Government shutdown enters second week as Congress remains deadlocked

It must be October and two-year intervals in Congress.

Congress was paralyzed for more than three weeks without a leader two years ago last October when the House unceremoniously ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

And Congress is paralyzed again in October – unable to find the votes needed to reopen the government.

“We have nothing to negotiate,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. “We’ve done the work to keep the government open. And now it’s up to Senate Democrats to take the blame.”

Ominous red and orange skies brought notice to Capitol Hill as shutdown loomed

But Democrats say that’s the problem. There were no negotiations. Except for a brief meeting at the White House last week between President Trump and the top four bipartisan, bicameral leaders of Congress, a day before the shutdown.

“Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is talking about ‘we’ll have conversations.’ We need more than just conversations. We need real negotiation,” Sen. Mark Kelly, Democrat of Arizona, said on Fox.

So there are no discussions. And the parties seem to contradict each other.

It appears Congress is going nowhere as shutdown negotiations drag on. (Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)

So they turned to disability.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., predicted the shutdown would continue for another week.

“It won’t end until every senator puts their ego aside and kills it. And then it will end,” Kennedy predicted.

It is always and will always be about mathematics.

Senate Republicans can invoke the votes of 55 senators to break a filibuster on the House-passed bill to fund the government. But they need 60 yes. And the Republicans are determined to stick to their strategy.

“I can tell you there are more than five Democrats in the Senate who know that (Senate Minority Leader) Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has led them into a canyon with this Schumer shutdown,” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said on Fox. “But the consequences will start to pile up.”

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: THE SENA REVOTES TODAY ON THE END OF THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt did not directly respond to a question about what would trigger federal layoffs. But Leavitt made it clear that jobs were at stake.

“We don’t want to see people laid off. But unfortunately, if this shutdown continues, layoffs will be an unfortunate consequence,” Leavitt said.

Democrats have criticized the Trump administration for suggesting it would cut programs and jobs at agencies important to Democrats.

“Americans really hate bullies. And this kind of intimidation from the White House is going to have negative consequences because they understand that an authoritarian president is using New York’s infrastructure subsidies, laying off workers and deliberately inflicting suffering,” predicted Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut. “Do not inflict unnecessary pain and then boast about it.”

Some Republicans practically welcomed the White House’s approach.

“All’s fair in love and war. I think there’s a price to pay for Democrats to stop this project,” said Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan. “That will be part of the consequences.”

Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., argued that the shutdown is “collective punishment” and hits Republicans just as hard. (Tierney L. Cross/Getty Images)

But one Democrat argued that the Trump administration’s strategy would also hurt Republicans and voters who supported the president. Even in blue states.

“There’s a lot of people in Vermont, there’s a lot of people in Illinois who voted for President Trump. So this kind of collective punishment,” Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said on Fox. “I think it’s a really bad idea.”

But the president remains coy about when the shutdown might trigger federal layoffs.

“It’s possible,” the president said. “At some point it will.”

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy noted that his department had seen “a slight increase” in the number of aviation security employees complaining about illness during the shutdown – since they were not being paid.

“They’re thinking about how am I going to get a paycheck? How do I make a car payment,” Duffy said.

WHITE HOUSE INCREASES CONSEQUENCES OF SHUTDOWN AS DEMOCRATS SHOW NO SIGNS OF MOVEMENT: “KAMIKAZE ATTACK”

But if you squint, you’ll notice some signs of bipartisanship.

Johnson discusses Obamacare subsidies with prominent Democrat.

“I had, I think, a fruitful discussion with Senator Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington, about two days ago, about a day ago,” Johnson said of efforts to address looming Obamacare premium hikes. “Whatever the conference committee proposes, I will present it. I’m ready to go.”

But Schumer is skeptical of the President’s promises.

“Delay has always been President Johnson’s way of operating. President Johnson survived by kicking the can down the road,” Schumer said. “When Johnson says later, they know he never means it.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., insists Democrats are “playing a losing game.” (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)

Tensions are mounting as the shutdown enters its second week as lawmakers go around in circles.

“I realize that my Democratic colleagues are being pressured by members of their far-left base. But they are playing a losing game here,” Thune said.

But each camp is now engaged in a game of parliamentary chicken. Republicans will not back down from their demand that Senate Democrats approve their funding plan. And Democrats won’t let up in their insistence that the parties strengthen Obamacare subsidies.

“I will not vote to reopen the government until I find a way to do it,” said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.

Even some Republicans are concerned about Obamacare’s soaring prices.

“There are people in what is the new part of the Republican Party who are blue-collar,” Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., said on Fox Business. “We have to be careful how we do it. We just don’t have to cut it. We have to make sure we’re using a scalpel and not a hammer.”

Shutdown sparks strategic debate: Will Trump and Republicans pay the political price in 2026?

But even if bipartisan senators were able to reach a deal, the plan could hit a brick wall in the House.

“Republicans have spent most of their careers against Obamacare. Why would they expand it and add a subsidy on top of a subsidy?” asked House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla.

A debate is currently raging over which side will give in. Or which party faces political consequences.

Naturally, Republicans think Democrats will pay the price.

“Their radical base just wants to see them here fighting Donald Trump, not on specific issues,” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.

But the Democrats see no political disadvantage in this.

“Are you concerned in any way about the political consequences that voters might hold against your side in the future?” Yours truly asked House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.

“The American people know very clearly who shut down the government. Very clearly,” Jeffries responded.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., suggested that Americans are “very clear” about who is responsible for the shutdown. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

However, some lawmakers doubt voters care who “shuts down the government.”

“My constituents don’t care about being singled out. They just want us to govern,” said Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa.

As the impasse deepens, the Senate has shifted from a parliamentary posture to ecumenical intercession.

“On this third day of the government shutdown, inspire them to work for your glory in all that they think, say and sow,” prayed Senate Chaplain Barry Black during his invocation on the Senate floor last week.

HERE’S WHAT TRUMP WANTS TO DO TO REFORM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DURING THE SHUTDOWN

And then there are the shows. The White House sent out a meme depicting Budget Director Russ Vought as the Grim Reaper. And the president trolled Jeffries with an AI-generated social media video showing Jeffries in a sombrero and mustache with mariachi music playing in the background.

At the same time, Republicans have warned of the serious consequences of the shutdown.

“Real pain is endured by real people,” Johnson said.

But in the next moment, the President defended the president by dismissing the circumstances, calling the trolling “entertainment.”

“That’s what President Trump is doing. And people are having fun with it,” Johnson said.

I didn’t let that go.

“On the one hand, you say it’s very serious. That people have jobs on the line. On the other hand, you say, ‘oh, it’s just fun and games and they’re trolling.’ Which one is it?” I asked.

“What they’re trying to have fun with, to make fun of, is to point out the absurdity of the Democrats’ position,” Johnson responded.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., defended President Trump’s making light of current circumstances as “entertainment.” (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

So we don’t know if or when Vought will drop the anvil on federal workers. But one senator who came together with Democrats and voted for the GOP plan signaled that his support could wane if Republicans overplay their hand.

“If they start laying off thousands of people or taking back other types of programs, I think that could hurt their chances of solving this problem,” said Sen. Angus King, I-Maine.

The Senate has now blocked the House-approved spending package six times. The parties have informal conversations. But nothing happened.

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It’s as if Congress is on a merry-go-round going nowhere, just going around in circles. Everyone is dizzy. And just wants to get off.