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Federal workers affected by the government shutdown receive food aid at the Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

It’s Tuesday, the traditional day for elections and for our pause-and-consider newsletter on politics and policy. We think of it as a mini-magazine in your inbox.

POSTCARDS FROM A BROKEN GOVERNMENT
By Lisa Desjardins, @LisaDNews ([link removed])
Correspondent

Even by government shutdown standards, this is unusual.

Senate Democrats are voting against broad funding bills, contrary to their typical position.

The Republican-led House has not been in Washington for more than five weeks. And the president of the United States has left the country not once ([link removed]) , but twice ([link removed]) during the shutdown.

We are days away from this being the longest government shutdown in American history, yet the air in Washington is cold and quiet.

What is changing — and where I am spending far more time lately — is the effects of this shutdown.

As the shutdown drags on, what’s happening with federal workers?
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Scenes at a Washington, D.C., area food bank on Friday. Photos by Lisa Desjardins/PBS News
I spent Friday at a food bank in the Washington, D.C. area, where it took me 10 minutes to walk the long line of cars waiting to pick up boxes ([link removed]) of food aid for federal workers. It stretched about three-quarters of a mile. The people I met were furloughed Pentagon staff, U.S. Census workers, contractors, among many others. That added to hours of daily calls I’ve been having with affected workers. Here is some of what they told me:
* One furloughed worker in the Midwest texted me yesterday: “27 days into the shutdown and I am now applying for retail jobs and ride share app services to try to make ends meet. I know several people who have applied for unemployment as well.”
* Several told me that while they don’t want the shutdown to last long, it has been a respite from what they see as daily attacks and constant anxiety due to the Trump administration’s focus on disrupting the civil service workforce.
* One told me she had been getting multiple migraines a week, but when furloughed during the first week of the shutdown, she noticed she had gotten none. Workers told me there was a sense of trauma. “I much prefer the shutdown, than going through that stress,” she confided.
* Another, a researcher, told me that being a federal worker in 2025, is “like being in a Skinner box. You don’t know when you’re going to be zapped.”
* Many federal workers, including some concerned for their immediate financial future, told me they actually support Democrats’ refusal ([link removed]) to pass a straight-forward funding bill. Not all were Democrats. Many described themselves being apolitical.
* One, whose parents left Soviet-governed Eastern Europe, said she fears there are parallels with what her family fled. “There is systematic dismantling not of programs or divisions but entire missions,” she said. “I feel like if we don’t do this now, they will dismantle the government.”


On top of this, some of the nation’s largest safety-net programs are about to run out of money — the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and some Head Start programs are all being caught in the shutdown. ([link removed])

Where does all this put things?

Let’s talk about the dynamics for each party, briefly.

Democrats believe that federal workers largely support what they are doing. In addition, millions of Americans are getting notice that their health care premiums on the Affordable Care Act marketplaces will increase, in part due to the loss of federal subsidies — the main issue Democrats want to negotiate here. They argue that House Republicans are undermining their “we want to govern” message by refusing to return to Washington. Democrats think Republicans will feel pressure from those who see much larger issues at stake in this shutdown, including health care and the future of the civil service itself.

Republicans see themselves as on the correct moral ground here, and they want to win that debate. They point out that it is Senate Democrats who are blocking the cleanest and quickest way ([link removed]) to fund the government and end the shutdown. Republicans believe as more Americans lose key benefits or face food shortages and more federal workers struggle to make ends meet, Democrats will feel pressure.

Where does that put us? For now, both sides believe they are on strong ground. Both believe this shutdown may help them.

That is why we are still here. And why we want to cover this shutdown, and what it means, as well as we can.

Are you a federal worker directly affected by the shutdown? You can contact me securely at LisaD.13 on Signal.
More on politics from our coverage:
* Watch: As federal workers miss paychecks during shutdown, many turn to food banks for relief. ([link removed])
* One Big Question: SNAP benefits are set to expire on Nov. 1. Could pressure to intervene change the dynamics of the shutdown battle? NPR’s Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter discuss. ([link removed])
* A Closer Look: A Vermont town debates rebuilding on higher ground ([link removed]) after devastating floods.
* Perspectives: Abby Phillip explores the political legacy ([link removed]) of Jesse Jackson in “A Dream Deferred.”


‘I DON’T SEE THE PATH’ FOR THIRD TRUMP TERM, JOHNSON SAYS
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Watch the clip in the player above.
By Dan Cooney
Social Media Producer/Coordinator

President Donald Trump has again hinted at the possibility of a third term. He refuses to rule it out. ([link removed])

Noting the constitutional restrictions in place on presidential term limits, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., batted down the prospect Tuesday of Trump seeking a third term in the White House.

"It's been a great run, but I think the president knows — and he and I have talked about — the constrictions of the Constitution, as much as so many of the American people lament that," Johnson told reporters at the U.S. Capitol.

Although the 22nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution bars someone from being elected president more than twice, Trump and his former White House adviser Steve Bannon have, in recent weeks, floated that he could run again in 2028. ([link removed])

The Trump administration has “three extraordinary years ahead,” Johnson said. He estimated that it would take about 10 years to amend the Constitution, which requires approval of a proposed amendment by a two-thirds vote of both chambers of Congress and ratification by three-fourths of the states. States can also petition Congress to call a constitutional convention to consider a possible amendment, but that process has never successfully taken place in U.S. history. ([link removed])

“I don't see the path for that,” Johnson said of amending the Constitution to allow Trump to seek a third term.

In his answer, Johnson also noted the "Trump 2028" ballcap that the president and some of his allies have donned.

Trump “has a good time with that, trolling the Democrats whose hair is on fire about the very prospect,” he said.
THIS WEEK’S TRIVIA QUESTION

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Photo by Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

By Joshua Barajas
Senior Editor, Digital

The test for U.S. citizenship is getting longer and more difficult. ([link removed])

Immigrants seeking naturalization as U.S. citizens will now need to answer twice as many questions correctly to pass the oral civics exam, thanks to updates implemented this month. Take a look at the provided study guide ([link removed]) to see the full list of 128 questions an agent could choose. An applicant will need to correctly answer at least 12 out of 20 questions to pass the civics test; that threshold used to be six out of 10.

There’s also new guidance for immigration officers on how to assess an applicant’s "positive contributions to American society." The Trump administration said these changes are part of an effort to bolster the vetting process to make sure that immigrants seeking to become citizens are “fully assimilated.” ([link removed])

One of the questions is: “The President of the United States can serve only two terms. Why?” One reason, according to the study guide, is the 22nd Amendment (as discussed above.)

Our question: According to the administration’s guidance, what would be the second reason a U.S. president has a two-term limit?

Send your answers to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) or tweet using #PoliticsTrivia. The first correct answers will earn a shout-out next week.

Last week, we asked: Which state is under a court order to redraw its map after a judge ruled it violated the state’s anti-gerrymandering rules?

The answer: There are two possibilities here – Utah and Louisiana. The redistricting arms race is spreading. ([link removed]) And while the Louisiana redistricting case is currently currently being reviewed ([link removed]) by the Supreme Court, there’s also a case to watch in Utah that may soon get more attention. ([link removed])

Congratulations to our winners: Berry Adcock and Brenda Radford!

Thank you all for reading and watching. We’ll drop into your inbox next week.
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