Government shutdown expected to extend into next week as Congress remains deadlocked

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.”

A member of the Mississippi National Guard stands near the Washington Monument in Washington, DC, on August 21.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise says the Trump administration is “looking at options” to ensure service members are paid during the government shutdown.

“I know the White House is looking at options. President Trump wants to find ways to help get troops paid, if there’s a way that they can do that, he’s exploring those options right now,” Scalise told reporters Friday, echoing an earlier comment from Speaker Mike Johnson.

The Republican also criticized Democrats’ Senate leader on the issue, saying: “Sadly, we’re all put in this position because Chuck Schumer has chosen to shut the government down, knowing that that hurts our military troops, it hurts our border agents and TSA agents and everybody else.”

For context: Many federal workers are due this week to receive partial paychecks, compensating them only for the days they worked before the government shut down on October 1. Others will get smaller paychecks in coming days. And military personnel will miss their first paycheck on October 15 if the government remains shut down.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks during a press conference on Friday.

A fiery House Speaker Mike Johnson sharpened his criticism of Chuck Schumer this morning, accusing the Senate Democratic leader of bowing to the far left on the shutdown’s tenth day.

“It is shameful, and for what? Chuck Schumer, the architect of this shutdown, is trying to bow to the Marxist wing of his party,” the speaker said.

Johnson pointed to Schumer’s comments in a Punchbowl interview where he appeared to defend Democrats’ strategy.

“It’s sickening to hear him say it’s better for him and his party when it’s so terrible for real Americans,” the speaker said. “Millions of people are experiencing real pain because these political games. And you’d think after 44 years in Congress, Chuck Schumer would know better, but it seems apparent now that he spent too long in Washington to understand the real pain of real people.”

Asked about paying troops during the shutdown, the speaker argued for the GOP funding bill and said the Trump administration is “working on ways” to ensure troops get paid.

A plane takes off near the Hollywood Burbank Airport air traffic control tower in Burbank, California, on October 6.

The “safety and efficiency” of air travel in the United States depends on unpaid air traffic controllers showing up to work, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration said in a memo to the agency today.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy noted Thursday that the number of controllers showing up for work had dropped since the start of the shutdown and that more than half of delays were now being caused by staffing shortages, as opposed to only 5% earlier.

“As Secretary Duffy has said, staffing shortages have increased across the country. Air traffic controllers are still required to report to work and carry out their critical duties. The safety and efficiency of our airspace depend on them,” Bedford said in the memo.

He also vowed to delay flights whenever necessary to make sure they are safe.

“I also want to be very clear that safety will never be compromised. When staffing constraints occur, we will reduce the flow of air traffic into affected airports and centers to maintain safe operations,” Bedford said. “We will get through this together and continue delivering for the American people.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi on September 25.

President Donald Trump’s social media post on September 20 — in which he urged his attorney general to prosecute his political opponents including former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James and California Sen. Adam Schiff — was intended to be a private message, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.

The president was later surprised to learn that the message, which began by directly addressing Attorney General Pam Bondi as “Pam,” ended up on his Truth Social website, the source said.

The Wall Street Journal first reported that the post was meant to be a private message.

“Lindsey Halligan is a really good lawyer, and likes you, a lot. We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!” the president wrote in the post.

He also referenced his recent pick to serve as US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Lindsey Halligan, who brought charges against both James Comey and Letitia James in the weeks since Trump’s message was published.

The notion that Trump may have attempted to pressure Bondi privately to indict his former FBI director and the state attorney general who won a civil fraud case against the president could potentially be used by their defense attorneys as they fight their cases.

Asked to comment, the White House pointed CNN to press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s statement to the WSJ, in which she said the president appreciates Bondi, as well as Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, for “all their hard work to make our country safe again and restore accountability in our previously broken justice system.”

President Donald Trump fields a question from a reporter, as he meets with Finnish President Alexander Stubb in the Oval Office on Thursday.

It’s the 10th day of the government shutdown, and according to the White House schedule, both the president and first lady are slated to make separate announcements — though neither has said publicly what either is about.

Here’s a look at what’s on the White House schedule today:

The FAA air traffic control tower at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on Monday.

The Federal Aviation Administration is seeing a staffing shortage until 9 a.m. ET today for the approach facility that handles flights arriving or departing Newark Liberty International Airport.

It is the first understaffed area reported today, according to the publicly available operations plan.

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.

A total of 12 FAA facilities saw staffing shortages yesterday. The FAA said cargo operations were impacted in three centers where major operations for UPS and FedEx are located. The FAA reported staff working overnight were “tactically mitigating” departures and the volume of planes flying over in those areas.

The 12 FAA operations that saw staffing shortages Thursday included:

Towers, which control airports:

TRACONS, or terminal radar approach control, which control arriving or departing flights:

Centers, which controls flights enroute through the region:

A view of the US Capitol building on the third day of the US government shutdown in Washington, DC, on October 3, 2025.

The government shutdown is expected to extend into next week, after the Senate took their last vote of the week on Thursday night.

Per the Republican Whip’s office, there are not expected to be any further votes until Tuesday, October 14. That means members of the military will likely miss their first paychecks, which were scheduled to go out on Wednesday, October 15.

House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks during a press conference in Washington, DC, on Tuesday.

With the first missed paycheck for US troops just days away, House Speaker Mike Johnson stressed to GOP members yesterday in a private call that he would not put a standalone bill for military pay on the floor, according to three people who were on the call.

Johnson reiterated that he does not want to vote on a separate bill that would address military pay despite some rising anxiety of some vulnerable members at home in their districts. Instead, Johnson urged House Republicans to “stay the course” as the government shutdown stretches into its ninth day and the House remains out of session, two of the people said.

One of the people said that most members seemed to support GOP leaders’ decision not to call up the bill, keeping the pressure on Democrats to back down from their stance. Those who have been opposed – including GOP Rep. Jen Kiggans, a former Navy pilot who represents a military-heavy district along the Virginia coast – are doing what they need to do politically to protect themselves on the troop issue.

Some members also vented some frustration they are feeling with one particularly vocal member of their conference lately: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis called out Greene for “not knowing math” as the Georgia Republican has blasted Republicans for controlling all levers of the government – but not mentioning that the Senate needs seven Democrats to support any funding bill, according to another person on the call.