November 10, 2025 - Government shutdown updates

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

Democratic senators defended their strategy to force the shutdown over their healthcare demands, expressing frustration after eight of their colleagues crossed party lines to back a compromise that doesn’t guarantee an extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies will become law.

“What just happened in the Senate chamber was an absolute disgrace. I can’t stress it enough,” Sen. Andy Kim told CNN’s Manu Raju late Monday.

Sen. Andy Kim speaks to reporters during a vote at the US Capitol Building on October 27, 2025.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer now faces criticism from some frustrated progressives, even though he chose to vote this time with the majority of his caucus to block the GOP-led funding plan.

Asked if he has confidence in Schumer’s leadership, Kim responded:

Asked if the shutdown was worth it, Sen. John Hickenlooper replied, “Yeah, I think so.”

He argued that Democrats forced people to “pay attention” to the fact that healthcare affordability is a “traumatic, in many cases, life or death situation all over this country.”

Sen. Jack Reed said he thinks the shutdown was worth it because of the “perception” that it impressed upon Americans, linking healthcare affordability to other pain points.

US Senator Ron Johnson speaks to reporters outside the Senate Chamber on Sunday.

Several GOP senators dismissed the potential political backlash their party could face if Americans healthcare costs skyrocket without a plan to address expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies.

As Johnson railed against former President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law, he insisted he wasn’t talking about “political ramifications” for Democrats, but rather the “reality” that “there’s been a lot of damage done to real people because of the faulty design of Obamacare.”

He explained that the GOP still has to determine a “mechanism” to advance a healthcare plan, acknowledging that it’s unlikely they’ll win over Democrats and there are limits on what they can do without 60 votes.

Sen. Eric Schmitt said he thinks “Democrats have a lot to answer for” since they passed the ACA without any Republican votes.

Pressed on the risk that voters might blame the party in power in next year’s midterms instead of weighing the nuances of a healthcare law enacted more than a decade ago, Schmitt responded, “I think people know that Democrats own Obamacare, and it’s been a disaster.”

Sen. Bill Cassidy, a medical doctor who chairs a key health committee, said he’s “quite willing to talk to my fellow Democrats because I want something that passes” to reform the healthcare system, adding, “I want something that actually lowers the cost of having health coverage for the average American family.”

Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she’s involved in those talks with Cassidy, saying to Democrats, “Let’s sit down and talk if you are willing to try to find a solution, but if you’re here to deliver a message, that’s not going to be a good starting point.”

The House plans to vote on the Senate-passed bill to reopen the federal government on Wednesday, according to a notice from Majority Whip Tom Emmer.

The House hasn’t voted or been in legislative session since September 19.

Speaker Mike Johnson is likely to need the president’s help to muscle the package through his fractious conference in the coming days.

A small band of Senate Democrats voted with Republicans tonight to approve a funding measure to reopen the federal government — without securing their party’s demand to guarantee an extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, which help millions of Americans afford insurance.

The funding compromise will now go to the House, where GOP leaders are hopeful it could pass as soon as Wednesday and end the longest-ever US shutdown. The recently struck deal, which President Donald Trump is expected to sign, would restore critical services like federal food aid, as well as pay for hundreds of thousands of federal workers.

Eight members of the Senate Democratic caucus crossed the aisle to join with Republicans in the 60 to 40 vote.

And here’s what’s next: Now, attention will turn to House Speaker Mike Johnson and members of the House, who are making their way to Washington after being in their districts since mid-September.

The Republican speaker is likely to need the president’s help to muscle the package through his fractious conference in the coming days. But in an optimistic sign earlier today, Trump told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins “I would say so” when asked if he personally approved of the deal making its way through the process on Capitol Hill.

The Senate has voted to approve a funding measure to reopen the federal government.

The funding compromise will now go to the House, where GOP leaders are hopeful it could pass as soon as Wednesday and end the longest-ever US shutdown.

The recently struck deal, which President Donald Trump is expected to sign, would restore critical services like federal food aid, as well as pay for hundreds of thousands of federal workers.

The Senate is now taking a final vote on the funding package to reopen the federal government.

The package won the support of key Democratic centrists over the weekend, when they struck a compromise deal with Republicans. Once passed by the Senate, the bill will move to the House for consideration.

House lawmakers are making their way back to Washington in an effort to end the historic government shutdown this week.

Sen. Lindsey Graham speaks to reporters in Washington, DC, on October 27.

Here’s what Republican lawmakers are saying tonight as the Senate prepares to vote to pass a compromise funding package to reopen the federal government.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin told reporters, “We knew this was going to be the outcome from the beginning.”

Sen. Eric Schmitt, meanwhile, said: “Thankfully, there were a handful of Democrats that understood that this was just a stupid exercise by the Democrats to act like they were fighting Trump.”

“A lot of Americans,” he went on to say, “have been left hurting. So the sooner we can get air traffic controllers paid and back to work, Capitol Police, the whole nine yards, will be a good thing.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham predicted the funding measure would clear the House after passing the Senate.

“The president’s for it. If the president’s for it, I think it’ll get through the House. I think it’s a good deal for the country,” he told reporters.

