Shutdown, Day 7 (October 7, 2025)
- Agora
- Oct 7
- 3 min read
Another day, another failed Senate vote to end the shutdown. As Senators begin feeling like Phil Connors, President Trump sends mixed signals about whether he’s willing to negotiate with Democrats.
Meanwhile, the administration suggests that, contrary to past practices, furloughed federal workers might not be entitled to back pay. And the FAA sees the first signs that the shutdown is affecting airport control towers.
With no real negotiations taking place, the shutdown prepares to enter its second week without many signs of movement to end it.
Below is a roundup of the latest shutdown news.
CONGRESS
The government shutdown is turning into “Groundhog Day” for senators as they grow increasingly frustrated with the lack of movement toward a deal. The Senate voted Monday on the GOP’s “clean” stopgap funding bill and on a Democratic alternative, with both again failing to advance. The upper chamber is expected to vote on the same continuing resolutions (CRs) on Tuesday and Thursday.
As federal employees face growing threats of layoffs under the partial government shutdown, House Democrats are pressuring Trump administration officials to reveal details about their plans for conducting reductions in force.
When Alana Abbott showed up to the Capitol on Monday morning, she thought she’d at least be able to go inside and look at the gift shop and take a tour. But for her and others traveling to Washington, D.C., over the past few days, the government shutdown has made that impossible.
WHITE HOUSE
In impromptu Oval Office remarks, President Trump said he was open to continuing, in some form, the expanded premium tax credits for coverage purchased on government-run exchanges. But Trump later clarified in a Truth Social post that negotiations haven’t begun yet, and that he’d only talk to the Democrats about health care once they “allow our Government to re-open.”
Furloughed federal workers aren't guaranteed compensation for their forced time off during the government shutdown, according to a draft White House memo described to Axios by three sources.
FEDERAL AGENCIES
As the government shutdown continues into its second week, federal agencies will soon be revising their responses and sending home tens of thousands of additional staff.
The Transportation Department is tracking a “slight tick up” in air traffic controllers calling out sick as the government shutdown enters its second week. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the Federal Aviation Administration is seeing some call outs, as 13,200 air traffic controllers work without pay during the ongoing shutdown.
The modified out-of-office emails of furloughed Education Department employees blaming Democratic senators for the ongoing shutdown has prompted a lawsuit from the American Federation of Government Employees.
What does a shutdown mean for government contractors, employees, grantees and the general public? Click here for more information.
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What does a shutdown mean for government contractors, employees, grantees and the general public? Click here for more information.
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