Government shutdown updates: Leavitt says Trump exploring cutting aid to Portland

Construction of the White House ballroom will continue through the government shutdown, according to a White House official.

"There will not be a stoppage of ballroom work when the shutdown occurs," a White House official told ABC News.

As the White House Office of Management and Budget laid out in a memo last week, programs and projects with sources of funding not related to the appropriations that have lapsed will continue. The White House has previously said that the construction of the ballroom is funded by private donations.

"Work will continue to be performed as the funds currently supporting are not tied to a FY26 enacted appropriation," the White House official said.

-ABC News' Michelle Stoddart

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser announced on Wednesday that the city will remain open during the government shutdown.

"A federal government shutdown will not shut down the DC Government," Bowser said on Wednesday, noting that the local government will remain open, as is standard during federal shutdowns. She said the city often picks up the slack the longer shutdowns last, which can include collecting trash and issuing marriage licenses.

"DC will remain open, our students will be in class, our parks will be clean, our streets will be safe, and we will continue to function as a world-class city no matter what happens in Congress," Bowser said.

She said "no service changes or lapses in benefits are expected" but that "may change depending on future guidance issued from the federal Office of Management and Budget."

Furloughed workers who are impacted by the shutdown can "file for unemployment insurance benefits through the Department of Employment Services," Bowser said.

She added that residents who "depend on federally-supported benefits for medical care, food, and other critical services can and should continue to see their doctors, take their medicines, and buy groceries."

The White House is putting $18 billion of federal funding for major New York infrastructure projects on hold.

"Roughly $18 billion in New York City infrastructure projects have been put on hold to ensure funding is not flowing based on unconstitutional DEI principles," White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought said in an X post Wednesday.

Vought, the co-author of Project 2025, said the Hudson Tunnel Project, which would add a new tunnel for New Jersey Transit, and the Second Avenue Subway project, which adds a new subway path for Manhattan, would be affected.

Schumer has championed the Gateway Tunnel Project, which includes the Hudson Tunnel Project, for years, calling it a "labor of love."

-ABC News' Michelle Stoddart and Allison Pecorin

After the government shutdown commenced, Republican House and Senate leaders blamed Democrats for the "needless Schumer shutdown," urging them to vote for the GOP stopgap funding bill.

"There is nothing new in this legislation. No gimmicks whatsoever," House Speaker Mike Johnson said during the press conference on Wednesday.

Senate Minority Leader John Thune held up the Republican-backed 24-page bill, saying it is a "very straightforward issue."

"Does this look partisan? Does this look dirty to you? Twenty-four pages to fund the government. Nothing more, nothing less," Thune said.

Johnson said there is "still time" for Democrats to pass the GOP bill and "vote for the right and responsible thing."