The federal government entered its first shutdown in seven years on Wednesday after negotiations between President Donald Trump and Democratic leaders broke down.
The lapse in appropriations has left millions of federal employees uncertain about their futures, with only essential services continuing to operate.
President Trump addressed the shutdown with a mix of seriousness and humor.
On Tuesday, he posted a photo on social media of Democratic leaders at the White House for talks.
The image showed House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) looking to his left while Trump pointed at him with a smile. On the Resolute Desk in front of them sat two red hats with “TRUMP 2028” in white lettering.
The hats appeared during a meeting that included Vice President J.D. Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).
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JD Vance confirms President Trump left Schumer and Jeffries visibly uncomfortable with his TRUMP 2028 hats in their meeting.
“The Trump 2028 hats, which I think made them very uncomfortable.” 🤣
pic.twitter.com/AjXbQpNUI1— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 1, 2025
According to accounts of the meeting, the room “erupted in laughter” after Vance responded “no comment” when asked about the meaning of the hats.
Jeffries later disputed the circumstances of the hats’ presence.
Speaking on CNN, he said, “He did not try to hand us the Trump 2028 hat. They just randomly appeared in the middle of the meeting on the desk. It was the strangest thing ever.”
.@RepJeffries is so devoid of humor, the joke is on him. 😂
“He did not try to hand Leader Schumer and I the Trump 2028 hat. They just randomly appeared in the middle of the meeting on the desk. It was the strangest thing ever”
— Spitfire (@DogRightGirl) October 1, 2025
The meeting took place just hours before funding expired. Democrats, including Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), resisted Republican efforts to tie federal funding to long-term cuts, while Republicans refused to back down.
Each Democratic leader was offered a Diet Coke, placed next to the “Trump 2028” hat on the desk, though Jeffries denied accepting any of the items.
The shutdown is expected to have immediate and lasting effects. Tens of thousands of government employees are likely to lose their positions permanently, following Trump’s promise to reduce the federal workforce significantly.
“A lot,” he previously said when asked about the scale of cuts.
The impact extends to the military.
Approximately 1.3 million service members will continue working but without pay during the funding lapse.
Only a limited portion of the more than three million civilian federal employees will continue receiving paychecks as emergency workers.
From the Oval Office, Trump signaled confidence that the shutdown would benefit his administration politically.
“We can do things during the shutdown that are irreversible – that are bad for them and irreversible by them – by cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like,” Trump said, according to the Daily Mail.
President Trump on Democrats: “We can do things during the shutdown that are irreversible that are bad for them and irreversible by them, like cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things they that they like, cutting programs that they like.” pic.twitter.com/nI7lktc6vy
— CSPAN (@cspan) September 30, 2025
“A lot of good can come from shutdowns,” he added later in the day.
President Trump on “A lot of good can come down from shutdowns. We can get rid of a lot of things that we didn’t want.” pic.twitter.com/8VoDQ2cdq8
— CSPAN (@cspan) September 30, 2025
The immediate trigger for the shutdown came after Senate Democrats blocked a short-term funding measure advanced by Republicans.
The bill would have provided temporary funding to federal agencies, preventing the shutdown while longer-term negotiations continued.
Democrats voted against the measure in one of their final actions before the deadline passed.
With both chambers at an impasse, federal operations have now ground to a halt.
Republicans have indicated they will not revisit proposals that expand funding for programs they view as unnecessary, while Democrats continue to push for broader protections for federal employees and programs.
The coming days will determine the scale and duration of the shutdown.
For now, much of the federal workforce and the public at large are left waiting as negotiations remain stalled.
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