The United States government shutdown entered its third week on Monday, with Congress locked in a bitter standoff over spending and no resolution in sight, as thousands of federal workers continue to lose their jobs.
Hundreds of thousands of government employees remain on enforced leave, while President Donald Trump has intensified pressure on Democrats to accept Republican funding proposals by cutting federal jobs.
Trump has pledged to find a way to pay military personnel, who are due to miss their first salaries this week, though many troops are already turning to food banks for support. He warned that if Democrats continue to reject the House-passed resolution to fund the government until late November, more layoffs would follow—particularly among workers perceived to support the opposition.
Vice President JD Vance, speaking to Fox News at the weekend, said Democrats should brace for further hardship if they refused to compromise. “The longer this continues, the deeper the cuts will be—and some of these cuts will be painful,” he said.
Court filings from the Department of Justice revealed that over 4,000 federal employees were dismissed on Friday, with the Treasury, Health, Education, and Housing departments suffering the greatest losses.
The layoffs are part of the Trump administration’s strategy to increase political pressure on Democrats to back Republican efforts to reopen the government.
However, Democratic leaders in Congress, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, dismissed the threats, predicting that the dismissals would be overturned by the courts.
Meanwhile, about 1.3 million active-duty military personnel are expected to miss their first paycheque on Wednesday. The Stronghold Food Pantry, which assists military families, reported an “unprecedented rise in demand since the shutdown began.”
Trump announced on Saturday that he had instructed Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to use “all available funds” to ensure troops are paid. Pentagon officials have reportedly diverted $8 billion from research and development to cover military pay, though the legality of this move remains uncertain.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has resisted calls to recall lawmakers from recess to vote on a standalone bill guaranteeing military pay, insisting the House had already approved such measures. “We’ve done our part — the ball is in Senate Democrats’ court,” Johnson told reporters.
The main dispute centres on Republican opposition to including Democratic demands in the funding resolution that would extend expiring health insurance subsidies for 24 million Americans.
With Congress on recess for a federal holiday on Monday, the shutdown reached its 14th day. While Trump’s pledge to pay troops brought some relief, it also lessened immediate pressure to resolve the deadlock.
The Senate is expected to reconvene on Tuesday for an eighth attempt to pass a government funding bill, though few anticipate a breakthrough.
As the shutdown drags on, the effects are spreading nationwide: airports are reporting longer delays as Transportation Security Administration staff call in sick, and the Smithsonian Institution has closed its museums and the National Zoo due to lack of funding.