Watch video: Illegal base jump from Yosemite during government shutdown
The Yosemite Conservancy says BASE jumpers have been seen in Yosemite National Park as only a small number of staff are working during the government shutdown.
The Senate rejected a potential funding deal for the eighth time on Tuesday, ensuring a continuation of the government shutdown that furloughed hundreds of thousands of workers and disrupted services across the United States.
The failed vote means the government’s door remains closed despite renewed pressure from the Trump administration over the weekend. The White House has begun another wave of layoffs at more than half a dozen government agencies, laying off thousands of employees.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, President Donald Trump pledged to use the government shutdown as an opportunity to exert more influence over federal spending, which has historically (and legally) been primarily delegated to Congress.
“We’re starting to be able to do things that we couldn’t do before,” he said. “So we’re going to be shutting down Democratic programs that we wanted to shut down.”
Democrats have so far remained unmoved, arguing that layoffs would have already begun regardless of the shutdown.
Trump administration says it will fund WIC with tariff revenues for the ‘foreseeable future’
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, a federal initiative known as WIC that provides resources to nearly 7 million low-income women and children, will survive using tariff revenues for the “foreseeable future,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture told USA TODAY.
The day before the shutdown began, the National WIC Association warned that the program would run out of funding within weeks unless Congress passed a new budget.
As that deadline approached last week, the White House announced it would maintain operations with a cash infusion, which The Associated Press later reported was about $300 million.
“While we welcome efforts to keep WIC open during closures, families need long-term stability, not short-term uncertainty,” Georgia Machel, president and CEO of the National WIC Association, said in an Oct. 7 statement. “There is no substitute for the work of Congress. WIC needs year-round funding, not just a temporary lifeline.”
it’s complicated. Transportation Security Administration personnel and Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controllers are considered essential employees. Therefore, they are required to work during the shutdown even if they are not receiving a paycheck.
Although delays overall are fairly low, staffing issues at some air traffic control facilities are causing problems. Last week, the FAA had to delay a flight to Burbank, Calif., because the tower there was deserted for several hours in the evening.
It is important to note that not all delays during the shutdown are due to lack of funds. Regardless of what’s happening in Washington, weather remains a major factor in flight delays.
Still, in previous shutdowns, more of these essential workers started missing work, which led to longer security lines and delays at some airports.
– Zack Waite and Katherine Wong
President Trump says ‘wealthy donors’ have offered to help pay US military salaries
President Trump says he has found a way to pay for the U.S. military as the federal government shutdown continues: wealthy donors.
“There is actually a very wealthy man,” he said during a meeting with Argentine President Javier Milei at the White House. Trump added that “great gentlemen who are donors” told him that if there was a “shortfall” in paying the troops, he would pay for it.
The president said he told donors “we won’t need it.”
Under the U.S. Constitution, Congress creates laws that pay the nation’s bills through money from U.S. taxpayers, not through wealthy individuals.
It’s been two weeks since the shutdown began, and federal employees deemed essential to public safety, including military, law enforcement officers and air traffic controllers, are required to report to work. They will not receive their paychecks until the shutdown is over.
Postal services, including mail delivery, will continue despite the government shutdown.
The U.S. Postal Service confirmed in a statement on Sept. 25 that operations will not be disrupted by the closure and that post offices will continue to operate “as usual.”
“Our services will not be affected by the government shutdown because we are an independent entity and are typically funded through the sale of our products and services rather than through taxes,” it said in a statement.
Borrowers are still required to pay their outstanding student loans during the government shutdown.
According to the Department of Education’s contingency plan, the department will continue disbursing Pell Grants and Federal Direct Student Loans. The plan says it will also be used to continue processing Free Applications for Permanent, Multi-Year Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), where available.
Once funding is lost, the Department will cease new grant activity. However, grant programs typically award awards during the summer.
The department plans to furlough the majority of its staff, which could make it more difficult for borrowers with questions or disputes related to their loans to contact the department. Experts say most borrowers won’t “feel” a short-term closure, but the longer Washington borrowers take to come to an agreement, the more problems they could run into.
− Rachel Barber
The Department of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP and similar programs through the Food and Nutrition Services Division, has contingency plans in place to maintain core services, at least temporarily, during the government shutdown.
Funds for October’s SNAP benefits were allocated before the month began, and payments are already being processed and distributed as usual. According to USDA’s plan, in the event of an extended shutdown, USDA may tap into multi-year reserve funds that could be used for direct payment of administrative costs and benefits to participants. It is currently unclear how much money is available in its reserves.
However, these measures are temporary measures to keep FNS operational. Under existing continuing resolutions and temporary funding measures, USDA typically can only provide benefits 30 days after the shutdown begins, and funding could run out.
