For all the latest developments in Congress, follow WTOP Capitol Hill correspondent Mitchell Miller at Today on the Hill.
Congress only has a few weeks to avoid a government shutdown, but leaders of both parties are still a long way from agreeing on a stopgap spending bill to keep federal workers on the job.
Lawmakers need to approve legislation by Sept. 30, when a current funding measure runs out, ahead of the start of the next fiscal year on Oct. 1.
One of the few things that Republicans and Democrats do agree upon is that they will need to pass a continuing resolution, since there is not enough time to approve all 12 appropriation bills.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has pointed out that the Senate managed to pass three major appropriations bills before the August recess.
That’s a departure over the past seven years, when not a single appropriations bill was approved during the summer months by the upper chamber.
Still, Thune acknowledged, “There’s a lot more to do.”
Lawmakers in the House and Senate didn’t give themselves much time to work on a short-term spending bill, since they only returned from their summer break last week.
Leaders prepare for shutdown blame game
Leaders of both parties are already laying the political groundwork for assigning blame if they can’t reach an agreement before the shutdown deadline.
“The only way to avoid a shutdown on Sept. 30 is to work in a bipartisan way,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said recently on the Senate floor. “But Republicans are once again threatening to go at it alone, which will lead our country straight into a shutdown — a Republican-caused shutdown.”
Schumer said a shutdown can be avoided if there are negotiations on a bipartisan bill.
But Thune, in turn, has warned Democrats about making what the GOP sees as unreasonable demands.
“I hope … our Democrat colleagues will resist the calls from within for a shutdown and work with us to fund the government,” Thune said.
Many Democrats criticized Schumer earlier this year, arguing that he caved to President Donald Trump and Republicans, without taking a firm stand, before Democratic lawmakers voted for a continuing resolution that avoided a shutdown.
Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Democratic leaders have been meeting regularly to make sure they are on the same page with their strategy for addressing any type of showdown.
What if a shutdown takes place?
If lawmakers are unable to beat the deadline, a partial government shutdown will begin Wednesday, Oct. 1.
A shutdown would not halt federal law enforcement operations, which have ramped up during the surge against crime in D.C.
Federal workers considered nonessential would likely be furloughed, so they would not work and not get paid.
But under legislation that was sponsored by Virginia’s U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine and passed in 2019, federal workers would receive back pay for any lost wages during the shutdown.
While Kaine and Virginia U.S. Sen. Mark Warner have proposed legislation to secure pay for federal contract workers during a shutdown, that has not been passed by Congress.
Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits would still be processed.
Most shutdowns over the years have lasted only a few days, before Congress acted.
But during Trump’s first term, a partial government shutdown lasted for nearly 35 days, which was the longest shutdown in the country’s history.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
