Cmdr. Hung Cao, commanding officer of the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center, explains the importance of compression chambers to Rep. Gwen Graham, D-Fla., in November 2015. (Fred Gray IV/U.S. Navy)
By Svetlana Shkolnikova
Stars and Stripes • October 1, 2025
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Hung Cao, a special operations veteran and former Republican congressional candidate, to serve as undersecretary of the Navy.
Cao was confirmed as the service’s second-ranking civilian leader in a 52-45 vote, reflecting the reservations many Democrats had about his nomination. Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska also voted against Cao’s confirmation.
As a Senate candidate in Virginia last year, Cao extensively criticized the Defense Department’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and attacked a now-defunct Navy recruiting program that featured a drag-performing petty officer.
“When you’re using a drag queen to recruit for the Navy, that’s not the people we want,” Cao said in an election debate with Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. “What we need is alpha males and alpha females who are going to rip out their own guts, eat them and ask for seconds. Those are young men and women that are going to win wars.”
He has also criticized the Pentagon’s former coronavirus vaccination mandate and advocated for strengthening the U.S.-Mexico border, saying a migrant flow of “13,000 convicted murders and 16,000 convicted rapists” was a threat to democracy.
Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, expressed concerns in June about Cao’s record of controversial statements, including Cao “disparaging certain Navy personnel, sharply criticizing U.S. allies and advocating for the release of convicted Jan. 6 individuals.”
Republicans said Cao was highly qualified to serve as Navy undersecretary, citing his distinguished service as a special operations officer for explosive ordnance and disposal and diving along with his work in the private sector.
“Capt. Cao has a drive for public service that comes from his experience of living the American dream,” said Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla.
Cao immigrated to the U.S. as a Vietnamese refugee in 1975 and spent part of his childhood in West Africa. He told senators during his confirmation hearing in June that his interactions with Marines during the Iranian Revolution in 1979 inspired him to join the military.
“The Marines brought us into the embassy and stood watch over us in case they had to do a new evacuation and the look in their eyes that night that said, ‘Nothing’s going to hurt you, not tonight, not on my watch’ — I wanted to be like those heroes,” he said.
Cao graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and served in the Navy for 25 years, deploying with special operations forces to defuse bombs in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia and working on the Navy budget process during assignments to the Pentagon.
He retired at the rank of captain before turning to politics.
In 2022, Cao ran unsuccessfully for Virginia’s 10th Congressional District and in 2024 lost the Senate election to Kaine, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Seapower subcommittee.
As Navy undersecretary, Cao is expected to play a key role in the daily management of the Navy and Marine Corps and help the Navy address its persistent problems with building and repairing an aging ship fleet.
He told senators he will focus on reversing years of neglect and mismanagement in the production and maintenance of vessels and munitions as well as restoring “the warrior spirit that my generation relied on as the core of our ethos.”
“I will deliver to the combatant commanders the most lethal Navy and Marine Corps the world has ever seen,” he said.
Nolte: 154,000 Bureaucrats Finally Exit Federal Payroll This Week
By John Nolte
Oct. 02, 2025
The 154,000 federal bureaucrats who accepted President Trump’s buyouts will all be removed from the federal payroll this week.
This represents the largest one-year exodus of federal workers in 80 years, reports the far-left Reuters.
“The official resignations begin on Tuesday for workers who opted into a deferred exit program that kept them on the payroll through September,” the report adds. “The buyouts are a cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s push to shrink the federal workforce, combining financial incentives with threats of dismissal for those who declined the offer.”
Naturally, because Reuters is part of a regime media that cannot stand the idea of any cuts of any kind ever to the federal government, the entire story is framed in desperate DoomSpeak.
“Health and safety agencies struggle with operational disruptions,” reads one sub-headline. “National Weather Service loses meteorologists, technical staff who maintain forecasting equipment,” reads another.
The entire story is premised on this being some sort of apocalyptic “brain drain.”
“The loss of expertise is making it harder for many agencies to carry out their work and serve the American public, according to interviews with a dozen current and former government employees and union officials,” Reuters shrieks. “The buyouts have adversely impacted a wide range of government activities, including weather forecasting, food safety, health programs, and space projects, according to the people who spoke to Reuters.”
More proof that the fake media will interview anyone willing to tell the fake media what the fake media wants to hear.
Reuters further warns that by the end of this year, more than 300,000 total federal employees (tee hee) will be out based on a combination of buyouts, job cuts, and various incentives. This would add up to a 12.5 percent cut in the total federal workforce.
We can only hope.
I have nothing but contempt for government employment. It is outrageous that so-called civil servants enjoy retirement, health insurance, and time-off benefits Normal People can only dream of. The very idea that public unions exist is obscene. Who do these unions see as their antagonists? You and I; the taxpayer. That’s who they negotiate against.
Public unions are also slush funds for the Democrat Party. Government workers use their government paychecks to pay dues to these unions, and these unions turn around and funnel billions to Democrat politicians and causes.
The more Trump can do to weaken this corrupt system, the better it will be for democracy and America.
Democrat Stopgap Spending Counterproposal Would Add $1.5 Trillion to Debt
By Sean Moran
30 Sep 2025
The Democrats’ stopgap spending bill counterproposal would add $1.5 trillion to the national debt over the next ten years, according to an analysis.
The government will shut down at midnight September 30 unless lawmakers either agree on passing a stopgap spending bill or pass 12 appropriations bills.
Democrats are staging a fight over the looming government shutdown over the lapsing of the enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare, subsidies enacted under the Biden-era America Rescue Plan — the $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus plan. The Inflation Reduction Act continued the subsidies, which will now expire if Congress does not extend the enhanced subsidies.
Republican congressional leaders want to negotiate a potential ACA subsidy deal with Democrats outside of the spending bill.
The Democrat proposal, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, would cost $1.5 trillion over the next decade.
The Democrat counterproposal would eliminate many of the health savings from the Big Beautiful Bill and would permanently extend the Obamacare subsidies.
Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said in a statement:
If lawmakers want to extend any of the ACA subsidies, they should do so responsibly by targeting the extension and at least offsetting the costs. Ideally we should be offsetting new borrowing twice over. Plenty of options are available, from adopting site-neutral payments to reducing Medicare Advantage upcoding to funding Cost Sharing Reduction payments.
Meanwhile, if lawmakers want to pare back parts of the reconciliation law, they should focus on the $6 trillion in tax cuts and spending increases, not the payfors.
The reconciliation law already put us $4 trillion deeper into the debt. We should not make it worse by continuing to allow providers and state governments to exploit the federal Medicaid match to pad their own bottom lines. It would be one thing to make some targeted changes to the law and offset the costs – but this bill would repeal all the law’s health care savings, throwing out the baby with the bath water.
It’s time to stop the excessive borrowing. Instead of fighting debt with more debt, lawmakers should be using the budget process to reduce deficits. That starts with extending discretionary spending caps and lowering appropriations. But it will also require additional revenue, more health care savings, and spending reductions government-wide.
“Meanwhile, we should be able to keep the government’s lights on without making our devastating fiscal situation even worse,” MacGuineas concluded.
Brian Blase, a former senior healthcare staffer for Trump under his first administration who leads the Paragon Health Institute, noted:
These COVID credits caused a surge of enrollment in the exchanges and higher insurer profits, although many new enrollees were ineligible, unaware they were signed up, or never used their plan.9 Even without the COVID credits, the original subsidies will cost taxpayers nearly $1 trillion over the next decade.10 Continuing the COVID credits would raise that cost by more than 40 percent.11
…
A whopping 40 percent of enrollees in fully subsidized plans had no claims in 2024. In 2024 alone, taxpayers sent at least $35 billion to insurers for people who paid no premiums and never used their plan. This shows the surge in phantom enrollees, people unknowingly signed up or double-covered elsewhere, in the market. According to HHS, there are at least 1.6 million people doubly covered by Medicaid and a subsidized exchange plan.
If Republicans were to fulfill Democrats’ wishes, the extension of the subsidies would cost more than $40 billion per year.
Here Are What Services Are Open, Closed in the Government Shutdown
Lawmakers are gradually trying to work out a compromise to reopen, but some agencies are scaling back in the meantime.
The U.S. Capitol in Washington DC
Stacy Robinson
10/1/2025
The federal government shutdown took effect on Oct. 1, and it’s unclear how long it will last. Some previous shutdowns lasted a day or two, while a 2019 closure went on for 35 days.
Many federal employees will be furloughed, or put on leave without pay, while the government is shut down—but they will receive back pay when they return because of a 2019 law.
The White House also announced on Wednesday that federal worker layoffs are coming “very soon” during the shutdown.
Republicans, Democrats, and the White House are grappling with negotiations to pass a temporary funding bill that would reopen the government until Nov. 21—and give lawmakers time to pass the required 12 annual appropriations bills.
In the meantime, many agencies released guidance documents this week detailing how they will function during the shutdown.
Some departments will be forced to scale back operations, but others will continue mostly unchanged.
Here’s a closer look.
Social Services
The Office of Veterans Affairs has advanced funding that should carry it through the shutdown unscathed. If that runs out, it will have to shut down some research programs, as well as services like the GI Bill call center.
During the shutdown, most of the Social Security Administration will continue to function. But one important thing to note: SSA will not process or issue replacement Medicare cards during this time.
Medicare and Medicaid will continue to function.
The Supplemental Nutrition Aid Program (SNAP)—better known as food stamps—remains funded, but its Women and Infant Children (WIC) program has limited funding during the shutdown.
Georgia Machell, president and CEO of the National WIC Association, called on Congress to quickly pass a funding bill, warning that the program has enough cash on hand for “likely one to two weeks.”
That initiative provides extra funding for food, infant formula, and medical services to pregnant women and young children in low-income families.
Student Loans
The Department of Education will cut a small percentage of its staff, but will continue awarding Pell Grants and student loans while the government is shut down.
Students will also have to keep making loan payments.
It will cease making grants during this time, but its guidance document says most of those are awarded over the summer months—a shutdown that long would be unprecedented.
The Office for Civil Rights will also pause investigations until the government reopens.
National Parks
Some aspects of the National Parks Service system will be open during the shutdown, according to the agency’s contingency plan.
