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Senate majority leader indicates there’s not enough support to eliminate filibuster despite Trump push

Senate majority leader indicates there’s not enough support to eliminate filibuster despite Trump push

While President Donald Trump is pressuring Senate Republicans to nix the filibuster, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said during an interview on Fox News Radio’s “Guy Benson Show” that “there just simply aren’t the votes” to eliminate the “60-vote threshold.” While Republicans hold the majority in the upper chamber, the procedural hurdle serves as a check on the majority party’s power due to the threshold required to advance matters towards a vote in the chamber. Thune suggested that there is likely no more than 10 to 12 of the 53 GOP senators who would vote to eliminate the filibuster. SENATE REPUBLICANS PLOT LONGER-TERM FUNDING BILL AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CONTINUES The senator said it had been an “important tool” for Republicans when they had the minority, noting that last year they “blocked a whole host of terrible Democrat policies” due to “the 60-vote threshold.” While Thune suggested that Democrats would vote to eliminate the filibuster if they have the majority, he warned that if Republicans “do their dirty work for them,” Republicans will “own all the crap” Democrats would later do. TRUMP’S ‘NUCLEAR’ DEMAND NOT LANDING FOR SENATE REPUBLICANS AMID SHUTDOWN President Donald Trump is pushing Republicans to end the procedural hurdle. “The Democrats are far more likely to win the Midterms, and the next Presidential Election, if we don’t do the Termination of the Filibuster (The Nuclear Option!), because it will be impossible for Republicans to get Common Sense Policies done with these Crazed Democrat Lunatics being able to block everything by withholding their votes. FOR THREE YEARS, NOTHING WILL BE PASSED, AND REPUBLICANS WILL BE BLAMED. Elections, including the Midterms, will be rightfully brutal,” the president declared in a portion of a lengthy Truth Social post. SENATE RETURNS TO WORK AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN NEARS LONGEST IN US HISTORY OVER OBAMACARE FIGHT CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER NOW, END THE RIDICULOUS SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATELY, AND THEN, MOST IMPORTANTLY, PASS EVERY WONDERFUL REPUBLICAN POLICY THAT WE HAVE DREAMT OF, FOR YEARS, BUT NEVER GOTTEN. WE WILL BE THE PARTY THAT CANNOT BE BEATEN – THE SMART PARTY!!!” he declared.

Democratic Rep Jesús ‘Chuy’ García declines to seek re-election: reports

Democratic Rep Jesús ‘Chuy’ García declines to seek re-election: reports

Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García, D-Ill., is reportedly not planning on seeking re-election. The lawmaker, who was first elected to Congress in 2018, represents parts of the southwest side of Chicago. García, a longtime progressive, will not seek re-election as of Tuesday, FOX 32 Chicago reported, citing a source familiar with the matter. Monday was the last day for candidates to file paperwork in Illinois to run in the 2026 midterm elections. The Chicago Sun Times also reported that García plans to withdraw from the race. García filed petitions with the Illinois State Board of Elections for his re-election on Oct. 27, but in a last-minute maneuver, García’s chief of staff, Patty Garcia, filed petitions to replace him just ahead of the 5 p.m. deadline on Monday, according to the newspaper.  HOUSE REPUBLICAN PLANS TO LEAVE CONGRESS AFTER MORE THAN 2 DECADES IN OFFICE FOX 32 noted that Patty Garcia previously served as the congressman’s district director, and prior to that, she served with the Latino Center for Leadership Development. Chicago Alderman Raymond Lopez, a former challenger to Rep. García, criticized the move, telling FOX 32 that “the machine’s gonna do what the machine’s gonna do.” “For the party of ‘No Kings,’ this is a bad look,” Lopez told FOX 32, referencing the widespread anti-President Donald Trump “No Kings” protests. The Urban Center, a centrist nonprofit organization in Chicago, also slammed the maneuver. In a statement, Juan Rangel, CEO of The Urban Center, classified the move as a “classic machine maneuver from a career politician who seeks to deny the voters a say on their representation,” according to FOX 32. Prior to his election to Congress, García served on the Cook County Board of Commissioners and even challenged then-incumbent Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel in 2015, forcing him into a runoff election. The Chicago Sun Times said that two sources confirmed the lawmaker’s plan to step down and added that he is expected to pull the petitions that were filed late last month. His decision to step down leaves the city with five open congressional seats and an open Senate race ahead of the March primary. DICK DURBIN, NO. 2 SENATE DEMOCRAT, WON’T SEEK RE-ELECTION In April, Sen. Dick Durbin, D- Ill., the Senate Democratic Whip and the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, shook up Illinois politics when he announced that he would not seek re-election in 2026 for what would have been his sixth term. When he made the announcement that he would be retiring, Durbin, 80, who was first elected to the Senate in 1996, said the decision was not an easy one. “I truly love the job of being a United States Senator. But in my heart, I know it’s time to pass the torch,” Durbin said. In addition to the candidate shakeup, Illinois Democrats are considering a redistricting plan. While last week the lawmakers refused to vote on the plan during their veto session, they maintained that “all options” remained on the table, according to FOX 32. Fox News Digital reached out to Garcia’s office for comment.

