In today’s issue:
▪ Shutdown enters fourth week
▪ Merkley holds Senate floor
▪ Vance meets Netanyahu over ceasefire
▪ White House ballroom backlash
Lawmakers in both parties are grappling with growing pressure amid a stalemate that has brought Washington to a near standstill.
The government shutdown entered its fourth week on Wednesday, becoming the second longest in U.S. history after surpassing another from the mid-1990s.
Congress is still a long way from coming up with a solution to end the shutdown, with no major breakthroughs 22 days in. But pressure is growing on both parties to find a possible exit ramp.
Talk among Senate Republicans about changing the filibuster to push a government funding bill over the finish line is picking up, while the GOP is seeking to turn up the heat on Democrats in a bid to force their hand.
The Hill’s Al Weaver reports that Republican leadership has planned specific votes this week to pay military members and essential federal workers, which they hope will drive more of a wedge among Democrats tempted to vote in favor. Efforts so far haven’t been successful, as the Democratic caucus has stayed mostly unified in rejecting the House-passed continuing resolution (CR), except for the three who have voted for the bill from the beginning.
While Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has said he’s committed to maintaining the 60-vote threshold to advance legislation, chatter has increased about the party going “nuclear” to overrule the Democrats and reopen the government, The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports.
Bolton reports that GOP senators said changing the filibuster rule did not come up at Trump’s meeting with Republicans at the White House on Tuesday, but they predicted the president would start pressuring Thune to change the rules if the funding stalemate extends to November.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a key moderate, said members of the GOP conference are discussing filibuster reform. While she said she supports keeping it at 60 votes, she’s open to considering any plan to reopen the government.
Senate rules require 60 votes to advance most legislation, giving Democrats power to block the House-passed CR despite their minority status. But Senate Republican leadership could propose a rule change to reduce the threshold to a simple majority, ensuring that Democratic votes aren’t needed to reopen the government.
That idea even received an endorsement from across the aisle on Tuesday as Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) told reporters that he would support Republicans using the nuclear option to overcome the filibuster, citing that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is running out of money.
“There are no winners here. It’s not getting better every day here. People are going to start to get really hungry, and I’ve been fully, fully committed to fund SNAP, open up the government,” he said, adding that U.S. Capitol Police officers also aren’t getting paid.
Still, touching the filibuster would likely be a drastic move and establish a new precedent for any future battles over passing government funding. Thune told reporters earlier this week getting rid of the filibuster to reopen government would be a “bad idea.”
▪ The Hill: “Flight delays, cancellations increase shutdown pressure on lawmakers.”
▪ Fox News: Trump says ‘we will not be extorted’ by Democrats.
Meanwhile, House Republicans are considering a new stopgap measure that could run into January or beyond. As each day passes, Nov. 21, the date through which the House-passed CR would continue funding the government, gets closer and closer.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) suggested that date, just one month away, might not be enough time for appropriators to work out the regular full-year appropriations.
“That’s becoming a very dicey prospect right now because we need every single day,” Johnson said at a press conference Tuesday.
The Hill’s Emily Brooks reports that multiple options are on the table, including a stopgap that would go until the end of January and a full-year CR continuing through Sept. 30, 2026, the end of the fiscal year.
That alternative would still call for maintaining government funding at its current levels, potentially keeping the impasse with Democrats in place.
▪ CNN: Democrats still winning the blame game.
▪ The New York Times: “Shutdown with no clear end poses new economic threat.”
MERKELEY HOLDS THE FLOOR: Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) is holding the Senate floor to push back against what he views as the Trump administration’s moves to undermine democracy.
Merkley began speaking at 6:21 p.m. on Tuesday and he’s still going more than 12 hours later. He only briefly paused for a question from Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.).
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker (D) engaged in a similar action this year when he railed against the administration in a record-breaking speech that lasted more than 25 hours.
CAR HITS WHITE HOUSE FENCE: A man reportedly drove a car into the White House security fence late Tuesday night.
