Today's News: Shutdown 2025 Edition - Political Blame, Administrative Actions, and Public Impact
The administration has also used government resources to promote partisan messaging blaming Democrats for the shutdown. Early polls suggest Americans largely blame President Trump and Republicans.
Photo: Will Oliver/Press Pool
Overview
Date: October 2, 2025
Summary: The federal government entered a shutdown on October 1, 2025, following a failure by Congress to pass a funding bill. Democrats are demanding the extension of expiring Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium subsidies, while Republicans insist on a “clean” continuing resolution before negotiating policy. In response, the Trump administration, led by budget chief Russell Vought, has initiated significant actions, including canceling project funds and preparing for mass layoffs of federal employees. The administration has also used government resources to promote partisan messaging blaming Democrats for the shutdown. Early polls suggest Americans largely blame President Trump and Republicans for the impasse.
Sources
NBC News - Early polls show Trump and GOP taking more blame than Democrats for shutdown
The Washington Post - Senior government officials privately warn against firings during shutdown
The Wall Street Journal - Trump’s Budget Chief, Slayer of Big Government, Moves Quickly in Shutdown
The Wall Street Journal - Under Pressure From the Left, Democrats Get Back in the Fight
Key Points
The government shutdown, which began October 1, 2025, is primarily caused by a stalemate where Democrats demand an extension of expiring Affordable Care Act premium subsidies, while Republicans insist on a “clean” continuing resolution before negotiating policy. Republicans need Democratic votes to pass the CR in the Senate.
The Trump administration is actively leveraging the shutdown to implement long-desired government cuts and policy changes, with White House budget director Russell Vought playing a central role in targeting Democratic priorities.
These administrative actions include the cancellation of billions of dollars in federal grants for clean energy projects, predominantly located in states led by Democrats, as reported by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
The administration is also preparing for widespread federal employee layoffs (reductions in force or RIFs), despite internal warnings from senior officials and external legal challenges from labor unions regarding the legality of such actions during a temporary funding lapse, as detailed by The Washington Post.
A significant aspect of the administration’s strategy involves using government resources for partisan messaging, with federal agencies issuing or automatically generating out-of-office emails and website messages blaming Democrats for the shutdown, raising concerns about Hatch Act violations and political coercion of federal employees, as reported by CNN and NBC News.
Early national polls indicate that a majority of Americans, including independents, attribute more blame to President Trump and Republicans for the shutdown than to Democrats, according to NBC News.
The shutdown is expected to have immediate and significant real-world consequences, impacting critical programs such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) operations, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), and the paychecks of military members and other furloughed federal workers, as highlighted by Fox News.
Unique Highlights
The New York Times specifies the dollar amounts and locations of canceled Energy Department projects, including $630 million for California’s transmission lines, $250 million for Oregon’s Warm Springs Reservation, $464 million for Minnesota’s electrical grids, and $326 million for Colorado State University’s methane reduction efforts. It also notes that the Pacific Northwest hydrogen hub would have created jobs in Montana and that some cuts affect projects in Florida, South Carolina, and Texas.
CNN reports that furloughed Department of Education workers described feeling “completely violated and concerned” and that the automatic email messages constituted “compelled speech” and “feels like a setup.” It also identifies Richard Painter, a former chief White House ethics lawyer, who suggested that multiple laws, including those prohibiting political lobbying with taxpayer funds and government coercion of political activity, may have been violated.
NBC News (on polls) provides detailed polling results from multiple sources (Washington Post, The New York Times/Siena, Marist/PBS News/NPR, Morning Consult), including specific percentages for blame attribution among different demographics, such as independents. It also highlights a Washington Post finding that 71% of U.S. adults want the Affordable Care Act subsidies extended.
The Washington Post reveals that senior federal officials privately counseled agencies against firings, warning that they “may violate appropriations law” like the Antideficiency Act due to the associated severance payments. It also mentions that labor unions sued the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management to block mass layoffs even before the administration acted.
The Wall Street Journal offers an in-depth profile of Russell Vought, detailing his long-standing ideology as a “budget hawk” and co-author of Project 2025, his belief that the 1974 Impoundment Control Act is unconstitutional, and his previous experience in the first Trump administration learning how to use shutdowns as a “powerful tool to help shrink the size of government.”
The Wall Street Journal also provides insights into the internal pressures and dynamics within the Democratic Party that led to their current shutdown strategy. It mentions specific figures like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez considering a run against Sen. Chuck Schumer in 2028, and details discussions at a “Comeback Retreat” where centrist Democrats expressed concerns about the party being perceived as “weak and woke” and overemphasizing identity politics.
Fox News features House Speaker Mike Johnson’s specific concerns about the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) running out of funding within days, citing a warning from OMB Director Russ Vought to House Republicans. Johnson also emphasizes the critical timing for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) during hurricane season.
Contrasting Details
Rationale for project cancellations: The New York Times reports the Energy Department’s official justification that the canceled projects “did not adequately advance the nation’s energy needs, were not economically viable, and would not provide a positive return on investment.” In contrast, The New York Times itself, along with The Wall Street Journal, strongly suggests these cancellations were politically motivated, serving as a “pretext to punish its political opponents” and targeting “Democratic priorities and projects,” aligning with President Trump’s threats to “do things during the shutdown that are irreversible, that are bad for them.”
Legality of federal employee layoffs: The Washington Post indicates that senior federal officials privately warned agencies that mass firings (reductions in force) during a shutdown “may violate appropriations law,” and federal employment lawyers stated such dismissals would be “almost certainly be illegal” due to regulations requiring 60 days notice and specific reasons not applicable to temporary funding lapses. Conversely, White House Office of Management and Budget communications director Rachel Cauley stated to The Washington Post that “issuing RIFs is an excepted activity to fulfill the President’s constitutional authority,” reflecting the administration’s stance that such actions are within their legal authority.
Blame for the government shutdown: The Trump administration and Republican leaders, as described in CNN, NBC News, and Fox News, are actively promoting the narrative that “Democrat Senators are blocking passage” of a “clean continuing resolution,” thus placing the blame squarely on Democrats. However, NBC News presents conflicting data from four independent national polls conducted just before or during the shutdown, showing that a plurality or majority of U.S. adults, including independents, blame President Trump and Republicans more than Democrats for the funding lapse.
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