The Latest: Trump readies layoffs and cuts as the Senate votes on government funding

“Until they have eight or hopefully more — 10 or more — people who want to, decide they want to end the government shutdown, I’m not sure this goes anywhere,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Thursday.

Although Republicans control the White House and both chambers of Congress, the Senate’s filibuster rules make it necessary for the government funding legislation to gain support from at least 60 of the 100 senators. That’s given Democrats a rare opportunity to use their 47 Senate seats to hold out in exchange for policy concessions. The party has chosen to rally on the issue of health care, believing it could be key to their path back to power in Washington.

The latest:

Senators head for the exits

The vote to advance a GOP bill to reopen the government isn’t over, but senators are already heading for the exits of the Capitol.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune says he will give Democrats the weekend to think over their stance, but there have been few signs of meaningful progress to ending the impasse.

The bill was poised to fail Friday afternoon as over 40 senators have already voted against it. The Senate’s filibuster rules require at least 60 senators to vote to advance the legislation to a final vote.

GOP Sen. Hawley says Congress must act ‘quickly’ to fix expiring ACA tax credits

“We’ve got to do something to make sure the premiums don’t essentially double, which they will in my state,” said the Missouri Republican, referencing ongoing discussions about extending the ACA tax credits. “We just can’t allow that to happen.”

“That’s a lot of Missourians that will not be able to afford healthcare. So we have to do something about it,” said Hawley.

Some Republicans have said they will address the expiring ACA tax credits once the government reopens. Hawley said they need to be addressed “as soon as possible.”

Senate begins voting on GOP funding bill

The Senate is now voting on whether to advance legislation known as a continuing resolution that would reopen the government. The bill has already passed the House, but Senate Democrats have almost all held out against voting for it.

The Senate’s filibuster rules make it necessary for the government funding legislation to gain support from at least 60 of the 100 senators. That’s given Democrats a rare opportunity to use their 47 Senate seats to hold out in exchange for policy concessions.

Jeffries calls Trump, Republican congressional leaders ‘unserious’ in shutdown talks

“These aren’t serious individuals. They want to keep the government shut down,” the Democratic leader said during a Friday press conference.

Jeffries leveled a litany of critiques of President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans. He added that President Trump “has behaved in a deeply unserious and deeply unhinged manner, and it’s evidence of the fact that Republican have a weak argument.”

Jeffries reiterated Democrats’ position that an extension of Affordable Care Act healthcare subsidies would be necessary for any budget to reopen the government.

“Everyone is about to experience dramatically increased premiums, co-pays and deductibles because of the Republican health care crisis. Everyone,” he warned.

Jeffries said that he had not spoken with House Speaker Mike Johnson about a potential delay in the House returning next week but said he “expects” the current schedule for lawmakers to hold.

“I’m ready to talk to Mike Johnson, John Thune, the President, the Vice President, or any member of the Trump administration with any authority, anytime, anyplace, anywhere,” Jeffries told reporters.

Across the aisle chats on the Senate floor

As senators vote for a fourth time on legislation to fund the government, plenty of chats between Republicans and Democrats are unfolding on the Senate floor.

The more moderate senators have become a key part of the effort to unlock the impasse in the Senate and conversations have unfolded between Sens. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, and Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat.

During previous government funding votes earlier this week, senators engaged in long, intense talks. So far today, there’s more of a casual atmosphere in the Senate chamber as the lawmakers settle in for what’s likely to be at least several more days of a government shutdown.

Leavitt repeats false claim about free health care for ‘illegal aliens’

After opening the briefing by claiming that “the Democrats continue to recklessly hold the American people hostage over their demands to give illegal aliens free health care,” Leavitt was asked to explain the disconnect between this claim and the existing law that prevents people in the U.S. illegally from receiving federally-funded health care.

Leavitt responded that “Democrats’ proposal would require Medicaid to pay more for emergency care provided to illegal aliens than Medicaid does for American patients who are disabled, elderly, or children.”

Hospitals receive Medicaid reimbursements — which would be reduced under Trump’s bill — for emergency care that they are obligated by federal law to provide to people who meet other Medicaid eligibility requirements but do not have an eligible immigration status. These payments do not go directly to patients and such spending accounted for less than 1% of total Medicaid spending between fiscal years 2017 and 2023.

Senate begins voting to advance Democrats’ government funding bill

The Senate is voting on whether to advance to a vote on a government funding bill that is being put forward by Democrats. It is expected to fail.

Senate Democrats are using the legislation as an alternative to Republicans’ bill. Besides reopening the government, it would undo many of the changes to Medicaid that were enacted this summer by President Donald Trump’s tax cut and spending law.

