Unearthed debate clip goes viral against Dems as illegal immigrant health coverage becomes top issue
As the federal government shutdown continues, a clip from the 2019 Democratic presidential primary went viral when the candidates were asked if they support providing healthcare to those in the country illegally. “Is JD Vance a liar or just woefully ignorant when claiming that Democrats want to give health benefits to undocumented immigrants?” disgraced ex-Democratic Minnesota Sen. Al Franken posted to X on Wednesday, leading to the clip being posted in the comments by one user. “Raise your hand if your government plan would provide coverage for undocumented immigrants,” NBC News anchor Savannah Guthrie asked while moderating the June 2019 debate followed by all ten Democrats on stage raising their hands. JOHNSON SAYS DEMOCRATS LYING ABOUT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT HEALTHCARE PUSH Franken’s post triggered a range of responses, including from conservatives. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE “You should stick to intimate photography,” GOP communicator Matt Whitlock posted on X, referring to the disgraced ex-senator’s scandal that included a photo of him smiling while posing and groping radio host Leeann Tweeden, who was sleeping in the photo. DEMS IN THE HOT SEAT AFTER OBAMACARE’S SPIKING PREMIUM COSTS TORPEDO THEIR NARRATIVE “Why don’t we let Democrats answer that?” Heritage Action said, posting the debate clip. The clip, which included multiple current members of Congress like Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., also garnered the attention of billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who posted “lol” in response to the debate video, which means “laugh out loud.” Part of the ongoing government shutdown debate centers on subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, which would lead to a rise in premiums that opponents say prove that the program is unsustainable. Illegal immigrants are unable to get insurance on the ACA marketplace, but Emergency Medicaid is covered as well as several states that use state taxpayer dollars for illegal immigrants to enroll in Medicaid. SPEAKER JOHNSON, ABC’S STEPHANOPOULOS CLASH OVER GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS GETTING HEALTHCARE However, California was once the subject of a federal audit where they were recommended to refund over $52.7 million in “improperly claimed” medical costs for those with “unsatisfactory immigration status.” “Democrats are now trying to run away from their RIDICULOUS $1.5 Trillion big government spending bill — now that Americans are learning what’s in it,” House Speaker Mike Johnson posted to X on Thursday. “Some Democrats now claim they don’t want illegal immigrants on Medicaid — but their previous votes, and the ACTUAL LANGUAGE of their current bill, say otherwise.” However, some Democrats have also criticized Republicans for bringing up state-based Medicaid programs that offer coverage to illegal immigrants. “This isn’t funded by the Federal Government or ACA Tax credits. [The Vice President] is lying again. However if he wants to tell the GOP to write a bill to exclude illegal immigrants from buying on the market and restore ACA tax credits to 24 million Americans, I would be game,” Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., said in response to a post from Vice President JD Vance, which included a screenshot showing New York’s public health insurance coverage for “undocumented immigrants over age 65.” As of Thursday afternoon, it’s unclear when the shutdown will end.
FLASHBACK: James Comey urged officials to always prosecute high-profile perjury cases
Former FBI Director James Comey, who was indicted Friday on two federal charges alleging that he issued a false statement to Congress and obstructed justice, previously has called for those who lie under oath to face consequences. For example, Comey once railed against lifestyle icon Martha Stewart, who was convicted of misleading federal investigators, and said her case served as an example to deter others from lying to officials. “The Stewart experience reminded me that the justice system is an honor system,” Comey wrote in his book, “A Higher Loyalty,” released in 2018. “We really can’t always tell when people are lying or hiding documents, so when we are able to prove it, we simply must do so as a message to everyone. People must fear the consequences of lying in the justice system or the system can’t work.” MARTHA STEWART’S ANGER AT JAMES COMEY FOR MAKING HER ‘TROPHY’ CRIMINAL IS ‘UNDERSTANDABLE,’ ATTORNEY SAYS “There once was a time when most people worried about going to hell if they violated an oath taken in the name of God,” Comey wrote. “That divine deterrence has slipped away from our modern cultures. In its place, people must fear going to jail…To protect the institution of justice, and reinforce a culture of truth-telling, she had to be prosecuted.” Comey served as the lead prosecutor who indicted Stewart on charges of obstruction of justice and lying to the FBI in 2003, which stemmed from the FBI’s insider trading investigation into Stewart’s friend’s company, ImClone. Stewart ultimately was convicted on four counts of obstructing justice and lying to investigators. She was sentenced to five months in prison. Comey’s statement in his book aligns with those he made at the time. After the charges were filed against Stewart in 2003, Comey said Stewart’s “case is about lying — lying to the FBI, lying to the SEC and investors.” “That is conduct that will not be tolerated. Martha Stewart is being prosecuted not because of who she is, but what she did,” Comey said at a news conference in 2003. Stewart took a swipe at Comey in her Netflix documentary called “Martha,” which was released October 2024. “It was so horrifying to me that I