12:30 Report is The Hill’s midday newsletter. Subscribe here.
It’s Friday! Happy Halloween, spooky friends! 👻🦇🎃 A presidential historian posted a 📸photo of JFK’s children in their Halloween costumes, and they are legitimately scary.
In today’s issue:
• Trump throws himself into the shutdown
• Johnson uncomfortable with Trump’s ‘nuclear option’
• GOP anxious about Johnson’s extended recess
• Food stamp freeze to start on Saturday
• Could a judge stop the food stamp suspension?
• New Dr. Seuss book discovered
🦇 GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
Have we reached the point where Trump gets involved?:
It’s Day 31 of the government shutdown, and for most of it, President Trump has largely remained on the sidelines. He’s stayed busy by traveling to Asia, calling for prosecutions of his political enemies and leading a demolition of the East Wing to make room for his ballroom, among other actions. Meanwhile, lawmakers are frozen in negotiations, with no clear off-ramp to end the impasse. Washington has been wondering — when will the president get involved?
That might be now. Trump late Thursday called for Senate Republicans to employ the “nuclear option” by getting rid of the filibuster. That would allow them to reopen the government with just 51 votes, instead of the required 60-vote threshold needed to advance most legislation in the upper chamber.
What Trump posted: “It is now time for the Republicans to play their ‘TRUMP CARD,’ and go for what is called the Nuclear Option — Get rid of the Filibuster, and get rid of it, NOW!” the president wrote on Truth Social. 🔎 Trump’s full post
Trump for weeks has blamed Democrats for not voting to reopen the government by blocking the GOP’s stopgap bill. In his post last night, he argued that because Republicans are now in power, they should also nix the filibuster for all the benefits for his administration.
How easy is it for Republicans to get rid of the filibuster?: Republicans hold a 53-seat majority, but it’s unclear if enough Republicans would support nixing it.
Ending the filibuster would be a big deal — it would open the floodgates for the Senate, and many members of both parties are wary of taking that route. Though some lawmakers have expressed openness to making a change to reopen the government.
Trump may have some hurdles in his party: Senate GOP Leader John Thune (S.D.) has repeatedly said he doesn’t want to remove the filibuster, and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in a press conference this morning also warned of the downsides of nixing the filibuster. Johnson noted he hasn’t discussed this with Trump.
Meanwhile, Republicans are questioning the extended break:
Speaker Johnson’s shutdown strategy hasn’t changed: keep the House out of session until the shutdown mess is sorted out. His reasoning? House Republicans did their job by passing a funding extension, so now it’s on Senate Democrats to pass it.
Well, Johnson’s strategy has kept the House out of session for more than a month during a key stretch, and that is making House Republicans increasingly anxious.
The House’s last vote was on Sept. 19, making this six-week-and-counting recess the longest since a six-week recess during the 2024 election.
How we know frustrations are building: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who has been critical of Republicans’ shutdown strategy since it began, confronted Johnson earlier this week. And Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) questioned Johnson’s strategy, a source confirmed to The Hill.
Brace yourselves for when they do return: “One House Republican familiar with leadership conversations said that members should brace for a jam-packed schedule when the chamber returns — likening it to ‘two-a-day’ football practices. ‘It’s not going to be business as usual. It’s going to be long nights, long days,’ the GOP member said.”
One early order of business will be swearing in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.). Democrats have repeatedly slammed Johnson for not swearing her in, though he says Democrats must first vote to reopen the government.
Read Emily Brooks’s reporting: ‘House Republicans grow anxious about Speaker Johnson’s extended shutdown recess’
Will food stamps end at midnight?:
The Senate left town, and the House is out. That means that without any last-minute intervention, food stamp benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will end on Saturday.
There’s one last chance to save them: A federal judge is expected to decide today whether the Trump administration must continue to fund the food stamp program.
The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports that the lapse in food assistance is forming cracks among Senate Republicans. Republicans have been unified so far, but Saturday’s freeze on the food stamp benefits for nearly 42 million Americans, including millions in Republican-led states, has driven a wedge in the GOP.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is trying to keep SNAP funded by introducing a bill to keep the benefits intact. There are already 14 Republican co-sponsors.
Why are some Republicans not on board with Hawley’s plan?: They blame the shutdown on Democrats. “They think Democrats, in blocking the House GOP funding bill, are the ones to blame for any lapse in SNAP.” They want to keep pressure on Democrats to end the shutdown.
