Alex Bucknam
Managing Editor
In the week leading up to Oct. 1, many federal employees knew a shutdown was coming.
That meant most would be placed on furlough, while those deemed essential would continue working without pay.
A continuing resolution (CR) — commonly called a stopgap bill — H.R. 5371 was introduced in the House on Sept. 16 by Rep. Tom Cole, a Republican from Oklahoma.
The measure passed the House in a 217–212 vote, with 216 Republicans and one Democrat in favor.
Two Republicans and 210 Democrats opposed.
After clearing the House, it moved to the Senate. As of Oct. 10, senators have voted on it nine times, and none of those attempts succeeded.
The first Senate vote came on Sept. 19. The measure failed with the bill getting 44 yeas and 48 nays, with eight senators abstaining.
Because it lacked the 60 “yea” votes needed, it didn’t pass.
The most recent vote happened Oct. 9 and ended in getting 54 yeas and 45 nays, with one senator not voting.
The Senate is currently composed of 55 Republicans, 43 Democrats and two independents who caucus with Democrats. To advance the bill, Republicans need at least seven Democratic votes.
But several Democratic leaders have publicly said they won’t back it unless changes are made.
With no compromise by the deadline, the government officially shut down at midnight on Oct. 1.
Many federal services were suspended, and roughly 40% of the federal workforce remains working without pay.
In previous government shutdowns, workers received back pay. House Speaker Mike Johnson has said this could still be the case.
“My understanding is federal law has always been pretty settled on that, and it’s always custom that furloughed federal employees get back pay,” he told Axios.
This is different from what the White House says. President Donald Trump told reporters on Oct. 7 that some workers don’t deserve to be taken care of.
In a Time video, Trump stated, “For the most part, we are going to take care of your people. There are some people that really don’t deserve to be taken care of, and we will take care of them in a different way.”
When asked why he said this, he responds, “Well, you are going to have to figure that out, ask the Democrats.”
After he finished speaking, a reporter asked Trump whether he would follow the law, if the law states that workers must receive back pay.
Trump responded, “I follow the law.”
The President and his administration have tried to blame the Democrats for the government shutdown. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt blamed the Democrats for the shutdown, stating that they are the reason millions of families are in financial distress right now.
Through the multiple rounds of voting, Democrats are not showing any sight of voting in favor of the bill. Several Democrats have stated that if this were to pass, it would cause health care premiums to increase for millions of Americans.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune mentioned that Republicans would be willing to negotiate extending the Affordable Care Act (ACA) so premiums don’t go up, but in order to do that, Democrats first must reopen the government.
But some Democrats are saying that this isn’t enough, and that Republicans need to make deeper reforms rather than commitments.
For the government to reopen, two things could happen. The first case: Democrats must vote in favor the current CR, which then it will become law.
This will cause all of the things they oppose in this bill to become law.
The second case is a different CR must be created and must pass through both chambers of Congress.
The topic of the ACA in the Republican party is split, with multiple saying they don’t like it.
Republicans, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, also see the problem with not extending subsidies. “I’m going to go against everyone on this issue because when the tax credits expire this year my own adult children’s insurance premiums for 2026 are going to DOUBLE, along with all the wonderful families and hard-working people in my district,” Greene posted on social media.
But as of Oct. 10, the government is still shut down, and it looks like no party is willing to budge unless they get their way.
Trump stated that if the standstill continues, he will continue mass layoffs.
The Leader will continue to provide updates.