The Dictatorship

Government shutdown poised to become longest ever

Published

6 months ago

November 4, 2025

Government shutdown poised to become longest ever

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government shutdown is poised to become the longest ever this week as the impasse between Democrats and Republicans has dragged into a new month. Millions of people stand to lose food aid benefits, health care subsidies are set to expire and there are few real talks between the parties over how to end it.

President Donald Trump said in an interview that aired Sunday that he “won’t be extorted” by Democrats who are demanding negotiations to extend the expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies. Echoing congressional Republicans, the president said on CBS’ “60 Minutes” he’ll negotiate only when the government is reopened.

Trump said Democrats “have lost their way” and predicted they’ll capitulate to Republicans.

“I think they have to,” Trump said. “And if they don’t vote, it’s their problem.”

Trump’s comments signal the shutdown could drag on for some time as federal workers, including air traffic controllers, are set to miss additional paychecks and there’s uncertainty over whether 42 million Americans who receive federal food aid will be able to access the assistance. Senate Democrats have voted 13 times against reopening the government, insisting they need Trump and Republicans to negotiate with them first.

The president also reiterated his pleas to Republican leaders to change Senate rules and scrap the filibuster. Senate Republicans have repeatedly rejected that idea since Trump’s first term, arguing the rule requiring 60 votes to overcome any objections in the Senate is vital to the institution and has allowed them to stop Democratic policies when they’re in the minority.

Trump said that’s true, but “we’re here right now.”

Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the Senate GOP whip, left, and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., arrive for a news conference with top Republicans on the government shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

“Republicans have to get tougher,” Trump told CBS. “If we end the filibuster, we can do exactly what we want.”

With the two parties at a standstill, the shutdown, now in its 34th day and approaching its sixth week, appears likely to become the longest in history. The previous record was set in 2019, when Trump demanded Congress give him money for a U.S.-Mexico border wall.

A potentially decisive week

President Donald Trump’s administration said Monday that it will partially fund SNAP after two judges issued rulings requiring it to keep the nation’s largest food aid program running.

Trump’s push on the filibuster could prove a distraction for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Republican senators who’ve opted instead to stay the course as the consequences of the shutdown become more acute.

The Capitol is seen at nightfall on day 22 of a government shutdown in Washington, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Republicans are hoping at least some Democrats will eventually switch their votes as moderates have been in weekslong talks with rank-and-file Republicans about potential compromises that could guarantee votes on health care in exchange for reopening the government. Republicans need five additional Democrats to pass their bill.

Thune told reporters Monday that he was “optimistic” that the Senate could vote to reopen the government by the end of the week.

But he also added, “If we don’t start seeing some progress or some evidence of that by at least the middle of this week, it’s hard to see how we would finish anything by the end of the week.”

Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday there’s a group of people talking about ”a path to fix the health care debacle” and a commitment from Republicans not to fire more federal workers. But it’s unclear if those talks could produce a meaningful compromise.

Far apart on health care subsidies

Trump said in the “60 Minutes” interview that the Affordable Care Act — often known as Obamacare because it was signed and championed by then-President Barack Obama — is “terrible” and if the Democrats vote to reopen the government, “we will work on fixing the bad health care that we have right now.”

Democrats feel differently, arguing that the marketplaces set up by the ACA are working as record numbers of Americans have signed up for the coverage. But they want to extend subsidies first enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic so premiums won’t go up for millions of people is Jan. 1.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said last week that “we want to sit down with Thune, with (House Speaker Mike) Johnson, with Trump, and negotiate a way to address this horrible health care crisis.”

No appetite for bipartisanship

As Democrats have pushed Trump and Republicans to negotiate, Trump has showed little interest in doing so. He called for an end to the Senate filibuster after a trip to Asia while the government was shut down.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” that the president has spoken directly to Thune and Johnson about the filibuster. But a spokesman for Thune said Friday that his position hasn’t changed, and Johnson said Sunday that he believes the filibuster has traditionally been a “safeguard” from far-left policies.

