Government Shutdown Freezes Transit, Triggers Layoffs

The federal government shut down on Oct. 1, 2025, after lawmakers failed to pass a continuing resolution, leaving negotiations stalled. The Senate failed to advance a House-passed clean continuing resolution, falling short of the 60 votes despite support from three Democrats (Cortez Masto, Fetterman and Angus King), and a Senate Democrats’ stopgap through Oct. 31 — reportedly about $1.5 trillion including ACA subsidy extensions and Medicare funding — also failed. The White House and OMB, led by Russell Vought, have warned of imminent layoffs and directed agencies to identify cuts; earlier reporting said OMB froze roughly $18 billion for major New York transit projects and paused other transit and green‑energy funds. Thousands of federal workers have been furloughed, federal unions have filed lawsuits over layoffs, and state agencies are feeling the impact — Mississippi’s Health Department has issued stop-work orders to contract staff and warned of service disruptions. Officials warned that SNAP, WIC, LIHEAP and TANF could face added strain while lawmakers remain deadlocked and both parties press for concessions.