Oct. 8, 2025 - Government shutdown updates

Our live coverage of the federal government shutdown has ended for the day. Get the latest here.

The Senate voted 48-51 to block a push to end US military strikes on alleged drug trafficking ships in the Caribbean without congressional authorization.

Several Democratic senators led by Tim Kaine joined with GOP Sen. Rand Paul to force the vote, after the military conducted at least four strikes on ships in the Caribbean that the administration has claimed were attempting to traffic drugs into the United States. The senators argued that the administration needs congressional authorization for this use of military force, and that the Pentagon and the administration have not adequately answered their questions about the strikes.

GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Rand Paul voted to advance the resolution, while Democratic Sen. John Fetterman voted against it.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was on the Hill to meet with Republican senators during their lunch on Wednesday, told reporters that he encouraged Republicans to oppose the measure and insisted that Trump does not need congressional authorization for these strikes.

Kaine, who sat down with reporters on Wednesday afternoon before the vote, told reporters that the goal is not to block the United States from going after threats, but rather to ensure that Congress has the opportunity to debate and approve the use of military force.

The Virginia Democrat added that the Senate Armed Services Committee was briefed by the administration last week, but he claimed it was unable to answer some of their key questions about the strikes.

“Legal rationale, why strike rather than interdict, can we be sure that these were actually narco-traffickers, was there an imminent threat the United States? We didn’t have those answers,” said Kaine

Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has been a longtime supporter of President Donald Trump.

And while she says she still is, there are some areas she disagrees with the president, namely letting the government shutdown continue.

“I think I’m still supporting him now by saying Republicans in the House and Senate need to do their job and come up with a solution for the American people,” she told CNN.

Hear what Greene had to say:

The Labor Department has warned the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration has generated a “risk of supply shock-induced food shortages.”

In a rule-change document filed on October 2, the second day of the ongoing government shutdown, the agency described a “current and imminent labor shortage” that poses dangers to the nation’s food supply. The document, filed in the Federal Register, details an interim rule lowering the wages of temporary agricultural workers employed in the US through the H-2A visa program.

The shortage risk, the department says, has been “exacerbated by the near total cessation of the inflow” of undocumented immigrants, increased immigration enforcement, as well as “global competitiveness pressures.” The department also said that it does not believe enough American workers “currently unemployed or marginally employed” will “make themselves readily available in sufficient numbers” to quell the worker shortage.

CNN reached out to the Department of Agriculture for comment and received an automated response that said that due to staff furloughs resulting from government shutdown, “the typical monitoring of this press inbox may be impacted.”

Remember: The report comes months after Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins reasserted the Trump administration’s commitment to achieving a “100% American workforce,” declaring that there will be “no amnesty under any circumstances” but noting deportations must be strategic to prevent the country’s food from being compromised.

The Federal Aviation Administration is reporting that three additional air traffic control facilities will be short-staffed tonight, bringing the total number of offices without a normal complement of controllers to six.

One of those facilities is the air traffic control tower in Denver, which will not have all of its staff from 9 p.m.-midnight ET, according to an operations plan published by the FAA.

Two air route traffic control centers which manage airspace for flights across a wide region will also have staffing shortages. Albuquerque Center will be short controllers until 10 p.m. ET and Los Angeles Center will not have a full staff from 7:30p.m.-1 a.m. ET.

The areas join the Reagan Washington National Airport control tower, and the FAA facilities which handle flights arriving at Newark Liberty International and Orlando International Airport, who are also missing some controllers tonight.

Staffing shortages do not always result in delays, as controllers can reroute flights or take other actions to minimize the disruption. So far, the FAA said delays are expected at Washington DCA and Newark.

The reason for the staffing shortages is not immediately clear, however the Department of Transportation said this week an increased number of controllers have called out sick since the start of the government shutdown.

President Donald Trump listens as Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a roundtable in Washington, DC, on Tuesday.

As another day of a shuttered federal government approaches an end, here are other political headlines across CNN that you should know about.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy speaks during a news conference on August 5, at the Department of Transportation in Washington.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says “stressed out” air traffic controllers “got to go to work” as staffing shortages and flight delays continue during the government shutdown.

The Department of Transportation reported an increase in sick calls by controllers since the start of the shutdown. Controllers are considered essential government employees and required to work during the shutdown, but are not currently being paid. Organized work actions, like strikes or sick-outs, are illegal.

Duffy said there may be “a bit of a rebellion” by the controllers due to the shutdown, but he added they will “eventually” get paid.

If there aren’t enough controllers to keep air travel safe, the department will “reduce capacity at airports” and flyers will likely see more delays and possibly cancellations, Duffy said.

