shutdown

Republican-controlled House of Representatives is expected to approve funding bill to re-open US federal government in coming days.

United States President Donald Trump has called the looming end of the government shutdown a “big victory” after the Senate passed a bill to fund federal agencies.

Trump congratulated Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Tuesday for the soon-to-be-approved funding bill.

“Congratulations to you and to John and to everybody on a very big victory,” Trump said, addressing Johnson at a Veterans Day event.

“We’re opening up our country — should have never been closed.”

The US president’s comments signal that he views the shutdown crisis as a political win for his Republican Party, which is set to end the budgeting impasse in Congress without meeting the Democrats’ key demand: extending healthcare subsidies.

The Senate passed the funding bill late on Monday in a 60-40 vote that saw eight members of the Democratic caucus backing the proposal.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives is expected to pass the budget in the coming days to end the shutdown, which has been the longest in US history. Assuming the House approves the bill, it will then go to Trump’s desk, and the president is expected to sign it into law.

In the US system, Congress is tasked with funding the government.

If lawmakers fail to pass a budget, the federal government goes into shutdown mode, where it stops paying most employees and sends non-essential workers home.

The current shutdown started on October 1.

Republicans control the House, Senate and White House, but their narrow majority in the Senate had previously prevented them from passing a continuing resolution to keep the government funded.

In the 100-seat Senate, major legislation must generally be passed with at least 60 votes to overcome the filibuster, a legislative procedure that allows the minority party to block bills it opposes.

The Democratic caucus holds 47 seats in the chamber, which allowed it to successfully wield the filibuster until this week’s divisive vote.

Until Monday, Democrats had largely been united in opposition to the Republicans’ funding bill. They had previously maintained they would only approve government funding if the bill included provisions to extend healthcare subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, which are set to expire at the end of the year.

Those subsidies, Democrats argued, help millions of Americans afford their medical insurance.

But Trump had threatened to ramp up the pressure against Democrats by cutting programmes he associated with their party.

During the shutdown, for example, Trump tried to withhold food benefits for low-income families – a policy that is being challenged in the courts.

The shutdown crisis has also led to flight delays and cancellations across the country due to a shortage of available air traffic controllers, who have been working without pay.

Monday’s Senate vote paved the way for a resolution to the crisis. But it has sparked infighting amongst Democrats, with segments of the party voicing disappointment with senators who backed the bill.

The issue has also intensified criticism against Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who voted against the proposal but failed to keep his caucus united in opposition to it.

“Sen. Schumer has failed to meet this moment and is out of touch with the American people. The Democratic Party needs leaders who fight and deliver for working people,” Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib said in a social media post on Monday.

“Schumer should step down.”

Senator John Fetterman, one of the most conservative Democrats in the Senate, defended his vote on Tuesday.

“When you’re confronting mass, mass chaos, you know, I don’t think you should respond with more chaos, or fight with more chaos,” Fetterman told the ABC talk show The View. “It’s like, no, we need to be the party of order and logic.”

US airlines cancel 1,200 flights, marking five days of disruptions caused by the prolonged government shutdown.

Airlines in the United States have cancelled nearly 1,200 flights, marking the fifth consecutive day of mass delays and cancellations sparked by the country’s longest-ever government shutdown.

In addition to cancellations on Tuesday, passengers continued to face long wait times, as more than 1,300 domestic and international flights were delayed in the morning.

New York’s LaGuardia Airport, in particular, is seeing significant hold-ups, with average delays of one hour and 40 minutes, according to FlightAware — a platform that tracks flight disruptions worldwide.

On Monday, there were more than 2,400 cancelled flights to, from and within the US, along with over 9,500 delayed flights, according to the same tracker.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last week instructed airlines to cut 4 percent of daily flights from Friday at 40 major airports due to air traffic control staffing shortages. Reductions rose to 6 percent on Tuesday, then 8 percent on Thursday, and are expected to reach 10 percent by November 14th.

Airlines and the FAA are in talks over whether these cuts will be eased as a record-setting 42-day government shutdown draws to a close.

An end to the shutdown appears to be in sight. On Monday, the Senate passed a bill to reopen the federal government. It now heads to the House of Representatives and, if approved, will go to President Donald Trump’s desk for signing. Once signed, the bill would reopen the government.

Despite progress on Capitol Hill, the president has urged air traffic controllers across the country to return to work, warning that their pay could be “docked” if they do not comply. He also claimed that those who remained on duty during the shutdown would receive a $10,000 bonus.

On Wall Street, airline stocks are taking a hit amid persistent cancellations. As of 11am in New York (16:00 GMT), Delta Air Lines had fallen 1.26 percent since the market opened on Tuesday. United Airlines was down 1.7 percent, while American Airlines had tumbled more than 1.8 percent.

Budget carriers are also being hit hard. New York-based JetBlue has dropped by more than 2 percent, Dallas-based Southwest by 1.8 percent, and Alaska Airlines is down roughly 2.1 percent.

Nov. 11 (UPI) — Flight cancellations in the United States reached nearly 1,200 early Tuesday as the Federal Aviation Administration further reduced flights amid the record-breaking government shutdown.

The flight reductions increased from the 5% imposed Friday to 6% Tuesday. Those figures were expected to further increase to 8% on Thursday and 10% on Friday, according to The Hill.

Flight tracking website FlightAware said there were 1,194 cancellations within, into or out of the United States as of 11 a.m. EST. There were slightly more delays — 1,239.

The site’s so-called MiseryMap shows the greatest numbers of flight disruptions at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, LaGuardia Airport in New York City, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Boston Logan International Airport and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

Chicago-area airports faced extra complications this week after heavy snowfall led to some cancellations Monday. Light snow continued early Tuesday, ABC News reported.

The FAA ordered dozens of airports to reduce both private and commercial flights to accommodate for a growing number of air traffic controllers missing work amid the government shutdown and lack of pay.

The shutdown, which reached its 42nd day Tuesday, could be on its way to a resolution after the Senate approved bipartisan legislation to temporarily fund the government Monday. The House must now vote on the legislation before it can be sent to President Donald Trump‘s desk for a signature.

DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,

The measure still needs to be approved by the House and signed by US President Donald Trump.

The United States is moving closer to ending its record-breaking government shutdown after the Senate took a critical step forward to end its five-week impasse.

The Senate on Monday night approved a spending package by a vote of 60 to 40 to fund the US government through January 30, and reinstate pay for hundreds of thousands of federal workers.

The spending bill next moves to the House of Representatives for approval and then on to President Donald Trump for a sign-off before the shutdown can finally end.

House Speaker Mike Johnson has said he would like to pass it as soon as Wednesday and send it on to Trump to sign into law.

The vote in the Senate follows negotiations this weekend that saw seven Democrats and one Independent agree to vote in favour of the updated spending package to end the shutdown, which enters its 42nd day on Tuesday.

Also included in the deal are three-year funding appropriations for the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration, military construction projects, veterans affairs and congressional operations.

The bill does not, however, resolve one of the most central issues in the shutdown – extending healthcare subsidies. Senate Republicans have agreed to vote on the issue as a separate measure in December.

US legislators have been under growing pressure to end the government shutdown, which enters its forty-second day on Tuesday, as their constituents feel the impact of funding lapses for programmes like food stamps.

Hundreds of thousands of federal employees have been furloughed or required to work without pay since the shutdown began on October 1, while Trump has separately threatened to use the shutdown as a pretext to slash the federal workforce.

Voters have also felt the impact of the shutdown at airports across the US after the Federal Aviation Administration last week announced a 10 percent cut in air traffic due to absences from air traffic controllers.

The cuts have created chaos for US air travel just as the country is heading into its busiest travel season of the year.

WASHINGTON — A deal that could end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history is poised to head to the House, where Democrats are launching a last-ditch effort to block a spending agreement reached in the Senate that does not address healthcare costs.

The push comes as Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) urged House members on Monday to start making their way back to Washington in anticipation of the chamber voting on a spending package later in the week. The Senate began taking a series of votes Monday night, a day after Senate Republicans reached a deal with eight senators who caucus with Democrats.

