‘It’s the opening of an opportunity,’ say Senate Democrats who broke ranks to end government shutdown
The eight Democratic and Independent senators who broke ranks with the party to advance a bill that would end the government shutdown – the longest in US history – have defended their decisions amid furor from their party and base.
“What happened tonight is not the closing of a chapter. It’s the opening of an opportunity. What the chapter does close is the damaging shutdown that is only getting worse, that is only going to impact more and more people,” said Angus King, the Independent lawmaker from Maine who caucuses with Democrats.
Maggie Hassan, the Democratic senator from New Hampshire, who was part of the bipartisan talks to strike a deal with Republicans, addressed the fact that the revised bill forgoes the Obamacare subsidies that Democrats made a central part of their negotiations.
“Congress has one month to engage in serious, bipartisan negotiations to extend the Affordable Care Act’s expiring tax cuts for health insurance,” Hassan wrote in a statement, referring to the vote that GOP lawmakers promised Democrats. “My Democratic colleagues and I have been ready to work on this for months. With the government reopening shortly, Senate Republicans must finally come to the table – or, make no mistake, Americans will remember who stood in the way.”
Meanwhile, senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, who was part of the small faction of Democrats in the upper chamber who voted in favor of the original House-passed funding bill on several occasions, said that “it should’ve never come to this,” referring to the ongoing 40-day shutdown. ““I’m sorry to our military, SNAP recipients, gov workers, and Capitol Police who haven’t been paid in weeks,” he added.
An important note. None of the Democratic senators who voted yes on Sunday’s procedural motion are up for re-election in 2026. Two of them, Dick Durbin of Illinois, and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, are retiring next year, while the earliest that any of the others would face a challenge would be in 2028.
Key events
Per an earlier post, House speaker Mike Johnson this morning urged representatives to begin traveling back to Washington to vote on legislation to reopen the government.
He told reporters on Capitol Hill that once the Senate passed its version of the bill to end the shutdown, he would issue a formal 36-hour notice for House members to return to Washington “so that we can vote as soon as possible” to pass the amended bill and get it to Trump’s desk.
“There’ll be long days and long nights here for the foreseeable future to make up for all this lost time that was imposed upon us,” Johnson said. (A reminder that Johnson could have kept the House in session during the shutdown, but he chose not to since 19 September to pressure Democrats into reopening the government).
Trump threatens BBC with legal action over edit of speech in documentary
Oliver Holmes
Donald Trump has threatened legal action against the BBC and welcomed the resignations of two of its most senior figures after a campaign against the broadcaster that reached fever pitch over criticism that its flagship documentary programme in 2024 used a misleading edit of a Trump speech.
Lawyers for Trump said that the BBC must retract the Panorama documentary by Friday or face a lawsuit for “no less” than $1bn (£760m), according to US media outlets who cited the letter. The BBC has confirmed it had received a letter and said it will respond in due course.
The resignations of the BBC director general, Tim Davie, and its News CEO, Deborah Turness, came after the rightwing Telegraph newspaper published a leaked internal report by a former BBC standards adviser alleging failings in the broadcaster’s coverage. The report criticised BBC coverage on transgender issues, Israel’s war in Gaza and an edit of a Trump speech from January 6 during the Capitol Hill insurrection.
“Thank you to The Telegraph for exposing these Corrupt ‘Journalists.’ These are very dishonest people who tried to step on the scales of a Presidential Election. On top of everything else, they are from a Foreign Country, one that many consider our Number One Ally. What a terrible thing for Democracy!,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.
The leaked BBC report said the current affairs Panorama documentary had “completely misled” viewers by splicing two parts of Trump’s speech together. The Panorama edit cut together quotes from sections of the speech delivered up to an hour apart, combining a line about walking to the Capitol with the instruction to “fight like hell”.
The BBC chair, Samir Shah, later on Monday apologised for the editing of the Trump speech, calling it an “error of judgment”.
Trump in fact gave conflicting advice that day to supporters, who he had called on to gather in the capital as part of his efforts to discredit his election loss based on false claims of widespread fraud. The US president was later impeached for “incitement of insurrection” related to the storming of the Capitol by rioters, but he was acquitted by the Senate after Republicans rallied around him.