Read Bolton’s reporting: ‘Republicans battling behind scenes over funding SNAP during shutdown’
HOW CAN YOU HELP?:
Donating money to your local food bank is the best way to help SNAP recipients who need help putting food on their tables. Donating food is also helpful, but keep in mind that food banks have resources to obtain food for pennies on the dollar.
You can also contact your local food pantry and ask what it specifically needs.
The Cut published a useful list of resources and ways to help SNAP beneficiaries.
Which states are declaring emergencies over the SNAP lapse?: Axios published a list.
HEY, SENATORS ARE AFFECTED BY THE SHUTDOWN, TOO:
Some senators were stranded in Washington, D.C., because of delays due to the air traffic controller shortage. Thune told reporters his flight was delayed.
TIDBIT — THIS IS HOW WE ALL FEEL:
NBC News’s Brennan Leach 📸 posted a photo of Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) slouched in his seat while on the phone. This accurately depicts the vibe.
👻 IN THE WHITE HOUSE
Boo!:
President Trump and first lady Melania Trump hosted trick-or-treating at the White House on Thursday evening. It is always such a cute event to watch. Here are some tidbits:
📸 These kids went as a McDonald’s drive-thru
📹 A kid tapped Trump until she got his attention
Do you remember when Trump put a candy bar on the head of a Minion a few years ago? Well, 📹 he did it again to another kid.
📹 The Trumps hand out candy to the kids of top Trump aides
Getting traction — has the US shifted toward authoritarianism?:
The New York Times’s editorial board published a project today showing its argument for how the Trump administration has shifted toward an autocracy in the past 10 months.
Excerpt: “The clearest sign that a democracy has died is that a leader and his party make it impossible for their opponents to win an election and hold power. Once that stage is reached, however, the change is extremely difficult to reverse. And aspiring authoritarians use other excesses, like a cowed legislature and judiciary, to lock in their power.”
Does the Times think we’ve already reached an autocracy?: No. “Our country is still not close to being a true autocracy, in the mold of Russia or China,” the editorial board argues. “But once countries begin taking steps away from democracy, the march often continues. We offer these 12 markers as a warning of how much Americans have already lost and how much more we still could lose.”
Read the editorial: ‘Are we losing our democracy?’
The Atlantic published reporting today with a similar premise: “It’s getting ever harder to avoid connecting the authoritarian dots.”
Excerpt: “Trump is in the process of building his own paramilitary force. He is invoking wartime powers to deport people without due process, even suggesting that American citizens may be sent to foreign prisons. He has deployed National Guard troops to cities over the objections of local officials. In a speech to American troops in Japan, he warned: ‘If we need more than the National Guard, we’ll send more than the National Guard.’ Trump has signaled that he is open to invoking the Insurrection Act, an 1807 law that allows the president to deploy the military in the United States. And he has claimed, without legal justification, that he has the right to order the military to summarily kill people suspected of smuggling drugs on boats off the coast of South America.”
Read: ‘Trump’s Plan Is Now Out in the Open’
QUICK HITS:
— ABC and ESPN have been taken off YouTube TV over a carrier dispute with Disney.
— Ticket sales at the Kennedy Center have plummeted since President Trump took it over, according to The Washington Post.
— NASA tested a low-volume supersonic jet that could cut air travel time.
MORE READS:
The New York Times: The Debate Dividing the Supreme Court’s Liberal Justices
The Wall Street Journal: Colleges Face a Financial Reckoning. The University of Chicago Is Exhibit A.
The Atlantic: Here’s How the AI Crash Happens
🎃 INTERNET BUZZ
🍏 Celebrate: Today is National Caramel Apple Day.
📙 A newly discovered Dr. Seuss book: An unpublished Dr. Seuss manuscript was discovered. The book is called “Sing the 50 United States!” and will be released on June 2.
🦇 ON THE AGENDA
The House and Senate are out. President Trump is in Palm Beach, Fla
12:40 p.m.: Trump lands in Palm Beach.
7:30 p.m. Saturday: Trump attends a MAGA Inc. dinner at Mar-a-Lago.
Sunday morning: Daylight saving time ends.
7:50 p.m. Sunday: Trump returns to the White House.
👻 AND FINALLY…
Because it’s Halloween and we should all be a little less productive today, here’s a brief distraction: this golden wants to be an elephant for Halloween.
OK, one more! This dog dressed up as their favorite thing in the world.
