The U.S. Senate rejected the House-passed continuing resolution (CR) on September 30th, 2025, cementing a government shutdown hours before the midnight deadline. House and Senate GOP leaders are scheduled to hold a news conference at 10 a.m. tomorrow, according to sources. The Senate's vote, occurring just before the 11:35 PM UTC reporting window, signals a failure to reach an agreement to fund the government. This development follows a period of intense legislative activity as Congress raced against time to avert a lapse in federal funding. The rejection of the CR, which President Trump supported and the House had passed to fund the government through November 21st, indicates a significant hurdle in ongoing negotiations. Reports from Meredith Lee confirmed the Senate's rejection of the bill, with live broadcasts showing senators speaking as Congress neared the shutdown point. The White House commented on the situation, stating, "Looks like shutting down the government over free health care for illegal aliens has consequences." In other developments, Pope Leo XIV weighed in on Cardinal Cupich's decision to honor Senator Dick Durbin, stating that it is important to consider a senator's overall work and that judging individuals solely on single issues like abortion or the death penalty does not fully represent a pro-life stance. He emphasized the complexity of ethical issues and called for greater mutual respect and joint searching for ways forward. Separately, Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan indicated caution about cutting interest rates in her outlook speech, a sentiment relevant to ongoing economic policy discussions. Previously, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto had voted with Republicans on a clean continuing resolution to prevent a shutdown. NASA had also been preparing for a potential lapse in federal funding, with Acting NASA CFO Stephen Shinn notifying employees of the possibility. President Trump had expressed opposition to a shutdown and strongly supported the House-passed CR. Meanwhile, the Trump administration had reportedly been close to a deal with Harvard University to restore frozen federal funding, a deal that was not explicitly resolved within this reporting window. Secretary Pete Hegseth's department also saw new restrictions on how DOD personnel file complaints with the Pentagon’s inspector general. Further context from previous reports indicated that a government shutdown could lead to furloughs for up to 750,000 federal employees daily, costing approximately $400 million per day, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce had warned that a previous shutdown cost the economy $3 billion. The Teamsters union had urged Senators to pass a clean, short-term funding bill to mitigate the impact on working people.