Chris Stein
In a speech on the Senate floor, majority leader John Thune called for the quick passage of legislation to reopen the government, which cleared a key hurdle in the chamber yesterday evening. He said:
I’m grateful that the end is in sight, but I would encourage every member of this body, Democrat or Republican, pro bill or anti bill, not to stand in the way of our being able to deliver the coming relief quickly.
The American people have suffered for long enough. Let’s not pointlessly drag this bill out.
The compromise bill that emerged yesterday funds the government through January, but does not include an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies that Democrats had demanded. It was able to proceed thanks to the support of eight members of the Democratic caucus, all of whom are moderates or set to soon retire.
The rest of the Democratic caucus opposes the measure, and any one lawmaker could stop Thune from moving to vote on final passage of the bill as soon as today.
Over in the House, speaker Mike Johnson has said that as soon as the bill passes, he will give the chamber’s lawmakers 36 hours’ notice to return to Washington DC. He has kept the chamber out of session since 19 September to pressure Democrats into reopening the government.
As Democratic senators who broke ranks from their party continue to face heat from most of their colleagues, senator Jeanne Shaheen, of New Hampshire, defended her decision in an interview with CNN today. “We need to get the government open because we have millions of Americans who are suffering, whether it’s because they’re not getting their food benefits or because travelers can’t get their flights,” she said.
The lawmaker, who is retiring in 2026, said she was confident that Republicans were “willing to come to the table” when it comes to a vote on the extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies that are notably missing from the bill Shaheen, and others, agreed to advance.
“We’ve heard the same thing from the White House. So, now we’ll see. We’ll see if they are really going to work with us to make sure that Americans can afford their health insurance,” she added.
Syrian president al-Sharaa arrives at White House to meet with Trump
Syria’s president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has arrived at the White House according to the press pool, who noted that he was due to enter through the West Wing, but ended up not getting eyes on his motorcade.
The Syrian leader’s meeting with Donald Trump has also started, per the pool reporters. A reminder, that the administration has began undoing US sanctions on Syria in May, ahead of Trump’s first meeting with al-Sharaa in Riyadh. They’re expected to discuss this further today.
Health secretary announces removal of ‘black box’ of warnings on hormone replacement therapy
Today, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, announced the removal of a “black box” of warnings across hormone replacement therapy (HRT) – often estrogen and progesterone products that are prescribed to those contending with low levels of these hormones while experiencing menopause.
“Millions of women were told to fear the very therapy that could have given them strength, peace and dignity through one of life’s most difficult transitions,” Kennedy said. “We’re challenging outdated thinking and recommitting to evidence based medicine that empowers rather than restricts when prescribed response started early, hormone replacement therapy transforms the lives of women.”
The HHS noted ahead of today’s announcement that the use of HRT “plummeted in the early 2000s” when the Food and Drug Administration applied “boxed warnings following a Women’s Health Initiative study that found a statistically non-significant increase in the risk of breast cancer diagnosis”.
Trump says leftover $2,000 payments will be used to pay down national debt
Per our earlier post about the $2,000 payments that Donald Trump said he would dole out to Americans as the country collects tariff revenue, he’s added that “all money left over” will be “used to SUBSTANTIALLY PAY DOWN NATIONAL DEBT” in a post on Truth Social.
This, along with the payments themselves, defies Congress’s control of government spending. While Trump can suggest how this money is spent, urging lawmakers to pass legislation that confers money to various groups and programs, federal law prohibits him from unilaterally deciding where funds go.
Supreme court to hear pivotal case on whether mail-in ballots must arrive by election day
Sam Levine
The US supreme court announced on Monday it will hear a high stakes case about whether states can accept mail-in ballots that arrive after election day, even if they are filled out and mailed before then.
The case, Watson v Republican National Committee, involves a challenge to a Mississippi law that allows ballots to count if they are received within 5 business days of election day. Sixteen states, as well as Washington DC, Guam, and Puerto Rico, allow a mail-in ballot from a domestic voter to count if it arrives in a certain timeframe after election day but is postmarked by the election. The policy is designed to ensure that voters who put their ballot in the mail ahead of election day are not punished if the mail is slow.
