Schumer rejects Trump’s claim that bipartisan shutdown negotiations are under way
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer rejected President Donald Trump’s claim that negotiations with Democrats are underway.
“Trump’s claim isn’t true – but if he’s finally ready to work with Democrats, we’ll be at the table,” Schumer said in a statement. “For months, Democrats have been calling on Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans to come to the table and work with us to deliver lower costs and better healthcare for the American people.”
He added: “If President Trump and Republicans are finally ready to sit down and get something done on healthcare for American families, Democrats will be there – ready to make it happen.”
Earlier today, Trump told reporters that “we are speaking with Democrats” regarding the ongoing government shutdown and that “some good things could happen with health care.”
“Just hang in there, because I think a lot of good things could happen, and that could also pertain to health care,” Trump said.
Key events
Closing summary
And that’s all for today’s lives coverage of the second Trump administration. We’ll be back on Tuesday. Here are the latest developments:
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The US government shutdown entered its second week as the Senate again rejected rival bills to restart funding and Donald Trump suggested he might be open to negotiating with Democrats over the healthcare subsidies they have put at the heart of the stalemate. A fifth Senate vote to advance a Republican-written bill that would reopen the government failed on a 52-42 tally – well below the 60-vote threshold needed for advancement. The Democrats’ proposal was defeated in a 50-45 party-line vote. No lawmakers changed their votes from recent days, though there were a handful of absences. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer rejected Donald Trump’s claim that negotiations with Democrats are underway. More here.
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A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deploying any national guard units to Oregon a few hours after the California governor, Gavin Newsom, announced he would sue the president over the planned deployment of his state’s troops. Both states sought the temporary restraining order after the president sent guard members from California to Oregon earlier in the day. On Saturday, the same judge temporarily blocked the administration from deploying Oregon’s national guard troops to Portland. More here.
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Donald Trump signed an executive order to allow construction of an access road to the Ambler mining district in Alaska and unlock domestic supplies of copper and other minerals, reversing an order from former President Joe Biden. The Biden administration had rejected a 211-mile road intended to enable mine development in the north central Alaskan region. Biden’s interior department had cited risks to caribou and fish populations that dozens of native communities rely on for subsistence. More here.
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The Trump administration has said that funds from a US government program that subsidizes commercial air service to rural airports are set to expire as soon as Sunday because of the government shutdown. The US transportation department said the subsidies in the Essential Air Service program are expected to expire as soon as Sunday after the department transferred unrelated funding from the Federal Aviation Administration as an advance. The department is in the process of notifying carriers of the shortfall and alerting communities of the potential effects. More here.
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Social security administration commissioner Frank Bisignano was named to the newly created position of CEO of the IRS today, making him the latest member of the Trump administration to be put in charge of multiple federal agencies. As IRS CEO, Bisignano will report to treasury secretary Scott Bessent, who currently serves as acting commissioner of the IRS, the Treasury Department says. It is unclear whether Bisignano’s newly created role at the IRS will require Senate confirmation.
Trump baselessly claimed that an insurrection is taking place in Portland, Oregon, as he looks to deploy National Guard troops to the city amid what he describes as surging crime.
He made the comments during an interview on Newsmax.
Earlier on Monday, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office he might invoke the Insurrection Act of 1792, which would allow troops to directly participate in civilian law enforcement, for which there is little recent precedent.
Republicans post photos of fiery Oregon protest – using photos of South America
Robert Mackey
Before a federal judge blocked Donald Trump from putting members of California’s national guard on the streets of Portland, Oregon, late on Sunday, the state’s Republican party welcomed the planned deployment in celebratory posts on social media.
“President Trump on Sunday deployed 300 California National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon after a judge ruled that the Oregon National Guard could not be deployed to keep federal facilities and personnel in Portland safe,” Oregon Republicans wrote on their official Facebook, Instagram and X accounts.
