...

Logo Pasino du Havre - Casino-Hôtel - Spa
in partnership with
Logo Nextory

Shutdown showdown: US government remains closed for now

• Oct 7, 2025, 5:00 AM
6 min de lecture
1

The government crisis in the United States continues. On Monday evening, another shutdown vote in the Senate failed to get the necessary support of 60 votes as Democrats rejected the short-term funding measure passed by the Republican majority in the House of Representatives.

Such a short-term measure, also called “continuing resolution”, would keep federal agencies open through 21 November.

As the shutdown enters its second week, Democratic and Republican leaders remain locked in a standoff about the way forward.

It was not immediately clear what comes next. No tangible signs of negotiations have emerged between Congressional leaders since US President Donald Trump met with them last week.

On Monday, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said that Trump had spoken to Republican leaders in Congress, but not to top Congressional Democrats.

"His position is very clear," she said. "There is nothing to negotiate."

Meanwhile, Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries criticised Trump for not seeking any conversations with the Democratic leadership.

Speaking to reporters in Washington, he said the White House has gone "radio silent" since their last meeting and has not spoken a single word to him or Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.

Trump threatens to start mass layoffs

Meanwhile, the White House threatened to start mass layoffs of federal workers, trying to maximise the political pressure on the opposition.

On Sunday, Trump was asked by reporters when the administration would begin laying off federal workers. Trump responded, without elaborating: "It's taking place right now."

The White House’s Office of Management and Budget did not immediately answer Euronews' request for comment on whether this process has already begun.

It would be a serious escalation in a fight that both sides are publicly confident they can win.

Holding the absolute power in Washington — they control the White House, the Senate and the House in addition to a large conservative majority on the Supreme Court — Republicans refuse to give in to Democratic demands.

They put the responsibility for the shutdown squarely on the Democratic doorstep.

But for Democrats, the Republican funding measure is a partisan bill without their input – they want a negotiation in exchange for their votes.

“We ought to be talking about the real issue here, which is that we have a health care crisis in America caused by the Republicans,” Senate minority leader Schumer said on CBS.

Democrats demand concessions on healthcare

The central sticking point in the standoff is the Democratic demand to extend tax credits that have made health insurance more affordable for millions of people since the COVID-19 pandemic.

These subsidies, which go to low- and middle-income people who purchase health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, are slated to expire in December.

This would result in massive health insurance premium increases for people on “Obamacare”, as the act is commonly referred to, unless Congress extends the subsidies.

The Republicans wouldn’t commit to extending the Obamacare money, saying it’s a discussion they are open to having — but only if Democrats relent and reopen the government.

Nobody is willing to budge.

For Democrats, resistance to the Republican funding bill is the only leverage that is left to them — and a base-pleasing way to stand up to Trump.

Back in March, the Senate voted for a similar funding patch with just enough Democratic support, but Democratic voters across the country were furious. Schumer was heavily criticised and his leadership was openly questioned.

This time around, Schumer was almost left with no other option than to fight — a situation gleefully exploited by Republicans who believe they have the support of the public.

But the Democratic leadership feels emboldened by several polls that suggest that more Americans blame the president and Republicans for the shutdown than the Democrats (Marist, CBS News-YouGov, Washington Post, NYT/Siena College).

How long this polling advantage will hold is anybody’s guess. For now, it’s giving Democrats at least some confidence in an otherwise gloomy political environment for them.

Supreme Court just made a solution difficult

The reason for the gloom is the latest decision of the Supreme Court that could make it impossible to end the shutdown on Democratic terms.

A few days ago, the justices handed down an order “that could completely upend the balance of power between Congress and President Donald Trump”, according to Ian Millhiser, a legal journalist and author of The Agenda: How a Republican Supreme Court Is Reshaping America.

The ruling effectively permits Trump to cancel $4 billion in foreign aid spending that he is required to spend under an act of Congress.

Trump had used a legally highly controversial “pocket rescission” when a president submits a request to Congress not to spend approved funds, and the money goes unspent as a result.

Trump’s move was attacked in court, but the Supreme Court eventually sided with the president.

The decision by the conservative majority of the court suggests that, even if the parties in Congress reach a deal where Democrats get some of the health care spending they try to negotiate, “Trump can simply cancel that spending after the bill ending the shutdown is signed into law,” Millhiser wrote.

“If he could cancel the foreign aid spending Congress authorised, as the Court just indicated he can, why couldn’t he cancel anything else the legislators agree to?”

For Democrats, what’s the point of haggling for minor concessions from the Republican majority when the Republican president can nullify them at will?

In other words, how can Democrats sell small budgetary victories to their base when they can’t even say with certainty that those little wins are real?

Trump’s move, validated by the Supreme Court, could potentially throw into disarray efforts in Congress to pass a budget bill — with such a perspective, the US might be in for a very long shutdown.