A federal judge in Mississippi upheld the state’s law, but it was reversed by the US court of appeals for the 5th circuit, one of the most conservative courts in the US. The majority in that court said that federal law sets one day as the day for federal elections and allowing ballots to arrive after that undermines the law.
Donald Trump and Republicans have railed against the practice of allowing ballots to arrive after election day. At least three states this year have ended the practice of allowing late-arriving ballots, and a March executive order by the president sought to punish states that allowed the practice. Lawsuits against portion of the executive order are still ongoing.
Johnson says he will call House members back to Washington as soon as Senate holds final vote
At his daily press conference, the speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, said that he welcomed the news that “some senate democrats finally have stepped forward to end the pain” of the government shutdown.
Johnson added that he would call all House members to return to Washington as soon as the Senate has its final vote. As of now, it’s not clear how long that might take and if the lawmakers will be able to expedite the process using unanimous consent.
“We have to do this as quickly as possible. We look forward to the government reopening this week so Congress can get back, can get back to our regular legislative session,” he said.
Despite the seismic shift on Capitol Hill over the, Johnson took no questions from reporter.
‘It’s the opening of an opportunity,’ say Senate Democrats who broke ranks to end government shutdown
The eight Democratic and Independent senators who broke ranks with the party to advance a bill that would end the government shutdown – the longest in US history – have defended their decisions amid furor from their party and base.
“What happened tonight is not the closing of a chapter. It’s the opening of an opportunity. What the chapter does close is the damaging shutdown that is only getting worse, that is only going to impact more and more people,” said Angus King, the Independent lawmaker from Maine who caucuses with Democrats.
Maggie Hassan, the Democratic senator from New Hampshire, who was part of the bipartisan talks to strike a deal with Republicans, addressed the fact that the revised bill forgoes the Obamacare subsidies that Democrats made a central part of their negotiations.
“Congress has one month to engage in serious, bipartisan negotiations to extend the Affordable Care Act’s expiring tax cuts for health insurance,” Hassan wrote in a statement, referring to the vote that GOP lawmakers promised Democrats. “My Democratic colleagues and I have been ready to work on this for months. With the government reopening shortly, Senate Republicans must finally come to the table – or, make no mistake, Americans will remember who stood in the way.”
Meanwhile, senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, who was part of the small faction of Democrats in the upper chamber who voted in favor of the original House-passed funding bill on several occasions, said that “it should’ve never come to this,” referring to the ongoing 40-day shutdown. ““I’m sorry to our military, SNAP recipients, gov workers, and Capitol Police who haven’t been paid in weeks,” he added.
An important note. None of the Democratic senators who voted yes on Sunday’s procedural motion are up for re-election in 2026. Two of them, Dick Durbin of Illinois, and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, are retiring next year, while the earliest that any of the others would face a challenge would be in 2028.
Supreme court denies hearing for challenge to same-sex marriage
The supreme court has rejected hearing a case that challenges the constitutional right for same-sex couples to marry.
The court denied a long-shot effort from Kim Davis, a former Kentucky county clerk, who refused to issue marriage licenses on religious grounds. As a result, Davis was jailed and ordered to pay thousands of dollars in damages. As part of her appeal to the supreme court, she asked the court to overturn their landmark 2015 decision.
Marina Dunbar
Donald Trump on Sunday mused about giving most Americans $2,000 funded by tariff revenues collected by the president’s administration – an evident bid to rally public support on the issue.
“A dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Sunday.
The post also made it a point to call people against tariffs “FOOLS!”
For such a plan to take effect, congressional approval would likely be required. Earlier this year, Republican senator Josh Hawley of Missouri introduced a bill proposing $600 in tariff rebates for nearly all Americans and their dependent children.
“Americans deserve a tax rebate after four years of [Joe] Biden [White House] policies that have devastated families’ savings and livelihoods,” Hawley said at the time. He said the legislation would “allow hard-working Americans to benefit from the wealth that Trump’s tariffs are returning to this country”.
However, US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said in August that the administration’s main focus remains reducing the national debt, which stands at $38.12tn, using funds from tariff collections. He said the money would be used first to start paying down the federal debt – not to give rebate checks to Americans.
