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Highlights from Oct. 1, 2025
- SENATE STANDSTILL: The Senate again failed to pass the same two short-term funding bills it tried to pass last night, lengthening the federal government shutdown that began today to at least three days. Senators adjourned for the day and aren’t scheduled to vote again until Friday afternoon, in observance of Yom Kippur tomorrow.
- AGENCY PLANS: Every federal department and agency has its own set of procedures for operating during a shutdown. Many federal employees will be furloughed, but others may need to show up for work without pay.
- MASS LAYOFFS: Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought told House Republicans that the government would begin firing federal employees within "one to two" days. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also told reporters that firings were “imminent,” blaming Democrats for the shutdown.
- BLAME GAME: Several federal agencies' websites have posted partisan messages blaming Democrats for the shutdown, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Forest Service, which declared that the government was shut down by "Radical Left Democrats."
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Democrats, Republicans clash online over responsibility for shutdown
Democrats and Republicans have taken to social media to blame the opposing side for causing the government to shut down.
In a video on X, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., criticized Republicans and said they have refused to negotiate a bipartisan solution, in an “unprecedented manner.”
“If we do what the Republicans want us to do and pass a clean [bill] with no input at all from the opposition ... 15 million Americans will lose their health insurance and tens of thousands will die unnecessarily every single year,” Sanders said.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., wrote, "The government is shut down because Trump wants to act like a king and steal from you."
"Democrats have no obligation to support a budget that funds the destruction of our democracy — and DOUBLES health premiums to fund a tax cut for billionaires," Murphy added.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., blamed Republicans for shutting down the government and wrote, “Today, Americans across the country are getting notices telling them that their health insurance is going way, way up. Healthcare premiums across the country are DOUBLING.”
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said: “The government shutdown has occurred because Senator Chuck Schumer is holding the funding process hostage. The continuing resolution would have allowed the government to function while we finish the appropriations process in a bipartisan way. The longer Senator Schumer plays games, the greater the damage to national security, service members, and veterans.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said, “Democrats have bowed to the far left, and they’ve shut down the federal government. I hope five more of our Democrat colleagues will agree to end this shutdown.”
“Senate Democrats have twice now rejected a clean, bipartisan bill to keep the government open, just to push a radical partisan agenda. Most Americans don’t want this. It’s time to put country over party and fund the government,” said Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, wrote: “There was never a chance our government wouldn’t shut down. I think the shutdown will last a minimum of days, but it could be weeks, or longer.”
A few Democrats broke with their party to vote to fund the government until Nov. 21, including Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, also voted with them.
Cortez Masto pushed back against Trump’s claim that Democrats shut down the government to give health care to undocumented immigrants.
“Let’s be clear: undocumented immigrants have never been eligible for federal ACA tax credits, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits. The truth is tens of thousands of Nevadans will be forced off of their ACA coverage because Republicans refuse to come to the table to fix the health care crisis they created,” she wrote.
Sen. Rand Paul says he believes the government shutdown will be 'short-lived'
Sen. Rand Paul addressed the government shutdown in a discussion with NBC News’ Tom Llamas today.
Extracurricular activities and sports canceled at schools for military kids
Schools for military kids in pre-K through 12th grade operated by the Department of Defense Education Activity will remain in session during the government shutdown. However, sports and extracurricular activities will be paused, DoDEA said, except for prepaid and privately funded events.
DoDEA schools and district offices worldwide will remain open, but headquarters and regional offices will be affected. Military day care centers, child care programs and youth programs will also keep their doors open for mission-essential purposes, but that will vary by location.
DoDEA serves more than 67,000 children of active-duty military and Defense Department civilian families, according to its website.
Public Citizen files Hatch Act complaint against Small Business Administration for 'highly partisan post' on homepage
A nonprofit consumer advocacy group filed a Hatch Act complaint against Kelly Loeffler, the head of the Small Business Administration, for a message on the SBA's homepage that accuses Senate Democrats of causing the government shutdown.
Craig Holman, a government affairs lobbyist for Public Citizen, wrote in the complaint that the agency's homepage featured "a highly partisan post targeting both employees and the public asserting that congressional Democrats are solely responsible for the shutdown and causing financial harm to small businesses and the American public."
