Congress

Shutdown staring contest heads to the Oval Office

Published

9 months ago

September 29, 2025

Congress is locked in a staring contest with less than 48 hours until the government shuts down. There’s no sign either side plans to blink.

The standoff is raising the odds that agencies will at least partially shutter for the first time since 2019, when President Donald Trump backed down from a record 34-day shutdown sparked by his demands for a border wall. Congressional leaders each insist they don’t want to barrel past the Sept. 30 deadline Tuesday night, but they are quickly running out of time to find a mutually agreeable off-ramp.

A make-or-break moment will come Monday afternoon, when Trump will meet with the top four congressional leaders at the White House. The sitdown, rescheduled after Trump abruptly cancelled a prior meeting set with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries last week, is the most significant development yet in the weeks-long stalemate.

But after spending the past week hardening their positions and trading social media barbs, all corners are offering the same cautious note: The meeting could provide a path for a last-minute U-turn away from a shutdown, or — more likely — it could all be a mirage that sends Washington careening over the funding cliff on Tuesday.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said in a statement ahead of the meeting that “fundamentally, nothing has changed.” He said, however, he hoped Schumer “sees the light and listens to the same voice” that led him and nine other Democrats to vote to avoid a shutdown under similar circumstances back in March.

Schumer and Jeffries, in a joint statement, put the onus on Republicans: “We are resolute in our determination to avoid a government shutdown and address the Republican healthcare crisis. Time is running out.”

There are other signs that each side is preparing for conflict, not detente. In a bid to exert maximum pressure on the Senate, House Republicans do not plan on returning to session until after the government funding deadline — and could stay out of town through next week, too. Senate Republicans are likely to wait until Tuesday to vote again on the House-passed stopgap bill that would float federal operations through Nov. 21, according to two people granted anonymity to discuss internal planning.

Democrats, who have already rejected that punt, are so far uncowed. Jeffries is recalling his caucus to Washington Monday evening for a caucus meeting — and to hammer Speaker Mike Johnson over his decision to not bring the House back. Schumer, in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” crowed that the White House meeting was a sign that Republicans are feeling the “heat” but that if Trump uses it to “rant” and “yell at Democrats,” the visit will amount to nothing.

Trump did just that ahead of his last shutdown, in a December 2018 Oval Office meeting. At that time, he gave Democrats a political gift when he publicly took responsibility for closing agencies over his border security demands. So far he hasn’t given a repeat performance. He called Democrats “crazy” Friday and said if the government closes “they’re the ones that are shutting down.”

White House officials now insist Trump will pressure Schumer during the Monday meeting to swallow the GOP-led stopgap without making a deal — at least not right now — on any of Democrats’ health care demands.

Some Republicans remain hopeful that a shutdown can be averted by enough Democrats agreeing to help advance the GOP bill like they did in March. But if not, they warn, Trump will make a shutdown politically painful for Democrats, since the president has wide latitude to determine what agencies and programs shutter and which stay open.

“I’d be much more worried if I was a blue state,” said Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), noting Trump gets to “determine what’s essential.”

White House budget director Russ Vought fired his own warning shot last week, instructing agencies to put together plans for reductions-in-force, or mass firings, that would go well beyond the furloughs otherwise typical of shutdowns.

The Trump administration is seeking to shield Republican lawmakers as much as possible from potential political blowback, but many are worried all the same about shutdown fallout in their districts. It’s unlikely the administration will be able to completely protect key GOP constituencies. Closure plans for agencies aren’t yet finalized, according to three Trump officials, with one adding, “I think it all hinges on [Monday’s] meeting.”

Rep. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.) said Friday he’s most concerned about keeping a complex patchwork of federal farm loans and USDA services flowing to farmers should government funding lapse — right before the heart of harvest season. The White House is weighing plans to keep county Farm Service Agency offices open and other agriculture resources available, according to three other Trump officials. But the current system is fragile, meaning any disruption could delay loans and resources for farmers who are already reeling from the financial toll of Trump’s tariffs.

And Smith acknowledged that Democratic constituencies might not get the same treatment from the federal bureaucracy, adding that Trump has “expanded authority during the shutdown.”

