On Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, the United States government entered a shutdown for the first time in six years. Here, the United States Capitol can be seen, with the Washington Monument — which will be closed to the public during the shutdown — in the foreground. (Photo credit: Hongbin / Unsplash)
This article was updated on Friday, October 24.
Anonymous Donor Gives $130 Million To Pay Troops
As of Friday, October 24, the 24th day of the ongoing government shutdown, there is no end in sight to the division in the Senate.
Further, the Senate has taken the day off and will not reconvene until after the weekend, returning on Monday, October 27.
Since the shutdown began on October 1, the Senate has conducted 12 rounds of votes in an attempt to pass a resolution to reopen the government, but many funding deadlines are approaching that may affect millions of Americans.
Framed by the White House as the “Democrat Shutdown,” this is the first government shutdown in six years, and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) noted during a press conference on October 20 that this is now the longest full government shutdown in American history.
“When you look at it carefully, it is already the longest full shutdown of all time,” said Johnson, noting that the shutdowns in 2018 and in 1995 were both longer, but were only partial shutdowns.
As the shutdown continues, there are many concerns about active military personnel receiving pay, but President Donald Trump notified the press of a possible solution for the meantime.
While in a meeting with Argentine President Javier Milei on October 14, Trump took a question from the press about military pay, and he said, “I actually have a man who, he’s a very wealthy person … a donor, a great gentleman, and he said, ‘If there’s any money necessary shortfall for the paying of the troops, that I will pay it.’”
There is no word yet on who this individual is, but a vote held on October 16 to ensure troops would be paid during the shutdown failed, 50-44.
Watch the comments made by Trump, here:
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Then, during an October 23 press conference, Trump revealed that the donor had come through, writing a check to the military for $130 million.
“$130 million, that’s what I call a patriot,” said Trump of the donor’s gift.
Watch Trump provide comment on the anonymous donation, here:
In a statement made to Politico on Friday, October 24, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the Department of War had accepted the $130 million “under its general gift acceptance authority.”
Parnell added, “The donation was made on the condition that it be used to offset the cost of service members’ salaries and benefits. We are grateful for this donor’s assistance after Democrats opted to withhold pay from troops.”
While the Republican-backed continuing resolution introduces no new measures, there could be a separate vote held ahead of the next military payday, on October 30, to remedy this issue.
Voting on partisan lines has led to consistent failures to reach the 60-vote threshold required for approval.
Despite the shutdown, the Senate has managed to approve over 100 Trump appointments and pass the nation’s defense budget, which is over $915 billion.
SNAP Food Assistance Benefits Threatened As Shutdown Continues
Now, as the shutdown nears the start of November, SNAP food stamp benefits for millions of Americans are at risk.
SNAP, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is federally funded, but is administered by the states. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, approximately 41.7 million Americans, on average, used SNAP on a monthly basis in 2024.
Nationally, 12.3% of all Americans participate in SNAP.
The USDA says it does not have the funding to continue the program in the coming months because of the government shutdown.
This comes as the Senate has also failed to pass the Shutdown Fairness Act, which would have ensured federal employees who are still working would not miss a paycheck.
In a vote of 54-45, the Shutdown Fairness Act failed in the Senate on October 23 as it did not receive 60 votes.
Further, with each day that passes, the viability of the Republican-backed clean stopgap continuing resolution, which would reopen the government through November 21 without any changes to the federal budget, is diminished.
“No Kings” Protests Coincide With Government Shutdown
During his October 20 press conference, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-LA, described the shutdown as “a political stunt” perpetrated by the Democrats in the Senate.
Continuing, Johnson went on to speak of a different “political stunt” entirely, acknowledging the “No Kings” protests which were held over the weekend in many major cities across the country.
These protests were supported by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who joined demonstrators on the streets of New York on October 18.
“Today’s No Kings rallies are an affirmation of what America is all about,” Schumer said on X, formerly Twitter. “We are a democracy. We have no kings, despite the fact that Trump has even said he wants to become one.”
To this, Johnson said, “They called it ‘the No Kings rally,’ but the great irony, of course … was if President Trump was a king, the government would be open. If President Trump was a king, he would’ve closed the national parks and the National Mall so that they couldn’t have had the rally out here.”