had to go through that to be a trophy for these idiots in the U.S. Attorney’s office,” Stewart said. Fox News Digital reached out to Comey for comment and has yet to receive a reply. Meanwhile, Comey’s feud with President Donald Trump is also back in the spotlight following Comey’s indictment. The two men have gone head-to-head against each other for years, dating back to Trump’s first administration amid the FBI’s investigation into whether Russia interfered in the 2016 election, and they have continued to trade barbs during Trump’s second term. While Trump has lobbed out terms like “sick person” and “untruthful slime ball,” Comey also has hurled criticism against the president and said he’s not fit for office. HOW JAMES COMEY’S INDICTMENT COULD GO SOUTH FOR THE DOJ For example, Comey described Trump as someone who “lies constantly about matters big and small and insists the American people believe it,” and questioned whether Trump embodied U.S. values during an interview in April 2018 with ABC News ahead of the release of his book, “A Higher Loyalty.” “I don’t think he’s medically unfit to be president — I think he’s morally unfit to be president … that’s not a policy statement,” Comey told ABC News. “Again, I don’t care what your views are on guns, or immigration, or taxes. There is something more important than that, that should unite all of us, and that is our president must embody respect and adhere to the values that are at the core of this country, the most important being truth. This president is not able to do that.” That same month Comey attracted the ire of Trump, who accused Comey of being a “terrible” FBI director and that it was his “great honor” to fire Comey. “James Comey is a proven LEAKER & LIAR. Virtually everyone in Washington thought he should be fired for the terrible job he did-until he was, in fact, fired. He leaked CLASSIFIED information, for which he should be prosecuted. He lied to Congress under OATH,” Trump said in a social media post in April 2018. COMEY DENIES CHARGES, DECLARES ‘I AM NOT AFRAID’ “He is a weak and untruthful slime ball who was, as time has proven, a terrible Director of the FBI…It was my great honor to fire James Comey!” Trump said. Trump fired Comey in May 2017, just after Comey revealed in March 2017 before the House Intelligence Committee that the FBI had launched a criminal investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia during the 2016 election. At the time, Trump said that he had ousted Comey due to his handling of an investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server. Comey, who previously identified as a Republican, went on to endorse former President Joe Biden in the 2020 election. He also called for “everyone who cares about the rule of law and America’s indispensable role in the world” to get behind former Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee during the 2024 election when she went up against Trump. TRUMP SAYS COMEY ‘PLACED A CLOUD OVER THE ENTIRE NATION’ WITH CROSSFIRE HURRICANE, REACTS TO INDICTMENT “Kamala Harris made me feel like it’s finally morning in America,” Comey wrote in a post on X in August 2024. More recently, Comey and Trump sparred after the former FBI director posted a photo on Instagram in May depicting shells arranged on a beach to spell out “86 47.” The term “86” can mean getting rid of something or someone, and Trump is the 47th president. Following backlash from Trump allies who interpreted Comey’s post as a threat to remove Trump, Comey said that the thought hadn’t crossed his mind and he opposed “violence of any kind.” Still, Trump didn’t
Trump’s DOGE savings dwarfed by Medicare, Social Security spending, watchdog finds
A conservative watchdog says Trump’s much-hyped DOGE cuts are a drop in the bucket compared to America’s ballooning entitlement spending. OpenTheBooks, a conservative fiscal watchdog group, released a report on Thursday showing that mandatory spending for Medicare and Social Security vastly outweigh any cuts to discretionary spending ushered in by the Trump administration. The report was released as lawmakers clash over government funding, with the fight centered on Democratic plans to expand Obamacare. “Government shutdowns offer taxpayers a much-needed reality check on the massive scale of federal spending and our unsustainable debt and deficits,” OpenTheBooks CEO John Hart said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Policymakers need to wake up and take a much closer look at safety net spending, which is the largest share of our budget and is highly susceptible to fraud.” WHITE HOUSE MEMO SAYS DEMOCRATS’ PLAN COULD SPEND $200B ON HEALTHCARE FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS Of the $6.9 trillion spent by the federal government in 2024, $912 billion went to Medicare, and $1.5 trillion went to Social Security, according to OpenTheBooks. Meanwhile, OpenTheBooks highlights the rescission package passed by Congress in July, which largely focused on cuts to the United States Agency for International Development, saved around $9 billion and DOGE cuts saved taxpayers around $150 billion. “The amounts of disputed savings in 2025 pale in comparison to our spending on safety net programs,” the OpenTheBooks report states. “If the flow of money in the federal government could be viewed from a jet cruising at 30,000 feet, Medicare would be the Mississippi River and Social Security would be the Columbia River while USAID and ‘woke’ spending programs would be barely visible, tiny streams.” ‘WASTEFUL AND DANGEROUS’: DOGE’S TOP FIVE MOST SHOCKING REVELATIONS In particular, OpenTheBooks zeroed in on just one aspect of Medicare funds — those that are allocated for prescription drug coverage. The fiscal watchdog found that the top 1,000 providers in the system are linked to more spending in 2024 — $10.9 billion — than