The government shutdown is poised to become the longest in US history this week as economic pain points continue to mount.
It was the worst weekend yet at airports. Meanwhile, limited clarity was offered Monday on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) when the Trump administration announced it would pay only partial food aid benefits for the program.
Those benefits are received by roughly one in eight Americans with the economic and human costs of even a partial cutoff likely to mount quickly.
Meanwhile, President Trump isn’t signaling he’s prepared to offer any compromises to end the shutdown, with the stoppage set to tie the 35-day record for the longest in history on Tuesday.
Multiple comments from the president over the weekend suggested a continued hardline from the White House. He told CBS’s “60 Minutes” in an interview that aired Sunday he “won’t be extorted” by Democrats, and said his only plan to end the shutdown is “we keep voting.” That strategy has led to 13 failed votes so far.
The president also reiterated his push to Republican leaders to change Senate rules and scrap the filibuster, adding to reporters on Sunday evening that the best way to fund SNAP is for Democrats to capitulate.
Also last week, air traffic controllers missed their first full paycheck as flight interruptions continue to spread. The delays continued over the weekend in part because of a reported “surge” in controllers calling out on Halloween.
Democrats, meanwhile, are focused on another recent deadline this past weekend which they hope will increase the political pressure.
Saturday was the beginning of an open enrollment period for healthcare programs run by Affordable Care Act exchanges. Premium increases there — with Democrats looking to extend enhanced government subsidies for those plans — are at the heart of the impasse as some premiums are set to double next year.
Here are the latest updates as the impacts of the government shutdown unfold.
LIVE 45 updates Mon, November 3, 2025 at 10:15 PM UTC Government shutdown has affected more than 3 million airline passengers
An airline industry group said Monday that the government shutdown which began Oct. 1 has affected some 3.2 million airline passengers, in the form of delays and cancellations that can be traced back to a shortage of air traffic controllers, Reuters reports.
Air traffic controllers are federal employees who are expected to report to work during the shutdown even though they aren’t being paid. But many have started calling in sick, hence the shortage.
Also on Monday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the Trump administration would close U.S. aviation if it looked like the shutdown was creating conditions making it too dangerous to travel.
The Trump administration said Monday that it will partially fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in response to two judges who issued rulings requiring it to keep the nation’s largest food aid program running.
The Associated Press reports on how the uncertainty for the most vulnerable Americans could continue.
Between Friday morning and Sunday night, there were 98 “staffing trigger” reports at FAA facilities, a new CNN analysis of Federal Aviation Administration operations finds.
This marks the worst weekend for air traffic control staffing shortages since the shutdown began .
Days of legal wrangling over SNAP, the nation’s biggest food aid program, could get some clarity soon. The Trump administration faces a Monday deadline to tell two federal judges whether it will comply with court orders to fund the program.
Sun, November 2, 2025 at 7:59 PM UTC Weekend flight delays rise at O’Hare, Newark and other airports amid air traffic controller shortages
As the government shutdown drags on, major US airports were seeing an uptick in flight delays on Sunday amid the ongoing shortage of air traffic controllers, Reuters reported.
Air traffic controllers are among the federal employees expected to continue to work without pay during the shutdown, but many have called in sick, causing a ripple effect at busy airports like Newark. New York City’s Emergency Management office posted to social media that travelers flying to or from the New York area should check flight status before heading to the airport.
Sun, November 2, 2025 at 4:02 PM UTC Bessent says Trump admin won’t appeal court rulings on SNAP payments
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that the Trump administration does not plan to appeal a court ruling ordering partial payments of SNAP benefits during the government shutdown, Reuters reported:
The USDA has said it has insufficient funds to pay full benefits to the 42 million low-income Americans who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, and the administration argued the USDA doesn’t have the authority to pay the benefits while the government remains shut down.
But two judges in Providence and Boston have ruled the suspension of SNAP benefits was unlawful and ordered the Trump administration to start paying full benefits by Monday or partial benefits by Wednesday.
Sun, November 2, 2025 at 2:08 PM UTC ‘Irreparable harm’: Court rules Trump administration must pay SNAP benefits this week
As millions of Americans faced an abrupt pause in their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP benefits this weekend amid the government shutdown, a federal judge in Rhode Island on Saturday ordered the Trump administration to start paying full benefits by Monday or partial benefits by Wednesday, citing “irreparable harm” if the benefits are not paid, Reuters reports.
