DAY 31: BOO! Will Trump’s filibuster demand spook Congress?
- Agora
- Oct 31
- 3 min read
AGORA SHUTDOWN UPDATE
October 31, 2025
Yesterday, the mood on Capitol Hill shifted towards guarded optimism that the shutdown could end in the next week. But after President Trump demanded that Senate Republicans kill the filibuster and pass a CR with 51 votes, the mood has changed again, with worry that external pressure on the GOP to force a vote on a CR without acceding to Democrats’ demands may blow up the sensitive discussions over a resolution.
This comes as the country faces the cutoff of food assistance at midnight Friday evening, when SNAP money runs out. And as both parties’ leaders deal with grumbling from the ranks – for Speaker Johnson, growing anxiety among the rank-and-file about keeping the House out of session, and for Hill Democrats, the loss of support from the largest federal employees’ union.
It all makes for a frightful situation in DC and around the country. If the shutdown persists beyond next Wednesday, it will be the longest in US history.
CONGRESS
House Republicans are growing anxious about how they will make up for lost time after Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) move to keep the House out of session for more than a month during the government shutdown, with leaders starting to brace members for long days when the funding impasse eventually ends.
Cracks are forming in the Senate GOP conference over whether benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) should be allowed to lapse this weekend.
After weeks of political stalemate, Washington took notice on Monday when the country’s largest federal workers’ union urged Congress to bring to an immediate end the nearly month-long government shutdown. Everett Kelley, the national president of the American Federation of Government Employees described the shutdown as “an avoidable crisis” and effectively called on Democrats to join Republicans in voting to end it right away.
WHITE HOUSE
President Donald Trump on Thursday night urged the GOP to eliminate the filibuster and end a monthlong government shutdown and standoff between Republicans and Democrats.
President Donald Trump is ruling out another Oval Office meeting with Democrats — for now. One month into the shutdown, White House officials view a bipartisan meeting with the president as a rescue mission they’re unwilling to take on until after Democrats vote to fund the government.
FEDERAL AGENCIES
The White House is tapping into three Defense Department’s accounts to pay troops this week as the government shutdown stretches on.
FEDERAL WORKFORCE
For many federal employees, the current government shutdown is even less certain than past ones — in large part due to the Trump administration’s threats of mass layoffs, as well as insecurity around whether furloughed workers will receive back pay. In an online survey, a significant majority — nearly 70% of federal employee respondents — said their current experience under the shutdown differs from how they have felt during past funding lapses.
THE IMPACT
Forty-two million people — roughly 1 in 8 Americans — could see cuts or delays to food assistance as soon as Saturday if the government shutdown continues.
More Americans blame President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress than Democrats for the nearly month-long government shutdown, according to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll
What does a shutdown mean for government contractors, employees, grantees and the general public? Click here for more information.
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