The spending plan, which does not include an extension of the Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year, has frustrated many Democrats who spent seven weeks pressuring Republicans to extend the tax credits. It would, however, fund the government through January, reinstate federal workers who were laid off during the shutdown and ensure that federal employees who were furloughed receive back pay.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) also promised senators a vote in December that would put lawmakers on record on the healthcare subsidies. Thune said in a speech Monday that he was “grateful that the end is in sight” with the compromise.

“The American people have suffered long enough,” he said. “Let’s not pointlessly drag this bill out. Let’s get it done, get it over to the House so we can get this government open.”

Senate Democrats who defected have argued that a vote is the best deal they could get as the minority party, and that forcing vulnerable Republicans in the chamber to vote on the issue will help them win ahead of next year’s midterm elections.

As the Senate prepared to vote on the deal Monday, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader of the chamber, continued to reiterate his opposition to what he called a “Republican bill.” Schumer, who has faced backlash from Democrats for losing members of his caucus, said the bill “fails to do anything of substance to fix America’s healthcare crisis.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) speaks to reporters about the government shutdown.

(Mariam Zuhaib / Associated Press)

Thune’s promise to allow a vote in the Senate does not guarantee a favorable outcome for Democrats, who would need to secure Republican votes for passage through the chamber. And the chance to address healthcare costs will be made even harder by Johnson, who has not committed to holding a vote on his chamber in the future.

“I’m not promising anybody anything,” he said. “I’m going to let the process play out.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), meanwhile, told reporters that House Democrats will continue to make the case that extending the subsidies is what Americans are demanding from elected officials, and that there is still a fight to be waged in the chamber — even if it is a long shot.

“What we are going to continue to do as House Democrats is to partner with our allies throughout America is to wage the fight, to stay in the Colosseum,” Jeffries said at a news conference.

Some Republicans have agreed with Democrats during the shutdown that healthcare costs need to be addressed, but it is unlikely that House Democrats will be able to build enough bipartisan support to block the deal in the chamber.

Still, Jeffries said the “loudmouths” in the Republican Party who want to do something about healthcare costs have an opportunity to act now that the House is expected to be back in session.

“They can no longer hide. They can no longer hide,” Jeffries said. “They are not going to be able to hide this week when they return from their vacation.”

Democrats believed that fighting for an extension of healthcare tax credits, even at the expense of shutting down the government, would highlight their messaging on affordability, a political platform that helped lead their party to victory in elections across the country last week.

If the tax credits are allowed to lapse at the end of the year, millions of Americans are expected to see their monthly premiums double.

In California, premiums for federally subsidized plans available through Covered California will soar by 97% on average next year.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune answers questions Monday about a possible end to the government shutdown after eight members of the Democratic caucus broke ranks and voted with Republicans.

(J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press)

California’s U.S. senators, Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, were among the Democrats who voted against the deal to reopen the government because it did not address healthcare costs.

“We owe our constituents better than this. We owe a resolution that makes it possible for them to afford healthcare,” Schiff said in a video Sunday night.

Some Republicans too have warned that their party faces backlash in the midterm elections next year if it doesn’t come up with a more comprehensive health plan.

“We have always been open to finding solutions to reduce the oppressive cost of healthcare under the unaffordable care act,” Johnson said Monday.

A final vote could still take several days. Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, for one, has said he supports an expeditious vote to reopen the government, but is insisting on a prior vote on an amendment that would eliminate language from the spending deal he says would “unfairly target Kentucky’s hemp industry.”

Without unanimous consent to proceed, the final Senate vote could end up bogged down by procedural delays.

Johnson, meanwhile, has asked members to return by Wednesday in anticipation of a vote in the latter part of the week. Republicans expect to have the votes to pass it, Johnson said.

Any piece of legislation needs to be approved by both the Senate and House and be signed by the president.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, President Trump said he would support the legislative deal to reopen the government.

“We’re going to be opening up our country,” Trump said. “Too bad it was closed, but we’ll be opening up our country very quickly.”

Trump added that he would abide by a provision that would require his administration to reinstate federal workers who were laid off during the shutdown.

“The deal is very good,” he said.

Johnson said he spoke to the president on Sunday night and described Trump as “very anxious” to reopen the government.

“It’s after 40 days of wandering in the wilderness, and making the American people suffer needlessly, that some Senate Democrats finally have stepped forward to end the pain,” Johnson said. “Our long national nightmare is finally coming to an end, and we’re grateful for that.”

Nov. 10 (UPI) — Several thousand flights were again canceled or delayed Monday as the Federal Aviation Administration cut down on service because of air traffic controller shortages amid the longest federal government shutdown.

Staff members who show up for work are not being paid, which has led to fatigue despite the need to be alert, Transportation Secretary Duffy said. Some are tired because they are working second jobs to bring in money as the shutdown entered its 41st day.

Since Friday, the FAA has ordered a 4% reduction in flights at 40 major airports, which has caused a ripple effect at smaller locations.

There were 2,747 cancellations and 8,337 delays involving U.S. Airports through 8 p.m. Monday, according to FlightAware.

On Sunday, there were 3,498 cancellations and 11,231 delays involving U.S. airports. The first two days there aren’t as many: 1,526 cancellations and 7,016 delays Friday, and 1,944 cancellations and 7,545 delays on Saturday.

The cancellations and delays were not just because of work shortages but also due to bad weather and equipment issues.

Chicago’s O’Hare International and Midway International were affected by a major snowstorm.

At O’Hare, the second busiest airport in the nation, 321 departures, or 23% of flights, were canceled, and 314 arrivals, or 22%, were canceled. There were more than 1,000 delays of total incoming and outgoing flights.

Delays averaged more than 6 hours at O’Hare.

One couple decided to drive to the Chicago area from New Orleans because their flight was canceled.

Grace Butler and her boyfriend were stranded on Interstate 57 near Onarga, Ill., for two hours Monday morning.

“No visibility, road is covered with snow and ice. Have lived in Chicago my whole life and never seen a blizzard this bad,” Butler told CNN.

The much smaller Midway had 73, or 22%, departure cancellations, and 53, or 15%, arrival delays.

Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, the largest airport in the nation, had the second-most arrival cancellations: 150, or 12%. The departures were the third-most, 82, or 6%.

LaGuardia Airport in New York had the second-most departure cancellations at 86, or 15%, with arrivals the second most at 86 or 15%.

Other highly affected airports were Boston Logan International, Newark International in New Jersey, Dallas-Fort Worth International.

The various FAA locations: control centers, high-altitude flights and Terminal Radar Approach Control have been affected.

Duffy and his boss, President Donald Trump, said it is vital for them to show up for work despite not getting paid.

Trump demanded they “get back to work, NOW” in a post Monday on Truth Social.

“Anyone who doesn’t will be substantially ‘docked.’ For those Air Traffic Controllers who were GREAT PATRIOTS, and didn’t take ANY TIME OFF for the ‘Democrat Shutdown Hoax,’ I will be recommending a BONUS of $10,000 per person for distinguished service to our Country.”

And those who didn’t work “will have a negative mark, at least in my mind, against your record.”

Duffy reposted Trump’s item.

“To those who have worked throughout the shutdown — thank you for your patriotism and commitment to keeping our skies safe,” Duffy posted on X. “I will work with Congress to reward your commitment.”

But he admitted to CNN on Sunday: “It’s going to be harder for me to come back after the shutdown and have more controllers controlling the airspace. So this is going to live on in air travel well beyond the timeframe that this government opens back up.”

The leader of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association said it is a bad situation.

“The fatigue has led to the erosion of safety and the increased risk every day that this shutdown drags on,” Nick Daniels, president of the association, said at a news conference Monday. “If you want to know what the real fallout of this shutdown is, it’s not a budget line, it is the smallest and the most dangerous shift of all — when the most disciplined safety workforce in America is forced to think about survival instead of public safety.”

He added: “Air traffic controllers must show up day in and day out, fully prepared to handle the stress, pressure and the weight of their responsibilities to the American flying public and their safety. But now they must focus on child care instead of traffic flows, food for their families instead of runway separation.”

