Shutdown Chaos: Bipartisan Deal Slips, Stocks Slip – What’s Next?
Congress faces a critical deadline as continuing resolutions lapse and a partial government shutdown extends into its fourth weektheatlantic.comreuters.com. On Oct. 23, Senate Democrats blocked a short-term funding bill that would have guaranteed federal pay, arguing it lacked needed protections. Republicans counter that Democrats are effectively instigating the shutdown by demanding policy concessionstheatlantic.comreuters.com. As Princeton historian Julian Zelizer notes, “Trump is using a shutdown to prioritize pay to a subset of workers” – a novel tactic that Republicans now echoreuters.com. The Senate vote failure sets the stage for a potential shutdown that could last days or weeks longer, unless negotiators strike a deal by week’s end.