Politics

Senate Democrats again blocked a plan by Republicans to ensure that federal workers and the military would receive a paycheck as the shutdown back and forth revs into high gear. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., again tried to advance a modified version of his ‘Shutdown Fairness Act’ bill that would see federal workers and the military paid now and during subsequent government shutdowns. However, the bill failed 53-43 with 3 Democrats defecting to support the bill....

Senate Democrats unveiled their alternative to Republicans’ plan to reopen the government that would see an extension to expiring Obamacare credits for one year, asking that Republicans just say ‘yes.’  Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced the plan in dramatic fashion on the Senate floor Friday afternoon with a backdrop of the Senate Democratic caucus in a bid to show a tangible version of the newfound unity among Democrats since their Election Day sweep...

President Donald Trump said Friday during a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán he is considering granting an exemption on Russian oil sanctions to allow Hungary to purchase the resource from Russia.  ‘We’re looking at it because it’s very difficult for him to get the oil and gas from other areas,’ Trump said Friday when asked by the media if he is prepared to grant Orbán’s request for an exemption. ‘As you know, they...

Senate Republicans had planned to put the House-passed bill to reopen the government on the floor for a vote again on Friday, but after Senate Democrats signaled that they were willing to hold out longer, that course of action is likely to change. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., opted to keep the chamber in session for a rare Friday vote, with the idea being to put the House-passed continuing resolution (CR) on the floor...

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Friday that air travel could take ‘days if not a week’ to get back to normal once the government shutdown ends. ‘If the government opens tomorrow — which it won’t, it doesn’t look like — it’s going to take us days to assess the controllers coming back into their facilities or their towers,’ Duffy told ‘America Reports.’ ‘And then once we start to move those numbers back down to zero...

Senate Democrats for years have warned of the negative side effects of government shutdowns that would largely affect their priorities, but as the shutdown drags on, they find themselves in direct opposition to their own pet projects.  ‘There’s a tremendously twisted irony,’ Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., told Fox News Digital. John Feehery of EFB Advocacy, who served as press secretary to former Republican House Speaker Dennis J. Hastert, said, ‘The most unbelievable thing’ about the...

North Korea launched a ballistic missile off its east coast Friday, just days after U.S. War Secretary Pete Hegseth wrapped up a visit to South Korea focused on deterring Pyongyang and reinforcing the alliance between the two countries. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the suspected short-range missile was fired from an inland area around the western county of Taekwan toward the East Sea, traveling roughly 435 miles. The launch was reported by Reuters...

A Democratic lawmaker is backing the Trump administration’s decision to reduce air traffic as a consequence of the ongoing government shutdown. Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., said, ‘Safety must always be the highest priority’ for the aviation industry in a statement on Thursday evening. ‘The decision by Secretary Duffy to reduce flights at America’s 40 busiest airports is the right call for the safety of the flying public,’ Stanton wrote on X. ‘Now it’s critical that...

One year ago, Donald Trump won a transformative election victory, sweeping all seven swing states, the popular vote, and moving all fifty states redder than they were in 2020. How did he do it? By motivating men, young men in particular, and sports fans who were fed up with the insanity of men winning women’s sports championships. I wrote about the victory in my new book, ‘Balls,’ which was released on Tuesday.   The book...

Any optimism either side of the aisle had that the government shutdown could end this week appeared to fade on Capitol Hill, as Senate Democrats appear ready to hold out longer for a deal on expiring Obamacare subsidies. Senate Democrats left another long closed-door caucus lunch on Thursday, signaling a unified front as the shutdown entered its 37th day amid Republican demands to make a deal to reopen the government. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer,...