Closed for the weekend: Senate vote fails to break bitter partisan deadlock on government shutdown – UK Times

The Senate failed to reach an agreement to reopen the government on Friday, causing the federal shutdown to enter the weekend.

Meanwhile, the clerk of the House of Representatives read a letter from House Speaker Mike Johnson Friday afternoon saying that next week would be a “district work week,” sending the House home and guaranteeing the House would not need to convene.

As of right now, the Democrats and Republicans are in the same spot they were on Tuesday evening: Republicans want a clean stopgap spending bill called a continuing resolution to buy time to negotiate spending bills for a full fiscal year, while Democrats want to include a provision to extend enhanced subsidies for the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplaces.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he would be available, but he likely would be back home in South Dakota over the weekend. And don’t expect a working group to get this truck out of the ditch: Thune’s fellow South Dakotan Sen. Mike Rounds said he is not optimistic about talks between Democrats and Republicans.

“I’m not optimistic that more than just a few of them want to get to ‘yes,’” Rounds told The Independent. “And it’s unfortunate because their time is running out as well, because there is no way to begin working and trying to solve any issues surrounding any of the supplemental credits, the covid credits, that are expiring.”

Read more from Eric Garcia:

Vice President JD Vance posted a photo of a “good time” with President Donald Trump and their wives as the government shutdown continues.

The Trumps had visited the Thursday night for dinner with Vance and his wife, Usha, at the U.S. Naval Observatory, the vice president’s official residence.

Read more about their double date from Andrew Feinberg:

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have launched an investigation into more than two dozen federal agencies regarding President Donald Trump’s threats of mass layoffs amid the government shutdown.

Representative Robert Garcia, the ranking member of the committee, said in a statement: “Let’s be very clear: The Trump Administration’s plan to fire thousands of federal workers during this ongoing Republican government shutdown is both malicious and without a doubt, illegal. That is why we are launching an investigation into every single major agency to see if they plan to go on the record and blatantly ignore the law.”

“Even though this Administration thinks they can get away with whatever they want, Oversight Democrats will be here to fight back every single time. We will always protect our federal workers and every American across this country.”

Usually, non-essential employees are furloughed during a shutdown, meaning they temporarily don’t report to work and receive back pay when the government opens.

Io Dodds explains how a government shutdown may affect Americans:

Previous shutdowns have impacted everything from environmental inspections of chemical plants to food safety checks, as well as passport approvals and immigration decisions.

Many such services are covered by fees, which means they can continue for an extended period. But if expenditures outstrip those fees, the services may have to shut down.

Other programs, such as food assistance, pre-school subsidies, or student loans, may or may not stop depending on how long they are funded. Not all such services have the same fiscal year as the rest of the government, meaning they may still be within budget when a shutdown begins.

The national park system could be closed, wholly or partially. During the 2018-19 shutdown, this did not happen; however, services such as trash collection were stopped, leading to unpleasant conditions in some facilities.

The Smithsonian museums could similarly be forced to close, although they have previously managed to stay open for a few days following the start of a shutdown.

Speaker Mike Johnson’s cancelation of House votes next week, effectively closing down the lower chamber of Congress until mid-month, also means that members won’t be able to vote on a resolution demanded by Democrats to release the so-called Epstein files.

Speaker Johnson said he he will not be swearing in Adelita Grijalva, the recently elected Arizona representative.

She would be the 218th and final signature required to force a House vote on the discharge petition to release the docuents.

“Still playing games with my swearing in date? The people of Southern Arizona deserve a voice in Congress NOW,” Grijalva wrote Friday. “What are Republicans so afraid of? One more vote for accountability?”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez said John refused to call members back to the House next week “because we have secured the final vote on releasing the Epstein Files and they don’t want it out.”

“Johnson and House Republicans care more about protecting the Epstein files than protecting the American people,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters.

Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is calling on Senate Republicans to blow up the filibuster rule in the Senate that is blocking a simple-majority vote on a continuing resolution to keep the government open.

Republicans could theoretically pass the measure by a simple majority vote instead of the 60 votes normally required — and which would require several Democratic members to join in support.

“And as far as worrying that using the nuclear option would damage partisan relations, let’s be real, that ship has sailed a long time ago,” she wrote Friday. “There are no partisan relations. Instead, Republicans need to learn how to weld power when they have it and govern.”

While senators are locked in a stalemate over a funding plan to keep the government open, the House Speaker Mike Johnson says he’s canceling votes that were scheduled next week.

That means there won’t be any business in the House until mid-October.

Earlier Friday, he suggested that he wouldn’t bring members back to the Capitol if there was no sign of movement in the Senate, where a vote on a funding plan failed for a fourth time Friday afternoon.

“The House will come back into session and do its work as soon as Chuck Schumer allows us to reopen the government,” Johnson told reporters. “That’s plain and simple.”

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee blasted Senate Republicans for failing to address the “health care crisis they created” by continuing to shut down the government.

“Americans are already being informed that their monthly health care premiums are going to skyrocket — in some cases doubling — and Senate Republicans are plowing full steam ahead with their shutdown instead of lifting a finger to stop it,” according to DSCC spokesperson Maeve Coyle.

“At a time when costs for groceries, electricity, and other household essentials are already far too high, Democrats are ready to do the work to stand up for working families,” she added. “Make no mistake: the GOP owns this shutdown and the health care crisis they’ve created.”

Democrats in one of the most important battleground states in the nation are rallying their forces in a comparatively small race — which party leaders fear could have big implications for the 2026 midterms and 2028 presidential elections.

Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo will stay open through October 11, the institution said in a statement Friday.

The Smithsonian said earlier this week that its facilities would likely have to close within just a days, no later than October 6, because of the shutdown.