DAY 24: Everybody’s (not) working for the weekend
- Agora
- Oct 24
- 2 min read
AGORA SHUTDOWN UPDATE
October 24, 2025
Another week has elapsed with the federal government partially shutdown, and with no real progress towards re-opening it. The Senate has concluded its business for the week, while the House remains AWOL.
In a sign of how meager the prospects are for bipartisan reconciliation, Senate Republicans and Democrats rejoiced at a hint of negotiations – not on the shutdown itself, but on whether and how to pay federal employees. Even this twinkle of collaboration came only after the Senate rejected on mostly party-line votes competing plans to help federal workers who have now missed their first full paycheck.
The possibility of some progress on paychecks might be of little solace to federal workers, who increasingly worry about what the future will bring. And it still leaves unresolved the broader questions about how to re-open the government, which will soon enter its fifth week of closure.
CONGRESS
Senate Democrats and Republicans each defeated the other party’s plan to pay at least some federal employees on time amid the ongoing government shutdown, though both sides appeared to open the door to bipartisan negotiations on the issue.
The battle over food stamps has emerged as the latest flash point in the fierce partisan clash over government spending.
WHITE HOUSE
Republicans are barreling toward the upcoming Obamacare enrollment period without a unified plan to address the sticker shock that millions of Americans are likely to experience due to the expiration of key federal subsidies.
FEDERAL AGENCIES
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is temporarily bringing furloughed employees back to work to help individuals sign up for health insurance plans during the open enrollment period.
FEDERAL WORKFORCE
For many federal workers, Friday is supposed to be payday. Instead, they are getting nothing. No partial pay. No sign of when their paychecks might resume. "A lot of us are stressed, and it takes a toll on our mental health," says one of an estimated 700,000 federal workers across the U.S. now furloughed.
One federal employee has taken out a bank loan. Another says she’s planning to seek help from a food pantry. A third says his family will likely need to take out loans, or incur credit card debt, to get by. Those stories and more were detailed in court filings this week in a lawsuit challenging the legality of Trump administration efforts to lay off federal employees connected to the partial government shutdown.
What does a shutdown mean for government contractors, employees, grantees and the general public? Click here for more information.
Questions? Comments? Email Agora.
Comments