A Secret Service spokesperson told NewsNation, The Hill’s sister channel, that the individual drove his car into the Secret Service vehicle gate at 17th and E Street at about 10:37 p.m. The man was immediately arrested and the vehicle was assessed and deemed safe.
A law enforcement official told the outlet that the man was taken to a hospital for mental health services.
Officials haven’t immediately provided information about the driver’s identity or possible motivation.
Smart Take with Blake Burman
The White House is grappling with a new issue that hits close to home for many Americans: the rising price of beef. The president floated purchasing beef from Argentina to help ease prices here in the U.S., and faced backlash from some ranchers and lawmakers alike.
I spoke with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Tuesday night, and she floated a big announcement as soon as today. The announcement focuses on “what we’re going to do to restore and revitalize our beef herd in America, which ultimately will bring the prices down,” Rollins told me.
While Trump is in the middle of handling major foreign policy issues, how to reduce farm bankruptcies, support ranchers and potentially address beef prices has gradually become an issue we will soon see the Trump administration address.
3 Things to Know Today
1. Paul Ingrassia withdrew his nomination to become head of the Office of Special Counsel amid scrutiny over past comments including reportedly referring to himself as having a “Nazi streak.” At least four Republican senators signaled their opposition to his nomination before Ingrassia withdrew.
2. House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has referred former CIA Director John Brennan to the Justice Department for a criminal investigation, accusing Brennan of lying to Congress. The referral focuses on the CIA’s role in investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
3. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) has filed a lawsuit over House Republican leaders’ refusal to swear in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) to her House seat despite winning a special election last month.
Leading the Day
VANCE ‘OPTIMISTIC’ ON ISRAEL: Vice President Vance is in Israel as the Trump administration seeks to keep the peace agreement between Israel and Hamas intact.
The vice president met Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The two met in private just with their advisers in the room. Vance is also meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog today.
The vice president on Tuesday projected optimism about the Israel-Hamas deal, saying “everybody should be proud” of where the situation stands just more than a week after the ceasefire began and the remaining living hostages were released.
“I feel very optimistic. Can I say with 100 percent certainty that it’s going to work? No. But you don’t do difficult things by only doing what’s 100 percent certain. You do difficult things by trying. And that’s what the president of the United States has asked us to do,” Vance said.
The administration has spent the past week trying to keep the ceasefire in place, particularly after both sides briefly returned to attack over the weekend. Israel said Hamas militants opened fire on its troops, killing two soldiers. Israel responded with airstrikes in southern Gaza, saying it targeted Hamas infrastructure.
Each side accused the other of violating the ceasefire but affirmed their commitment to keeping it intact.
Trump has on multiple occasions struck an aggressive tone in warning Hamas against any violations, saying the group will be eradicated if the ceasefire doesn’t hold. He has clarified that U.S. forces wouldn’t destroy Hamas themselves, but others would.
But the sight of Vance joining Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner in Israel illustrates the fragility of the peace agreement. The New York Times has reported that Trump administration officials are concerned that Netanyahu may pull out of the deal.
At least so far, the deal has held, and fighting hasn’t renewed in the past few days since Israel and Hamas exchanged fire.
Vance said Tuesday that “constant effort” and “constant monitoring and supervision” will be needed to maintain peace.
▪ Time: Where does the Israel-Hamas ceasefire stand?
▪ The Hill: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) says ‘no one’ in the U.S. deserves Nobel Peace Prize for Gaza deal.
TRUMP-PUTIN SUMMIT DELAYED: Trump doesn’t plan to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the “immediate future” despite a possible summit having been scheduled in Budapest, Hungary, in the coming weeks.
Trump told reporters last week that he hoped to meet with Putin, which would be his second meeting with the Russian leader since returning to office, within “two weeks or so.” That announcement came as Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House.
But a White House official said Tuesday after a call between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, which they called “productive,” that a meeting between the two wouldn’t be happening soon.
