WASHINGTON – Democrats have no idea how long the day-old government shutdown will last. Talk to Republicans, they say.
Ask Republicans, and they point the finger back at Democrats. They’re the ones, GOP leaders say, who have the leverage in Washington to turn the lights back on.
As for Vice President JD Vance? He thinks the shutdown could be over soon. But that’s a “pure guess.”
Read more: No stranger to shutdowns: A look at Trump’s history with government closures
Such is the uncertain reality of the first government shutdown in seven years, and the partisan atmosphere in Washington after lawmakers plunged the country into its latest chapter of political dysfunction.
Asked to estimate the potential length of a shutdown, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware, told USA TODAY: “No idea.”
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut, said to “ask Republicans.”
“The fact of the matter is the government will open when Republicans get serious about talking to Democrats,” he said.
Senator Chris Murphy speaks with reporters after a vote on day one of a federal government shutdown in a tunnel walkway on Capitol Hill.
Federal workers across the country, from national park staffers to financial regulators, are being furloughed, jeopardizing government services that Americans rely on. Employees deemed “essential,” such as those in the military and law enforcement, will stay on the job without pay.
The longest government shutdown happened from December 2018 through January 2019, during President Donald Trump‘s first term in office. It lasted 35 days and was largely related to disputes over funding for a wall at the southern border.
Read more: Will a government shutdown delay your flight? What you should know.
Asked if the newest shutdown could be worse, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, told USA TODAY the decision will be Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s to make.
“It’s up to Schumer,” he said. “Completely.”
Sen. Katie Britt, R-Alabama, said she hopes Democrats “come to their senses sooner rather than later.”
Facing pressure from voters, Senate Democrats are withholding their support to keep the government funded over a series of demands that the Republicans reverse Medicaid cuts and extend Obamacare premium subsidies that will expire at the end of the year, raising health insurance prices for millions of Americans.
Read more: These people have found their health care at the center of a shutdown showdown
GOP leaders in Congress say those requests are nonstarters. A shutdown will plow on “as long as it takes for the Democrats to agree to fund the government,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina, “so people like me can start negotiating over Affordable Care Act subsidies and everything else.”
Republicans accuse Democrats of pushing to extend federal health care funding to undocumented immigrants − which is already prohibited by law.
The Washington Monument is visible as Senate GOP leaders speak during a news conference on the Upper West Terrace of the U.S. Capitol Building on October 1, 2025.
“Not a single sentence or clause or comma in our bill does that,” Schumer told reporters on Sept. 30 as the shutdown approached.
Exactly how long the fiscal crisis continues may hinge on the extent of further layoffs in the federal workforce, which the White House has threatened if the shutdown drags on. Typically, shutdowns only prompt furloughs, in which federal workers stay on the job and receive back pay once the government reopens.
This shutdown will almost certainly be different, though.
The Trump administration has already forced thousands of federal workers out of government and unilaterally slashed funding for programs the president dislikes. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a news conference Oct. 1 that more layoffs are coming in a matter of days.
At the same news conference, the vice president sounded more confident than most lawmakers about the shutdown situation. In his mind, it won’t carry on indefinitely.
“I actually don’t think it’s going to be that long of a shutdown,” Vance said, emphasizing he was only speculating. “I think you already saw some evidence that moderate Democrats are cracking a little bit.”
Zachary Schermele is a congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How long will the shutdown last? Congress has no idea.