Democrats have so far brushed off those threats, believing that the White House would continue to try to shrink the size of the federal workforce regardless of whether or not there was a shutdown. They are ultimately betting that Republicans — as the party holding the White House and majorities in both congressional chambers — will bear the brunt of any political fallout.

Jeffries rallied House Democrats in a teleconferenced Friday afternoon caucus meeting, where participants aired no dissent with their leadership’s focus on health care as the deadline looms, according to three people granted anonymity to describe the off-the-record phone call.

At the heart of the Democratic demands are Affordable Care Act health insurance subsidies that were expanded in 2021 under former President Joe Biden. Some Republicans, including many vulnerable incumbents, believe the beefed-up credits should be extended past the current year-end expiration date. That idea is drawing fierce pushback from hard-line conservatives, several of whom warned their leadership over the weekend not to cut a deal on the subsidies.

There’s already multiple Republican proposals for how to keep the tax credits going past Dec. 31 and spare a likely premium hike that would result in millions losing health insurance. One group of House Republicans is backing a clean, one-year extension. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) has proposed a two-year extension as part of a stand-alone bill or a shorter one-year extension tied to funding the government.

A group of Senate Republicans is also working with senior White House officials and CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz as they craft a proposal that would include new restrictions meant to appeal to conservatives and, hopefully, Trump.

Thune reiterated in an NBC News interview that aired Sunday that Republicans are willing to negotiate over extending the insurance subsidies but not as part of the pending government funding fight. The Senate leader added that the subsidies will need to be changed to win GOP votes, potentially through new income limits or language to prevent potential fraud.

Complicating matters is that House and Senate Democrats haven’t articulated a unified position on what specifically they would need in order to back the GOP-led stopgap funding bill.

Jeffries staked out a new position last week when he declared that not only did any spending agreement have to involve health care, but also that such an agreement had to be “ironclad and in legislation.” That appears to close off the possibility that an off-ramp might be found if Republicans only agreed to open talks on a health care compromise with a later-in-the-year deadline, as a condition of Democrats agreeing to the current Republican plan to keep the government running.

Senate Democrats, meanwhile, have unified behind one simple principle — that Republicans have to at least talk to Democrats if they want their votes. That radio silence broke on Friday when Schumer called Thune to encourage him to set up the White House meeting. The call, first reported by POLITICO, is a glimmer of outreach between the two leaders that senators had privately been hoping for.

Schumer said in the “Meet the Press” interview Sunday that Democrats “need a serious negotiation,” leaving himself options for what specifically would generate a shutdown-avoiding breakthrough. Other top Senate Democrats have sent similar signals in recent days.

“We never said that we had to have every single thing and everything is a red line,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the No. 3 Senate Democrat, told reporters Friday, adding that she wasn’t going to negotiate through a Zoom call.

“I’m glad that [Thune’s] willing to talk, but … simply promises that maybe will happen with Donald Trump?” she continued. “My guess is Senator Schumer will say, I need something more specific here.”

Congress

Republicans get antsy about confirmations as the Senate hangs in the balance

Published

30 minutes ago

June 29, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

President Donald Trump is showing little urgency in sending nominations to the Senate even as the GOP’s control of the chamber beyond 2026 is increasingly in doubt.

There are more than two dozen federal court vacancies. Labor secretary, FDA commissioner and scores of other open positions do not have nominees, and a senior White House official said Trump is in no rush to fill them.

“Ultimately, we need to have the right people in those positions,” said the official, who was granted anonymity to describe internal thinking. “So if it’s acting for now, so be it. If [it] takes a little while to find that perfect person, then it takes a little while.”

That’s unsettling some Republican senators who are anxious to fill spots ahead of the midterms, a daunting task given the legislative calendar and host of competing GOP priorities.

“We’re running short on time,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), a member of the Senate HELP Committee, which oversees health, labor and other issues. “We’d love to get at least one or two of them and get it in the next tranche.”

As far as judges, Tuberville said he wants to see “as many as we can get” nominated, adding, “I don’t know why we don’t have more.”

Trump’s apparent nonchalance — particularly over judges — is a marked departure from his first term, when he opined that appointing people to the bench might be the “single most important thing you do” as president. But as the Senate left for a two-week recess Thursday, there were only 10 nominees pending for 29 judicial vacancies.