David Seymour, American Airlines’ chief operating officer, said the disruption is not acceptable and the workers should be paid rather than getting back pay after the shutdown ends.

“This is simply unacceptable, and everyone deserves better,” Seymour said in a letter to employees that was obtained by CBS News. “Our air traffic controllers deserve to be paid and our airline needs to be able to operate at a level of predictability and dependability that no major airline was able to provide the flying public this weekend.”

Nov. 10 (UPI) — The U.S. Senate plans a series of votes Monday night to try to end the record-long shutdown as House Speaker Mike Johnson called representatives to return to Washington to be there when a bill reaches them.

Earlier, Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota said they were in a “holding pattern.”

Late Monday afternoon, the GOP’s whip office told CNN a vote would begin after 5 p.m. p.m. John Barrasso of Wyoming mobilizec members for key votes. A GOP aide confirmed the plans to CBS News.

On Sept. 19, the House approved short-gap spending legislation along party lines 217-213 that doesn’t include healthcare subsidies next year through the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. Only a majority is needed in the House, but the Senate needs 60 votes in the 100-member chamber.

The Senate is scheduled to go into recess Tuesday for Veterans Day and was seeking to conclude business before then.

Thune said the American people “have suffered for long enough,” and other senators were reasonably optimistic.

“It’s very close,” said Sen. Mike Rounds, who also serves South Dakota. “We’ll work our way through a couple of issues.”

“I’m optimistic, yeah,” Florida Sen. Rick Scott said. “People want to, you know, they want to get — they want to go home.”

Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky is the only Republican to vote against past funding bills. He wants hemp farming in the agriculture appropriations bill in exchange for allowing the legislation to move quickly. The Senate plans to vote on the amendment.

“If Rand wants to plant his flag and hold the government shut down for over hemp in Kentucky, take that fight on. I think he’ll lose that one pretty hard,” said Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, noting that another senator wants an amendment to withhold pay from members during government shutdowns.

Monday marked the 41st day of the United States’ longest-running government shutdown, which started Oct. 1. It beat the previous longest shutdown of 35 days, which took place in 2018 and 2019 during President Donald Trump‘s first term.

Despite the pending vote, Johnson further pushed against the Democrats’ battle to extend health insurance subsidies. The Senate would vote separately on the subsidies next month.

“There’ll be long days and long nights here for the foreseeable future to make up for all this lost time that was imposed upon us,” Johnson told reporters.

Senators held a procedural vote Sunday in which seven Democrats and one Independent joined Republicans to narrowly advance a funding measure 60-40.

In exchange for the Democrats’ votes, Republicans agreed to hold a vote in the future on extending Obamacare subsidies.

There are more steps to take before senators hold an official vote on legislation to fund the government through January, including a measure on how long the chamber will debate.

All but a few Democrats have voted 14 times against the House stopgap measure out of concerns over a lack of an extension to the ACA tax credits, set to expire end of December. More than 20 million U.S. citizens currently rely the ACA on for health insurance.

“The American people have now awoken to Trump’s healthcare crisis,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said.

“Healthcare is once again at the forefront of people’s minds,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “People now see that premiums are about to skyrocket. They’re terrified about how they’re going to pay for their insurance.”

The new measure would reverse all shutdown-related job layoffs, guarantee federal worker pay during the shutdown, establish a specific budget process and fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program through September.

Johnson said he will give a 36-hour notice before any House votes, but did not offer a specific timeline.

The speaker, who has kept the lower chamber out of session since late September, indicated that a vote could occur as early as this week.

Any bill passed by both chambers will require a signature by Trump to become law. Trump said he intends to sign the legislation.

“Well, it depends what deal we’re talking about, but if it’s the deal I heard about … they want to change the deal a little bit, but I would say so,” Trump told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins in the Oval Office.

“I think, based on everything I’m hearing, they haven’t changed anything, and we have support from enough Democrats, and we’re going to be opening up our country. It’s too bad it was closed, but we’ll be opening up our country very quickly.”

That includes adhering to a provision that would reverse layoffs of federal workers his administration pushed during the shutdown.

In the House, Johnson plans to swear in Adelita Grijalva of Arizona when the members return, according to a CNN source.

Grijalva was elected Sept 23, but Johnson refused to swear her in until Senate Democrats agreed to reopen the government.

Once Grijalva is sworn in, she is expected to become the 218th signature necessary to bypass leadership and force a vote on compelling the release of files in the Jeffrey Epstein sex-abuse case.

Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Monday that House Democrats would continue to oppose the spending bill that advanced in the Senate this weekend.

“As House Democrats, we know we’re on the right side of this fight, the right side of the American people, and we’re not going to support partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the health care of the American people, and we’re going to continue the fight to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits,” he said at a news conference.

WASHINGTON — Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York is facing mounting pressure to step aside as leader of the Senate Democratic caucus after eight members voted against his wishes Sunday, joining Republicans in a bid to end the longest government shutdown in history.

The vote was just the latest development in a troubling week for the 74-year-old Schumer, who, after eight years as the top Senate Democrat, has faced growing calls from within the party to make way for a new generation of leadership.

Elections last week revealed the emergence of a growing progressive movement in Schumer’s hometown, where the longtime senator declined to endorse Zohran Mamdani in his successful bid for New York City mayor.

National progressive organizations on Monday urged him to step down and have encouraged a popular congresswoman in the state, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, to run for his Senate seat in 2029. Polls show Schumer faces the lowest approval numbers of any national leader in Washington.

His leadership troubles come on the heels of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), the first female speaker of the House, announcing her retirement, a decision that generated praise across the political aisle last week reflecting on her shrewd ability to control a sprawling House Democratic caucus during high-stakes votes.

“Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Fremont) wrote on X after the Sunday night vote. “If you can’t lead the fight to stop healthcare premiums from skyrocketing for Americans, what will you fight for?”

Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the top Democrat in the House, told reporters Monday that he strongly disapproved of the emerging deal in the Senate, where seven Democrats and one independent who caucuses with the party voted to proceed with government funding.

For seven weeks, House and Senate Democrats said they would not vote for legislation to reopen the government unless they were able to secure an extension of health insurance subsidies. But the deal reached in the Senate indicated how some Democrats gave in on that bottom-line negotiation.

Schumer reiterated his disapproval of the spending deal in a speech from the floor Monday. He criticized the compromise as a “Republican bill” even though members of his party helped broker the deal.

“Republicans now own this healthcare crisis,” Schumer said. “They knew it was coming. We wanted to fix it and they said no, and now it is on them.”

As Schumer delivered his speech, Jeffries spoke to reporters at a news conference on the other side of the Capitol.

Asked whether he thought Schumer remained an effective leader and should remain in his position, Jeffries replied, “yes and yes.”

When pressed to elaborate, Jeffries said “the overwhelming majority of Senate Democrats led by Chuck Schumer waged a valiant fight,” and turned his disapproval to the Democrats who voted with Republicans on the bill.

“I am not going to explain what a handful of Senate Democrats have decided to do,” Jeffries said. “That’s their explanation to offer to the American people.”

Now that the effort turns to the House, Jeffries said Democrats in the chamber will try to block a deal that does not address healthcare costs.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom offered harsh criticism of Senate Democrats on Monday, who he said had “rolled over.”

After speaking at the Milken Institute’s Global Investors’ Symposium in São Paulo, Newsom told The Times that the move blunted the momentum his party was experiencing following a string of victories last week.

“You don’t start something unless you’re going to finish,” said Newsom, who next heads to the climate summit known as COP30 in Belém, Brazil. “Why the hell did we do this in the first place? We could have gotten this deal in 20 minutes. … Honestly, I don’t know what’s going on with my party.”

Zach Wahls, a Democratic candidate for Senate in Iowa, said Schumer had “failed to lead this party in one of its most critical moments,” calling for him to step down. And Rep. Seth Moulton, a Democrat from Massachusetts, wrote that an effective leader would have been able to keep party members in line.

“Tonight is another example of why we need new leadership,” Moulton wrote on X.

