President Trump escalates tensions, warning of mass federal layoffs while Democrats accuse Republicans of stonewalling over health care.
BY PC Bureau
Washington — The United States edged closer to a federal government shutdown Tuesday night after the Senate failed to pass a stopgap funding measure, while President Donald Trump intensified tensions by threatening new layoffs of federal workers.
The 55–45 Senate vote left little chance of keeping the government open past midnight, when current funding expires. Agencies are now preparing to suspend “nonessential” services, a move expected to disrupt air travel, delay economic data releases, and shutter facilities ranging from research labs to small-business loan offices.
With the House out of session and no signs of compromise between Republicans and Democrats, the prospect of a last-minute deal remains slim. Senate GOP leader John Thune suggested lawmakers might try again later in the week, but acknowledged the stalemate showed no sign of easing.
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Democrats vs. Republicans
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer accused Republicans of attempting to “bully” Democrats by refusing to negotiate over health care subsidies and other Democratic priorities.
“It’s only the president who can break this,” Schumer said after a fruitless White House meeting Monday. “Republicans have until midnight tonight to get serious with us.”
Democrats argue the fight centers on protecting health care for millions. They want to extend subsidies under the Affordable Care Act and roll back Medicaid cuts approved earlier this summer as part of Trump’s tax package.
Trump Raises the Stakes
Rather than clearing a path toward compromise, Trump escalated the confrontation. Ahead of the vote, he threatened mass layoffs if the shutdown takes effect: “We’ll be laying off a lot of people. They’re going to be Democrats,” he told reporters.
That warning comes as more than 150,000 federal employees are already scheduled to exit this week under a buyout program — the largest such exodus in eight decades — while tens of thousands more were dismissed earlier this year. Trump has also withheld billions in congressionally approved funding, further hardening Democratic resistance.
Some agencies have circulated memos blaming Democrats for the looming closure, breaking with the longstanding norm of shielding civil servants from partisan attacks.
Who Keeps Working, Who Doesn’t
Shutdown plans across government outline a familiar, if disruptive, landscape. Military personnel, border agents, and air traffic controllers will remain on duty but without pay. Social Security checks and Medicare claims will continue.
But hundreds of thousands of other workers face furloughs. The Education Department expects to send home nearly 90% of its staff. The EPA plans to pause pollution cleanup projects. The Small Business Administration will halt loan approvals. Even the Labor Department’s monthly unemployment report — a key economic indicator — will be suspended.
Deadlocked Senate sinks Republican and Democratic funding proposals ahead of midnight deadline, making a government shutdown all but certain.https://t.co/kOJpQce9vo
— CNN (@CNN) September 30, 2025
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Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo will close. National parks may lock gates or operate with minimal staff.
At the heart of the standoff is health care. Democrats insist that any funding bill must preserve Affordable Care Act subsidies expiring at year’s end. Without them, premiums for roughly 24 million Americans could spike, particularly in Republican-led states like Florida and Texas.
“The GOP proposal does absolutely nothing to solve the biggest health care crisis in America,” Schumer said.
Republicans, in turn, accuse Democrats of holding the budget hostage for political gain ahead of the 2026 midterms. “The far left’s determination to oppose everything President Trump has said or done is not a good reason to subject the American people to the pain of a government shutdown,” said Thune.
This is not Trump’s first shutdown confrontation. In 2018, his demand for border wall funding triggered a 35-day government closure — the longest in U.S. history. Since 1981, the government has shut down 15 times, most lasting only a few days.