Trump said on “60 Minutes” that he likes Thune but “I disagree with him on this point.”

The president has spent much of the shutdown mocking Democrats, posting videos of House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries in a Mexican hat. The White House website is now featuring a satirical “My Space” page for Democrats, a parody based on the social media site that was popular in the early 2000s. “We just love playing politics with people’s livelihoods,” the page reads.

AP AUDIO: Government shutdown could become longest ever as Trump says he ‘won’t be extorted’ by Democrats

The government shutdown could be a record-breaker. AP correspondent Mike Hempen reports.

Democrats have repeatedly said that they need Trump to get serious and weigh in. Virginia Sen. Mark Warner said that he hopes the shutdown could end “this week” because Trump is back in Washington.

Republicans “can’t move on anything without a Trump sign off,” Warner said on “Face the Nation” on CBS.

Record-breaking shutdown

A control tower by an American Airlines hangar is shown at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Oct. 15, 2025, in DFW Airport, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, file)

The 35-day shutdown that lasted from December 2018 to January 2019 ended when Trump retreated from his demands over a border wall. That came amid intensifying delays at the nation’s airports and multiple missed paydays for hundreds of thousands of federal workers.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on ABC’s “This Week” that there have already been delays at several airports “and it’s only going to get worse.”

Many of the workers are “confronted with a decision,” he said. “Do I put food on my kids’ table, do I put gas in the car, do I pay my rent or do I go to work and not get paid?”

As flight delays around the country increasedNew York City’s emergency management department posted on Sunday that Newark Airport was under a ground delay bec ause of “staffing shortages in the control tower” and that they were limiting arrivals to the airport.

“The average delay is about 2 hours, and some flights are more than 3 hours late,” the account posted.

Brock Brooks, a disable Marine Corps veteran, cries while describing the impending SNAP shutdowns while waiting in line to enter the food pantry service at Calvary Episcopal Church on Oct. 30, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry, file)

SNAP crisis

Also in the crossfire are the 42 million Americans who receive SNAP benefits. The Department of Agriculture planned to withhold $8 billion needed for payments to the food program starting on Saturday until two federal judges ordered the administration to fund it.

The Trump administration indicated in court Monday that it will only partially fund SNAP this month by using a $4.65 billion emergency fund. That left the program in uncertainty with no clear indication of how much beneficiaries will receive or when their cards will be loaded to buy groceries.

House Democratic leader Jeffries, D-N.Y., accused Trump and Republicans of attempting to “weaponize hunger.” He said that the administration has managed to find ways for funding other priorities during the shutdown, but is slow-walking pushing out SNAP benefits despite the court orders.

“But somehow they can’t find money to make sure that Americans don’t go hungry,” Jeffries said in an appearance on BLN’s “State of the Union.”

___

Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.

The Dictatorship

Takeaways from Trump’s trip to China

Published

10 hours ago

May 17, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

BEIJING (AP) — For three days in China, President Donald Trump was unusually quiet, not speaking to reporters much and even mostly staying off social media. Then he got on his plane home and unloaded.

Trump’s trip was unexpectedly dominated by discussions about Taiwan and the notion that Washington and Beijing could adopt a new framework for managing their complicated relationship.

Chinese President Xi Jinping kicked off the whirlwind visit with a warning: If Washington mishandles its relations with the self-governing island of Taiwan, the U.S. and China could end up clashing or even in open conflict.

Trump did not respond publicly, refraining from mentioning Taiwan while in Beijing. But he suggested aboard Air Force One on his way home that Xi’s staunch opposition might make him rethink a planned U.S. arms sale to Taipei.

Among the other topics of discussion were trade and the U.S. and Israel’s war in Iranwhich had been expected to take up most of the attention. Trump spent the trip overtly flattering China’s leader, despite Xi not reciprocating.

And the president did not push back publicly on China’s characterization that he and Xi had agreed to a “constructive” new vision for dealing with their relationship issues.

