Trump Opens Door To Talks As US Shutdown Reaches Sixth Day

The United States government shutdown has entered its sixth day, with President Donald Trump signalling his willingness to hold discussions with Democrats.

Posting on Truth Social, Trump stated, “I am happy to work with the Democrats on their Failed Healthcare Policies, or anything else, but first they must allow our Government to re-open.”

Earlier, during a media interaction, Trump confirmed that conversations on healthcare were already taking place with Democratic leaders.

“We are speaking with the Democrats, and some very good things could happen with respect to healthcare,” he remarked.

Republicans have accused Democrats of pushing for healthcare benefits for undocumented immigrants. Democrats firmly deny the claim. They call it a fabrication spread by Trump’s team.

Democrats insist their aim is to roll back healthcare cuts affecting American citizens under the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ passed earlier this year.

A fresh vote in the Senate failed again on Monday, with both parties continuing to trade blame over the prolonged impasse.

Although Republicans control both chambers of Congress, they lack the eight votes needed in the Senate to reach the 60-vote threshold required to pass the funding bill.

The White House has kept up pressure by threatening job cuts for federal workers, despite softening Trump’s earlier remark that the process of dismissing employees had already begun.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt explained, “Office of Management and Budget is continuing to work with agencies on who, unfortunately, is going to have to be laid off if this shutdown continues.”

Last week, Trump described the situation on Truth Social as an ‘unprecedented opportunity’.

So far, roughly 7,50,000 federal employees have been placed on furlough, with many others continuing to work without pay.

Since the shutdown began, the administration has frozen $26 billion allocated to 16 Democratic-leaning states. This includes $18 billion meant for public transport projects in New York.

Essential operations such as border security, law enforcement and air traffic control remain functional. However, other services are at risk of disruption. These include food aid programmes, federally funded preschools, food inspections and national parks.

Military personnel and civilian staff are also going unpaid, and around 13,000 air traffic controllers are currently working without salaries.

The Department of Transportation has halted hiring and training programmes for new controllers.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy issued a warning on Monday. He said a federal scheme supporting air travel to rural areas could run out of funds by the end of the week. This would happen if the shutdown continues.

“There are many small communities across the country that will no longer have the resources to make sure they have air service in their communities,” he cautioned.

If the deadlock persists, air travel could be affected more widely as unpaid staff may stop reporting for duty.

The National Park Service has furloughed around two-thirds of its workforce, impacting tourist sites such as:

• Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico,
• Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona, and
• White Sands National Park

In Washington, DC, major cultural and historical attractions have closed. These include the Library of Congress, National Archives Museum, Washington Monument and National Arboretum.

Tours of the Capitol and the Pentagon have also remained suspended.

The Smithsonian museums and National Zoo will remain open to visitors until 11 October.

This marks the first US government shutdown in seven years. The previous one occurred during Trump’s first presidency and lasted 35 days, making it the longest in American history.

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