NationalWatch

A federal judge appointed by former President Ronald Reagan announced in an op-ed published Sunday that he resigned from his position, relinquishing his lifetime appointment to speak out against President Donald Trump, whom he views as eroding judicial independence and using the law to reward allies and punish opponents.

Mark Wolf, who was appointed by Reagan in 1985, said in The Atlantic that he had looked forward to serving on the bench for the rest of his life but felt compelled to resign.

“My reason is simple: I no longer can bear to be restrained by what judges can say publicly or do outside the courtroom. President Donald Trump is using the law for partisan purposes, targeting his adversaries while sparing his friends and donors from investigation, prosecution, and possible punishment,” he wrote.

“This is contrary to everything that I have stood for in my more than 50 years in the Department of Justice and on the bench. The White House’s assault on the rule of law is so deeply disturbing to me that I feel compelled to speak out. Silence, for me, is now intolerable.”

FORMER SUPREME COURT JUSTICE WARNS PARTISANSHIP PLAYS ‘TOO MUCH OF A ROLE’ IN JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS

The former federal judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts said he began his career in public service at the Department of Justice in 1974, several years after the Watergate scandal.

Wolf served under former President Gerald Ford’s Attorney General Edward Levi, who he argued helped shape his views on what it means to uphold the rule of law and to seek justice in a nonpartisan way.

“I decided all of my cases based on the facts and the law, without regard to politics, popularity, or my personal preferences. That is how justice is supposed to be administered—equally for everyone, without fear or favor. This is the opposite of what is happening now,” he wrote.

DOJ ACCUSES FEDERAL JUDGE OF MAKING ‘MOCKERY OF THE SEPARATION OF POWERS’ IN SNAP APPEAL

Wolf’s successor was selected and nominated after he became a senior judge in 2013, and the seat was officially filled by Judge Indira Talwani in 2014.

“I hope to be a spokesperson for embattled judges who, consistent with the code of conduct, feel they cannot speak candidly to the American people,” he told The New York Times.

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White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement to Fox News Digital that judges who “want to inject their own personal agenda into the law have no place on the bench.”

“Here’s the reality: with over 20 Supreme Court victories, the Trump Administration’s policies have been consistently upheld by the Supreme Court as lawful despite an unprecedented number of legal challenges and unlawful lower court rulings,” Jackson said. “And any other radical judges that want to complain to the press should at least have the decency to resign before doing so.”

With a deal to end the record government shutdown taking shape, President Donald Trump is turning to foreign policy at the start of the week.

On Monday, Trump will host Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House, the first official visit by a Syrian leader to Washington. Officials describe the meeting as a landmark attempt to bring Damascus back into the diplomatic fold after years on the international sidelines.

WHITE HOUSE PREPARES TO WELCOME SYRIAN PRESIDENT AL-SHARAA FOLLOWING SANCTIONS RELIEF

It will be the third meeting between Trump and al-Sharaa this year, as Syria’s new leadership works to rebuild a shattered nation and restore ties with Arab states and the West following the end of Bashar al-Assad’s 14-year civil war.

In a move paving the way for the talks, Washington eased key restrictions on Syria’s leadership ahead of the meeting.

On Friday, the United States lifted sanctions on al-Sharaa, mirroring a United Nations Security Council move a day prior, ahead of his meeting with Trump. According to a notice on the U.S. Treasury Department’s website, the Specially Designated Global Terrorist designations were removed from both Sharaa and Syria’s interior minister, Anas Khattab.

SENATE DEMOCRATS, REPUBLICANS REACH DEAL TO REOPEN GOVERNMENT

The White House meeting also comes against the backdrop of a grinding government shutdown that has paralyzed federal agencies and left Washington mired in a political standoff over funding.

Senate Republicans and Democrats have reached a deal to end the impasse on Sunday evening, but the government won’t officially reopen until the House, which has been out of session for nearly six weeks, approves the agreement. The measure would then go to President Trump for his signature.

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Speaking to reporters at the White House on Sunday evening, Trump said a deal to end the government shutdown was within reach.

“It looks like we’re very close to the shutdown ending,” he said.

The shutdown, which began on Oct. 1, has become the longest in U.S. history. It’s the 21st government shutdown since 1976 and the longest since a 34-day standoff over funding for Trump’s border wall halted operations from December 2018 to January 2019.
 

The Senate struck a late-Sunday deal to begin the path to reopening the government after eight Democrats joined Republicans to reach 60 votes, sparking backlash from those who opposed the resolution.

Democratic leaders voiced intense opposition, arguing that the continuing resolution fails to address the nation’s worsening health care challenges. Several prominent lawmakers spoke out immediately following the vote, framing it as a test of priorities and moral leadership.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D–N.Y., condemned the measure, calling it a “Republican-made health care crisis.”

“America is in the midst of a Republican-made health care crisis — a crisis so severe, so urgent, and so devastating for American families that I cannot support a continuing resolution that fails to address it,” Schumer said.

SENATE DEMOCRATS CAVE, OPEN PATH TO REOPENING GOVERNMENT

Schumer said that Democrats have continually pushed for meaningful reforms to the health care system.

“For months and months, Democrats have been fighting to get the Senate to address the health care crisis,” he said. “This bill does nothing to ensure that the crisis is addressed. I am voting no, and I will keep fighting for months and months.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I–VT) delivered a forceful rebuke, criticizing both Republicans and the eight Democrats who joined them in supporting the resolution.

“Tonight, eight Democrats voted with the Republicans to allow them to go forward on this continuing resolution. And to my mind, this was a very, very bad vote,” Sanders said. “What it does, first of all, is it raises healthcare premiums for over 20 million Americans by doubling, and in some cases tripling or quadrupling. People can’t afford that when we are already paying the highest prices in the world for healthcare.”

SANDERS CALLS OUT 8 SENATE DEMOCRATS FOR ‘VERY, VERY BAD VOTE’ ON GOVERNMENT FUNDING MEASURE

He went on to warn of the broader consequences of the legislation.

“It paves the way for 15 million people to be thrown off of Medicaid. While care act studies show that will mean some 50,000 Americans will die every year unnecessarily. And all of that was done to give a trillion dollars in tax breaks to the 1%.”

Sanders links the vote to broader political trends and said it ignores the message voters have sent in recent elections.

“As everybody knows, just on Tuesday, we had an election all over this country, and what the election showed is that the American people wanted us to stand up to Trumpism — to his war against working-class people, to his authoritarianism,” Sanders said. “That is what the American people wanted. But tonight, that is not what happened.”

Despite his disappointment, Sanders vowed to continue pushing for expanded access to health care.

SCHUMER’S SHUTDOWN SCHEME EXPLAINED: DEMS DOUBLE DOWN ON OBAMACARE CREDITS AS STANDOFF DRAGS ON

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., also spoke out following the vote, sharing a video message on X alongside a seething assessment of the funding bill’s failure to address healthcare costs.

“Millions of Californians are at risk of losing their insurance or facing dramatically higher health care costs. Tonight’s vote does NOTHING to address this Republican health care crisis,” Schiff said.

In the video, Schiff recounts his “no” vote, calling the moment symbolic of the bleak outlook for health care reform under the current bill.

“So, I just voted no on the Republican funding bill. I am outside the Capitol. It’s dark and raining, and that seems all too appropriate for this moment because that funding bill has nothing in it to help people afford their health insurance. That bill has nothing in it that’s going to bring costs down. That bill has nothing in it that’s going to make sure that people with pre-existing conditions can afford their health insurance,” Schiff said, in part.

He continued: “We owe our constituents better than this. We owe a resolution that makes it possible for them to afford their health care. [The] system [is] already badly broken enough. This just prevented it from getting worse.”

Schiff also joined Schumer in describing the shutdown and the vote on Sunday as a “Republican health care crisis.”

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Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., posted a late-night video from his office, expressing deep frustration over the outcome and warning that the vote could embolden President Donald Trump.

His caption read: “I got back to my office after the vote tonight and recorded this. There’s no way to sugarcoat what happened tonight. And my fear is that Trump gets stronger, not weaker, because of this acquiescence. I’m angry — like you. But I choose to keep fighting.”