“Park roads, lookouts, trails, and open-air memorials will generally remain accessible to visitors,” its guidance document says.
However, some areas will close, and the agency’s social media accounts will not be updated, except in case of an emergency.
Around 9,000 of its 14,500 employees will be furloughed.
Travel
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is expected to furlough about a quarter of its 44,000 employees.
Essential personnel such as air traffic controllers and security workers will continue to work, but without pay until the shutdown ends.
Other activities, such as rulemaking committees and random drug testing of employees, will cease for the time being.
The Federal Railroad Administration has just over 1,000 workers, and will send 239 of them home.
Safety inspectors and accident investigators will remain on the job, but research and development projects will cease.
Taxes
The IRS has supplemental funding that lasts through Sept. 30 of 2031.
It has a contingency plan that kicks in five days after its funding lapses, which allows its 74,299 employees to work half days—but does not expect to use it.
Department of War
The nation’s military will continue operations, but the soldiers will have to go without pay until that funding is secured—or the shutdown ends.
The Department of War also employs around 740,000 civilians.
Some of these employees will be furloughed, and temporarily replaced by military staff; the department is in the process of evaluating which workers and functions are essential.
Homeland Security
Agencies that operate under the Department of Homeland Security will experience varying levels of workforce reduction.
Notably, immigration activities will continue unchanged during the shutdown.
“There is no change to U.S. immigration laws or border enforcement,” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement wrote on X on Wednesday.
“Rumors that a U.S. government shutdown will allow illegal immigrants to enter the United States are false.”
The Transportation Security Administration, Secret Service, and U.S. Coast Guard will also keep most of their employees working.
However, nearly two-thirds of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s 2,540 employees will be furloughed.
The Court System
The U.S. court system will operate as normal until Oct. 17 by tapping into funds accumulated through court fees and other funding.
After that time, courts will still be in session, but may operate at reduced staff levels, and delays are expected.
Delays may also occur if certain employees for the Department of Justice (DOJ)—which is prosecuting some cases and defending the administration in others—are furloughed.
Around 89 percent of its staff are considered “essential” and will stay on the job. The DOJ guidance document says that criminal cases will be prioritized over civil litigation.
Judge James Boasberg, Chief Judge for the U.S. District of Columbia, issued an order giving the government more time to file responses to motions in the many lawsuits it is currently facing.
Boasberg extended most deadlines by the length of the shutdown, plus 10 days.
However, that extension does not apply to initial requests to block actions by the federal government—those still have to be answered in a timely fashion.
Health
The Department of Health and Human Services has around 79,000 employees, and approximately 32,000 of those will be furloughed during the shutdown; this will impact some of the agencies it oversees.
Some programs, such as the Unaccompanied Alien Children program, will continue functioning.
During this time, it will not be able to fulfill Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests or perform data collection and analysis.
Likewise, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will continue to respond to public health emergencies, and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) will also continue.
However, programs guiding states on opioid overdose, HIV, and diabetes prevention will be paused.
The Food and Drug Administration will continue some of its work, overseeing drug recalls, and “responding to outbreaks related to foodborne illness and infectious diseases.”
However, it will cease accepting applications related to new drugs or for generic versions of already-existing medications.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will cut about 75 percent of its staff and will halt peer review meetings for new grants.
However, it will continue to work at the NIH Clinical Research Center for the sake of its current patients.
POLL: Americans Overwhelmingly Back Trump, GOP In Shutdown Battle
By Cullen McCue
October 1, 2025
A recent poll from Siena College in conjunction with the New York Times found that a comfortable majority of Americans oppose the Democrat-led partial shutdown of the federal government.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and his Senate counterpart Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have repeatedly called on the administration to “compromise” by by extending Obama-era Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax cuts and guaranteeing taxpayer-funded healthcare “for all.”
Republicans, and the White House, have rejected Democrat proposals due to demands for taxpayer-funded healthcare for illegal aliens. “If you look at the original they did with this negotiation, it was a $1.5 trillion spending package, basically saying the American people want to give massive amounts of money, hundreds of billions of dollars to illegal aliens for their health care, while Americans are struggling to pay their health care bills,” Vice President JD Vance said following a meeting between legislative leaders at the White House on Monday.
While Democrats were largely split on the issue of shutting down the government in order to secure their demands, Republicans and independents have been firmly against a shutdown.
According to the NYT/Siena poll, which was conducted just before the October 1 deadline, just 27 percent of respondents said Democrats should shut down the government if their demands are not met.
A slight majority, 47 percent, agreed with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in shutting down the government, while 43 percent disagreed. Republicans overwhelmingly disapprove of the Schumer-led shutdown, with just five percent of respondents expressing a positive opinion compared with 92 percent who want the government to remain open.
Independents are also against the shutdown, with just 32 percent agreeing with Schumer’s decision while 59 percent said he should not have moved forward with the move.
The poll surveyed 1,313 registered voters nationwide between September 22 and 27.
Senators Cortez Masto (D-NV), Fetterman (D-PA) and King (I-ME) joined all Republicans with the exception of Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) in voting for the House-passed temporary funding package, which will fund the government through late November, ahead of Wednesday’s midnight deadline.
“It’s a sad day for our nation. Our government shuts down at midnight,” Fetterman wrote in an X post. “I voted AYE to extend ACA tax credits because I support them—but I won’t vote for the chaos of shuttering our government. My vote was our country over my party. Together, we must find a better way forward.”
Cortez Masto said she voted to fund the government because doing otherwise would “hurt Nevada families and hand even more power to this reckless administration.”
Government shutdowns affect all non-essential services, such as national parks, some regulatory agencies and more. Federal workers may also be furloughed depending on how long the shutdown continues. Essential services, such as military, air traffic control, social security and more will continue regardless of a government shutdown.
White House: Democrats Demanding $200 Billion for Illegal Aliens Over a Decade to Reopen Government
By John Binder
Oct. 02, 2025
Democrats are seeking close to $200 billion, over the course of a decade, for healthcare benefits for illegal aliens to reopen the federal government, a new White House memo states.
The memo, circulated to the media on Wednesday, accuses Democrats of spurring a government shutdown over their advocating for billions in American taxpayer-funded healthcare benefits for illegal aliens and other foreign nationals. The memo begins:
The Working Families Tax Cut Act, signed into law by President Trump, contains the most important America First healthcare reforms ever enacted. The policies represent a comprehensive effort to address waste, fraud, and abuse to strengthen the healthcare system for the most vulnerable Americans, ensuring that taxpayer dollars are focused on American citizens and do not subsidize healthcare for illegal immigrants.
Democrats are demanding these reforms be repealed as a condition of keeping the government open for four weeks. This would result in the federal government spending nearly $200 billion on healthcare for illegal immigrants and non-citizens over the next decade—nearly enough to fund the entire Children’s Health Insurance Program over the same period—all while repealing reforms that strengthen care for the most vulnerable Americans.
Chart via White House
In another chart, the memo breaks down what Democrats’ repeal of provisions in the Working Families Tax Cut Act would individually cost American taxpayers.
Particularly, Democrats are hoping to end the Trump administration’s closing of the so-called “California Loophole,” where the sanctuary state utilized a loophole to ultimately provide illegal aliens with Medicaid benefits.
“The WFTCA closes this loophole, through which nearly 80% of federal savings are derived from ending California’s exploitation of past policy,” the memo states.
“Repealing this provision would result in $34.6 billion in additional federal spending that would continue to primarily be abused by California to fund healthcare for illegal immigrants,” the memo continues.
JD Vance Debunks Left’s Lies on Govt. Shutdown in Response to Breitbart’s Matt Boyle at WH Press Briefing
By Hannah Knudsen
Oct. 02, 2025
Vice President JD Vance debunked the left’s lies on the Democrat shutdown during a press briefing on Wednesday.
Breitbart News’s Washington Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle asked the vice president to debunk two of the reigning lies currently touted by the left in the aftermath of the government shutdown.
“You’re seeing a number of top Democrat leaders — from Kamala Harris and Chuck Schumer to Hakeem Jeffries — claim that it is a Republican shutdown caused by Trump,” Boyle said.
“The second is that they’re out there now claiming that they don’t want to give health care to illegal aliens. Can you address both of those lies from the Democratic Party?” he asked.
Vance said it is “obvious” that this is a Democrat shutdown, urging Americans to look at the vote totals in the House and Senate as well as the actions of President Donald Trump.
“Nearly every single House Republican voted to open the government, Matt. Nearly every single Senate Republican voted to open the government last night, and even to their credit, a few moderate Democrats voted to open the government. That’s not a Republican shutdown when nearly every single Senate Democrat votes to shut it down and every Republican voted to open it up,” Vance pointed out, calling it “obviously not true.”
“Now you can disagree about a number of things, but you can’t disagree about the obvious fact that Republicans voted to open the government. The President stands ready to sign that opening of the government. We just need a few more Democrats to join us in that effort to open the government,” Vance continued before switching gears, responding to the question about Democrats now denying that they want to give free health care to illegal aliens.
“The text is very clear. And I even saw — I think it was George Stephanopoulos in an interview with Mike Johnson — did a fact check that was totally rooted in baseless claims. It was basically Democrat propaganda. If you look at the legislative text that they gave us, they tried to turn on two separate provisions that would give healthcare benefits to illegal aliens,” Vance explained.
“Number one, if you’re an American citizen, you’ve been to a hospital in the last few years, you probably noticed that wait times are especially large, and very often somebody who’s there in the emergency room waiting is an illegal alien, very often a person who can’t even speak English,” he said, asking why these individuals receive healthcare benefits at hospitals paid for by American citizens.
“The answer is a decision made by the Biden administration that the Trump administration, working with congressional Republicans, undid. We turned off that money spigot to healthcare funding for illegal aliens. The Democrats, in their legislative texts want to turn it back on,” Vance said.
“The second thing, Matt, is we all know that there are various ways in which the Biden administration waived away illegal immigration status… They gave asylum claims to people who weren’t really claiming asylum. And when they waved the magic wand of amnesty, giving millions of people legal status even though they were in the country illegally, they also gave those people access to healthcare benefits,” he said.
