Legislation to reopen the government after the longest shutdown in history awaits action in the House after a small group of Senate Democrats ratified a deal with Republicans despite searing criticism from within their party.
The 41-day shutdown could last a few more days as members of the House, kept on recess since mid-September, return to Washington to vote on the legislation. President Donald Trump has signaled support for the bill, saying Monday that “we’re going to be opening up our country very quickly.”
The final Senate vote, 60-40, broke a grueling stalemate that lasted more than six weeks as Democrats demanded that Republicans negotiate with them to extend health care tax credits that expire Jan. 1. The Republicans never did, and just enough moderate Democrats eventually switched their votes as federal food aid was delayed, airport delays worsened and hundreds of thousands of federal workers continued to go unpaid.
Meanwhile, Americans are stretched to the limit as they wait for the U.S. Supreme Court and Congress to decide when full payments will resume under the SNAP food aid program. Trump also asked the justices to throw out a jury’s finding that he owes $5 million for sexually abusing and later defaming writer E. Jean Carroll.
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Cupboards are going bare as Americans wait on Congress to resume paying for food
Many Americans are stretched to the limit as they wait for the U.S. Supreme Court and Congress to decide when full payments will resume under the SNAP food aid program that helps 1 in 8 Americans buy groceries. Like Jim Malliard, 41, of Franklin, Pennsylvania, who said he had not received anything by Monday.
Malliard is a full-time caretaker for his wife, who is blind and has had several strokes, and his teenage daughter, who suffered severe medical complications from surgery. He previously received $350 a month in SNAP payments to help buy food for the family. Now he’s down to $10 in his account and what’s left in their pantry — mostly rice and ramen.
“It’s kind of been a lot of late nights, making sure I had everything down to the penny to make sure I was right,” Malliard said. “To say anxiety has been my issue for the past two weeks is putting it mildly.”
Serbian protesters vow to prevent real estate project linked to Trump son-in-law Kushner
Thousands of people symbolically formed a human shield Tuesday around a bombed-out military complex in Serbia, vowing to protect it from redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Youth-led protesters drew a red line as they encircled the sprawling buildings in the capital, Belgrade that were partially destroyed in a 1999 NATO bombing campaign. The site faces demolition and redevelopment under a plan backed by the populist pro-Trump government of President Aleksandar Vucic.
The $500-million project to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad, as well as the Serbian public. It’s the latest flashpoint in yearlong protests against rampant corruption that have shaken Vucic’s firm grip on power.
▶ Read more about Kushner’s controversial real estate investments in Eastern Europe
Americans step up during the shutdown, volunteering to keep their neighbors fed
Everyday people have improvised such stopgap efforts to support their communities through the shutdown. Whether feeding hungry families or maintaining local museum tours, volunteers nationwide are strengthening social ties they hope will continue making their neighbors whole amid persistent precarity.
Anna Culbertson, a National Institute of Allergy and Infection Diseases program specialist, was among the thousands laid off this spring at the nation’s top health agencies. She then co-founded 27 UNIHTED, a National Institutes of Health alumni network providing peer support and career resources.
The network put together food drives for federal employees going without pay and created a spreadsheet identifying help for furloughed workers and placed collection boxes outside Panera Bread and Starbucks locations as well as the “No Kings” protest in Washington, D.C.
▶ Read more about how grassroots philanthropy is responding to the shutdown
Treasury Secretary says US profited by helping Argentina
But Scott Bessent didn’t say how much of a profit the U.S. made after it bought Argentine pesos and finalized a $20 billion currency swap line with the South American country’s central bank. Nor was he asked for a dollar amount during an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
He was asked how extending a financial lifeline to the cash-strapped U.S. ally helped Americans. A currency swap line is an agreement between two central banks to exchange currencies.
“By stabilizing the economy there and making a profit, then that’s a very good deal for the American people,” Bessent said. “We made a lot of credit available. A small amount of it was drawn on and we have made a profit on that.”