Murphy also reflected on the vote’s implications for both democracy and health care, saying Democrats must continue to stand firm despite the political cost.

“The American people do not want Democrats to be bullied into submission. They want Democrats to fight for their healthcare. They want Democrats to fight Trump’s illegality,” the senator said, in part.

“I didn’t want this shutdown. I want it to end — but not at any cost. This shutdown hurt, it did — but unfortunately, I don’t think there is a way to save this country, to save our democracy, without there being some difficult, hard moments along the way.

…I’m angry about it. And I’m just gonna get up tomorrow and go to work to try to convince all of my colleagues that this is a unique moment — and the necessity to stand and fight, even when it’s hard, even when it involves pain, is necessary.”

President Donald Trump has granted “full, complete and unconditional” pardons to several key allies accused of attempting to overturn the 2020 election, U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin announced Sunday night.

In a post on X, Martin shared Trump’s proclamation granting pardons for dozens of people, including notable figures like Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows and Sidney Powell.

The pardon proclamation was posted in response to a message Martin shared on X on May 26, 2025, that said, “No MAGA left behind.”

“This proclamation ends a grave national injustice perpetrated upon the American people following the 2020 Presidential Election and continues the process of national reconciliation,” the document reads.

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Trump wrote in that proclamation that he did not include himself in the pardons.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) started reducing air traffic across 40 airports Friday due to air traffic controller staffing issues stemming from the government shutdown.

As the government shutdown has hit 40 days, more air traffic control workers have refused to come to work as they’re about to miss a second paycheck next week — prompting the FAA to make cuts to ensure no safety issues arise.

But these flight reductions will likely continue if the shutdown does — or worsen — and could impact thousands of flights daily, according to Marc Scribner, a senior transportation policy analyst at the libertarian Reason Foundation think tank.

“This would affect thousands of flights per day, and tens of thousands of passengers potentially seeing their flights canceled — a major disruption,” Scribner told Fox News Digital Thursday.

As of Sunday, there are now enough Senate Democrats willing to back a revamped plan to reopen the government. But if the shutdown doesn’t end, air travel disruptions are at risk. 

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS ISSUE DESPERATE PLEA AS FAMILIES STRUGGLE WITHOUT PAYCHECKS

“I don’t think we would expect, if the shutdown continues, for staffing levels to improve over what they are right now,” Scribner said. “If anything, they will continue to deteriorate as controllers call out sick or perhaps even resign. So I would expect it would not get better as long as the shutdown continues.”

Scribner said that travelers shouldn’t be concerned that the reduction in flights would translate to a lapse in safety, but said they should be aware that their travel schedules will likely take a hit as a result.

“They’re not going to allow unsafe flights. So whatever that means in terms of staffing capability and workflow, they are going to reduce the flights in order to maintain that very high level of safety that’s demanded of that,” Scribner said. “Travelers shouldn’t be concerned about safety in this, but they should be concerned about their travel schedules, which are likely to be impacted.”

Richard Stern, director of the Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget at conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, also said he expects this reduction to continue until the shutdown ends. 

“Unfortunately, I think it’s going to have to continue until the shutdown ends, because they’re running through resources that they don’t have until this funding again,” Stern told Fox News Digital Thursday. 

Stern said the government has been entering into uncharted territory now with what minimum services the government is required to provide, despite the fact that funding has expired. 

“No one really knows exactly what the next steps are after this,” Stern said. 

WITH THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN THREATENING AIR TRAVEL, A GOP BILL SEEKS TO KEEP FLIGHTS RUNNING

No clarity has been provided regarding how long this reduction in flights is expected to continue. The Department of Transportation, which oversees the FAA, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

The FAA said Friday that air traffic will be cut by 10% in the coming days across 40 “high-volume” markets, including those in major cities like Atlanta, Denver, Dallas, Orlando, Miami and San Francisco, according to a list of airports obtained by The Associated Press. Major metropolitan areas with several airports like New York and Chicago will have outages at multiple locations.

Reducing air traffic in response to the lapse in funding from the government shutdown is unprecedented, according to FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford.

AMERICANS COULD FACE AIRPORT CHAOS IF DEMS DON’T END SHUTDOWN, TRUMP OFFICIAL WARNS

“I’m not aware in my 35-year history in the aviation market where we’ve had a situation where we’re taking these kinds of measures,” Bedford said at a news conference Wednesday.

Air traffic controllers have been working without pay since the shutdown kicked off Oct. 1, and often are required to work six days a week in addition to mandatory overtime.

Bedford said that the decision to reduce air traffic was made in order to prevent a crisis from emerging, amid increased staffing pressures and voluntary safety reports from pilots suggesting that air traffic controllers were facing heightened levels of fatigue.

SEAN DUFFY WARNS OF RECORD STRAIN ON AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS AHEAD OF FIRST MISSED PAYCHECK

“We’re not going to wait for a safety problem to truly manifest itself when the early indicators are telling us we can take action today to prevent things from deteriorating,” Bedford said. “The system is extremely safe today and will be extremely safe tomorrow. If the pressures continue to build even after we take these measures, we’ll come back and take additional measures.”

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Senate took a massive step forward on its way to reopening the government on Sunday, with a group of Senate Democrats caving and joining Republicans in their bid to pass a revamped plan to end the shutdown.

Signs that the shutdown, which entered its 40th day, could be ending became more and more clear as the day went on, particularly with the unveiling of a bipartisan package of spending bills that lawmakers hope to attach to a modified bill to reopen the government.

Eight Senate Democrats crossed the aisle to mark the first step in the GOP’s quest to end the shutdown. Many of the lawmakers that splintered from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., were among those engaged in bipartisan talks over the last several weeks.

Among the defectors were Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, John Fetterman, D-Pa., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Jacky Rosen, D-N.M., Tim Kaine, D-Va., and the number two Democrat in the Senate, Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

REPUBLICANS UNVEIL KEY PIECE OF SHUTDOWN PUZZLE IN BID TO REOPEN GOVERNMENT

“The question was, does the shutdown further the goal of achieving some needed support for the extension of the tax credits? Our judgment was that it will not,” King said. “It would not produce that result. And the evidence for that is almost seven weeks of fruitless attempts to make that happen.”

Schumer and Senate Democrats long stayed the course that they would only vote to reopen the government in exchange for a solid deal on extending expiring Obamacare subsidies.

But the solution developed over the last several days included nothing of the sort. While there were some wins in the updated continuing resolution (CR), like reversals of some of the firings of furloughed workers undertaken by the Trump administration and guaranteeing back pay for furloughed workers, there was no guaranteed victory in sight on the Obamacare issue.

That means that Senate Democrats effectively caved with little to show for their healthcare push, save for the guarantee of a vote on the subsidies from Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., which was reflected in the updated CR. 

Schumer panned the compromise deal, and charged that when Republicans rejected Democrats’ own counter-proposal that would have extended the expiring subsidies for a year, “They showed that they are against any health care reform.”

“This healthcare crisis is so severe, so urgent, so devastating for families back home that I cannot, in good faith, support this CR that fails to address the healthcare crisis,” Schumer said. 

SENATE IN LIMBO AS THUNE EYES LONG HAUL UNTIL SHUTDOWN ENDS

Thune was optimistic that the plan would work, and reiterated his promise of a vote on the expiring subsidies. However, whatever legislation is produced to address the Obamacare issue is likely to fail. 

“Regardless, as I have said for weeks to my Democrat friends, I will schedule a vote on their proposal, and I’ve committed to having that vote no later than second week in December,” he said. 

Progressives in the caucus were unhappy with the developments, too.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, charged that it would be a “horrific mistake” for Democrats to cave now without an Obamacare deal.

“If Democrats cave on this issue, what it will say to Donald Trump is that he has a green light to go forward toward authoritarianism,” Sanders said. “And I think that would be a tragedy for this country.”

Still, there is a long way to go before the government officially reopens.

Sunday’s vote was the first in a series needed in the Senate to modify the original House-passed continuing resolution and combine it with the three-bill spending package and updated CR, which, if passed, would reopen the government until Jan. 30, 2026.

Lawmakers hope that if given the extra time, they could finish funding the government with spending bills rather than turning to another CR or colossal omnibus spending package, which crams all 12 government funding bills into one piece of legislation.

