The United States government is just days away from setting a record it does not want to reach. Tuesday marked the 35th day of the government shutdown, tying it with the 2018–2019 shutdown for the longest in U.S. history. Americans on FoodShare received some relief on Monday when the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced they would receive half of their allotted SNAP benefits despite the shutdown.
The Trump Administration has been able to make payroll for the country’s military twice during the shutdown, but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CBS last month that it may not be able to do so again if the shutdown stretches to November 15th.
As has been the case since the shutdown began, the biggest sticking point is health care. U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin wanted Congress to address the expiring health care tax breaks ahead of November 1st, the date the Affordable Care Act marketplace opened.
“The stories I am hearing from Wisconsinites are simply devastating: small business owners having to fire staff, parents figuring out what activity they can’t afford for their kids next year, and families simply not sure they can afford health care at all,” Baldwin said in a statement. “These are the families I have been fighting for. The clock is up. Donald Trump and Republicans need to join me and act now to avert a health care crisis for the 22 million Americans who are about to experience some serious sticker shock on November 1st.”
During his tele-town hall on Monday, U.S. Senator Ron Johnson continued to point the finger at Democrats, accusing them of allowing the tax breaks to expire and refusing to pass a clean resolution to reopen the government. He also criticized both parties for using shutdowns to increase spending and push problems further down the road.
The U.S. Senate was scheduled to vote on the continuing resolution on Tuesday. President Donald Trump is urging the Senate to abandon the filibuster rule to end the shutdown, but The Hill reports that such a move is unlikely.