Ultimately, the vice president said Democrats are engaging in sleight of hand by saying, “‘No, no, those weren’t illegal aliens who were getting healthcare benefits,’ even though everybody knows they were in the country illegally.”
“It’s a lie told by the Democrats that they’re not trying to give healthcare benefits to illegal aliens. It’s a lie that is obviously untrue if you just look at the text that they gave us, and all you have to do is understand that this is about who benefits,” he said, explaining that the Trump administration’s position is that the government should benefit American citizens — not illegal immigrants.
“The Democrats are willing to shut it down to benefit illegal aliens. The contrast couldn’t be more clear,” he added.
Notably, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) — who is 87 — admitted on Tuesday that Democrats are “demanding health care for everybody,” including illegal aliens.
Maxine Waters admits Democrats are going to shutdown the government to try to secure healthcare for illegal immigrants.
Reporter: "Are Democrats demanding healthcare for illegal aliens?"
Speaker Mike Johnson OWNS George Stephanopoulos in Debate Over Democrats Supporting Healthcare for Illegals (VIDEO)
by Mike LaChance
Oct. 1, 2025
GOP Speaker Mike Johnson debates Clinton operative turned journalist, George Stephanopoulos – Screencap of Twitter/X video.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson recently got into a debate with George Stephanopoulos of ABC News over whether or not Democrats are supporting healthcare for illegal aliens. Johnson won the argument with facts.
Can we all stop pretending that George Stephanopoulos is some sort of journalist? He is a former bag man for President Bill Clinton.
He got into TV journalism for obvious reasons, because he wants to control the narrative.
This debate with Johnson is one of those times when Stephanopoulos is so obviously a Democrat activist, first and foremeost.
Transcript via Real Clear Politics:
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Here are the facts. The proposal does not provide healthcare for illegal immigrants. Illegal immigrants cannot buy healthcare under the Affordable Care Act and cannot receive healthcare subsidies.
Illegal immigrants are ineligible for Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Program. The Democratic bill does not make them eligible.
MIKE JOHNSON: It does actually, because what it does is unwind the changes that the Republicans put into the Big Beautiful Bill, the signature legislation we passed July 4th.
That’s been very successful, ensuring medication to people who are actually eligible to receive it.
What we’ve done in the bill—and it was just verified three weeks ago by the Congressional Budget Office, nonpartisan arbiters—they said the provisions helped to reduce premiums.
Why? Because we got ineligible recipients off of Medicaid, illegal aliens enabled by young men who were riding the wagon, who are not eligible to be there.
Medicaid is intended for specific populations of U.S. citizens: young pregnant women down on their luck, the disabled and elderly.
Those resources are being drained from those folks, so we fixed that and reduced fraud and abuse of the program. The counterproposal on the CR would reverse that. It’s a simple fact.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: CBO did not say illegal immigrants. You’ve made your point there.
Watch the video below:
ABC’s George Stephanopoulos lectures Speaker Mike Johnson by telling him “here are the facts,” claiming illegal aliens have not and will not benefit from government health care.
Once Johnson explains it, Stephanopoulos embarrassingly huffs “you’ve made your point there” and… pic.twitter.com/vnso4v5yk7
ABC's George Stephanopoulos lectures Speaker Mike Johnson by telling him “here are the facts,” claiming illegal aliens have not and will not benefit from government health care.
Once Johnson explains it, Stephanopoulos embarrassingly huffs “you’ve made your point there” and… pic.twitter.com/vnso4v5yk7
Democrats lie, and then media people like George Stephanopoulos step in to back up their lies and attack Republicans. Rinse and repeat. That is what 99 percent of our media does every single day and everyone sees it now.
LOL! White House Trolls Schumer with Guilty Hotdog Meme After he Blames Republicans for Government Shutdown Despite Being Responsible
by Jordan Conradson
Oct. 1, 2025
The White House, from its official account, posted another meme about Democratic leadership on X, putting Chuck Schumer on blast for leading the government shutdown.
The government shut down at midnight after Senate Democrats used for ransom their demands for $1.5 trillion to provide free healthcare to illegal aliens and gender transition care for minors.
This is despite an overwhelming majority of voters, including nearly half of Democrats, saying in a recent New York Times poll that they did not think the Democrats should force a government shutdown to push their radical agenda.
The Senate Democrats’ proposal to reopen the government once again failed on Wednesday. They are expected to continue holding government funding hostage until they can secure $1.5 trillion to give welfare and healthcare to illegal aliens.
This is the latest in a series of memes against Democratic leaders amid the shutdown battle in the Senate. President Trump previously posted memes showing Hakeem Jeffries in a cartoonized mustache and wearing a Sombrero hat, mocking the Democratic Party’s obsession with illegal immigration as a voter-replacement scheme.
Jeffries, of course, blamed racism for the memes, despite being black and not mexican, because he’s a humorless liberal who thrives on identity politics.
As The Gateway Pundit reported, Vice President JD Vance responded to criticisms over the memes on Tuesday during a White House Press Briefing, where he slammed Jeffries for calling Trump racist and promised the memes would stop if the Democrat leaders “help us reopen the government.”
It's fitting that just before Vance said this, the White House released this beauty:
The meme originates from a skit in the Netflix show, "I Think You Should Leave," where comedian Tim Robinson, wearing a hot dog suit, crashes a hot dog-shaped car through a store window, then denies any responsibility.
"We're all trying to find the guy who did this and give him a spanking!" he screams at the police investigating the crime.
WATCH: VP Vance RIPS Schumer for Shutting the Government Down to Benefit Illegal Aliens – Says He’s “Terrified ” of AOC
by Jordan Conradson
Oct. 2, 2025
Vice President JD Vance tore into Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday, crediting him for the government shutdown, which Senate Democrats are using “for the benefit of illegal aliens.”
The government shut down at midnight after Senate Democrats used for ransom their demands for $1.5 trillion to provide free healthcare to illegal aliens and gender transition care for minors.
This is despite an overwhelming majority of voters, including nearly half of Democrats, saying in a recent New York Times poll that they did not think the Democrats should force a government shutdown to push their radical agenda.
Vance was asked by Newsmax’s Mike Carter about a tweet he posted on Tuesday, highlighting an old clip of Chuck Schumer in the 90s railing against taxpayer benefits for illegals, which he called “fraud in immigration.” Vance responded, “Chuck Schumer once recognized that it was disastrous to give illegal aliens rewards for breaking the law. Now he wants to shut down the government unless we…reward illegal aliens for breaking the law.”
Chuck Schumer once recognized that it was disastrous to give illegal aliens rewards for breaking the law.
Now he wants to shut down the government unless we…reward illegal aliens for breaking the law. https://t.co/iFm9snfiQ9
1996. Chuck Schumer rails against illegals getting taxpayer funded benefits because it incentivizes more illegal immigration:
“People say, why can't you stop illegal immigrants from coming here?"
“The number one answer we give our constituents is when they come here, they can… pic.twitter.com/NmgEXEYCbq
Vance told Carter that he thinks the Democratic leadership has “got it into their heads that the only way to be compassionate is to be compassionate to illegal aliens, rather than American citizens.”
” We believe that the American people’s government exists for the American people. That means the people who have the legal right to be here, and that’s why we’re fighting to reopen the government. And unfortunately, the Democrats are fighting to shut it down for the benefit of illegal aliens,” he added.
WATCH:
Carter: You responded to a post on X and Chuck Schumer on the House floor back in 1996, railing against illegal immigrants receiving taxpayer-funded benefits. You said Chuck Schumer once recognized that it was disastrous to give illegal aliens rewards for breaking the law. Now, he wants to shut down the government unless we reward illegal aliens for breaking the law. Why has Chuck Schumer changed his stance?
Vance: You know, that’s a good question. Actually, it’s a very tough question. Asking me to get in the head of Chuck Schumer is not a place I particularly want to be, but my basic read on it is that the entire Democratic Party, the political leadership— not every Democrat nationwide— but the political leadership of their party has got it into their heads that the only way to be compassionate is to be compassionate to illegal aliens, rather than American citizens.
If you go back to what Bill Clinton was saying, even Barack Obama, in some cases, what he was saying about illegal immigration 10, 15, 20 years ago, you would put them on the MAGA-Right, based purely on their rhetoric around illegal immigration. So, I don’t know why they’ve gone so far to the left. I think it’s bad for the country. I think it’s bad for them politically. But our principle— all I can do, is speak for the President that I serve and the country and the administration that I serve, right now. We believe that the American people’s government exists for the American people. That means the people who have the legal right to be here, and that’s why we’re fighting to reopen the government. And unfortunately, the Democrats are fighting to shut it down for the benefit of illegal aliens.
Vance RIPS Schumer for Shutting the Government Down to Benefit Illegal Aliens
But earlier in the briefing, during his opening remarks, Vance delivered a scathing rebuke of Schumer’s reversal. He stated that Schumer is “listening to the far left radicals in his own party,” likely because he is “terrified” that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will challenge him for his seat next election.
WATCH:
Vance: I Think a lot of Americans are asking themselves, why did this happen? Why did the Democrats shut down the government, despite, as Caroline said, voting on the exact same piece of legislation six months ago. And there are a lot of different spins that we can put on it, a lot of different answers that we could give, all of them true. One answer I already gave is that they want to give health care benefits to illegal aliens. That is true. They gave us legislative text that would have undone us cutting off health care benefits for illegal aliens. That’s one of the things that they asked for.
But the reality here, and let’s be honest about the politics, is that Chuck Schumer is terrified he’s going to get a primary challenge from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The reason why the American people’s government is shut down is because Chuck Schumer is listening to the far left radicals in his own party because he’s terrified of a primary challenge. So, I’d invite Chuck Schumer to join the moderate Democrats and 52 Senate Republicans, do the right thing, open up the People’s Government, and then let’s fix healthcare Policy for the American people.
Defense secretary’s speech touching on physical fitness and doctrine of lethality was seen as ‘egotistical’ and ‘dangerous’
By George Chidi
Naveed Shah, a veteran and activist who served as an enlisted public affairs specialist – an army journalist – uncharacteristically found himself searching for words to describe the address of the newly styled secretary of war to flag officers on Tuesday.