“When you see delays, it’s because we’re not willing to take additional risk if we don’t have the staff to fly your flight on time,” the secretary said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson is expected to hold a private call with House Republicans on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. as the House remains out of session, two sources familiar with the call told CNN.

Thursday will mark the ninth day of the government shutdown.

Members of the US Army participate in the Army's 250th birthday parade in Washington, DC, on June 14.

GOP Rep. Jen Kiggans of Virginia on Wednesday urged House leadership to pass legislation that would guarantee pay to military service members, who are at risk of missing a paycheck next week if the government shutdown continues

“I’m urging the Speaker and our House leadership to immediately pass my bill to ensure our servicemembers, many of whom live paycheck to paycheck while supporting their families, receive the pay they’ve earned,” Kiggans, who represents a district in Virginia with a large military population, wrote on X.

“Military pay should not be held hostage due to Washington’s dysfunction!” she added.

Military service members are at risk of missing their scheduled October 15 paychecks if Congress doesn’t approve funding for the government.

Speaker Mike Johnson, however, indicated earlier today that House Republicans would not support a vote on a standalone bill to pay US troops during a government shutdown, nor return to Washington next week, arguing that the House has already done what it needs to do by passing a stopgap bill.

“We already had that vote. It’s called the CR,” he said, referring to the House-passed continuing resolution.

Adelita Grijalva, pictured in South Tucson, Arizona, on July 15

A handful of Democratic lawmakers tried and failed to gain recognition on the House floor Wednesday as they continue to demand Speaker Johnson swear in Arizona Congresswoman-elect Adelita Grijalva.

Democratic Rep. Greg Stanton of Arizona attempted to raise the issue during an afternoon pro forma session. But Republican Rep. Ross Fulcher, who was presiding over the mostly perfunctory occasion, quickly gaveled out and did not recognize Stanton.

An irate Stanton told CNN afterward that Fulcher saw him but chose not to recognize him.

Stanton called the delay in Grijalva’s swearing-in “completely undemocratic and unacceptable,” and he suggested House Speaker Mike Johnson was delaying it to avoid a forced vote on compelling the release of more Jeffrey Epstein case files – which Johnson has denied.

“That’s not an acceptable reason to subvert the democratic will of the people of Arizona-07, so on a personal level, as a member of Congress, as an American, I’m pissed off,” Stanton said.

Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, told CNN that he keeps voting for the GOP-backed stop gap funding bill that would reopen the government due to his concern that an extended shutdown would be a “risk to our democracy.”

King had said earlier this week that he was considering voting against the House-passed funding package the next time it came up over his frustration with the lack of progress in negotiations over healthcare subsidies. However, on Wednesday he once again voted for the measure.

“I ultimately decided that the risk of what’s apparently happening is greater than the chances of getting the healthcare amendments that we need. We should get them, they’re necessary, they’re important. But the risk to our democracy, I think, is a higher risk,” he said.

People walk through Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on Wednesday.

The Federal Aviation Administration says three major air traffic control facilities will be short staffed this afternoon, according to a just updated operations plan.

The Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport control tower will not have its normal complement of controllers from 5-10 p.m. ET. Flight delays are “probable,” according to the FAA, and could average 31 minutes.

The controllers have been under scrutiny since the airport was the site of the deadly collision between a military helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet on January 29 that killed 67 people and a series of closed calls.

The controllers who handle flights arriving and departing Newark Liberty International Airport will also be short staffed from 6-9 p.m. ET. That facility, which is based in Philadelphia, saw staffing shortages earlier this year when communication and radar outages caused five controllers to take trauma leave resulting in thousands of canceled flights.

Staffing will also be below normal levels at the approach control which handles flights landing and taking off at Orlando International Airport between 8-11 p.m. ET.

Staffing shortages do not always mean airports will see delays, but flights often have to be slowed so a reduced number of controllers can safely handle them.

Workers walk through the crypt of the US Capitol on Wednesday.

From flight delays to a congressional stalemate, the government shutdown is now in its eighth day with no end in sight.

Here are the key things to know, broken down.

First, more failed votes:

House is still out of session:

Flight impacts:

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that President Donald Trump’s call for the governor of Illinois and mayor of Chicago to be imprisoned is “deranged.”

Pelosi was asked by CNN’s Dana Bash about the Trump administration sending National Guard troops to cities like Chicago.

Earlier today, the president ramped up his criticism of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker, who called the Guard call-up “Trump’s invasion” over the weekend.

“Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers! Governor Pritzker also!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

CNN’s Andy Rose and Alisha Ebrahimji contributed to this report.