Here are key takeaways from Trump’s trip:

Trump held his tongue on Taiwan — until he was headed home

Before the trip, Trump demonstrated greater ambivalence toward Taiwan in his second term, raising questions about whether he might be open to dialing back support for the island democracy that Beijing views as its breakaway province.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted there was no change in the U.S. approach to Taiwan. But there was always a risk that Trump — not known for diplomatic nuance — might make an off-the-cuff remark that could have mammoth ramifications for Taiwan.

In the end, Trump said nothing publicly about Taiwan, even as his Chinese counterpart suggested the island was the most important aspect of U.S.-China relations.

But then, pressed by reporters after leaving China, Trump said he had not yet made a decision on whether to carry through with a major arms package sale he previously approved for Taiwan after hearing Xi’s objections.

Trump’s Republican administration in December authorized an $11 billion weapons package for Taipei, but it has yet to move forward. Lawmakers also approved a $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan in January, but the sale cannot advance until Trump formally sends it to Congress.

“President Xi and I talked a lot about Taiwan,” Trump told reporters on the presidential plane. He said China’s leader “does not want to see a fight for independence because that would be a very strong confrontation.”

“I heard him out,” Trump said. But “I didn’t make a comment.”

Trump appeared to struggle to recall the name of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te and noted of Washington’s policy toward the island, “The last thing we need right now is a war that’s 9,500 miles away.”

Asked if he would consider intervening militarily if China were to attack Taiwan, Trump said he did not want to say — a nonanswer that is consistent with long-standing U.S. policy that has become known as strategic ambiguity.

The policy says the U.S. has agreed to ensure Taiwan has the resources to defend itself if China attempts to force a unilateral change, but it does not expressly say how far Washington will go militarily to counter Beijing, should it come to that.

Trump and Xi still talked about Iran

It appears the leaders had substantive talks about the U.S.-spurred conflict in Iran that has led to a surge in global oil prices and that — if extended — could push the world toward recession.

Trump said Xi agrees with him that a nuclear-armed Iran is a bad idea and that the Strait of Hormuz must be reopened. He said Xi even offered to help find an endgame to the war.

Xi and Chinese officials have not confirmed that such an offer was made. China has publicly said the solution should “take into account the concerns of all parties on the Iran nuclear issue.”

In Trump’s view, China should be more involved in the resolution to the conflictgiven its dependence on oil and liquefied natural gas coming from the Middle East.

If Trump successfully persuaded Xi to get more engaged, that could be significant for the U.S. effort to find a credible exit from the Iran war.

Xi hailed a new relationship status: strategic stability

China, meanwhile, said the two leaders agreed to a new vision for “a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability.”

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said the framework would shape ties for at least three years — the rest of Trump’s term — and focus on cooperation, competition within limits and managing differences.

The idea is “to keep the relationship on an even keel,” said Helena Legarda of the Mercator Institute for China Studies in Berlin.

George Chen, a partner at The Asia Group consultancy, said the approach can be seen as progress following the era of Trump’s Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, when the relationship was framed as a strategic competition.

Trump says big trade deals are coming but offers few details

Trump brought a large group of top CEOs with him to China, including the head of aircraft maker Boeing; Jensen Huang, chief of semiconductor giant Nvidia; and Elon Muskthe SpaceX boss who once led Trump’s effort to slash the federal workforce.

Trump said major deals had been struck and that China could buy some 200 planes from Boeingbut he left Beijing without announcing anything concrete. Previous suggestions that Xi would commit to big orders of U.S. soybeans and beef were also pending.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump suggested that China could eventually buy as many as 750 planes from Boeing if the initial order goes well, and that 450 engines produced by General Electric would be included in such a future purchase if it happens.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the two sides had agreed to establish boards on trade and on investments, to address each other’s concerns on agricultural goods’ market access and to promote expanded trade under a framework of reciprocal tariff reductions.

More details on trade agreements might emerge eventually, but as with all major bilateral accords, the fine print is what matters.