“If we blow this window, we’re going to get stuck with a yearlong CR,” Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said.

DEMS BLOCK GOP BILL ENSURING FEDERAL WORKER, MILITARY PAYCHECKS CONTINUE DURING SHUTDOWN

And the shutdown won’t end in the Senate, given that the changes to the legislation will need to be greenlit by the House before making it to President Donald Trump’s desk.

Democrats could still extract pain through procedural hurdles unless there is unanimous agreement from all 100 senators to move forward with the remaining votes.

The Obamacare issue is still bubbling on both sides of the aisle, however. Senate Republicans slammed the state of healthcare throughout Saturday, particularly over how the subsidies funneled money to insurance companies.

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Democrats still remained skeptical if their frustration, and desire to make changes to take on insurance companies, was legitimate.

“The point, I think that’s really relevant here, is if they’re serious, and I really question whether that’s the case,” Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said.

EXCLUSIVE – Though she stopped short of a formal endorsement, billionaire philanthropist Miriam Adelson voiced support for Rep. Elise Stefanik’s New York gubernatorial bid during the Zionist Organization of America’s Justice Louis D. Brandeis Award Dinner on Sunday night, praising her for confronting antisemitism in government and higher education.

Stefanik, who chairs the House Republican Conference, was honored with the Zionist Organization of America’s Mortimer Zuckerman Maccabee Warrior Award for her efforts to combat antisemitism.

Introducing her at the gala, Adelson lauded Stefanik for confronting university leaders over antisemitism and invoked her late husband Sheldon Adelson’s insistence on moral conviction.

“When I heard you talking to the heads of the universities, I said to myself, ‘She has the guts to say the truth,’” Adelson said. “Sheldon used to say, ‘stand up for what you believe in even if you stand up alone,’ and you showed us and all the world courage.”

STEFANIK DECRIES HOCHUL AS ‘WORST GOVERNOR IN AMERICA’ IN FIERY 2026 CAMPAIGN LAUNCH

Adelson went on to describe Stefanik as “a great leader,” crediting her for defending “the Jewish people, Israel and the Free World.”

“Thank you for continuing to be what you are — a brave lady,” Adelson said. “I send to you from here a hug for all your achievements, and I hope to visit you in the office of New York governor next year after the election.”

Adelson, the majority owner of Las Vegas Sands and a philanthropist and physician whose net worth is estimated in the $30 billion-plus range, has been a prominent Republican mega-donor and backed the pro-Trump super PAC Preserve America in multiple election cycles.

KEY TRUMP ALLY JUMPS INTO NEW YORK GOVERNOR’S RACE DAYS AFTER SHOCKING MAMDANI MAYORAL VICTORY

The Zionist Organization of America event, held in New York, drew political and philanthropic leaders from across the pro-Israel community.

“I am honored to receive such high praise and support from my friend Dr. Adelson who has served as a pillar of Jewish advocacy and strength in her fight to ensure the light of freedom, faith, and truth never goes out,” Stefanik told Fox News Digital. “I thank her for her glowing words of encouragement in my fight to save New York and fire Kathy Hochul.”

Stefanik launched her long-anticipated Republican campaign for New York governor on Friday, entering the 2026 race as she challenges Democratic Gov. Hochul.

A top House Republican and one of President Donald Trump’s closest allies, Stefanik represents a conservative-leaning district in upstate New York and had been weighing a gubernatorial run for months.

REP. ELISE STEFANIK LABELS NYC MAYORAL CANDIDATE ZOHRAN MAMDANI A ‘JIHADIST’

“I’m running for governor to make New York affordable and safe. We have seen decades of single-party rule led by Democrats. And Kathy Hochul is the worst governor in America,” Stefanik said Friday morning on “Fox & Friends.”

“New York is the most unaffordable state in the nation, with the highest taxes, the highest energy bills, the highest utility bills. We also have a crime crisis because Kathy Hochul has brought us failed bail reform and has embraced the defund the police Democrats,” Stefanik continued.

“And after this week… when we saw a raging anti-Semite pro-Hamas communist who wants to raise taxes. And frankly, he barely won the majority of New York City voters, Kathy Hochul endorsed him and bent the knee,” Stefanik added, referencing New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic socialist.

STEFANIK BOOED OFFSTAGE AS PROTESTERS CHANT ‘TRAITOR’ DURING UPSTATE NEW YORK MEMORIAL EVENT

When announcing her campaign the day before she launched it, Stefanik said, “I am running for Governor to bring a new generation of leadership to Albany to make New York affordable and safe for families all across our great state.”

“Our campaign will unify Republicans, Democrats, and Independents to fire Kathy Hochul once and for all to save New York,” she pledged in her statement and accompanying video.

Stefanik, a member of the House Republican leadership, again charged that “Kathy Hochul is the worst governor in America,” repeating a line that she’s used for months.

STEFANIK TO RELEASE NEW BOOK ON COLLEGE ANTISEMITISM AS SHE EYES BID FOR NY GOVERNOR

“People are looking for strong, commonsense leadership to be a check on this radical insanity that we’re seeing play out in New York City with Zohran Mamdani as a tax-hiking, defund the police, antisemite socialist,” Stefanik said in an interview Thursday on “The Story with Martha MacCallum.”

And in her campaign launch announcement, she reiterated that Hochul “bent the knee” to Mamdani.

Hochul has since turned to social media and interviews with CNN to attack Stefanik’s record of being a “Trump Republican.”

On Friday, Hochul posted, “While I’m fighting like hell to lower costs for New York families, Elise Stefanik is screwing over New Yorkers and jacking up costs to please Trump. Stefanik will always put Trump first and you last.”

In another post that same day, Hochul shared a clip from her appearance on CNN, on X.

“Elise Stefanik is more than just Trump’s ally. She’s voted with him 100% of the time this year,” Hochul wrote. “She owns this shutdown. She owns the fact that 3 million New Yorkers are trying to figure out how to feed their families. That’s Sellout Stefanik.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to Hochul’s office for a comment regarding Adelson’s voice support for Stefanik.

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Stefanik, who once criticized Trump during his first presidential run, has since become one of his staunchest defenders in Congress.

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

The Senate is moving toward a test vote tonight to break a filibuster on a new GOP spending plan. This test vote is not to be underestimated. If the Senate breaks a filibuster on the test vote tonight, it’s likely the government shutdown is just a few days from ending.

Here’s what we expect:

Sometime between 8 and 10 pm EST, the Senate will take the test vote to break the filibuster on the revised GOP spending package. The revamped bill re-opens the government through at least January 30. That buys lawmakers time to work on individual spending bills. However, the package includes full spending bills until next fall for the Department of Agriculture, veterans and military construction programs plus Congress.

It’s about the math. Sixty yeas are needed to break a filibuster Republicans believe they can get a group of Democrats to side with them to at least break the filibuster.

SENATE COULD TAKE TEST VOTE ON NEW SPENDING BILL AS EARLY AS SUNDAY AFTERNOON

FOX is told to keep an eye on these senators who caucus with the Democrats: Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Mark Warner, D-Va., Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., John Fetterman, D-Pa., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Angus King, I-Maine, and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. Also keep an eye on Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., has expressed interest in opening the government.

THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO WHERE WE STAND WITH A POTENTIAL BREAK IN THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

In addition, it is unclear if Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., could vote yes. Paul previously voted to block the old GOP funding plan. A potential yea or nay vote by Paul could determine how many Democrats are needed to break the filibuster. After all, it’s about the math.

Voting to break the filibuster does not necessarily mean that these senators would eventually vote for the underlying bill. However, Republicans can haul the freight on their own with a simple majority and won’t need any Democrats for final passage.

What happens if the Senate scores 60 yeas? By the book, it would take until NEXT weekend to get to a final vote on the bill. But that probably doesn’t happen.

There are two schools of thought:

One school says that Democrats are frustrated with one another and just want to get out of the Capitol. So it’s possible they could forge a time agreement and vote on final passage of the bill overnight tonight or maybe during the daylight hours on Monday.

The other school says Democrats are so mad over the health care capitulation that they require the Senate to burn significant time over the next few days and pass the bill mid-week.

