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Over one month into government shutdown and no end in sight – but predictions run rampant

Over one month into government shutdown and no end in sight – but predictions run rampant

It is said that everyone’s a critic. But when it comes to the government shutdown, everyone’s an oracle. Especially when trying to determine when it might end. “[Democrats] are waiting to elect [Zohran] Mamdani, the communist, soon-to-be mayor of New York. And then I believe things will go back into business as normal,” said Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., on FOX Business. “If we don’t reopen this week, then I believe it’ll happen at some time shortly before Thanksgiving.” GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN KNOWLEDGE: GAMING OUT ITS POTENTIAL END Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., also offered her own prediction. “I believe that this week could be the week,” said Capito on FOX Business. But Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, wasn’t so sure. “I don’t know what the predictions are based on,” said Cornyn on Fox. “We keep looking for some rational behavior on the part of the Democrats who shut down the government. But it was a dumb idea to start with. And it hasn’t gotten any better since.” Everyone is now searching for a flicker of hope. A glimmer of reason as to why the government shutdown won’t deepen. But all this week represents is another opportunity. There have been multiple inflection points along the way, but nothing has quite yielded the same opportunity to end the shutdown as this week. Yes, emergency food aid for the nation’s neediest expired on Saturday. Air traffic is growing worse by the hour. Healthcare premiums formally spiked on Saturday – which is why Democrats balked at funding the government in the first place. But none of those developments have truly forced the sides back to the negotiating table. That’s why some have settled on Tuesday’s elections as a potential turning point. SHUTDOWN SEEN FROM THE PULPIT: INCHING ALONG ON A WING AND A PRAYER Mamdani is the odds-on favorite to become the next mayor of New York City. Republicans are now projecting that the election is why the Democrats haven’t folded on government funding. They believe that certain election results – a win by the progressive Mamdani in New York coupled with what Republicans hope are losses by the moderate former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., running for Virginia governor and Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., running for New Jersey governor – will prod Democrats into action. Republicans believe such results will compel Democrats to see their party as out of touch. “I hope the election tomorrow is a change. A sea change in all this,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. “I hope that after everybody votes and they go in their room and they make the calculation that, well, ‘maybe, maybe we won’t have to hold that line anymore.’” Republicans know the shutdown will end eventually. But if it ends soon, they want to shape the narrative that “Democrats caved because of the election results.” Consider that Republicans have been forecasting the shutdown’s end for five weeks now. “The cracks started to appear in the Democrat base,” proclaimed Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., on October 1. Republicans believed Democrats would cave in a matter of days once the shutdown started. It never happened. SENATE REPUBLICANS PLOT LONGER-TERM FUNDING BILL AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CONTINUES The GOP then argued that Democrats were merely holding out until the “No Kings” rallies on October 19 concluded — that Democrats would have “shown they were fighting” by then. “They won’t be able to reopen the government until after that rally,” forecast Johnson on Fox on October 10. There was nothing of the sort. Then the GOP amended its argument that Democrats were on the verge of giving in because federal workers were missing paychecks. Especially air traffic controllers. “We’re getting to where the consequences of this are very real,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., on Fox on October 23. That theory also fizzled. Republicans then pinned their hopes on the next missed paycheck, coupled with flight delays, expiring SNAP benefits, and spiking health premiums on November 1. “The Democrats will collapse entirely,” predicted Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on Fox over the weekend. But nothing changed. “We will not support a partisan, Republican spending bill that continues to gut the healthcare of the American people,” proclaimed House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. “That’s been our position. Week after week after week – and it will continue to be our position.”  Say what you will about the Democrats’ strategy. But they haven’t folded. TRUMP’S ‘NUCLEAR’ DEMAND NOT LANDING FOR SENATE REPUBLICANS AMID SHUTDOWN Keep in mind that Republicans have tried in vain to convince Senate Democrats since mid-September to accept a GOP spending plan which would only fund the government through November 21. “It is now becoming close to a moot issue,” said Cornyn. “What are they going to do after, I don’t know.” Thune proclaimed that the 21st is now a date which is “lost.” Yours truly asked House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., what was the “drop-dead date” for Republicans to make another play call. “With November 21st out there, it’s not a lot [of] time to resolve differences,” replied Scalise. There’s now chatter about Republicans crafting another short-term spending bill through January. “The longer sort of runway, the better,” said Thune. “I’m certainly listening to our colleagues and trying to figure out kind of where that landing spot would be.” But there’s no guarantee either chamber could pass such a measure — especially if Democrats’ core demands remain unaddressed. In his daily prayer to open the Senate session, Senate Chaplain Barry Black implied that the lawmakers needed help solving the crisis – simply because they were no closer to a resolution than they were in late September. “Inspire our lawmakers to unite in putting out the fire of this government shutdown that has already burned far more than anticipated,” prayed Black. It’s too unpredictable to make a sound prediction about when the shutdown will end. But if you predict enough things, you’ll eventually get something right. So how about this prediction: The shutdown will end. Eventually.