“A lot of the words that are coming to me aren’t fit to print,” said Shah, policy director for Common Defense, a veterans advocacy organization. “The people in that room who have served for 20, 30-plus years in uniform do not need Pete Hegseth to tell them about warrior ethos.”
Hegseth’s hour-long Ted talk-style address touching on physical fitness, the doctrine of lethality and the perils of DEI certainly drew more attention than a policy memo might have, and perhaps more than Donald Trump’s rambling, politically charged hour-long speech that followed.
a man in a suit speaks and gesticulates
No more ‘woke’ in the US military: key takeaways from Pete Hegseth’s speech
Read more
But the attention came at the cost of respect, said Dana Pittard, a retired army general who commanded soldiers in Iraq and co-author of Hunting the Caliphate.
“I thought it was insulting,” Pittard said of the address, rejecting Hegseth’s assertion that senior officers of color – like himself – had benefitted from a non-existent quota system for promotions.
Online chatter in military groups ahead of the unprecedented, secrecy-shrouded meeting of 800 generals and admirals called to Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia had revolved around a demand for some loyalty oath to the administration, or public firings or a declaration of war. Some described it as karmic revenge for decades of mandatory hour-long safety briefings held by unit commanders before dismissing troops for the weekend. Many also wondered if the expensive challenge to security could have been an email.
“Certainly, addressing the troops could be useful or beneficial, but to call 800-plus generals and senior enlisted advisers from around the world into this room just before a government shutdown? It’s not just bad optics or strategy,” Shah said. “A bad cold could have threatened our entire chain of command.”
Pittard said it was well within the authority of a defense secretary to call a meeting of generals, but that the display was “egotistical” and a waste of resources. And Trump’s subsequent comments created “a dangerous, slippery slope … to make it so partisan”, he said.
“He talked about the previous commander in chief, president Biden, and then talked about the ‘enemy within’. That is a dangerous slippery slope to be referring to that to the leaders of the US military. Very dangerous.”
Hegseth’s discussion of physical fitness standards for women in combat roles met a more nuanced response, particularly from women who have served. Hegseth said that women in combat roles would have to meet the same fitness standards as men, including tasks like carrying a body and marching with heavy gear. “If women can make it, excellent. If not, it is what it is,” Hegseth said.
“I’m a fairness advocate and the avenue of approach that I’m able to see is that they’re creating a pathway of fairness,” said Sally Roberts, an Afghanistan war veteran and Team USA world medalist in women’s wrestling who founded Wrestle Like A Girl, which advocates for women’s wrestling opportunities in school and elsewhere.
Roberts said she had not been allowed to serve in some selective units, despite her physical abilities. “I was held back because I didn’t fit the right idea of who they wanted for those particular units or groups, and I feel like this has the opportunity to actually level the playing field for those high performing, high achieving individuals that want to succeed, but have barriers to entry.”
Amy McGrath, a retired Marine pilot and former Senate candidate, described Hegseth’s comments about women as disparaging.
“He claimed the military needs to ‘return to the male standard’ in combat jobs (of 1990!), but here’s the truth: there has never been a separate male and female standard” she wrote on Instagram. “When women entered combat roles, one standard was set, and we’ve been meeting it ever since. You can either do the job or you can’t. Period.”
Tamara Stevens, a former navy cryptological technician, said she found Hegseth’s discussion of “lethality” more alarming than anything else, given the context that Trump provided later with comments about using deployments to American cities as a training ground.
“Basically, he’s saying that we’re no better than Hamas because people are joining because they want to break things and they want to kill people,” she said. “I mean, for anyone that’s been in the military, he’s not qualified to be secretary of defense. He’s barely qualified to be a host on Fox News.
“But to say these things in front of the preeminent generals and admirals leading our military? Has he no honor, to say that we don’t belong in polite society? Maybe he doesn’t.”
No, Democrats aren’t trying to fund health care for “illegal aliens.”
By Jonathan Cohn
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY’S CLOSING ARGUMENT heading into the government shutdown is a big, brazen lie.
The lie is so big and so brazen that it’s almost not worth addressing, because doing so gives the claim far more credibility than it deserves.
But it’s become ubiquitous in Republican talking points, from the president on down. There’s also a chance some people will believe it, because it feeds into some common misconceptions about health care and immigration policy, as well as preconceptions of how the parties operate. And in a standoff that has been all about political leverage and public opinion, setting the record straight matters.
So let’s get to it.
The claim is about what Democrats are demanding in exchange for their support on a spending bill that would keep the government open past midnight tonight, when funding runs out. Remember, Republicans control both the White House and Congress, but need Democratic votes in the Senate to approve a new spending measure.
The central Democratic demand is about health care: They want Republicans to extend a temporary Biden-era program that has lowered health insurance costs for more than 20 million Americans buying coverage through the Affordable Care Act. And they want Republicans to undo at least some of the dramatic Medicaid cuts that the GOP enacted over the summer, as part of Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
Trump and Republican leaders have refused to negotiate. And after flailing about with a few different arguments—including a preposterous claim that Democrats just want to pad the profits of insurance companies—they have settled on a new line: that Democrats want to fund health care for “illegal aliens.”
I put the phrase in quotes because it’s the phrase Republican officials have used over and over again—literally eight times by Vice President JD Vance in one recent Fox News interview, as my Bulwark colleague Will Saletan observed the other day.
Vance made the claim yet again on Monday while standing outside the White House, following a failed negotiation session between GOP and Democratic leaders. At his side was House Speaker Mike Johnson, who’s been putting out the same message, including in a Sunday tweet saying that Democrats “want to give free health care to ILLEGAL ALIENS paid by hardworking Americans.”
And then there is Trump, who has been using the same line in conversations with reporters and on his own social media feeds. On Monday night, he even reposted an AI fake of a press appearance by the Democratic congressional leaders in which the fake Sen. Chuck Schumer says: “If we give all these illegal aliens free health care, we might be able to get them on our side so they can vote for us.” A digitally animated, sombrero-wearing, mustachioed Rep. Hakeem Jeffries looks on as mariachi music plays in the background.
If you’re not too busy gasping at what it says about the president’s state of mind that he’d post this, you might be wondering what on earth he and the Republicans are talking about when they claim Democrats want to fund health care for illegal aliens.
It’s a very good question, because people who are in the United States unlawfully cannot get federally funded health insurance. They cannot sign up for Medicaid. They cannot get federally subsidized coverage through the Affordable Care Act’s online marketplaces.
In other words, what Trump, Vance and the other Republicans are saying is just not true.
SO WHAT COULD THEY HAVE IN MIND with this claim?
It’s hard to be sure, because neither the White House nor Johnson’s office has put out material to substantiate their arguments, or responded to my queries asking for evidence. And when a reporter finally asked the president about it, during a press appearance in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump gave a rambling non-response that quickly veered into other immigration-related topics.
In the same press appearance, he said of the Democrats “they want to give incredible Medicare—the Cadillac Medicare—to illegal immigrants.” That’s also not true, in case you were wondering.
As best as I can tell, the Republicans who actually know what they are talking about are zeroing in on a small portion of federal health spending that’s in play as part of the shutdown debate. It’s funding connected either to the Affordable Care Act subsidies Democrats want to extend or to the GOP Medicaid cuts they want to roll back. And they are leaning heavily on a set of two flimsy assertions that appeared in an early September GOP press release and echo claims made by the Paragon Health Institute, an influential conservative think tank.
One of those assertions is about rules that opened up “Obamacare” subsidies to a small number of non-citizens, including some who are in the country because they have protected status. Republicans might not want these people to be eligible for those subsidies. But these people are not “illegal aliens.” They have permission to be in the United States.
The other main assertion is that people here unlawfully are tricking the system, and getting coverage even though they are not eligible. It’s an extension of another highly questionable argument Republicans have made repeatedly over the past few months, which is that many millions of people have been signing up for either Medicaid or subsidized Affordable Care Act insurance fraudulently.
The evidence for that claim is awfully shaky, for reasons you can read here and here and here and here. But even if it were true that millions of Americans were getting Affordable Care Act insurance through deception or error, there’s no reason to think that large numbers of undocumented immigrants would be among them.
For one thing, enrollment systems check citizenship status pretty carefully, by cross-referencing Social Security numbers with data from the Department of Homeland Security. People who apply as non-citizens—say, because they have protected status—must supply other forms of documentation to prove that they have permission to be here and that they qualify for one of the special exemptions allowing them to get coverage.
The system isn’t foolproof; no system is. Maybe some undocumented immigrants are going to the trouble of faking data, and maybe DHS is missing them. But most people in the United States unlawfully steer clear of government programs, precisely because they fear triggering deportation for themselves or loved ones.
“People who are immigrants are afraid, they’re not going to risk exposure,” Shelby Gonzales, vice president for immigration policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, told me in a phone interview. “We’ve got problems getting people who are fully eligible, people who have been eligible for a long time, to trust that they can provide their information.”
That last part is well known to researchers and analysts. Immigrants legally eligible for federally funded benefit programs like Medicaid are actually less likely to get them than U.S. citizens. And during the first Trump administration, immigrants repeatedly told pollsters and journalists they were afraid to seek out public services—or even, in some cases, basic health care.
IF YOU REALLY WANT to give Vance and the Republicans the benefit of the doubt in a way they never do for their political adversaries—if you want to consider the most defensible part of their claim, for the sake of intellectual honesty—you could zero in on a single provision of the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB).
It’s a cut tied to a program called “Emergency Medicaid.”
Emergency Medicaid reimburses hospitals for emergency care they provide to immigrants not entitled to federally funded insurance. This includes people who are here lawfully but not eligible for federal programs. It also includes undocumented immigrants.
The OBBB reduces the federal contribution to Emergency Medicaid, saving about $28 billion in federal spending over ten years. If you squint hard enough, you could argue this is an example of the Republicans cutting funds that had been paying for health care of undocumented immigrants—and that Democrats want to restore that money, insofar as they have said they want to undo the legislation’s Medicaid cuts.
But here are a few other things to keep in mind:
That $28 billion over ten years represents less than 3 percent of the health care cuts within the OBBB and less than 1 percent of total Medicaid spending, according to data from the Urban Institute and KFF.