Some Democrats are outraged that their colleagues may help out the GOP and re-open the government – without an ironclad agreement to re-up expiring Obamacare subsidies. This chasm will spark a Democratic civil war. House Democrats fumed at Senate Democrats for helping the GOP avoid a shutdown in March. This battle will only intensify between those who support the test vote tonight and those who were dug in on Obamacare.

REPUBLICANS UNVEIL KEY PIECE OF SHUTDOWN PUZZLE IN BID TO REOPEN GOVERNMENT

Moreover, it’s entirely possible that Democrats blocked government funding for 40 days – and their own party threw them under the bus without a solution to the Obamacare problem.

However, Democrats pushing for the Obamacare assistance may have lost the battle – but could yet win the war. They have successfully put the health care affordability issue on the radar and could force Republicans and President Trump to address it. If they don’t Democrats may have secured a crucial issue ahead of next year’s midterms.

Here’s another factor:

Some rank-and-file Democrats are fuming at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Liberals raged at Schumer when he sided with the GOP in the spring. Now some think Schumer overcorrected and went too far this time. This could have consequences for leadership elections down the road.

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So what changed for some Democrats?

The pressure of the shutdown was beginning to mount. It was a toxic combination of aviation delays (with the holidays looming), air traffic controllers off their jobs, federal workers missing paychecks, no distribution of SNAP benefits, Capitol Police officers and Congressional aides working without pay… you name it. Plus, some Democrats scored spending priorities important to them in the appropriations bills tacked on to the package. That’s what makes this measure different from the one which Democrats have blocked since late September. And, a new funding deadline of January 30 gives lawmakers the chance to finish the other spending bills and get their big asks into those bills. So, it was a combination of things which altered the equation.

Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger did not mince words when asked if Democrats in Congress should see her election — and the success of other Democrats last Tuesday — as permission to continue the government shutdown. 

“Absolutely not,” Spanberger said on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” Sunday. “Our victory was based on a campaign addressing concerns related to costs and chaos. My campaign across the past two years has been based on hearing the challenges that people are facing all across Virginia.”

DEMOCRATS STRUGGLE FOR COHESIVE MESSAGING STRATEGY AMID SHUTDOWN STANDOFF

“It’s the chaos coming out of Washington that has been impacting Virginians so severely,” she added.

Virginia is home to over 147,000 government workers, many of whom have been unpaid since the government shutdown began. That’s the third-highest concentration of government workers in any state, according to records by the Library of Congress.

Spanberger stormed to victory last week alongside fellow Democrats in New Jersey, New York City and a Democrat-led ballot measure in California. In the wake of election night, some onlookers suggested the results reflected public unrest over the government shutdown — and a tacit endorsement of the Democratic position in the gridlock. 

Even President Donald Trump suggested that Republicans had underperformed because of the shutdown.

“Last night was not expected to be a victory,” Trump said the morning after the election. “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. The shutdown was a big factor — negative for the Republicans.” 

TRUMP FLIPS HIS SHUTDOWN APPROACH, LEAVING CONGRESS TO TAKE THE HEAT

Republicans and Democrats remain at odds over how to fund the government as a shutdown that began on Oct. 1 enters its 40th day. Republicans have advanced a short-term spending bill that would keep the lights on through Nov. 21, but Democrats have blocked those efforts 14 times. 

Democrats, led by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have demanded Congress first address expiring COVID-era Obamacare subsidies before considering spending legislation.

Spanberger disagreed with that approach, stating that lawmakers should focus their attention on opening the government above healthcare concerns. 

OBAMA SAYS IT’S ‘LIKE EVERY DAY IS HALLOWEEN’ AS HE BLAMES REPUBLICANS FOR GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

“Virginians want to see the government open. My expectation is that we will see a Congress, a Senate and ultimately a president driving us in that direction,” Spanberger said. “The government needs to open, and it needs to open immediately.” 

She called on the president to facilitate spending negotiations.

“We need the president to demonstrate leadership, bringing people together, endeavoring to get through whatever negotiations need to get through whether it’s before or after,” Spanberger said.

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The Senate remains in session over the weekend as lawmakers look to break the gridlock. It is unclear if the Senate will vote for a 15th time on Sunday on a new short-term funding extension proposal.

President Donald Trump‘s administration called on a federal judge to approve the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia on Friday, arguing all legal hurdles had been cleared.

The Friday filing is the latest in the administration’s efforts to deport Abrego Garcia a second time following his return from El Salvador earlier this year. The Justice Department called on U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis to clear the deportation, saying Abrego Garcia had failed to establish that he would face persecution in Liberia.

“Petitioner’s claims are procedurally barred multiple times over and fail on the merits in any event,” the DOJ argued. “This Court should therefore dissolve its preliminary injunction and permit the government to remove Petitioner to Liberia.”

Attorneys for the U.S. also argued that Liberia has made “sufficient and credible” that Abrego Garcia will not face harm.

DHS TO SOON DEPORT ABREGO GARCIA TO AFRICAN NATION AFTER ILLEGAL ALIEN’S RETURN FROM EL SALVADOR, FILING SAYS

Nevertheless, lawyers for Abrego Garcia argue that he has not received sufficient due process to justify his deportation.

“The Government insists that the unreasoned determination of a single immigration officer—who concluded that Abrego Garcia failed to establish that it is ‘more likely than not’ that he will be persecuted or tortured in Liberia— satisfies due process. It does not,” his attorneys wrote in their own Friday filing.

His attorneys further argue that Abrego Garcia is the victim of retaliatory prosecution, noting that Costa Rica has already offered to accept his deportation flight on a refugee status. The U.S. said it would not send him to Costa Rica unless he agreed to plead guilty to human trafficking charges.

ABREGO GARCIA RELEASED FROM JAIL, WILL RETURN TO MARYLAND TO AWAIT TRIAL

“The timeline suggests a pattern: when the Government received orders it disliked in Abrego Garcia’s civil case challenging his unlawful removal to El Salvador; it initiated a criminal prosecution in retaliation; and when it received orders it disliked in Abrego Garcia’s criminal case, it initiated third-country removal efforts in retaliation,” the attorneys argued.

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Earlier in the case, Abrego Garcia’s attorneys cited more than 20 countries he allegedly fears would perecute or torture him if he were removed there. Liberia was not among those listed.

“Liberia is a thriving democracy and one of the United States’s closest partners on the African continent,” the DOJ argued in October.

The Iranian regime has managed to smuggle at least $1 billion to its terrorist proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon despite heavy sanctions this year, top officials at the U.S. Treasury Department say.

John Hurley, the undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, says Iran remains committed to its proxy groups throughout the Middle East. Nevertheless, he says there is any opportunity to cut off the funding streams while Iran is in its current weakened state.

“There’s a moment in Lebanon now. If we could get Hezbollah to disarm, the Lebanese people could get their country back,” Hurley said.

“Even with everything Iran has been through, even with the economy not in great shape, they’re still pumping a lot of money to their terrorist proxies,” he continued.

TRUMP ADMIN PRESSURES LEBANON TO DISARM HEZBOLLAH AS ENVOY CALLS NATION ‘FAILED STATE’

“The key to that is to drive out the Iranian influence and control that starts with all the money that they are pumping into Hezbollah,” he argued.

Hurley pushed for the increased pressure campaign during a tour of Turkey, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates and Israel this weekend.

Western nations have already laid down heavy sanctions on Tehran over its unwillingness to negotiate a nuclear deal. The regime insists its nuclear development program exists solely for civilian purposes.

US ENVOY NEARS LEBANON-ISRAEL CEASEFIRE THAT WOULD DISARM HEZBOLLAH TERROR GROUP

President Donald Trump ordered bombings on Iran’s key nuclear cites earlier this year in Operation Midnight Hammer, which U.S. officials say succeeded in crippling Tehran’s progress toward a bomb.

Iran has nevertheless continued its efforts to spread chaos across the globe. U.S. officials say they, along with Israel and Mexico, thwarted an Iran-backed attempt to assassinate Israel’s ambassador to Mexico earlier this year.

“We thank the security and law enforcement services in Mexico for thwarting a terrorist network directed by Iran that sought to attack Israel’s ambassador in Mexico,” Israel’s foreign ministry told Fox News on Friday.