Sat, November 1, 2025 at 4:50 PM UTC Furloughed government workers struggle to get unemployment benefits
Some government workers who have been furloughed because of the shutdown are having difficulty qualifying for and receiving unemployment benefits — possibly in part because the workers who would assist with processing approvals may have been furloughed themselves, the Associated Press reports:
Senate Majority Leader John Thune and other Republican senators brushed off President Trump’s call to scrap the filibuster from Senate rules.
Via Reuters:
From Reuters:
Fri, October 31, 2025 at 6:12 PM UTC Airline CEOs pressure Congress to pass funding bill as flight disruptions mount
Yahoo Finance’s Pras Subramanian reports:
Some interesting commentary from Greg Valliere, chief US policy strategist at AGF Investments.
He says Trump’s call for Republicans to use the “nuclear option” and zap the filibuster from Senate rules amounts to throwing a “hand grenade” into the proceedings. Especially since it comes at a time when negotiations toward ending the shutdown finally seemed imminent.
Here’s Valliere:
President Trump has called for Senate Republicans to eliminate the filibuster to force an end to the shutdown.
“THE CHOICE IS CLEAR — INITIATE THE “NUCLEAR OPTION,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Trump’s call throws a potential wrench into GOP leaders’ carefully laid plans. Both parties have in recent years taken steps to erode the filibuster, a Senate rule that requires most legislation to abide by a 60-vote threshold. But both parties have stopped short of eliminating the rule, fearing repercussions upon losing control of the chamber.
Republicans hold control of 53 seats in the Senate. Most of the Democratic members have remained in lockstep with their party to block passage of bills that would end the shutdown, as the party has clamored for negotiations to extend expiring subsidies for Americans on Affordable Care Act healthcare exchanges.
A federal judge in Boston on Thursday heard arguments on whether the Trump’s administration can legally suspend food aid for millions of Americans amid the ongoing government shutdown as it has said it as it plans to do starting Saturday.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani asked questions Thursday and is set to rule before the weekend.
The government shutdown continues to have a negative impact on the travel industry due to staff shortages. Vice President JD Vance is set to meet with CEOs and leaders from aviation companies to discuss next steps.
Bloomberg reports:
President Trump is heading back to the US after his Asia trip and meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He’s set to arrive back in Washington just as real talks to end the shutdown finally appear to be possible.
A series of signals in recent days have suggested new openness to bipartisan talks after a month of shutdown. But it may take days to play out as the economic pain continues.
Burgess Everett of Semafor reports on the shifting state of play on Capitol Hill:
Obamacare exchange consumers in the 30 states got a first look this week at what they’ll pay in 2026 when new rates were posted at healthcare.gov.
It could increase the pressure on an agreement to end the shutdown, with premiums set to soar.
The ongoing federal shutdown has already cost the US economy between $7 billion and $14 billion, according to a new report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
That could subtract up to 2% from gross domestic product in the fourth quarter.
Wed, October 29, 2025 at 7:22 PM UTC Powell on absence of data amid shutdown: ‘If you’re driving in the fog, you slow down’
At a press conference on Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chair Powell fielded questions from reporters about how the government shutdown is affecting the central bank’s decision making.
The Fed cut interest rates by 25 basis points at its October meeting, as expected, even as the shutdown has deprived central bank policymakers of some of the gold-standard government data that they typically rely on.
“This is a temporary state of affairs,” Powell said (watch the full press conference below). “We’re going to collect every scrap of data we can find, evaluate it, and think carefully about it. And that’s our jobs. That’s what we’re going to do.”
Powell explained that the Fed will continue to look at other sources of information, such as the Fed’s Beige Book and private data. He noted that the Fed may not have a “very granular understanding of the economy while this data is not available” but that it would pick up on “material developments” in the economy.
Still, Powell acknowledged that the lack of data could make the Fed more cautious in its December meeting. “If you ask me, could it affect the December meeting?” Powell said. “I’m not saying it’s going to, but yeah, you could imagine that.”
“If you’re driving in the fog, you slow down,” he added.
Food stamp funding is set to lapse within days due to the shutdown with struggling Americans bracing to go without government assistance during a period of higher grocery prices.
Emma Ockerman covers the economy and labor for Yahoo Finance and finds that the economic and human costs of a food cutoff could add up quickly.