Trump signs bill ending longest government shutdown in US history
President Donald Trump signed legislation to fund the government again — putting an end to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Trump signaled Monday the government would open soon, as consequences of a lapse in funding continued to snowball, including missed paychecks for federal workers and airline delays stemming from air traffic controller staffing shortages. The bill keeps funding the government at the same levels during fiscal year 2025 through Jan. 30 to provide additional time to hash out a longer appropriations measure for fiscal year 2026. The measure also funds the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that more than 42 million Americans rely on through September. The program supports non- or low-income individuals or families to purchase groceries on a debit card. LONGEST GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN IN HISTORY NEARS LIKELY END AS HOUSE MOVES ON FUNDING BILL Additionally, the measure reverses layoffs the Trump administration set into motion earlier in October and pays employees for their absence. The reopening of the government comes after more than 40 days of a lapse in funding amid a stalemate between Senate Republicans and Democrats over a stopgap spending bill that would have funded the government through Nov. 21. After a lapse in funding starting Oct. 1, the Senate passed legislation Monday night that would reopen the government by a 60–40 vote margin. A total of eight Democrats voted alongside their Republican counterparts for the measure. The House subsequently passed its version of the measure Wednesday. THE 5 LONGEST GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWNS IN HISTORY: WHAT HAPPENED, HOW THEY ENDED The deal came as fallout from the shutdown came to a head, including travel disruptions at U.S. airports where air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers were required to work and were gearing up to miss a second paycheck. As a result, these staffers were calling in sick, or taking on second jobs, creating staffing shortages and flight delays. The standoff between Republicans and Democrats originated over disagreements about various healthcare provisions to include in a potential funding measure. Trump and Republicans claimed Democrats wanted to provide illegal immigrants healthcare, and pointed to a provision that would repeal part of Trump’s tax and domestic policy bill known as the “big, beautiful bill” that reduced Medicaid eligibility for non-U.S. citizens. GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN BECOMING LONGEST IN US HISTORY AS DEMOCRATS DIG IN ON OBAMACARE Democrats pushed back on this characterization, and said they want to permanently extend certain Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at the end of 2025. The stopgap spending bill that Trump signed does not extend these subsidies by the end of the year, but Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., agreed to a vote in December on legislation that would continue these credits. Even so, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., has not agreed to get on board with that arrangement in the House. Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
Texas sues county for helping migrants access legal support as they fight deportation: ‘Evil and wicked’
Texas GOP Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing Harris County — home to Houston — for using county funds for programs that help migrants facing deportation obtain access to legal support. Harris County established the Immigrant Legal Services Fund program in 2020, sending money to five organizations that help migrants facing deportation obtain lawyers. Last month, the county appropriated an additional $1.3 million to support the program. Paxton said in a statement that the program is “evil and wicked,” as well as unconstitutional. TEXAS AG KEN PAXTON SUES LATINO VOTER GROUP JOLT FOR ALLEGEDLY REGISTERING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS “We must stop the left-wing radicals who are robbing Texans to prevent illegals from being deported by the Trump Administration,” Paxton said. “Beyond just being blatantly unconstitutional, this is evil and wicked. Millions upon millions of illegals invaded America during the last administration, and they must be sent back to where they came from.” This is one of several recent lawsuits filed by Paxton targeting organizations that support migrants. Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee, a Democrat, rebuked Paxton’s latest lawsuit, affirming that the program is “perfectly legal” and that his office would fight back against the lawsuit in court. “This lawsuit is a cheap political stunt,” he said in a statement. “At a time when the president has unleashed ICE agents to terrorize immigrant neighborhoods, deport U.S. citizens, and trample the law, it’s shameful that Republican state officials are joining in instead of standing up for Texans.” The Harris County Jail leads the nation in ICE detainers, according to The Texas Tribune, as federal and state officials seek to continue to carry out President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda. Before the county started the Immigrant Legal Services Fund in 2020, it was the largest county in the country without a program to help migrants get access to legal counsel, The Texas Tribune noted. The county passed the program on a party-line vote. “When you have a family at a deportation hearing and they don’t have an attorney, they’re deported at a much higher rate, like 90% of the time, compared to like 5% of the time when they do have an attorney,” county Judge Lina Hidalgo, who proposed the program, said at the time, according to the Houston Chronicle. FIRST ON FOX: TEXAS’ KEN PAXTON ENDORSES CANDIDATE TO SUCCEED HIM AS ATTORNEY GENERAL In the lawsuit, Paxton claims that the programs “serve no public purpose and instead constitute unconstitutional grants of public funds to private entities to subsidize individual deportation defenses.” He asked the court to block the county from distributing funds to these organizations and prohibit it from sending the money to the groups in the future. Last month, after the vote to allocate funding for the program, Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis said the funding was needed because of the uptick in raids targeting migrants, according to the Houston Chronicle. “Having access to legal representation not only improves case outcomes but helps keep families together,” he said in a statement. “In a county as diverse as ours, local government must step up to safeguard safety, justice, and the people we serve.”