The SBA's homepage message says, in part, that "Senate Democrats voted to block a clean federal funding bill (H.R. 5371), leading to a government shutdown that is preventing the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) from serving America’s 36 million small businesses."
The Hatch Act bars federal employees from engaging in political activity on duty.
Holman said in a statement that "the SBA and other agencies increasingly adopting this illegal, partisan tactic think they can get away with it because Trump has gutted any and all ethics oversight of the federal government."
“Ethics officials — as lacking in power and status as they may be under Trump — must act immediately to prove them wrong. The American people deserve better,” he added.
An SBA spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The group filed a similar complaint yesterday against Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner.
The Senate is adjourned for the day
The Senate has adjourned for the day and will return at noon ET tomorrow.
No votes are expected tomorrow after the Senate comes into session, but Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he anticipated "there’ll be a lot of conversations going on."
Thune said that the Senate floor will be available for senators to deliver speeches and that the Capitol would largely "be powered down" and "fairly quiet" in observance of Yom Kippur.
The Senate will hold votes at 1:30 p.m. ET Friday, with the second and third votes in that series being revotes on the stopgap funding bills that have failed three times already.
GOP misleads with claim that Democrats shut down to give health care to ‘illegal immigrants’
With the government shut down, Republicans are centering their message on a simple argument: “Democrats are grinding America to a halt in order to give illegal immigrants free health care.”
That message, from a new ad from the National Republican Congressional Committee, has been echoed by GOP lawmakers and the Trump administration in recent days.
Vice President JD Vance claimed on Fox News that the GOP’s “big, beautiful bill” turned off health funding for “illegal aliens.”
“Democrats want to turn it back on,” he said. “It’s not something that we made up. It’s not a talking point. It is in the text of the bill that they initially gave to us to reopen the government.”
Washington, D.C., ceases issuing marriage licenses during shutdown
Washington, D.C., courts are unable to issue marriage licenses for the duration of the shutdown, according to a notice on the court's website.
During the 34-day government shutdown in late 2018 and early 2019, the D.C. Council passed an emergency law — dubbed the LOVE Act — that gave Mayor Muriel Bowser the authority to issue marriage licenses during the shutdown. It is unclear whether the council will seek to do so again in the event of another extended shutdown.
Federal government websites post messages blaming Democrats for the shutdown
The U.S. Forest Service now has a partisan message up on its website blaming Democrats for the shutdown.
"The Radical Left Democrats shutdown the government," it says on the homepage. "This government website will be updated periodically during the funding lapse for mission critical functions. President Trump has made it clear he wants to keep the government open and support those who feed, fuel, and clothe the American people."
The State Department's website says, "Due to the Democrat-led shutdown, website updates will be limited until full operations resume."
Yesterday, in advance of the shutdown, the Department of Housing and Urban Development posted a message on its website blaming Democrats for the looming funding gap.
NBC News reported that Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group, filed a complaint over the message with the Office of Special Counsel, accusing HUD of violating the Hatch Act, which limits political activities by federal workers. A HUD staffer denied that it violated the law.
Veterans Affairs newsletter blames Democrats for shutdown
A newsletter message sent today by the Department of Veterans Affairs to veterans, their families and others included partisan language that blamed Democrats for their role in the government shutdown.
"President Trump opposes a lapse in appropriations, and on September 19, the House of Representatives passed, with the Trump Administration’s support, a clean continuing resolution to fund the government through November 21. Unfortunately, Democrats are blocking this Continuing Resolution in the U.S. Senate due to unrelated policy demands," reads the message, which was shared with NBC News.
The email went on to share a list of resources from the department that would remain functional during the shutdown — including veterans' burials and veteran health care — and would not remain functional during the shutdown, such as veteran career counseling and the GI Bill hotline.
Federal courts to remain open until Oct. 17
In a notice posted online, the federal court system reported that it plans to remain open until Oct. 17 if the shutdown goes on for that long.
The online statement says the courts will do so "by using court fee balances and other funds not dependent on a new appropriation."