was saved by the July rescission package. According to OpenTheBooks’ findings, the top ten providers are associated with nearly the same amount of savings ushered in by the Trump administration’s $1.1 billion in cuts to PBS and NPR. “We are not implying that any of these providers are engaging in anything other than lawful conduct on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries,” the report asserts. “Yet, it is also true that healthcare spending in the United States is grossly inefficient and fraudulent at a large scale. In June, the Department of Justice charged 324 defendants for defrauding Medicare of $14.6 billion. Meanwhile, last year, the Wall Street Journal reported that insurers ‘pocketed $50 billion from Medicare for diseases no doctor treated.’” OpenTheBooks’ report argues that if American taxpayers want to understand the costs, benefits, vulnerabilities and potential savings, related to federal government spending, then they must fight for transparency. “When taxpayers see where their money is flowing, especially in times of heated debates and shutdowns, they can hold policymakers accountable to better direct its flow,” the report concludes.
Speculation swirls as AOC is rumored to harbor 2028 aspirations: ‘Savvy politician’
Rumors have swirled about “Squad” Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s political future since she joined Sen. Bernie Sanders’ high-profile “Fighting Oligarchy” tour earlier this year. The youngest woman ever elected to Congress has become a leading progressive voice in the Democratic Party, amassing millions of social media followers and sparking speculation about a potential U.S. Senate run or White House bid in 2028. Her rise to the national stage comes as Democrats look for fresh leadership after losing up and down the ballot last year. Ocasio-Cortez’s chief of staff and campaign manager are both alumni of the Sanders campaign. Mike Casca, her chief of staff, was formerly Sanders’ deputy chief of staff and a fixture of Sanders’ political operation, both on the presidential campaign trail and back on Capitol Hill. Her campaign manager, Oliver Hidalgo-Wohlleben, has worked in politics for over a decade. Prior to joining Ocasio-Cortez’s team in 2023, Hidalgo-Wohlleben was the political director of Sanders’ super PAC, Friends of Bernie Sanders, according to his LinkedIn. AOC STARS IN NEWSOM REDISTRICTING AD, URGING CALIFORNIANS TO ‘FIGHT’ TRUMP FOR DEMOCRACY Hidalgo-Wohlleben also worked on Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign before joining former President Joe Biden’s campaign in Iowa, Hidalgo-Wohlleben’s LinkedIn profile revealed. AOC ALLEGEDLY EYEING 2028 RUN AS DNC VICE CHAIR RALLIES PARTY NEEDS MAMDANI TO OCASIO-CORTEZ AS LEADERS “AOC is a pretty savvy politician with a strong operation,” Democratic strategist Mike Nellis told Fox News Digital. “No matter what she decides to do, they’re setting her up for the future.” A Sanders alumnus himself, Nellis cautioned against placing too much weight on what it means for former Sanders staffers to lead Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign. “I think that’s just who she knows and who she trusts,” Nellis, a former adviser to Vice President Kamala Harris, said, adding that Ocasio-Cortez has a “really good team around her.” “It’s strategic in the sense that they have a lot of relationships already,” Democratic strategist Kaivan Shroff said, while emphasizing that it can be a “mistake to keep the old guard” when you are trying to build something new. “I don’t know that somebody is going to inherit the legacy of Bernie Sanders,” Shroff added. Axios recently reported that, according to people familiar with Ocasio-Cortez’s political operation, her team is positioning her to run for president or the U.S. Senate in 2028. Schumer is up for re-election in 2028. By then, he will have served 47 years in Congress. “AOC doesn’t need the Senate,” Republican strategist Matt Gorman told Fox News Digital. “The Senate, at this point, is too small for her. I would expect her to run for president 2028.” Whether she chooses to run for president or the Senate, Nellis said Ocasio-Cortez has the potential to attract voters who don’t typically engage in the political process, much like the coalition President Donald Trump has built. “When you are an unconventional candidate outside the mainstream, outside the establishment, you can get a lot of people who will tune in and engage that maybe otherwise wouldn’t because you’re giving voice to them in a meaningful way,” Nellis said. But Shroff said that Ocasio-Cortez isn’t ready for a presidential campaign. “She absolutely should not run for president,” Shroff said. “It would be way too soon. I don’t think she’s really achieved enough to justify that.” “For the Senate, I see that as more realistic, especially in a state like New York, that’s obviously more liberal,” Shroff added, arguing that “some very loyal base Democrats have lost their patience” with Schumer, so his vulnerability could boost Ocasio-Cortez’s chances of securing the Senate seat. Shroff said Ocasio-Cortez’s “media profile and personality and charisma” aren’t enough to win the presidency, especially when running against figures like California Gov. Gavin Newsom, long considered to harbor presidential aspirations. The New Yorker sparked more campaign buzz this month for participating in an advertisement directly challenging Trump and advocating in favor of California redistricting. Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders have both endorsed and campaigned this year for New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, a self-described Democratic socialist. If Mamdani wins the mayoral election in November, Shroff said it could be a litmus test for the modern progressive branch of the Democratic Party. “It will be challenging for him because I don’t think he can do a lot of the things that he said, and so how soon will that leftist ideology be debunked on a national level? The sooner that happens, the worse it is for AOC,” Shroff said. In April, Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign account posted a video on X that drove rumors she could be mulling a presidential run as the four-term Democrat from New York City and the progressive leader proclaimed, “We are one.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP When asked later that month if she was harboring any presidential ambitions, the young Democrat did not rule out 2028 presidential aspirations to Fox News Digital. “Bernie and AOC, one thing they understand is that Democrats need to be more than just anti-Trump,” Gorman said, before adding, “I certainly disagree with Bernie and AOC’s strategy of how to lead the party and where to take America, but at least they have one. That’s more than just, ‘I hate Trump.’” The Republican strategist said the Democratic Party’s “establishment is not going to be able to stop a united, far-left wing of the party this time,” Gorman said. Ocasio-Cortez’s and Schumer’s campaigns did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Johnson says Democrats lying about illegal immigrant healthcare push
EXCLUSIVE: House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is accusing Democrats of lying in their denials that they’re pushing to give healthcare back to illegal immigrants. “The idea that you would want illegal aliens to be paid benefits by U.S. taxpayers is unconscionable,” Johnson said Wednesday. The top House Republican sat down with Fox News Digital for an interview on the first full day of the ongoing government shutdown, hours after Senate Democrats again rejected the GOP’s proposal to keep federal agencies funded at fiscal year (FY) 2025 levels through Nov. 21. Republicans’ accusations that Democrats are trying to reverse GOP changes to the Medicaid system in favor of illegal immigrants has been a particularly significant flashpoint in the fight, with those on the left attacking that claim as a lie. GOP ACCUSES DEMS OF RISKING SHUTDOWN TO RESTORE ‘ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT HEALTHCARE’ But Johnson pointed out that Democrats’ own counter-proposal for a funding bill included a provision that would have entirely reversed Republicans’ recent Medicaid changes in the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” (OBBB) signed into law on July 4. “What we’re trying to do is strengthen Medicaid, and one of the very important things we had to do is make sure that the more than 1 million illegal aliens who were collecting that were not allowed on the program,” Johnson said. “So when they say they want to repeal the healthcare provisions of the OBBB, it’s that and it’s the rural hospital fund. We put $50 billion into a fund to prop up our rural hospitals, and that would do real damage [if ended].” People in the U.S. without legal status are already barred on a federal level from accessing benefits like Medicaid. And Democrats, who are also pushing for any funding deal to extend enhanced Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of this year, have insisted that they’re fighting to preserve healthcare for Americans. Republicans’ bill installed a 20-hour-per-week work requirement for certain able-bodied people on Medicaid, even for U.S. citizens, which Democrats objected to. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., meanwhile, told CNN on Wednesday of the illegal immigrants claim, “Taxpayer dollars cannot be spent on Medicaid or Medicare or the Affordable Care Act related to undocumented immigrants, and not a single Democrat has raised the issue of trying to reverse that federal law. What we are trying to do is save the healthcare of the American people, lower their costs and cancel these cuts.” Yet 14 states and the District of Columbia, all of which use a mix of federal and state dollars to fund Medicaid, allow some level of state-funded healthcare coverage for residents without legal immigration status. Those programs are active in places that expanded their Medicaid populations under Obamacare, formally called the Affordable Care Act (ACA). SHUTDOWN EXPLAINED: WHO WORKS, WHO DOESN’T AND HOW MUCH IT COSTS Hospitals are also given federal dollars to cover Emergency Medicaid funding, which is available to people who meet all Medicaid eligibility requirements except for immigration status in cases of dire immediate need. The OBBB reduces the amount of federal dollars those hospitals get, however. The GOP policy bill also strengthens guardrails around who can get Medicaid coverage, barring certain groups of asylum-seekers and refugees who otherwise would have qualified for some level of coverage. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Republicans argue that millions of people who entered the U.S. illegally were improperly granted at least temporary legal status under former President Joe Biden, and so should not qualify for the same benefits as other legal immigrants — a point Johnson suggested during his interview as well. “President Biden added all those people onto the rolls, and he kept the border open for four years,” Johnson said. “They put them on taxpayer benefits.” While Biden did enact significant restrictions on asylum and illegal entry across the border toward the end of his term, his loosening of Trump administration-era restrictions in 2021 is accused of helping precipitate a record number of illegal immigrants entering the U.S. “Illegal aliens can’t get Medicaid, but that has only been true since July 4, and the reason that is a true statement is because we passed it into law and all the Democrats voted against it,” Johnson said. “So they want to reverse what we did. I mean, that’s just plain and simple.”
