At this time, I would like to congratulate Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for pulling off a feat that no other has in the history of our nation. He has officially brought about the longest government shutdown ever, and it doesn’t appear that things will get back to normal anytime soon.
The Schumer Shutdown™ entered its 36th day on Wednesday, surpassing all previous shutdowns. One could say it was the shutdown of shutdowns.
The standoff began on October 1 when Congress failed to pass appropriations legislation for the 2026 fiscal year. The center of the dispute is healthcare. Subsidies for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are set to expire at the end of the year.
Democrats are demanding that Republicans maintain the subsidies, arguing that allowing them to lapse would result in drastically increased insurance premiums for millions of Americans. They also want to reinstate Medicaid and Medicare funding that was slashed with the passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
On the other side of the aisle, Republicans refuse to negotiate on these matters until after the government is reopened. The Senate has failed 14 times to advance the continuing resolution because it cannot overcome the 60-vote threshold required to defeat the filibuster.
President Donald Trump has urged Republican senators to eliminate the filibuster so they can pass the measure with a simple majority vote. However, Senate Republicans aren’t so keen on the idea.
More than 750,000 federal workers have been furloughed as a result of the Schumer Shutdown™. Food assistance programs were halted beginning in November, meaning that about 42 million Americans will not have access to SNAP benefits. The Trump administration will resume payments at reduced levels after a federal court ordered it to do so.
Buoyed by their electoral wins on Tuesday, Democrats are now demanding a bipartisan meeting with President Trump to discuss an end to the shutdown.
🚨BREAKING: Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries are DEMANDING an IMMEDIATE meeting with President Trump and GOP leaders to end the government shutdown.
— Jack (@jackunheard) November 5, 2025
Strange… right after election night.
Makes you wonder. pic.twitter.com/Xtz94pqQL6
Some Democrats appear to be open to negotiations that would reopen the government. But they are facing some resistance from their comrades, according to The Hill.
A group of centrist Senate Democrats are sounding out Democratic colleagues on a potential deal to reopen the federal government this week or next week, but they’re getting strong pushback that could scuttle a potential agreement, according to people familiar with the discussions.
A senator familiar with the behind-the-scenes negotiations said centrist Democrats, including retiring Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.), have the contours of a deal and are “whipping” more of their colleagues to sign on — but it’s not yet clear whether they’ll get enough additional votes to end the 36-day shutdown.
Senate sources say Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) has also signaled she would likely support a deal to reopen the government.
Such a deal would include a plan to pass regular appropriations bills and a promised vote on extending expiring health insurance subsidies.
The final details, however, are yet to be finalized.
Democratic senators had a heated lunch meeting on Tuesday to discuss a potential deal that would allow them to reopen the government without appearing to cave to Senate Republicans. A source told The hill that there are at least eight Democratic senators who would be willing to vote to reopen the government, which would be enough to break through the filibuster.