On October 23, 2025, the U.S. Senate held a vote on S.3012, known as the Shutdown Fairness Act. The bill was designed to guarantee pay for essential federal employees—including law enforcement officers, air traffic controllers, and military personnel—who are required to work during a government shutdown.
Senators Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) and James Lankford (R-OK) supported advancing the bill. Although it received backing from most senators, S.3012 did not reach the required 60-vote threshold for passage.
In a statement following the vote, Senator Mullin said: “This Schumer Shutdown is not a game,” Senator Mullin insisted. “Nobody wins in a government shutdown, and in fact, many are losing. Tens of thousands of young parents are worried about caring their children if food stamps (SNAP) run out, active-duty military families are turning to food banks, and essential federal employees are having to choose between putting gas in their car, paying the electric bill, or buying groceries. Democrats had a chance today to at least pay essential workers during a shutdown—they refused. It’s a horrible situation, but it could end today if five Senate Democrats join me, 51 Republicans, and three of their own Democratic colleagues in a bipartisan vote to turn the lights back on.”
Mullin continued: “As I’ve said, I’m open to a policy discussion on lowering health care costs and fixing unaffordable Obamacare—just like President Trump—but I will not give in while Oklahomans are being held hostage,” Mullin continued. “I’m asking Democrats to support their own clean funding bill to end the pain on American families.”
He added: “As this painful shutdown hits Day 23, Oklahomans should know that my offices are open and fully operational through the Schumer Shutdown. We are here to help. While many federal agencies release guidance for shutdowns, my team is available to answer any questions.”
The current government shutdown began on October 1 after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats declined to back a seven-week funding extension intended to keep government operations running until November 21.
Since then, there have been twelve votes in the Senate aimed at reopening the government; Senator Mullin has voted in favor of reopening each time.
A continuing resolution (CR), which contains language previously authored by Chuck Schumer with no additional Republican policy measures attached—and which was supported by three Senate Democrats since the beginning of this shutdown—has repeatedly failed due to insufficient votes for passage. The same CR language has been supported multiple times by Senate Democrats under previous administrations.
Senator Mullin addressed questions about potentially changing Senate rules (“going nuclear”) via social media platform X.
He also continues providing updates about developments related to the ongoing shutdown through his office’s social media channels and video messages.
