Congress is on track this week to break an unflattering record: presiding over the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. The ongoing funding lapse will hit the 35-day mark Tuesday night, eclipsing the partial shutdown that ended in early 2019 and also occurred under President Donald Trump.
Bipartisan talks among rank-and-file senators are underway, which could thaw the weekslong freeze between the two parties. Lawmakers over the weekend were confronted with the grim reality that millions of Americans could lose SNAP food aid — as well as more closures of early education centers, shortages of air traffic controllers and first glimpses of higher health care premiums as Obamacare subsidies are set to expire. Read more