President Donald Trump is calling on the Senate to abolish the filibuster so the Republican majority can bypass Democrats and reopen the federal government.
“The choice is clear – initiate the ‘nuclear option,’ get rid of the filibuster,” Trump posted on his social media site Truth Social on Thursday evening.
The filibuster is a long-standing tactic in the Senate to delay or block votes on legislation by keeping debate going. It takes 60 votes in a full Senate to overcome a filibuster, giving Democrats control of the 53-seat Republican majority that led to the shutdown Oct. 1 at the start of the modern fiscal year.
His call to end the filibuster came at a time when certain senators and House Speaker Mike Johnson believed it was time to end the government shutdown. It’s unclear whether lawmakers will follow Trump’s lead instead of finding ways to negotiate with Democrats.
Here’s the latest:
The White House will resume public tours in December after a break due to construction of a ballroom
The White House announces that tours will resume on December 2 after being suspended for months due to construction of Trump’s $300 million ballroom.
The east wing was once part of tour routes but was demolished as part of the project.
The White House says it will now offer “an updated itinerary that offers guests the opportunity to experience the history and beauty of the People’s House.”
In celebration of the holidays, December tours will feature Christmas decorations on the State Floor curated by First Lady Melania Trump.
Congressional offices can begin submitting viewing requests for their constituents starting Monday. Such requests had been suspended since the summer due to ballroom construction.
The head of the Heritage Foundation defends Tucker Carlson for harboring white nationalists with anti-Semitic views
The president of the Heritage Foundation, a prominent Republican-aligned think tank, defended conservative media personality Tucker Carlson after he gave a platform to a far-right activist known for espousing white nationalist and anti-Semitic views.
Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, posted a video on social media Thursday in which he denied that the group had “distanced itself” from the former Fox News host after Carlson’s podcast featured Nick Fuentes, whose followers describe themselves as trying to preserve America’s white Christian identity.
Roberts’ video drew keen rebuke from some prominent Jewish leaders of both parties.
Carlson, one of the right’s most powerful voices, criticized U.S. support for Israel in its war with Hamas and came under fire for his own far-right views, including the white supremacy theory that says white people are being “replaced” by people of color.
▶ Read more about Carlson and the Heritage Foundation
Trump will not clarify whether the US will test nuclear weapons
The president was asked whether his social media post this week about nuclear testing meant the US would resume testing its nuclear weapons in underground detonation tests, something it has not done since 1992. He replied, “You’ll find out very soon,” without elaborating.
Trump said, “We will do some testing” and “Other countries are doing it. If they do it, we will do it.” But he then refused to reveal further details.
Trump’s comments on nuclear testing caused confusion inside and outside the government, as the president appeared to suggest on social media that the US would resume nuclear warhead tests on an “equal basis” for the first time in three decades with Russia and China, whose last known tests took place in the 1990s.
The House of Representatives cancels Monday votes as the shutdown continues
Republican leadership has canceled Monday’s House votes as Speaker Mike Johnson sticks to his strategy of keeping the chamber away from the legislative session during the government shutdown.
House members have not been in Washington for a legislative session since Sept. 19, when the chamber passed an interim funding bill that failed to pass in the Senate.
Johnson said it was up to Senate Democrats to aid pass this legislation and that a miniature number of “three to four members” within the House conference “have only slightly questioned the work in the districts rather than being here on the ground.” Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries has accused House Republicans of being on “vacation” as he calls for the House to return to the legislative session.
Trump says “no” when asked if he is considering attacks in Venezuela
The president, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One as he traveled to Florida over the weekend, gave a brief answer and did not elaborate on whether he was considering land strikes in Venezuela.
The Trump administration has carried out a series of attacks on boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, claiming the ships were carrying drugs. The attacks killed 61 people and the US has built up an unusually gigantic force of warships in the region.
Pennsylvania sends money to food banks
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is working to send more money to Pennsylvania food banks as federal SNAP benefits could be suspended for the first time in the food assistance program’s history due to the government shutdown.
The governor’s office said he would direct $5 million in federal aid to food banks, sign an emergency disaster declaration and raise private donations, currently $1 million, to support food banks.
Many other states are taking similar steps before benefits expire tomorrow unless a federal court steps in and orders SNAP support to continue. Pennsylvania typically receives about $366 million per month in SNAP funds for 2 million enrollees.
Shapiro, a Democrat, otherwise said Pennsylvania doesn’t have the money to offset cuts in federal benefits.
Trump’s call to end the filibuster is “not my decision,” says the speaker of the House of Representatives
Speaker Mike Johnson said he sent the president a text message after Trump called overdue last night to change Senate rules to end the government shutdown.
But the GOP leader refused to comment publicly on the issue that deeply divides senators.
“It’s not my decision,” Johnson said during his daily news conference at the Capitol on the 31st day of the shutdown.
Trump Agriculture Secretary Rollins says she can’t release SNAP funds
Brooke Rollins says her department can’t provide emergency funds to ensure SNAP food assistance doesn’t run out on Saturday.
And even if it were successful, the funds would barely cover the program’s costs, she said.
A lawsuit is currently pending to force the administration to release the funds.
At a news conference with House Speaker Mike Johnson at the Capitol, she accused Democrats of a “disgusting dereliction of duty” by refusing to reopen and waiting for health care funds.
US Defense Secretary vows to “vigorously defend” Indo-Pacific interests in talks with China.
The US defense secretary said on Friday he told his Chinese counterpart during talks in Malaysia that Washington would “vigorously defend” its interests in the Indo-Pacific. He also signed a modern agreement to strengthen security ties with India.
Pete Hegseth described his meeting with Chinese Admiral Dong Jun, which took place on the sidelines of the Defense Ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting in Kuala Lumpur, as “good and constructive.” He said he expressed U.S. concerns about Chinese activities in the South China Sea, around Taiwan and with U.S. allies and partners in the region.
“I have emphasized the importance of maintaining a balance of power in the Indo-Pacific,” Hegseth wrote on the social media platform
The Chinese Defense Ministry reacted cautiously and emphasized its long-standing positions. Dong Jun stressed that the reunification of China and Taiwan is an “unstoppable historical trend” and urged the US to be careful in its words and actions on the Taiwan issue, the statement said.
▶ Read more about the meeting at APEC
Lawyers allege “inhumane” conditions at Chicago-area ICE facility in modern lawsuit
Lawyers with the ACLU of Illinois and the MacArthur Justice Center say ICE agents denied people held at the Broadview facility private conversations with lawyers and also forced them to sign papers they didn’t understand, leading some people to unknowingly waive their rights and threaten deportation.
The lawsuit, filed Friday, also alleges that people at the facility were denied food, water, hygiene and medical care, as well as places to sleep and shower.
Alexa Van Brunt, lead attorney in the lawsuit, said community members are “snatched from the streets, locked in cells, denied food, medical care and basic needs, and forced to give up their legal rights.”
▶ Read more about the lawsuit
The Senate report details medical neglect in federal immigration detention centers
The investigation uncovered dozens of credible reports of neglect and destitute conditions in immigration detention centers across the country – detainees were denied insulin, left without medical care for days and had to compete for spotless water.
Federal food aid could parched up
The Department of Agriculture announces funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will end Friday due to the government shutdown. But on Thursday, a federal judge in Boston appeared skeptical of the government’s argument that SNAP benefits could be suspended.
UN human rights chief calls US attacks on alleged drug boats ‘unacceptable’
U.N. Commissioner Volker Türk called for an investigation into the attacks, in what appeared to be the first such condemnation of its kind by a United Nations agency. The US has killed at least 61 people in 14 attacks since the campaign began in early September.
