Texas halts commercial drivers licenses for many immigrants
DACA recipients, refugees and asylum recipients will no longer be able to receive or renew commercial licenses, the Department of Public Safety announced.
Trump administration could process new DACA applications after Texas’ lawsuit paused enrollment
If a judge accepts the plan, the Trump administration will reopen new applications for DACA for the first time in four years — but Texas applicants would no longer receive work permits.
Texans ask for eligibility fixes, stronger accountability in school voucher program
For the first time since Texas authorized the program, the state heard public testimony from people concerned about pre-K funding, special education provisions and data reporting.
TribCast: Will the Texas renewable energy powerhouse survive?
This week, Matthew and Eleanor speak with Eric Goff, founder of an energy policy advising firm, about the growth of wind and solar power in Texas and whether it will continue after recent federal efforts targeting the industry.
Texas universities launch course reviews amid push to limit gender identity instruction
After a viral video stirred controversy at Texas A&M, Texas Tech ordered course adjustments while UNT and UT launched reviews. It’s unclear what the reviews will look for.
Trump taunts Democrat leaders with ‘Trump 2028’ hats in Oval Office as shutdown approaches
President Donald Trump shared photos on Truth Social on Tuesday showing red “Trump 2028” hats strategically displayed on the Resolute Desk during an Oval Office meeting with Democrat leaders Monday in hopes of fending off a government shutdown. Trump’s post came late Tuesday, hours before Washington grappled with its first shutdown since 2018-19. “The Trump administration wants a straightforward and clean CR [continuing resolution] to continue funding the government – the exact same proposal that Democrats supported just 6 months ago, 13 times under the Biden Administration,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital. “But radical Democrats are shutting the government down because they want a nearly $1.5 trillion wish list of demands, including free health care for illegal aliens. The Democrat’s radical agenda was rejected by the American people less than a year ago at the ballot box, now they’re shutting down the government and hold the American people hostage over it.” JD VANCE SAYS GOVERNMENT LIKELY ‘HEADED INTO A SHUTDOWN’ AFTER TRUMP MEETS WITH DEMS Vice President JD Vance warned, “I think we’re headed to a shutdown” after Monday’s meeting. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said at the time the sides “have very large differences.” Late Tuesday, the Senate failed a last-ditch vote on extending funding and barreled toward a shutdown as the clock struck midnight on Oct. 1. SHUTDOWN EXPLAINED: WHO WORKS, WHO DOESN’T AND HOW MUCH IT COSTS Trump posted the photos late Tuesday, a few hours before the shutdown was slated to begin. His campaign has sold “Trump 2028” hats since earlier this year. Democrat leaders downplayed the stunt. Schumer said Trump “can avoid a shutdown if he chooses to,” while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., added, “we will not back down” in defending healthcare and spending priorities.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Trump presided over a 35-day government shutdown in 2018–19, the longest in American history, during his first term in office.
HUD accuses the ‘Radical Left’ of driving government shutdown, vows to ‘support our most vulnerable’
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) accused congressional Democrats on Tuesday of forcing a government shutdown, warning that the “Radical Left” is putting vulnerable families at risk while pledging to keep critical housing services operating. “The Far Left is barreling our country toward a shutdown, which will hurt all Americans,” a HUD spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “At HUD, we are working to keep critical services online and support our most vulnerable. Why is the media more focused on a banner than reporting on the impact of a shutdown on the American people?” HUD is led by Secretary Scott Turner, a former NFL player and member of the Texas legislature. HOUSE DEMOCRATS’ GOVERNMENT FUNDING PROPOSAL GOES DOWN IN FLAMES WITH SHUTDOWN DEADLINE IN HOURS In a memorandum circulated to all federal agencies late Tuesday, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought confirmed that government funding expires at 11:59 p.m. and instructed departments to execute their plans for an orderly shutdown. “President Trump supports passage of H.R. 5371, but it is now clear that Democrats will prevent passage of this clean CR prior to 11:59 p.m. tonight and force a government shutdown,” Vought wrote. The OMB director said Democrats were blocking the House-passed measure over “insane policy demands,” including $1 trillion in new spending, and warned that the length of the shutdown is “difficult to predict.” Employees were told to report for duty to begin shutdown activities until a new appropriations bill is signed into law. SHUTDOWN EXPLAINED: WHO WORKS, WHO DOESN’T AND HOW MUCH IT COSTS HUD’s official website displayed a pop-up message on Tuesday stating, “The Radical Left are going to shut down the government and inflict massive pain on the American people unless they get their $1.5 trillion wish list of demands. The Trump administration wants to keep the government open for the American people.” Reuters also reported on the banner earlier in the day, which prompted pushback from Democrats. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, said, “We should not be putting political messages on government webpages. I have never seen that kind of message. I don’t think that would be acceptable with any other prior administration.” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said, “Unfortunately, it’s become normal under the Trump administration, but it’s a radical departure from American history, and it is the use of public taxpayer funds for overtly political and polemical reasons.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP At midnight, parts of the federal government will shutter after Democrats rejected the Republican-backed seven-week continuing resolution that passed the House of Representatives Sept. 19.
