Congress again failed to end the government shutdown, holding another four votes in the Senate that were unable to move the needle.
The Senate has recessed for the weekend, so no votes will be held before the weekend.
The current standoff centers around seven votes. The GOP currently controls 53 seats in the Senate, and government funding measures require 60 votes for passage. However, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul has consistently voted against CRs, meaning Republicans will need eight Democrats to vote yes.
The Senate held three procedural votes to move forward with a “clean CR,” which would extend funding through November 18 and allow time for negotiations on other funding bills. As each of those votes failed, the Senate then held a procedural vote to move forward with a bill to fund the Pentagon, which also failed. These votes would dispense with typical Senate debate rules and allow for final passage votes on a funding measure.
The House recently passed an extension to November 21, and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has said the chamber will stand in recess until the Senate agrees to a clean Continuing Resolution that mirrors the House-passed CR extending government funding through November 18.
USDA last week posted its FY26 “Lapse in Funding Plan” detailing agency operations during a government shutdown. In it, FSIS confirmed meat and poultry inspection will continue uninterrupted. In addition, AMS grading services should continue as scheduled as they, too, are considered essential employees.
According to the plan: “FSIS will continue to perform mission essential food safety operations required to protect life and property, including statutorily required inspection of meat, poultry, and egg products, investigations necessary to protect public health (outbreaks, recalls, etc.) , laboratory work essential to identifying public health concerns and threats, emergency preparedness, and minimum levels of other support functions necessary to maintain these activities. Additionally, mandatory administrative work related to the shutdown will also continue. These activities are necessarily implied (Category III) and are necessary to protect life and property (Category V).”
