As the government shutdown entered its sixth week on November 2, 2025, President Donald Trump doubled down on his hardline stance, urging Republicans to change Senate rules and showing no sign of compromise with Democrats. The stalemate, now in its 33rd day, has already surpassed previous records and is set to become the longest shutdown in U.S. history, according to reporting from the Associated Press and CBS.
Appearing on CBS’s “60 Minutes” on Sunday, President Trump made his position crystal clear: “I won’t be extorted by Democrats to reopen the government,” he declared, signaling that he has no intention of negotiating as federal workers brace for yet another missed paycheck and critical services hang in the balance. The president accused Democrats—who are demanding an extension of health care subsidies before voting to reopen the government—of having “lost their way.” He predicted, “I think they have to [capitulate]. And if they don’t vote, it’s their problem.”
The impasse centers on the future of Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of the year. Senate Democrats have voted 13 times against Republican-led efforts to reopen the government, insisting that any deal must first include an extension of these subsidies. They argue that millions of Americans could face higher premiums if the enhanced subsidies, first introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, are allowed to lapse. “We want to sit down with Thune, with [House Speaker Mike] Johnson, with Trump, and negotiate a way to address this horrible health care crisis,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer last week, as quoted by the Associated Press.
President Trump, however, sees things differently. In the same “60 Minutes” interview, he lambasted the ACA as “terrible” and suggested that Democrats should first vote to reopen the government, after which Republicans would “work on fixing the bad health care that we have right now.” This fundamental disagreement has left both parties at loggerheads, with moderates from both sides quietly exploring potential compromises that might guarantee votes on health care in exchange for ending the shutdown. But so far, meaningful progress remains elusive.
Amidst the political brinkmanship, the president has repeatedly urged Republican leaders to scrap the Senate filibuster—a long-standing rule requiring 60 votes to overcome objections and move legislation forward. “Republicans have to get tougher,” Trump insisted during his CBS interview. “If we end the filibuster, we can do exactly what we want.” Yet, Senate Republicans, including Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota, have rebuffed this idea, defending the filibuster as a vital institutional safeguard. “We need five [Democrats] with a backbone to say we care more about the lives of the American people than about gaining some political leverage,” Thune said on the Senate floor as lawmakers left Washington for the weekend.
Trump’s push to eliminate the filibuster has proven a distraction for Republican leaders like Thune and Johnson, who are focused on finding the five Democratic votes needed to pass a bill to reopen the government. The Associated Press reports that moderates from both parties have been locked in weekslong talks about possible deals, but as of early November, there is no clear path forward. Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat, told ABC’s “This Week” that discussions are underway about “a path to fix the health care debacle” and securing commitments from Republicans not to fire more federal workers. Still, whether these conversations will yield a breakthrough remains uncertain.
Throughout the shutdown, President Trump has shown little appetite for bipartisanship. After returning from a trip to Asia, he immediately called for an end to the filibuster, further frustrating Democrats who have repeatedly asked him to engage seriously in negotiations. The White House has also taken a mocking tone toward Democrats, with Trump posting videos of House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries in a Mexican sombrero and creating a satirical “My Space” page for Democrats on the official White House website. “We just love playing politics with people’s livelihoods,” the parody page reads.
The consequences of the shutdown are becoming increasingly severe and widespread. Federal workers, including air traffic controllers, are missing paychecks, leading to mounting delays at airports across the country. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned on ABC’s “This Week” that the situation is only going to get worse: “Many of the workers are confronted with a decision. Do I put food on my kids’ table, do I put gas in the car, do I pay my rent or do I go to work and not get paid?”
New York City’s emergency management department reported on Sunday that Newark Airport was under a ground delay due to “staffing shortages in the control tower,” with some flights delayed more than three hours. FAA planning notes cited by the Associated Press indicated the possibility of a full ground stop if staffing shortages or demand increased further.
Beyond travel disruptions, the shutdown threatens the livelihoods of 42 million Americans who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. The Department of Agriculture had planned to withhold $8 billion in payments to the program starting Saturday, until two federal judges ordered the administration to fund it. House Democratic leader Jeffries accused Trump and Republicans of attempting to “weaponize hunger,” pointing out that the administration has managed to fund other priorities during the shutdown but has been slow to release SNAP benefits despite court orders. “But somehow they can’t find money to make sure that Americans don’t go hungry,” Jeffries said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, appearing on the same program, argued that the administration is awaiting direction from the courts. “The best way for SNAP benefits to get paid is for Democrats—for five Democrats to cross the aisle and reopen the government,” he said.
The current shutdown has already eclipsed the previous record set during the 35-day government closure from December 2018 to January 2019, which ended only after President Trump retreated from his demands for border wall funding amid escalating airport delays and mounting financial hardship for federal workers. Virginia Senator Mark Warner expressed hope that the current crisis could end “this week” now that Trump has returned to Washington, but he acknowledged that Republicans “can’t move on anything without a Trump sign off.”
As the shutdown drags on, the standoff between the White House and Congressional Democrats shows few signs of abating. With both sides entrenched and critical services hanging in the balance, the nation watches anxiously, waiting for a resolution that seems as distant as ever.
