WASHINGTON – As Day 15 dawned on the federal government shutdown, President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans braced for what could become the longest lapse in funding in history.
Trump said he would release a list Oct. 17 of Democratic programs he eliminated. The White House Office of Management and Budget said in a social media post it was preparing for more layoffs.
But Democrats continued to demand additional healthcare funding, to overturn previously approved cuts in Medicaid funding and to extend tax credits for the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
The longest previous shutdown lasted 35 days between December 2018 and January 2019, during Trump’s first term. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, warned that “we’re barreling toward one of the longest shutdowns in American history unless Democrats drop their partisan demands.”
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President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during lunch with Argentina’s President Javier Milei (not pictured) in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 14, 2025.
Speaker Johnson, Leader Jeffries agree to shutdown debate on C-SPAN
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries have agreed to appear together on C-SPAN to debate the federal government shutdown.
The network singled out their commitments in a press statement that pointed to recent public statements from both Johnson and Jeffries.
No date has been set for a joint appearance. According to C-SPAN, the respective leaders have agreed to jointly appear on C-SPAN’s new show “Ceasefire,” hosted by Politico Washington Bureau Chief Dasha Burns.
“I’ll sit down with Hakeem Jeffries, my counterpart. I’d love to,” Johnson told C-SPAN on Oct. 9, when the speaker fielded questions about the shutdown from callers during a solo appearance on C-SPAN.
Jeffries on Tuesday told reporters that he accepts Johnson’s challenge and looks forward to debating him. “We’re going to try to get it scheduled, absolutely,” Jeffries told a group of reporters, according to The Hill.
— Joey Garrison
Cantwell calls for investigation of DHS shutdown videos at airports
Sen. Maria Cantwell, the top Democrat on the transportation committee, demanded an investigation of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for providing what she called “partisan video” about the shutdown to airports across the country.
Cantwell of Washington alleged a violation of the Hatch Act, which limits political activities by federal employees. She urged Jamieson Greer, who serves as acting head of the Office of Special Counsel, to investigate the video playing at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints that blames “Democrats in Congress” for the government shutdown and for TSA employees “working without pay.”
“This message is not just false; it appears to violate the prohibitions contained in the Hatch Act,” Cantwell wrote in a letter to Greer.
At least six airports refused to play the video in Charlotte, North Carolina; Phoenix, Arizona; Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; Indianapolis, Indiana and Des Moines, Iowa.
–Bart Jansen
Senate moves forward with full-year defense spending bill
With the shutdown dragging on, congressional Republicans are trying something new to attempt to fund parts of the government.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, has slated a procedural vote Thursday for a full-year defense spending bill. It’s part of a fresh strategy to force Democrats, who largely want to see the bipartisan appropriations process continue on pace, into an awkward position.
Congress often keeps the government open by passing short-term funding measures, something Thune has said he wants to change, and for which there’s bipartisan support. Even as the shutdown has continued, rank-and-file lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been working to draft full-year appropriations bills.
Asked Wednesday about whether any larger off-ramp to the shutdown is in the works, Thune told reporters it’s possible, but said he expects Democrats to hold out until at least after this Saturday, Oct. 18, when historic turnout is expected for nationwide protests against the Trump administration.
-Zachary Schermele
Government shutdown could cost US economy $15 billion a day, Bessent says
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the federal government shutdown could soon cost the United States economy $15 billion a day as he called for moderate Senate Democrats to “be heroes” by joining Republicans to reopen the government.
“Be heroes,” Bessent said at a Wednesday morning news conference. “Break away from the hive of radicalism and do something for the American people because we are starting to cut into muscle here.”
Republicans control the House, Senate and White House. But Republicans need 60 votes in the Senate to avoid a filibuster to pass a funding bill – something they’ve been unable to achieve in multiple votes on a bill to fund the government through Nov. 21.
Bessent accused “the mainstream media” of not focusing on Democrats “the way they would have if the Republicans were willing to keep the government closed.”
Democrats have demanded the reversal of Republicans’ recent cuts to Medicaid and the extension of expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies be included in any funding measure.
Echoing other Republicans, Bessent suggested Democrats want to keep the government closed through the upcoming nationwide “No Kings” protest, set for Oct. 18
“I believe that the Democrats will come to their senses soon,” Bessent said. “Maybe it’s after this ‘No Kings’ thing. But ‘No Kings’ equal no paychecks.”
— Joey Garrison
Capitol Police miss paycheck amid shutdown
As congressional leaders continue their standoff over legislation to fund the government, the federal workers protecting them are going without pay.
The head of the Capitol Police Union called on lawmakers to end the shutdown in an Oct. 14 statement that notes officers missed their first full paychecks Oct. 10.
“The longer the shutdown drags on, the harder it becomes for my officers,” Capitol Police Union Chairman Gus Papathanasiou said in a statement. “Banks and landlords do not give my officers a pass because we are in shutdown – they still expect to be paid.”
Military service members also were set to miss a paycheck on Oct. 15, but Trump said on Oct. 11 that he authorized the Department of Defense to tap “identified funds” for military pay.
-Zac Anderson
Senate to vote again at 2:15 p.m. to reopen the government
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, set up the 10th vote to approve House legislation that would reopen the government until Nov. 21 but without any hope of passage.
The last vote Oct. 14 failed 49-45 with six senators absent. Three senators who caucus with Democrats have joined Republicans in voting to end the shutdown but they need another five to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to cut off debate.
GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has opposed the measure.
Trump to release list of programs closed in shutdown
Trump said he would release a list Oct. 17 of programs he has eliminated as part of the continuing shutdown.
“We are closing up Democrat programs that we disagree with and they’re never going to open up again,” Trump said.
Trump argued Democrats are suffering under the shutdown because he is able to lay off workers and eliminate programs that would otherwise continue.
“We’re able to do things that we’ve never been able to do before,” Trump said. “The Democrats are getting killed.”
OMB prepares to ‘ride out the Democrats’ intransigence’
The White House Office of Management and Budget announced Oct. 14 on social media it was preparing for more layoffs.
“OMB is making every preparation to batten down the hatches and ride out the Democrats’ intransigence,” the post said. “Pay the troops, pay law enforcement, continue the RIFs, and wait.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, holds a press conference on the fourteenth day of the U.S. government shutdown on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 14, 2025.
Jeffries: Democrats committed to fixing GOP ‘healthcare crisis’
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, told reporters Oct. 14 that congressional Democrats “remain committed to finding a bipartisan path forward.”
“To reopen the government, enact a spending agreement that actually meets the needs of the American people and addresses the Republican healthcare crisis,” Jeffries said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, speaks during a press conference on the thirteenth day of the U.S. government shutdown on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 13, 2025.
Johnson on Democrats: ‘They’re playing a game’
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, told reporters Oct. 14 he has nothing to negotiate because Republicans put no special policy provisions in the legislation to reopen the government until Nov. 21. He said negotiations over healthcare costs could be held after the government reopens.
“I don’t have anything that I can take off that document and make it more palatable,” Johnson said. “We’re not playing games. They’re playing a game.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump to list closed agencies as shutdown enters Day 15: live updates
