DAY 35: Is Election Day the beginning of the end?
- Agora
- Nov 4
- 3 min read
AGORA SHUTDOWN UPDATE
November 4, 2025
On the day that the partial federal government shutdown ties the record for the longest in U.S. history, voters go to the polls in Virginia, New Jersey, NYC and a handful of other places. There’s renewed hope that, once the parties are done motivating their voters to go to the polls, lawmakers will sit down and negotiate a truce.
The outlines of a deal are slowly emerging in the Senate: a continuing resolution to re-open the government and a promised vote on extending Obamacare subsidies. But the details are far from set - how long will the CR run, for instance, and whether a vote on the health insurance subsidies will require 60 votes or a simple majority. As they say, the devil’s in the details, and with partisans on both sides not ready to concede any ground, the delicate talks could fall apart.
Either way, there is a 100-percent chance that this will become the longest shutdown ever, a record that nobody should be proud of.
CONGRESS
Lawmakers in both parties are hopeful that Tuesday’s elections will be the jolt needed for either Democrats or Republicans to shift their shutdown strategy.
Senate Republican leaders plan to abandon a House-passed funding patch to reopen government and pivot to a new bill that would provide more time to complete fiscal 2026 appropriations.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he was “optimistic” an agreement can be reached this week to end the five-week shutdown as bipartisan rank-and-file talks make progress.
Democrats are showing unmistakable signs of splintering as the government shutdown reaches the cusp of setting an all-time record.
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) on Monday shot down a Democrat-led attempt to force the Trump administration to fully fund the country’s largest anti-hunger program during the government shutdown.
WHITE HOUSE
The Trump administration says it will restart SNAP food benefits but it will pay out only half the amount people normally get.
FEDERAL AGENCIES
U.S. travelers are increasingly facing long lines and flight delays as the government shutdown approaches record length, with absences spiking among employees being asked to work without pay.
FEDERAL WORKFORCE
With many federal employees heading toward a possible second missed paycheck at the end of the week — and little promise of an end to the government shutdown in sight — many are turning to financial assistance options to try to stay afloat.
THE IMPACT
Many of the shutdown’s effects — like lapses in food aid for the lowest-income Americans — are just starting to be felt. Other impacts, like the cost to the economy of delaying billions in federal funding, may never truly be known.
What does a shutdown mean for government contractors, employees, grantees and the general public? Click here for more information.
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