Harris sought Clinton ‘marriage’ secrets to avoid running mate drama
Former Vice President Kamala Harris revealed in her new memoir that she turned to Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton for advice on choosing a running mate before landing on Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Harris’ new memoir, “107 Days,” provides a detailed first-hand account of the former vice president’s truncated presidential campaign in 2024. The book, released Sept. 23, set the stage back when Harris had just 94 days to go before Americans cast their ballots. She called on former President Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, for advice on how to choose a running mate. “Very few people have ever made this decision. I called Hillary and Bill Clinton, because they knew what it was like and would give me candid and confidential advice,” Harris wrote. She described that the Clintons warned her against choosing someone who would be an apparent “political marriage of convenience.” KAMALA HARRIS PLAYS UP COZY RELATIONSHIP WITH HILLARY CLINTON AS WEDGE WITH BIDEN WIDENS “One of your strengths,’ they said, ‘is that you bring a joyful energy to the campaign. You have to choose someone who won’t work against that,’” she wrote of their conversation. “They told me to be aware that over the course of the campaign, people will be able to tell if it is a genuinely good relationship or a political marriage of convenience.” Harris continued that the former president said his running mate and vice president, Al Gore, was a good match “because he knew things I didn’t know. We were as different as daylight and dark and it worked.” “‘You have to level with them and watch how they answer,’” she wrote of Bill Clinton’s advice on how to vet potential running mates. She added that the couple jointly “emphasized that I’d be offering this person the chance of a lifetime, so they’d better know it. If they were someone dying for immediate public recognition, it might not be the job for them. They might have to swallow a lot of crap.” FROM TELL ALL TO END ALL: FORMER VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS’ 5 BIG CAREER MISTAKES Harris ultimately chose Walz to join her on the ticket, a relatively unknown Democratic governor from Minnesota and former U.S. House lawmaker who was celebrated as Harris’ “happy warrior” on the campaign trail. “I needed to know that my running mate was a person who valued the dignity of everyone and would take a moment to show it,” she capped off the chapter, which did not note whether Harris floated Walz’ name directly to the Clintons as she sought advice. The selection of Walz over other liked or well-known Democrats, such as Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, was viewed as a campaign misstep that contributed to the party’s loss to President Donald Trump. Walz was slammed over claims of “stolen valor,” and his previous strict rules for his state during the pandemic, as well as a debate performance against then-Sen. JD Vance that pundits argued made him appear nervous. KAMALA HARRIS REVEALS WHAT BIDEN TOLD HER JUST BEFORE CRUCIAL DEBATE WITH TRUMP THAT LEFT HER ‘ANGRY’ Harris, who mentions the Clintons at least 12 times in her book, has increasingly played up her cozy relationship with the Democratic power couple as her political wedge with former President Joe Biden’s political orbit widens following the release of her book. “We all hope to be mentored. We all hope to have support from those who come before. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t. And certainly that’s true of politics. Hillary Clinton is one of those people that believes in lifting people up and supporting people,” Harris said from the stage of The Town Hall, a theater venue in Midtown Manhattan, where she kicked off her book tour Sept. 24. “And she follows through,” Harris added. OBAMA, PELOSI, OTHER TOP DEMS RESISTED INSTANT HARRIS ENDORSEMENT CITING NEED TO ‘EARN IT,’ ‘HIKING’ EXCUSE Harris said during her book event in New York City that the Clintons were among one of the first calls she made when Biden officially dropped out of the presidential race on July 21, 2024 — describing the call as “the cutest thing.” “So I have their home number, for Hillary and Bill, and it was the cutest thing. So I called and Hillary picked up and then Bill was in the other room, and she’s like, ‘It’s Kamala on the phone, Bill, pick up the other phone,’” she recounted on her book tour Sept. 24. Harris said that the former first couple immediately offered to travel to campaign for her presidential ticket, including taking public transportation, including Hillary Clinton reportedly offering to hop on an Amtrak ride to hit the campaign trail. Her comments on the Clintons follow Biden’s allies taking issue with Harris’ handful of jabs she took at the former president, including arguing it was reckless for the octogenarian president to run for re-election, critiquing Biden’s botched debate against Trump that ultimately served as a death knell for Biden’s re-election efforts.