Hegseth announces new strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats, killing six
US forces struck two more alleged drug trafficking boats off the coast of South America, killing six people, the Trump administration’s defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has said.
The US began carrying out such strikes – which some experts say amount to extrajudicial killings even if they target known traffickers – in early September, taking aim at vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
“Yesterday, at the direction of President Trump, two lethal kinetic strikes were conducted on two vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations,” Hegseth said.
He added in a social media post on X: “Both strikes were conducted in international waters and 3 male narco-terrorists were aboard each vessel. All 6 were killed. No US forces were harmed. Under President Trump, we are protecting the homeland and killing these cartel terrorists who wish to harm our country and its people.”
Hegseth said: “These vessels were known by our intelligence to be associated with illicit narcotics smuggling, were carrying narcotics, and were transiting along a known narco-trafficking transit route in the Eastern Pacific.”
Donald Trump is in Washington today. At 11am ET, he’ll welcome Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa to the White House. This will be the first visit by a Syrian head of state since the country gained independence in 1946.
Trump has already listed several sanctions on Syria, and the leaders are set to discuss more about this in al-Sharaa’s meeting today. Currently the meeting is closed to the press, but we’ll let you know if that changes.
Later Trump will take part in the swearing-in of the US ambassador to India, Sergio Gor. As of now, the press can’t attend, but we’ll bring you the latest as we learn more.
Short-term bill to resume government funding until end of January
Here’s some more detail on the bill that could resume government funding, although only until the end of January.
A handful of Democrats departed from the party line, to crank out a deal with the Republicans which would:
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Reverse firings of federal workers that the White House carried out after the shutdown began.
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Provide back pay for all federal employees including military personnel, border patrol agents and air-traffic controllers.
It’s believed that the Senate will try to circumvent usual procedural rules in the chamber today when they reconvene to get the bill passed quickly. Because it’s been amended, it will also need to go back to the lower house for passage before signoff by Trump.
Flight cancellations on the rise due to shutdown
There’s been massive disruption to air travel in and out of the US due to the shutdown, where staff like air traffic controllers have been working without pay.
According to trackers, thousands of flights were cancelled on the weekend, with more than 10,000 delayed.
The Federal Aviation Administration last week warned it was reducing capacity by up to 10% at the nation’s 40 busiest airports because of the lack of workers. Some airports have seen controllers calling in sick or taking on second jobs to make ends meet.
Meanwhile Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said yesterday that if the shutdown continues, people might not even be able to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday at the end of the month.
Trump pardons Giuliani and allies linked to efforts to overturn 2020 vote
The president has also on the weekend granted full pardons to dozens of allies accused of attempting to subvert the 2020 election won by Joe Biden.
The four-page list released from his administration runs to more than 70 people – including his former lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell and former chief of staff Mark Meadows. They’ve all been granted “full, complete and unconditional” pardons for their actions in relation to the 2020 vote.
They were accused of being involved in a scheme to alter slates of electors in battleground states like Arizona, Georgia and Michigan, which Biden won in 2020.
None of those on the list was ever charged on a federal level, but this directive could prevent future administrations from prosecuting.
Trump, in a proclamation dated on Friday, said the move would end “a grave national injustice perpetrated upon the American people following the 2020 presidential election and continue the process of national reconciliation”.
Trump says shutdown end ‘very close’
President Trump last night also acknowledged the progress to reporters after arriving at the White House after a weekend at Mar-a-Lago.
“It looks like we’re getting very close to the shutdown ending.”
Senators take major step towards ending shutdown
Good morning.
We may be closer to the end of the longest government shutdown in US history, after Democratic senators agreed to a deal with their counterparts across the aisle that cleared the way for a formal debate to resume funding to federal agencies.
The shutdown has gone on for more than 40 days now – affecting hundreds of thousands of federal workers and people who rely on programs like food aid.
Senators have agreed to a stopgap deal to fund the government through to January – more on that later – but on the process, it still needs to be passed in the Senate over the next two days, and then requires approval in the House of Representatives before landing on Donald Trump’s desk.
That may take a week or even longer. Still, it’s a step closer to relief.