Several airlines have preemptively canceled Tuesday flights as part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s directive calling for reduced flight operations 40 selected airports.

Here’s what some major airlines have planned:

The FAA’s emergency order calls for airlines to reduce 6% og flight operations at 40 selected airports by Tuesday morning.

Two Democratic senators on Monday insisted the caucus would be united in fighting rising health costs going forward, despite the bitter party fight this month over how far members should go in demanding an extension of key Obamacare subsidies.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal admitted Monday he was disappointed after a group of centrist Democrats broke ranks and backed a government funding bill that left out a guaranteed extension of the soon-to-expire enhanced ACA subsidies.

But he said Democrats need to shift their focus to ensuring Republicans keep their promise of holding a vote on extending the ​credits.

“I’m disappointed, but my anger and frustration is directed at Republicans who forced an impossible false choice between affordable health care and reopening the government,” Blumenthal said. “Now Democrats need to be unified in holding Republicans to their promise of having a vote on extending the health care subsidies in December, and if that measure fails to pass, and the subsidies are not extended, Republicans will be to blame, and they’ll be held accountable.”

Sen. Peter Welch, asked about unity within the party, said the division among Democrats “was on the question of whether the continuation of the shutdown would be effective. People were being harmed. They weren’t getting their nutrition programs. People weren’t getting paid. So it was a fair question.”

He said now, “all of us are there to continue the fight for health care and against the lawlessness of this president.”

Asked Monday whether it was productive for the party to start questioning the leadership of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Welch replied that “people can have their opinions about the leaders… but all of us who are really appalled by what’s going on and the loss of health care, we have to stay focused on the main prize, and that is winning the next election so we have the capacity to push back and protect America.”

Passenger aircrafts are seen taxiing at LaGuardia airport in New York City, on Monday.

Ground stops were issued Monday night for flights headed to New York City’s airports, as one of the worst days for Federal Aviation Administration air traffic control staffing since the start of the shutdown draws to an end.

The ground stop due to staffing, combined with windy weather, resulted in more than two hours of average delays for flights headed to LaGuardia Airport. Newark Liberty International Airport reported average delays of more than an hour per flight and John F. Kennedy airport had delays of 15 minutes and increasing.

Chicago’s O’Hare, which was dealing with staffing problems and snowy weather, had average arrival delays of more than five hours. Midway Airport bound flights were delayed nearly an hour.

Flights headed to San Diego had 85-minute delays, and those going to Phoenix were more than an hour behind schedule. Houston’s two airports both had delays of more than 30 minutes.

There were 40 reports of staffing problems throughout the day at FAA facilities across the country, making this the third-worst day for air traffic control staffing since the start of the shutdown. The two worst days were Saturday and Sunday.

There have been 636 reports of short staffing since October 1, more than six times as many as were reported on the same dates last year.

Control towers at Chicago’s O’Hare, Dallas Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Nashville, Phoenix, and San Diego reported staffing problems Monday.TRACONs in Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Las Vegas, New York, Newark, Orlando, Phoenix and Southern California were also short-staffed.

Air Route Traffic Control Centers, which control flights enroute at high altitude, are without their normal complement of controllers in Albuquerque, Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Oakland, Washington, DC, and Jacksonville.

President Donald Trump gave an interview to Fox News today while the Senate moved toward voting on a compromise funding package to reopen the government.

The president discussed the shutdown, which has been the longest in US history, including the impact on air travel and the political showdown on Capitol Hill.

Here’s some of what else he had to say:

• Enrollment of Chinese students at US universities:

There has been some tension between Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron throughout Trump’s second term.

• On economic anxiety: Trump downplayed the idea that Americans are feeling economic anxiety. “I think polls are fake. We have the greatest economy we ever had,” the president said. “It’s largely because of my election, but it’s also largely because of tariffs.”

CNN’s exit polling from last week’s elections in New Jersey, Virginia, California and New York City, showed that voters call economic issues – taxes, cost of living or the economy as a whole – their top concern. Only voters in Virginia see their state’s economy as excellent or good, while those in California, New York City and New Jersey take a more pessimistic view of their state or city’s economy.

See below the exit polling analysis from CNN’s David Chalian.

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Exit polls reveal this is what voters care about

01:20 • Source: CNN

Exit polls reveal this is what voters care about

01:20

Sen. Ruben Gallego expressed frustration that the deal cut by some of his Democratic colleagues to keep the government open could impact health care costs for millions of Americans — and said the pressure is now on them to find a way forward with Republicans on the hot-button issue.

“I’m frustrated for the people of America, the 24 million Americans that are potentially going to see their premiums increase,” Gallego told CNN when asked if he’s frustrated with the eight members of the Senate Democratic caucus who crossed party lines to advance the funding package that does not include an Affordable Care Act tax credit extension.

“I hope my colleagues, earnestly, are correct that we’re going to be able to still land this plane and make sure that 24 million Americans don’t see their insurance premiums doubled,” he said.

