Senate rejects Democratic resolution to keep government funded
The Senate has rejected a stopgap funding bill, drawn up by congressional Democrats, that would keep the government funded until the end of October. Fifty-three Republicans voted against the resolution, while 47 Democrats voted for it.
This version of a shortterm funding patch also included several healthcare provisions – including extending Affordable Care Act subsidies that are due to expire at the end of this year.
Key events
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Senate adjourns
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OMB sends letter to federal agencies as midnight shutdown set to take effect
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Senate fails to pass a stopgap funding bill, as government careens towards a midnight shutdown
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Senate rejects Democratic resolution to keep government funded
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Bondi to appear before Senate judiciary committee next week
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‘We have no choice’: Trump says layoffs are inevitable if the government shuts down
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Trump signs executive order to use AI in pediatric cancer research
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Qatar, Egypt and Turkey urge Hamas to accept Trump’s Gaza proposal – report
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Federal judge says that Trump administration’s targeting of pro-Palestinian activists violates the First Amendment
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‘We’ll probably have a shutdown,’ Trump says in Oval Office press conference
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Democrats call out Republicans for postponing votes on Capitol Hill
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Trump announces agreement with Pfizer to lower medication prices
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What was in Trump and Hegseth’s astonishing speeches to US top military brass?
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Major reforms to military acquisitions and sales are coming, Trump says
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Trump suggets ‘dangerous cities’ should be used ‘as training grounds’ for the military and national guard
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Trump says ‘straightening out’ US cities will be ‘a major part for some of the people in this room’
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Trump tells military generals ‘we’re under invasion from within’
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Trump says he wants to get Putin and Zelenskyy together
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Trump says Hamas ‘has to agree’ to US proposal for Gaza, adding ‘if they don’t it’s going to be very tough on them’
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Trump says he’s never seen ‘a room so silent before’ as he address top military brass
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Hegseth tells generals if they do not agree with him, ‘do the honorable thing and resign’
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Hegseth says that if new military standards prevent women from serving in combat, ‘it is what it is’
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Pentagon will review its definitions of ‘toxic leadership’, ‘bullying’ and ‘hazing’, says Hegseth
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‘No more beardos,’ Hegseth tells military leaders they must look professional
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‘Fat troops are tiring to look at’: Hegseth orders top officers to focus on fitness
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Combat troops will have to meet ‘highest male standard’, Hegseth says
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‘We are done with that shit’: Hegseth says military is done with diversity efforts in extraordinary speech to generals
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‘You might say, we’re ending the war on warriors,’ says Pete Hegseth in speech to military leaders
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Trump and Hegseth to address unprecedented gathering of military leaders
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Trump gutting protected status for immigrants will strain US healthcare, Democrats warn
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Donald Trump to preside over gathering of US military’s top commanders in Quantico, Virginia
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US justice department sues Minnesota over sanctuary city policies
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Pentagon review reportedly confirms Aukus submarines pact is safe
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US deports planeload of Iranians after deal with Tehran, New York Times says
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US government to shut down within hours if no funding deal agreed
Senate Majority Leader John Thune held a press conference after the Senate failed to pass a funding bill. He blamed “far-left” Democrats for shutting down the government.
“The Democrat caucus here in town in the Senate has chosen to shut down the government over a clean, nonpartisan funding bill,” he said.
“Far-left interest groups and far-left Democratic members wanted a show down with the president,” he added.
Later, Thune added that “there are Democrats who are very unhappy with the situation that they are in” who may choose to vote with Republicans on a future funding bill. He also criticized the enhanced premium tax credits, which he said were only extended because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but that he said he would be open to negotiating on.
Senate adjourns
The Senate has adjourned until 10am ET tomorrow, meaning a government shutdown is certain.
The National Parks will remain largely open throughout the government shutdown, although about two-thirds of agency employees will be furloughed, the Associated Press reports.
According to a contingency plan released by the National Park Service, “park roads, lookouts, trails, and open-air memorials will generally remain accessible to visitors”. Parks could close if damage is done – as happened in Joshua Tree during the 2019 shutdown – although the contingency plan allows states, tribes or local governments to help keep national parks open through donations.
Here’s more from my colleague Gabrielle Canon about the uncertainty facing the national parks:
Amy Klobuchar, the senator from Minnesota, just mentioned a Kaiser Family Foundation study published today that shows Americans accessing insurance through the Affordable Care Act will see their premiums double if Congress fails to extend the enhanced premium tax credits.
Here’s the study and its key takeaways:
If Congress allows the enhanced premium tax credits to expire at the end of this year, ACA Marketplace enrollees on average would see their out-of-pocket premium payments more than double next year, growing by 114%, from an average of $888 in 2025 to $1,904 in 2026, according to a KFF analysis released today.
OMB sends letter to federal agencies as midnight shutdown set to take effect
The office for management and budget (OMB) has sent a letter to federal agencies, continuing to blame Democratic lawmakers for the impending government shutdown.
“It is unclear how long Democrats will maintain their untenable posture, making the duration of the shutdown difficult to predict,” OMB director, Russell Vought, wrote. “Agencies should continue to closely monitor developments, and OMB will provide further guidance as appropriate.”
A reminder, that the office sent a memo to agencies last year, instructing them to brace for significant layoffs in the event of a shutdown. A repercussion that Donald Trump has co-signed as likely.
Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, has issued a statement, following the failure of the upper chamber to pass a continuing resolution to keep the government funded.
Republicans JUST VOTED DOWN our bill to avoid a government shutdown at midnight and address the healthcare needs of the American people. Republicans are plunging us into a government shutdown rather than fixing their healthcare crisis.
In a video, Democratic senator John Fetterman, of Pennsylvania, said that his vote for the Republican-drafted continuing resolution was “country over my party”.
“I won’t vote for the chaos of shuttering our government,” Fetterman said, noting that he also voted for the Democratic version of the bill, which included an extension to Affordable Care Act subsidies.
Democratic senator Jacky Rosen, of Nevada, said that Donald Trump and Washington Republicans are now shutting down the government, “because they refuse to come to the table”.
“Everyone out there, your health care premiums are about to double, about to double, everybody across the board,” she added, after both versions of a short-term funding bill to keep the government funded failed to pass. “Trump can’t bully us into taking away your healthcare.”
Speaking on the floor now is the Kansas Republican senator Jerry Moran.
“We can’t pass a continuing resolution because there are those who want to bring other issues into the bill,” he says of the Democratic lawmakers who have blocked the continuing resolution.
In a statement expanding on her decision to vote for the GOP short-term funding bill, Catherine Cortez Masto, a Nevada Democratic senator, said: “We need a bipartisan solution to address the impending healthcare crisis, but we should not be swapping the pain of one group of Americans for another.”
Notably, Cortez Masto voted joined several Senate Democrats in March to pass a continuing resolution and avert a government shutdown, much to the ire of several progressive lawmakers.