On all three platforms, the statement was illustrated with an image that seemed designed to support Trump’s false claim that protests against immigration sweeps in Portland are so out of control that the city is “burning to the ground”. On one side of the image, a line of police officers held riot shields; on the other, a crowd of young men held up flares that lit up a night sky filled with red smoke.
On closer inspection, however, it turned out that the image was not a photograph of a real event in Portland, but instead a fabrication created by combining two photographs of scenes that unfolded in South America nearly a decade apart.
Read the full story here:
The Trump administration has said that funds from a US government program that subsidizes commercial air service to rural airports are set to expire as soon as Sunday because of the government shutdown.
The US transportation department said the subsidies in the Essential Air Service program are expected to expire as soon as Sunday after the department transferred unrelated funding from the Federal Aviation Administration as an advance.
The department is in the process of notifying carriers of the shortfall and alerting communities of the potential effects.
The government provides about $350m in annual funding.
Read the full story here:
Newsom, Pritzker threaten to leave governors association over Trump’s National Guard orders
California’s Gavin Newsom and Illinois governor JB Pritzker threatened to withdraw their states from the National Governors Association, urging the group to take a stand against Donald Trump’s efforts to send national guard troops into other states.
“This is precisely the federal and interstate overreach we warned against – gubernatorial authority being trampled, state sovereignty being ignored, and the constitutional balance between states being attacked,” said Pritzker in a statement. “If the President continues overriding Governors to deploy military assets into another state against another Governor’s will, we have abandoned the foundational principles that have protected our Republic for nearly 250 years.”
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Newsom sent a letter to the association on Monday, urging all governors “to denounce this infringement of state sovereignty and unequivocally tell the federal government that it is unacceptable to deploy troops from one state to another, over the objections of the Governor where troops are being sent”.
In the letter, he said that if members of the group can’t unite to condemn Trump’s actions, he will withdraw California’s membership from the group.
Utah lawmakers approved a revised congressional map on Monday that could give Democrats a better chance at flipping a seat as the party fights to topple the Republicans’ slim majority in the US House.
But in a state overwhelmingly dominated by Republicans, it remains a long-shot that Democrats could win a district next year. Republicans currently hold all four of Utah’s House seats.
Under the proposed map, Salt Lake county – the most Democratic part of Utah – would be split into two districts, rather than divided into the current four.
The districts still must be reviewed by a judge, who is expected to approve a new map by November. A handful of Republican lawmakers joined Democrats in opposing the revised map.
The FBI in 2023 analyzed phone records of more than a half dozen Republican lawmakers as part of an investigation into efforts by Trump to overturn the results of the 2020 election, according to information released Monday by GOP senators.
The records enabled investigators to see basic information about the date and time of the calls but not the content of the communications, the senators said.
“This document shows the Biden FBI spied on 8 of my Republican Senate colleagues during its Arctic Frost investigation into ‘election conspiracy’ Arctic Frost later became Jack Smith’s elector case against Trump,” Iowa senator Chuck Grassley said in a post on X.
The data encompassed several days during the week of Jan. 6, 2021, when pro-Trump rioters stormed the US Capitol in a failed bid to halt the certification of the election results.
The disclosure adds new detail to the since-shuttered investigation by the FBI and former special counsel Jack Smith into the steps Trump and allies took in the run-up to the Capitol riot to undo his election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
The lawmakers were: Senators Lindsey Graham, Bill Hagerty, Josh Hawley, Dan Sullivan, Tommy Tuberville, Ron Johnson, Cynthia Lummis and Marsha Blackburn, as well as Representative Mike Kelly.
US shutdown enters second week as Senate again rejects rival funding bills
Chris Stein and Lauren Gambino report on the US government shutdown entering its second week, which stands without a clear sign of a deal between Republicans and Democrats in the Senate:
The US government shutdown entered its second week as the Senate again rejected rival bills to restart funding and Donald Trump suggested he might be open to negotiating with Democrats over the healthcare subsidies they have put at the heart of the stalemate.
A fifth Senate vote to advance a Republican-written bill that would reopen the government failed on a 52-42 tally – well below the 60-vote threshold needed for advancement. The Democrats’ proposal was defeated in a 50-45 party-line vote. No lawmakers changed their votes from recent days.