Dems ‘sacrificed the American people,’ Thune says as government barrels toward midnight shutdown
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., railed against Senate Democrats’ move to block the GOP’s short-term funding extension as Congress gears up for a government shutdown. Democratic lawmakers led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., voted to block Republicans’ continuing resolution (CR) for a second time just hours ahead of the deadline to fund the government. It’s unlikely that a deal will be struck in the waning hours of fiscal year (FY) 2025, and neither side is ready to blink. Thune said there would be more votes to come on the same bill but noted that if Schumer wanted to talk, he knows where to find him. He also said there are Democrats who “are very unhappy with the situation that they are in.” GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN RISK GROWS AFTER DEMS BLOCK TRUMP-BACKED EXTENSION FOR A 2ND TIME “We didn’t ask Democrats to swallow any new Republican policies. We didn’t add partisan riders,” Thune said. “We simply asked Democrats to extend existing funding levels to allow the Senate to continue the bipartisan appropriations work that we started.” “And Senate Democrats said no,” he continued. “Why? Because far left interest groups and far left Democrat members wanted a showdown with the president. And so, Senate Democrats have sacrificed the American people to Democrats’ partisan interests.” Republicans tried and failed to again advance their CR, which would have extended government funding until Nov. 21 with the main goal of giving lawmakers more time to pass the dozen spending bills needed to fund the government, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since the 1990s. HOUSE DEMOCRATS’ GOVERNMENT FUNDING PROPOSAL GOES DOWN IN FLAMES WITH SHUTDOWN DEADLINE IN HOURS Despite an impending shutdown, Thune and Senate Republicans found a bright spot in the failed vote: more Democrats crossed the aisle than the previous test earlier this month. “The cracks in the Democrats are already showing,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said. “When we had a vote on our proposal to keep the government open, the clean CR right before the recess, we had one Democrat vote. Tonight we had three.” Sens. John Fetterman, D-Pa., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Angus King, I-Maine, all crossed the aisle to support the bill. GOP ACCUSES DEMS OF RISKING SHUTDOWN TO RESTORE ‘ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT HEALTHCARE’ Meanwhile, Schumer signaled that he was not ready to budge from his position and instead pointed the finger at the GOP and President Donald Trump for “plunging America into a shutdown, rejecting bipartisan talks, pushing a partisan bill, and risking America’s health care.” Senate Democrats pushed for an extension to expiring Obamacare tax credits, among other things, that Republicans argued were not provisions that should be tacked onto a short-term funding extension. Still, Schumer was resolute that Thune and the GOP needed to come to the negotiating table to solve that issue and craft a bipartisan CR. “We hope they sit down with us and talk. Otherwise, it’s the Republicans who will be driving us straight towards a shutdown tonight, and at midnight,” Schumer said. “And the American people will blame them for bringing the federal government to a halt.”
Yelling match breaks out in Senate hearing with former Biden official over ‘two spirit’ safe spaces
A yelling match between Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and a former Biden administration official broke out in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing over the need for “two spirit” safe spaces to combat gun violence. Hawley challenged Gregory Jackson Jr., who served as deputy director of the Biden White House’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention and, more recently, as the head of Community Justice Action Fund (CJAF), over the organization’s policies on creating safe spaces for “two spirit” individuals. Hawley was grilling Jackson over a CJAF report published while he led the group, titled “A Policymakers’ Playbook to Reduce Gun Violence Without Policing Communities,” which he said “advocated for defunding the police” and instead investing in “programs that acknowledge the need for safe space initiatives led by lesbian, gay, bisexual, two spirit, trans and gender-nonconforming people.” “What’s two spirit?” Hawley asked. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT MULLS RESTRICTING TRANSGENDER PEOPLE FROM BUYING GUNS In response, Jackson said, “Well, I don’t know exactly.” Jackson went on to say, “If you look at the report, the focus is on investing in violence intervention, outreach workers, victims’ services.” “You say that we shouldn’t invest in the police, but we ought to invest in two spirit community programs that acknowledge two spirit individuals. What is that?” Hawley shot back. “I just want to know. I don’t know what that is. I have no idea what that is.” After Hawley repeated the question, Jackson admitted, “I’m not completely aware of the language. I feel like I’m looking at a two-faced individual because you talk about reducing violence but also speak out against violence reduction programs.” “Oh no, sir, you’re looking at somebody who’s reading you your own words, and I’d like to hear an answer,” retorted Hawley. FOLLOWING KIRK’S ASSASSINATION, LAWMAKERS REACT TO LETHAL POLITICAL CLIMATE: ‘VIOLENT WORDS PRECEDE VIOLENT ACTIONS’ “Here’s the answer,” Hawley added. “The answer is you don’t have any solutions. You want to invest in gobbledygook and take away money from police officers who actually keep our community safe, and when you’re called on the record, you deny it. It’s all there in black and white, and your record is there in black and white, and it’s a disgrace.” Raising his voice, Jackson, who was seriously injured in a Washington, D.C., shooting in 2013, answered, “As somebody who’s been shot and nearly killed, I take offense that you would think that the last 13 years were not focused on reducing violence.” Hawley shouted back, “I take offense that you do not answer my questions, that you deny your own words and that you are leading this committee astray. And, frankly, sir, your policies are absurd, they’re absurd.” EXCLUSIVE: UNEARTHED BIDEN NOTE CARDS REVEAL HE HAD BIOS, PHOTO REMINDERS ON HILLARY CLINTON, SCHUMER After this exchange, Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, slammed his gavel, saying, “I don’t think we’re getting any place.” “Oh, I think we’ve gone a long way, senator,” Hawley answered.