Longtime Newsom critic puts UN summit on notice if Dem governor is allowed to speak: ‘Climate hypocrisy’
An annual United Nations climate summit being held in the Amazonian city of Belém in Brazil is slated to include talks and appearances by California Gov. Gavin Newsom. However, California Republican gubernatorial candidate and former Fox News host Steve Hilton, a longtime critic of Newsom, is putting the summit on notice if they allow him to speak. This week, Hilton sent a letter to the heads of the COP30 summit, requesting that they deny anymore speaking roles for the California governor or face risking the credibility of the conference, citing the Democratic governor’s “climate hypocrisy.” According to Hilton, California, under Newsom’s leadership, has imported nearly half of all the crude oil drilled from the Amazon rainforest. “Governor Newsom has built his political image around climate virtue signaling while presiding over one of the most environmentally destructive hypocrisies in the world,” Hilton wrote. “This oil comes from one of the most sensitive ecosystems on Earth, contributing to deforestation and the displacement of Indigenous communities … Instead of addressing this exploitation, Governor Newsom continues to promote himself as a global climate leader—jetting to international conferences to pose for cameras while his policies bankroll rainforest destruction.” BILL GATES DISCOVERS THE WAY TO FIGHT CLIMATE BATTLE ACTUALLY INVOLVES HELPING HUMANS Hilton notes that earlier this year, even members of California’s Democratic-controlled state Senate unanimously called for an investigation into the state’s role in funding the Amazonian oil trade. Oil drilling in the Amazon is rapidly increasing deforestation and destroying the rainforest’s biodiversity, according to environmentalists, who argue California’s reputation as a climate leader is undermined by its actions drilling oil in the South American rainforest. Hilton, meanwhile, described Newsom’s appearance at the summit as “political theater masquerading as leadership.” CALIFORNIA USING BACK DOOR TO GET FEDERAL FUNDS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT HEALTHCARE, GOP SAYS; DEMS SAY NONSENSE “To have Gavin Newsom lecture the world on climate justice while his administration promotes the decimation of the Amazon would be an insult to the conference and its members,” Hilton wrote to the COP30 leaders. “The UNFCCC and COP 30 must not reward hypocrisy with a platform.” Newsom spoke Tuesday at the conference, during which he slammed Donald Trump for his failure to protect the environment, calling him an “invasive species” and “a wrecking ball” when it comes to progress on climate change. Newsom is expected to make appearances across the roughly two-week period that the summit is being held, including a trip deep into the Amazon Rainforest to meet with local residents and leaders. Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom’s office in response to Hilton’s petition calling on COP30 to deny the California governor public appearances at the summit, but only received a six-word response. “I’m sorry – who is Steve Hilton?” questioned Newsom spokeswoman Izzy Gardon.