House Speaker Mike Johnson has repeatedly pointed to the Democratic bill as proof that Democrats are injecting unreasonable partisan priorities into the government funding fight, but Democrats are not seriously demanding that the bill be passed. Instead, they want Congress to take up an extension of tax credits for Affordable Care Act health plans.

Leavitt sidesteps Bad Bunny question, but hints that Trump has more to say

The Puerto Rican superstar is slated to perform at the next Super Bowl.

The announcement angered some conservatives, who dislike Bad Bunny’s criticism of Trump’s deportation policies.

Asked for the White House’s opinion, Leavitt said Trump may have more to say at some point.

“I won’t get ahead of him,” she said. “I won’t reveal what he feels about this.”

Nearly 70% of White House aides showing up to work in shutdown

The White House says almost 70 percent of their employees are still reporting for duty as the government shutdown continues.

Of the 1,733 people employed by the Executive Office of the President, 554 are being furloughed, according to the White House’s shutdown contingency plans. That means 1,179 are coming to work, which is about 68 percent of the total staff.

The 1,179 coming to work are either designated as essential during a shutdown, are in positions that are funded through other avenues, or for other reasons.

Of the 1,179 still working during a shutdown, 863 are considered “necessary to perform activities necessarily implied by law,” and another 183 are deemed “necessary to the discharge of the president’s constitutional duties and powers.”

Noem, Bovino spotted on roof of Chicago ICE facility amid protests

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino were filmed Friday watching from the roof of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility in Broadview, about 12 miles (19 kilometers) west of Chicago, as protesters gathered below, according to footage shared online by conservative media personality Benny Johnson.

Noem was surrounded by armed agents and a camera crew while standing beside a sniper set-up. Noem was also present at a Friday morning raid at a Chicago Walmart, according to Johnson’s videos.

Some protesters have aimed to block vehicles from going in or out of the area in recent weeks, part of growing pushback to a surge of immigration enforcement that began in early September. Federal agents have repeatedly fired tear gas, pepper balls and other projectiles toward crowds and at least five people have faced federal charges after being arrested in those clashes.

Bovino, who led the recent immigration crackdown in Los Angeles, could be seen driving in the passenger seat of a Border Patrol vehicle leaving the facility amid protests Friday morning. He announced in September that he had arrived in Chicago, on the same day Noem confirmed she was in the nation’s third-largest city and posted videos of armed agents making multiple arrests.

Pritzker bashes Homeland Security’s ‘inhumane’ treatment of protesters

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday lashed out at the treatment President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security is meting out to protestors at a suburban Chicago immigration station.

Through a spokesperson, the Democrat said that federal authorities “are acting with impunity” at the president’s direction outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview. He said the “inhumane” tactics of the masked officials include rough treatment of protesters, arresting a reporter and firing chemical agents into the crowds.

Pritzker said the newly established “unified command” of the Illinois State Police, Cook County Sheriff’s Department and others which is staffing Broadview will control crowds while ensuring protesters their First Amendment right to free speech.

“They show their faces, they have proper identification, and they are accountable to the people of Illinois,” Pritzker said. “It is clear federal agents cannot be trusted to act to protect the safety and constitutional rights of the public.”

White House: FDA approval of abortion pill not an endorsement

The White House said Friday that the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of a generic form of mifepristone was just following the law and not a sign of support for the abortion pill.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt noted that the FDA and Health and Human Services was merely following the law.

The decision is “not an endorsement of this drug by any means,” Leavitt said.

The approval has drawn fire from conservatives. Mike Pence, Trump’s vice president from his first term, said the approval was a “complete betrayal of the pro-life movement that elected President Trump.”

White House criticizes arrest of conservative influencer Nick Sortor

Leavitt said Sortor was “defending himself” from left-wing protestors in Portland, and she criticized police for arresting “a journalist who was there to document the chaos.”

She said there would be a “full investigation” by the Department of Justice, and Trump asked advisers to review wants to cut federal funding for the Democratic-run city.

White House details impact of shutdown

The White House began its press briefing on Friday by rattling off the various consequences of the shutdown that were already hitting Americans.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt discussed a report that said military families are already seeking food aid as troops go without a paycheck.

Leavitt said Trump supports the idea of making sure they’re cared for, and “if Democrats believe in this very simple premise too, they should end this shutdown immediately.”

Other impacts Leavitt discussed were the halting of nutrition assistance for women, infants and children, air traffic controllers working without pay, and a lapsing federal flood insurance program.

“This madness must end,” Leavitt said.

Trump’s face could be featured on commemorative coin

Drafts of the design were confirmed by the U.S. Treasury.

