**Government Shutdown Enters Fourth Week Amid Stalemate Between Senate Republicans and Democrats**
*WASHINGTON* — As the government shutdown stretches into its fourth week, Senate Republicans are heading to the White House on Tuesday—not for urgent talks to end the impasse, but rather for a show of unity with President Donald Trump. The GOP senators remain steadfast in refusing to negotiate on any Democratic demands.
Senate Democrats, meanwhile, are confident in their strategy to keep voting down a House-passed bill aimed at reopening the government. They insist Republicans, including Trump, must first engage on extending health care subsidies set to expire at the end of the year.
With both sides locked in their positions, the duration of the stalemate remains uncertain—even as hundreds of thousands of federal workers face missing another paycheck soon. States are also issuing warnings that critical federal programs could soon run out of funds entirely.
### No Breakthrough Expected at White House Meeting
Tuesday’s lunch meeting in the White House Rose Garden appears unlikely to produce a bipartisan breakthrough. Senate Republicans are firmly dug in, with Trump following their lead.
When asked about the message they planned to convey, Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, second in Senate GOP leadership, told Fox News Channel’s *Fox & Friends* on Tuesday, “Republicans are united, and I expect the president to say, ‘Stand strong.’”
Senate Republican leader John Thune of South Dakota said Monday that Trump may soon be ready “to get involved on having the discussion” about extending the subsidies—but he added, “I don’t think they are prepared to do that until [Democrats] open up the government.”
### Missed Paychecks and Funding Cuts Loom
While Capitol Hill remains at a standstill, the shutdown’s impacts are deepening. Federal workers are set to miss additional paychecks amid uncertainty over when they might eventually be paid.
Important government services such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and Head Start preschool programs serving needy families, are facing potential funding cutoffs.
On Monday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced that the National Nuclear Security Administration is furloughing 1,400 federal workers.
At the same time, millions of Americans face uncertainty about future health costs as the shutdown continues. A new Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found that most U.S. adults are concerned health care will become more expensive as they make decisions about next year’s coverage.
Despite these mounting pressures, there has been little urgency in Washington, with each side believing the other will eventually concede.
“Our position remains the same: We want to end the shutdown as soon as we can and fix the ACA premium crisis that looms over 20 million hardworking Americans,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Monday, referring to the expanded Affordable Care Act subsidies due to expire in December.
Schumer dismissed the White House meeting as a “pep rally” and criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., for keeping the House out of session during the shutdown, calling it “shameful.”
### Crunch Time Approaches with November Deadlines
Members of both parties acknowledge that as the shutdown drags on, the likelihood diminishes that Congress will extend the subsidies or fund the government through the regular appropriations process.
The House GOP bill, which Senate Democrats have rejected 11 times, would only keep the government funded through November 21.
Thune hinted Monday that Republicans might propose a longer extension of current funding instead of passing individual spending bills if the stalemate continues. “Congress would need to pass an extension beyond Nov. 21, if not something on a much longer-term basis,” he said.
Democrats are especially focused on November 1, when enrollment for next year’s ACA coverage begins. Millions will sign up for health plans without the benefit of expanded subsidies that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. Once enrollment starts, restoring subsidies would be much harder, even with a bipartisan compromise.
“Very soon Americans are going to have to make some really difficult choices about which health care plan they choose for next year,” Schumer warned.
### Trump’s Role in the Shutdown
Tuesday’s White House meeting will be a moment for Republican senators to engage directly with Trump on the shutdown after he has focused more on foreign policy and other issues recently.
Last week, the president dismissed Democratic demands as “crazy,” adding, “We’re just not going to do it.”
North Dakota Senator John Hoeven said the senators will discuss strategy with Trump during the lunch. “Obviously, we’ll talk to him about it, and he’ll give us his ideas, and we’ll talk about ours,” Hoeven said. “Anything we can do to try to get Democrats to join us” in passing the Republican bill to reopen the government, he added.
Still, GOP senators expect Trump to maintain their current hardline stance of rejecting negotiations until the government reopens.
“Until they put something reasonable on the table to talk about, I don’t think there’s anything to talk about,” Louisiana Senator John Kennedy said.
Democrats argue that Trump must take a more active role for the government to reopen.
“He needs to get off the sidelines, get off the golf course,” said House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. “We know that House and Senate Republicans don’t do anything without getting permission from their boss, Donald J. Trump.”
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*As the shutdown continues, the American public watches anxiously, waiting for leaders on both sides to find common ground and restore critical government functions.*
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/21/white-house-shutdown/