The United States government shutdown entered its second week on Monday, with no agreement between President Donald Trump’s Republican administration and congressional Democrats over the renewal of healthcare subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
The federal government has been without funding since Wednesday, forcing non-essential services to close and delaying salaries for hundreds of thousands of civil servants. Military personnel could begin missing paychecks from October 15 if the impasse continues.
Democrats have refused to support a temporary funding bill passed by the Republican-controlled House unless it includes an extension of expiring healthcare subsidies. Republicans, however, insist the issue is unrelated to government funding and can be handled separately later in the year.
House Speaker Mike Johnson accused Democrats of using the subsidies debate as a political tool. “Republicans are the party working around the clock every day to fix health care. It’s not talking points for us. We’ve done it,” he said.
Democrats countered that the Republican bill would remove critical protections for millions of Americans. “House Republicans think protecting the health care of everyday Americans is less important than their vacation,” said Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the administration’s domestic policy law, signed by Trump in July, would strip health coverage from 11 million Americans by cutting Medicaid support for low-income families.
The shutdown has hit agencies including NASA, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Departments of Education, Commerce, and Labor, with thousands of employees furloughed.
A CBS News poll shows the public narrowly blaming Republicans for the deadlock. White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett warned that mass layoffs could begin “if the president decides the negotiations are going nowhere.”
The standoff underscores deep partisan divisions in Washington as essential government operations remain suspended and political negotiations remain stalled.