The eight members who voted to reopen the government — 15% of the Senate Democratic caucus — voted directly against Schumer, who voted against the measure.

Wahls speculated that the moderate members who voted with Republicans were privately given Schumer’s blessing to do so.

“The fact that he voted against this deal, while he clearly gave it his blessing in private, is a perfect illustration of why people no longer trust the Democratic Party,” Wahls said, “and as long as he stays in a leadership role, it is going to be impossible for anybody — whether it’s in Iowa or any other swing state — to win a majority.”

Times staff writers Wilner and Ceballos reported from Washington, and Gutierrez contributed from São Paulo.

European stocks rallied at the start of the new trading week as a late test vote in the Senate on Sunday raised expectations for a bipartisan deal to fund the government, lifting investor sentiment across regions.

US stock futures climbed, and European indices followed suit.

Germany’s DAX rose 1.5%, France’s CAC 40 gained 1.4% and London’s FTSE 100 advanced 0.8% at around 11:00 CET. The uptick reflected renewed optimism that the shutdown, which has hindered access to key economic data, could soon end, alleviating uncertainty for markets.

AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said the Senate vote was an important first step, but that there were still hurdles to be cleared.

“A key impact on the markets of the impasse, beyond the hit to the wider economy, has been the lack of data as key releases on areas like the jobs market have been delayed,” Mould said.

He added that this “created a considerable dose of the uncertainty which markets famously hate, and it is also hampering the ability of the Federal Reserve to make informed decisions on interest rates.”

“In this context, it’s not a surprise to see investors react positively to signs of progress, with Asian shares higher, indices on the front foot in Europe and US futures pointing towards gains when Wall Street opens later.”

A respite for whiskey and spirits

Meanwhile, shares in beleaguered drinks giant Diageo soared 6.4% in early trade on news that former Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis was appointed to lead the company.

Diageo is one of the world’s biggest drinks groups and a heavyweight in the FTSE 100, with a stable of blue-chip brands such as Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Smirnoff, Tanqueray, Don Julio and Baileys sold in more than 180 countries

The company has struggled with falling drink consumption after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, and an end to the government shutdown is positive for Diageo as the United States is its single largest market

Lewis, who is set to take over in January 2026, was known as “Drastic Dave” for his role in turning around the supermarket chain.

Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said the appointment was a “significant hire and a pleasant surprise”.

He explained that investors “are clearly excited about Diageo’s prospects under Lewis. The stock is unloved after several years of disappointment, and the appointment of a highly respected CEO could be enough to win over many investors.” However, Lewis knows he will ultimately be judged on results, not hope.

A boost for dollar exchanges and gold

In terms of currencies, the dollar exchange rate remains steady, with the current euro exchange rate hovering at around $1.15, while the yen exchange rate went up slightly to $154.1 or by 0.5%.

The UK pound is slightly weaker against the dollar, going down by 0.1% to $1.315.

Gold is up about 1.8% at roughly €3,521 per troy ounce (about €113 per gram and €113,200 per kilogram). It is still sought out as a safe place to park money, even as shutdown worries ease.

AI and tech leaders are firmer in pre-market trading alongside the broader risk-on tone, and reports show Nvidia up by around 3.5%.

The move sits within a wider global relief rally as investors price a potential end to the shutdown.

In other developments, shares of Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk rose by 2.3% by midday in Europe after the company announced a partnership with Indian drugmaker Emcure Pharmaceuticals to market its weight-loss treatment Wegovy under a new brand through an exclusive agreement.

Meanwhile, the company failed in its bid to acquire biotech firm Metsera. The biotech company based in New York, which develops promising drugs against obesity, said it would accept a revised offer from Pfizer of up to $10 billion (€8.65bn).

US Senate vote to end shutdown delivers reprieve to investors worried about AI valuations and weakness in US economy.

Stocks from the United States to Japan have risen sharply amid hopes that an end to the longest US government shutdown in history is imminent.

US lawmakers on Sunday moved to end a five-week impasse over government funding, a boost for investors unnerved by signs of growing weakness in the US economy and the sky-high evaluations of firms involved in artificial intelligence.

After a group of Democrats broke with the party leadership to join Republicans, the US Senate voted 60-40 to advance a bill that would fund government operations through the end of January.

The funding package still needs to win final approval in the Senate and then pass the US House of Representatives, after which it would go to US President Donald Trump for his signature – a process expected to take days.

Stock markets in the Asia Pacific made large gains on Monday, while futures in the US also rose in advance of stock exchanges reopening.

South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI led the gains, rising about 3 percent as of 4pm local time (07:00 GMT).

Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng also rose sharply, advancing about 1.3 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.

Taiwan’s Taiex rose about 0.8 percent, while Australia’s ASX 200 gained about 0.75 percent.

Futures for the US’s benchmark S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq-100, which are traded outside of regular market hours, were up about 0.75 and 1.3 percent, respectively.

The reprieve comes as investors are concerned that AI-linked stocks may be wildly overvalued and that Trump’s sweeping tariffs could be doing more damage to the US economy than has been captured in headline data so far.

Nvidia, whose graphics processing units are integral to the development of AI, last month became the first company in history to reach a market valuation of $5 trillion, a day after tech giant Apple surpassed $4 trillion in market value.

While the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ official jobs report has been suspended since August due to the government shutdown, several other analyses have pointed to a rise in layoffs in October.

Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an executive outplacement firm, said in a report last week that layoffs surged 183 percent last month, making it the worst October for jobs since 2003.

A separate analysis by Revelio Labs, a workforce analytics company, estimated that the economy shed 9,100 jobs during the month.

Nov. 9 (UPI) — The U.S. Senate on Sunday night voted to advance a proposal that, if passed by Congress, would fund the federal government through the end of January, marking an important step toward ending the nation’s longest shutdown.

The Senate advanced the continuing appropriations bill in a 60-40 vote, with eight Democrats joining their Republican colleagues, after the Democratic caucus had maintained a strong resistance to passing a bill to reopen the government during 14 previous votes.

The bill was advanced as the 40-day government shutdown strained the United States, with many airports facing significant delays and flight reductions due to worker shortages and the food supplies of low-income households threatened by a lack of federal funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois, who was among those who voted in favor of the resolution, said in a statement Sunday that the bill is not the same as the one Democrats rejected 14 previous times.

“Republicans finally woke up and realized their Groundhog Day needed to end. This bill is not perfect, but it takes important steps to reduce their shutdown’s hurt,” he said on X.

“Not only would it fully fund SNAP for the year ahead, but it would reverse the mass firings the Trump administration ordered throughout the shutdown.”

Along with Durbin, the other Democrats who voted in favor of the bill are: Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Sens. Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada.

Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine but who caucuses with the Democrats, also voted “yes” to the resolution.

Explaining his vote, King said the bill will “alleviate the crisis that is now occurring in SNAP, in food insecurity across the country.”

“Food pantries can’t do it by themselves,” he said in a video message published late Sunday to his X account.

The resolution still needs to be debated and passed by the Senate and House and then be signed by President Donald Trump for the government shutdown to end.

The resolution included a “minibus” package of legislation, which, if it is approved by the Senate, would then be amended to include a full year of government funding.

The deal also includes a vote on extending tax credits for people who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act — agreement on which has been the linchpin in the 40-day federal government shutdown.

Durbin, in his statement, said it was now up to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to schedule the promised vote on the ACA tax credits for next month.

“And we will see to it that he makes good on his word for the millions of Americans worried they won’t be able to afford healthcare in January,” he said.

The resolution was advanced after it was reported Sunday afternoon that the Republicans had secured enough Democratic votes to advance it.

Some lawmakers had expressed hope that they might be able to end the shutdown after Senators discussed three bills that would fund the government for a full year.

Programs for veterans affairs and agriculture subsidies were released early Sunday, and a more complete funding measure for the legislative branch was released later in the day.

The extended shutdown has put SNAP benefits on hold and snarled air traffic at the nation’s busiest airports amid the ongoing impasse, which has stretched well into its second month.

