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Government shutdown updates: Senate vote marks step towards ending federal shutdown

The bill advanced by a vote of 60-40.

Last Updated: November 9, 2025, 11:48 PM EST

President Donald Trump on Sunday offered a bit more insight into his proposal that Obamacare subsidies should go directly to Americans' Health Savings Accounts to pay for health care rather than sending funds to insurance companies through the Affordable Care Act.

Meanwhile, the Senate voted Sunday night on a test vote that would fund the government through Jan. 31 and end the 40-day government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history. Enough Democrats voted to pass the bill.

And the Department of Agriculture in a late Saturday night memo ordered states to reverse any steps they've taken to issue SNAP benefits and threatened to impose financial penalties on states that do not “comply” quickly.

Nov 03, 2025, 12:32 PM EST

Funding SNAP could take months, Trump admin official says

Using emergency funds to pay for reduced SNAP benefits could take "a few weeks to up to several months," a top USDA official told a federal judge in a sworn court filing on Monday.

In addition to the delay, the Trump administration also said it was $4 billion short of the expected $8 billion cost to fund SNAP for the month of November, in part, because they are declining to tap an additional bucket of emergency funds held by the USDA.

A 'We Accept Food Stamps' sign hangs in the window of a grocery store, October 31, 2025 in Miami, Florida.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

"Defendants have worked diligently to comply with the Court's order on the short timeline provided by the Court and during a government shutdown," DOJ lawyers wrote in a filing on Monday, committing to spend $4.65 billion on SNAP.

The disclosure comes after a federal judge in Rhode Island ordered the Trump administration to use emergency funds to pay for SNAP amid an ongoing government shutdown by Wednesday. Following the court order on Friday, Trump said it would be his "honor" to fund the food assistance program.

-ABC News' Peter Charalambous and Stephen Portnoy

Nov 03, 2025, 11:32 AM EST

Johnson says he spoke with Trump on SNAP lapse: 'It's unprecedented'

House Speaker Mike Johnson, at a news conference on Monday, said he spoke with President Donald Trump on the lapse of SNAP benefits.

“He and I talked about this quite a bit over the weekend, multiple times. The president is desperate for SNAP benefits to flow to the American citizens who desperately rely upon it,” Johnson said.

"Everybody's on the same page here. We just don't know how. It's unprecedented. This has never happened before in this way, and so we're hopeful,” he said.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks during a news conference at the US Capitol, November 3, 2025, in Washington.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Johnson also dodged a question on eliminating the filibuster, bowing out of the renewed push by the president and calling it a “Senate issue” when asked if he’s aligned with Trump.

“This is a Senate matter. It has nothing to do with the House. Everybody wants to know who my opinion is,” Johnson said. “I mean, my opinion is irrelevant. I understand desperate times call for desperate measures. I also understand that traditionally we’ve seen that as an important safeguard.

-ABC News' John Parkinson

Nov 03, 2025, 9:09 AM EST

Shutdown Day 34: What to know

Tens of millions of Americans are now feeling the impact as federal food assistance halted over the weekend and travelers experienced chaos at major airports.

The Senate is back in town on Monday though no vote is currently scheduled on the Republican short-term funding bill. That bill would only fund the government until Nov. 21.

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to make full SNAP payments by this afternoon or partial payments by Wednesday, writing that emergency funds "must be used now because of the shutdown." The administration has not commented on that order, but earlier Sunday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent insisted the quickest way to get SNAP funding to 42 million Americans is to reopen the government.

The Capitol is seen as the government shutdown approaches its second month, in Washington, Oct. 30, 2025.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP

-ABC News' Justin Gomez

Nov 03, 2025, 5:44 AM EST

Senate to reconvene Monday afternoon

The Senate is scheduled to reconvene at 3 p.m. on Monday, as the shutdown of the federal government approaches a record set during President Donald Trump’s first term.

The dome of the U.S. Capitol is reflected in a window as people visit the Washington Monument, more than a month into the continuing U.S. government shutdown in Washington, D.C., U.S., Nov. 2, 2025.
Kent Nishimura/Reuters

Monday marks the 34th day of the shutdown, which is now the second-longest in U.S. history. A 35-day record was set between December 2018 to January 2019.

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