When asked about the No Kings protests by the press in the early morning of October 20, President Donald Trump replied, “I’m not a king. I work my a** off to make our country great. That’s all it is.”
Watch Trump’s statement on not being a king, here:
Additional Background
“Well, the Democrat Caucus here in town, in the Senate, has chosen to shut down the government over a clean nonpartisan funding bill,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) at a press conference in the evening of September 30. “We didn’t ask Democrats to swallow any new Republican policies.”
Before the shutdown, Republicans proposed a continuing resolution which would have funded the government for seven more weeks to allow time for further deliberation.
Continuing, Thune stated, “We didn’t add partisan riders. We simply asked Democrats to extend funding levels to allow the Senate to continue the bipartisan appropriations work that we started.”
Democrats are largely holding firm for a spending plan which would extend expiring subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
This Republican-backed spending plan originated in the House of Representatives, where it passed 217-212, with two Republicans (Thomas Massie, R-KY; and Victoria Spartz, R-IN) opposing it and one Democrat (Jared Golden, D-ME) supporting it.
Without the Senate’s approval, the plan to keep the government afloat through November 21 has failed.
Watch Senate Majority Leader John Thune speak about the shutdown, here:
Caught In Deadlock
On September 29, President Donald Trump was asked about the then-looming government shutdown, to which he said, “The Democrats are crazed. They don’t know what they’re doing.”
A significant Republican holdout is Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who says the Republican plan is not in keeping with fiscally conservative principles.
Watch Rand discuss his opposition to both the Republican and Democrat plans, here:
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While the government is shutdown, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) is pushing for an act close to his heart to be made into law.
“Since I got to Washington in 2019, I have been fighting to pass my No Budget, No Pay Act, which holds members of Congress accountable for passing a budget or forgoing their pay,” said Scott on X, adding, “Workers across America don’t get paid when they don’t do their jobs. Why should Congress be any different?”
Still, Scott holds that it is the Democrats who are responsible for the budget not moving forward, writing:
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Meeting for a press conference outside the Capitol, overlooking the National Mall, in the morning of October 1, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said , “We’re overlooking the National Mall, a beautiful site that a lot of the American people will not be able to experience today.”
Visitors to D.C. will not be able to enter the U.S. Capitol today, he said, adding, “That’s because the Democrats followed through with their threat to shut down the United States government.”
Further, he said, “As we speak here this morning, there are hundreds of thousands of federal workers who are getting their furlough notices. Nearly half of our civilian workforce is getting sent home. These are hardworking Americans who work for our federal government.”
Watch the full Republican press conference, here:
Look through the Republican plan that the House approved but the Senate did not, here.
At an Oct. 2 press conference, House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) spoke on the significance of the continuing resolution, saying:
“We know that there is a very straightforward way out of this, and that is for Senate Democrats to join with Senate Republicans and vote for the bill that opens up the government and allows negotiations to continue. Surely, by opening up the government again, it doesn’t resolve all of our differences, but it allows us to negotiate without [Sen.] Chuck Schumer holding the American people hostage.”
Democrats largely held firm in their opposition to the continuing resolution, saying the government’s budget would need to extend expiring subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
On Oct. 3, House Speaker Mike Johnson pointed to the reason for Republican’s disapproval of extending these subsidies, saying that $192 billion in the Democrat-proposed continuing resolution would go toward healthcare for illegal migrants.
What Does The Shutdown Mean?
The last time the government went through a shutdown was in December of 2018 through January of 2019, during which the government was shut down for its longest stretch of time in U.S. history: 35 days.
For however long this 2025 shutdown lasts, many government services will still remain active.
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Social Security checks will still be sent out, air traffic control will not be impacted, and student loans will still be administered.
Services such as SNAP and WIC will continue regular operations as funding remains.
Federal courts will also remain open.
Still, there are notable exceptions.
Many National Parks will remain open as funding remains, but emergency services to those areas will be limited and spaces requiring staffing, like the interior of the Washington Monument or other sites with visitor centers, will be closed to the public.
Opportunities for small business loans are also, for the most part, closed.
Veterans assistance is halted as well.
Additionally, military and civilian personnel, including border patrol agents, will remain on active duty, but their pay will be delayed until a resolution is reached.