A TSA employee moves bags through a security screening at the Hollywood Burbank Airport in Burbank, California, on October 1.

The Transportation Security Administration, which operates security screening checkpoints at US airports, has not seen slowdowns due to officers calling out sick, according to a statement.

Delays in security screenings in 2019, along with air traffic controllers calling out sick, put pressure on lawmakers and help bring an end to that shutdown.

A traffic light is red outside the US Internal Revenue Service building in Washington, DC, on February 20.

The Internal Revenue Service is furloughing more than 34,400 out of its 74,300 employees on Wednesday, the agency said in an updated shutdown contingency plan.

Initially, the IRS said that essentially its entire workforce would remain on the job thanks to funding from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. But it noted in its original contingency plan that that staffing would be in place only for the first five business days.

Its updated plan indicates it could be updated after five days to address “additional challenges” but also notes that the new staffing levels will be in effect through April.

The IRS is currently in the midst of putting into place dozens of tax law changes contained in the Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act, including some that take effect this year.

Among the significant activities that will cease are taxpayers services, such as responding to taxpayer questions, and non-automated collections.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson on Wednesday.

Republican Rep. Kevin Kiley of California questioned Speaker Mike Johnson’s strategy of keeping the House out of session as the government shutdown drags on.

“The Speaker shouldn’t even think about cancelling session for a third straight week,” Kiley wrote on X.

He also said in the social media post, “what the House has done is pass a 7-week Continuing Resolution. The entire reason a CR is necessary is that Congress has not done its job in passing a timely budget.”

Johnson has indicated he will not bring the House back into session until senators pass the GOP-backed short-term funding bill, which has already been passed by the House.

“We’ve already done our job,” Johnson said Tuesday after a reporter asked if he plans to bring the House back next week. Kiley, who could face a tough re-election battle if California moves forward with its redistricting push, was responding to those comments from Johnson.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks during a House Democrat meeting on healthcare, on Wednesday.

House Democrats are criticizing the Republican members of their chamber, accusing them of being “on vacation” while the government shutdown is now in its eighth day.

“House Democrats were here last week. House Democrats are here this week. House Democrats will be here next week,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said at a news conference on Capitol Hill today. “House Republicans are on vacation right now, that’s extraordinary.”

Speaker Mike Johnson has kept the House out of session since passing its government funding bill last month.

Following a planned recess week around the Jewish holidays last month, GOP leadership informed members that the House will not convene for the subsequent two weeks, signaling it’s up to the Senate to send the government funding package passed by the House to President Donald Trump’s desk.

The minority leader reiterated that “the caucus, on good faith, will evaluate anything presented from the Senate,” but it “has to be meaningful in terms of making a difference in the lives of the American people.”

Similarly, Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern slammed Republicans for trying to impose tighter work requirements for some programs, such as food stamps, pointing out the moment’s irony.

“Let’s have a work requirement for Republicans to show up to Congress and do your goddamn job,” he said.

Republican senators appear to be standing firm in their stance on the government shutdown fight, after the chamber’s sixth vote to advance short-term funding bills ended with neither party’s proposal moving forward.

Here’s what some Republicans are saying about the ongoing shutdown standoff:

Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy: “We’re not going to budge on our insistence that we have to open government back up, and then we’ll have an adult discussion.”

South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds repeated GOP leadership’s demand that talks can’t begin in earnest until the shutdown ends. “We’re talking about a path forward, but we’re not going to negotiate with the government held hostage. There’s no reason for that, and you can’t reward that type of behavior,” Rounds said.

Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville suggested that he isn’t sure that an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies is even necessary, though he said he’s “still open minded.” Tuberville said that he’d “like to get back to talking about it, but the Democrats got the government shut down, so we’re not even discussing it. So hopefully we’ll get back to it.”

Sen. Mark Kelly speaks to CNN on Wednesday.

We are hearing more from Democratic senators, some of whom are blaming Republicans for the government shutdown and say their main goal is to extend health care Affordable Care Act subsidies for Americans.

Kelly highlighted red states like West Virginia, Alaska, Mississippi, and Tennessee will be impacted if health care subsidies expire. He said he has talked to some congressional members from those states and “they know this is about to happen.”

“So, all it takes is a negotiation. If we could just do an extension, that solves the problem, at least for the length of that extension,” Kelly said.

Earlier in the day, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker echoed similar sentiments to CNN.

Booker added that Trump has said in the past that it is up to the president to unite the parties and pass a budget. “So, to be saying that this is the Democrats is utterly wrong. He holds the responsibility,” Booker said.