Your guide to key ballot measures being voted on in California and New York City on Tuesday

Your guide to key ballot measures being voted on in California and New York City on Tuesday

Voters in California and New York City will be voting on key ballot measures on Tuesday, with some of them drawing national attention for their significance.  Both measures could have ripple effects far beyond their borders — influencing control of Congress and reshaping how America’s biggest city conducts elections. Together, the proposals offer voters in the nation’s two largest blue strongholds a chance to reshape how political power and housing policy are decided. Read on to learn more about each of the top measures. LIVE UPDATES: ELECTION DAY 2025 The most notable ballot measure being voted on is Proposition 50 in California, where residents are deciding whether to pass a ballot proposition which would dramatically alter the state’s congressional districts. The measure puts the left-leaning state front and center in the high-stakes political fight over redistricting. California state lawmakers this summer approved a special proposition on the November ballot to obtain voter approval to temporarily sidetrack the state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission and return the power to draw the congressional maps to the Democratic-dominated legislature.  GOP HOPEFUL WARNS SOCIALIST MAYORAL CANDIDATE IN MINNEAPOLIS IS A ‘COPY-PASTE’ OF MAMDANI The effort, which could create five more Democratic-leaning congressional districts, aims to counter the passage in the red-state of Texas of a new map that aims to create up to five right-leaning House seats. Failure to approve the measure would be a stinging setback for Democrats. Proponents and opponents of Proposition 50 reported raising more than $215 million as of Oct. 2, with much of the money being dished out to pay for a deluge of ads on both sides. One of the two main groups countering Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Democrats is labeling its effort “Stop Sacramento’s Power Grab.” Also getting into the fight is former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the last Republican governor of California. EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ELECTION DAY 2025: CRITICAL ELECTIONS, BALLOT MEASURES AND MORE “That’s what they want to do is take us backwards. This is why it is important for you to vote no on Prop 50,” Schwarzenegger says in an ad against Proposition 50. “Democracy — we’ve got to protect it, and we’ve got to go and fight for it.” When voters head to the polls, a “Yes” vote will approve the Newsom-backed plan to re-draw the maps starting in 2026 and a “No” vote would keep the existing maps. In addition to deciding who will be the city’s next mayor, 5.1 million registered New York City voters will also decide on a measure, known as Question 6, that would move election dates for city offices to the same year as federal presidential elections. According to the city’s official election website, “‘Yes’ moves City elections to the same year as Federal Presidential Elections, when permitted by state law. ‘No’ leaves laws unchanged.” Advocates of moving the election to coincide with federal elections argue it will increase turnout and thus provide results more representative of the electorate as a whole. Opponents argue that key local issues will get buried in national politics if the elections are moved. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Affordable housing is perhaps the most talked about campaign issue in New York City and voters will be asked two questions related to that issue when they walk into polling places on Tuesday. Proposal 2 is framed as a way to “fast track” affordable housing in the city.  “This proposal would make two new processes to fast-track certain affordable housing projects,” New York City’s election website says. “The first process is for publicly financed affordable housing projects. The second process is for affordable housing projects in the 12 community districts with the lowest rates of affordable housing development.” Proposal 4 in New York City is described by the collection committee as a vote to, “Establish an Affordable Housing Appeals Board with Council, Borough, and Citywide Representation.” “This proposal would change the current land use review process when the City Council rejects or changes an affordable housing project,” the measure is framed. “The proposal would create an Affordable Housing Appeals Board, made up of the local Borough President, Speaker of the City Council, and Mayor. The proposal would allow the Appeals Board to reverse the City Council’s decision with a two-to-one vote.” Housing is also the focus of Proposal 3, “where a Yes” vote “simplifies review for limited land-use changes, including modest housing and minor infrastructure projects” and a “no” vote is described as a vote that “leaves these changes subject to longer review, with final decision by City Council.”

