DAY 20: New week, same battle lines
- Agora
- Oct 20
- 3 min read
AGORA SHUTDOWN UPDATE
October 20, 2025
As the new week begins, the partial federal government shutdown prepares to enter its fourth week with no signs of ending.
If anything, the battle lines appear to be hardening. Congressional Republicans are digging in, showing little daylight between the White House. And Democrats, buoyed (or perhaps fearful of) the weekend’s “No Kings” protests, do not appear to be in the mood to budge.
But the effects of the shutdown, even if not readily apparent to most Americans, are growing, as food stamps are threatened and national parks face long-term problems caused by a lack of funding and staff.
Below is a roundup of the latest shutdown news.
CONGRESS
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is showing his anger as he becomes perhaps the most prominent Republican figure in the GOP’s stubborn, uncompromising government shutdown fight. It’s a demeanor that marks a notable shift for the famously even-tempered Speaker, reflecting how the party is digging in on their refusals to negotiate with Democrats to re-open the government.
Some Democrats skeptical about their leadership’s hardline stance against reopening the federal government privately acknowledge that they fear getting “hammered” by their liberal base if they vote for a Republican funding bill.
Members of Congress say they’re happy military troops are getting paid during the shutdown — but not necessarily that President Donald Trump is claiming vast power over the federal spending process to do it.
WHITE HOUSE
The White House feels as confident about the shutdown on day 19 as it was on day one– in part because congressional Republicans have, for the most part, remained largely in line.
The Trump administration on Friday vowed to comply with a judge’s order to halt any layoffs caught up in a court-ordered pause on such reductions, though it left the door open to cuts of personnel not currently party to the lawsuit.
FEDERAL AGENCIES
Bare-bones staffing during the government shutdown across the Interior Department and the U.S. Forest Service is leaving America’s treasured natural assets vulnerable to lasting damage, according to advocates for public lands, including current and former agency employees.
The Trump administration has said while the federal government is shut down, tariff revenue will be used to fund a key federal program that provides food aid and other services to nearly 7 million low-income women and young children. But as the shutdown entered its second week last week, Republicans and Democrats blamed each other for that program being in a financial bind.
The Trump administration is doubling down on its plans to keep paying some frontline federal law enforcement employees during the government shutdown, while many civilian government workers risk missing their first full paycheck next week.
What does a shutdown mean for government contractors, employees, grantees and the general public? Click here for more information.
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