“Therefore, an additional-in-person meeting between the Secretary and Foreign Minister is not necessary, and there are no plans for President Trump to meet with President Putin in the immediate future,” the official said.
Trump’s August summit with Putin in Alaska didn’t advance the United States’ push to end the war, and critics have alleged that Putin is stringing Washington along.
The president has expressed skepticism about giving Ukraine the Tomahawk missiles that Zelensky has desired, which would allow the country to strike deeper inside Russia. Trump said Monday that Ukraine could still win the war but said “I don’t think they will.”
▪ The Times of Israel: Proposal to end Ukraine war to include peace board modeled after Gaza deal.
▪ CBS News: Trump calls for war to end with Russia keeping control of occupied territory.
TRUMP PROBE SETTLEMENT? The president confirmed Tuesday that his attorneys are seeking a legal settlement with his own Justice Department for the department’s investigations into him during the Biden administration.
The New York Times reported that Trump is demanding the department pay him about $230 million, after submitting claims through an administrative process that is often a precursor to lawsuits.
The first claim was filed in 2023, seeking damages for alleged violations of his rights, including the investigation into alleged ties between his 2016 campaign and Russia. The second claim, filed in summer 2024, accuses the FBI of violating his rights in searching Mar-a-Lago for the classified and sensitive documents that he kept there.
Trump didn’t disclose the dollar amount but confirmed the push for a settlement when asked about the report.
“I don’t know the numbers, I don’t even talk to them about it. All I know is that they would owe me a lot of money, but I’m not looking for money. I would give it to charity or something,” Trump said.
“And it’s awfully strange to make a decision where I am paying myself. Did you ever have one of those cases where you have to decide how much you are paying yourself in damages? But I was damaged greatly, and any money I would get I would give to charity,” he said.
The investigations from special counsel Jack Smith into Trump’s retention of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and efforts to stay in power following the 2020 election came to an end after Trump won last year’s election.
HALLIGAN TEXTS: Interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan has drawn attention after sending a series of texts to a reporter concerning the criminal indictment she filed against New York Attorney General Letitia James (D).
Halligan, Trump’s hand-picked prosecutor overseeing the Eastern District of Virginia, reportedly initiated the conversation with Lawfare journalist Anna Bower, texting back and forth with her over two days.
The journalist said that Halligan reached out after Bower posted on the social platform X about The New York Times reporting on the James case. James has been accused of mortgage fraud, renting a property that she was supposed to use as a primary residence.
James has denied wrongdoing and denounced the case as politically motivated. Her arraignment is scheduled for Friday.
Halligan told Bower that she is “reporting things that are simply not true.” Bower asked on multiple occasions what she was getting wrong, to which Halligan responded “Honestly, so much” but that she couldn’t say more as she couldn’t share “grand jury stuff.”
Halligan later told Bower that all the text messages she sent were off the record, but Bower responded that Halligan doesn’t “get to say that in retrospect.”
▪ ABC News: Halligan ousts two more top attorneys from prosecutor’s office.
NYC DEBATE REDUX: The second and final general election debate of the New York City mayoral race is tonight, the last opportunity for the candidates to directly address voters from the same stage.
Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani and independent candidate Andrew Cuomo both have stepped up their attacks on each other and increased their media appearances with just two weeks left until Election Day.
Mamdani garnered attention for an appearance on Fox News, considered hostile territory for him. He made news in formally apologizing to the New York City Police Department for past comments he made calling them “racist” and “corrupt.”
Cuomo, the former New York governor hoping to pull off an upset against Mamdani, took part in a string of media appearances over the past week, including on Fox, MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and John Catsimatidis‘s radio show “Cats Roundtable.”
Cuomo’s also increased his focus on calling for Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa to drop out of the race to avoid splitting the anti-Mamdani vote. He told Catsimatidis that Sliwa is a “spoiler.”