The $1 coin would be minted to commemorate the country’s 250th anniversary.

The design shows the side of Trump’s face on the front and another image of him raising his fist with an American flag on the back.

Chicago mayor vows to fight Trump’s transit cuts

“Argentina gets $20 billion and the South Side gets nothing. What happened to America First?” Brandon Johnson said in a statement.

He was responding to what he called a “politically motivated decision” by Trump’s budget office to withhold $2.1 billion in federal funding for transit improvements in Chicago.

Johnson said the Red Line extension of the city’s famous elevated train line had promised 25,000 jobs, and that it was something residents in disadvantaged and predominantly Black communities had been awaiting for more than 50 years.

“We are calling for these cuts to be immediately reversed, and we will use every tool at our disposal to restore this funding,” Johnson said. “Chicagoans have waited far too long to turn back now.”

Trump administration orders new boat strike

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday he ordered a fourth strike on a small boat in the waters off Venezuela, according to a social media post.

In his post, Hegseth said “our intelligence, without a doubt, confirmed that this vessel was trafficking narcotics, the people onboard were narco-terrorists, and they were operating on a known narco-trafficking transit route.”

The strike comes less than a day after it was revealed that President Trump declared drug cartels to be unlawful combatants and declared that the United States is now in an “armed conflict” with them, according to a memo obtained by The Associated Press.

Senate majority leader says he won’t make commitments on health care subsidies

Senate Majority Leader John Thune says that he’s open to talking with Democrats about their demand to extend tax credits for Affordable Care Act health plans, but he’s not making commitments until they vote to open the government back up.

“That’s not something that we can guarantee that there are the votes there to do,” Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said during a news conference at the Capitol.

The Senate is headed towards another vote on funding the government Friday, but Thune did not sound optimistic that there would be a breakthrough with Democrats.

Johnson says that “more reforms coming” for Obama’s health care law

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Monday that Republicans have “more reforms coming to try to fix Obamacare” as Democrats are demanding that they extend health care subsidies that expire at the end of the year.

Johnson, R-La., said the insurance that millions of people receive through the Affordable Care Act, Obama’s signature law, “are not working for the people. But you need common sense, responsible Republican who are serious about policy to fix that for the people.”

Democrats say they won’t vote to reopen the government until the subsidies are extended. Republicans who want to cut back the subsidies say they will only negotiate once the government is reopened.

Health insurance premiums will spike for millions of people at the end of the year if the expanded subsidies, which were first put in place in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, are allowed to expire.

House Speaker says there’s nothing to negotiate in funding bill

House Speaker Mike Johnson is saying that he won’t negotiate with Democrats on their health care demands as the government shutdown enters its third day.

Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said,“I don’t have anything to negotiate” when it comes to the funding bill before the Senate because it keeps government funding mostly at current levels.

Democrats are demanding that Congress take up tax credits for health plans offered under the Affordable Care Act, but Johnson says that’s not an issue until the end of the year when the tax credits are set to expire.

JD Vance leads tour group to White House briefing room

Vice President JD Vance made a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room as he led a tour group into the space.

He asked a White House staffer who was testing the podium microphone if press secretary Karoline Leavitt was planning to brief reporters Friday. (She is.)

Vance took a photo of one of the members of his small group standing behind the podium and asked her, “Alrighty, Donna, what do you think about the government shutdown?”

Donna replied, “I can’t say yet. Not in this crowd.”

Afterwards Vance said, “Let’s get these guys out of here before they say something too controversial.”

Vance ignored shouted questions as he left the room, including one from an Associated Press reporter about whether President Donald Trump had met with White House budget director Russell Vought on Thursday about the lapse in government funding.

Trump administration withholds $7.6 billion in clean energy grants

The Trump administration is canceling $7.6 billion in grants that supported hundreds of clean energy projects in 16 states, all of which voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in last year’s presidential election.

The move comes as Trump threatens deep cuts in his fight with congressional Democrats over the government shutdown.

The Energy Department said in a statement Thursday that 223 projects were terminated after a review determined they did not adequately advance the nation’s energy needs or were not economically viable.

Officials did not provide details about which projects are being cut, but said funding came from the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and other DOE bureaus.

The cuts are likely to affect battery plants, hydrogen technology projects, upgrades to the electric grid and carbon-capture efforts, among many others, according to the environmental nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council.

Trump declares ‘war’ on U.S. cities, congressman says

‘This is literally a war on United States cities’ says Chicago congressman

Illinois Rep. Mike Quigley, a Chicago Democrat, criticized the White House’s announcement Friday to withhold $2.1 billion in funding for an extension of the city’s Red Line train, calling it “a very bad day for public transit in the country when it becomes weaponized.”