Staffing shortages and flight cancellations have caused travel disruptions and forced many air traffic controllers to work without pay.

Senate Democrats have been holding out for a one-year extension of Biden-era subsidies for health insurance premiums for people who buy coverage on the federal Marketplace under the Affordable Care Act.

The shutdown also prompted the Trump administration to cancel scheduled military flyovers at a handful of NFL games, including at the Washington, D.C., area stadium that hosts the Washington Commanders, where Trump attended the game Sunday between the Commanders and Detroit Lions.

Trump has expressed wishes to have the Commanders rename the stadium after him. ESPN reported that it would be discussed between the president and team ownership during the contest.

BREAKINGBREAKING,

Senate takes the first step toward ending the 40-day shutdown, advancing a funding bill after weeks of gridlock.

Senators in the United States have voted to move forward with a stopgap funding package aimed at ending the longest government shutdown in the country’s history.

In a procedural vote on Sunday, some eight Democrats broke rank and voted in favour of advancing the Republican measure that will keep the government reopen into January 30.

The bipartisan deal would also fund some parts of the government, including food aid and the legislative branch, for the next year.

But it does not guarantee an extension of healthcare subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. Instead, it promises a vote on the issue by December.

The subsidies have been a Democratic priority during the funding battle.

Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna, reporting from Washington, DC, said the procedural vote passed with 60 in favour and 40 against.

“Now, this is what is called a cloture, a procedure by which the Senate agrees to continue the debate about the legislation and begin introducing and passing the bills aimed at ending the shutdown,” Hanna said.

“The important thing about the cloture vote is that once it is passed, at that 60 percent majority, every subsequent vote is by a simple majority. So it would appear to be plain sailing in the Senate to pass this bill and the continuing resolution to refund the government and ending the closure,” he added.

If the Senate eventually passes the amended bill, the package still must be approved by the House of Representatives and sent to President Donald Trump for his signature, a process that could take several days.

The Democratic senators who voted in favour of advancing the bill include Dick Durbin of Illinois, Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Tim Kaine of Virginia.

Angus King of Maine, an independent who causes with the Democrats, also voted in favour of the measure.

Democrats, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada, also voted yes.

WASHINGTON — A group of moderate Democrats has a tentative deal to reopen the government if Republicans promise to hold a vote on expiring healthcare subsidies by December, a potential breakthrough as lawmakers seek to end the shutdown.

The group of three former governors — New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan and Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine — has a deal to pass three annual spending bills and extend the rest of government funding until late January, according to three people familiar with the agreement who requested anonymity until the deal is made public.

The deal was far from assured, and final passage of the legislation could take several days. Republicans had not yet said whether they supported the deal, and it was unclear whether there would be enough Democrats to support it absent their central demand through the now 40-day shutdown — an extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits that expire Jan. 1.

After Democrats met for more than two hours to discuss the proposal, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer emerged to say he would vote “no.” Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who caucuses with the Democrats, said as he walked into the meeting that it would be a “horrific mistake to cave in to Trump right now.”

Republicans have been working with the group of moderates as the shutdown continues to disrupt flights nationwide, threaten food assistance for millions of Americans and leave federal workers without pay. But many Democrats have warned their colleagues against giving in, arguing that they can’t end the fight without an agreement to extend the health subsidies.

Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said earlier in the day that a potential deal was “coming together.” But he has not yet publicly endorsed it.

“We’ll see where the votes are,” Thune said.

Returning to the White House on Sunday evening after attending a football game, Trump did not say whether he endorsed the deal. But he said, “it looks like we’re getting close to the shutdown ending.”

Democrats have now voted 14 times not to reopen the government as they have demanded the extension of tax credits that make coverage more affordable for health plans offered under the Affordable Care Act. Republicans have refused to negotiate on the healthcare subsidies while the government is closed, but they have so far been supportive of the proposal from moderate Democrats as it emerged over the last several days.

The contours of a deal

The agreement would fund parts of government — food aid, veterans programs and the legislative branch, among other things — and extend funding for everything else until the end of January. It would take up Republicans on their longstanding offer to hold a future vote on the healthcare subsidies, with that vote occurring by the middle of December, the people said.

The deal would reinstate federal workers who received reduction-in-force, or layoff, notices and reimburses states that spent their own funds to keep federal programs running during the shutdown. It would also protect against future reductions in force through January, the people said, and guarantee all federal workers would be paid once the shutdown is over.

Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, home to millions of federal workers, said he would support the deal.

“I have long said that, to earn my vote, we need to be on a path toward fixing Republicans’ healthcare mess and to protect the federal workforce,” Kaine said.

Alongside the funding fix, Republicans released final legislative text of three full-year spending bills Sunday. That legislation keeps a ban on pay raises for lawmakers but boosts their security by $203.5 million in response to increased threats. There’s also a provision championed by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to prevent the sale of some hemp-based products.

Democratic pushback expected

Republicans only need five votes from Democrats to reopen the government, so a handful of senators could end the shutdown with only the promise of a later vote on healthcare. Around 10 to 12 Democrats have been involved in the talks, and the three people familiar with the agreement said they had enough votes to join with Republicans and pass the deal.

Many of their Democratic colleagues are saying the emerging deal is not enough.

“I really wanted to get something on healthcare,” said Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin. “I’m going to hear about it right now, but it doesn’t look like it has something concrete.”

House Democrats were also chiming in against it. Texas Rep. Greg Casar, the chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said a deal that didn’t reduce healthcare costs was a “betrayal” of millions of Americans who were counting on Democrats to fight.

“Accepting nothing but a pinky promise from Republicans isn’t a compromise — it’s capitulation,” Casar said in a post on X. “Millions of families would pay the price.”

Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota posted that “if people believe this is a ‘deal,’ I have a bridge to sell you.”

Even if the Senate were to move forward with funding legislation, getting to a final vote could take several days if Democrats who oppose the deal object and draw out the process. The first vote, which could come as soon as Sunday evening, would be to proceed to consideration of the legislation.

Republicans preview healthcare debate

There is no guarantee that the Affordable Care Act subsidies would be extended if Republicans agreed to a future vote on healthcare. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has said he will not commit to a health vote.

Some Republicans have said they are open to extending the COVID-19-era tax credits as premiums could skyrocket for millions of people, but they also want new limits on who can receive the subsidies and argue that the tax dollars for the plans should be routed through individuals.

Other Republicans, including Trump, have used the debate to renew their years-long criticism of the law and called for it to be scrapped or overhauled.

“THE WORST HEALTHCARE FOR THE HIGHEST PRICE,” Trump said of the Affordable Care Act in a post Sunday.

Shutdown effects worsen

Meanwhile, the consequences of the shutdown were compounding. U.S. airlines canceled more than 2,000 flights on Sunday for the first time since the shutdown began, and there were more than 7,000 flight delays, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks air travel disruptions.

Treasury Secretary Sean Duffy said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that air travel ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday would be “reduced to a trickle” if the government didn’t reopen.

At the same time, food aid was delayed for tens of millions of people as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits were caught up in legal battles related to the shutdown. More than two dozen states warned of “catastrophic operational disruptions” as Trump’s administration was demanding states “undo” benefits paid out under judges’ orders last week, now that the U.S. Supreme Court has stayed those rulings.

And in Washington, home to millions of federal workers who have gone unpaid, the Capital Area Food Bank said it was providing 8 million more meals than it had prepared to in this budget year — a nearly 20% increase.

Jalonick and Mascaro write for the Associated Press. Associated Press writers Stephen Groves and Kevin Freking contributed to this report.

The United States Senate is moving towards a vote that could help end the longest government shutdown in the country’s history, with senators expected to approve a Republican stopgap funding package as early as Sunday evening, according to media reports.

The breakthrough came after a group of centrist Democrats negotiated a deal to reopen the government if Republicans promise to hold a vote on expiring healthcare subsidies by December, The Associated Press news agency reported.

Senator Angus King, who led the talks, told reporters that the Democrats backing the legislation feel the shutdown has gone on long enough, according to The Hill.

