The White House is “selecting areas for federal layoffs.” The Senate has once again rejected a short-term spending bill (a stopgap budget bill, CR) aimed at halting the temporary shutdown of the federal government. This means the shutdown, which includes budget cuts and suspensions for various programs and the potential for mass furloughs or layoffs of federal employees, will continue until next week.
The Senate held a plenary session on the 3rd to vote on the opposition Democratic Party’s stopgap budget bill, but it was defeated by a vote of 46 to 52. Currently, the Senate is split between Republicans and Democrats, with 53 seats and 47. Considering the absence of two members from each party, the vote remained evenly split, with all Republicans voting against and all Democrats voting in favor. This temporary budget bill extends the shutdown deadline to October 31st and includes provisions for extending subsidies for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a public health insurance plan demanded by the Democrats. The Republicans’ subsequent temporary budget bill was also defeated again. This temporary budget bill was defeated in the Senate on the 30th of last month and again on the 1st of this month. While Republicans hold a majority in the Senate with 53 seats, they need the support of at least seven of the 47 Democrats to secure the 60 votes needed to pass the budget bill. The vote that day was 54 in favor and 44 against. The vote on the 1st was 55 in favor and 45 against. This is a similar result considering the abstention of lawmakers. It extends the shutdown avoidance deadline to November 21st while maintaining current spending levels.
Concerns are being raised that the shutdown may be prolonged as attempts to pass the CR, the fourth since the 19th of last month, have repeatedly failed. President Donald Trump is already cutting budgets for large cities with Democratic mayors, the opposition party, and is embarking on a mass layoff of federal workers. The White House announced today that it is reviewing mass layoffs for federal workers. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt said in a briefing, “The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is currently in constant communication with Cabinet secretaries and agencies to identify areas where layoffs and budget cuts are unavoidable.”
Meanwhile, Congress is reportedly planning its next vote on the temporary budget bill for the 6th.