Only a portion of that money actually finances care for undocumented immigrants. Some of it finances care for people here legally but not yet eligible for Medicaid. An example would be people with work permits and those seeking permanent residency, who by law must wait five years before enrolling in Medicaid.
Emergency Medicaid doesn’t go to individuals. It’s a direct subsidy to hospitals and (in some states) outpatient providers, for care they provide.
A lot of the money is spent on truly emergency services like resuscitating somebody from a heart attack or delivering a baby that hospitals and clinics are obligated to provide, thanks to a 1980s law, signed by Ronald Reagan, that prohibits denying care to people who need stabilizing or life-saving treatment.
One other thing to note is that the cut does not apply to Florida, Texas, and eight other states that have refused to expand Medicaid as part of the Affordable Care Act. So this is a cut that largely spares some of the biggest red states, which could be a byproduct of GOP philosophical priorities lining up with those states’ choices, GOP leaders wanting to protect politically friendly states, or both.
As Georgetown research professor Edwin Park told me: “Emergency Medicaid is about reimbursing providers, especially hospitals, and the Emergency Medicaid provision is actually more about further increasing the cost-shifts to expansion states by lowering the match for Emergency Medicaid reimbursements.”
Add it all up, and even the most expansive, generous reading of the Emergency Medicaid argument wouldn’t come close to validating claims by Trump, Vance, and the other GOP leaders.
“Republican talking points have consistently featured claims that Democrats are trying to provide health care to undocumented immigrants, but this debate isn’t about that,” Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at KFF, told me. “Democrats are looking to restore health coverage for citizens and lawfully present immigrants. It is those groups that will bear the brunt of cuts to Medicaid and the ACA.”
To be perfectly clear: Not a single Democrat has talked about wanting to fund care for people in the United States unlawfully. Instead, what Democrats have said is they want to undo Medicaid cuts projected to leave nearly 10 million Americans uninsured—and extend a temporary Biden-era initiative in order to avoid a jump in health insurance premiums expected to affect 20 million more.
You might agree with that. Or not. You might think tying this to the shutdown makes sense. Or not. But you can say one thing about Democrats’ underlying claims that you definitely can’t say about the Republican counterpart: They are telling the truth.
Yesterday, at 5:46PM, the Senate rejected a cloture vote on the Democratic continuing resolution, which in addition to funding government, would extend healthcare support and prohibit impoundment. It was a party line vote.
Yesterday, at 6:41PM, the Senate rejected a cloture vote on the Republican continuing resolution. Three Democrats voted with 52 Republicans in favor:
Catherine Cortez Masto
John Fetterman
Angus King
Rand Paul voted with Democrats against.
And so, at midnight, nonessential functions of the Federal government started to shut down.
Both NYT and WaPo have pieces explaining that polarization is at the core of the shutdown. That’s facile. Three Democrats, certainly moderates, already did vote with Republicans. The six who voted to let Republicans vote for the continuing resolution (and in Jeanne Shaheen’s case, also for the CR) in March — Dick Durbin, Kirsten Gillibrand, Maggie Hassan, Gary Peters, Brian Schatz, as well as Chuck Schumer — could well cave now, though several of these (at least Durbin and Schatz) did so from an institutionalist view rather than a centrist one. The truly radical edges of Senate which are, with perhaps only Bernie as the exception, on the far right, have always been the ones to push for a shutdown in the past.
One reason we don’t know how things will go is that the conventional wisdom about shutdowns may — may — no longer apply. In my opinion, a lot will depend on what becomes visible because of the shutdown, a lot will depend on how far public opinion deviates, and in which direction, from beltway conventional wisdom.
Seeing Russ Vought
Start with Russ Vought. To my mind, too few Democrats have framed their primary message — that this is a fight to actually return to existing funding levels before the Big Ugly Bill stripped healthcare from millions of Americans and from rural hospitals — to include the power of the purse. That is, almost no one is being told that the issue, and one of two main differences in the competing continuing resolutions, pertains to protecting Congress’ power of the purse.
The SCOTUS shadow docket opinion permitting Vought to usurp that power as the case moves forward has raised the stakes of this for Democrats and, as this Politico article lays out, made it easier for them to explain the stakes.
Now the Supreme Court’s brief but potent ruling last Friday giving Trump the thumbs up to withhold $4 billion is serving as lighter fluid for Democrats’ escalating rage.
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), a senior appropriator, called the Supreme Court decision “an absurdity” and “a pile of garbage,” adding that the justices were in effect dabbling at “policymaking — not constitutional law.”
The battle to rein in Trump and White House budget director Russ Vought through a piece of must-pass legislation has been eclipsed by Democrats’ larger push to extend expanded Affordable Care Act tax credits that are due to expire at the end of the year.
But Democrats are seething about the Supreme Court’s “shadow docket” opinion, arguing that Trump and the high court are ignoring the intent of the 1974 law designed to prevent presidents from withholding federal cash. And they see themselves as the last line of defense.
“He is unchecked at this point,” Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), another senior appropriator, said of Trump in an interview. “We have to check him. No one should have that kind of power.”
Angus King’s feckless explanation for why he voted with Republicans unintentionally makes the political case why.
B]y shutting the government, we’re actually giving Donald Trump more power. And that was why I voted yes. I did not want to hand Donald Trump and Russell Vought and Stephen Miller additional power to decimate the federal government, to decimate the programs that are so important to so many people.
Here is what Donald Trump said just this afternoon: ‘We can do things during a shutdown that are irreversible, that are bad for them. He means the Democrats like cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like. We can do things medically in other ways, including benefits we can cut numbers of people out.’
Maya Angelou once said, ‘If someone tells you who they are, you should believe them.’ Donald Trump, in this quote, tells us what he plans to do if there’s a shutdown and it will not be good for the American people. This was a difficult vote, but in the end, I could not, in good conscience, vote to shut the government down and hand even greater power to the trio of Donald Trump, Stephen Miller and Russell Vought. This was a vote of conscience on behalf of the State of Maine and the people of the United States.
It is absolutely true that Trump gets to decide which government functions are essential and non-essential. It is absolutely the case that ICE will be on the streets even while Courts will soon have to work at a slower pace, meaning it will be harder to get emergency orders preventing imminent harm, as the ACLU was able to do within hours of the March shutdown.
But King is failing basic civics if he thinks this shutdown gives Russ Vought any new power than he had yesterday, any more power than he was usurping yesterday, a point the American Prospect made yesterday.
That Supreme Court ruling involved $4 billion in foreign aid funding that the administration semi-formally tried to rescind; it doesn’t include the $410 billion that the White House has simply withheld from programs across the country. That represents close to half of all outlays in the fiscal year 2025 nondefense discretionary budget, which have simply vanished, perhaps permanently after the last day of the fiscal year, which is today. The Office of Management and Budget, as Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) has explained, has offered no explanation of how money is being spent or where withheld spending is going.
About 12 percent of the federal workforce has been terminated. Last week, we heard threats from OMB director Russ Vought that a shutdown will really allow the Office of Management and Budget to fire workers. A shutdown provides no actual legal authority to fire federal employees, but then again there was no legal authority to rescind or withhold appropriated spending without congressional approval, or put workers on extended administrative leave, as they did with the unauthorized buyout back in January.
As Daniel Schuman points out, Vought presented guidance to agencies in February that they should prepare for mass layoffs by today, September 30. Any allegedly shutdown-induced “mass layoff” should be seen as the continuation of an existing plan that has been public for seven months.
The larger point is that the government is already shut down, and has been for several months, as the Trump administration initiated an assault on this system of government. Activities deemed “essential” by the president—stalking immigrants, lobbing missiles at Iran, etc.—have gone on, but activities purported to conflict with the president’s policies, regardless of whether they have been authorized by the lawmaking body of the United States, have been stopped, interrupted only by occasional federal courts telling the president that doing so is illegal, which the Supreme Court subsequently brushes aside.
The shutdown can certainly be used rhetorically to justify more firings, but they’re just the same firings with a different rationale, one that is no more legal or legitimate than before. Of course, “legal” and “legitimate” are loaded words given the rubber-stampers at the Supreme Court.
What changes with Trump’s promise that he’s going to start retaliating against Democrats — on top of the fact that 40% of the workers he will be targeting are Trump voters and on top of the fact that the policies he will target are the ones that help average Americans and so are popular — is that to use this as leverage, Trump has to claim credit.
Trump has to make visible all the damage he’s doing to the services government offers.
That doesn’t change the legal reality (that, with SCOTUS’ blessing, Trump is usurping the constitutional powers of Congress). It has the ability to change the politics. It’ll be DOGE all over again, where Elon Musk’s loud bragging about the damage he was doing made him an easy political target.
Now it’s Russ Vought’s turn to become the villain in the popular understanding.
Live by healthcare and die without it
Progressives have hated the Democratic focus on healthcare (and it didn’t even keep all 47 Democratic Senators on board).
But now everyone is stuck with those terms and it is time to exploit it. The longer this shutdown goes, the more obvious the initial effects of the Big Ugly bill in terms of rural hospital shutdowns and expiring subsidies for ACA premiums will become.
It makes it easy to demonstrate — as Tammy Duckworth did here — how badly Republican members of Congress are screwing over their own constituents.
Every single Republican, starting from Trump’s Wormtongue, is claiming that the Americans who rely on ACA are “illegal.” It’s an atrocious claim, and those who do rely on ACA should easily be able to demonstrate how grotesque this is.
If you have a Republican member of Congress, either House or Senate, please take time to — as visibly as possible, whether on Xitter, a poster by their office, over a beer with your MAGAt brother, or at least in a call to their office — to push back on one of these claims. If you rely on ACA, post a picture of yourself with your military medals or your “I voted” sticker. You won’t convince them. You’ll raise the political price of this cynical bullshit.
Finally, if by some miracle Democrats do get enough leverage to force Republicans to negotiate , it could rupture the lockstep unity that Republicans have achieved this year, because right wingers don’t want healthcare subsidies in any case.
The year-end expiration of health insurance subsidies first created under the Affordable Care Act is already splitting the GOP, seeming to vindicate Democrats’ decision to predicate their shutdown messaging on extending the tax credits.
