Government Shutdown Update: Friday, November 7, 2025

While negotiations appeared to ramp up yesterday, the discussions today, both across and within parties, indicate there is still much work to be done. The Senate was expected to vote on an amended continuing resolution (CR) today to end the shutdown; however, due to stalled negotiations, this did not happen. Instead, they voted on Senator Ron Johnson’s (R-WI) Shutdown Fairness Act (S. 3012) to pay the federal employees who have been working throughout the shutdown. The bill failed by a vote of 53-43. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) wrote to senators supporting the bill.

The Senate members are planning to stay in D.C. over the weekend to continue negotiations and hopefully finalize an agreement to reopen the government that can get 60 votes. In response to a question about a CR vote, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said “If there’s something to vote on, we’ll vote.” At this point, there is no agreement on the length of a new CR, the three-bill minibus, or Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidy extensions.

Senate Democrats offered to vote to end the shutdown in exchange for a one-year extension on ACA tax credits, a clean CR with an appropriations minibus, and the establishment of a bipartisan committee to work on long-term ACA negotiations. There were also discussions about including language to protect federal workers from any reductions-in-force that occurred during the shutdown. The Republicans rejected this offer.

The Government Affairs and Public Policy (GAPP) group will send an update if anything significant emerges over the weekend.

ACA Negotiations

Democrats have been championing ACA extensions, but they will need 13 Republican senators to get any ACA vote through. Reporting indicated that roughly 10 Republican senators have already expressed interest in extending the subsidies, while others would be willing to come to an agreement with concessions, such as instating an income cap.

Senators Andy Kim (D-NJ) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) are reportedly working with Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) to develop a bipartisan plan to extend the ACA subsidies.

Continued Impacts

The Trump Administration has appealed a federal judge’s order to fully fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits by November 7. The Department of Justice (DOJ) called the judge’s ruling “unprecedented,” and said it makes a “mockery of the separation of powers.” There are more than 40 million Americans who rely on SNAP for food assistance. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has stated that it is still working to comply with the judge’s ruling.

Today was just the beginning of travel pain for people across the country. A 4% reduction in flight capacity at major U.S. airports began today and will increase by 1% each day until it reaches 10%. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that, if the shutdown continues, flight reductions may need to be increased to 15 or 20 percent. More than 3,500 flights have been delayed and more than 1,000 were cancelled today.

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.