As part of the compromise deal, Senate Majority Leader John Thune has promised to put an Affordable Care Act subsidies bill on the floor as soon as the middle of next month, though it is not guaranteed to become law and House Speaker Mike Johnson has not made the same commitment.

Asked if he has confidence in Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, after the top Democrat voted to block the funding package but still faces criticism for how he handled the stalemate, Gallego responded, “this was a decision made by eight people,” making clear he didn’t think Schumer could have changed the minds of the Democrats who flipped.

“They clearly had a momentum. They clearly had their own goals. I think we all spoke to enough of them to bring them back, but we couldn’t get all of them, and I think it was going to be difficult for them to do that,” he said.

Pressed again on Schumer, Gallego said, “I have confidence in him, yeah.”

The Senate is still holding a series of votes ahead of the chamber’s final vote on a bill to end the government shutdown.

They are currently on the fourth of eight in the vote series, which has included procedural votes and votes related to amendments.

In an effort to move faster, senators are trying to shorten the votes to ten minutes each, far quicker than it typically takes the chamber to hold a single vote. Senators have been encouraged to stay close to the floor to move the process along.

Once the Senate passes the bill to reopen the government, it will next need to go to the House for a vote.

A federal judge in Boston rebuked the Trump administration today over its decision to go after states that rushed to issue full food stamp benefits last week after the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said it was complying with a court order to provide the federal assistance.

Recap the series of events:

What happened during today’s hearing in Boston: Earlier in the day, US District Judge Indira Talwani had put a temporary block in place on the USDA directive asking states to undo the steps. Then during the hearing in a case brought by Democratic governors and state attorneys general, she said she would extend the block. The details of the order will be in her written decision, she said.

What the judge said: Talwani admonished an attorney for the administration over his argument that some states “jumped the gun.” USDA’s directive on Saturday amounted to impermissible “threatening letters” from the federal government, she said. The judge said the states “acted fairly reasonably” when they began working toward getting the money and that the USDA didn’t suggest in its guidance on Friday “that it isn’t going forward.”

US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks during a press conference to discuss SNAP benefits amid the ongoing government shutdown, in Washington, DC, on October 29.

President Donald Trump told Fox News on Monday that he thinks Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer went “too far” in the shutdown fight.

The president’s comments come as the Senate has begun a series of votes that will end with a final vote to pass a compromise funding package that would move to reopen the government. If approved, the House will have to return and adopt the deal before it is sent to Trump’s desk to be signed.

President Donald Trump told Fox News on Monday that he was “not happy” when he saw the air traffic controller staffing issues in recent days.

The president was also asked on Fox News about bonuses for controllers who have worked during the government shutdown, an idea he floated earlier Monday in a Truth Social post. He conceded that he did not know where the money would come from for these proposed $10,000 bonuses but that he would “get it from someplace.”

“I don’t know. I’ll get it from someplace,” Trump said. “I always get the money from someplace.”

Some context: Air traffic controllers, like other “excepted” federal workers such as federal police and civilian military employees, are required to work through the government shutdown despite not being paid.

An analysis of Federal Aviation Administration delay data shows 61% of delay minutes recorded by National Airspace System between November 7 and 9 were related to air traffic controller staffing issues — up from 47% in the first six days of November.

The floor of the US Senate on Monday.

Senators are now taking a series of votes on a package to fund the federal government.

This vote series will end with a final passage vote on the funding compromise, which critically won the support of eight centrists in the Democratic caucus over the weekend.

Once passed, the bill will move to the House. Speaker Mike Johnson has told his members to start making their way back to Washington to vote on ending the historic government shutdown this week.

Southwest Airlines planes sit at gates as travelers walk through Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in Baltimore, on Monday.

Airports across the United States saw a 14% increase in airport delays last weekend due to air traffic control issues, according a data analysis by America for Airlines, the top trade association for commercial airlines in the US.

An analysis of Federal Aviation Administration delay data shows 61% of delay minutes recorded by National Airspace System between November 7 and 9 were related to air traffic controller staffing issues – up from 47% in the first six days of November.

In October, staffing issues contributed to 16% of delay minutes, the data shows, compared to 5% in the first nine months of 2025.Air travel disruptions were compounded by the FAA’s mandate ordering airlines to reduce 4% of flights at 40 of the largest airports nationwide, resulting in thousands of delays and cancellations.

While staffing shortages and flight reductions are considered two separate issues facing travelers and flight crews, data from several airlines, including Delta, Southwest, United and American Airlines, shows 60% of staffing-related flight cancellations over the weekend were related to FAA-mandated flight reductions, according to a summary of that data by America for Airlines.

Meanwhile, some passengers who did take off and land in their destination still encountered long delays, unpredictable arrival times and extended time on the tarmac, the summary shows, adding that many flight crews are missing connections or reaching their mandated time limits before flights can take off.

House Democratic leaders are officially whipping against the Senate funding compromise that won the support of eight centrists in the Democratic caucus on Sunday night, according to two sources familiar with the plans.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his team hope to limit the number of Democrats who support the plan, which will maximize pressure on House Republicans to land the votes themselves.

At least some Democrats are still expected to support the plan in the House, CNN has previously reported.