Epstein boasted he briefed Russian diplomat on how to handle Trump in newly released emails
Jeffrey Epstein cast himself as a political insider after President Donald Trump’s first election, newly released House Oversight emails show, offering foreign leaders “insight” into the new president and boasting that he’d already briefed a top Russian diplomat on how to handle him. The trove of emails, made public this week by the House Oversight Committee, spans 2016 to 2018 and reveals Epstein trying to reestablish himself on the world stage by courting heads of state, billionaires and diplomats. The convicted sex offender, who died in federal custody in 2019, positioned himself as a man with rare access and understanding of Trump, offering his analysis to global figures eager to make sense of the new administration. In one 2018 exchange, former Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland thanked Epstein for a “lovely evening” and said he would meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s assistant. SUPREME COURT DECLINES TO TAKE UP GHISLAINE MAXWELL’S SEX TRAFFICKING APPEAL Epstein replied that Jagland should tell Russian President Vladimir Putin that Lavrov “can get insight on talking to me,” adding that “Vitaly Churkin was great — he understood Trump after our conversations.” Churkin, Russia’s longtime ambassador to the United Nations, died in 2017. The messages show Epstein repeatedly pitching himself as an interpreter of Trump’s behavior. WHITE HOUSE SLAMS DEMS’ ‘BAD-FAITH’ EPSTEIN DOC RELEASE AS DEMAND FOR FILES INTENSIFIES “It is not complex,” he wrote to Jagland. “He must be seen to get something its that simple.” Earlier emails show Epstein attempting to broker access around Trump’s 2017 inauguration. Dubai ports magnate Sultan bin Sulayem asked whether he should accept an invitation from Trump ally Tom Barrack and whether it would be possible to shake the president’s hand. Epstein advised that the events would be “very crowded” but offered to help arrange meetings before or after in Washington or New York. VIRGINIA GIUFFRE’S MEMOIR RECOUNTS RAPE BY FORMER PRIME MINISTER; EPSTEIN’S TIES TO BILL CLINTON, TRUMP Epstein also stayed in touch with prominent American financiers and political figures. In December 2016, he exchanged notes with Hyatt heir Tom Pritzker, boasting that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had sent him “a tent, carpets and all.” Pritzker joked the gesture might be “code for ‘I love you.’” In a separate 2018 chain following Trump’s summit with Putin in Helsinki, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers asked Epstein, “Do the Russians have stuff on Trump? Today was appalling even by his standards.” Epstein dismissed the idea, replying that Trump was “totally predictable” and offering to explain by phone. ‘SEPARATED FROM REALITY’: SENATE REPUBLICANS FUME AS DEMS USE EPSTEIN SAGA TO BLOCK TRUMP’S AGENDA “He thinks he has charmed his adversary,” Epstein wrote. “He has no idea of the symbolism. He has no idea of most things.” Together, the communications paint a picture of Epstein trying to leverage his reputation and relationships for renewed influence, using his connections in Washington, the Middle East and Europe to insert himself into the Trump era’s global intrigue. When reached for comment, the White House told Fox News Digital, “These emails prove literally nothing.” The House Oversight Committee released the cache of Epstein-related documents this week as part of its ongoing probe into the Justice Department’s handling of the financier’s previous plea deal and his wider network of contacts.
Big Paychecks, Bigger Problems: How a bloated bureaucracy exposes Congress’ funding failure
FIRST ON FOX: A new report from a government watchdog group begs the question of why — with nearly 800,000 federal bureaucrats drawing six-figure salaries and the average payroll of the federal workforce far outpacing its size — is Washington still unable to fund the basics of government? Open The Books, a project of American Transparency, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, nonpartisan charitable organization, closely tracks government spending and released an expansive report Wednesday ahead of a looming agreement between Republicans and Democrats to reopen the government, showing the swamp has gotten bigger, richer and more secretive since 2020. The report, which analyzed all publicly disclosed federal salaries for fiscal year 2024, found a total of 2.9 million civil service employees with a total payroll of $270 billion, plus an additional 30% for benefits. While the total number of employees rose by 5% since 2020, payroll grew nearly five times as much. DEPT OF ED SPENDING SOARED 749% DESPITE DOWNSIZING, NEW DOGE-INSPIRED INITIATIVE REVEALS The current federal workforce is costing American taxpayers $673,000 per minute, $40.4 million per hour and just under $1 billion per day, according to Open The Books. This includes almost 1,000 workers who are making more than the president’s $400,000 per year salary, 31,452 non-War Department federal employees who made more than every governor of all 50 states and 793,537 people making $100,000 or more. Those making $300,000 or more have seen an 84% increase since 2020, while there has similarly been an 82% increase in those earning $200,000 or more, the report points out. During Open The Book’s investigation, the fiscal watchdog group also found that the names of 383,000 federal workers across 56 different agencies were redacted, amounting to a total of $38.3 billion in pay. According to Open The Books CEO John Hart, “You can’t have accountability without visibility.” “The Trump administration has a historic opportunity to bring much-needed transparency to the administrative state. While federal employees don’t add as much to the debt as safety net programs, defense and overall agency spending, they are an indicator