“The Israeli security and intelligence community will continue to work tirelessly, in full cooperation with security and intelligence agencies around the world, to thwart terrorist threats from Iran and its proxies against Israeli and Jewish targets worldwide.”

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A U.S. official told Reuters the plot targeting ambassador Einat Kranz Neiger “was contained and does not pose a current threat.”

Fox News’ Greg Norman and Reuters contributed to this report.

Republican Rep. Riley Moore said the United States could take a range of actions — including sanctions and “even kinetic military action” — in response to what he called the “genocide” of Christians in Nigeria.

Trump designated Moore, a member of the Appropriations Committee from West Virginia, along with Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., to lead an investigation into the killing of Christians by Islamist militants in the African nation.

Frustrations with the matter boiled out into the open when Trump this week designated Nigeria as a country of particular concern and ordered the Pentagon to prepare to intervene militarily.

In a video on Truth Social this week, Trump threatened to “do things to Nigeria that Nigeria is not going to be happy about” and “go into that now-disgraced country guns-a-blazing.”

I WAS KIDNAPPED BY BOKO HARAM, AND SURVIVED. NO THANKS TO THE WEST’S SILENCE

Moore told Fox News Digital the designation unlocks “15 different levers” the administration can use against Nigeria, including halting arms sales, freezing aid and sanctioning officials or institutions accused of ignoring or enabling religious killings.

“All options are on the table here for this, even kinetic military action,” Moore said. “That could mean targeted, strategic counterterrorism strikes to get rid of some of the top leadership if that’s what it takes to stop the killing.”

“We’ve been providing security assistance to this country since at least 2009 – billions of dollars worth of arm sales, training and equipment that they’ve received. And it’s a question of prioritization in what’s important to them. And clearly this has not been one of the most important things.”

The West Virginia Republican said he has been working with the House Appropriations Committee and the State Department to identify what he called “legislative levers” that could support the administration’s response. Moore said he’s also consulting with NGOs and Christian organizations “on the ground” in Nigeria to document the scale of the violence.

CRUZ CLASHES WITH NIGERIA OVER HIS CLAIMS 50,000 CHRISTIANS KILLED SINCE 2009 IN RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE

He described the attacks as a “genocide,” claiming Christians are being killed at a rate of five to one compared with non-Christians. Moore accused Nigeria’s government of “looking the other way” despite receiving billions in U.S. security aid since 2009.

“They’re not taking this seriously,” he said. “We had a pastor warn the government about an impending attack — they called it fake news. Within 24 hours, that pastor and 20 of his congregants were murdered.”

The Nigerian government denies a genocide is taking place. “Portraying Nigeria’s security challenges as a targeted campaign against a single religious group is a gross misrepresentation of reality. Terrorists attack all who reject their murderous ideology — Muslims, Christians, and those of no faith alike,” the office of the presidency wrote on X. 

Moore said he and House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., plan to meet with Nigerian officials in Washington this month as part of the investigation, and may even send delegations to the nation. He added that the U.S. could still work with Nigeria’s government if it shows a willingness to confront extremist groups.

BOKO HARAM KIDNAPPING SURVIVOR PRAISES TRUMP AS HE WEIGHS ‘VICIOUS’ MILITARY ACTION IN NIGERIA

“It’s not all sticks here — there are some carrots in this,” Moore said. “If they’re willing to work with us, this could actually lead to a stronger relationship between our countries.”

The Nigerian government has denied that the killings amount to religious persecution, arguing that extremist and criminal groups target civilians of all faiths.

With a population of more than 230 million, Nigeria’s vibrant and often turbulent cities and villages are home to people of strikingly diverse backgrounds. The country’s more than 500 languages and mix of Islam, Christianity, and traditional indigenous faiths have long been marred by tension.

I’M A CHRISTIAN FROM NIGER. DON’T IGNORE HORRIFYING ATTACKS ON AFRICAN CHRISTIANS

Nigeria’s faith communities remain sharply divided, with Muslims dominating the northern regions and Christians concentrated in the south.

Christianity took firm root in the 19th century, when freed slaves educated in Sierra Leone returned home as teachers and missionaries — establishing schools, churches, and early congregations that continue to shape southern Nigeria’s identity today.

Despite vast oil and mineral wealth, decades of corruption and mismanagement have left much of the nation impoverished.

Nigeria’s growing cache of lithium, cobalt, nickel, and other rare minerals has drawn quiet U.S. attention as Washington looks to counter China’s dominance in Africa’s critical-minerals market. The Commerce Department and U.S. International Development Finance Corp. have eyed investment opportunities in Nigeria’s nascent lithium industry, but persistent insecurity in mining regions threatens Western access and future development.

For over a decade, Nigeria’s Christians fleeing the nation’s northern half have been subject to the violence of Boko Haram, an Islamist militant group known for its terrorist spectacles. Churches and homes burned, communities vanishing in the group’s night raids.

Numbers are difficult to verify, but the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law reports at least 52,000 Christians have been killed, some 18,500 abducted and unlikely to have survived, and 20,000 churches and Christian schools attacked between 2009 and 2023.

In 2014, Boko Haram famously kidnapped and enslaved 276 teenage girls in a raid on a high school dormitory. The group regularly arms children as suicide bombers and holds slave markets in captured territories.

But a direct U.S. military campaign would prove difficult with current U.S. assets in the nation and is unlikely, one defense official told Fox News Digital.

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The United States currently has no permanent military base in Nigeria, though small teams of U.S. advisors and special operations trainers work periodically with Nigerian forces under AFRICOM programs.

Washington approved about $600 million in security aid to Nigeria over the past decade, mostly focused on counterterrorism in the northeast.

Vice President JD Vance took the stage at the Marine Corps’ 250th Birthday Ball in Washington, D.C., on Saurday, greeting a crowd of Marines in dress blues with a booming, “How we doing, Marines?”

He grinned as the ballroom erupted in cheers. “It’s so great to be here to celebrate 250 years of the United States Marine Corps,” he said, drawing loud applause.

“That, my friends, is what the Marine Corps does — it keeps us honest.”

The address marked the start of Veterans Day weekend and underscored the White House’s emphasis on military strength and service.

VANCE ISSUES MIDTERM WARNING, SAYS DEMOCRATS’ ANGER COULD DRIVE 2026 TURNOUT

The vice president — himself a proud Marine veteran — earned a standing ovation when he reminded the crowd that he was “the very first vice president of the United States to have been a United States Marine.”

Vance reflected on joining the Marines as a 19-year-old recruit on the yellow footprints of Parris Island, South Carolina. 

“The Marine Corps has kept me honest,” he said. “It gave me great training, it gave me a sense of purpose, and it gave me lifelong friends.”

He credited those lessons with shaping his life long after service. “The Marine Corps has done more for me than I can possibly repay,” he said. “But the thing that I promise, so long as I have the honor of being your vice president, is that I will continue to honor the United States Marine Corps.”

VP VANCE’S CAMP ACCUSES CALIFORNIA GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM OF DISSEMINATING ‘FAKE NEWS’ AHEAD OF MARINES CELEBRATION

In a moment that drew lots of laughs, Vance told the story of meeting a 99-year-old Iwo Jima veteran earlier in the evening. The Marine had teased him about his beard, and Vance said, “I’m the Vice President of the United States, and this guy is busting my b–ls for having a beard.”

He laughed and added, “That, my friends, is what the Marine Corps does — it keeps us honest.”

Throughout his remarks, Vance paid tribute to Marines of every generation, “from the young to the old, from the lance corporals born in 2006 to the veterans of Iwo Jima.”

He told the audience he was “proud” of each Marine and vowed, “We’re going to keep on winning America’s wars for the next 250 years.”

Vance also promised in a moment of resolve that America’s leaders would never again send troops into harm’s way without clarity of mission and support for those in the field.

‘FIRST TO FIGHT’: MARINE VP JD VANCE MARKS CORPS’ 250TH AS HEGSETH SAYS UNITY, NOT ‘DIVERSITY,’ IS STRENGTH

“When we send you off to fight our nation’s battles, we will do it with full confidence,” he said. “We will give you the knowledge and the tools you need to win, and we will make it clear that your job is to kick the enemy’s a– and come home safely.”