Today

Former French PM says Macron should resign amid deepening political crisis
• 1:07 PM
3 min
Édouard Philippe says Macron should announce an early presidential election once France passes a budget for next year.View on euronews
Read the article
Houthis arrest nine more UN staff in Yemen, sparking condemnation
• 11:47 AM
2 min
The Iran-backed Houthis' crackdown on the United Nations has seen the rebels arbitrarily detain 53 UN staff since 2021.<div class="small-12 column text-center article__button"><a href="https://www.euronews.com/2025/10/07/houthis-arrest-nine-more-un-staff-
Read the article
Thousands gather in Israel to mark two years since Hamas' 7 October attack
• 11:35 AM
9 min
Families honoured the victims on the second anniversary of the deadly Hamas attacks on southern Israel.<div class="small-12 column text-center article__button"><a href="https://www.euronews.com/2025/10/07/israel-marks-two-years-since-hamas-7-october-attac
Read the article
Gisèle Pelicot returns to court for appeal by man convicted of raping her
• 11:26 AM
7 min
Husamettin Dogan, sentenced to nine years in prison, denies he intended to rape Pelicot, claiming her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot had deceived him.<div class="small-12 column text-center article__button"><a href="https://www.euronews.com/2025/10/07/gisel
Read the article
Former Greek PM Tsipras quits parliament amid new party speculation
• 10:14 AM
2 min
"I am resigning as a Syriza MP, I am not resigning from political action," Alexis Tsipras said in a statement on Monday.<div class="small-12 column text-center article__button"><a href="https://www.euronews.com/2025/10/07/former-greek-pm-tsipras-quits-par
Read the article
Latest news bulletin | October 7th, 2025 – Midday
• 10:00 AM
1 min
Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond this October 7th, 2025 - latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel.<div class="small-12 column text-center article__button"><a href="https:/
Read the article
Donald Trump nears decision on sending Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine
• 9:54 AM
6 min
The US president said on Monday he has "sort of made a decision" on sending Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine as the impatience grows at the White House over Russia’s refusal to participate in direct talks with Kyiv aimed at putting an end to Moscow’s ongoing
Read the article
Slovenia’s R.o.R. festival concludes with a tribute to Earth and the elements
• 9:43 AM
1 min
The R.o.R. Festival, part of the European Capital of Culture GO! 2025 programme, concluded on Sunday in Nova Gorica after four days of exhibitions, performances and installations exploring humanity’s connection with the universe.<div class="small-12 colum
Read the article
Memorials held across Israel on second anniversary of Hamas attack
• 9:24 AM
1 min
Israelis gathered on Tuesday to commemorate two years since Hamas’ deadly 7 October attack, as the country continues indirect talks with the militant group in Egypt aimed at reaching a ceasefire and securing the release of remaining hostages.<div class="s
Read the article
Man on trial in Albania kills judge in Tirana courtroom shooting
• 8:49 AM
2 min
Two people were also injured after 30-year-old suspect opened fire during a hearing over property dispute at the Tirana Court of Appeal.<div class="small-12 column text-center article__button"><a href="https://www.euronews.com/2025/10/07/man-on-trial-in-a
Read the article
'Antisemitism has become a political tool,' since Hamas attack, Europe's leading rabbi says
• 5:31 AM
5 min
Antisemitic incidents across Europe have hit record levels following the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, according to the Chief Rabbi of Europe, who told Euronews that "a high percentage of Jews try to hide their Jewishness in public."<div c
Read the article
ICC convicts former militia leader and al-Bashir ally of past war crimes in Sudan's Darfur region
• 5:03 AM
8 min
Abd-Al-Rahman led the Janjaweed militia responsible for the killing of over 300,000 people and displacing millions in Sudan’s Darfur region during a brutal campaign which also displaced close to three million people.<div class="small-12 column text-center
Read the article
Shutdown showdown: US government remains closed for now
• 5:00 AM
6 min
In Washington, the US Senate on Monday evening failed to pass a short-term budget to keep federal agencies open. Legal experts suggest, Democrats have almost no chance of extracting real concessions from the Republicans.<div class="small-12 column text-ce
Read the article
Latest news bulletin | October 7th, 2025 – Morning
• 5:00 AM
1 min
Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond this October 7th, 2025 - latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel.<div class="small-12 column text-center article__button"><a href="https:/
Read the article
Trump prepared to invoke Insurrection Act if courts, lawmakers delay National Guard deployment plans
• 4:26 AM
3 min
Trump says he is prepared to invoke the 1807 Insurrection Act if courts do not comply with his National Guard deployment orders, as he slammed Democrat lawmakers for running cities rampant with crime.<div class="small-12 column text-center article__button
Read the article
From 7 October 2023 to 7 October 2025: A timeline of two years of war in the Gaza Strip
• 4:11 AM
16 min
Today marks two years since the largest terrorist attack ever on Israeli soil. This is the timeline of events since then, as war continues in the Gaza Strip.<div class="small-12 column text-center article__button"><a href="https://www.euronews.com/2025/10
Read the article
The Hamas-led attack of 7 October 2023: The bloodiest day in Israeli history
• 4:01 AM
5 min
Two years ago, Hamas launched its largest terrorist attack ever on Israeli soil, targeting military bases, kibbutzim and a music festival. Almost 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage.<div class="small-12 column text-center article__but
Read the article
What to know about the US-brokered Israel-Hamas indirect talks in Egypt to end the war in Gaza
• 3:56 AM
12 min
Here is all we know about the ongoing indirect talks between Hamas and Israel as momentum picks up on Trump’s proposed peace plan with the war on Gaza entering its third year.<div class="small-12 column text-center article__button"><a href="https://www.eu
Read the article