LISTEN: Unhinged voicemail exposes left-wing candidate’s death threats against GOP senator

LISTEN: Unhinged voicemail exposes left-wing candidate’s death threats against GOP senator

Freshman Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., was targeted with death threats and other extreme insults by a left-wing city commissioner candidate from Montana’s capital city of Helena, who called his office several weeks ago to leave her thoughts about the Republican senator over a voicemail.   The voicemail came in July, shortly after Sheehy voted with his Republican colleagues to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a sweeping tax and spending package from Republicans that angered many Democrats, including Helena city commissioner candidate Haley McKnight, following its passage.  “Hi, this is Haley McKnight. I’m a constituent in Helena, Montana,” McKnight started off in her voicemail, a recording of which was obtained and verified by Fox News Digital. “I just wanted to let you know that you are the most insufferable kind of coward and thief. You just stripped away healthcare for 17 million Americans, and I hope you’re really proud of that. I hope that one day you get pancreatic cancer, and it spreads throughout your body so fast that they can’t even treat you for it.” But the anger didn’t stop there. During the roughly minute-long voicemail that phone logs reportedly show came in on the afternoon of July 1, McKnight launches into insults about Sheehy’s fertility and his children, before warning the senator not to “meet me on the streets.” LAWMAKER TARGETED WITH DEATH THREAT AFTER CONDEMNING RACIST SIGN AIMED AT WINSOME SEARS “I hope you die in the street like a dog,” McKnight continued. “One day, you’re going to live to regret this. I hope that your children never forgive you. I hope that you are infertile. I hope that you manage to never get a boner ever again. You are the worst piece of sh– I have ever, ever, ever had the misfortune of looking at … God forbid that you ever meet me on the streets because I will make you regret it. F— you. I hope you die.”  McKnight added that Sheehy doesn’t “serve Montanans,” but rather just his “own private interests.”  “All that you have done since you have gotten into power is do sh– for yourself.” SENATORS MAKE BIPARTISAN CALL TO ‘TURN DOWN THE HEAT’ ON POLITICAL VIOLENCE, RHETORIC      McKnight, originally from North Carolina but now living and working in Montana, owns a small business called Sage & Oats Trading Post, which McKnight describes as “a successful Native American-owned gift store” on her campaign website. She also runs a consulting and design business called Morningstar Design Ltd Co, and is the president and a board member of the Helena Young Professionals group. She touts being the recipient of the Helena Chamber’s 20 under 40 award.  “I am always ready to stand up for what I believe and challenge the status quo,” McKnight’s “About” web page on her campaign website reads, which lists priorities like housing for all, better governmental transparency, increased funding for public art and music, and more accessible streets and downtown living. In an interview with a local news outlet, McKnight touts her past volunteer work for the Obama campaign and more recently working on Democrat candidate Steve Held’s campaign for Congress. Held did not make it out of the primary. Meanwhile, public campaign donation records reportedly show McKnight has donated to multiple Democratic candidates, according to records reviewed by Fox News Digital. The Helena city commissioner race, which is traditionally nonpartisan, is her first time running for any sort of political office. McKnight was originally one of five declared nonpartisan candidates before she advanced to the November general election after finishing third in a nonpartisan primary in September.  “I’m a constituent, and I was responding to some horrible policy with some justified rage,” McKnight told Fox News Digital about the voicemail when reached for comment. “I would hope that if Sheehy was so rattled by my voicemail, he would have contacted me instead of leaking my information to conservative news media the night before an election. It feels like a cheap shot. I’m one of his constituents, and you know, this message is nothing that I’d say to my grandmother or in front of any children, it was meant for Senator Sheehy alone.” McKnight said it was “laughable” that this is how Sheehy responds to constituent voicemails. ANTISEMITISM WATCHDOG ISSUES SCATHING ‘ALARM BELL’ REPORT ON MAMDANI AS NYC ELECTION NEARS “I also would have thought that somebody from the armed forces could have handled some tough language,” McKnight added. Sheehy is a former Navy SEAL who was shot while deployed in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, McKnight went on to say she was simply trying to “convey the gravity of the situation” with her voicemail. She added that she was not intending to threaten Sheehy with her voicemail. McKnight also reportedly told the National Review she “obviously” had no intent of hurting Sheehy, reportedly telling the outlet: “I couldn’t, I’m a woman.” “I wanted to drive home the struggles that people that I know are going through because of his policies. I think people were kind of shocked at my specificity, but these are things that are affecting people in my community,” McKnight told Fox News Digital, adding that Sheehy was spending too much time blocking the release of “the Epstein files” as opposed to understanding the struggles Montanans are going through.  But, when pressed on whether McKnight stood by her rhetoric from the voicemail, particularly after public officials from both sides of the aisle have called for folks to turn down the heat in light of the spate of political violence that the United States has faced recently, she simply responded: “No comment on that.”  “I have received numerous death and rape threats since this story has been published,” McKnight said when pressed even further. “My business is being threatened at the moment because of the actions of the senator,” she added, in reference to Sheehy publicly sharing her voicemail with the media. ACQUITTAL OF MAN WHO URGED VIOLENCE AGAINST TRUMP PUTS FIRST AMENDMENT IN SPOTLIGHT “It’s completely