Democrats refuse to budge over Obamacare fight as shutdown drags on
Senate Democrats appear ready for the long haul as the government shutdown continues and are putting the onus of reopening the government on Republicans. The Senate was out Thursday to observe the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur and is expected to return to action Friday to again vote on the dueling proposals to reopen the government. Though three Democratic caucus members have voted for the GOP’s plan, an end to the shutdown still seems a ways out. Senate Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have largely unified around the push for expiring Obamacare tax credits that they say must be dealt with now rather than at the end of the year when they are set to end. FIRST BIPARTISAN SHUTDOWN NEGOTIATIONS SURFACE ON CAPITOL HILL AFTER FUNDING BILL BLOCKED AGAIN Republicans argue that any negotiations for the expiring subsidies can happen once the government reopens. “Democrats know we need to reopen the government, and they know that they’re appropriately getting blamed for shutting it down, and we’re going to continue to bring up the continuing resolution,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said. “There’s things they want to negotiate, and we can do that once the government is open.” The White House, particularly Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought, and President Donald Trump have ramped up pressure on Senate Democrats, too, with targeted spending cuts to blue states and threats of mass firings of federal workers. But Vought’s targeted cuts likely do not help Democrats move closer to supporting the GOP’s continuing resolution (CR). “Russ Vought is a menace whether the government is open or closed. He wakes up figuring, ‘What damage can I do today?’ That’s what he does,” Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said. “So, the status of government [being] open or closed, it’s not relevant to Russell Vought. He just goes on his rampage every day.” WHITE HOUSE MEMO SAYS DEMOCRATS’ PLAN COULD SPEND $200B ON HEALTHCARE FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS Senate Democratic leadership also appears unwilling to cave this early into a shutdown as Republicans plan to continue bringing their short-term extension to the floor. Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said that he planned to continue to vote down the GOP’s plan. “How long can Republicans explain to the American people that they want to do nothing to help pay for health insurance?,” he asked. When asked if he was concerned by Vought targeting projects in blue states, Durbin said, “Sadly, it’s a consistent pattern.” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., charged that Trump didn’t have “superpowers during a shutdown” to fire federal workers and slash additional funding. “The news today is that the president is deciding to act illegally and shut down funding for Democratic states and keep money flowing for Republican states,” Murphy said. “This is not a functioning democracy if the president seizes spending power in order to reward his friends and punish his enemies.” Murphy said Democrats would not “get run over” during the shutdown, and that the government would reopen when the GOP gets “serious about talking to Democrats.” Early negotiations on a path forward materialized on the Senate floor on Wednesday, but no real deal came from those talks. Instead, Republicans and Democrats in the impromptu meeting said that they left with a better understanding of either side’s desires. GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CONTINUES AS SENATE DEMS BLOCK GOP FUNDING BILL FOR 3RD TIME Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., previously voted with Schumer in March to keep the government open. The retiring senator was also one of the nearly dozen lawmakers in a bipartisan huddle on the Senate floor that sparked early negotiations on the expiring credits. Peters said that it was “premature” to say there was a deal or plan locked in after those talks, but he warned that deeper issues were still at play for congressional Democrats when it came to dealing with the GOP and White House. “There are all sorts of trust issues, both in the Senate and the House, so we have to work through all of that,” he said. And Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., was one of just three Democratic caucus members who have now voted twice with Republicans on their CR. While she supported reopening the government, she still blamed Republicans for ignoring the Obamacare tax credits. “[Republicans] created this crisis … and they need to address it,” she said. “They have no moral standing, no moral standing to stand back and say that this is all on the Democrats. They are in control, they created this crisis. People are suffering.” When asked if she trusted Republicans in negotiations, Cortez Masto countered, “You tell me.” “They’re already entrenched in their positions, unfortunately, and not thinking about the American public,” she said.