The vacancies come amid ongoing tensions between the Senate and Trump, who has put pressure on the chamber to pass the GOP elections bill known as the SAVE America Act, going so far as to cancel a planned Wednesday signing of a bipartisan housing bill.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), a member of the Judiciary Committee, said he “absolutely” wants to see the president nominate more judges before the end of the year. Texas has three court vacancies with zero nominees.

“And that’s one of his greatest legacies, both first term and second,” Cruz said of Trump.

Trump is on pace with his first term in total confirmations in part because Republicans changed the Senate rules last year to confirm slates of civilian posts at once by a simple majority vote.

One tranche confirmed in Mayincluded 49 nominees, from ambassadors to midlevel posts at various federal agencies. So far, 502 of Trump’s second-term nominees have been confirmed, compared to 509 at this point during his first term and 601 at the same point during former President Joe Biden’s term.

Federal judges and members of the Cabinet still have to be confirmed individually, despite the rule change for other posts.

Trump inherited only about 40 judicial vacancies for his current term, fewer than any president since Ronald Reagan. Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) previously complained that the White House hasn’t nominated more judges. More recently, though, he’s blaming his committee for not acting more quickly on the already pending nominees.

“Right now it’s hard for me to blame the White House when in the last three executive weeks, we were supposed to have meetings to vote judges out, we couldn’t have enough members present,” Grassley said in an interview.

A White House official said “Trump plans to nominate well qualified individuals to fill these vacancies.”

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said he’s had “a couple good discussions” with the White House about a circuit court vacancy, which he expects the administration to fill. As a Judiciary Committee member, he can block any nominee that doesn’t get support from Democrats.

“If it’s somebody I support, I’ll vote for them. If it’s somebody I don’t support, I’ll vote no,” Kennedy said. “It’s an important spot. They know I’m on Judiciary, and they know I’ll vote no if I don’t agree.”

The Labor secretary and FDA commissioner picks, meanwhile, go through the HELP committee — chaired by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who lost his primary last month after Trump endorsed a challenger.

Republicans have been left in the dark about those nominees, some on the panel say.

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) said he’s heard “nothing at all” and “radio silence” from administration. Another GOP senator, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said they’ve heard nothing from the administration about its thinking or plans for a Labor secretary nominee specifically.

The HELP Committee membership poses challenges for the administration. Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) previously expressed concerns about Casey Means’ nomination as surgeon general before Trump pulled her, for example. And the dynamic between the president and the chair could be a hurdle, three people granted anonymity to comment on the process said.

“Why give Cassidy a platform to get back at DJT?” one of them said.

Another, a GOP senator, predicted Cassidy would “play games” with nominees who have to go through his committee.

“I really don’t think a lot of senators are in any mood to give the president any wins because they’re frustrated with him,” said the third person, who is close to the White House.

But confirming nominees before he leaves the Senate could be a priority for Cassidy, one of the few Republican doctors to push the administration toward public health nominees who align with established science on issues like vaccines.

A potential successor — Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky — is a critic of the vaccine and masking standards set during the pandemic and would likely set the committee on a different path.

Recent appointees such as Nicole Saphier for surgeon general and Erica Schwartz for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director are more mainstream than some past HHS appointees like Means and Dave Weldon, who was nominated for CDC director before the administration determined he didn’t have the votes.

Those nominees have been moving through the regular process, including meeting with Cassidy and other senators ahead of confirmation hearings.

Cassidy told reporters after he lost his primary that he would “vote for the good of my country and the good of my state.”

“There’s some nominees that have not gotten through committee for whatever reason, so that’s not anything new,” he added. “That’ll just be part of the process.”

A HELP Committee spokesperson added Thursday that Cassidy has voted for every Trump nominee and that the panel will “do its job to confirm qualified nominees and serve the American people.”

“Anyone who says otherwise doesn’t know what they’re talking about,” the spokesperson added.

The White House official said “Trump remains committed to nominating highly qualified individuals for a variety of posts that are aligned with the agenda the American people elected him to enact” and will continue to send nominees to the Senate, including to the HELP Committee.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said in an interview he had not spoken to the White House about their plans for some of the major picks under HELP jurisdiction but he encouraged the administration to send nominees.

