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.
Trump is claiming via his social media platform that a “dividend of at least $2000 a person” will be paid to all Americans except for “high-income people,” saying the country is now wealthy as a result of his tariff policies.
“People that are against Tariffs are FOOLS! We are now the Richest, Most Respected Country In the World, With Almost No Inflation, and A Record Stock Market Price. 401k’s are Highest EVER,” the president wrote.
President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Nov. 7, 2025, in Washington.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
“A dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone,” he added.
-ABC News’ Isabella Murray
Nov 09, 2025, 8:55 AM EST
Senate to convene in rare Sunday session but no votes scheduled
The Senate is scheduled to be in for a rare Sunday session as it continues to attempt to chart a path out of the 40-day government shutdown.
The Senate is expected to convene at 1:30 p.m. There are currently no votes scheduled. It’s not yet clear whether any will be added to the schedule today.
Majority Leader John Thune said Saturday that the Senate will vote at some point on advancing a short-term funding bill with three of the 12 full-year funding bills attached to it. If passed, the whole government would open until a yet-to-be-determined date — likely sometime in January — and certain government programs, like SNAP and Veterans Affairs, would be funded for the full fiscal year.
American flags flutter in front of the U.S. Capitol more than a month into the continuing U.S. government shutdown in Washington, November 7, 2025.
Nathan Howard/Reuters
Text of those three bills is still not available, so it’s not clear if that the Senate would consider holding a vote on this package as of Sunday morning, even if the text is eventually released. It’s also not clear that Democrats would accept this offer.
-ABC News’ Allison Pecorin
Nov 08, 2025, 4:15 PM EST
Senate not expected to take votes on Saturday
The Senate is not expected to take any votes on Saturday, according to GOP leadership aides.
The Senate floor has been open since noon. The biggest action of the day has been speeches, including from Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.
-ABC News’ Allison Pecorin
Nov 08, 2025, 2:54 PM EST
Schumer says GOP dismissal of Dem funding plan is a 'terrible mistake'
Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor Saturday that it’s a "terrible mistake" for Republicans to dismiss his proposal to reopen the government with a one-year extension of government funding.
Republicans have called the proposal a "non-starter.”
"I know many Republicans stormed out the gate to dismiss this offer, but that's a terrible mistake," Schumer said. “Our offer is not a new policy. This is not negotiating in a shutdown. It is simply agreeing to maintain current funding levels.”
He said Republicans are refusing to even acknowledge the healthcare issues.
"It's alarming that Republicans even refuse to acknowledge we have an immediate crisis right now that needs fixing," Schumer said.
Schumer continued to criticize Republicans for the damaging effects of the record-shattering shutdown, blaming Republicans for delays and cancelations at airports and for ongoing issues with SNAP.
He also said the administration displayed "pathological levels of vindictiveness" by taking the case about paying out SNAP benefits to the Supreme Court.
Houston residents line up in their cars for a special free food distribution by the Houston Food Bank at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, on Nov. 1, 2025.
Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images
"This morning tens of millions of Americans remain in limbo as this administration continues its crusade against SNAP,” Schumer said. “The Supreme Court has allowed the administration to withhold benefits as the case makes its way through the lower courts. For this administration to go all the way to the Supreme Court just to get out of having to pay SNAP benefits for hungry kids is pathological levels of vindictiveness.”
He said the SNAP issue is "in the administration's hands."
"The minute the administration wanted to, it could find a fix for SNAP and ensure that people don't go hungry,” Schumer said.
Schumer also called the massive airport cancelations "transparently political.”
"What's happening at America's airports right now is not an accident -- it's a stunt,” he said.
