Headline Roundup • October 1st, 2025
US Government Shuts Down, First Time Since 2019
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The US government shut down at midnight on Wednesday after Congress was unable to agree on a stopgap funding bill.
The Details: Lawmakers voted down a pair of stopgap packages, one offered by each party, leading to the shutdown. Republicans had put forth a “clean” bill that had already passed the House and would have funded the government through November 21. Democrats had proposed an alternative bill that would have permanently extended the enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies that are set to expire this year and undo Medicaid cuts implemented by Republicans earlier this year.
For Context: The shutdown is the fourth since 2000 and the first since 2019, when the longest shutdown in US history occurred over border wall funding. The Republicans currently control 53 of 100 Senate seats, but to pass, the stopgap package would need 60 votes in favor.
Key Quotes: Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said, “We have a number of our colleagues who are interested in getting out of this pickle that their leader has put them in. I think that there is a recognition that the strategy that the Democrat leadership is employing here is the wrong one.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said, “Republicans are plunging America into a shutdown – rejecting bipartisan talks, pushing a partisan bill, and risking America’s healthcare, worst of all. They’ve got to sit down and negotiate with Democrats to come to a bill that both parties can support.”
How The Media Covered It: The Hill (Center bias) framed both sides as at fault for the shutdown and prominently wrote that “both sides are engaging in a blame game that has been red-hot for days.” Fox News (Right) wrote the subhead, “Thousands of federal workers to go without paychecks, could face firings,” and noted potential fallout later in its coverage. The Guardian (Left) noted in its subhead that the shutdown was the first in “nearly seven years” and that Republicans were “accused of ‘risking America’s healthcare.’”
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Featured Coverage of this Story
The deadlock in Washington continued Wednesday, after the government hurtled to shut down at midnight, as senators once again rejected competing stopgap funding bills as they returned to work on Capitol Hill.
Lawmakers failed to pass a GOP-drafted short-term extension in a 55-45 vote, with three Democratic senators voting “yes”, and breaking ranks with their party to join Republicans. This version would keep the government funded until 21 November. Only one Republican, senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, voted “no”.
The federal government officially entered a shutdown at midnight Wednesday after congressional leaders were unable to reach a deal on a stopgap spending bill, leaving lawmakers grasping at straws over how to break the impasse.
The shutdown became a certainty after lawmakers voted down a pair of stopgap funding packages — one a “clean” bill offered by Republicans, the other filled with Democratic priorities — on Tuesday evening, with few discussions taking place between the party leaders to find a pathway to a deal.
Getty Images
The federal government is officially entering a partial shutdown on Wednesday after the midnight funding deadline passed with Democrats and Republicans failing to agree on a funding bill.
An earlier attempt by Senate Republicans to pass a short-term extension of fiscal year (FY) 2025 government funding levels, called a continuing resolution (CR), was sunk by Democrats who were furious about being sidelined in shutdown negotiations.
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