Thursday was a quiet day on Capitol Hill as Congress broke so that its Jewish members could observe Yom Kippur. Both the Senate and the House are expected to resume talks on Friday in the hopes of ending the government shutdown. How long is the shutdown expected to last? Read on for the latest details.

Latest on the Federal Government Shutdown

The federal government remained in a shutdown on Thursday after a deadlocked Congress struggled to reach a funding deal. The major sticking point in the negotiations is over the enhanced Obamacare subsidies.  Democrats are holding out in an effort to convince the GOP to extend the subsidies for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). These government subsidies are currently set to expire at the end of the year, leaving millions of Americans without affordable health insurance.

According to the nonpartisan research group KFF, the expiration of the ACA subsidies would translate to premiums that more than double in 2026. However, the GOP continues to assert that the Democrats are using this to provide health care benefits to illegal immigrants. Vice President JD Vance reiterated this stance at a White House press briefing on Tuesday.

Political experts agree that the shutdown is likely to last into next week. Senate Democrats are expected to vote down the short-term funding bill that has been brought to the table by the GOP leaders when they meet on Friday. The Senate is then scheduled to be on break through the weekend, putting an end to the speculation that a deal will be reached in the next few days. Senate Majority Leader John Thune confirmed this on Thursday, stating that it is unlikely that the chamber will remain in town over the weekend.  

Democrats are signaling that none of their members will cross party lines to vote for the temporary spending bill. This resolution would buy more time for long-term negotiations, keeping the government running for another seven weeks. Critics of the temporary fix say that it is just delaying the inevitable.

As is typical for Washington, D.C., there is plenty of blame to go around. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries criticized Republican leaders on Thursday afternoon for their unwillingness to come to the negotiating table. The Democrat from New York told reporters gathered on the steps of the U.S. Capitol that his GOP colleagues have shown "zero interest" in having a conversation.  Jeffries noted that over 20 million Americans will be hit with increased health care premiums, deductibles, and copays should the ACA subsidies not be extended.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson held a press conference on Thursday morning, detailing that there was nothing to negotiate. Instead, he asked the Democratic senators to accept his party's proposal for the seven-week extension of funding. This temporary spending bill has been blocked in the Senate after recently passing the House

White House Warns Thousands of Layoffs Are Imminent

The White House warned on Thursday that thousands of layoffs are imminent. President Donald Trump met with Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), on Thursday to discuss the impending federal layoffs. White House officials confirmed that the two have already compiled a list of agencies that will be under the gun for staffing cuts. These Reductions in Force (RIFS) could come as early as Friday.

Trump said on Truth Social that he and Vought will decide "which of the many Democratic agencies" will lose staff members. He said that they are working to determine if the cuts will be permanent or temporary.

Vought told lawmakers on Wednesday that he is canceling billions of dollars in projects designed to improve infrastructure and energy practices across blue states. This announcement came shortly after Trump warned that the White House could cause irreversible damage during the shutdown.

In addition to the planned layoffs, over 200,000 military officers and personnel will not be paid during the shutdown.  Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem said on X on Thursday that the troops will miss a paycheck scheduled for October 15 if Congress is not able to push through the funding measure before this date.

The National WIC Association is also warning that federal funding for WIC, the food assistance program that serves low-income women and children, could run out within two weeks if Congress does not take action.  WIC serves almost 7 million Americans. The U.S. Department of Agriculture echoed these statements on Wednesday, telling state agencies that they will not receive the usual quarterly allocation of fiscal year 2026 funding due to the lapse.

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