During his first term, Trump used an elaborate signing ceremony before leaving Beijing to cement dozens of deals worth around $250 billion. But not all of what was pledged came to fruition.

Trump repeatedly praised Xi

From the moment Trump opened his mouth in Beijing, he offered nothing but praise for Xi. And it sometimes felt a bit over the top, considering that Xi said nothing similar in return.

Trump called Xi a “great leader” and said they were going to have a “fantastic future together.”

It was an “honor” to be with Xi and to be his friend, Trump said, describing his counterpart as “warm.”

China’s president isn’t known for effusiveness. Trump himself said in a Fox News interview that Xi is “all business.”

Xi did say Trump’s “landmark visit” had deepened mutual trust. But he found more subtle ways to charm Trump. He promised to send seeds to grow roses at the White House like the ones in the garden at Xi’s residence where Trump had tea on Friday.

Xi said he hosted Trump there to reciprocate the hospitality Trump showed him when he visited Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in 2017.

___

Leung reported from Hong Kong, Mistreanu and Wu from Bangkok, and Superville from Washington.

The Dictatorship

Tillis slams Hegseth for ‘impulsive decisions not grounded in reality’

Published

22 hours ago

May 17, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Tillis slams Hegseth for ‘impulsive decisions not grounded in reality’

May. 16, 2026, 4:26 PM EDT

Sen. Thom Tillis issued a harsh critique of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his “mediocre yes-men” on Saturday for what the North Carolina Republican called a “careless decision” to force out and downgrade U.S. general officers.

“Hegseth continues to surprise and disrespect our greatest allies and some of our best military professionals with impulsive decisions not grounded in reality or good judgment,” Tillis wrote in a post on X.

Tillis posted his comments in response to new reporting from NOTUS that the Pentagon is planning on downgrading the Army’s top command overseeing Europe and Africa, which the publication attributed to five people familiar with the decision. The Pentagon has not confirmed such plans and did not immediately respond to a request for comment from MS NOW regarding the NOTUS report and Tillis’s rebuke of Hegseth.

The move would come amid a larger restructuring of U.S. forces in Europe, including the halting of troop deployments to Germany and Poland, and reverse the merger of the Army’s European and African commands that was ordered during Trump’s first term.

Tillis also called out Hegseth for his planned replacement of Gen. Christopher Donahue, which was also first reported by NOTUS. The senator called the reported move to replace Donahue, a four-star general best known as the last U.S. servicemember to exit Afghanistan in 2021, “a step that is not in the best interests of our nation or our servicemembers.”

“If the rumors are true that Hegseth is trying to sideline Gen. Christopher Donahue, one of our nation’s finest warfighters, by downgrading U.S. Army Europe-Africa to a 3-star command, he is taking another step down a dangerous path,” Tillis said.

Last month, Hegseth fired Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George — the Army’s top uniformed officer — and two other generals following a purge of other senior military leaders. Tillis said Donahue has “dedicated his entire career to upholding the high standards and warrior ethos that Hegseth claims he is restoring to our ranks.”

Since the North Carolinian announced he would retire from the Senate when his term is up in January, he has become the rare outspoken GOP critic of the Trump administration. He recently held up Kevin Warsh’s nomination to chair the Federal Reserve, only voting to confirm the former financier once the Department of Justice ended its investigation into outgoing Fed chair Jerome Powell.

Tillis was initially a holdout for Hegeth’s Senate confirmation but ultimately supported him, though he became a vocal critic of the defense secretary, telling BLN last summer that Hegseth appeared “out of his depth” atop the department.

“Hegseth would do well to surround himself with more patriots like General Donahue and to get his henchmen, who are not qualified to carry Donahue’s bag, out of the Pentagon,” Tillis said at the end of his post. “Keep your word, Mr. Secretary: choose meritocracy over your mediocre yes-men.”

Adam Hudacek is a desk associate for MS NOW covering national politics in Washington, D.C.