White House declares imminent government shutdown after Senate fails to pass funding bill
The White House has officially declared an imminent government shutdown after the Senate failed to pass a GOP-backed spending bill to keep federal agencies funded through Nov. 21. A memo issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) said current federal funding levels “expire at 11:59 p.m. tonight.” “Unfortunately, Democrat senators are blocking passage of H.R. 5371 in the Senate due to Democrats’ insane policy demands, which include $1 trillion in new spending,” the memo said. The memo went on to say that President Donald Trump is supportive of the GOP-led funding bill, which is a short-term extension of current federal spending levels called a continuing resolution (CR), aimed at keeping the government funded for seven weeks as lawmakers work on a deal for fiscal year (FY) 2026 priorities. SHUTDOWN EXPLAINED: WHO WORKS, WHO DOESN’T AND HOW MUCH IT COSTS “But it is now clear that Democrats will prevent passage of this clean CR prior to 11:59 p.m. tonight and force a government shutdown. As such, affected agencies should now execute their plans for an orderly shutdown,” the memo said. “It is unclear how long Democrats will maintain their untenable posture, making the duration of the shutdown difficult to predict. Regardless, employees should report to work for their next regularly scheduled tour of duty to undertake orderly shutdown activities.” OMB said a follow-up memo would be issued when a spending bill is passed and signed into law by Trump, resuming full federal operations. The GOP-led CR was tanked in the Senate on Tuesday evening, failing to reach the chamber’s 60-vote threshold to overcome a filibuster and proceed with debate on the bill. The vote fell 55–45, with three members of the Democratic caucus crossing the aisle and voting with Republicans. One Republican, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., voted against the measure. Democratic lawmakers in the upper chamber, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., banded together to vote against the GOP’s CR, a move that marked the second time Democrats impeded the legislation’s progress this month. Democrats also tried to advance their own counter-proposal, but that bill was similarly blocked by Senate Republicans. “All it takes is a handful of Democrats to join Republicans to pass the clean, nonpartisan funding bill that’s in front of us,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said after the vote failed. “And I hope, I really hope that some of them will join us to reopen the government, resume bipartisan appropriations work, and get back to the business of the American people.” JD VANCE SAYS GOVERNMENT LIKELY ‘HEADED INTO A SHUTDOWN’ AFTER TRUMP MEETS WITH DEMS Thune said there would be more votes on the same bill in the coming days. When asked if Schumer would guarantee that the GOP’s CR wouldn’t get 60 votes, he said, “Look, the bottom line is, as I said, our guarantee is to the American people that we’re going to fight as hard as we can for their health care. Plain and simple.“ The Democrat-led CR would have kept the government open and funded through Oct. 31, while also including a host of priorities that Republicans deemed hyper-partisan. Democrats’ funding plan would have repealed the Medicaid rollbacks made in Republicans’ One Big, Beautiful Bill, while restoring funding for NPR and PBS that was cut by the Trump administration earlier this year. Trump and his administration have wide discretion over what changes occur during a shutdown. However, it’s likely that thousands of government employees get furloughed, while others are made to work without paychecks until funding is re-instituted. A host of federal agencies and services could also be shuttered. Some federal workers could lose their jobs permanently as well, with OMB Director Russ Vought issuing guidance earlier this month warning offices to consider plans for mass layoffs in the event of a shutdown. The move comes after the top two Democrats and top two Republicans in the House and Senate all met with Trump at the White House to discuss a path forward on federal funding, but that meeting ended with no deal in sight.