of government’s growth,” Hart said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Our investigators found far too many redactions and blind spots that DOGE should have already fixed. You can’t have accountability without visibility. Taxpayers need a much clearer picture of the federal workforce than they have today.” U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, has been working with Open The Books to fight for greater transparency. In a letter sent in September to Scott Kupor, the director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Ernst said she had identified “numerous examples” of full-time federal employees earning two salaries while moonlighting for other agencies or government contractors, something typically prohibited under the law. Ernst pointed out that this was being done without the approval or knowledge of these workers’ managers. FAR-LEFT FIREBRAND SPENDS EYE-POPPING AMOUNT OF CAMPAIGN CASH ON LUXURY HOTELS, ‘TOP-TIER’ LIMO SERVICES “From 2021 to 2024, a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) employee held multiple other full-time government contractor jobs, frequently billing taxpayers for more than 24 hours of work in a single day,” Ernst chronicled in her letter. “In addition to HUD, she was paid by AmeriCorps and the National Institutes of Health. Since she teleworked in all three positions, she was able to hide her overlapping jobs and get away with billing taxpayers $225,866 for hours she never worked. She claimed she worked 26 hours on 13 of the 21 workdays in a single month.” Ernst also described a second example of a human resources official at the Peace Corps who was caught falsifying time cards submitted to different agencies, which led to the employee double-billing taxpayers for tens of thousands of dollars. She laid out several other examples in the letter as well. “Until recently, outside of death and taxes, the expanding Washington bureaucracy was one of the few certainties in life,” said Ernst. “I am proud to have partnered with the Trump administration and DOGE to successfully downsize the bloated bureaucracy, but there is much more work to be done to make Washington more efficient.” One can “look no further” than the “failed Schumer shutdown,” Ernst said, pointing out that taxpayers will be on the hook for more than $12 billion in back pay for 750,000 non-essential federal employees who did not work for a month and a half. In October, Ernst introduced the Non-Essential Workers Transparency Act, aimed at providing the public with an exact accounting of how much back pay the government will be required to fork over in the case of a shutdown. The bill would require executive agencies to submit detailed reports to Congress within 30 days of a lapse in appropriations that must include the total number of employees and contractors employed by the agency at the time of the shutdown, the total salaries paid by the agency during the prior fiscal year, the number of furloughed during the lapse and their annual pay, the number of employees not furloughed and the sum of their pay and a requirement that all this information be posted publicly on the agencies’ websites.
House Democrat accuses fellow Dem of violating a ‘free and fair election’ in stunning public move
Stunning intraparty tensions erupted on the House floor when one Democrat accused another of undermining the Constitution. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., unexpectedly rose during House votes on an unrelated issue Wednesday night to demand a vote on condemning Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García, D-Ill., for unexpectedly dropping his re-election bid, which effectively made way for his chief of staff to run in his place. As is the custom for forcing a House vote via a “privileged resolution,” Gluesenkamp Perez read her legislation out loud. She accused Garcia of having “filed nominating petitions to be on the Democratic primary ballot in March 2026. On Nov. 5, 2025, on the last day of filing, Representative García’s chief of staff, Patty Garcia, submitted her own paperwork to enter the Democratic primary.” DEMOCRATIC REP JESÚS ‘CHUY’ GARCÍA DECLINES TO SEEK RE-ELECTION: REPORTS “Whereas on Nov. 6, after the filing deadline, Representative Garcia confirmed that he would not be seeking another term in 2026 and would be withdrawing his nomination, nominating petitions. Whereas Representative García’s chief of staff was the only Democrat who filed to run in the primary at the direction of Representative Garcia, undermining the process of a free and fair election,” the moderate Democrat continued. “García’s actions are beneath the dignity of his office and incompatible with the spirit of the Constitution.” “Now, therefore, be it resolved that the House of Representatives disapproves of the behavior of the representative from Illinois, Mr. García, under rule nine, a resolution offered from the floor by a member other than the majority leader or the minority leader as a question of the privileges of the House, has immediate precedence.” DEMOCRATS LIKELY TO CHIP AWAY AT RAZOR-THIN HOUSE GOP MAJORITY IN SPECIAL ELECTION SHOWDOWN A “privileged resolution” is a mechanism for forcing a House vote on legislation within two congressional work days. If not withdrawn, that means the full House could vote on condemning García next week. The move, a rare example of intraparty hostilities between Democrats spilling out onto the House floor, appeared to catch other lawmakers by surprise. Fox News Digital did not see García’s immediate reaction. Garcia’s chief of staff, Patty Garcia, who is not related to him, launched her campaign to take over his House seat Wednesday. The congressman had initially filed to run for re-election in recent weeks before dropping out recently, citing his health and a desire to spend time with his grandchildren. Fox News Digital reached out to his office for comment.