Vance celebrated the Corps’ relevance in the age of advanced technology. “Let’s be honest,” he said, “the battlefield has changed in an incredible and profound way… but I happen to believe that the most important war-fighting technology is not artificial intelligence or anything on a computer. The most important war-fighting technology is a well-trained and well-armed United States Marine.”

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As the crowd rose for a final toast, Vance took a moment of reflection. “The Marine Corps has done a lot for me,” he said. “It’s done more for me than I can possibly repay.”

Then, raising his glass, he closed: “I will fight every single day to make sure that the next 250 years are just as damn proud as the first 250. Happy Birthday, Marines.”

The ballroom answered with thunderous applause and a sea of raised glasses.

A reckoning is coming.

Or shall we say, “reckonings.”

And they’re coming, whether the government re-opens soon or remains shuttered.

If the government stays closed, voters will likely torch both parties for not hammering out a deal. Air traffic delays are stacking up. Those problems only intensify as we near Thanksgiving and Christmas. That’s to say nothing of multiple missed paychecks for federal employees, stress, economic consequences and no SNAP benefits for the needy.

SCHUMER, DEMS UNVEIL ALTERNATIVE SHUTDOWN PLAN, ASK FOR ONE-YEAR EXTENSION TO OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES

Some of those concerns will dissipate if lawmakers address the shutdown quickly. But there will be a reckoning if the shutdown drags deeper into November.

There are likely specific reckonings for both political parties.

For Republicans, it’s a resistance by GOP leaders to address spiking health care subsidies. Yes. The GOP is making a compelling argument that health care subsidies are only necessary because Obamacare is a problem and health care prices skyrocketed. So Republicans are back fighting against Obamacare.

In fact, the entire government shutdown is not about spending levels and appropriations. It’s a re-litigation of the touchstone law passed under President Obama in 2010. And Republicans — despite multiple campaign promises and dozens of efforts to kill the law over a six-year period, failed at nearly every turn.

Despite issues with Obamacare, Democrats annexed the public’s concern about health care costs and linked that to government funding. Democrats appear like the party trying to address the issue as premiums spike. And Republicans, despite promises that they’ll get to it, are inert on the subject. They’re even championing efforts to lambaste Obamacare — much the same as they did in 2010 when Congress passed the law.

Republicans are latched on to the concept that the subsidies are “pumping money to insurance companies,” as Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., put it on Fox. Lankford also characterized those who benefitted from Obamacare as a “select group.” It works out to about 24 million people. That’s seven percent of the U.S. population. So maybe that burns the GOP politically. Maybe it doesn’t.

A major reckoning looms for the Democrats, too.

It’s possible that a coalition of Democratic senators may break with the Democratic Party and support a new GOP plan to re-open the government on a temporary basis. Nowhere is it written that Democrats — who made the shutdown about health care — are guaranteed an outcome on Obamacare subsidies. Yes, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., have said they’ll address the health care issue after the government is open. But that’s not necessarily a fix.

TRUMP URGES SENATE REPUBLICANS TO REDIRECT FUNDS FROM OBAMACARE-BACKED INSURERS, PAY AMERICANS DIRECTLY

So Democrats are fuming.

Therefore, it’s a distinct possibility that Democrats will refuse to fund the government in an effort to extract a concession on Obamacare subsidies — and walk away empty-handed.

Such an outcome will spark an internecine firestorm inside the Democratic Party. Progressives felt that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., rolled them back in March when he and a squadron of other Democrats helped the GOP crack a filibuster to avoid a shutdown.

It’s doubtful that Schumer will help this time. But Senate Republicans hope to coax just enough Democrats to overcome the filibuster on a pending test vote and then fund the government through late January.

That’s the reckoning for the Democrats. 

No outcome on health care. And getting the screws put to them by members of their own party.

Again.

Progressives will be apoplectic. And House Democrats will seethe — not so privately — at Senate Democrats.

The Senate’s test vote on the new GOP proposal could come as early as Sunday evening. The revised package would also fund the Department of Agriculture and Department of Veterans Affairs, plus, Congress until Sept. 30, 2026.

Fox is told Republicans believe they are in range of persuading Democrats who are sweating the shutdown to join them.

Fox is told that air traffic control and flight delays are contributing to the Democrats’ consternation.

That said, it is believed that the Senate GOP leadership is reluctant to force a vote related to the retooled, spending bill without a guarantee it could break a filibuster. The last thing the Senate needs is another failed procedural vote – after repeated failed test votes over the past six weeks.

REPUBLICANS TURN THEIR ATTENTION TO BASHING OBAMACARE AS SHUTDOWN ENTERS DAY 39

Let’s game out the timing for a moment:

By the book, if the Senate breaks the filibuster late Sunday, it’s doubtful the chamber can take a final vote on the package until Monday or Tuesday.  But Fox is told there is a distinct possibility that Democrats could yield back time to expedite the process in the interest of quickly re-opening the government. By the same token, angry liberal senators could bleed out the parliamentary clocks and attempt to amend the bill to their liking — presumably with Obamacare provisions.

The Senate must break yet another filibuster to finish the bill. Then it’s on to final passage. That only needs a simple majority. And even if some Democrats voted to hurdle the filibuster, they might not support the underlying plan at the end. However, that’s not a problem if GOP senators provide the necessary votes.

Then it’s on to the House. The House’s disposition is unclear on this legislation. However, it’s hard to believe that most Republicans wouldn’t take this deal. Reps. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash. and Jared Golden, D-Maine, are among moderate Democrats who may be in play to vote yes if the GOP loses a few votes. Golden was the lone House Democrat who voted for the old interim spending bill on Friday, September 19. Golden has since announced his retirement.

Another big question: 

Would the House swear-in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., before or after the vote? Democrats will bray if Johnson fails to swear-in Grijalva before a possible House vote

And, as we say, it’s always about the math.

Swearing-in Grijalva puts the House at 433 members with two vacancies. The breakdown is 219 Republicans to 214 Democrats. That means the GOP can only lose two votes before needing help from the Democrats.

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Regardless, the House would not come back until at least the middle of next week if not later. It hinges on how fast the Senate can move, if it has the votes to break a filibuster and what happens to the Obamacare question.

All of this is uncertain after 39 days of the government shutdown.

And the only thing which is certain is the political reckoning for both parties.

Amid a 39-day government shutdown, Republican after Republican took to the Senate floor on Saturday to blast the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, calling the program a failed approach to addressing the country’s health care needs.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., went as far as to say the current system might need replacing.

“You were promised when Obamacare passed in 2010, President Obama said, that every family in America who participated in this thing would have a $2,500 savings in premium reductions. It’s been like a 100% increase. This thing is unsustainable,” Graham said.

FLASHBACK: TED CRUZ PREDICTS BALLOONING OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES NOW AT CENTER OF SHUTDOWN FIGHT

“We’re going to replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the consumer to meet the goal of lowering health care costs,” Graham added.

Graham wasn’t the only Republican voice to speak out against Obamacare. 

“I hate to report that folks on the other side refused to acknowledge the very obvious damage being done across the board by Obamacare,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said. “The problem we have in healthcare is we’ve largely driven free-market principles out of healthcare. That’s because of the faulty design of Obamacare. It’s got to be fixed.” 

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., a former health care executive and longtime critic of the program, joined in.

“It’s all caused by Obamacare. When the government gets involved in things, they often go up in price,” Scott said. 

Notably, Republican criticisms of Obamacare on Saturday went beyond the front-and-center issue holding up consideration of government funding.

Where Republicans have advanced a short-term spending package meant to keep the government open through Nov. 21, Democrats have rejected it 14 times, demanding that lawmakers first consider extending COVD-era emergency tax subsidies for Obamacare plan holders. 

Republicans, who maintain the temporary subsidies and their expiration have nothing to do with government spending, have largely focused their attention on the shutdown itself instead of engaging in a debate over the COVID-era assistance. They’ve said they will negotiate on the subsidies when the government reopens.

But President Donald Trump changed the picture on Saturday morning in a post to Truth Social by arguing that lawmakers should re-structure the enhanced subsidies so that they go directly to the policyholders instead of insurance companies who currently receive the tax credit payments.