Trump to observe Veterans Day at Arlington National Cemetery
The president is scheduled to participate in an annual wreath-laying ceremony and deliver remarks at the amphitheater.
It is the Republican’s first Veterans Day since he returned to office.
On Sunday, Trump read an oath for members of the military to recite as part of an on-field enlistment ceremony during halftime at the NFL game between the Washington Commanders and the Detroit Lions.
Air travelers face frustration as FAA’s further drop in flights takes effect
Air travelers could face more frustration as busy U.S. airports need to meet a higher FAA target for reducing flights Tuesday after already canceling thousands to scale back demands on the nation’s aviation system during the government shutdown.
The FAA ordered domestic airlines last week to drop 4% of their flights at 40 major U.S. airports, saying absences and signs of stress among traffic controllers made it imperative to act in the name of public safety. After already canceling more than 7,900 flights since Friday, the goal for cutting flights is set to rise to 6% on Tuesday and again to 10% on Friday.
But it was unclear exactly how many additional flights would need to be canceled Tuesday. The average cancellation rate over the last few days already exceeded the FAA’s requirement, according to aviation analytics company Cirium. The FAA also expanded its flight restrictions Monday, barring business jets and many private flights from using a dozen airports already under commercial flight limits.
▶ Read more about how the shutdown is impacting flights in the U.S.
The Supreme Court is expected to say whether full SNAP food payments can resume
It’s up to the U.S. Supreme Court and Congress to decide when full payments will resume under the SNAP food aid program that helps 1 in 8 Americans buy groceries as the financial pressures mount on families in some states.
The Supreme Court is expected to rule Tuesday on a request from President Donald Trump’s administration to keep blocking states from providing full benefits, arguing the money might be needed elsewhere.
The seesawing rulings so far have created a situation where beneficiaries in some states, including Hawaii and New Jersey, have received their full monthly allocations and those in others, such as Nebraska and West Virginia, have seen nothing.
The legal wrangling could be made moot if the U.S. House adopts and Trump signs legislation to end the federal government shutdown quickly.
▶ Read more about the Supreme Court’s decision
Shutdown damages an already-struggling economy, from lost paychecks to canceled flights
The longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history appears to be nearing an end, but not without leaving a mark on an already-struggling economy.
About 1.25 million federal workers haven’t been paid since Oct. 1. Thousands of flights have been canceled, a trend that is expected to continue this week even as Congress moves toward reopening the government. Government contract awards have slowed and some food aid recipients have seen their benefits interrupted.
Most of the lost economic activity will be recovered when the government reopens, as federal workers will receive back pay. But some canceled flights won’t be retaken, missed restaurant meals won’t be made up, and some postponed purchases will end up not happening at all.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated that a six-week shutdown will reduce growth in this year’s fourth quarter by about 1.5 percentage points. That would cut growth by half from the third quarter. The reopening should boost first-quarter growth next year by 2.2 percentage points, the CBO projected, but about $11 billion in economic activity will be permanently lost.
▶ Read more about the impact of the longest government shutdown in history
Senate approves bill to end the shutdown, sending it to the House
The Senate passed legislation Monday to reopen the government, bringing the longest shutdown in history closer to an end as a small group of Democrats ratified a deal with Republicans despite searing criticism from within their party.
The 41-day shutdown could last a few more days as members of the House, which has been on recess since mid-September, return to Washington to vote on the legislation. President Donald Trump has signaled support for the bill, saying Monday that “we’re going to be opening up our country very quickly.”
The final Senate vote, 60-40, broke a grueling stalemate that lasted more than six weeks as Democrats demanded that Republicans negotiate with them to extend health care tax credits that expire Jan. 1. The Republicans never did, and five moderate Democrats eventually switched their votes as federal food aid was delayed, airport delays worsened and hundreds of thousands of federal workers continued to go unpaid.
House Speaker Mike Johnson urged lawmakers to start returning to Washington “right now” given shutdown-related travel delays, but an official notice issued after the Senate vote said the earliest the House will vote is Wednesday afternoon.
▶ Read more about the vote
