Government Shutdown Update: Monday, November 3, 2025

The Senate returned to Washington, D.C. this afternoon, and the House remains out of session. If the government shutdown continues past Tuesday, it will become the longest shutdown in U.S. history.

Intel received by the firm’s Government Affairs and Public Policy (GAPP) group suggests the shutdown could be heading towards its end. Election Day is tomorrow, and Congress is scheduled to be in recess through next week. There continues to be unease surrounding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) open enrollment periods. As a result, negotiations are taking place in earnest among both political parties.

A bipartisan group of representatives released a “statement of principles” today, outlining a potential compromise on ACA subsidies. Representatives Don Bacon (R-NE), Jeff Hurd (R-CO), Tom Suozzi (D-NY), and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) proposed a two-year extension of the enhanced tax credits with an income limit that would range from $200,000 to $400,000. This is the first public, bipartisan blueprint for a possible healthcare negotiation since the shutdown began.

A new continuing resolution

Today, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said the Senate will no longer try to pass the current House continuing resolution (CR), as the November 21 deadline is no longer feasible. This means the Senate is left with two options: amend the date on the current CR or propose an entirely new CR. Regardless, any change would need to be sent to the House for approval.

Members continue to disagree on the length of a new CR, as they try to account for the holidays, the December 31 ACA subsidies deadline, and the need for there to be enough time to pass appropriations bills. Democrats are expected to push for a CR that ends on December 19th, while many Republicans are supporting a January 2026 end date.

Eight Democrats seen together on the Senate floor last Thursday sparked speculation that they could vote in favor of the CR, tipping the 60-vote threshold. The group included Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Gary Peters (D-MI), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Mark Kelly (D-AZ).

While there continues to be conversations around passing a three-bill minibus along with a CR, Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) has joined other Senate appropriators in expressing support for queuing up five additional appropriations bills. This includes the Department of Defense Appropriations Act (S. 2572); Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (S. 2587); Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (S. 2465); Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (S. 2354); and Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (S. 2431).

SNAP and WIC

The Administration announced today that it will partially fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), using the $4.7 billion United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) emergency contingency fund. The announcement follows two federal judges' rulings that the emergency funds must be used in this way. The USDA has announced that SNAP recipients will receive half of their standard benefits, and states will receive guidance on distributing the funds. The USDA has warned that, in at least some states, changes to SNAP benefits could take between a few weeks and several months. On Sunday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said benefits could resume as soon as Wednesday; and, while that could be accurate for some recipients, the rollouts of benefits will occur on a state-by-state basis.

Last Friday, the Administration provided $450 million for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Officials tapped unused tariff revenue to fund WIC for approximately two to three weeks. The timeline for funding will also vary state by state.

Air traffic controllers

On Friday, October 31, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association called for a clean CR to be passed to help ensure air traffic controllers are paid for their work. The union has previously called for the shutdown to end, but this is the first time it has advocated for a clean CR. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) suggested that problems could worsen if the shutdown continues, expressing concern that air traffic controllers are stressed and fatigued due to severe staffing shortages. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy echoed this statement, saying delays are likely to continue.

Reductions-in-Force

On October 29, the U.S. Department of Education sent reductions-in-force (RIF) emails to 264 Office for Civil Rights employees, with terminations slated for today. On October 28, a judge ruled that the Administration could not implement RIFs during the shutdown, and all previous RIFs were invalid. It is unclear how the Department of Education RIFs fit into the judge’s ruling.

Past updates can be found on the DLA Piper website here.

If you have any questions or would like to coordinate an individual conversation about the shutdown’s effects or about the Government Affairs & Public Policy practice, please contact practice chair Karina Lynch at karina.lynch@us.dlapiper.com.