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bOther Republicans and Democrats are digging in their heels, with no sign of any serious breakthrough in negotiations as evident as White House intervention or a federal government shutdown. Approaching the one month mark.
On Capitol Hill, the House remains out of session and the Senate Controversy over possibility of standalone solution Providing funding for individual initiatives, e.g. Pay for air traffic controllers. But as November 1 approaches. pressure on the legislative branch And there’s going to be a lot of momentum going forward, especially in individual House districts — setting a new tone for any conversation going forward.
Lawmakers kept an eye on it on Tuesday air traffic controller and a wide range of other federal employees from civilian agencies Missed your first full paycheck of shutdown period. The federal government employs over one million Americans and with rent traditionally coming due at the beginning of the month, hundreds of thousands of people are now facing real, tangible financial instability. Even for homeowners, the burden is significant, with many food banks reporting an influx of federal workers.
For millions of other Americans, another financial crisis is looming at the end of the week: a freeze on SNAP benefits, formerly known as food stamps. Food assistance for low-income families is set to expire on October 31 due to a deliberate decision by Trump-appointed USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins. The Agriculture Department’s guidance said officials believe it would be illegal to use SNAP emergency funds appropriated by Congress to cover the shutdown period, which contradicts the agency’s own previous guidance issued earlier in 2025.
Democrats are wreaking havoc in Congress, but the administration is taking a tough stance. Meanwhile, one in ten Americans will lose access to federal food assistance benefits within four days.
Weaker members of both parties are now caught in the crossfire. Republicans are weaponizing Democrats’ repeated votes against “clean” government funding proposals against Jon Ossoff and others, whom they see as easy targets in 2026, while their opponents are pressuring them over the president’s continued refusal to negotiate and the apparent indifference shown by Trump toward the entire situation.
The GOP is facing pressure from its Democratic opponents on two issues that actually led to the shutdown in the first place: protections for congressionally authorized spending against Russ Vought’s efforts to eliminate federal programs and the extension of federal subsidies for Obamacare plans, which are set to raise health care premiums for millions of Americans when they expire at the end of 2025.
Both sides are adamant that the situation is on the verge of working to their advantage, if not already so.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Tuesday, “Look, on November 1, people in more than 30 states will be shocked and hollering when they see their bills, and I believe that will increase the pressure on Republicans to negotiate with us.”
“Trump is not even in the United States, and Senate Republicans are making exactly the same failed drama that has brought America to its knees,” he said.
And others in his party are of the mindset that it’s now or never as it relates to stopping Donald Trump and the executive branch from further expanding their power. Senator Tim Kaine, whose state of Virginia is home to many federal employees, rejected a call from federal labor union leaders for Democrats to drop their resistance and vote for a clean continuation solution without any concessions. The senator pointed to the Trump administration’s massive layoffs, including some that occurred during the shutdown, and referenced the breakdown of trust between both parties on the Hill and between the two branches of government over whether deals agreed in Congress would be honored by the White House or even just among congressional aides.
“AFGE wouldn’t want us to cut a deal and then have Trump fire a bunch of people next week,” Kaine said, referring to the union. “If we made a deal and then he did this, they’d come to us and say, ‘What the hell were you guys thinking?'”
The breach of trust cited by Kaine has been blamed by many for the inability of both parties to cut a deal, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune receiving the cold shoulder after pushing a plan to guarantee a vote on health care subsidies after the shutdown ends in an effort to satisfy Democrats.
Mark Kelly, another purple-state senator, hinted Independent On Tuesday, Democrats were hopeful that the situation would be such that the president would be forced to give up the field to congressional Republicans as they stepped up their attack on Trump.
“How much time do you think Donald Trump has spent?” Kelly asked, then gave her answer: “About an hour. Less than an hour. About an hour. How much time do you think she spent on her ballroom?”
“And a lot more,” Kelly added. “He spends more time on his ballroom than on Americans’ health care. So we can fix this and get it done quickly if we can get him involved.”
A sign of the rift within the Republican Senate caucus clearly emerged Tuesday, when Vice President J.D. Vance was on the Hill for a lunchtime meeting with GOP senators. Populist Missouri Senator Josh Hawley indicated he was pushing a bill to extend SNAP benefits through the shutdown — and when asked by reporters to identify the main obstacle to its passage, he named Thune, while he took aim at Democrats for continuing the shutdown until a deal is signed on healthcare subsidies.
“I mean, he obviously controls the House, and this is only going to pass by vote,” said Hawley, the GOP Senate leader. “I mean, it’s not going to pass [unanimous consent]Anyone will object to this, they have a hold on the hotline. so it can’t pass [unanimous consent]So the only way to pass it is by vote.”
Thune has not yet indicated that he is bowing to the calls, although his public nature raises questions about the unity of his caucus. Calling a vote on Hawley’s bill, sponsored by Democratic Senator Peter Welch, would give it a realistic chance of passage in the upper chamber. Then, the bill will come to the House, where it will become a much more politically damaging football. Chairman Mike Johnson To carry. Johnson has kept the House out of session, adamant that the House “did its job” by passing a clean CR, and insisting he will not bring it back up until the government reopens. Despite being supported by a unified Democratic party, the House vote on the SNAP bill will surely split Johnson’s caucus.
With food aid expiring in less than a week, it’s very possible that the administration’s attempts to draw a line in the sand (in the absence of Donald Trump’s interest) are going to massively backfire for Republicans.