“I think it’s always better to have people in permanent positions rather than temporary,” Thune added.

Megan Messerly contributed to this report.

Congress

Rick Scott says he’s just trying to help

Published

30 minutes ago

June 29, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Rick Scott swears he’s not up to something.

Fresh speculation about the Florida Republican’s ambitions erupted again in recent days after he invited President Donald Trump to address the Senate at an especially sensitive moment — and without Majority Leader John Thune’s express approval. Then, he circulated a letter outlining how he thought the Senate GOP should be preparing for the November midterms.

But Scott insists those who see this as a prelude to a leadership challenge have it all wrong. Sitting in his Senate office less than 24 hours after hosting Trump, he told Blue Light News he’s perfectly happy running the conference’s conservative Steering Committee and predicted Thune would easily secure another term as leader.

“There won’t be a vote,” he said, adding that he’s “fine” with Thune continuing in the position.

“Here’s what I don’t get,” Scott continued, expressing exasperation with the palace intrigue. “Other people get to put out their position. If I put out mine, then I want to be leader?”

What has become eminently clear in recent weeks is that Scott — after a long career in business, two terms as governor and nearly eight years as senator — just isn’t a back-bench kind of guy.

He has lots of thoughts on how the Senate should be run and a willingness to express them, even if it puts him at odds with Thune’s vision. The leader, who trounced Scott in a 2024 conference election, has largely avoided holding doomed votes that would split Republicans and, like many GOP senators, would like nothing more than to get past the monthslong intraparty fight over the SAVE America Act, the elections bill pushed by Trump.

“One thing we can do up here is, we can take votes,” Scott said. “Even if they’re not going to pass, we each show people where we are versus the other side. And so, one thing that surprises me is, why don’t we take votes? … Let’s show people.”

Scott hosts a regular Wednesday lunch for senators and invited Trump in that capacity.

Scott’s incarnation as a conservative thought leader is only his latest attempt to stay in the thick of the action in a body where obscurity can be hard to avoid. His stint running the GOP Senate campaign arm ahead of the 2022 midterms was controversial and ended with Democrats beating historical headwinds and slightly expanding their bare majority.

He annoyed colleagues with his policy of not intervening in contested Republican primaries and infuriated some of them by promulgating a policy agenda through his personal political operation that they hadn’t agreed to.

That did not deter Scott from challenging then-Minority Leader Mitch McConnell after the election that year, garnering only 10 votes of 47. He tried again after McConnell stepped down as leader two years later. Scott won 13 votes in a three-way race, but Thune ultimately prevailed.

Thune, unlike McConnell, doesn’t have an openly antagonistic relationship with Scott. He said in an interview that the Florida Republican has done a “great job” as Steering chair. It is in that role that Scott convenes the weekly Wednesday senators’ lunch and invited Trump to attend.

“He brings people in that help inform our conversations and discussions about some of the major policy issues,” Thune said. “I’m very supportive of what he’s doing.”

One Senate Republican who was granted anonymity to speak candidly said that Scott had earned “street cred” within the conference for how he’s run the Steering Committee. He has brought in Trump, Elon Musk and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, among others, underscoring his connections with key luminaries in the contemporary GOP.

For now, the Steering position and his close ally’s return to the White House have given him renewed influence and a base of support outside of leadership, where multiple Republicans are viewed as potential contenders to succeed Thune if he decides to retire in 2028 or beyond.

Scott isn’t up for reelection until 2030, and he did not guarantee in the interview that he would stick around the Senate indefinitely.

“I’ve done this. I’ve tried different stuff,” he said. “So we’ll see.”

He had been the subject of past speculation about a presidential run but made clear in the interview he’s not interested in a Cabinet position because “I was 25 years old the last time I worked for somebody.” His future, he said, will revolve around the question, “Am I being productive?”

The GOP senator granted anonymity said he doesn’t think Scott will run for leader again in November but acknowledged that Scott is viewed as ambitious and that there’s “not a lot of ways to go up” in the Senate absent running for leader or president.

“Rick, appropriately, properly feels he’s got more to contribute,” the senator added. “I hope he feels a certain sense of satisfaction about his leadership on the Steering Committee because he really has made it great.”