Republican leaders have been trying to punt the issue as they work to force Democratic senators to swallow a seven-week stopgap measure ahead of the midnight deadline, insisting they will not broach the subject while agencies are closed.
But top Democrats said they heard a different message Monday in their Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump, leaving the sitdown convinced he’s willing to negotiate on the expiring tax credits in the weeks ahead.
That is already raising alarms among conservative Republicans, who despise the 2010 Democratic health care law known as Obamacare and who would be more than happy to see a 2021 enhancement of the premium tax credits sunset cold turkey on Dec. 31.
“The right proposal is to let them expire,” Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said Tuesday. “It’s been a complete fraud. People don’t even know they have these policies. So the right thing is to let them expire.”
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), a leader of the hard-right House GOP faction, urged party leaders not to cut an “11th hour” deal on “Covid-era inflationary subsidies” in an X post Sunday.
“We’ve never voted for them. We shouldn’t now,” he said. “Do. Not. Blink.”
But Trump — who has veered the GOP away from anti-entitlement rhetoric on programs like Social Security and Medicaid — has not publicly ruled out an extension of the expanded tax credits, which benefit about 20 million Americans. Instead, in recent days, he has kept his public comments focused on purported Democratic efforts to benefit undocumented immigrants, who are already barred from receiving the
We’re all stuck with healthcare being the focus of this shutdown. And, like it or not, it provides a number of points of leverage, both for members of Congress but — just as importantly — for citizens to pressure their own members of Congress.
Building malaise
And all this happens on top of building malaise that has — finally!! — led some MAGAts to start souring on Donald Trump. WaPo unpacked some of the reasons why in this profile of two MAGA voters that explores why 25% of Trump voters are angry about his economy. Much of it stems from the way tariffs are making it impossible for these two to run their small businesses, a florist and a funeral parlor.
A quarter of conservative voters disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy, polling shows, as tariffs upend business and lower-income Americans cut back their spending. And a recent outcry from MAGA voters and influencers over the Epstein files demonstrates the pressure Trump is under to deliver for his base — which the GOP needs to energize and turn out in the 2026 midterms and beyond.
Jessie said she planned to oppose her local congressman in next year’s GOP primary, upset by his stance on the Epstein files, and she wasn’t sure she could trust Trump’s vice president, JD Vance, who many believe will run to succeed Trump.
Carter, 37, who runs the local funeral home, also voted for Trump last year, believing he would be good for the economy. Now tariffs are pushing up prices for one of his suppliers, and Carter isn’t sure how long he can hold off raising his own rates. The tariffs, he said, “seemed unplanned and childish.”
“I’m not an economist,” he added. “Probably going to hurt before it gets better.”
“But we also really don’t have a suggestion on how to fix that,” Jessie interjected. “We don’t understand enough about it.”
But Epstein and Trump’s dangerous foreign policy is another.
But Carter felt sometimes that Trump was too focused on immigration. Jessie listened to influencers such as Joe Rogan, Theo Von and Tucker Carlson, who often aligned with Trump but sometimes voiced concerns: Was it really “America First” for Trump to bomb Iran? Why hadn’t the Trump administration released the full Epstein files? (Officials released some files this year, but critics called them underwhelming.)
Jessie and Carter were sitting in the living room one day in July when Jessie saw a reference on Facebook to Trump’s latest Truth Social post. Republicans and Democrats alike were pressing for more information on Epstein, and Trump was furious.
“Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this ‘bullshit,’ hook, line, and sinker,” Trump wrote.
“Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, don’t even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success,” the presidentcontinued, “because I don’t want their support anymore!”
Jessie turned to her husband.
“It’s gotta be fake,” she said.
For as long as the shutdown lasts, Democrats will be able to point to Mike Johnson’s efforts to delay the swearing in of Adelita Grijalva, who would have been the final signature on the dispatch petition to force the government to release their files, as part of his effort to cover up for a sex trafficker.
And during the shutdown, there will continue to be disclosures, such as the recent news that Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and Steve Bannon are all in the Epstein files. Todd Blanche asked Ghislaine Maxwell about Musk (who in any case denies he traveled to Epstein’s island), but did not ask about Thiel and Bannon, suggesting that Thiel’s funding of the sex trafficker may be among the things the Trump Administration is trying to hide. And Tara Palmeri just revealed that the deciding vote in the Senate against releasing the files, Lisa Murkowski, may implicate ties Murkowski has to Ghislaine’s spouse. Just today, WSJ described how many more banks were happy to do business with a convicted sex trafficker after Epstein was convicted.
Then there’s the Argentine bailout. While Treasury has not yet released guidelines on the bailout (it has, however, posted Todd Bessent’s positively craven speech to explain why Javier Milei warranted an Atlantic Council global citizenship award), when Bessent announced the bailout on Xitter, he described that Argentina was “a systemically important U.S. ally,” the kind of language that suggests he can orchestrate this bailout (ahead of an election in 25 days) even in spite of the shutdown.
This is the kind of story that can fester.
As Politico described, Republicans are already outraged that Trump is bailing out Argentina even as Argentina poaches America’s soybean markets
[P]owerful agriculture groups and their Republican allies in Congress are also sounding alarms about the deal.
“Why would USA help bail out Argentina while they take American soybean producers’ biggest market??? We shld use leverage at every turn to help hurting farm economy Family farmers shld be top of mind in negotiations by representatives of USA,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said on X Thursday.
Grassley said farmers were “very upset” about Argentina “selling soybeans to China right after USA bail out.”
The American Soybean Association said Argentina, a major agricultural producer, sold 20 shiploads of soybeans to China around the same time Bessent announced the U.S. was exploring a financial package. The transaction was eased by Buenos Aires waiving taxes on its soybean exports. China has turned to other major soybean exporters, such as Argentina and Brazil amid a trade war with the U.S.
The White House directed POLITICO to Trump’s comments in the Oval Office on Thursday, where he said he’d use some of the windfall from tariffs to support U.S. farmers. The White House added that the administration believes an Argentine economic collapse would hurt U.S. farmers more by lowering the price of Argentine agricultural commodities. Treasury did not comment.
A person familiar with the discussions within the Trump administration about Argentina, indicated Milei’s star has dimmed in some corners in the administration. The person, who was granted anonymity to speak freely about the administration’s evolving approach to Argentina, said this policy is being mainly pursued by Treasury and expressed concerns about Milei’s ability to actually lift his country out of its economic doldrums.
“Milei is done politically, his sister is corrupt, his finance minister is an insider trader, and they have pissed away $15 billion in IMF money and $15 billion in central bank reserves propping up a crap currency, and now Treasury wants American taxpayers to double down on stupid,” the person said. The person added that Milei “was a fraud. Came in, betrayed all the conservatives and libertarians that supported him … it’s all a wash.”
Democrats are not letting this one slide. Not only did Elizabeth Warren (predictably) start the pushback on it, but fourteen Democrats, including Schumer, wrote a letter to Bessent making a stink about about it.
American farmers are confronting unprecedented challenges under your sweeping and uncertain trade policies. Across-the-board tariffs are increasing the cost of critical inputs farmers need to produce a crop, like fertilizer and equipment, at the same time retaliatory tariffs are making U.S. agricultural products less competitive and putting key export markets at risk. Nearly 20 percent of U.S. farm production is typically sold to customers abroad. With those markets in jeopardy, farmers and businesses across the agricultural supply chain are now facing falling commodity prices and shrinking profit margins, while farm debt, bankruptcy rates, and distressed operations are rising across the country. Soybean producers have been particularly affected, as China – historically our largest agricultural export market – has purchased no U.S. soybeans since May and bought 51 percent less through July compared to the same period last year.
Despite the crisis facing our farmers, your attention appears to be elsewhere: last Monday, September 22, your Administration announced it “stands ready to do what is needed” to bail out Argentina amidst the country’s economic turmoil. Argentina’s President, Javier Milei, is notably one of your close personal friends and ideological allies and faces a crucial midterm election on October 26.
Immediately following your Administration’s announcement regarding potential U.S. financial support for Argentina, Argentina suspended export taxes on soybeans, corn, wheat, and other agricultural commodities. Argentina’s policy change had immediate consequences for American farmers. Argentine agricultural products are now significantly more competitive on global markets, and Chinese buyers have reportedly purchased up to 40 cargoes of soybeans from Argentina in just one week. Now, even after Argentina suspended its export duties, your Administration is moving full steam ahead with its plans to offer financial assistance to the tune of $20 billion – rewarding a country that has implemented policies that directly disadvantage American farmers in favor of our competitors.
It is unclear why you are choosing to use taxpayer dollars to bolster the reelection campaign of a foreign president while they take steps to undermine U.S. farmers. As the American Soybean Association put it last week: “U.S. soybean prices are falling; harvest is underway; and farmers read headlines not about securing a trade agreement with China, but that the U.S. government is extending $20 billion in economic support to Argentina.”
Rather than reversing course on tariffs or abandoning your plans to bail out Argentina, you are reportedly planning to provide American farmers with an aid package, nominally paid for with tariff revenues. Farmers want fair trade and steady markets, not tariff uncertainty and short-term aid payments. The best way to support American producers would be to end your chaotic tariff policies that are hamstringing farmers in the first place. Meanwhile, your Administration has failed to reach any trade deal with China that would restore market access for U.S. soybean farmers.
Even Ruben Gallego, who didn’t sign the letter, is willing to shittalk about it.
All that’s before anyone looks closely at Bessent’s own personal stake in this bailout, which Judd Legum explained.
Bessent’s announcement had massive economic benefits for one American: billionaire hedge fund manager Rob Citrone, who has placed large bets on the future of the Argentine economy. Citrone, the co-founder of Discovery Capital Management, is also a friend and former colleague of Bessent—a fact that has not been previously reported in American media outlets. Citrone, by his own account, helped make Bessent very wealthy.
Since Javier Milei, a right-wing populist, became president of Argentina in December 2023, Citrone has invested heavily in Argentina. Citrone has bought Argentine debt and purchased equity in numerous Argentine companies that are closely tied to the performance of the overall economy. Due to Argentina’s massive debt load and chaotic economic history — in 2023, Argentina’s inflation rate was over 200% — Citrone purchased Argentine bonds with an interest rate of nearly 20%. (Citrone has declined to detail exactly “how much of the $2.8 billion he manages is invested“ in Argentina.)