“This was our prized baby and they know it,” Quigley said in a phone interview with the Associated Press. “This was the most important new transit project in Chicago in 50 years.”

“Trump won some areas of Chicago. There are Republicans living here too. He’s punishing everybody – Democrats, Republicans – just because they don’t care,” said Quigley.

Quigley also criticized escalating immigration enforcement in Chicago.

“This is literally a war on United States cities,” Quigley said. “I’ve been to food pantries, shelters, doctor’s offices, health clinics. People with brown skin are afraid to show up in public.”

Canadian prime minister to meet Trump at the White House

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will visit U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House next week, it was announced on Friday.

The meeting comes ahead of a review of a free trade agreement and as Trump is engaging in 51st state talk again as Canada asks to be included in Trump’s future Golden Dome missile defense program.

In a statement, Carney’s office said the prime minister will travel to Washington on Monday before meeting Trump in the Oval Office on Tuesday.

Carney won Canada’s election earlier this year fueled by Trump’s annexation threats and trade war, but he has tried to improve relations ahead of a review of the free trade deal next year.

More than 75% of Canada’s exports go to the U.S. and Canada recently dropped many of its retaliatory tariffs to match U.S. tariff exemptions for goods covered under the United States-Mexico-Canada trade pact, or USMCA.

Supreme Court to consider overturning Hawaii gun law

The Supreme Court said Friday it will consider overturning a Hawaii law that imposes strict regulations on where people can carry guns.

The Trump administration had urged the justices to take the case, arguing the law violates the court’s 2022 ruling that found people have a right to carry firearms in public under the Second Amendment.

The Hawaii law bans guns on private property unless the owner has specifically allowed them. It also prohibits firearms in places like beaches, parks, bars and restaurants that serve alcohol.

State attorneys argue that they’ve already loosened its concealed-carry permit regulations to align with the high court’s 2022 ruling. They say its new restrictions strike a reasonable balance between gun rights and public safety.

A judge blocked the Hawaii law after it was challenged in court by a gun rights group and three people from Maui. But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals largely reversed that decision and allowed Hawaii to enforce the law.

Trump pauses $2.1 billion for Chicago infrastructure projects

White House budget director Russ Vought said the Trump administration will withhold $2.1 billion for Chicago infrastructure projects, expanding funding fights that have targeted Democratic areas during the government shutdown.

The pause affects a long-awaited plan to extend the city’s Red Line train. Vought wrote on social media Friday that the money was “put on hold to ensure funding is not flowing via race-based contracting.”

He made a similar announcement earlier this week involving New York, where Vought said $18 billion for infrastructure would be paused, including funding for a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River.

Trump embraces Project 2025, which he once avoided

Trump is openly embracing the conservative blueprint he tried to distance himself from during the 2024 presidential campaign.

In a post on his Truth Social site Trump announced he would be meeting with his budget chief, “Russ Vought, he of PROJECT 2025 Fame, to determine which of the many Democrat Agencies, most of which are a political SCAM, he recommends to be cut, and whether or not those cuts will be temporary or permanent.”

The comments, posted on Thursday, represented an about-face for Trump, who spent much of last year denouncing Project 2025, The Heritage Foundation’s massive proposed overhaul of the federal government, which was drafted by many of his longtime allies and current and former administration officials.

The federal government was thrown into a shutdown Wednesday, as Democrats held firm to their demands to salvage health care subsidies that Trump and Republicans in Congress have dismissed as something to possibly discuss later.

Trump has seized on the government shutdown as an opportunity to reshape the federal workforce, threatening mass firings of workers and suggesting “irreversible” cuts to programs important to Democrats.

▶ Read more about how both parties have used shutdown threats

What are Trump's chances of the Nobel Prize?

U.S. President Donald Trump’s bid to win the Nobel Peace Prize has drawn added attention to the annual guessing game over who its next laureate will be.

Longtime Nobel watchers say Trump’s prospects remain remote despite a flurry of high-profile nominations and some notable foreign policy interventions for which he has taken personal credit.

Experts say the Norwegian Nobel Committee typically focuses on the durability of peace, the promotion of international fraternity and the quiet work of institutions that strengthen those goals. Trump’s own record might even work against him, they said, citing his apparent disdain for multilateral institutions and his disregard for global climate change concerns.

Still, the U.S. leader has repeatedly sought the Nobel spotlight since his first term, most recently telling United Nations delegates late last month “everyone says that I should get the Nobel Peace Prize.”

A person cannot nominate themselves.