The Schumer Shutdown / U.S. Senate Photographic Studio/Jeff McEvoy, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

by Emmitt Barry, with reporting from Washington D.C. Bureau Staff

by Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Staff

WASHINGTON D.C. (Worthy News) – The federal government shutdown reached its 35th day on Monday, tying the longest in U.S. history as Senate leaders from both parties hinted that a resolution may finally be within reach, though significant divisions remain over health care funding.

The standoff—driven by a dispute between Republicans and Democrats over expiring Obamacare premium subsidies—has halted large parts of the federal government since late September and forced lawmakers to confront the limits of temporary spending measures known as continuing resolutions (CRs).

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) acknowledged the toll of the impasse, telling reporters that the existing Nov. 21 funding deadline “is a dead issue” and that a new, longer stopgap will be necessary.

“Based on, sort of, my gut of how these things operate, I think we’re getting close to an off-ramp here,” Thune said, while cautioning that this shutdown has been unlike any other due to the Democrats’ hardened stance.

Republicans have sought to keep the government open by maintaining current spending levels without adding new policy provisions, but Democrats have blocked that plan 13 times in the Senate, insisting on extending the expiring premium tax credits.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) placed blame squarely on Democrats, saying they “made a deliberate choice to keep the government closed.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) countered that Republicans were responsible for “a partisan, dead-on-arrival” bill.

President Donald Trump, in an interview aired Nov. 2 on CBS’s 60 Minutes, urged Senate Democrats to end the stalemate. “We keep voting,” he said. “All they have to do is raise five hands. We don’t need all of them.”

The shutdown, now tied with the 2018–2019 lapse during Trump’s first term, has already strained critical programs. The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed it will fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits at reduced levels after they expired Nov. 1, and food banks report growing demand.

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) said he “could just feel the intensity” at food banks, while Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) warned that spiking health care premiums could be an inflection point forcing a deal.

Bipartisan discussions continued through the weekend. Senators Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Angus King (I-Vt.) have all been part of informal talks. Yet, optimism remains muted.

“I think their discussions on this are purely political,” Rounds said.

Thune suggested that a final compromise could include a “date certain” for a vote on a Democratic health care bill in exchange for reopening the government. But Democrats say that isn’t enough. “It’s got to be more than that,” said Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), the Democratic whip.

With no agreement yet in sight, the shutdown is poised to break the record Tuesday—marking 36 days without funding and pushing the government deeper into uncertainty.

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