By LISA MASCARO and MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government shutdown has entered its 36th day, breaking the record as the longest ever and disrupting the lives of millions of Americans with federal program cuts, flight delays and federal workers nationwide left without paychecks.

President Donald Trump has refused to negotiate with Democrats over their demands to salvage expiring health insurance subsidies until they agree to reopen the government. But skeptical Democrats question whether the Republican president will keep his word, particularly after the administration restricted SNAP food aid, despite court orders to ensure funds are available to prevent hunger.

Trump, whose first term at the White House set the previous government shutdown record, is set to meet early Wednesday for breakfast with GOP senators. But no talks have been scheduled with the Democrats.

“Why is this happening? We’re in a shutdown because our colleagues are unwilling to come to the table to talk about one simple thing: health care premiums,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., in a late evening speech.

“Stop this mess, come to the table, negotiate it,” she said.

With Trump largely on the sidelines, talks have intensified among a loose coalition of centrist senators trying to negotiate an end to the stalemate. Expectations are high that the logjam would break once election results were fully tallied in Tuesday’s off-year races that were widely watched as a gauge of voter sentiment over Trump’s second term in the White House. Democrats swept key contests for governor in Virginia and New Jersey, and New York City mayor, certain to shake up the political assessments.

But earlier in the afternoon, Senate Democrats left an hours-long private meeting stone-faced, with no certain path forward.

“We’re exploring all the options,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said afterward.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., arrives to meet with reporters following a closed-door session with fellow Democrats, on day 35 of the government shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Trump sets another shutdown record

Trump’s approach to this shutdown stands in marked contrast to his first term, when the government was partially closed for 35 days over his demands for funds to build the U.S.-Mexico border wall. At that time, he met publicly and negotiated with congressional leaders, but unable to secure the funds, he relented in 2019.

This time, it’s not just Trump declining to engage in talks. The congressional leaders are at a standoff and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., sent lawmakers home in September after they approved their own funding bill, refusing further negotiations.

In the meantime, food aid, child care funds and countless other government services are being seriously interrupted and hundreds of thousands of federal workers have been furloughed or expected to come to work without pay.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted there could be chaos in the skies next week if air traffic controllers miss another paycheck. Labor unions put pressure on lawmakers to reopen the government.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said this has been not only the longest shutdown but also “the most severe shutdown on record.”

The Republican leader has urged the Democrats to accept his overtures to vote on the health care issue and keep negotiating a solution once the government reopens, arguing that no one wins politically from the standoff.

“Shutdowns are stupid,” Thune said.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., joined at left by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the GOP whip, talks with reporters following a closed-door strategy session, on day 35 of the government shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Senators search for potential deal

Central to any endgame will be a series of agreements that would need to be upheld not only by the Senate, but also the House, and the White House, which is not at all certain in Washington.

First of all, senators from both parties, particularly the powerful members of the Appropriations Committee, are pushing to ensure the normal government funding process in Congress can be put back on track.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., along with several Democrats, including Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Chris Coons of Delaware, are among those working behind the scenes.

“The pace of talks have increased,” said Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., who has been involved in conversations.

Among the goals is guaranteeing upcoming votes on a smaller package of bills where there is already widespread bipartisan agreement to fund various aspects of government, like agricultural programs and military construction projects at bases.

“I certainly think that three-bill package is primed to do a lot of good things for the American people,” said Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., who has also been in talks.

Amanda Salter loads a pallet with food for her women’s shelter at Second Harvest Food Bank, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Health care costs skyrocket for millions

More difficult, a substantial number of senators also want some resolution to the standoff over the funding for the Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at year’s end.

With insurance premium notices being sent, millions of Americans are experiencing sticker shock on skyrocketing prices. The loss of enhanced federal subsidies, which were put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic and come in the form of tax credits, are expected to leave many people unable to buy health insurance.

Republicans are reluctant to fund the health care program, also known as Obamacare, without reforms, but negotiating a compromise with Democrats is expected to take time, if a deal can be reached at all.

Thune has promised Democrats at least a vote on their preferred health care proposal, on a date certain, as part of any deal to reopen government. But that’s not enough for some senators, who see the health care deadlock as part of their broader concerns with Trump’s direction for the country.

The White House says its position remains unchanged and that Democrats must vote to fund the government before talks over health care can begin. White House officials are in close contact with GOP senators who have been quietly speaking with key Senate Democrats, according to a senior White House official. The official was granted anonymity to discuss administration strategy.

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Trump’s demands to end the filibuster fall flat

The president has been pushing the senators to nuke the filibuster — the Senate rule that requires 60 votes to advance most legislation — as a way to reopen the government.

