFs have begun.”

It was not immediately clear how many federal workers had received RIF – or reduction in force – notices, but an OMB spokesperson told CNN the layoffs were “substantial.”

CNN has reached out to federal employee unions for comment.

Jeffries suggests a GOP commitment on an Obamacare subsidies vote wouldn't be enough for Democrats

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries holds a press conference on Friday.

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries on Friday suggested that Democrats would not accept a commitment from Republicans on a vote to extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies in order for them to support reopening the government and backing a GOP short-term funding bill.

“Republicans have zero credibility, zero on the issue of health care,” he told CNN during a press conference, also noting Republicans’ past efforts to repeal the ACA.

“So what we’ve said to our Republican colleagues is we have to address the health care crisis that they’ve created decisively. That means legislatively, and that means right now,” he added later.

He dodged commenting directly on what would happen if Senate Republicans changed the legislative filibuster to end the government shutdown, which is now in its tenth day and certain to last into next week.

“The government has been shut down for 10 days. Our men and women in uniform and hardworking federal employees are working without pay. Donald Trump can find the time to play golf, but he can’t be bothered negotiating a bipartisan agreement to reopen the government and address the health care crisis that they’ve created, and House Republicans remain on vacation for three weeks,” Jeffries said.

Jeffries also announced a Democratic caucus meeting at noon today and teased that they’ll have something to announce shortly after.

2 more FAA facilities are reporting short staffing today

The Federal Aviation Administration says their operations will be understaffed at two facilities on this afternoon, leading to at least some delays.

The Newark Liberty International Airport control tower will be short staffed until 1 p.m. ET. Delays for flights departing the airport of 30 minutes to one hour are expected. A different facility that handles flights approaching or departing Newark also was understaffed for an hour earlier this morning.

The Albuquerque Air Route Traffic Control Center — which manages flights en route over a large portion of the Southwest US — also is short staffed until 3 p.m. ET. No delays were immediately reported there, however, air traffic controllers can sometimes take actions like rerouting aircraft to areas with more staffing to avoid delays.

The reasons for the short staffing are not clear, but Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said yesterday that a “small fraction” of controllers were “lashing out” because of the government shutdown and not going to work.

Johnson says more rescissions coming "in the days ahead"

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and other House Republican leaders arrive for a press conference on Friday.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said he expects more spending cut requests to come “in the days ahead” as the shutdown continues to drag on during a press call with the House Freedom Caucus.

“We worked on rescissions and there will be more of that we expect in the days ahead,” Johnson said of rescissions. “We’re trying right now to finish the appropriations process, to spend less money, to be better stewards of taxpayer dollars, step by step, inch by inch.”

House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris, asked about rescissions, said Congress would have to be involved in the canceling of any congressionally approved funds.

“Under the law, the rescissions can’t occur without a vote of Congress, except for the 45 days before the end of the fiscal year. And obviously we’re in a new fiscal year, so rescissions can’t occur without the approval of Congress,” he said. “But I do expect the administration to continue to look throughout the federal government to find instances of waste and fraud and the places where the government can become more efficient.”

It’s unclear what type of rescission request the White House would make next.

Johnson also continued to defend his decision not to call the House back into session to vote on a standalone bill to pay service members during the shutdown, and the House Freedom Caucus stood unified behind Johnson.

“The speaker is making the play call here,” Harris said.

GOP Rep. Scott Perry echoed, “We stand solidly and completely united behind Speaker Johnson and our Republican conference.”