On Monday, October 20, 2025, Iowa’s four Republican U.S. House members issued a pointed plea to Senate Democrats: act swiftly to end the federal government shutdown, now stretching into its 20th day and on the brink of tying the second longest in U.S. history. The letter, addressed to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, underscored the mounting toll on Iowans—farmers unable to reach crucial support services, veterans locked out of regional offices, and families facing the uncertainty of food assistance and health care disruptions.
Representatives Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Ashley Hinson, Zach Nunn, and Randy Feenstra, all Republicans, united in urging the Senate to pass what they described as a bipartisan continuing resolution. The measure, already cleared by the House in September, would keep the government running for seven more weeks at current spending levels. But as of Monday, the Senate remained gridlocked, with Democrats refusing to advance the bill unless their demands for extending enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits and reversing recent Medicaid cuts were met.
"The time for political brinkmanship has passed," the lawmakers wrote in their letter, as reported by The Gazette. "The American people, and the people of Iowa, deserve a functioning government." They went on to warn, "This shutdown is inflicting real harm on the people of Iowa: women, children, farmers, veterans, seniors, and service members. They cannot afford Washington’s political games."
The consequences of the prolonged shutdown are already being felt across the state. According to the Iowa delegation, more than 18,000 federal employees in Iowa are either furloughed or working without pay. Some 160,000 veterans are unable to access assistance from regional U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs offices. For 62,000 women and children who rely on the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, critical services have been disrupted. And the uncertainty looms largest for the 267,000 Iowans—including over 100,000 children—who depend on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services warned on October 17 that November SNAP benefits might not be issued if the shutdown continues, citing a directive from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service.
SNAP, which supports roughly 131,000 Iowa households per month (with 32 percent of recipients being children), brings in about $45 million in federal funding each month to the state. While October’s benefits are covered, November is a question mark. Iowa HHS has already begun coordinating with food banks and community organizations to prepare for potential disruptions. "Iowa HHS has engaged food banks, pantry partners and community-based organizations to prepare to provide additional support to impacted Iowans," the department said in a public statement.
Beyond families and children, the shutdown’s effects ripple through rural hospitals facing funding lapses and more than 680,000 Iowa Medicare beneficiaries who risk losing access to telehealth services. Thousands of Iowa farmers are also affected, unable to reach closed U.S. Department of Agriculture offices for support during the critical harvest season.
For federal workers, the situation grows more dire with each passing day. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned on Monday that air travel disruptions could worsen as unpaid air traffic controllers seek alternative jobs to make ends meet. "They got a partial paycheck a week ago Tuesday. Their next paycheck comes a week from Tuesday, and in that paycheck there will be no dollars," Duffy said on Fox & Friends, as reported by CBS News. He noted that some controllers are turning to gig work—driving for Uber or delivering for DoorDash—to support their families. "A lot of them are paycheck to paycheck," Duffy added.
Even for the military, the shutdown’s impact is uneven. Thanks to a White House decision to redirect Pentagon research and development funds, Iowa National Guard service members—including those deployed overseas—will continue to be paid through October. However, about 700 Iowa National Guard federal technicians and civilian employees will not receive pay until Congress resolves the funding impasse, according to Jackie Schmillen, the Guard’s public affairs director.
The political blame game has only intensified as the shutdown drags on. Miller-Meeks, who led the letter to Schumer, stated, "The American people deserve a functioning government, not a Schumer Shutdown." She continued, "We passed a bill that keeps essential services running, pays our troops, protects families, and allows us to finish the appropriations process responsibly. It’s time for the Senate to act and put people over politics."
Fellow Representative Randy Feenstra, who is considering a run for Iowa governor in 2026, echoed the sentiment, criticizing Democrats’ demands as reckless. In his words, "Their recklessness put pay for our troops and WIC payments at risk, and continues to hurt our farmers, seniors, veterans, and small businesses. Again, the Democrats are hurting Iowa families all to give free healthcare to illegal immigrants and put our country deeper into debt."
Meanwhile, Democrats have pushed back forcefully. Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart accused the state’s Republican delegation of treating the shutdown "like a vacation," attending political fundraisers rather than returning to Washington to negotiate a resolution. "Randy Feenstra, Ashley Hinson, Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Zach Nunn should be working with their Republican colleagues to find a deal to open the government and prevent a spike in Iowans’ health care premiums," Hart said in an earlier statement.
Senate Democrats, led by Schumer, have insisted that any deal must include an extension of ACA premium tax credits and the reversal of Medicaid cuts, measures they argue are essential to prevent higher health costs and protect rural hospitals and nursing homes. Schumer, in an interview on The Checkup podcast, warned that "notices of higher 2026 premiums are arriving this month and tens of millions could face unaffordable coverage without action." He also rejected GOP claims that ACA, Medicare, or Medicaid funds are being diverted to undocumented immigrants, asserting, "not one dollar of those programs is available to people here unlawfully."
The standoff has left federal workers, military families, and vulnerable Iowans caught in the crossfire. The House-passed resolution has now failed multiple times in the Senate, falling short of the 60 votes needed to advance. The Senate was set to reconvene Monday for an eleventh attempt to break the deadlock.
As the shutdown enters its 21st day on Tuesday, it will tie the 1995-96 shutdown under President Bill Clinton as the second longest in U.S. history—a grim milestone that underscores the deep partisan divide in Washington. The record remains the 35-day shutdown during President Trump’s first term, a reminder of how protracted these battles can become when compromise proves elusive.
For now, the uncertainty continues. With essential services at risk and families across Iowa feeling the strain, all eyes are on Congress to find a way forward. The coming days will reveal whether lawmakers can set aside their differences and deliver the stability Iowans—and Americans—are counting on.
