A "shutdown" that has halted some functions of the federal government due to a standoff between the U.S. Republican and Democratic parties has entered its 9th day (local time). With neither Republicans nor Democrats showing signs of compromise, U.S. President Donald Trump kept a hard-line stance, warning that he would cut the budget first for government programs prioritized by Democrats.
At a Cabinet meeting at the White House that day, President Trump said, "Far-left lunatics shut down the government," and "Chuck Schumer (Senate Democratic leader) and Hakeem Jeffries (House Democratic leader) are holding the entire federal government hostage." He said, "We will make permanent cuts and we will cut only Democrats' programs," adding, "We will scale back programs that are unpopular with Republicans and popular with Democrats." He added, "Democrats wanted the shutdown, so we'll return it as is."
The Trump administration signaled that if the shutdown drags on, it has no choice but to push for cuts to some government programs and large-scale layoffs of public employees.
The U.S. Congress failed to pass the government operating budget for fiscal year 2026 (starting Oct. 1), leaving the government in a shutdown for the 9th day. While both Republicans and Democrats agree to process a short-term expenditure bill (a stopgap funding bill) to restart the government for now and then negotiate the full budget, they have not narrowed differences over the details. That day, the Senate put to a vote separate stopgap bills introduced by each party, but neither secured the 60 votes needed to pass. Republicans are pushing for a revote, but absent additional defections from Democrats, it is unlikely to break the stalemate.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that Republican leaders, including Senate Majority Whip John Thune, asked the White House to hold back, saying that mass layoffs of public employees or cuts to funding for vulnerable groups could trigger a voter backlash. The WSJ said the Trump administration has not yet carried out any layoffs and has shown signs of heeding the leadership's concerns, including saying it would use tariff revenues to support food assistance for vulnerable people.
ABC News and Politico reported, "There is no clear exit from the shutdown in sight," and "The two parties are blaming each other and are not getting close to a breakthrough." Republicans seized on Senate Majority Leader Schumer's remark that "We are getting better every day" as an attack point, and President Trump countered, "In reality, Democrats are getting worse every day," adding, "Schumer thinks only of the party's interests, not the people."
Republicans are calling for a "clean" stopgap funding bill that keeps the budget at the previous year's level, but Democrats insist it must include social welfare provisions such as an extension of subsidies for the public health insurance "Obamacare." Some analysts also said Democrats' refusal to accept Republicans' demands stems from accumulated distrust of the Trump administration's one-way style of governance.
The New York Times (NYT) reported, "Democrats do not trust President Trump and do not believe he will uphold traditional political agreements," adding, "This conviction is the engine of the shutdown standoff." Citing instances in which President Trump withheld legally mandated government expenditure, deployed troops to cities, retaliated against political opponents, and carried out hard-line immigration enforcement, the NYT analyzed that "Democrats' anger is the backdrop prolonging the deadlock."