_edited.png)
.png)
Day 34 and Counting: America’s Government Shutdown Is One Vote Away From Breaking the All-Time Record
- For The Working People
- 24 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Tomorrow (Nov 4) it officially becomes the longest shutdown in U.S. history—35 grueling days—unless one side finally blinks on a single question: Who gets Obamacare help?
Hey friend,
If your paycheck is late, your national park is padlocked, or your kid’s SNAP card just bought half a grocery cart, you’re not imagining things. The federal government has been closed since midnight Oct 1, 2025. That’s 34 days today—one day shy of the 2018-19 record of 35 days. usatoday.com
Here’s the whole story in plain English, with every big number footnoted so you can fact-check me yourself.
1. What a “Government Shutdown” actually means in your life
670,000 federal workers are furloughed (sent home, zero pay).
730,000 “essential” workers (TSA, air-traffic controllers, Border Patrol) show up but haven’t been paid in five weeks.
National parks, passport offices, FDA food-inspection labs, and most IRS call centers are dark.
Social Security checks and VA hospitals still run—those are “mandatory” dollars.
SNAP (food stamps) for 42 million people: On Nov 1 the USDA said “no money.” Two federal judges forced them to tap a $5 billion emergency pot. Result? Only 50 % of normal benefits hit EBT cards this month, and some states are weeks late.
2. Why won’t anyone just reopen the doors?
Both parties agree on 99 % of the budget. The fight is over one rider in the short-term funding bill:
Democrats’ line in the sand
“Lock in a 3-year extension of the enhanced Obamacare subsidies that expire Dec 31, 2025.”
These subsidies (created in 2021) cut the average family’s monthly premium by $700–$1,500.
20+ million middle-class Americans use them.
Open-enrollment starts Nov 1; without the fix, premium-hike letters are already in mailboxes.
Republicans’ line in the sand
“Pass a clean 45-day bill first, then we’ll talk health care.”
They say the Democrats’ text secretly re-opens loopholes that let 1.2 million non-citizens get subsidies.
CBO confirms: the July 2025 “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA) stripped ACA, Medicaid, and Medicare eligibility from everyone except:
– U.S. citizens
– Green-card holders
– Cubans/Haitians with legal entry
– Pacific Islanders under old treaties
Everyone else (TPS, parolees, DACA, asylum seekers still in court, work-visa holders) lost federal health dollars.
3. The immigrant number everyone is yelling about
Exact CBO figure: 1.2 million lawfully present (not undocumented) immigrants would regain subsidy eligibility if Democrats get their way.
Zero undocumented immigrants ever qualified—federal law has banned that since 2010.
California alone had 800,000 non-citizens on state Medi-Cal; OBBBA made the state pay 100 % instead of splitting the tab with Uncle Sam.
4. What each side says in one sentence
Democrats: “We’ll end the shutdown in ten minutes if you just protect 20 million Americans from premium shock.”
Republicans: “Vote to reopen first; we’re not negotiating while you hold air-traffic controllers and food-stamp kids hostage.”
5. Tomorrow’s history-making vote
The Senate tries again at 3 p.m. ET on the exact same clean 45-day bill.
Needs 60 votes → Republicans have 53 → needs 7 Democrats.
Democrats have blocked it 13 times.
If it fails, the clock hits Day 35 at midnight—longest shutdown ever.
6. Three ways this ends
Democrats cave → clean bill passes → government reopens by Wednesday.
Trump calls leaders to the White House for a real deal (he hasn’t yet).
Republicans nuke the 60-vote filibuster (they swear they won’t).
7. Your cheat-sheet of hard facts
Shutdown start: Oct 1, 2025
Current day: 34
Record: 35 days (Dec 22, 2018 – Jan 25, 2019)
Missed paychecks: 1.4 million workers
SNAP cut: 50 % for 42 million people
Premium-hike risk: avg $700–$1,500 per family
Non-citizens who would regain subsidies: 1.2 million lawfully present
Cost to taxpayers if restored: ~$200 billion over 10 years
CBO letters: August 2025 (immigrant count) & October 2025 (uninsured jump)
Bottom line:
The government shutdown isn’t about “waste” or a wall.
It’s a high-stakes stare-down:
20 million voting Americans wondering if they’ll still have health insurance
versus $200 billion in immigration loopholes left wide open
While cameras chase the next sound bite.
1.4 million paychecks have vanished for five straight weeks.
42 million kids are splitting dinner in half.
Every TSA line is a slow-motion salute to the people who actually keep the country running. The working class didn’t start this fight.
They just want Washington to remember who it’s for.
Comments