WASHINGTON ‒ The federal government shutdown rolled on to its 20th day on Monday as a resolution remained elusive amid a bitter stalemate between Democrats and Republicans in Congress.

If the shutdown reaches 21 days, it will tie the 1995-1996 standoff during the Bill Clinton presidency as the second longest in U.S. history. The longest shutdown, 35 days, occurred during President Donald Trump’s first term in late 2018 and into 2019.

With Trump leaving Oct. 26 for a multi-country visit through Asia that could last five or six days, the shutdown is at risk of lasting much longer if a deal is not reached before the weekend.

House speakers says he’s meeting with Trump to discuss shutdown

House Speaker Mike Johnson told CBS News he is meeting with President Trump at the White House on Oct. 20 to discuss the shutdown.

The meeting comes in advance of a lunch Trump is expected to host at the White House on Oct. 21 with GOP senators. Lawmakers are huddling with Trump on the shutdown before he leaves Oct. 24 for a multi-day trip to Asia.

GOP leaders criticize Democrats and No Kings rallies

In a news conference on Monday, House Speaker Mike Johnson joined other Republican leaders to criticize Democrats for the shutdown, claiming the party is treating the weeks-old impasse as a “political stunt.”

Johnson also cast the weekend’s nationwide No Kings protests, which largely criticized the Trump administration, as a Democrat-led stunt, and repeated many Republican leaders’ claims in recent days blaming the demonstrations for prolonging the shutdown.

He also took aim at the name of the protests.

“They called it No Kings rally,” Johnson said. “With great irony, of course, as we pointed out over and over, was if President Trump was a king, the government would be open.”

Democratic leaders have condemned the characterizations, and several prominent party figures attended the non-violent protests, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sens. Bernie Sanders and Chris Murphy, among others.

Millions of protesters attended roughly 2,700 rallies around the country on Oct. 18 to celebrate free speech and protest many of the Trump administration’s actions.

White House official says shutdown likely to end this week

White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said he believes the shutdown is likely to end this week, predicting Republicans will start peeling off more moderate Democrats in the Senate to reopen the government.

“I think the Schumer shutdown is likely to end sometime this week,” Hassett said in a Monday morning interview on CNBC, adding that if it doesn’t, the White House will look at “stronger measures to bring them at the table.”

Hassett based his optimism on the nationwide “No Kings” protests now being over. Republican senators and Trump officials accused Democrats of wanting to keep the government closed while they held the “No Kings” rallies in cities across the nation on Saturday.

Last week, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire became the fourth Democratic senator to join Republicans to vote for a Republican-backed bill to reopen the government. Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Angus King, an independent from Maine who caucuses with Democrats, have also voted for the bill.

“It means there are sort of cracks in the Schumer armor,” Hassett said.

Democratic senator also offers optimism – with a caveat

Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona on Sunday said the shutdown can end this week if Republicans agree to negotiate health care policy – something they have refused to entertain.

“We should be able to wrap this up this week, if they will sit down and have a negotiation with us,” Kelly said.

But Hassett expressed hesitation about Democrats’ top demand – that expiring health care subsidies in the Affordable Care Act are extended to keep insurance premiums from increasing.

“That’s up to the Senate to decide,” he said. “But if you look at the expiring subsidies, the vast majority of people – certainly low-income people – aren’t affected at all. It’s just that the policy was expanded to people up to four times of the poverty level.”

If the Affordable Care Act subsidies are not renewed, premiums are expected to double, according to the research organization KFF. About 22 million people receive the ACA subsidies that are set to expire.

White House shelves projects in blue cities, fires workers

The White House has continued to ratchet up pressure on Democrats by pausing federal infrastructure projects in blue cities and laying off thousands of workers. The mass firings, however, were dealt a setback by a federal judge in California, who ordered the Trump administration to temporarily halt the layoffs.

The shutdown has resulted in about 750,000 federal workers being placed on furlough. Trump has threatened that some of them might not receive backpay when they return to work.

Republican leaders have shown no interest in adding Democratic policy demands to a funding resolution. Democrats have said they won’t support a bill to reopen the government unless it also reverses Medicaid cuts Republicans passed this summer and extends expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies.

Senate to again vote on funding measure

The Senate for the 11th time is scheduled to vote Monday on a Republican-backed bill to fund the government through Nov. 21. The vote is set for 5:30 pm. ET.

Senate Democrats have blocked passage of the legislation the 10 previous votes. Republicans have fallen short of the 60 Senate votes in needs to block a Democratic filibuster.

Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine who caucuses with Democrats, have each voted for the Republican funding measure. Republicans have called on more moderate Democrats to follow their lead.

Trump to host Republican senators

Trump returned to the White House on Sunday night after a weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

The president is expected to host Republican senators on Tuesday at the White House Rose Garden for a “thank you” lunch, Punchbowl News reported.

Trump is thanking the Republican senators for sticking together during the shutdown and for confirming more than 100 Trump nominees by changing the Senate rules to allow most presidential nominees to be confirmed in a bloc.

Is mail affected by the government shutdown?

Postal services, including mail delivery, continue even when the government shuts down.

In a Sept. 25 statement, the U.S. Postal Service confirmed that its operations will not be interrupted in a shutdown, and post offices will remain open for “business as usual.”

“Because we are an independent entity that is generally funded through the sale of our products and services, and not by tax dollars, our services will not be impacted by a government shutdown,” the statement said.

Are flights impacted by the government shutdown?

It’s complicated. Transportation Security Administration officers and Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controllers are considered essential employees. So they’re required to work during the shutdown, even as they don’t receive paychecks.

While delay numbers have been fairly low overall, staffing at some air traffic control facilities have led to issues. Earlier this month, the FAA had to delay flights into Burbank, California, because the tower there was unstaffed for a few hours in the evening.

It’s important to note that not all delays during the shutdown are attributable to the funding lapse. Weather is still a major driver of flight delays, regardless of what’s happening in Washington.

Still, in previous shutdowns, these essential workers have eventually started to call out from work in increasing numbers, which has led to longer security lines and delays at some airports.

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