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The Capitol in Washington is seen on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, hours before the federal government shut down. The Senate failed to advance a stopgap funding bill as Democrats and Republicans clashed over health care subsidies and spending.
NYT
The U.S. government shut down — the first federal government closure in nearly seven years — after Congress failed to pass a short-term funding bill amid a partisan standoff over health care subsidies and spending priorities.
The shutdown took effect Wednesday just after midnight Eastern time (9 p.m. Pacific) as the Senate failed to advance a House-passed measure that would have funded the government through Nov. 21. Senate Republicans, who hold a 53-47 majority, lacked the 60 votes needed to overcome a Democratic filibuster.
Late Tuesday, the Senate failed to pass a bill that would have kept the government funded temporarily as lawmakers sought more time to negotiate funding the full budget year that starts Oct. 1. The chamber voted 55-45; among those who opposed the stopgap were California Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff. Only two Democrats supported the measure: John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada. Lawmakers had earlier rejected a Democratic alternative.
Democrats demanded that any deal include an extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits set to expire at year’s end, along with a rollback of cuts to Medicaid and public health programs approved in a GOP tax package earlier this summer. President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans refused to negotiate on those provisions, calling the bill a “clean” stopgap that should be noncontroversial.
“This is a hijacking of the American people, and it’s the American people who are going to pay the price,” Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Tuesday. “We’re willing to sit down and work with them on some of the issues they want to talk about — just not now.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., blamed Trump for the impasse, calling the spending lapse “avoidable.”
“We hope they sit down with us and talk,” Schumer said after the last vote before the Senate adjourned for the night. “Otherwise, it’s the Republicans will be driving us straight towards a shutdown. … The American people will blame them for bringing the federal government to a halt.”
The shutdown could furlough hundreds of thousands of federal workers and suspend or scale back operations at numerous agencies, including Housing and Urban Development, the Small Business Administration and the National Park Service. Programs like WIC, which provides nutrition assistance to low-income families, could run out of funding within days.
Social Security, Medicare, military pay and air traffic control services will continue, though delays and disruptions aren’t ruled out if the stalemate drags on.
Trump escalated tensions earlier in the day by warning that some furloughed federal workers could be permanently fired — a departure from past practice.
“Donald Trump and his lapdog Republicans just shut down the federal government after refusing to protect Americans from an imminent spike in health insurance costs,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a social media post. “This is what the GOP stands for.”
The failed stopgaps followed a final White House meeting Monday where Trump appeared unwilling to negotiate, then posted an AI-generated video mocking Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
In the altered video set to mariachi music, a distorted Schumer voice delivers fake lines like “Nobody likes Democrats anymore,” while Jeffries stands beside him wearing a cartoon sombrero and mustache.
Jeffries responded online: “Bigotry will get you nowhere. We are NOT backing down.”
On Tuesday, Trump dismissed the shutdown’s consequences and attacked Democrats. “They lost the election in a landslide, and they don’t change,” he said.
The last government shutdown occurred in Trump’s first term and lasted 35 days — the longest in U.S. history — after he demanded border wall funding from Congress. That closure ended in January 2019 after widespread air travel delays, missed paychecks for more than 800,000 federal workers and a sharp drop in public support forced Trump to reopen the government without securing wall funding.
What the shutdown means for California
More than 14,000 federal employees work in the capital region, including Sacramento, Roseville and Folsom. Many face furloughs or will work without pay. Critical services like air traffic control and TSA will continue at Sacramento International and other airports, but federal workers across agencies could see pay delays and uncertain job status.
The CalFresh food aid program, serving over 5 million Californians, can operate for about 30 days. A prolonged shutdown could interrupt benefits.
“A prolonged government shutdown would bring uncertainty for over 5 million California families,” said Kellie Longo Flores of the California Association of Food Banks.
Social Security and Medicare payments will continue, but services like benefit verification and Medicare card replacement may be delayed. Benefits from the VA will be paid, but regional offices and call centers will close.
California’s national parks, including Yosemite, are expected to close in phases. Visitors may be asked to leave within 48 hours.
Environmental enforcement could also pause. Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento, warned that shutdowns have delayed inspections at hazardous waste sites and slowed action on PFAS or so-called forever chemicals.
The California Department of Education says it does not expect immediate disruption to school funding.
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