Government Shutdown Enters Fifth Day

The federal government has been shut for five days with little sign of substantive negotiations between Republican and Democratic leaders. House GOP leaders say the House already passed a seven-week stopgap and will only return on short notice if the Senate acts, while Senate Democrats rejected a clean continuing resolution this week, ensuring the shutdown will continue. Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise have rallied GOP members and urged pressure on Democrats, with Republicans publicly faulting Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. The standoff is producing mounting consequences: active-duty service members are working without pay, some nutrition programs such as WIC face near-exhaustion of funds, and Oct. 15 has been cited as a potential deadline when troops could miss pay. Democrats and some House members are urging Republicans to return to negotiations to avert further damage, while the White House and President Trump have framed the impasse as an opportunity to press budget priorities and warned of possible actions affecting federal workers.