The Dictatorship

‘Clobbered’: Trump vows Cassidy will lose Louisiana’s Senate GOP primary

Published

22 hours ago

May 17, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

May. 16, 2026, 12:42 PM EDT

“Bill Cassidy is a sleazebag, a terrible guy, who is BAD FOR LOUISIANA.”

And so began President Donald Trump’s social media rant on Saturday, fresh off his trip to Chinaback in Washington and waging his revenge tour in full force on a day when fealty to the president is on the ballot in the Bayou State.

“Now he’s going to get CLOBBERED, hopefully, in today’s BIG election, by two great people!!!” the president continued in his Truth Social postasking GOP voters in Louisiana to cast their ballots for Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., the candidate Trump is backing to win the high-profile Senate GOP primary contest in a key test of his strength within the Republican Party as he seeks to punish Cassidy for his betrayal.

In his first Truth Social post aimed at Cassidy since returning to U.S. soil, Trump pointed to the two-term senator’s biggest sin: His 2021 vote to convict Trump on impeachment charges related to the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.

“Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana is a disloyal disaster. His entire past campaign for the Senate was about ‘TRUMP,’ how he’s with me all the way, and then, after winning, he turned around and voted to IMPEACH me for something that has now proven to be total ‘bullshit!’” Trump wrote.

A third candidate, Louisiana state treasurer John Fleming is also seeking the GOP Senate nomination, and recent polling from Emerson College shows both challengers ahead of Cassidy.

Still, Cassidy has continued to reach out to MAGA voters, saying Friday that the race “is not me versus Donald Trump.”

“If somebody wants someone who can work with President Trump for the good of our country and the good of our state, I’m your candidate,” Cassidy told MS NOW. He did not comment on whether the Republican party has room for those that cross Trump. When asked for comment on the president’s criticism posted Saturday, Cassidy’s campaign responded with a video of Letlow referring to herself as a “progressive leader.”

Cassidy’s battle for political survival illustrates the stark divide within the Republican Party between the establishment and true believers in the MAGA movement.

Richard Logis, a former MAGA activist who defected from Trump’s movement, said Saturday that he believes the MAGA wing of the GOP, which prides itself on being a big-tent party, will continue to splinter as the president’s popularity sinks.

“I do believe that the cracks are there right now,” Logis said on MS NOW’s “The Weekend,” adding, “I think the schisms and the chasms are widening.”

Logis and members of his organization, called Leaving MAGA, are part of a small but vocal community of Republicans mounting an effort to redirect the future of the GOP away from the MAGA movement that Trump created, but their mission faces long odds.

According to polling by YouGov63% of Republicans today identify as MAGA, up from 53% in 2025 and 38% back in 2023, a year after Logis left the movement. However, MAGA identification among registered independent voters remains low in the latest polling data — just 12% — and overall, only one in four voters in the U.S. identifies as MAGA.

Trump has spent much of his second term punishing those within his party who broke with his agenda, including a handful of state senators in Indiana who rejected his push to redraw the state’s congressional map. Of the seven state senators who were challenged by Trump-backed candidates, five lost their reelection bids.

The ideological battle within the GOP came into focus early in Trump’s second term. Multiple Republican lawmakers, including onetime MAGA firebrand former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., either resigned or announced their retirement after breaking with the president.

Greene, who publicly fell out with the president over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, said in January that “MAGA purity tests and loyalty demands are going to cost the Republican Party votes.” She left Congress after Trump labeled her a “traitor” for criticizing his administration’s handling of the Epstein files and backed a GOP primary challenger in her district.

The president’s pattern of political retribution began in force following his departure from the White House in 2021, when he used his influence to oust prominent GOP incumbents who voted for his impeachment or conviction, including former Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming.

On Saturday night in Louisiana after the polls have closed and the counting is done, Cassidy, one of three Republican senators remaining who voted to convict Trump, may find out whether he’s joining Cheney in early retirement.

Mychael Schnell and Syedah Asghar contributed to this report.

Adam Hudacek is a desk associate for MS NOW covering national politics in Washington, D.C.