The GOP senators have panned Trump’s demands to end the filibuster, in a rare public break with the president. Thune and others argue the Senate rule, while infuriating at times, ensures the minority party can be a check on the administration, which is important when power shifts in Washington.

But in the current Senate, where Republicans hold a slim majority, 53-47, Democrats have been able to block the House-passed bill that would fund the government, having voted more than a dozen times against.

Trump has said that doing away with the filibuster would be one way the Republicans could bypass the Democrats and end the shutdown on their own. Republican senators are trying to avoid that outcome.

Associated Press writers Kevin Freking, Stephen Groves, Seung Min Kim and Matt Brown contributed to this report.

The Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party held its one-seat majority in the Minnesota Senate after two Tuesday special elections for vacant seats did not shift the partisan balance of the chamber.

Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger (Courtesy of the candidate)

Unofficial election results late Tuesday showed state Rep. Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger, DFL-Woodbury, held a decisive lead over Republican challenger Dwight Dorau in the special election for Senate District 47, which includes the city of Woodbury and southern Maplewood.

As of 11 p.m. Hemmingsen-Jaeger had 62% of the vote to Dorau’s 38% with all precincts reporting.

The seat has been vacant since July, when former DFL Sen. Nicole Mitchell resigned after her conviction on two felony burglary charges. Hemmingsen-Jaeger’s apparent win Tuesday night means the district remains in DFL hands.

“Congratulations to Amanda, on a decisive victory,” Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, said in a statement. ”With a record of fighting to lower the cost of prescription drugs and capping the price of insulin, it’s clear that voters sided with the leader ready to deliver for their families. I look forward to working alongside her in this critical time.”

Meanwhile, Michael Holmstrom Jr. held a significant early lead over DFLer Louis McNutt in the special election for Senate District 29, which includes most of Wright County and parts of Meeker and Hennepin counties.

Holmstrom had 62% of the vote to McNutt’s 38% with all precincts reporting.

Holmstrom will fill the vacant seat of Sen. Bruce Anderson, R-Buffalo, who died unexpectedly in July at 75. Republicans were expected to hold on to Anderson’s former seat.

“Tonight’s results are a testament to our community’s shared values and desire for a stronger Minnesota,” Holmstrom said in a statement. “As your next State Senator, I will fight to protect your tax dollars against fraud, strengthen public safety, support parental rights in schools, and lower costs for you and your family.”

With neither seat changing party hands, the DFL will keep its one-seat majority in the Senate. When the winners are sworn into office, it will return to the margin that voters delivered in the 2024 election: 34 DFLers to 33 Republicans.

Last year’s election gave the state its most closely divided government ever: a House tied 67-67 between Republicans and DFLers and a Senate split 34-33 with the DFL holding the advantage.

Senate District 47 has favored Democrats by double-digit margins in recent elections, though it is not as historically Democratic as the center of the Twin Cities and was seen as the more competitive of the two races.

Hemmingsen-Jaeger focused her message on tackling rising health care and child care costs, and protecting the environment. She also said voters were worried about President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and cuts to federal spending.

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Dorau, meanwhile, hoped that voters would see what could be more than $1 billion in fraud in state government programs and significant spending growth under DFL leadership in recent years as reasons to vote for a Republican candidate.

Katie Demaris, a 39-year-old preschool teacher from Woodbury, said she voted for the DFL candidate because she’s concerned about cuts at the federal level and what greater Republican power in her home state could mean for public food assistance and education spending.

“I just almost feel like it’s protecting everything,” she said outside of a polling location at Woodbury Elementary School. “For the benefits, for our school districts, for the education, what we’re allowed to teach.”

Republican voters who spoke with the Pioneer Press said they were concerned about fraud in state government and growing taxes.

St. Paul voters appeared ready to hand the city council the authority to craft new civil fines — or non-criminal penalties known as administrative citations — to crack down on scofflaws who violate city ordinances.

A question on Tuesday’s citywide ballot sought voter approval to amend the city charter, or municipal constitution, to allow the council the power to create new fine ladders around ordinance violations. Late Tuesday returns showed “yes” votes rolling in with a solid lead, 68% to 32%, with 78 of 86 precincts reporting.

“I think people, once they learned about administrative citations, it was almost unanimous that they understood it was a common-sense tool,” said Matt Privratsky, chair of the “Vote Yes for a Fairer St. Paul” campaign, as results came in.

“There was almost no one I spoke to who had a question about whether it was the right choice for the city,” he added, noting most other large cities already implement them. “Based on the conversations I had, it’s not surprising.”