Elon Musk was another of Scott's prominent lunch guests.

For now, Scott’s sense of productivity has certainly been boosted by his dealings with and loyalty to Trump.

“President Trump works great with Senator Scott and has appreciated his efforts to advance the President’s America First agenda in the Senate — including urging a path forward for the SAVE America Act,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement.

A person familiar with the administration’s thinking, granted anonymity to speak candidly, attested to Scott’s “deep relationships” across the administration, pointing to Wiles and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in addition to the president himself.

“Trump remembers the people who were with him” between his two presidential terms, the person said, adding that Trump “also respects ‘successful’ people and Rick may be the most successful business person in the Senate.”

Last week’s lunch invitation grew out of a conversation between Trump and Scott, though the meeting did not go as Scott had planned. Notes from Scott’s introduction obtained by Blue Light News show he wanted to spark a policy-driven conversation focused on three issues: the future of the Senate filibuster, passage of the SAVE America Act and preventing another government shutdown.

Instead, Trump came into the closed-door meeting “pissed” over a symbolic vote the previous day on the Iran war, Scott said, and quickly got into a back-and-forth with retiring Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) on that issue. Trump proceeded to mostly air his grievances at senators rather than engage in any productive back-and-forth, attendees said.

Still, Scott said, “something positive” came out of the meeting because hours later Republicans defeated a different Iran war powers resolution. And he predicted there would be a “renewed emphasis” on the GOP elections bill that Trump views as his No. 1 priority.

He pointed to three potential paths forward for the SAVE America Act: attempting a “talking filibuster” that would force Democrats to hold the floor in order to block the bill, breaking the voting bill up into pieces or trying to include it in a party-line budget reconciliation bill, which would require precedent-breaking moves many GOP senators oppose.

Only the talking filibuster option, Scott believes, has a possible chance of success, and he urged Thune and his other colleagues to consider it.

“I think the right way is, let’s put it on the floor,” he said. “Maybe we should take all of August and do it. It is the most important thing to Americans, and it actually is important.”

Many of his colleagues don’t share his optimism, and it could be difficult to get enough senators interested in voting to even restart debate on the bill given the high level of frustration within the conference.

Asked about that frustration, Scott cut in: “[Then] don’t do it. Hey, I’m just saying, here’s how I look at life — I’m one senator.”

Alex Gangitano contributed to this report.

Congress

Johnson says he will send housing bill to Trump on Monday

Published

17 hours ago

June 28, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

House Speaker Mike Johsnon said he plans to send President Donald Trump a bipartisan housing bill Monday, just days after the president abruptly canceled a signing ceremony for the legislation after Congress failed to pass his elections security act.

Speaking with Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” Johnson said the 21st Century ROAD To Housing Act is a Republican priority for lowering costs for Americans.

“I’m going to send the bill over to him on Monday, and it will become law,” the Louisiana Republican told host Maria Bartiromo. “I certainly want him to take the biggest, boldest marker that he has and do that big Trump signature proudly on that legislation because we’re delivering for the people, and that’s what he wants to do.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Johnson’s remarks.

The bill is the product of almost a year of back-and-forth between all four congressional corners and aims to increase affordability by boosting housing supply and home ownership. It passed both chambers of Congress with wide bipartisan support.

Trump was scheduled to sign the bill into law last week but canceled the ceremony “until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency.”

Trump’s SAVE America Act would require voters to present a photo ID at the ballot box and effectively end mail-in voting. Trump has also said he would like the bill to include prohibitions on transgender athletes competing. But Republican leaders have repeatedly indicated the legislation does not have enough votes to pass.

Congressional leaders appeared taken aback by Trump’s signing cancellation, but Johnson on Sunday said he and the president have since met in the Oval Office to discuss the housing bill “in great detail.”

“We made a lot of promises to the voters, and we’re fulfilling those every single day of this Congress,” Johnson said. “This is a big part of that because this will increase the availability, the access to more housing, bring down cost, cut regulations, do the things we know are very important for that market. The president and I talked about that at length. Of course he wants to do those things.”

But if Trump does not sign the housing bill into law within the next few days, it would still become law unless he were to veto it. Congress also has the power to override a presidential veto.