Government shutdown becoming longest in US history as Democrats dig in on Obamacare

Government shutdown becoming longest in US history as Democrats dig in on Obamacare

The 2025 government shutdown is hours away from breaking a record to be the longest-ever in history. The prior record was held by the 2018-2019 government shutdown during President Donald Trump’s first term. Trump signed legislation ending that shutdown in the 9 p.m. hour on the 35th day. Tuesday marks the 35th day of the current fiscal standoff. And with no deal reached yet between Democrats and Republicans in Congress, it’s all but certain that the dispute will bleed into day 36. The previous shutdown occurred over a disagreement on funding Trump’s border wall. But this time, it’s Democrats’ priorities being caught in the middle. SENATE RETURNS TO WORK AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN NEARS LONGEST IN US HISTORY OVER OBAMACARE FIGHT Republicans have for weeks pushed a short-term extension of fiscal year (FY) 2025 federal funding levels called a continuing resolution (CR), aimed at giving lawmakers until Nov. 21 to strike a deal on FY2026 spending. The measure is largely free of unrelated policy riders, save for an added $88 million aimed at enhanced security funding for lawmakers, the White House and the Supreme Court.  But Democrats have said they will reject any federal funding bill that does not also extend enhanced Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of 2025. The enhanced subsidies were a COVID-19 pandemic-era measure that a majority of Republicans have said is no longer needed. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., have said they are open to discussing a reformed version of those subsidies, but rejected pairing the two issues together. The House passed the CR on Sept. 19. Johnson has kept his chamber out of session since then in a bid to pressure Senate Democrats to agree to the GOP bill — though they have rejected it 13 times since then. Senate Republicans have looked for different markers throughout the shutdown as possible exit points for Senate Democrats, like the nationwide “No Kings” protests, federal workers missing paychecks, the opening of open enrollment across the country on Nov. 1 and now the upcoming record-setting shutdown later Tuesday night.  Sen. Mike Rounds, R- S.D., noted that both the elections on Tuesday, and the record-breaking push “as a protest against the president,” could factor into how much longer Senate Democrats continue to drag the shutdown out.  TRUMP’S ‘NUCLEAR’ DEMAND NOT LANDING FOR SENATE REPUBLICANS AMID SHUTDOWN “Here’s the reality, they’re at about 25% approval rating right now, and as one of their colleagues told me, the only way they can really go up is to show their base that they’re fighting with the president, and that’s what they’re doing right now,” Rounds said.  “So once they get to the point where they think they made their point, then I think there’s a possibility of actually getting something done,” he continued.  There has been more optimism in the upper chamber over the last several days than the entire shutdown so far, as more and more bipartisan conversations are cropping up. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., believed that lawmakers were close to an off-ramp, but there still hasn’t been a concrete move made toward ending the shutdown yet.  Senate Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., still want a solid deal on expiring Obamacare subsidies, and want Trump to get more involved. That desire, despite the optimism, will likely see the House-passed CR fail for a 14th time Tuesday morning.  When asked if breaking the record would add more weight to lawmakers’ ending the shutdown, Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., believed it would take an outside force.  “I don’t see what it is,” he said. “It’ll take some type of an outside inflection point, or the best negotiator in the world to come in.”  Meanwhile, funding for critical government programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Women, Infants, and Children program (WIC), as well as national flood insurance are running critically low on funds — potentially ensnaring millions of Americans.