Citrone, who is also a minority owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, is effectively betting on Milei’s right-wing economic program, which emphasizes deregulation and sharply reduced government spending. Citrone viewed “the probability of default as minuscule,” even though Argentina has defaulted on its debts many times in the past.
In the short term, this appeared to be a savvy investment. After taking office, Milei fired tens of thousands of government workers, cut spending on welfare and research, and achieved fiscal balance. Inflation was reduced to around 40%, which spurred economic growth and foreign investment. Argentina’s economic rebound contributed to Discovery Capital’s 52% return in 2024.
Then it all came crashing down.
[snip]
In early September, days before Bessent’s announcement, Citrone purchased more Argentine bonds.
Bessent’s personal and professional relationship with Citrone has spanned decades. In a May 14 appearance on the “Goldman Sachs Exchanges” podcast, Citrone revealed how he delivered a financial windfall for Bessent. They were both working for investor George Soros in 2013 when Citrone convinced Bessent and Soros to bet on the U.S. dollar against the Japanese yen.
[snip]
When Argentina’s economy began to falter in April, it was Citrone who “intervened before Scott Bessent…to advocate for an IMF agreement with Argentina,” CE Noticias Financieras reported. Bessent subsequently played a key role in convincing the IMF to extend a separate $20 billion currency stabilization package. (That package ultimately proved insufficient to stabilize the Argentine peso.)
As Legum describes, there’s also a tie with the much more visible CPAC.
As Gallego made clear: Donald Trump is paying for Argentines to have better healthcare than Americans even while Americans start to go without basic food support. It’s the kind of sell-out that will infuriate Trump’s base.
Finally, consider how a longer shutdown will work.
ICE is funded. Not only would Trump declare ICE essential in any case, many of their operations were funded by the very same Big Ugly bill that cut healthcare.
And so ICE goons will still be wandering the streets, kidnapping people’s grannies, hospitalizing journalists, with their butt cracks and beer bellies creating a spectacle that sours people on ICE. And that will be happening even as people start losing essential benefits.
Nothing will demonstrate more starkly Trump’s — Stephen Miller’s, really — promise of government. Miller wants government to do nothing but kidnap brown people, even as working white people lose their safety net and pay higher prices.
No one knows how this shutdown will go. It truly is unlike any shutdown that has gone before.
But it will serve to make the reality of Trump’s abuse of power visible in a way that has not fully happened yet.
Ty Cobb, who was a White House lawyer during Trump's first term as president, left this comment under an acquaintance's private Facebook post.
By Anna Rascouët-Paz
Claim:
In early July 2025, former Trump White House lawyer Ty Cobb said Trump was "worse than anyone in our history."
Rating:Correct Attribution
During the summer of 2025, a claim spread that attorney Ty Cobb, former counsel at the White House during U.S. President Donald Trump's first term, said that the president was "worse than anyone in our history."
For example, a post on Facebook shared the supposed quote:
[Trump] is worse than anyone in our history in my experience and opinion. As people seem to have forgotten, I was very critical of Biden and despite knowing him and his family well, I spent 4 years writing about his cognitive decline and weak foreign policy. He had competent advisors though including very decent men as AG and head of the FBI. While you could fairly question their effectiveness you couldn't doubt their character. Trump has real contempt for the country, appoints wholly unqualified people to key positions and just kicked 12 million people off Medicaid, eliminated child food support and killed worldwide healthcare efforts monitoring pandemic producing diseases including Ebola (among countless other dangerous things).
Other Facebook posts relayed the alleged quote, and it also appeared on X and Reddit. The rumor seemingly first appeared in a July 5, 2025.
Cobb confirmed the quote was correctly attributed. "I didn't realize it was being so widely circulated," he said in an email.
Cobb added that he had written these words in response to an acquaintance's private post on Facebook. While he asked Snopes not to publish the exchange to respect the person's privacy, Snopes was able to see the original comment and verified that the text internet users reproduced and shared matched what Cobb wrote almost word for word — except for the first word. In his original comment, Cobb had written "He," referring to Trump, as the president had been one of the topics of the exchange.
Citadel CEO Ken Griffin said it was "anti-American" for Trump to favor big companies with tariff relief.
He said when the state gets involved, "picking winners and losers," the US as a whole loses.
Trump has offered tariff relief to companies like Apple that have pledged to invest heavily in the US.
By Aditi Bharade
Citadel's CEO said it was "anti-American" for President Donald Trump to give big companies tariff relief.
Ken Griffin, the billionaire CEO and founder of the hedge fund, criticized Trump during a Thursday CNBC interview.
"Is that our country, that we're going to favor the big and the connected? That's not the American story," Griffin said to CNBC.
"When the state becomes involved in picking winners and losers, there's only one way this game ends: All of us lose," he said.
His comments come after Trump said in August that he would impose a 100% tariff on the import of semiconductors, but companies that promised to invest in the US would be exempt from it.
In the same month, Apple announced that it would invest $100 billion in its US facilities, in addition to the $500 billion it pledged in February.
Trump also allowed American chip giants like Nvidia and AMD to sell some chips to China if they agreed to grant the US government a 15% cut of their China revenue.
"The line outside the White House of every business arguing why they should be exempt from paying tariffs on what they import into their products is nauseating," Griffin said to CNBC.
Griffin has previously weighed in on the Trump administration's economic policies.
In September, Griffin co-authored an opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal, in which he criticized Trump's attacks on the Federal Reserve's independence. Trump has been pressuring Fed chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates for months.
"Congress has a duty to oversee the Fed, and this oversight must be free of undue interference from the executive branch," Griffin wrote in the opinion piece.
The Trump administration suffered two legal defeats within hours on Friday, with a federal judge in Rhode Island ruling the president's executive order on "gender ideology" can't be applied to National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grantees.
By James Bickerton
Separately in California, a panel of Ninth Circuit judges affirmed the administration must hand over documents related to the firing of federal workers.
Newsweek contacted the White House and Department of Justice for comment via email and press inquiry form on Saturday, outside of regular office hours.
Why It Matters
With Republicans controlling both the Senate and House of Representatives the courts have emerged as one of the main impediments to Trump administration policy in recent months.
The administration has suffered legal defeats on subjects including the imposition of punitive measures against law firms involved in proceedings against Trump, a bid to strip Haitan migrants of legal protection and sanctions on International Criminal Court employees.
What To Know
In Rhode Island on Friday Senior District Judge William Smith, a federal judge, ruled that President Trump's January 20 executive order titled "Defending woman from gender ideology extremism" couldn't be applied to those given grants by the NEA.
The executive order said the U.S. government only recognizes two genders, male and female, and stated federal funds "shall not be used to promote gender ideology."
In his conclusion, Judge Smith agreed that the NEA disfavoring grant applicants that "promote gender ideology," based on the executive order, would violate the First Amendment and thus can't go ahead.
Friday also saw a panel of Ninth Circuit judges in California rule 2-1 to affirm a lower court decision demanding the Trump administration hand over documents related to the firing of thousands of federal workers.
In April, a coalition of labor groups, non-profits, cities and a Texas county sued the federal government arguing job cuts imposed by Trump were outside his authority according to the Constitution, and also needed Congressional approval.
Sweeping layoffs took place across the federal government following Trump's second presidential inauguration in January, spearheaded by the newly created and Elon Musk led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
What People Are Saying
In his ruling Judge Smith said: "Defendants are therefore enjoined from applying a viewpoint-based standard of review to Plaintiffs that disfavor applications deemed 'to promote gender ideology,' and the Court vacates and sets aside Defendants' current plans to implement the Executive Order."
Writing for the majority in the Ninth Circuit ruling Judge William Fletcher, a President Clinton appointee, said: "We nowhere find clear error by the district court nor a clear entitlement to relief on the part of the government.
"Our denial of mandamus accords with the longstanding presumption that district courts have broad latitude to control discovery matters. Far from abusing its discretion, the district court has exercised care and restraint in managing discovery, affording 'careful consideration' to the government's assertion of privilege."
Plaintiff attorney Elena Goldstein said: "The Trump-Vance administration tried to hide its sweeping plans to dismiss civil servants and dismantle the programs Americans depend on. The court made it clear that these documents—and the truth about what the administration is doing—are essential to this case."
MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough Puts Wife Mika Brzezinski in Her Place After She Tries to Blame Republicans for Government Shutdown
Joe Scarborough shuts down his wife Mika Brzezinski live on MSNBC after she tries to blame Republicans for the government shutdown.
by Jim Hᴏft
Oct. 1, 2025
It was the clash nobody expected.
Mika Brzezinski thought she could get away with the usual Democrat talking points, pinning the government shutdown on “Republican lies.”
But her husband and co-host, Joe Scarborough, wasn’t having it.
In a brutal on-air smackdown, Joe absolutely STEAMROLLED Mika, reminding her, and the entire Democrat machine, that whining isn’t a strategy.
The clash began when Brzezinski unloaded on Republicans, accusing them of spreading “violent lies” through TV networks.
Mika Brzezinski:
“I also just don’t understand why we’re blaming the Democrats for Republicans lying at the highest level of office. They have the biggest microphone. They have TV networks that repeat the lies and say things on those networks with no consequence.
And the things they say are violent, okay? So they’re not only repeating the lies but adding to this coarseness. And there’s no consequence to it. And we’re blaming the Democrats? We’re blaming the Democrats for this? What exactly are the Democrats supposed to do?”
Joe Scarborough, a former GOP congressman who has long since drifted left, suddenly found himself sounding like the adult in the room.
What was supposed to be Mika’s attack on Republicans turned into a humiliating scolding from her own husband. The split-screen showed Mika stewing as Joe continued to lecture her.
Joe Scarborough:
You keep repeating… they’re supposed to fight back. They’re supposed to, no, they’re supposed to do like…
Mika Brzezinski:
And lie as well? What exactly?
Joe Scarborough:
No! no! Bill Clinton just completely abused and used Republicans in every government shutdown. I know—I was there. He was smart enough politically to do it.