Trump sees ‘unprecedented opportunity’ to cut government during shutdown
President Donald Trump on Thursday said he’s working to determine which “Democrat” agencies will face cuts after Democrats and Republicans failed to reach an agreement on a government funding package. Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that he was meeting with Russell Vought, director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, later Thursday to discuss which agencies “are a political SCAM.” The president said he wanted Vought to recommend which agencies should face cuts and whether those cuts should be temporary or permanent. “I can’t believe the Radical Left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity,” read Trump’s post. “They are not stupid people, so maybe this is their way of wanting to, quietly and quickly, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” The federal government entered a partial shutdown Wednesday after the midnight funding deadline passed, with Democrats and Republicans failing to agree on a funding bill. DEMOCRATS AT A BIG DISADVANTAGE IN SHUTDOWN AS TRUMP STARTS SLASHING THEIR PROGRAMS Trump has warned the administration could make “irreversible” changes to the federal workforce, most notably through a new wave of fresh layoffs. He has underscored that he and his allies did not want the government to shut down, but that it opened the door for some “good” that could come from it. Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday accused Democrats of forcing the shutdown over providing illegal immigrants with taxpayer-funded emergency healthcare and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., fearing a primary challenge from progressive “Squad” member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. VANCE BRINGS RECEIPTS TO TARGET DEMS ON HEALTHCARE BENEFITS FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS “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,” Vance said. “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.” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also alleged Democrats engineered the shutdown to force taxpayers to fund healthcare for undocumented immigrants given a $37 trillion debt. “To put this all into perspective, the Democrats refused to keep the government open over healthcare to illegal aliens and now have jeopardized critical health care programs for American citizens,” she said. “Instead, the women, infants and children program, community health center funding, Medicare treatment options and other health programs are now all at risk because of the Democrats rejecting the clean C.R. [continuing resolution].” Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.
Media bashes Trump admin messaging for pinning shutdown on Dems, White House fires back
EXCLUSIVE: The White House responded to various reports that President Donald Trump’s administration is breaking federal law by including commentary that blames Senate Democrats for the government shutdown in out-of-office emails and letters furloughing federal employees. A number of reports suggested that including partisan messaging in official emails and communication channels could be a violation of the Anti-Lobbying Act, which prevents federal funding from being used in lobbying efforts. “The Trump administration is committed to sharing the truth with the American people, and it’s simply a fact that the Democrats shut down the government,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital. “Democrats opposed the clean CR that they supported just 6 months ago and 13 times under the Biden administration because they want free healthcare for illegal aliens.” WHITE HOUSE PREPARES FOR ‘IMMINENT’ FEDERAL LAYOFFS AFTER DEMOCRATS FORCE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN “And now, the Democrats are upset the administration is sharing the truth — they are desperately trying to lie to the American people because they know their shutdown is hurting families and workers around the country,” Jackson added. “Unfortunately for the Democrats, facts are facts.” Atop the Department of Justice website, a red banner reads: “Democrats have shut down the government. Department of Justice websites are not currently regularly updated.” Fox News Digital obtained a DOJ memo which was sent to all employees of the agency outlining the plan for furloughing federal employees in the event of a shutdown, stating DOJ “has contingency plans in place for executing an orderly shutdown of activities that would be affected by any lapse in appropriations forced by Congressional Democrats.” JOHNSON SAYS SCHUMER HANDED TRUMP ‘KEYS TO THE KINGDOM’ WITH GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN DECISION “Unfortunately, Democrats are blocking this Continuing Resolution in the U.S. Senate due to unrelated policy demands,” the memo continues. “A funding lapse will result in certain Department activities ceasing due to a lack of appropriated funding, and designated pre-notified employees will be furloughed subject to certain laws and regulations.” On visiting the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) website, a pop-up appears on the center page that reads: “The Radical Left in Congress shut down the government. HUD will use available resources to help Americans in need.” Reports also suggested that the administration may be in violation of the Hatch Act, a federal law that prevents tax dollars from being spent in a partisan or politically biased manner, as a result of the messaging. SHUTDOWN EXPLAINED: WHO WORKS, WHO DOESN’T AND HOW MUCH IT COSTS Legal expert Andrew Cherkasy, co-founder of Golden Law, Inc. and former Air Force JAG, told Fox News Digital that “the Hatch Act does not apply to the President or Vice President. It does apply to most other federal employees.” “The law is intended to prohibit government officials from using their official authority to interfere with, or affect elections,” Cherkasky explained. “The President of the United States and his agents under his authority have an unquestionable constitutional right to speak directly to the American people about what is happening in their government and who is responsible for it.” The Hatch Act, which was signed into law in 1939, is enforced by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC), and is also designed to keep federal employees from influencing or interfering with elections while working in any official capacity. BLAME GAME: GOP SPOTLIGHTS ‘SCHUMER SHUTDOWN’ WHILE DEMS LASH OUT AT REPUBLICANS AHEAD OF 2026 MIDTERMS “For years, unelected bureaucrats and left-leaning agencies openly leaked, editorialized, and interfered in policy debates without consequence,” Cherkasky told Fox. “The Hatch Act does not prohibit the President from holding democrats accountable for shutting down the government.” The Biden administration also partook in messaging that pushed certain legislation. Biden’s Office of Management and Budget issued a statement regarding the Right to IVF Act last June, stating: “When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade nearly two years ago, it paved the way for Republican elected officials’ extreme, out-of-touch agenda, which has eroded access to reproductive healthcare for families across the country.” The Obama administration issued similar messaging in 2013 specifically blaming Republicans for a government shutdown threat, saying “House Republicans are pushing the Government toward shutdown.” The federal government entered a partial shutdown at midnight Wednesday morning after a bill that would fund the government through Nov. 21 failed in the Senate. Senate Democrats pushed for Obamacare subsidies that were set to expire to be included in the legislation and reportedly felt sidelined in negotiations surrounding government funding. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Despite a Republican majority in both the House and the Senate, the spending bill requires 60 votes to pass in the Senate, meaning some Democrat senators will need to break ranks with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to prevent the bill from failing.