Many agencies and departments closed their doors and told employees to stay home last Wednesday, after Congress failed to approve legislation to continue the government’s authority to spend money. The Trump administration warned it was prepared to move forward with plans to slash the federal workforce.
“After five failed votes, Republicans should understand that they cannot go forward unless we come to a bipartisan agreement to address the healthcare crisis,” Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, said in a statement after the afternoon votes.
Democrats have refused to back any bill that does not include an array of healthcare-centered concessions, such as an extension of premium tax credits for people covered by Affordable Care Act health insurance. So far, Congress’s Republican leaders have refused to negotiate over their demands until government funding is restored.
But Trump, speaking from the Oval Office on Monday, said he might be willing to strike a deal with Democrats on the ACA subsidies, though he also echoed the conservative claim that “billions and billions” of dollars are being wasted.
“We have a negotiation going on right now with the Democrats that could lead to very good things,” Trump told reporters. “And I’m talking about good things with regard to health care.”
Read the full story here:
Sam Levine
A career federal prosecutor in Virginia has told colleagues she does not believe there is probable cause to file criminal mortgage fraud charges against New York attorney general Letitia James, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The prosecutor, Elizabeth Yusi, oversees major criminal cases in the Norfolk office for the US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia and plans to soon present her conclusion to Lindsey Halligan, a Trump ally, who was installed as the US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia last month. Yusi’s thinking was first reported by MSNBC on Monday.
The justice department declined to comment. The US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia did not return a request for comment.
The case sets up another high-profile confrontation between the justice department and Trump, who has fired attorneys who have refused to punish his enemies. Halligan, who has no prosecutorial experience, was put in the role at the urging of Trump after her predecessor concluded there wasn’t probable cause to file criminal charges against James Comey, the former FBI director. Halligan personally presented the case against Comey to a grand jury after she was appointed and secured a two-count indictment.
Read the full story here:
The Federal Aviation Administration said on Monday that air traffic control staffing issues are impacting flights at several airports, including Newark, Phoenix and Denver, amid the aftershocks of the government shutdown.
The FAA said staffing issues have triggered issues at a number of centers handling traffic across the country.
At the Hollywood Burbank Airport, for example, there will be no air traffic controllers in their tower beginning at 4:15 pm Pacific Time on Monday, according to ABC News. The FAA said the airport is expected to be without air traffic controllers for nearly six hours.
Just before 7 pm Eastern Time, FlightAware said more than 4,200 inbound and outbound flights in the United States have been delayed today. More than 300 flights have been cancelled so far in the country. Weather issues are also impacting flights.
President Donald Trump has ended efforts to reach a diplomatic agreement with Venezuela, according to the New York Times, opening the door to a possible military escalation against drug traffickers or the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Richard Grenell, a special presidential envoy and executive director of the Kennedy Center, had been leading talks with Maduro and other senior Venezuelan officials. But during a meeting with top military leaders on Thursday, Trump called Grenell and ordered him to halt all diplomatic outreach, including his discussions with the Maduro government, according to The Times, which cited officials.
The Venezuelan president has said that the United States is carrying out an “undeclared war” against his country following a series of deadly strikes on Venezuelan vessels in international waters. Trump claims – without evidence – that the targeted boats were transporting narcotics bound for the United States under Maduro’s direction. The White House has issued a $50 million bounty on Maduro.
Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva, an Arizona Democrat and daughter of the late congressman Raúl Grijalva, has yet to be sworn in nearly two weeks after her election. During an interview on CNN News Central, she suggested that the delay may be tied to a discharge petition that would force a House vote on releasing federal files related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
The bipartisan petition needs 218 signatures to succeed and, once she is sworn in, Grijalva would be that 218th vote.
