Hopes for a quick end to the government shutdown faded on Friday as Democrats refused to budge in a Senate vote and President Donald Trump readied plans to unleash layoffs and cuts across the federal government.

On the third day of the shutdown, a Senate vote to advance a Republican bill that would reopen the government fell well short of the 60 needed to end a filibuster and pass the legislation.

Senators were expected to depart for the weekend, and there have been few signs of any real progress towards ending the congressional standoff.

Democrats are demanding that Congress extend healthcare benefits, while Republicans are trying to wear them down with day after day of voting on the House-passed bill that would reopen the government temporarily, mostly at current spending levels.

“I don’t know how many times you’re going to give them a chance to vote no,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said at a news conference on Friday. He added that he would give Democratic senators the weekend to think it over.

Although Republicans control the White House and both chambers of Congress, the Senate’s filibuster rules make it necessary for the government funding legislation to gain support from at least 60 of the 100 senators.

That’s given Democrats a rare opportunity to use their 47 Senate seats to hold out in exchange for policy concessions. The party has chosen to rally on the issue of health care, believing it could be key to their path back to power in Washington.

Their primary demand is that Congress extend tax credits that were boosted during the COVID-19 pandemic for health care plans offered under the Affordable Care Act marketplace.

Standing on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said, “Understand this, over the last few days and over the next few days, what you’re going to see is more than 20 million Americans experience dramatically increased health care premiums, co-pays and deductibles because of the Republican unwillingness to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits.”

The shutdown gamble

Democrats are running the high-risk strategy of effectively voting for a government shutdown to make their stand. Mr. Trump has vowed to make it as painful as possible for them.

The Republican President has called the government funding lapse an “unprecedented opportunity” to make vast cuts to federal agencies and potentially lay off federal workers, rather than the typical practice of furloughing them. White House budget director Russ Vought has already announced that he is withholding billions of dollars for infrastructure projects in states with Democratic senators.

On Friday morning, Mr. Vought said he would withhold another $2.1 billion for Chicago infrastructure projects to extend its train system to the city’s South Side.

White House budget office orders federal agencies to begin implementing shutdown plans after failure of funding bill. Democrats vote down GOP bill to keep the government open, putting it on track for shutdown after midnight.

Trump administration is using official government communications to blame Democrats and promote the President’s policies.

At least one agency has posted a public warning blaming “the massive pain” of any shutdown on “The Radical Left,” provoking questions about potential violations of the Hatch Act, which restricts partisan political activity by U.S. federal employees.

While furloughs of employees have been part of previous shutdowns, federal agencies under President Donald Trump have also been urged to consider more permanent reductions in force for programs “not consistent with the President’s priorities.”

Here’s a look at the shutdown messaging coming from the federal government:

Visitors to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s website on Tuesday were greeted with a pop-up message warning that “The Radical Left are going to shut down the government and inflict massive pain on the American people unless they get their $1.5 trillion wish list of demands.”

“The Trump administration wants to keep the government open for the American people,” the rest of the message read.

Asked about the banner on HUD’s website that accuses Democrats of trying to shut down the government, agency spokesperson Kasey Lovett said in a statement that “the Far Left is barreling our country toward a shut down, which will hurt all Americans.”

Some internet users suggested the message would violate the Hatch Act, an 80-year-old law that restricts partisan political activity by U.S. federal employees. HUD officials pushed back on those claims, noting the banner did not refer to an election, and did not mention any party or politician by name.

Employees across the federal government have reported receiving messages noting Mr. Trump’s general opposition to a shutdown.

Employees at the Departments of Interior, the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Justice received a message noting that Trump “opposes a government shutdown, and strongly supports the enactment of HR 5371,” the GOP-backed bill to fund the government through Nov. 21.

“Unfortunately Democrats are blocking the resolution in the Senate due to unrelated policy demands,” the message went on. “If Congressional Democrats maintain their current posture and refuse to pass a clean continuing resolution to keep the government funded before midnight on Sept. 30, 2025, federal funding will lapse.”

Some agencies, like the Securities and Exchange Commission, posted more informational notices online, detailing planning for operating status changes “concurrently with the rest of the federal government.”

Some federal employees would be furloughed during a shutdown, and the White House’s budget office has warned agencies to consider permanently cutting staff in some of the areas that would be affected, a new twist on the situation.

U.S. shutdown and lay off

In a memo released last week, the Office of Management and Budget said agencies should consider a reduction in force for federal programs whose funding would lapse this week, are not otherwise funded and are “not consistent with the President’s priorities.” That would be a much more aggressive step than in previous shutdowns, when federal workers not deemed essential were furloughed but returned to their jobs once Congress approved government spending.

A reduction in force would not only lay off employees but eliminate their positions. That would trigger another massive upheaval in a federal workforce that has already faced major rounds of cuts this year due to efforts from the Department of Government Efficiency and elsewhere in the Trump administration.