US government shutdown could last ‘a couple of weeks,’ says Sen. John Curtis
Oct 1, 2025, 8:32 PM
Utah Sen. John Curtis holds a short press conference after taking a tour of Fluence Energy, Inc. in Erda, Utah on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Scott G Winterton/Deseret News)
(Scott G Winterton/Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — Less than 24 hours after money to keep the federal government running ran out, one U.S. senator predicts the situation could remain at a stalemate for “a couple of weeks.”
Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, said the shutdown “feels like a longer one, because of the positions that everybody has staked out.”
“I think we’re clearly more than a couple days, hopefully less than a couple of weeks … Potentially it could go that long,” he told KSL NewsRadio.
What are the positions?
The Democratic position, as stated by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, is to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies enacted by the Biden Administration during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“During COVID, they moved the line up to 400% of poverty that these subsidies impact people,” Curtis said. “(The subsidies) took away any payment at all for the premium.”
Curtis said Republicans are pushing back on this point because “this isn’t about the original Affordable Care Act.”
“Those subsidies … add up to $350 billion. We are skyrocketing in debt, and we’re just saying, ‘Well, you can’t add another $350 billion to a program that you yourself said was temporary.'”
“Revisiting” the Affordable Care Act
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, more than 45 million people receive healthcare via the Affordable Care Act. Curtis said, despite what he called its flaws, President Trump has said he wants to “revisit” the health plan.
“If it’s progress in healthcare, yes, the president himself told Mr. Schumer, ‘Let’s revisit the Affordable Care Act. It’s got a lot of flaws, let’s revisit it,'” Curtis said. But not revisiting the ACA, Curtis said, means not protecting the American tax dollar.
“I think my Republican colleagues are very ready to talk about a reform to those increased subsidies,” Curtis said. “By the way … I think it’s really important to point out something that happens when the government subsidizes things. A number of the major car companies announced today that they were going to reduce the price of their EVs by a remarkable $7,500, the exact amount that was the government subsidy. And we know when we subsidize things, the prices often go up in exact proportion to the subsidy. We see that with education, and this is one of the problems with our healthcare,” Curtis said.
“The more (the) government gets involved, the more the prices go up. And so I do think it’s worth the conversation about making sure that those most in need, those most vulnerable, are getting the protections they need. But let’s do it the right way,” he said.
Related: Utah announces 5 national parks to remain open during government shutdown