“I am going to be the 218th signer to the discharge petition,” Grijalva told anchor Sara Sidner. “So, that is the only thing that most people are pointing to. I mean, I am a woman of color, a Chicana, from Tucson. But none of those factors, I don’t think, are reasons why I wouldn’t be being sworn in, other than pointing to the Epstein files and the complete lack of transparency from this administration in releasing those files.”
“The other is Speaker Johnson has closed down votes in the recent past to avoid a vote on the Epstein files,” she added. “So, there does seem to be a connection.”
Trump orders approval of 211-mile mining road through Alaska wilderness
Donald Trump signed an executive order to allow construction of an access road to the Ambler mining district in Alaska and unlock domestic supplies of copper and other minerals, reversing an order from former President Joe Biden.
The Biden administration had rejected a 211-mile road intended to enable mine development in the north central Alaskan region. Biden’s interior department had cited risks to caribou and fish populations that dozens of native communities rely on for subsistence.
“This is something that should have been long operating and making billions of dollars for our country and supplying a lot of energy and minerals and everything else that we are talking about,” Trump said earlier today.
“On day one, he signed a very important executive order unleashing Alaska’s extraordinary resource potential,” the interior secretary, Doug Burgum, said on Monday. “And this is part of the continuation. There’s a number of things that have already happened with Alaska that are moving forward. There’s more to come. But big milestone today in reversing this Biden-era decision about the Ambler Road.”
Schumer rejects Trump’s claim that bipartisan shutdown negotiations are under way
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer rejected President Donald Trump’s claim that negotiations with Democrats are underway.
“Trump’s claim isn’t true – but if he’s finally ready to work with Democrats, we’ll be at the table,” Schumer said in a statement. “For months, Democrats have been calling on Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans to come to the table and work with us to deliver lower costs and better healthcare for the American people.”
He added: “If President Trump and Republicans are finally ready to sit down and get something done on healthcare for American families, Democrats will be there – ready to make it happen.”
Earlier today, Trump told reporters that “we are speaking with Democrats” regarding the ongoing government shutdown and that “some good things could happen with health care.”
“Just hang in there, because I think a lot of good things could happen, and that could also pertain to health care,” Trump said.
While speaking to reporters on Monday, President Donald Trump said that “Puff Daddy” has contacted him about a pardon.
He’s referring to Sean “Diddy” Combs, who was sentenced on Friday to more than four years in prison on federal prostitution-related charges.
Trump made these remarks while answering questions about the possibility of pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted on sex trafficking charges, after the Supreme Court declined to hear her appeal.
“I have a lot of people who have asked me for pardons,” President Trump said. “Puff Daddy has asked me for a pardon.”
Regarding Maxwell’s appeal, Trump said: “I’m gonna have to take a look at it. I have to ask DOJ. I didn’t know they rejected it. I didn’t know she was even asking for it.”
Lauren Gambino
Voting is officially underway in California, the final step of lightning speed campaign to temporarily redraw the state’s Congressional districts.
Proposition 50, known as the Election Rigging Response Act, was brought by Governor Gavin Newsom and California Democrats to offset Texas’s gerrymander, drawn at Donald Trump’s behest, that aims to safeguard Republicans’ fragile House majority next year.
Unlike Texas and Missouri, where the Republican legislature approved a new map carved up in their favor, the effort in California will be decided by voters.
Ballots have been mailed and the “yes” and “no” campaigns are in full swing. Polling suggests the yes campaign has the edge in the blue state that has been tormented by Trump since his return to office.
Proponents have put the president at the center of their campaign, arguing that it is the best chance Democrats – and the country – has to put a check on Trump’s second term. Opponents argue that the new maps – designed to help elect five more Democrats to Congress – disenfranchise the millions of Republican voters in the state, while dismantling the work of the state’s independent commission, long considered a gold standard in fair map-drawing.
While surveys consistently find that voters prefer independent redistricting and do not trust politicians to control the process, Newsom and Democrats have argued that their plan is both temporary and necessary to respond to Trump’s “powergrabs” in red states.
The measure asks voters to amend the state constitution to adopt a new congressional map for 2026 through 2030. Election Day is 4 November.