Barack Obama knew how to always get the best of Republicans. We’re not blaming Democrats for Republicans’ lies. We’re saying that Democrats, at some point, have to figure out how to answer those lies. And that’s not whining.
The whining comes from Democratic leaders that still don’t have an answer to Republican lies ten years into Donald Trump’s terms.
WATCH:
Mika Brzezinski just got STEAMROLLED live on MSNBC—by her own husband.
Brzezinski was attempting to pin the government shutdown on “Republican lies” — but Joe Scarborough wasn’t having it.
Within seconds, the back-and-forth turned into a full-blown shouting match.
Joe enters… pic.twitter.com/RNfsJxjKL6
Mika Brzezinski just got STEAMROLLED live on MSNBC—by her own husband.
Brzezinski was attempting to pin the government shutdown on “Republican lies” — but Joe Scarborough wasn’t having it.
Within seconds, the back-and-forth turned into a full-blown shouting match.
OMB Director Russ Vought Strikes Again: Eliminates $8 Billion in Green New Scam Funding to Liberal States
Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought
by Jim Hoft
Oct. 1, 2025
Russ Vought, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), stripped $8 billion in funding for green new scam projects in numerous far left states.
The projects are in the following states: CA, CO, CT, DE, HI, IL, MD, MA, MN, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OR, VT, and WA.
BREAKING: OMB Director Russ Vought just CANCELED $8 BILLION in Green New Scam climate funding during the government shutdown for the following states
CA, CO, CT, DE, HI, IL, MD, MA, MN, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OR, VT, WA
LMAO!
Democrats screwed themselves over now! pic.twitter.com/9MdAHuygfz
🚨 BREAKING: OMB Director Russ Vought just CANCELED $8 BILLION in Green New Scam climate funding during the government shutdown for the following states
CA, CO, CT, DE, HI, IL, MD, MA, MN, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OR, VT, WA
This comes after Vought announced this morning on X that he had frozen about $18 BILLION in infrastructure projects for New York City, saying he was trying to ensure such funding would not go to fund DEI projects.
“Roughly $18 billion in New York City infrastructure projects have been put on hold to ensure funding is not flowing based on unconstitutional DEI principles,” Vought wrote.
As The Gateway Pundit reported, the Schumer Shutdown took effect at 12:01 am after two measures to avert the government shutdown failed in the Senate.
The measures needed 60 votes to pass. The GOP-backed measure failed to pass in a 55-45 vote – Rand Paul voted with the Democrats.
The Democrat Party and Paul decided to put the welfare of illegal aliens, surgeries for transgender minors, and more garbage ahead of keeping the government running.
Nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left's climate agenda is being cancelled. More info to come from @ENERGY.
The projects are in the following states: CA, CO, CT, DE, HI, IL, MD, MA, MN, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OR, VT, WA
— Russ Vought (@russvought) October 1, 2025
Thanks to Democrats, the Trump administration has already saved American taxpayers $24 billion dollars!
This is shaping up to be the greatest government shutdown of all time!
Democrats Double Down On Shutdown Despite Americans’ Healthcare Programs Lapsing
by Daily Caller News Foundation
October 1, 2025
Democrats are justifying shutting down the government to fight for lower healthcare costs, but do not appear to be changing course despite some Americans losing access to healthcare services during the funding lapse.
Telehealth and home care coverage for millions of Medicare beneficiaries expired on Wednesday at midnight due to Democrats tanking a government funding bill that would have extended certain healthcare programs. The Daily Caller News Foundation on Wednesday spoke to more than ten Democrats who signaled they would not relent their hardball tactics despite some seniors losing access to healthcare services and argued that fighting the president was more important.
“It’s really hard,” Democratic Vermont Sen. Peter Welch told the DCNF when asked about millions of Americans losing coverage to certain healthcare services. “Trump has put us in this horrible position. Where do we appease him when there’s no end to his demands or do we have a shutdown?”
“We’ve chosen to stand and fight,” Welch continued. “But [it’s a] very, very difficult situation for the country.”
Democratic Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego made a similar argument while defending his party’s effort to shut down the government over various healthcare priorities.
“It’s tough obviously,” Gallego told the DCNF when asked about certain Americans losing access to healthcare services during the shutdown. “It’s just really — it’s hard.”
A handful of Senate Democrats have sharply criticized their colleagues for letting Americans lose certain benefits during a shutdown.
“Our goal is to do our jobs. It is not to have trade-offs,” Democratic Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto told the DCNF when asked about members of her caucus appearing torn over Medicare recipients’ benefits lapsing.
“And what I mean by this is to harm some Americans so that we can help others,” Cortez Masto continued. “Our goal should be avoiding that and helping everyone.”
Cortez Masto is one of three Democratic caucus members who has broken with her party to fund the government. She has argued that a funding lapse would be “costly” for her constituents.
Gallego and Welch have taken a different approach, voting with Schumer to keep the government shutdown — and certain government healthcare programs frozen — on Wednesday.
Democrats’ $1.5 trillion counter-proposal that Republicans have declared dead-on-arrival also reauthorized the programs.
Advocates of extending telehealth coverage for Medicare beneficiaries slammed lawmakers for failing to meet the Sept. 30 deadline and reauthorize the program.
“Medicare patients woke up this morning without telehealth coverage for the first time since the pandemic, five years ago,” Kyle Zebley, executive director, American Telehealth Association (ATA) Action and senior vice president, public policy at the ATA, said in a statement on Wednesday. “Our healthcare services are regressing, falling woefully short for millions of patients in need.”
The Acute Care Hospital at Home initiative, which allows certain Medicare recipients to receive in-patient level care at home, also lapsed Wednesday at midnight. The lapse in the program’s authorization could disrupt care for many Medicare recipients with more than 400 facilities across 39 states are enrolled in the program
A major hospital system in Boston, Massachusetts, halted admissions into its hospital at home program on Saturday in preparation for Congress failing to extend the program, Stat News first reported.
Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren blamed Republicans for certain Medicare benefits expiring when asked by the DCNF.
“We understand how badly the healthcare system is working, but it’s going to be so much worse if the Republicans continue on this path of cutting healthcare for millions of Americans,” Warren said.
Other Democratic lawmakers’ sought to blame Republicans for certain healthcare programs expiring despite repeatedly voting against a stopgap measure that would have extended them.
“Let’s be clear: the reason we’re here is because Republicans refuse to negotiate with Democrats to keep the government open and address these increased healthcare costs for families,” Democratic California Sen. Alex Padilla told the DCNF.
Padilla has voted against a bipartisan spending bill to fund the government three times.
Democratic Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy told the DCNF that he had not seen reporting that healthcare services were being frozen due to the shutdown and could not speak to the issue.
“I haven’t seen any list of, you know, services they’re cutting,” Murphy said. The Connecticut Democrat blamed the Trump administration for telehealth and home care coverage lapsing despite the services being frozen due to the Democrats’ votes for a shutdown.
Democratic California Sen. Adam Schiff did not speak after hearing the DCNF’s question about healthcare services lapsing during the shutdown.
A spokesperson for Schiff did not respond to a request for comment before publication.
Senate Republicans have argued that the political fallout for Democrats shutting down the government will ultimately become so overwhelming that the party will cave and restore government funding.
The New York Times published a survey on Tuesday that found 65% of Americans oppose Democrats’ shutting down the government if all of their policy “demands are not met.”
“Ultimately, members are going to see the damage that their shutdown is causing to the American people, whether it’s veterans who aren’t getting health care, whether it’s [the] military who aren’t going to get paychecks, and they’re going to see that it’s time to reopen the government,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, the second-ranking Senate Republican, told reporters on Wednesday.
Majority Of Americans Do Not Want Democrat Government Shutdown: POLL
By Daily Caller News Foundation
Oct. 01, 2025
The majority of Americans do not support Democrats shutting down the government, according to a New York Times/Siena University poll released Tuesday.
Sixty-five percent of Americans said Democrats should not shut down the government even if “their demands are not met,” according to the survey. Meanwhile, 27% of respondents said they supported Democrats shutting down the government, while 7% said they did not know or refused to answer, the poll found.
New York Times Poll:
65% of Americans say, “the Democrats should not shut down the government, even if their demands are not met.” pic.twitter.com/x3CFjzqgm6
Moreover, 43% of Democrats said that they agreed members of their own party should not shut down the government, compared with 92% of Republicans and 59% of independents who said they did not back a Democratic-supported shutdown, according to the poll. The survey conversely found that 47% — a plurality — of Democrats would support the Democratic Party shutting down the government, while 32% of independent voters would support a shutdown and just 5% of Republicans said the same.
President Donald Trump’s overall approval rating was 43%, according to the poll.
The newly-released poll comes shortly before the government is barreling towards a shutdown on Wednesday if Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats do not approve a stopgap funding plan which would temporarily fund government operations until Nov. 21. The clean GOP spending bill, known as a continuing resolution (CR), was notably opposed by almost all Democrats on Sept. 19.
Senate Democrats instead put forth their own spending plan including a spate of left-wing policies, which the GOP-controlled Senate rejected on the same day.
“The clean, nonpartisan, House-passed CR is sitting at the desk in the Senate right now. It could be picked up and passed, and the government would stay open,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune wrote Tuesday in a post to X. “The ball is in the Democrats’ court. But Chuck Schumer wants a Schumer shutdown.”
Similarly, Thune wrote Monday in an op-ed for the Washington Post that “there is no reason” a government shutdown “needs to happen.”
Though, Schumer has continued to insist that Trump and the GOP would be to blame if a government shutdown occurs. Schumer wrote in a Monday X post that if the government shuts down, it is because “Republicans would rather shut it down rather than help people afford health care.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Tuesday that Democrats “are in this fight until we win this fight,” in reference to the ongoing government funding battle.
“The lunatics on the left are running the Democrat Party, and they’re running our country straight into a shutdown,” National Republican Congressional Committee Spokesman Mike Marinella said Tuesday in a statement provided to the DCNF. “It’s clear their ‘leaders’ will side with their radical base over hardworking Americans any chance they get.”
The NYT/Siena University survey of 1,313 voters across the U.S. was conducted in English and Spanish by live operators on cell phones and landline telephones and online via text message from Sept. 22 to 27. The poll’s margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points among registered voters.
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