Trump presidential library to be built in Miami after Florida gifts waterfront site
Florida officials on Tuesday paved the way for President Donald Trump’s presidential library to be built in a prime location in downtown Miami next to the city’s iconic Freedom Tower. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet voted to gift a 2.63-acre parcel on Biscayne Boulevard to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation on condition that construction must begin within five years, which would be about a year after the president completes his second term. Trump’s son Eric, who is the president and one of three trustees at the foundation, hailed the announcement. OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER DEPOSITS JUST $1M INTO $470M RESERVE FUND AIMED TO PROTECT TAXPAYERS “No monument can fully capture the scale of my father’s legacy, but this library will stand as a tribute to the leader who reshaped history and restored America’s strength,” Eric Trump said in a statement. No architectural plans have been released, but Eric Trump said it would not look like former President Barack Obama’s presidential center, which is slowly rising in Chicago. “Consistent with our family’s DNA, this will be one of the most beautiful buildings ever built, an icon on the Miami skyline — rest assured, it will not look like President Obama’s ‘prison-like structure,’” Eric Trump wrote on X, referring to the Obama Center’s 235-foot-tall concrete museum at the site. At 19.3 acres, the Obama Presidential Center sits on a site more than seven times larger than Trump’s. The Miami site is currently used as an employee parking lot for Miami Dade College’s Wolfson Campus and is adjacent to the historic Freedom Tower, which served as a resource center for hundreds of thousands of Cubans who fled communism in the 1960s and 1970s and sought asylum in the United States. The 100-year-old structure is considered a symbol of the city’s vibrant immigrant heritage. The site is surrounded by luxury high-rise apartment buildings and has waterfront views, facing directly at the Kaseya Center, home to the NBA’s Miami Heat, as well as Dodge Island, where many of the world’s largest cruise liners dock. OBAMA LIBRARY, BEGUN WITH LOFTY DEI GOALS, NOW PLAGUED BY $40M RACIALLY CHARGED SUIT, BALLOONING COSTS The parcel was appraised at more than $66 million, according to media reports, but it could sell for at least $360 million, The New York Times reported, citing a real estate consultant. Presidential libraries are part of a system administered by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), which preserves documents, records and other historical materials of U.S. presidents after they leave office. According to the NARA website, the records of the Trump administration will remain in the capital region, which likely means the Miami site will function more like a museum and exhibit center akin to the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago. Fox News Digital has sought clarification from the Trump Presidential Library Foundation. The site selection comes just months after Trump carried Miami-Dade County by 13 points, the first Republican to carry it since 1988. DeSantis formally presented the plan and publicly backed it, stating ahead of the vote that Florida “would be honored” to house Trump’s presidential library and arguing it would provide a “greater benefit to the public” and “increase economic development activities.” Under the state constitution, the gifting of certain state properties requires approval by a collective decision-making body comprised of the attorney general, the chief financial officer and the commissioner of agriculture as well as the governor. Locations associated with Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton and Florida International University in suburban Miami had previously been floated as potential library sites. DeSantis signed a bill this year preempting local governments from blocking development of a presidential library, aiming to overrule potential opposition in liberal-leaning counties or municipalities. The Trump Presidential Library Foundation’s other trustees are Tiffany Trump’s husband Michael Boulos and Trump attorney James Kiley. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.