Politics

Trump blames shutdown for GOP election losses

Published

8 months ago

November 5, 2025

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the government shutdown played a “big role” in Democrats’ victories Tuesday night and urged Republicans to kill the Senate filibuster to quickly restore federal funding.

“If you read the pollsters, the shutdown was a big factor, negative for the Republicans,” Trump said during a breakfast with Senate Republicans at the White House. “Last night, it was not expected to be a victory, it was very Democrat areas. I don’t think it was good for Republicans. I don’t think it was good for anybody. We had an interesting evening and learned a lot.”

He cited outside pollsters who have attributed the GOP losses to the fact that Trump wasn’t on the ballot, depressing turnout among the MAGA base. “I don’t know about that but I was honored that they said that,” he added.

Trump used his candid autopsy of the election results to urge Republicans to kill the Senate filibuster to quickly reopen the government and then enact their agenda, including a national voter ID requirement.

He acknowledged that it’s an unlikely proposition as most Senate Republicans oppose the move but warned that he believes Democrats will do so the next time they’re in power.

“It’s possible you’re not going to do that, and I’m going to go by your wishes,” he said. “You’re very smart people. But I think it’s a tremendous mistake. It would be a tragic mistake, actually.”

On Wednesday, the shutdown stretched into its longest in U.S. history, with the previous 35-day shutdown set during Trump’s first term in 2019. Republican and Democratic lawmakers are locked in a stalemate.

Democrats on Tuesday won gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey and a high-profile mayoral race in New York City in which Trump endorsed two of the losing candidates. Complicating Trump’s newfound focus on a swift end to the shutdown, the romp only further ratcheted up pressure on Democratic senators who are signaling they could be ready to end the record-breaking government shutdown to hold the line until they secure an extension to Affordable Care Act subsidies.

“Republicans aren’t the ones asking for anything, so for them it’s a choice between changing the rules or helping Dems find an offramp,” Liam Donovan, a veteran GOP strategist, told Blue Light News. “Last night’s result theoretically allows Democrats to declare victory and end this on their own terms, but success makes choreography of any resolution that much trickier.”

Northern Virginia counties with large concentrations of federal workers shifted toward Democrats. Over a fifth of voters in BLN’s Virginia exit poll said someone in their household was a federal worker or contractor; of those, 63 percent supported Democrat Abigail Spanberger.

Progressive advocacy groups, Democratic strategists and some of the party’s Senate hopefuls immediately seized on the results as a spine-stiffener for the senators.

“It would be moronic for congressional Democrats to cave after voters said hell no to Trump and his creation of economic pain for Americans. Trump should honor the will of the people and fold,” Adam Green, who co-founded the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said Tuesday night.

A Senate Democratic aide, granted anonymity to discuss caucus deliberations, said “it’s hard for anyone to argue the message from voters is ‘please cave ASAP’ to Trump.” The pressure “will be enormous for moderates to hold the line.”

“This should send a chill down the spines of congressional Republicans and make them realize they need to come to the table if they have any hope of changing the political tides,” Democratic strategist Jared Leopold said.

Politics

European officials accuse FIFA chief of reopening door to Russia

Published

5 minutes ago

July 1, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

BRUSSELS — Forty-four members of the European Parliament are urging FIFA President Gianni Infantino to reverse his decision to allow Russian athletes to play at this year’s inaugural U-15 World Cup in Azerbaijan.

They argue that Russia should not be readmitted to FIFA competitions until it enters peace negotiations with Ukraine, ceases fire and agrees to return children kidnapped from Ukrainian territories.

In a letter obtained by POLITICO, the lawmakers criticize global football body FIFA for ignoring what they described as “around 20,000 Ukrainian children … forcibly kidnapped and separated from their families by [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s regime.”

“We urge FIFA to stand on the side of peace and not appease the aggressor – Russia,” the letter reads.

After Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine in 2022, FIFA banned Russia from participating in all of its football competitions. FIFA lifted the blanket ban for youth competitions in 2023, but Russian teams have not played in its U-17 World Cups since.

FIFA announced last week its first U-15 World Cup, in which boys and girls will compete this October in Azerbaijan. At the time, the organization announced that the competition would be open to “all FIFA member associations,” opening the door to Russia’s participation.

Infantino said in February that FIFA should lift its ban on Russia, saying that bans “create more hatred.”

The European lawmakers argue that allowing Russia to participate could lead other member countries to boycott the competition, a stance they call “very understandable.” They argue that this would “distort FIFA sporting events, where the principle that the best team wins will no longer prevail.” Ukraine’s football federation has previously said it would not participate in competitions with Russia.

In March of 2022, Russia appealed the FIFA ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The body dismissed Russia’s claim. Russia’s gradual return to other sports has triggered outrage in Ukraine and been denounced by the EU.