ICE reveals stunning statistic after exposing Halloween weekend’s ‘worst of the worst’ arrests

ICE reveals stunning statistic after exposing Halloween weekend’s ‘worst of the worst’ arrests

FIRST ON FOX: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continued its crackdown on the “worst of the worst” dangerous illegal immigrants over Halloween weekend, arresting criminals convicted of intercourse with minor, sexual abuse, kidnapping, homicide and other serious crimes. The Department of Homeland Security highlighted that 70 percent of ICE arrests are of criminal illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S., according to a statement to Fox News Digital. One criminal illegal, Sisawang Khambounheuang, from Laos, was arrested by ICE after being convicted of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor in San Diego. Just to the north, another criminal illegal alien, Milton Rene Mendez-Arevalo, from Guatemala, was arrested after a conviction for kidnapping in Los Angeles. In Houston, where ICE arrested over 120 illegal immigrants over the weekend, the agency nabbed Honduran criminal illegal Hector Eugenio Ramirez-Martinez, who was convicted for indecency with child sexual contact in Harris County. Another, Francisco Nava-Garcia, from Mexico, was arrested in Houston after being convicted of assault on a family/household member. CALIFORNIA ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT WITH 49 PRIOR ARRESTS TOPS ICE’S LATEST ‘WORST-OF-THE-WORST’ LIST Elsewhere in Texas, ICE arrested Kunal Chhetri, an illegal alien from India, who was convicted for alien smuggling in the United States District Court, Western District of Texas. ICE also continued its crackdown in Florida, arresting Lazaro Mateo Ruiz, from Cuba, who was convicted for homicide, weapon offense and robbery in Miami-Dade County. Over in Florida’s gulf coast, ICE arrested Juan Gomez-Gutierrez, from Colombia, who was convicted for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms of cocaine while aboard a vessel in Tampa. Another drug distributor, Juan Brito-Rios, from Mexico, was arrested by ICE following his conviction for possession with the intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin, five kilograms or more of cocaine and money laundering in the U.S. Middle District Court of Tennessee. CONVICTED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CHILD KILLER WHO MURDERED INFANT SON ARRESTED IN TWIN CITIES ICE SWEEP In Illinois, a sanctuary state that has been resisting the Trump administration’s crackdown, ICE arrested Brigidio Ovido Gomez Garcia, from Guatemala, who was convicted of aggravated domestic battery/strangle, domestic battery, and driving under the influence in Wheaton, a Chicago suburb. Commenting on the arrests, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin pointed out that amidst pushback from pro-sanctuary politicians, 70 percent of all ICE arrests are of illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S. “President Trump and Secretary Noem unleashed ICE to remove the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from American communities,” McLaughlin told Fox News Digital. TRUMP BACKS ICE RAID TACTICS, SAYS THEY ‘HAVEN’T GONE FAR ENOUGH’ “Despite the Democrats’ government shutdown, ICE is continuing to arrest criminal illegal aliens across the country,” she continued. “While Americans enjoyed their weekends, ICE was hard at work getting the worst of the worst off our streets—including pedophiles, murderers, and kidnappers.”