This is Day 34 of the government shutdown. There’s no resolution in sight to the crisis, although there is some movement. More on that below.
FYI, the House hasn’t been in session for 45 days.
Today marks one year out from the 2026 midterm elections. An NBC News poll released Sunday has Democrats up eight points on the generic ballot. This roughly matches where Democrats were ahead of the 2018 midterms when they won 40 seats and seized control of the House. Be on the lookout Tuesday morning for a special edition Tally newsletter where we’ll go deep on the state of play for control of Congress.
There’s a lot of time before voters cast their ballots next fall. White House officials also criticized the NBC poll as an outlier. We’ll note that DCCC’s own recent internal poll — which we scooped here — had Democrats up by four points on the generic ballot in battleground districts.
But only 41% of Americans approve of President Donald Trump’s handling of the presidency versus 59% who disapprove, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll. Among independents, only 30% approve, with 69% disapproving of Trump’s performance.
On the economy — the issue that carried Trump back to the White House — it’s 37%-62%. These Trump economic numbers are in line with other recent polls. This is a serious problem for Republicans.
Even worse for Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, 45% of Americans blame Republicans for the shutdown, while only 33% blame Democrats, according to the NBC poll.
This should put some wind in the sails of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, both of whom will have an interesting week as Zohran Mamdani cruises to the mayorship in New York City.
Don’t worry, Schumer is still talking to Mamdani about that endorsement. We’re sure it’s coming any moment now.
Shutdown latest. Even as party leaders and Trump refuse to meet with each other on ending the standoff, rank-and-file senators on both sides are talking, focusing on finding some agreement on FY2026 spending bills. The hope is that an agreement on spending can help unlock the shutdown.
Those bipartisan talks continued over the weekend, and there’s some optimism about getting to a resolution.
However, Trump and the GOP leaders are showing no signs of caving on extending the expiring Obamacare premium subsidies. Schumer and Jeffries continue to demand an extension as part of any deal to reopen the government. So the standoff grinds on. Open enrollment began on Saturday.
Trump said on “60 Minutes” Sunday night that if Democrats vote to reopen the government, “we should fix” health care.
“And we can fix it with the Democrats. All they have to do is let the country open and we’ll fix it,” Trump said.
Yet voters will have a say now, and this could shift the shutdown dynamics drastically. Maybe even help bring it to a close.
First off, Tuesday is Election Day in New Jersey, Virginia and California. Former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) and Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) are both favored in their respective gubernatorial contests. In New Jersey, it’s tight.
In California, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is leading the push for Prop 50, which would allow them to redistrict as many as five GOP seats. This would be a major plus for Democrats, who are getting swamped nationally on the redistricting front. The initiative looks certain to pass.
If Democrats win in all three states, they’ll claim the American public is backing them on the shutdown and health care — particularly if the party overperforms.
If Jack Ciattarelli is close in New Jersey or even pulls a big upset win, Republicans will say their position — that the Democrats’ shutdown stance is dangerous — won out. In reality, there probably isn’t a gigantic correlation between the two events.
Second, a federal judge ruled on Friday that the Trump administration has to begin paying out SNAP benefits to states. Trump said it would be his “honor” to pay out SNAP benefits if the court directed him to.
Third, Trump is continuing his pressure campaign on Senate Republicans to eliminate the filibuster. Here’s Trump on Sunday night (after similar posts on Saturday):
TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER, NOT JUST FOR THE SHUTDOWN, BUT FOR EVERYTHING ELSE… REPUBLICANS, BE TOUGH AND SMART! THE DEMS ARE CRAZED LUNATICS, THEY WILL NOT OPEN UP OUR COUNTRY NO MATTER HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE IRREPARABLY HARMED!
On “60 Minutes,” Trump said, “The Republicans have to get tougher. If we end the filibuster, we can do exactly what we want.”
As of now, this isn’t a gigantic problem for Thune. Thune’s staff has reiterated that the majority leader’s position hasn’t changed. He’s opposed to ending the filibuster. Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, a big Trump ally, is too. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a close Trump ally, told us in Las Vegas over the weekend that there’s no point in ending the filibuster because, in his view, the shutdown will end this week.
A look around the country. You can definitively see a change of tone in the coverage of the shutdown, especially on SNAP and the soaring cost of health care.
— The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.): “Government closure reaches inflection point”
— Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.): “‘Huge sticker shock’ for Floridians: Residents get a look at Obamacare price hikes”
— Dothan Eagle (Dothan, Ala.): “UNCERTAINTY OVER FOOD AID DEEPENS”
— The Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.): “Concern over federal food aid deepens”
— Longview News-Journal (Longview, Texas): “‘THIS IS A CRISIS’: City, food pantries to host Nov. 7 food drive in light of SNAP loss”
— Republican Herald (Pottsville, Pa.): “Shapiro makes $5M available to state food banks”
— Arkansas Democrat Gazette (Little Rock, Ark.):“Furloughed workers face benefits hurdles”
— The Spectrum (St. George, Utah): “Trump crackdown upends life in cities”
