US Government Braces for Midnight Shutdown as Senate Votes Fail Amid Funding Stalemate

The United States government is on the brink of a shutdown, set to commence at 12 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, as the Senate races against the clock to pass critical funding legislation. With mere hours remaining until the deadline, competing proposals have largely failed to garner the necessary bipartisan support, signaling a highly probable funding lapse.

Lawmakers in Washington remain deadlocked over how to fund the government. Democrats are pushing for an extension of expiring health insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a measure included in their counterproposal currently facing a vote in the Senate. This bill, which also aims to keep the government open for several weeks, is widely expected to fall short of the 60-vote threshold needed for passage.

Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, are advocating for a House-passed bill that would extend current funding levels until November 21 without addressing the ACA subsidies. This proposal also failed in a previous Senate vote, though Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska has now indicated she will support it, citing the urgency of the situation. Despite a Monday meeting between congressional leaders and President Trump at the White House, little progress was made.

President Trump has stated that a shutdown is “probably likely” and warned that his administration could use a funding lapse to make “irreversible cuts” to programs favored by Democrats. This stance has drawn sharp criticism and prompted a lawsuit from federal employee unions challenging a White House memo advising agencies to consider layoffs (reductions-in-force) in the event of a shutdown, a departure from typical temporary furloughs.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that a shutdown could furlough approximately 750,000 federal employees daily, costing around $400 million in compensation, though furloughed workers typically receive back pay. Departments like Homeland Security have indicated that the vast majority of their personnel would be deemed “excepted” and required to work without immediate pay. The ongoing stalemate underscores deep political divisions, with both parties blaming the other for the impending crisis.

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