It's Day 18 of the government shutdown and there's no end in sight

Day 18 of the government shutdown is here, the third longest in history.

The Democrats and Republicans are still at an impasse over healthcare subsidies and the Senate funding bill failed for a 10th time on Oct. 17.

The Senate is scheduled to reconvene at 3 p.m. Monday. The Senate will then vote on a measure to end the shutdown around 5:30 p.m.

The longest government shutdown in U.S. history lasted 35 days in 2019, during President Donald Trump’s first term in office.

On Oct. 17, Trump’s White House announced that the Army Corps of Engineers will be “immediately pausing” $11 billion in infrastructure projects in several cities led by Democrats as the federal government shutdown heads into its third week.

The freeze will affect what the White House called “lower-priority projects” in cities including New York, San Francisco, Boston and Baltimore. All of the projects also will be considered for cancellation, Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, wrote in a post on X.

Vought also said previously that more than 10,000 federal workers may face layoffs during the government shutdown.

Trump, who previously said he’d reveal a list of “Democrat programs” on Oct. 17, did not produce the list.

Under this shutdown, more than 750,000 federal workers have been furloughed and ordered not to report to work. Employees deemed essential to public safety, including military personnel, law enforcement officers, border patrol and air traffic controllers, are required to work regardless. Trump signed an executive order on Oct. 15 directing the Pentagon to ensure active-duty military personnel are paid despite the shutdown.

Why is the government shut down?

Democrats and Republicans have been unable to strike a deal that would fund the government.

Democrats are pushing to ensure tax breaks for 24 million Americans who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act (referred to as “Obama Care”) and have refused to back a government spending bill that doesn’t address the issue.

Senate Dems want to make the tax break permanent, which would otherwise expire at the end of the year, and provide reassurances to prevent the Trump administration from temporarily withholding funds.

Republicans and the president say they are open to considering a fix for the expiring ACA tax breaks, but want the issue addressed separately from the ongoing budget impasse.

How long has the shutdown lasted?

The U.S. government has been shut down for two and a half weeks so far.

The government officially shut down at midnight on Oct. 1, after Congress failed to reach a funding agreement.

Over the last five decades, and as of Oct. 1, there have been 22 federal shutdowns. The longest government shutdown, which lasted 35 days, occurred from December 2018 to January 2019 due to an impasse with Congress and the Trump administration over funding for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Trump comments on the shutdown

Trump left Washington on Friday evening to Mar-a-lago, his estate in Palm Beach, Florida. He took a reporter’s question about the shutdown on the tarmac of the Palm Beach International Airport.

“The Republican Party is not going to pay $1.5 trillion to illegal immigrants coming into our country,” he said. “We’re not going to do that, so the shutdown continues.”

Programs affected include SNAP and Head Start

If the shutdown continues, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which 42 million people across the country rely upon, will fail to pay full benefits in the month of November.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in a letter to state agencies on Oct. 10 said there will not be enough funding to pay the entirety of November SNAP benefits if the shutdown continues.

Head Start, a federally funded early education program, is also bracing for disruptions.

The National Head Start Association reported that six Head Start programs serving 6,525 children are already operating without federal funding, drawing on emergency local resources to stay open. By Nov.1, the shutdown will affect 134 additional Head Start programs across 41 states and Puerto Rico, serving 58,627 children, threatening the programs with closure.

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) the top Democrat on the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services and a former Head Start teacher, introduced the Head Start Shutdown Protection Act in the House on Oct.17.

The act will “require the federal government to reimburse states, local governments, and school districts that use their own funds to continue the operations” of the program, said Waters.

“As a former Head Start teacher, I know that Head Start provides a strong foundation for vulnerable young children,” said Waters. “We cannot allow the government shutdown to disrupt their education, their families, and their potential for success.”

DHS “sworn law enforcement officers” to get paid

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristy Noem said more than 70,000 “sworn law enforcement officers” will be paid if they work during the government shutdown, in a post on X.

“By Wednesday, October 22, law enforcement officers will receive a “super check” –which covers the 4 days lost, their overtime, and their next pay period,” she wrote.