When asked if he was confident that there would be enough votes to pass the bill, he said: “That’s certainly what it looks like.”

The package would include a stopgap funding bill that would reopen the government through January 31 and fund other elements – including food aid and the legislative branch – until the end of the fiscal year.

The amended package would still have to be passed by the House of Representatives and sent to President Donald Trump for his signature, a process that could take several days.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, told reporters that he would vote against the funding measure but also suggested there could be enough Democratic support to pass it.

“I am unwilling to accept a vague promise of a vote at some indeterminate time, on some undefined measure that extends the healthcare tax credits,” Blumenthal said.

Fallout deepens

The shutdown, currently in its 40th day, has caused thousands of flight cancellations, put food assistance for millions of Americans at risk, and furloughed about 750,000 federal employees.

Air traffic staffing shortages led at least 2,300 flights travelling within the US and to and from the country to be cancelled as of Sunday, according to data from tracking platform FlightAware, along with more than 8,000 delays.

New York City area airports, along with Chicago’s O’Hare and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airports, were especially hard-hit.

Meanwhile, the 42 million people – one in eight Americans – who rely on the food aid programme Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) have seen their benefits threatened amid ongoing legal battles.

Although two courts ordered that the Trump administration must pay out SNAP funds during the shutdown, the Supreme Court paused one of the rulings until further legal arguments could be heard.

“Now, the Trump administration has told states they cannot pay more than 60 percent of the funds due this month, and it is threatening to cut all federal funds to any state that does so,” said Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna, reporting from Washington, DC.

“For Americans, this is really beginning to bite home, and they are trying to ramp up the pressure on senators,” he added.

Health subsidies

The shutdown started on October 1, when the Senate failed to agree on spending priorities. Since then, Democrats have voted 14 times not to reopen the government as they demanded the extension of credits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Democrats have pushed for a one-year extension of the subsidies, which have helped double ACA enrolment to 24 million since they were put in place in 2021.

But Republicans, who hold a simple majority in the Senate, have maintained they are open to addressing the issue only after government funding is restored.

Republicans only need five votes from Democrats to reopen the government, so a handful of moderate senators could end the shutdown with only the promise of a later vote on healthcare.

Many Democratic legislators, however, said the emerging deal is not enough.

“I really wanted to get something on healthcare,” said Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin. She added that the deal on the table “doesn’t look like it has something concrete”.

House Democrats were also chiming in against it.

Texas Representative Greg Casar, the chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said a deal that does not reduce healthcare costs is a “betrayal” of millions of Americans who are counting on Democrats to fight.

“Accepting nothing but a pinky promise from Republicans isn’t a compromise – it’s capitulation,” Casar said in a post on X. “Millions of families would pay the price.”

Trump, meanwhile, pushed again to replace subsidies for the ACA health insurance marketplaces with direct payments to individuals.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump blasted the subsidies as a “windfall for Health Insurance Companies, and a DISASTER for the American people”, while demanding the funds be sent directly to individuals to buy coverage on their own.

“I stand ready to work with both Parties to solve this problem once the Government is open,” Trump wrote.

Senator Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California, said he believed Trump’s healthcare proposal was aimed at gutting the ACA and allowing insurance companies to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.

“So the same insurance companies he’s railing against in those tweets, he is saying: ‘I’m going to give you more power to cancel people’s policies and not cover them if they have a pre-existing condition,’” Schiff said on ABC’s This Week programme.

Nov. 9 (UPI) — The Senate was poised to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history Sunday night as Democrats and Republicans said the two sides have reached a tentative budget agreement.

Axios and The Hill reported on Sunday afternoon that 10 Senate Democrats are expected to vote in favor of the House bill to fund and reopen the government through January. Politico reported Sunday night that there are “more than enough” votes for passage.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., who said that the Senate would remain in session until the impasse is resolved, said earlier Sunday that he expected a 15th vote on the bill Sunday night.

The vote would include a “minibus” package of legislation, which, if it is approved by the Senate, would then be amended to include a full year of government funding.

The deal also includes a vote, on a date established in the package, on extending tax credits for people who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act — agreement on which has been the linchpin in the 40-day federal government shutdown.

Democrats are set for a caucus meeting tonight, CBS News reported.

Some lawmakers expressed hope that they may be able to end the shutdown after Senators discussed three bills that would fund the government for a full year.

Programs for veterans affairs and agriculture subsidies were released early Sunday, and a more complete funding measure for the legislative branch was released later in the day.

The extended shutdown has put SNAP benefits on hold and snarled air traffic at the nation’s busiest airports amid the ongoing impasse, which has stretched well into its second month.

Staffing shortages and flight cancellations have caused travel disruptions and forced many air traffic controllers to work without pay.

Senate Democrats have been holding out for a one year extension of Biden-era subsidies for health insurance premiums for people who buy coverage on the federal Marketplace under the Affordable Care Act. Thune promised Democrats a vote on extending the subsides in December as part of the agreement.

The shutdown also prompted the Trump administration to cancel scheduled military flyovers at a handful of NFL games, including at the Washington, D.C, area stadium that hosts the Washington Commanders, where President Donald Trump attended the game Sunday between the Commanders and Detroit Lions.

Trump has expressed wishes to have the Commanders name the stadium after him. ESPN reported that it would be discussed between the president and team ownership during the contest.

Nov. 9 (UPI) — U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned Sunday that Thanksgiving air travel would slow considerably.

Amid the continued federal government shutdown and upcoming travel season, he also said that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth offered military reserves of air traffic controllers to help mitigate the shutdown-linked staffing shortage.

As of early Sunday morning, more than 1,100 flights had been canceled, which follows more than 1,500 that were cancelled and 6,4000 that were delayed, ABC reported.

The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered airlines to cut flights by 10% by Nov. 14 to mitigate air safety concerns amid the shortage of air traffic controllers.

Duffy said in an interview with “Fox News Sunday” that Hegseth texted him Saturday with the offer, but that he did not know if the air traffic controllers could be deployed.

“But he’ll step in and try to provide some relief in the skies,” Duffy said. “We’re trying to minimize the pain for the American people.”

Duffy said that he anticipated “very few” air traffic controllers showing up for work over the holiday, choosing to be with their families as they continue to work unpaid.

The federal government shutdown that began on Oct. 1 has entered its sixth week, becoming the longest in U.S. history, as lawmakers in Washington remain at an impasse over funding for the new fiscal year.

The stalemate is over expiring healthcare tax credits from the Affordable Care Act. Democrats want to extend these subsidies before reopening the government, while Republicans refuse to discuss policy until a funding bill passes.

The funding lapse has led to the furlough of hundreds of thousands of federal employees and is forcing many others, including military personnel and air traffic controllers, to work without pay. But many air traffic controllers have chosen not to appear for work.

Disruptions have deepened nationwide, including slowdowns at airports, closures of national parks and cultural institutions and growing uncertainty over food assistance programs for millions of Americans.

“I think we have to be honest about where this is going,” Duffy said. “It doesn’t get better, it gets worse until these air traffic controllers are going to be paid.”

As United States lawmakers fail to agree on a deal to end the government shutdown, around 750,000 federal employees have been furloughed, millions of Americans go without food assistance, and air travel is disrupted across the country.

The shutdown began on October 1, after opposing sides in the US Senate failed to agree on spending priorities, with Republicans rejecting a push by Democrats to protect healthcare and other social programmes.

Since then, both sides have failed to agree on 14 separate funding measures, delaying payment to hundreds of thousands of federal staff.

After 40 days, senators from both parties are working this weekend to try to end what has become the longest government shutdown in US history. But talks on Saturday showed little sign of breaking the impasse and securing long-term funding for key programmes.

On Friday, Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer offered Republicans a narrower version of an earlier Democratic proposal – a temporary extension of healthcare subsidies. Republicans rejected the offer, prolonging the record-breaking shutdown.

So what do we know about the shutdown, and how it has impacted Americans?

Flights disrupted

The shutdown has created major disruptions for the aviation industry, with staffing shortages among unpaid air traffic controllers.