TRUMP URGES SENATE REPUBLICANS TO REDIRECT FUNDS FROM OBAMACARE-BACKED INSURERS, PAY AMERICANS DIRECTLY

In the wake of Trump’s suggestion, lawmakers began blasting Obamacare’s structure.

“Obamacare costs the federal government closer to $150 billion a year. That’s right. We’re spending $150 billion of your tax-earned dollars supplementing other people’s health care,” Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., said.

“When they sold this to the American people, they said it would cost $40 or $50 billion, but we’re triple that. That’s $400 million a day,” he added.

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, echoed those comments, arguing that Obamacare had missed the mark on its original design. 

“It’s clear that Obamacare has failed to deliver on its promises,” Ernst said. “The answer isn’t throwing more money into a broken system. What we need to do is fix what’s broken. We can end that waste.”

HOUSE REPUBLICANS DIVIDED OVER OBAMACARE AS GOP EYES FIX AFTER SHUTDOWN

Like Ernst and Marshall, Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio., also took to the floor, calling for Congress to evaluate the source of climbing health care costs.

“So, I hope we want to get at the costs and the cause of what’s affecting the unaffordability of health care in this country. Health care has increased since Obamacare started by 6% a year while overall inflation has been 3% or less,” Husted said.

“I hope we will reopen the government and begin serving the American people while we continue the very important conversation of how we make health care more affordable,” he added.

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Although Sen. Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has kept the Senate in session over the weekend while lawmakers attempt to break the gridlock, it’s unclear when lawmakers will next consider spending legislation. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom in Texas on Saturday told a crowd that Democrats winning back the House of Representatives in 2026 is “the whole thing.”

Newsom, 58, continued to ride high over the weekend, four days after California’s Proposition 50 — to redistrict the state’s congressional map in favor of Democrats — passed in a landslide.

Newsom also couldn’t resist taking a jab at his frequent foe, President Donald Trump.

“He is an historic president, however — historically unpopular,” he told the crowd in Houston. “And he had a very bad night on Tuesday.”

OBAMA CALLS NEWSOM’S CALIFORNIA REDISTRICTING MOVE A ‘RESPONSIBLE APPROACH’ TO GOP TACTICS

Along with Prop 50 in California, Democrats also won gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia and Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani handily beat Democrat-turned-Independent candidate Andrew Cuomo in the New York City mayoral election.

Proposition 50 was a response to Texas’ legislature redistricting their congressional map in favor of Republicans over the summer, and on Tuesday after Proposition 50 passed, Newsom called on other Democratic states to follow suit.

“We need to see other states, their remarkable leaders that have been doing remarkable things, meet this moment head-on as well,” he said in a late-night news conference on Tuesday. “We can de facto end Donald Trump’s presidency as we know it, the minute Speaker Jeffries gets sworn in as speaker of the House of Representatives. It is all on the line.”

NEWSOM SET TO RALLY TEXAS DEMS WITH VICTORY LAP DAYS AFTER PROP 50 PASSES: ‘CALIFORNIA STEPPED UP’

He continued his celebration on Saturday, telling the crowd: “There were lines around the block two hours after polling had stopped because people wanted to be heard, not just seen, they wanted to send a message. But as I said, we cannot rest until we take it back.”

The governor reiterated, “There is no more important race in our lifetimes than the House of Representatives, and taking back the House and getting speaker [Hakeem] Jeffries sworn in next November. It’s the whole thing. It’s the whole thing.”

“And so that starts today,” he continued. “It started on Tuesday.”

Newsom added, “We can shape the future here in Texas. We can shape the future all across the South and across the United States of America. You have that power.”

Trump and the GOP have spearheaded an effort to pad the party’s razor-thin House majority to keep control of the chamber in the 2026 midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats. Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio have drawn new maps as part of the president’s push.

Trump is aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterm elections.

Although he hasn’t announced his intentions to run for president, Newsom has been widely seen as a possible frontrunner for Democrats in the 2028 presidential election.

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While two other Democratic blue state governors with likely national ambitions in 2028, JB Pritzker of Illinois and Wes Moore of Maryland, are mulling new maps in their states to create one or two more blue-leaning congressional districts, Newsom has been the most visible leader so far in the redistricting wars and the first Democrat to succeed.

Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

The Senate is in for a rare weekend session as the chamber remains in limbo while lawmakers try to find a way out of the government shutdown.

Behind the scenes, appropriators are cooking up a trio of spending bills to attach to the House-passed continuing resolution (CR), along with an extension to the bill that would, if passed, reopen government until December or January.

Whether a vote on the revamped CR and spending package happens Saturday is still up in the air. Senate Democrats, as they’ve done 14 times previously, are likely to block it. It all comes as the upper chamber is scheduled for a week-long recess to coincide with Veterans’ Day.

DEMS BLOCK GOP BILL ENSURING FEDERAL WORKER, MILITARY PAYCHECKS CONTINUE DURING SHUTDOWN

But Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., now wants to keep lawmakers in town until the shutdown ends.

When asked if there would be a vote on the plan, Thune said it would be ideal to have the package on the floor, but that “we’ve got to have votes to actually pass it.” Republicans are reticent to putting the CR out again just to see it fail.

“I’ve been talking all morning with some of the folks that are involved with the meeting, and I think we’re getting close to having it ready,” Thune said. “We just need to get the text out there.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus, freshly emboldened by sweeping Election Day victories earlier in the week, are sticking by their newly released plan that would extend the expiring Obamacare subsidies by one year, and create a bipartisan working group to negotiate next steps after the government reopens.

But Senate Republicans immediately rejected the idea; Thune called it a “non-starter,” while others in the GOP were angered by the proposal.

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., charged that he would appeal to President Donald Trump and his administration to slash funding from “pet projects” in blue states and cities to pay federal workers as the shutdown drags on.

SCHUMER, DEMS UNVEIL ALTERNATIVE SHUTDOWN PLAN, ASK FOR ONE-YEAR EXTENSION TO OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES

“The idea that you’ve got a bunch of kamikaze pilots trying to burn this whole place down because they’re emboldened by an election where Democrats won in Democrat areas is totally insane,” he said.

Senate Democrats were largely unsurprised that Republicans rejected the offer, however.

“I know many Republicans stormed out of the gate to dismiss this offer, but that’s a terrible mistake,” Schumer said.

Thune and his conference have, throughout the course of the 39-day shutdown, said that they would only deal with the subsidies after the government reopened, and have offered Schumer and Senate Democrats a vote on a bill addressing the healthcare issue once the closure ends.

“I’m not surprised,” Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., said. “They don’t want to help people with their health care.”

But Republicans countered that a simple extension of the enhanced subsidies, which were modified under former President Joe Biden during the COVID-19 pandemic, would funnel money straight to insurers.

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., has been in talks with Senate Democrats on a path forward, particularly through jump-starting government funding with the impending trio of spending bills.

THUNE SAYS ‘WHEELS CAME OFF’ AS REPUBLICANS MULL NEXT SHUTDOWN MOVE

After Schumer unveiled Democrats’ plan, she charged that “since Obamacare came into effect, look, who’s gotten rich? It’s not the people.”

“They’re talking about the people’s premiums and have … they taken it to the companies that are actually making the money off of it? They’re not,” Britt said. “So I look forward to hearing why in the world they want to continue these profits and not actually help the people they serve.”

Senate Democrats, however, contend that their offer was fair.

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Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., argued that there were some in the caucus that wanted to do a multi-year extension, while others wanted to go beyond just the enhanced subsidies. He reiterated his frustration that the core of the issue, from his perspective, was that neither Schumer nor Thune would sit down and negotiate.

“We made a really simple, really scaled-down offer that could get the government up and operating and [is] really good for them politically,” he said. “I just still don’t understand why they won’t accept the offer.”

Former President Joe Biden told Nebraska Democrats on Friday that their party “is back” after a series of sweeping election wins last week and also accused President Donald Trump of destroying the Constitution and cutting health care and food assistance for millions of Americans.

Biden, 82, speaking at the Nebraska Democratic Party’s “Ben Nelson Gala” in Omaha, also urged Republicans to end the ongoing government shutdown and said his late son, Beau Biden, should have been president, not himself.

“The Democratic Party is back. That’s not hyperbole,” Biden said. “Did you see the election results?”

