A federal government shutdown continued on Thursday ahead of the Halloween weekend.
But while the White House hosted kids for an annual costumed trick-or-treating event, Congress was dealing with the very grim realities of the divide separating the two parties over how to reopen the government.
Republicans and Democrats left Washington on Thursday with almost nothing to show in the way of progress.
Talks were continuing, according to senators, but nothing resembling a firm deal appeared to be on the table just yet. Meanwhile, millions of Americans are due to see their federally-funded food assistance benefits, known as SNAP, freeze up with the chilly fall temperatures.
Even as the Senate seems deadlocked, there's still considerable pressure on the House, too. Speaker Mike Johnson is continuously being pressed on why the chamber has remained in recess for more than a month.
"I think the fact that the House has disappeared for the last five weeks is going to be something that the American people are very unlikely to forget," Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., told Inside Washington on Thursday.
"I mean that the complete abandonment of their responsibility has been shocking. At least the people in the Senate have been coming here every week to see if we can get to a resolution."
That resistance to bringing the House back into session is being targeted by Democrats for another reason: Johnson's refusal to swear in an Arizona Democrat, whose seating would trigger a vote on a resolution to release the Epstein investigation files by pushing support for the bill over a key threshold.
But while politics may be the main considerations at play for some in Washington, there are still real consequences for many Americans which will only expand as this shutdown continues.
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