According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and the Center for Food Research and Action, if the shutdown continues beyond October, the USDA’s contingency plans could be depleted and the administration could choose not to utilize multi-year funds.
Yes, Social Security payments, including Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and retirement, disability, and survivor benefits, will continue during the government shutdown.
Social Security benefit programs are considered mandatory expenditures by law and are therefore not affected by the expiration of appropriations. Payments will continue to be made regularly during the shutdown.
Some airports reject TSA video that blames Democrats for closures
Airports in Charlotte, Phoenix, Portland and Seattle refused to air a Department of Homeland Security video blaming Democrats for the ongoing government shutdown, citing bans on political content and concerns about violating the Hatch Act.
The video, featuring Secretary Kristi Noem, warned of the chaos at the TSA due to Congressional inaction.
Airport officials said broadcasting it would violate laws banning political messages on public property. The Department of Homeland Security defended that message, saying TSA officers are working without pay but their work is stable. The government shutdown, now in its second week, is straining travel operations and increasing delays, costing the U.S. travel economy $1 billion a week.
– Nathan Diller
Thousands of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs employees have been furloughed, and some Department of Veterans Affairs services have been affected by the closure.
Veterans benefits such as compensation, pensions, education, and housing will continue to operate as usual. Medical centers and clinics remain open. Support services for suicide prevention, homelessness and caregivers will also remain available.
However, during the closure, VA benefit local offices will be closed, transition program assistance will be suspended, and Veterans Cemetery grounds will not be maintained. Relief efforts through social media and email have also been suspended.
In an Oct. 7 letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, members of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs committees criticized the agency’s response to the shutdown. Lawmakers argued that the agency was misleading over claims that it could not respond to communications from lawmakers during the shutdown.
Meanwhile, Collins called Congressional Democrats’ actions “one of the greatest displays of hypocrisy in recent history” in an op-ed for The Hill published Oct. 10.
What time does the Senate vote?
The Senate will consider the Republicans’ eighth short-term funding extension on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. Expect to fail again.
But Congress will not vote on the Democratic funding bill, which has never had a high chance of passing.
– Zachary Charmelet
Trump Cabinet members blame upcoming ‘No King’ protests for prolonging government shutdown
Two of President Trump’s cabinet members said Democrats are keeping the government shut down because of the large “No Kings” protests scheduled for Saturday, October 18th.
The comments, made on the same Fox Business show on Oct. 13, are in line with congressional Republicans who last week blamed Democrats for the two-week government shutdown and said they wanted to keep the government shut down until the protests are over to show their party’s activists that they are pushing back against the Trump administration.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent criticized the rally, saying, “‘No king’ means no paycheck. No paycheck, no government.”
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– Sarah D. Wire
‘Hold up the hatches’: White House says more cuts to come as shutdown drags on
The White House announced Monday that it plans to continue mass layoffs of federal workers as the government shutdown drags on.
The Office of Budget and Management said in a statement published in
OMB, led by Secretary Russell Vought, added in a statement: “Pay our troops, pay our law enforcement, and continue RIF.”
The additional RIF, or troop reduction warning, comes after the Trump administration began laying off federal employees during the government shutdown last Friday. A total of about 4,000 federal employees were laid off. But government officials told USA TODAY this is just the first wave of layoffs, with more to come.
The cuts, which unions challenged in court, eviscerated the Department of Education, which President Trump pushed to completely eliminate by executive order earlier this year. This includes eliminating nearly the entire department’s Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services.
Thousands of Social Security Administration employees have been furloughed, limiting the services available to the agency during the shutdown.
Social Security and Supplemental Security are considered mandatory expenditures by law and are not dependent on Congressional approval, so revenue payments will continue during the government shutdown.
Social Security offices will also remain open during the closure, but some of the agency’s services are unavailable, including replacing Medicare cards, issuing income verification documents, and updating and amending income records.
SSA was scheduled to release the 2026 cost of living adjustment on Oct. 15, but it was postponed to Oct. 24 due to delays in the release of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ September inflation report.
The Senate is scheduled to vote again on Tuesday for an eighth time on reopening the government. The plan is expected to fail again as the impasse continues.
Mass layoffs of federal employees are underway across multiple departments, with some of the largest cuts occurring at the Treasury Department, Health and Human Services Department, and Education Department.
The targets include 1,446 Department of Health employees and approximately 1,200 employees, according to the Justice Department’s court filing.
At least 4,000 civil servants were told on October 10 that they would be laid off, rather than simply furloughed as in past government shutdowns, and the government warned that more were to come.
Meanwhile, Trump has vowed to continue paying military personnel.