More than 1,530 flights were cancelled across the US on Saturday, while thousands more were delayed as authorities ordered airports to reduce air traffic.

According to the flight tracking website FlightAware, Saturday’s cancellations marked an increase from 1,025 the previous day. The trend looks set to continue, with at least 1,000 cancellations logged for Sunday.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said staffing shortages were affecting 42 control towers and other facilities, leading to delays in at least a dozen major cities – including Atlanta, Newark, San Francisco, New York and Chicago.

The travel chaos could prove politically costly for lawmakers if disruptions persist, especially ahead of the holiday season. Reduced air traffic will also hit deliveries and shipping, since many commercial flights carry cargo alongside passengers.

The CEO of Elevate Aviation Group, Greg Raiff, recently warned that the economic impact would ripple outward. “This shutdown is going to affect everything from business travel to tourism,” he told the Associated Press.

“It’s going to hurt local tax revenues and city budgets – there’s a cascading effect from all this.”

Threat to food assistance

In recent weeks, US President Donald Trump has said he will only restore food aid once the government shutdown ends.

“SNAP BENEFITS, which increased by Billions and Billions of Dollars (MANY FOLD!) during Crooked Joe Biden’s disastrous term … will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government,” he wrote earlier this week on Truth Social.

The US Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps, provides low-income Americans with roughly $8bn a month in grocery assistance. The average individual benefit is about $190 per month, while a household receives around $356.

Health insurance standoff

Democrats blame the shutdown on Republicans’ refusal to renew expiring healthcare subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Talks stalled again on Saturday after Trump declared he would not compromise on the issue.

Democrats are pushing for a one-year extension of the ACA subsidies, which mainly help people without employer or government health coverage buy insurance. But with a 53–47 majority in the Senate, Republicans can block the proposal.

Trump intervened on Saturday via Truth Social, calling on Republican senators to redirect federal funds used for health insurance subsidies toward direct payments for individuals.

“I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking Insurance Companies … BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE, and have money left over,” he said.

Roughly 24 million Americans currently benefit from the ACA subsidies. Analysts warn that premiums could double by 2026 if Congress allows them to expire.

Has this happened before?

This is not the first time Washington has faced such a standoff. The graphic below shows every US funding gap and government shutdown since 1976, including how long each lasted and under which administration it occurred.

The current federal budget process dates back to 1976. Since its creation, the government has experienced 20 funding gaps, leading to 10 shutdowns.

Prior to the 1980s, such funding lapses rarely caused shutdowns. Most federal agencies continued operating, expecting Congress to soon approve new funding.

That changed in 1980, when Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti issued legal opinions clarifying that, under federal law, agencies cannot spend money without congressional authorisation. Only essential functions (like air traffic control) were permitted to continue.

From 1982 onward, this interpretation has meant that funding gaps have more frequently triggered full or partial government shutdowns, lasting until Congress reaches a resolution.

What happens next?

No breakthrough was announced after the US Senate convened for a rare Saturday session. The chamber is now expected to reconvene at 1:30pm local time on Sunday.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters that the chamber will continue meeting until the government reopens. “There’s still only one path out – it’s a clean funding extension,” he said.

Some 1.3 million service members are now at risk of missing a paycheque, and that might put pressure on both sides to agree on a deal. Earlier this month, staff were paid after $8bn from military research and development funds were made available at the intervention of Trump.

But questions remain about whether the administration will resort to a similar procedure if the shutdown is prolonged. Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire told reporters on Friday that Democrats “need another path forward”.

Shaheen and several moderate Democrats are floating a proposal that would temporarily fund certain departments – such as veterans’ services and food aid – while keeping the rest of the government open until December or early next year.

It’s understood that Shaheen’s plan would include a promise of a future vote on healthcare subsidies, but not a guaranteed extension. It remains unclear whether enough Democrats would support that compromise. 

Thune, meanwhile, is reportedly considering a bipartisan version of the proposal. On Friday, he said he thinks the offer is an indication that Democrats are “feeling the heat … I guess you could characterise that as progress”.

Looking ahead, it remains unclear what Republicans might offer regarding healthcare.

For now, Democrats face a stark choice: keep pressing for a firm deal to renew healthcare subsidies and prolong the shutdown – or vote to reopen the government and trust Republicans’ assurances of a future healthcare vote, with no certainty of success.

Nov. 8 (UPI) — No military-sponsored events, including flyovers, will take place at this week’s Veterans Day “Salute to Service” NFL games, because they have fallen victim to the federal government shutdown.

But there will be a veteran commemoration planned Sunday in Northern Virginia as will be President Donald Trump on hand for the game between the Washington Commanders and the Detroit Lions.

Veterans Day is Tuesday, and unlike previous years, there will not be honor guards and military service members unveiling American flags, in addition to the lack of a flyover, at the 13 NFL games on Sunday and Monday.

Before the shutdown, there was a flyover at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis., on September 11 between the Packers and the Commanders as F-35 Lightning II jets from the Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 115th Fighter Wing flew over the stadium.

The campaign with the NFL began in 2011, according to Fox News.

The Pentagon’s press office said service members and Defense Department personnel are “prohibited from participating in official outreach activities.”

Those events are paid from the Pentagon’s annual budget, Fox News reported.

“Service members are permitted to wear military uniforms at Veterans Day events, in a personal capacity, as long as it follows their service-specific guidelines, and no official endorsement or involvement is implied by the Department,” the Pentagon said in a statement to The Washington Post on Thursday.

A guidance document by the Post said there will be no “jet and jump demonstration teams, bands and ceremonial unit appearances, port visits, service weeks and nonprofit and corporate leader outreach.”

In 2015, a flyover was estimated to cost $80,000 by then-Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby.

“There is a minimal expense involved with the flyover,” he said during a Defense Department briefing on Jan. 30, 2015, noting aircraft fly from nearby bases with maintenance personnel at the site.

“It’s not an exorbitant cost, and I would, you know, obviously remind you that you know, we stand to gain the benefit. And there’s an exposure benefit from having the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds fly over, a well-known, famous team, and that certainly helps us in terms of keeping our exposure out there for the American people,” he said.

Last year when Joe Biden was president, there were about a dozen flyover events at NFL games throughout November.

“While Salute to Service comes to life on-field each November — as it will again this year, starting this weekend — our long-standing efforts to support the military community continue throughout the year,” said Anna Isaacson, the NFL’s senior vice president of social responsibility said in a statement to the Post.

Trump will fly from Palm Beach County on Sunday to attend the game against the Detroit Lions at Northwest Field in Landover, Md.

He is expected to join owner Josh Harris in his suite for the game, as well as a halftime ceremony. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:25 p.m. EST.

“We are honored to welcome President Trump to the game as we celebrate those who have served and continue to serve our country. The entire Commanders organization is proud to participate in the NFL’s league-wide Salute to Service initiative, recognizing the dedication and sacrifice of our nation’s veterans, active-duty service members, and their families this Sunday,” the Commanders said in a statement.

Trump said he has opposed calling the team the Commanders after they changed their name from the Redskins, and often refers to them as the “Washington Whatevers.”

The last time Trump was at a football game was Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, when the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs.

Democratic and Republican senators in the United States are working through the weekend to find a compromise and end the longest government shutdown in the country’s history.

But the bipartisan talks yielded few signs of progress on Saturday as the workday ended without a deal on reopening the government.

The Senate is set to try again with a rare Sunday session.

The impasse has now lasted 39 days and is taking an increasing toll on the country as federal workers go unpaid, airlines cancel flights, and food aid has been delayed for millions of Americans.

Saturday’s session got off to a rough start when President Donald Trump made clear he is unlikely to compromise any time soon with Democrats, who are seeking a one-year extension on an expiring health insurance subsidy under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare.

Trump urged Republican senators on social media to redirect federal money used to subsidise health insurance premiums towards direct payments to individuals.

“I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking Insurance Companies in order to save the bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE, and have money left over,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, without offering details.

The ACA marketplaces allow people to buy policies directly from health insurers and mainly serve people who do not have coverage through employers or the Medicare and Medicaid government programmes.

