1:42President Donald Trump addresses journalists aboard Air Force One before departing from Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, October 31, 2025. Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters
President Donald Trump, arriving from a week-long overseas mission to Asia, thrust himself into the Washington stalemate overnight, urging Senate Republicans to abolish the filibuster and independently reopen the government.
However, the proposition to alter the customary procedure was swiftly dismissed by Majority Leader John Thune.
This signifies that the deadlock between Republicans and Democrats persists without a clear resolution. If not settled by Wednesday, it will become the longest government closure in U.S. history.
A recent survey conducted by ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos indicated that more Americans hold Trump and Congressional Republicans accountable for the shutdown than the Democrats.
It remains to be observed whether Trump will become more personally engaged in resolving the predicament as the political stakes escalate, especially as Americans increasingly experience and witness the effects, including lines at sustenance banks and aviation disruptions.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One before departure from Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, October 31, 2025.Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters
On Saturday, the federally supported Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is scheduled to expire. This implies that approximately 42 million Americans reliant on the food stamp initiative will be vulnerable as they are unable to receive benefits.
Saturday also signals the commencement of open enrollment for Affordable Care Act beneficiaries, many of whom are confronting significantly elevated insurance costs next year due to expiring tax breaks.
Democrats are urging President Trump and Republicans to collaborate with them in extending the ACA subsidies. Trump and Republicans assert they will not negotiate until the government is reopened.
Trump reiterated that stance on Friday.
"I'm always open to dialogue. All they need to do is unlock the country. Let them unlock the country, and we’ll engage," Trump stated as he disembarked Air Force One in Florida, where he intends to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago residence.
Legislators are also out of the capital, with the House adjourned for the upcoming week and the Senate slated to reconvene on Monday evening.
Trump transfers funds for the armed forces, but not for SNAP
Trump has enacted numerous measures to ensure military personnel continue to be paid during the shutdown. He accepted a $130 million contribution from a private donor. Subsequently, the White House Office of Management and Budget reallocated $5.3 billion in funding from other sources to compensate military members on Oct. 31.
Is it conceivable that Trump could implement similar measures for SNAP?
"Well, that possibility is always present," Trump remarked on Friday before immediately shifting blame to Democrats.
"But all the Democrats need to do is agree to proceed. I mean, you know, they don’t have to undertake any action. They simply need to consent to reopening the government, and we only require five Democrats. However, they've, you know, evolved into a radical left faction," the president conveyed.
Carts laden with groceries await distribution to individuals in need at Curley’s House Food Bank in the days preceding the potential expiration of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits due to the Federal government shutdown, October 30, 2025 in Miami.Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, during a press briefing Friday morning alongside House Speaker Mike Johnson, maintained that the department's emergency fund cannot legally be utilized to sustain SNAP funding during a shutdown.
"It is a contingency fund that can only be activated if the underlying allocation is approved. And furthermore, even if it were applicable, it wouldn’t even encompass half of the month of November. Consequently, here we are, once more, in a fortnight, engaged in the identical discussion," she expressed.
SNAP funding has been at the center of several lawsuits, with Democratic states suing the administration to preserve the flow of funds. One federal judge on Friday temporarily directed the Trump administration to persist in funding benefits, although the administration retains the option to appeal.
Late Friday, Trump communicated on his social media platform that government lawyers "do not believe we possess the legal jurisdiction to disburse SNAP with particular funds at our disposal," but that "it will BE MY PRIVILEGE to furnish the funding, mirroring my actions with Military and Law Enforcement Pay" if the court would "elucidate how we can lawfully finance SNAP as promptly as feasible."
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins speaks alongside Speaker of the House Mike Johnson during a news conference on Capitol Hill on October 31, 2025 in Washington.Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Democrats have targeted Trump, alleging he hasn’t exerted sufficient effort to intervene. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused Trump of having "deferred" to Chinese President Xi Jinping in Asia, while two crises are impending at home concerning food assistance and health care.
"Trump embodies a vengeful politician and a callous individual," Schumer stated on the Senate floor on Thursday.
Republicans, conversely, contend that Democrats are the ones holding the government hostage.
“That’s conduct befitting a child. That is not how a responsible governing body conducts itself in the United States of America,” Vice President JD Vance declared on Thursday after presiding over a White House discussion concerning the impact of the shutdown on the aviation sector. Vance cautioned that holiday travel for Americans will descend into a "catastrophe" if the deadlock persists.
President Trump on Friday asserted that Democrats have "lost their senses."
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