Pointing to run-ins with errant landlords, employers who fail to pay out sick leave and other scofflaws, the council had attempted to amend the charter in both 2018 and 2021 but was rebuffed both times by the charter commission, whose members expressed concern at the time about city overreach.

Backed by St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and all seven council members, department leaders from Public Works and the Department of Safety and Inspections made their own case to the charter commission last year, focusing on some 15 key areas where enforcement was lacking and largely limited to warning letters or, at the opposite extreme, criminal charges.

Those areas ranged from animal control violations to landlords who fail to fix broken toilets or hike rents despite the city’s 3% rent control cap. Department leaders also pointed to construction work completed without proper permits, potential violations of the city’s new wage theft ordinance, and illicit discharges into storm and sanitary sewers.

DSI officials said dozens of participants in the city’s diversionary ETHOS program have sought to have their criminal histories expunged in the last four years due to dog bite convictions alone. In one highlighted case, a family dog ran past a single mom attempting to get her kids out the door and bit a person in the hallway. She was issued a criminal citation, which raised the possibility of eviction.

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The charter amendment ultimately received the support of the charter commission and city council, but former City Hall financial analyst Peter Butler gathered enough petition signatures to block it and force it onto the public ballot, under the premise that the public should have the right to review details.

A majority of the city’s single-family housing stock dates back to before 1930. Former City Council Member Jane Prince and other critics have expressed concern that the city will attempt to balance its budget through fines, and city inspectors could become too heavy-handed and issue citations for tall grass, chipped paint and other mundane code violations common to century-old properties and low-income neighborhoods.

White Bear Lake held a mayoral and city council election Tuesday night. Falcon Heights and St. Anthony also held city council elections.

Voters also cast ballots on funding referendums in the Mahtomedi, Mounds View, Roseville and North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale school districts.

St. Anthony-New Brighton, Mounds View, North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale and Roseville also held school board elections.

Here’s a roundup of results for municipal races in Ramsey County:

Falcon Heights

Georgiana May and Jim Mogen held the lead in the city council election for two at-large seats in Falcon Heights with one of two precincts reporting late Tuesday.

As of 10:15 p.m. May had 42% of the vote while Mogen had 40%. Jeremy Hallowanger had 13%. Eric Meyer dropped out of the race on Oct. 9.

Falcon Heights City Council has five members, including the mayor. Councilmembers and the mayor are elected to four-year terms.

St. Anthony

Candidates Nadia A. Elnagdy and Jan Jenson were the only two candidates on the ballot for two seats on the St. Anthony City Council.

White Bear Lake

Mary Nicklawske held the lead late Tuesday in the White Bear Lake mayor race.

With 3 of 6 precincts reporting, Nicklawske had 64% of the vote. Stephen Laliberte had 36%

Nicklawske and Laliberte advanced from a primary election in August.

The two competed to replace White Bear Lake Mayor Dan Louismet, who won office in 2021 and is not running for reelection.

Ellen Gurrola ran unopposed for a Ward 2 city council seat and Kevin L. Edberg ran unopposed for a Ward 4 seat.

St. Anthony-New Brighton school district

Voters in St. Anthony-New Brighton School District reelected Annie Bosmans, Laura Haas and Prachi Striker to the three open seats on the school board.

With 3 of 4 precincts reporting results on Daniel Turner held the lead in a special election for an open seat on the board with 55% of the vote to Michael Overman’s 45%.

Mounds View school district

The Mounds View school board has three at-large open seats. Candidates Shauna Bock, Shea Bruce, Tascha Just and Mark Sacay ran.

With 9 of 23 precincts reporting as of 10:15 p.m., Bock had 31%, Sacay had 30% and Just 29%. Bruce had 9% and write-in gathered 1%.

North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale school district

In the North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale district, Sam Rosemark held a lead over Justin Middaugh for an open at-large seat on the school board.

With 21 of 29  precincts reporting as of 10:15 p.m., Rosemark had 62% to Middaugh’s 38%.

Roseville school district

Voters in the Roseville district were set to elect three at-large members to the school board.

With 8 of 19 precincts reporting at 10:15 p.m. Geida Cleveland had 30%, Mannix Clark had 29%, Karl Crump had 8% and Michelle Morse-Wendt had 31%. Write-in candidates had 1%.

Levy referendums

The Mounds View, Roseville and North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale district had funding ballot questions.

Mounds View voters approved their referendum with 64% support. Roseville voters approved their referendum with 68% support. And, North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale voters did not approve their referendum, with 56% voting no.

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