US Government Shutdown Enters Second Week Amid Legislative Deadlock

Mon Oct 13 2025 22:43:01 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

Despite bipartisan proposals, the US Senate remains deadlocked over spending bills, leading to an extended government shutdown as both parties blame each other and essential services face potential layoffs.

The US Senate has once again failed to pass spending measures to re-open the government, which is now in its second week. Proposals from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers did not meet the required support, leaving essential government services at risk of layoffs. The White House warns of significant fiscal consequences as negotiations stall amid partisan tensions over healthcare and budget allocations.

US Senators have for a fourth time failed to pass spending proposals to reopen the federal government, extending the ongoing shutdown into next week.

Two separate spending proposals - one from the Democrats and one from Republicans - failed to reach the required 60-vote threshold.

With both sides deadlocked, the White House on Friday said it would be left with the unenviable task of mass layoffs to keep essential government services operating if the shutdown continues, which Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described as fiscal sanity.

The scope of those potential layoffs remains unclear but the White House has been in discussions with the Office of Management and Budget, or OMB.

Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have dug in their heels on the main point of disagreement: healthcare. Democrats hope to capitalize on the impasse to ensure health insurance subsidies for low-income individuals do not expire and to reverse the Trump administration's Medicaid cuts.

Republicans, for their part, have accused Democrats of using the shutdown as a lever to provide healthcare to undocumented immigrants—a charge Democratic leaders deny.

A total of 54 Senators voted in favor of a Republican-led proposal to fund the government, with 44 against and two not voting. A separate, Democrat-led proposal also failed, with 45 voting in favor and 52 against.

Both sides continue to blame each other for the shutdown, showing little sign of progress in negotiations. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt accused Democrats of holding Americans hostage over their demands and noted that the economic consequences of the shutdown are significant, with potential losses of $15 billion in GDP each week.

To respond to the waste being created by the shutdown, OMB announced the suspension of $2.1 billion in federal infrastructure funding for Chicago and previously frozen $18 billion in infrastructure spending in New York City.

On the Senate floor, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer emphasized that Democrats will uphold the healthcare issue because we know Americans want this and that inaction would be devastating.

Polling indicates a divided public perception regarding the shutdown, with 47% blaming Republicans, 30% blaming Democrats, and 23% unsure.