Government shutdown updates: Judge lays out path for SNAP benefits

House Speaker Mike Johnson maintained that the Trump administration does not have the capacity to fund SNAP benefits on Nov. 1 unless Democrats vote to reopen and fund the government.

"The Democrat leaders in the Senate and the House have put their own political survival in front of the needs of the American people," the speaker told reporters, contending Democrats are "bowing to the demands of their far-left base."

During the record-setting 35-day shutdown that stretched from December 2018 to January 2019, the Trump administration distributed SNAP benefits early, ensuring funding would go out if the shutdown stretched on.

Johnson insisted that "the money doesn't exist."

"Some of the Democrats have argued that you can use this contingency fund, but the truth is, there's no legal mechanism to do it," he claimed.

It is not yet clear yet whether the House will meet as scheduled next week for legislative business, but Republicans have kept lawmakers in their districts since passing the 7-week bill on Sept. 19 – waiting on the Senate to act.

-ABC News' John Parkinson

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the chamber's top Democrat, took to the floor on Thursday to say that this weekend, Americans will come face-to-face with increased health care costs.

Many Americans are expected to see rising costs for their health care coverage when the annual window to sign up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act opens Nov. 1– the chief issue for Democrats amid shutdown negotiations.

“Republicans are pretending that the ACA premium crisis does not exist, but they should go ask families who are getting their insurance premium increases today, tomorrow, Saturday," Schumer added.

Schumer accused President Donald Trump of having "bowed down to President Xi" during the shutdown, as Trump was in Asia this week in a three-country tour that culminated in the high-stakes meeting with China's president.

"In the middle of the second-longest government shutdown in American history, Donald Trump left the country and traveled all the way to Asia to meet President Xi and what did he do? He bowed down to President Xi," Schumer said.

On Day 30, Senate Majority Leader John Thune placed the blame squarely on Democrats for the ongoing government shutdown and questioned "when are the American people going to matter more than their leverage?"

Thune called out Democrats who he says are blaming President Donald Trump "for not stepping in to somehow save the SNAP program."

"President Trump did step in to save Democrats from themselves on WIC. He somehow managed to find money to cover the program for the time being but there is a limit to what he can do," he said.

Thune said the bill to allow funding for SNAP and WIC introduced by New Mexico Sen. Ben Ray Luján Wednesday on the floor was a "political ploy to insulate themselves from the consequences of their own actions."

"It was also a disturbing signal the Democrats are ready to continue this shutdown, I guess forever," he said.

-ABC News' Lauren Peller

Vice President JD Vance will lead a roundtable at the White House on Thursday afternoon focused on how the shutdown is impacting aviation, according to a White House official.

Vance will be joined by the Transportation Secretary Duffy, Airlines for America CEO and former New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, and other aviation industry leaders. Air traffic controllers missed their first full paycheck this week as the shutdown drags on.

Nick Daniels, president of the air traffic controllers union, warned that “layers of safety are being stripped away” because of the financial stress they’re under and “hundreds of air traffic controllers” are working second jobs.

-ABC News' Rachel Scott