CHUCK TODD SAYS BIDEN’S PRESIDENCY WAS SO ‘WEAK AND INEFFECTIVE’ IT MADE PEOPLE GO BACK TO TRUMP

Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J. and former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., won gubernatorial races in their respective states, while Democratic socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani scored a stunning victory to become New York City’s next mayor. The wins came a year after former Vice President Kamala Harris suffered a stinging defeat to Trump. 

Harris was propelled to the top of the 2024 Democratic presidential ticket after Biden backed out of the race following a blistering debate performance against Trump. 

“Well, the American people are sending a message, a message to Trump and to his crowd,” Biden said, accusing the president of trampling on democracy and working for the rich.

“I just want you to know you work for us, Mr. President. We don’t work for you,” Biden said. “You work for us, not just billionaires and millionaires. You know, this is democracy. And the fact of the matter is that there are no kings in democracies. None. None. But you act in a way that embarrasses the nation.”

Biden said Trump and the GOP were cutting health care programs and driving up costs, adding that more than 300 rural hospitals in America, including two in Nebraska, are expected to shut down.

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“Folks, I’ve never said this my whole career. I think it’s immoral. It’s un-American. It’s flat-out wrong,” Biden said.

Biden, who had a bandage on his head, referred to his own battle with cancer and praised the health care workers who have been treating him. He was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer earlier this year.

“I know what cancer research means. Cancer. It’s every family. It hit my family hard, just as so many of yours,” Biden said. “When the love of my life, my oldest son, the attorney general of the state of Delaware, who should have been the president, not me, volunteered to go to Iraq for a year, didn’t have to, came back with stage four glioblastoma because he lived in a burn pit just like those guys did on 9/11, and he died.”

Biden also took aim at Trump’s plans to build a new ballroom at the White House after bulldozing the East Wing, calling it “the perfect symbol of his presidency.”

“When I left the presidency, President Trump was going to take a wrecking ball to the country, but I had no idea it would be an actual wrecking ball,” Biden said. “Anyone see what he’s done to the East Wing of the people’s house? Trump has taken a wrecking ball not only to the people’s house, but to the Constitution, to the rule of law, to our very democracy.”

He also accused Trump of “deliberately making hunger worse” and claimed “one in five children go to bed hungry every night.”

He mocked Trump for holding a “Great Gatsby” themed Halloween party at Mar-a-Lago while cutting food aid for millions, saying it showed “who he is.”

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“On Friday, everyone dressed up like the rich folks they are from the Roaring Twenties and on Saturday he cut assistance to 40 million Americans,” Biden said.

The White House did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration on Friday intensified its dispute with South Africa, saying no U.S. government official will attend the G20 Summit in Johannesburg in protest of what it describes as state-backed discrimination against White Afrikaners.

“The lives and property of Afrikaners have been endangered by politicians who incite race-based violence against them, threaten to confiscate their farms without compensation, and prop up a corrupt race-based scoring system that discriminates against Afrikaners in employment,” State Department Deputy Principal spokesperson Tommy Piggott told Fox News Digital.

“South Africa must immediately end all government-sponsored discrimination against Afrikaners and condemn those who seek to ignite racial violence against them.”

TRUMP PICKS HIS MIAMI DORAL RESORT TO HOST 2026 G20 SUMMIT IN FLORIDA DURING NATION’S ANNIVERSARY YEAR

Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday that it’s a “total disgrace” the G20, scheduled for Nov. 22 and Nov. 23, will be held in South Africa.

“Afrikaners (People who are descended from Dutch settlers, and also French and German immigrants) are being killed and slaughtered, and their land and farms are being illegally confiscated,” the president said. “No U.S. Government Official will attend as long as these Human Rights abuses continue. I look forward to hosting the 2026 G20 in Miami, Florida!”

Afrikaners have faced increasing hostility from some politicians who have called for violence against them and the threat of land confiscation.

South Africa’s Expropriation Act of 2024 allows the government to take land for public use, including in some cases without compensation — a policy the government says is aimed at addressing racial inequities in ownership, but one that critics warn could unfairly affect White Afrikaner farmers.

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Trump confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House in May, pressing him on “White genocide” in the country. Ramaphosa vehemently denied the claims. 

“There is just no genocide in South Africa,” he said. “We cannot equate what is alleged to be genocide to what we went through in the struggle because people were killed because of the oppression that was taking place in our country. So you cannot equate that.”

Trump played a video in the Oval Office of white crosses along a highway that he said depicted burial sites of White farmers.

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“Have they told you where that is, Mr. President?” Ramaphosa asked. “I’d like to know where that is, because this I’ve never seen.”

A senior State Department official told Fox News Digital that the Trump administration has set a refugee cap for fiscal year 2026 of 7,500, with a majority of the spots reserved for Afrikaners fleeing what it describes as government-sponsored race-based discrimination in South Africa.

A federal judge ruled in favor of the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday, dismissing felony charges against aircraft giant Boeing in relation to two commercial plane crashes that claimed the lives of 346 people in Indonesia and Ethiopia.

Judge Reed O’Connor accepted the DOJ’s motion to dismiss in the Northern District of Texas.

Boeing, which previously agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the government, made a deal with the Trump administration in May in return for the charges — tied to the Boeing 737 MAX 8 crashes in October 2018 and March 2019 — being dropped.

O’Connor, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush, said that despite some victims’ families’ opposition, the government did not act with bad faith, provided conclusory reasons for its dismissal, and satisfied its obligations under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act, Politico reported.

The non-prosecution agreement requires Boeing to pay more than $1.1 billion in fines, more than $455 million to strengthen the company’s compliance, safety and quality programs, and an additional $445 million for the crash victims’ families, a DOJ spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

BOEING PAYING $1.1B AS DOJ DISMISSES CRIMINAL FRAUD CASE; FAMILIES OF VICTIMS IN CRASHES SET TO OBJECT TO DEAL

“On top of the financial investments, Boeing must continue to improve the effectiveness of its anti-fraud compliance and ethics program and retain an independent compliance consultant,” the spokesperson wrote in a statement to Fox News Digital.

O’Connor noted it disregards the need for the company to be monitored by an unbiased consultant, as Boeing can choose who it hires, and said he understood families may be disappointed the agreement “fails to secure the necessary accountability to ensure the safety of the flying public,” according to the report.

Tracy Brammeier, partner of Clifford Law Offices who serves on the plaintiff’s team, said there would be a quick appeal of O’Connor’s Thursday ruling.

“The judge recognizes there is a miscarriage of justice on the part of the government’s decision not to prosecute the case, and that this was not in the best interest of the public, which the government serves,” Brammeier wrote in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Unfortunately, he feels the power to right this wrong is limited by legal precedent. The families are disappointed by the outcome but will act quickly to protect the interests of the families and the public on appeal.”

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Three cases involving families of victims in the 2019 crash were settled Wednesday after jury selection, including a case on behalf of a 28-year-old mother from Kenya who left behind a daughter and her parents, Clifford Law Offices wrote in a news release.

The other two cases that settled were that of a 38-year-old father of seven from Yemen and Kenya, and a 30-year-old father of three from the UK and Kenya, who left behind a pregnant wife, according to Clifford Law Offices.

Flight ET-302 crashed in March 2019 shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport in Ethiopia, heading to Kenya and killing all 157 on board.

According to the attorneys, nearly a dozen cases related to the two crashes remain unresolved.

A DOJ spokesperson told Fox News Digital “victims are at the heart of the Department’s mission” and the Boeing case is no exception. 

“Rather than allow for protracted litigation, this agreement provides finality for the victims and requires Boeing to act now,” the spokesperson wrote in a statement. “As the Court recognized, the Department in good faith complied with its statutory obligations and met extensively with the crash victims’ families. While they are all experiencing grief, and nothing will diminish their losses, the victims have expressed a broad set of views regarding the resolution, ranging from support to disagreement. Ultimately, in applying the facts, the law, and Department policy, we are confident that this resolution is the most just outcome.”

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A Boeing spokesperson told Fox News Digital the company is “committed to honoring the obligations of our agreement with the Department of Justice … [and] to continuing the significant efforts we have made as a company to strengthen our safety, quality, and compliance programs.”