Despite calls on him to drop out to avoid potentially throwing the race to Mamdani, who has led in polls but generally with less than 50 percent support, Sliwa has been adamant that he won’t end his candidacy.
All of these tensions, and others, will likely be on display when the three candidates take the stage at 7 p.m.
▪ CBS News: NYC mayoral race is much tighter if Sliwa drops out, poll shows.
JAN. 6 RIOTER ARRESTED AGAIN: A man who was convicted of crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection and was pardoned by Trump has been charged with threatening to kill House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).
New York State Police said they received a tip that 34-year-old Christopher Moynihan sent text messages saying he was planning to kill Jeffries at an event in New York City on Monday. Moynihan was arrested and charged over the weekend with making a terrorist threat against Jeffries.
Jeffries thanked law enforcement and said Moynihan and other Jan. 6 rioters never should have been pardoned.
“Unfortunately, our brave men and women in law enforcement are being forced to spend their time keeping our communities safe from these violent individuals who should never have been pardoned,” Jeffries said.
Prosecutors say Moynihan was among the first groups of rioters to enter the Capitol and ultimately breached the Senate chamber.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) condemned the alleged death threat against Jeffries but stopped short of criticizing Trump’s pardon of Jan. 6 rioters.
“I will say that anybody — anybody — who threatens political violence against elected officials or anyone else should have the full weight and measure of the Department of Justice on their head,” he said.
When & Where
The president will participate in a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at 4 p.m.
The Senate is in today, the House is out.
Zoom In
THE OBAMA CARD: Democrats are bringing out their heavy hitter for two of their main candidates in next month’s elections.
Former President Obama will campaign for both former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) and Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) in their respective gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey. The rallies will both take place on Nov. 1, just three days before voters head to the polls on Election Day.
The most recent two-term Democratic president and one of the most popular figures in the party, Obama has regularly been used as a closer ahead of key elections since he left office eight years ago.
The announcement of Obama’s appearances comes after he formally endorsed Spanberger, who’s running against Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R), and Sherrill, who’s running against Republican Jack Ciattarelli, last week. He also cut two ads for Spanberger along with his endorsement.
Sherrill’s campaign released a 30-second ad featuring Obama praising Sherrill as someone who will bring down costs and keep communities safe.
Obama is also set to appear as the races show signs of tightening. Spanberger still leads in the Decision Desk HQ average by about 5.5 points and Sherrill leads by 4 points, but Democrats will want to not leave anything on the table in these races.
▪ The Hill: “Poll shows tightening statewide races in Virginia.”
▪ NPR: Blue New Jersey expecting close race this November.
PLATNER’S TROUBLES CONTINUE: Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner is wrestling with his latest controversy after he was accused of having a “hidden Nazi tattoo” on his chest.
“I am not a secret Nazi,” Platner told “Pod Save America” co-host Tommy Vietor. “I think you can pretty much figure out where I stand on Nazism and antisemitism and racism.”
Platner, a 41-year-old oyster farmer who’s rallied progressive support behind his campaign to try to oust Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), has faced a series of controversies in recent days over past social media comments. They include comments calling police officers “bastards” and rural white Americans racist and stupid.
Platner has apologized for those comments from now-deleted Reddit posts.
But he’s now facing accusations of having a “Nazi tattoo” for the symbol shown on his chest in a video of him dancing shirtless. A spokesperson for the Anti-Defamation League told Jewish Insider the tattoo resembles a Totenkopf, German for “death’s head” and a symbol adopted by Adolf Hitler’s troops in Nazi Germany.
Platner said the video is a family video from his brother’s 2007 wedding in Croatia.
“Now of course, that embarrassment, which was mostly just held internally in the family as we always watched that video at family events and laughed, is now shared with the world,” Platner said. “I feel like I’m just going to give them a wedding gift for the rest of my life.”
Platner said he received the tattoo in honor of his time as a machine gun section leader in the Marines during his third deployment to Iraq. He said that he and other section leaders chose a “terrifying-looking skull and crossbones off the wall.”
