{"author_name":"The Excerpt","author_url":"https://art19.com/shows/5-things/episodes/393c5f41-9475-48c6-af56-f69e8462e4ef","description":"<p>We’re nearly at the <a href=\"https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/10/08/government-shutdown-day-8-trump-back-pay-live-updates/86551172007/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">end of day eight of the government shutdown</a>, the first time this has happened since 2018 when President Donald Trump was last in office. Hundreds of thousands of employees who have been deemed non-essential have been furloughed and there’s little movement in Washington toward an agreement that would get the wheels churning again. Some would argue that the gridlock in Washington was already a form of government shutdown with Congress deadlocked and not negotiating on many issues of substance as to how we run this country. Where are with the shutdown and what are the key takeaways so far? USA TODAY White House Reporter Bart Jansen joins The Excerpt to unpack the issues.</p><p>Have feedback on the show? Please send us an email at&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:podcasts@USATODAY.com\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">podcasts@usatoday.com</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>Episode transcript&nbsp;<a href=\"https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/10/09/politics-of-the-government-shutdown-the-excerpt/86605127007/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">available here</a>.</p>","html":"<iframe src=\"https://art19.com/shows/5-things/episodes/393c5f41-9475-48c6-af56-f69e8462e4ef/embed\" style=\"width: 720px; height: 200px; border: 0 none;\" width=\"720\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"></iframe>","provider_name":"ART19","provider_url":"https://art19.com","title":"SPECIAL | The politics of shutdown","type":"rich","version":"1.0","width":720,"height":200}