Government Poised for First Shutdown in Seven Years as Deadline Nears

WASHINGTON — The U.S. government is set to shut down at midnight after negotiations between President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats collapsed, leaving hundreds of thousands of federal workers facing furloughs and millions of Americans bracing for disruptions to public services.

Talks broke down Tuesday over Democrats’ demand to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies that lower health insurance premiums, a measure set to expire at year’s end. Republicans, backed by the White House, pressed for a short-term “clean” spending bill without policy add-ons.

“We’ll probably have a shutdown,” Trump said in the Oval Office, blaming Democrats for refusing to back down. Senate Democrats countered that Republicans were holding government funding “hostage” while dismissing health care concerns that could leave millions uninsured.

The Senate scheduled evening votes on competing proposals, but both measures appeared unlikely to secure the 60 votes needed to advance. A Democratic plan would extend funding, preserve ACA subsidies, reverse Medicaid cuts, and restore foreign aid and public broadcasting money. The Republican plan would extend funding through Nov. 21 with limited additional spending.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated that a shutdown could furlough 750,000 federal workers each day, depriving them of $400 million in wages. Past closures have disrupted passport processing, slowed food safety inspections, and shuttered national parks.

Trump added further uncertainty by suggesting his administration could use the shutdown to impose permanent federal workforce cuts—remarks contradicted by agency officials who stressed mass layoffs were not legally permitted. The Department of Housing and Urban Development also drew criticism after posting a partisan statement blaming the “Radical Left” for the impasse.

Political tensions escalated further after Trump shared a doctored video mocking Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, which Democrats denounced as racist. Jeffries fired back by resurfacing Trump’s past ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

With both parties entrenched, the standoff is poised to trigger the first government shutdown since 2018, which lasted 34 days and cost the U.S. economy $3 billion. A Morning Consult poll this week found that 45 percent of voters would blame Republicans for a shutdown, compared with 32 percent who would blame Democrats.