It's Day 2 of the Schumer Shutdown, and it looks pretty much the same as Day 1. Democrats refuse to allow the government to reopen by voting for the clean continuing resolution passed by the House, and Republicans refuse to negotiate on the budget until the clean CR passes.
So what happens today? Nothing, Manu Raju reports for CNN. Right now, both sides expect this standoff to continue, and Democrats won't even get a chance to open negotiations until next week on their terms:
Shutdown day 2: Expected now to go into next week, at least.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 2, 2025
Dems signaling they won’t cave (at least not yet) amid Trump’s threats for cuts and to fire fed workers
GOP leaders plan another vote on the 7-week CR on Friday
Informal talks happening but no serious negotiations pic.twitter.com/jeIB464GQi
Why is the status of the House important? If Democrats can get Republicans to cave, then the House has to be in session to pass a different CR with their spending demands. Of course, Republicans don't actually want another CR, so they just plan to keep putting the current clean CR up for floor votes every day in the Senate. That way, every day, they can report to voters that Republicans are trying to reopen the government while Democrats continue to obstruct it.
John Thune tells Politico that some horse-trading can take place on one piece -- the ObamaCare subsidies -- but only after Democrats pass the clean CR:
So far, only Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and Angus King (I-Maine) have broken rank to advance the GOP-led continuing resolution. Thune needs another five, at least.
“I keep telling them: When they have eight or 10 — preferably 10, or more … let me know if there’s some conversation they want to have,” Thune said.
Thune is betting that more Senate Democrats will flip as the shutdown pain persists — OMB Director Russ Vought threatened Wednesday to proceed with mass firings and slashed funding for crucial infrastructure and energy projects.
But Thune also thinks Democrats could be motivated by the member-level discussions taking place around what bipartisan work can be done under a functioning government — for instance, pairing an extension of the Affordable Care Act subsidies due to sunset Dec. 31 with some policy changes sought by Republicans.
That would be the carrot. Trump offered the stick today, reverting back to Democrats' professed policy nightmare in the 2024 campaign. If Democrats don't reopen the government, Trump warned, get ready for -- PROJECT 2025:
"I can't believe the Radical Left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity." Neither can anyone else who understands the dynamics of government shutdowns. The WSJ also points out that Vought is practically salivating at the prospect:
Russell Vought has been planning for this moment for years.
President Trump’s budget chief—one of the main players in the government shutdown that has ground Washington to a halt—might also be one of its biggest beneficiaries, as the freeze gives him the opportunity to implement funding cuts he has long advocated. ...
Trump said he planned to meet Thursday with Vought to discuss which agencies would be targeted as part of far-reaching cuts at federal agencies, and signaled he would focus on agencies and programs that Democrats value.
Call it FAFO: Stupid Government Tricks Edition. Vought has already shut down green spending in Democrat states, but that's just a warm-up, the WSJ notes. The meeting with Trump will likely result in immediate announcements of further cuts, perhaps just as Thune brings the CR to the floor today -- or maybe Thune will wait until tomorrow to let that fester for a while first.
Meanwhile, Republicans are taking the offense on other messaging. Ohio's Sen. Bernie Moreno now wants legislation that strips paychecks from members of Congress during shutdown periods, while Hakeem Jeffries hems and haws about accepting his salary while cheering this obstruction:
"We're not doing our job."
— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) October 2, 2025
Ohio Sen. @berniemoreno is introducing legislation that would automatically forfeit Congress members’ daily pay for any government shutdown days. pic.twitter.com/lwblg6xNkw
If Congress refuses to perform its most basic task -- budgeting -- then why should any members get paid? That's a question many voters will ask, too. In fact, Moreno should craft the bill so that salaries for all members and staffers stop during CRs too. Let's put some teeth back into the October 1 deadline and make sure those teeth sink into all of the people responsible for it.
In the meantime, enjoy this meme sent to me by our pal John Ondrasik. I suspect that the shutdown will be short-lived, so let's get our laughs in while we can.
The Schumer Shutdown is about to unleash "Russ the Reaper!" pic.twitter.com/e4VymHCuYI
— Brenden Dilley (@WarlordDilley) October 1, 2025
Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.
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