He said the tattoo has never been an issue until “we got wind, in the opposition research, somebody was shopping the idea that I was a secret Nazi with a hidden Nazi tattoo.”
“If I was trying to hide it, I’ve not been doing a very good job for the past 18 years,” Platner said.
Platner, who is endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), is facing Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) in the primary, among other candidates. Mills received an endorsement from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday, setting up a proxy battle within the party.
PAUL LEFT OUT: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was left out of a lunch that Trump held with other Republican senators, as the president noted his absence during the event.
“I actually wasn’t invited to the White House lunch today, but that’s ok,” Paul posted on X.
Paul posted that he instead had a scheduled “Liberty Caucus” lunch with Rep. Thomas Massie (Ky.), another Republican who has been at odds with Trump.
Trump hosted the Republican senators in the newly renovated Rose Garden Club on Tuesday to express his appreciation for advancing hundreds of his nominees. At one point, he noted that only one Republican senator wasn’t present, without naming Paul.
“We’re just missing one person. You’ll never guess who that it is,” Trump said. “He automatically votes no on everything. He thinks it’s good politics. It’s not good politics.”
Paul has been the only Republican to vote against the House-passed stopgap funding bill throughout the shutdown, and he also voted against Trump’s reconciliation bill earlier this year, expressing concern about the legislation increasing the deficit.
Massie also voted against that legislation, and Trump has endorsed a primary challenger to the conservative representative.
▪ The Hill: “Trump-endorsed candidate launches primary challenge against Massie.”
Elsewhere
WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM: The White House brushed off the backlash over Trump’s demolition of part of the East Wing to make way for a new ballroom as “manufactured outrage.”
The administration accused the press of “clutching their pearls” over Trump’s planned ballroom, saying in a press release that it’s a “bold, necessary addition that echoes the storied history of improvements and renovations.”
The release listed a series of renovations and expansions that past administrations have conducted throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, dating back to former President Theodore Roosevelt’s construction of the West Wing.
The project advanced on Tuesday with the destruction of much of the East Wing, The Washington Post reported, citing a photograph and two sources. A White House spokesperson told the outlet that the “entirety” of the East Wing would be “modernized and rebuilt” eventually.
The Hill’s Brett Samuels reports that the construction project, which began Monday, has struck a nerve with critics who view it as an overhaul of a historic building for a personal project.
Trump has made various changes to the White House grounds during his second term, paving over the White House grass and installing large flag poles on the White House lawn. But the construction of the ballroom, expected to be 90,000 square feet and cost $200 million, is the most significant yet.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton slammed the project, accusing him of “destroying” the People’s House.
“It’s not his house. It’s your house,” she said on X.
▪ The Wall Street Journal: “Treasury tells employees not to share photos of White House ballroom construction.”
▪ The New York Times: Architects raise concerns with ballroom construction.
Opinion
We can learn about ‘trad wives’ from Diane Keaton’s finest role, writes The Hill opinion contributor Gregory J. Wallance.
Disarmament is needed for peace. It rarely goes well, writes The Washington Post opinion columnist Keith B. Richburg.
The Closer
And finally … Fans of the “Back to the Future” trilogy celebrated “Back to the Future Day” on Wednesday as the original 1985 movie is set to celebrate its 40th anniversary.
Oct. 21, 2015, was the day on which Marty McFly, played by Michael J. Fox, traveled into the future in the second movie, making that day on the calendar an unofficial holiday for fans of the franchise. Wednesday marked 10 years past that date, which was presented as futuristic with flying cars, hoverboards and holograms.
The original movie is set to return to theaters in IMAX next week in honor of the 40th anniversary.
Christopher Lloyd, who played Dr. Emmett Brown, marked the milestone online.
“40 Years Later… The Future Is Still Bright,” he said, wishing fans a happy Back to the Future Day in another post.