Some 24 million people in the US use those subsidies.

For those enrolled in ACA exchanges, premiums, on average, are expected to more than double next year if Congress allows the enhanced subsidies to lapse.

Democrats demand that Republicans agree to negotiate an extension of federal healthcare subsidies before reopening the government. Republicans say the government must reopen first.

‘Another path forward’

Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire, who is leading the talks among moderates, said on Friday evening that Democrats “need another path forward” after Republicans rejected the offer from Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York to reopen the government and extend the subsidies for a year.

Shaheen and others, negotiating among themselves and with some rank-and-file Republicans, have been discussing bills that would pay for parts of government – food aid, veterans programmes and the legislative branch, among other things – and extend funding for everything else until December or January.

The agreement would only come with the promise of a future healthcare vote, rather than a guarantee of extended subsidies.

It was unclear whether enough Democrats would support such a plan. Even with a deal, Trump appears unlikely to support an extension of the health benefits. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson also said this week that he would not commit to a health vote.

Republicans hold a 53-47 majority but need 60 votes to reopen the government.

Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna, reporting from Washington, DC, described the Senate’s weekend session as “very unusual”.

“But no vote was taken in the course of the day. The Republicans are not wanting to hold a vote unless they are certain that they can get those 60 votes needed to pass a legislation or change the procedure,” Hanna said.

Trump, for his part, has once again urged the Republicans to end the filibuster, which requires agreement by 60 of the Senate’s 100 members to pass most legislation.

“The Republicans could do this with a simple majority,” Hanna said. “However, Republicans are concerned about doing this because they feared that the lack of an investor would act against them, if… the Democrats take power in the Senate.”

With the Republicans rejecting Trump’s call, Senate Republican Leader John Thune is eyeing a bipartisan package that mirrors the proposal the moderate Democrats have been sketching out. What Thune, who has refused to negotiate, might promise on healthcare is unknown.

The package would replace the House-passed legislation that the Democrats have rejected 14 times since the shutdown began on October 1. The current bill would only extend government funding until November 21.

A test vote on new legislation could come in the next few days if Thune decides to move forward.

Then the Democrats would have a crucial choice: Keep fighting for a meaningful deal on extending the subsidies that expire in January, while prolonging the pain of the shutdown; or vote to reopen the government and hope for the best, as Republicans promise an eventual healthcare vote but not a guaranteed outcome.

Schumer on Saturday persisted in arguing that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the tax credits.

“Doing nothing is derelict because people will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker,” Schumer said in a floor speech. “That’s what will happen if this Congress fails to act.”

Reporting from Washington — President Trump, as he often does, had a few things to say.

After admitting that he had been lonely over the holidays, Trump took advantage of his first public appearance of the new year Wednesday to air lingering grievances, make multiple false claims and reinforce recent decisions that have rattled financial markets and his party’s leaders.

As he held forth for more than 90 minutes before a small pool of reporters and photographers, members of his Cabinet, ostensibly called to the White House for a meeting, sat quietly around a long conference table.

Trump defended his decision last month to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria and sharply cut the deployment to Afghanistan, moves that disturbed Republican allies in Congress and prompted the resignation of Defense Secretary James N. Mattis. In doing so, he contradicted his own recent claim that the U.S. had achieved its objectives of total victory over Islamic State militants in Syria.

“Syria was lost long ago,” he said.

“Look, we don’t want Syria,” he continued. “We’re talking about sand and death. That’s what we’re talking about. We’re not talking about vast wealth. We’re talking about sand and death,” he said, seemingly contrasting the war-wracked country with Iraq and its vast oil reserves.

Iran “can do what they want there, frankly,” he added, a comment likely to unnerve officials in Israel, who have worried that a U.S. withdrawal from its positions in eastern Syria would allow Iran to expand its influence there.

“It’s not my fault,” he said. “I didn’t put us there.”

Trump offered little further clarity on the U.S. withdrawal from Syria, which he initially said would take place in 30 days, saying now that the pullout will “take place over a period of time.”

Later, in a long riff about Afghanistan, Trump seemed to endorse Moscow’s 1979 invasion of the country — an act that the U.S. viewed as an attempt to spread communism and waged a long, covert operation to combat during the Carter and Reagan administrations.

“The reason Russia was in Afghanistan was because terrorists were going into Russia,” Trump said, making a case to leave the policing of hot spots in the Mideast and Central Asia to countries in the region. “They were right to be there. The problem is it was a tough fight.”

The Soviet Union eventually was bankrupted by its Afghan war, Trump added. “Russia used to be the Soviet Union. Afghanistan made it Russia, because they went bankrupt fighting in Afghanistan.”

Historians generally agree that the Russian invasion and subsequent occupation of much of Afghanistan was one of several factors that contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union, although the country never went bankrupt.

For years, Republicans have credited President Reagan with bringing an end to the Soviet Union by his aggressive increase in U.S. military spending.

Trump’s comments stood in stark contrast to the view Mattis espoused in the resignation letter he presented last month after failing to convince the president to hold off on withdrawing from Syria.

“We must do everything possible to advance an international order that is most conducive to our security, prosperity and values, and we are strengthened in this effort by the solidarity of our alliances,” Mattis wrote.

Mattis’ comments clearly stung Trump, who responded last month with criticism of his former Pentagon chief. On Wednesday, he stepped that up, claiming that he fired Mattis.

“What’s he done for me? How had he done in Afghanistan? Not too good,” Trump said. “As you know, President Obama fired him, and essentially so did I.”

Obama did not fire Mattis, although the general did retire several months early in 2013 from his position as the head of the military’s Central Command after dissenting from Obama administration policy decisions.

Tuesday was Mattis’ final day at the Pentagon. Trump, in a fit of pique after the resignation letter became public, had moved up Mattis’ termination date

In addition to his foreign policy comments, Trump also downplayed December’s stock market losses, which erased all positive gains for the year, as “a little glitch” and asserted — wrongly — that there are “probably 30-35 million” immigrants in the U.S. illegally. The nonpartisan Pew Research Center estimates that as of 2016, there were 10.7 million unauthorized immigrants living in the country, a number that has declined in recent years.

Trump repeated his call for Democrats to agree to $5.6 billion in funding for a border wall, and expressed surprise not to have received overtures from them over the holidays to negotiate an end to the government shutdown.

“I was in the White House all by myself for six or seven days,” he said. “It was very lonely. My family was down in Florida. I said, ‘Stay there and enjoy yourself.’ I felt I should be here just in case people wanted to come and negotiate the border security.”

Trump, who met later in the day with congressional leaders away from TV cameras, has already dismissed a funding proposal from House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi that includes $1.3 billion in border security funding.

While leaving the door open to a compromise, Trump continued to argue for the importance of a wall, pointing to other examples of barriers. He incorrectly asserted that Obama’s Washington residence is surrounded by a 10-foot wall and cited the Vatican, which he said “has the biggest wall of them all.”

“When they say the wall is immoral, then you better do something about the Vatican,” he said. “Walls work.”

As Trump spoke, a “Game of Thrones”-style movie poster teasing Iran sanctions — “SANCTIONS ARE COMING,” it read — lay unfurled across the table directly in front of him. But he made no remarks on the subject.

He did, however, comment on Sen.-elect Mitt Romney of Utah, who wrote in the Washington Post on Tuesday that he was troubled by Trump’s “deep descent in December” and that his deficit in “presidential leadership in qualities of character … has been most glaring.”

“I wish Mitt could be more of a team player,” Trump said. “And if he’s not, that’s OK too.”

Seeming to warn Romney about the fate that lies ahead for Republican lawmakers who vocally criticize him and his presidency, Trump boasted that he “got rid of” former Sens. Jeff Flake of Arizona and Bob Corker of Tennessee, both of whom opted not to seek new terms last year.

Accusing both men of seeking publicity in taking stands against him, Trump suggested that Flake would be seeking a job as a paid cable news contributor — or perhaps in another profession that Trump himself once plied.

“Jeff Flake is now selling real estate or whatever he’s doing,” he said dismissively.

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@EliStokols