NationalWatch

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., attacked the Trump administration’s immigration efforts on Wednesday, which he claimed were opposed by Americans.

Jeffries’ comments came during his near-daily government shutdown press conference in response to a reporter asking an unrelated question about whether Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) needed scaling back.

“We’ve all been very outspoken as it relates to the out-of-control behavior unleashed on law-abiding immigrant communities by masked agents hiding their identity and far too often violating the rule of law, often directed at people who are American citizens,” the top House Democrat answered.

“It’s all unacceptable, and it’s one of the reasons why the American people have turned on Donald Trump and Republicans with respect to their extreme immigration policies,” he said.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ARRESTED AFTER RAMMING BORDER PATROL IN CHICAGO AMID VIOLENT CLASH WITH PROTESTERS

He then demanded the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) be held “accountable for the overreach and the extremism that they’re being subjected to in terms of what the American people are experiencing.”

“And yet we’re seeing none of that accountability coming from Republicans,” Jeffries continued. “That’s unfortunate, but Democrats will continue to make the case to the American people that this is all abnormal. So much of it is unlawful, and it’s got to stop.”

FBI DIRECTOR KASH PATEL VOWS JUSTICE AFTER DHS AGENT’S VEHICLE RAMMED IN CHICAGO

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital in response, “ICE officers are facing a 1,000% increase in assaults because of unhinged rhetoric from activists and Democrat politicians smearing heroic ICE officers. Anyone who assaults or otherwise harms law enforcement officers will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

Attacks on ICE have increased since Trump took office. A woman from North Texas was arrested this week in connection with a violent attack on an Alvarado ICE facility, according to CBS News.

FBI Director Kash Patel previously called the incident a “planned and coordinated terrorist attack.”

Democrats have spent much of Trump’s first year back in office criticizing the actions of ICE, in particular, homing in on accounts of American citizens being improperly detained by federal authorities.

The majority of Republicans have pushed back, arguing ICE has largely done the necessary work of cracking down on illegal immigration.

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Jeffries’ comments come after Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said the panel would be launching an ICE “tracker” to keep tabs on “incidents” the agency is involved in.

Oversight Democrats’ spokesperson Sara Guerrero said in a statement, “The tracker documents unconstitutional actions after they occur — it is not a live location tool. Creating this kind of investigatory record is routine and essential in any oversight inquiry.”

“We’re not tracking officers’ locations or putting anyone at risk. We’re publishing records to expose patterns of misconduct and to build a transparent public record for the American people. Our work will always protect the public, law enforcement, and the Constitution,” she said.

But House Committee on Administration Chair Bryan Steil, R-Wis., whose panel would have jurisdiction over materials used by Congress, ruled that out.

“The House of Representatives absolutely will not maintain a website that tracks or doxes ICE agents,” Steil said in a statement.

Judges for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Monday cleared the way for President Donald Trump to deploy hundreds of National Guard troops to Portland, handing a major victory to the president in his ongoing federalization fight — but one that might not have much staying power.

The case itself comes amid a fast-moving backdrop of similar court fights playing out across the country, including one challenge that has already been appealed to the Supreme Court.

At issue in Oregon is a 9th Circuit ruling that affirmed Trump’s authority to deploy 200 Oregon National Guard troops to Portland, despite the objections of local and state leaders. 

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 Monday to lift a lower court order blocking Trump from federalizing the National Guard, finding he likely had the authority as president to order the deployments, even if reports of protester violence were overstated.

9TH CIRCUIT COURT RULES ON TRUMP’S NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYMENT IN PORTLAND

Still, the appeals court ruling has limited practical implications, at least for now.

Writing for the majority of the 9th Circuit, Judges Ryan Nelson and Bridget Bade stressed on Monday that they could not evaluate a second emergency order that was issued by the lower court judge late last week, after Trump attempted to deploy federalized National Guard troops from California to the City of Portland. 

The second order from U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut clarified that Trump can not deploy any federalized troops to Portland. 

The past 48 hours have seen a flurry of action from lawyers for the Justice Department and the states of Oregon and California, as the Trump administration asked Immergut to dissolve her second temporary restraining order, in light of the appeals court ruling. 

Meanwhile, lawyers for Oregon and California urged the judge to keep the second emergency order in place until the 9th Circuit can vote on their request to evaluate the case en banc, or in with the full appellate court bench. 

‘UNTETHERED FROM REALITY’: LAWYERS FOR TRUMP, OREGON, SPAR OVER NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYMENT IN COURT CLASH

While Trump, in his first term as president, appointed 10 judges to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, the bench still retains a slight majority of Democrat-appointed judges, by a margin of 16 to 13. 

“The fight is not over,” Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek vowed to reporters on Monday. “Until the district court acts on the second TRO, National Guard members from Oregon, or any other state cannot deploy,” she added. 

Both parties are expected to have more clarity shortly.

As of this writing, the lower court judge has ordered lawyers for the state of Oregon and the Justice Department to appear Friday morning for a status hearing to evaluate the Trump administration’s request for her to dissolve or stay the second emergency order.

Both parties were also ordered to come to Friday’s hearing prepared to discuss the pending en banc vote before the 9th Circuit, which will hold a vote on whether to review the case.

FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP’S NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYMENT TO PORTLAND AMID CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGE

In order to review the case, 15 of the 29 judges on the 9th Circuit must agree to take it up, and further action is expected before Friday.

Otherwise, relief could come in the form of Supreme Court action. The Trump administration appealed to the high court a lower court’s injunction that blocked its deployment of National Guard troops to Chicago. 

In the interim, court challenges continue to play out in the handful of other Democratic-led cities where Trump has launched his federalization effort. A federal judge in Washington, D.C. on Friday will hold a hearing to evaluate the status of Trump’s deployment of some 2,500 National Guard troops in the nation’s capital, after the city’s attorney general suggested in a court filing that the effort could stretch through summer 2026.

The Trump administration also re-filed its motion to stay the district court’s injunction centered on the Chicago deployments to the 7th Circuit of Appeals, citing their victory in the 9th Circuit. 

Trump has sought to deploy hundreds of National Guard troops to Democratic-led cities despite stated opposition from local and state leaders. Senior administration officials have argued that the deployment is a necessary step to crack down on what they say is an uptick in violent crime and protect against threats from protesters, including anti-ICE demonstrations in many downtown areas.

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Democrats have countered that Trump’s descriptions are hyperbolic and inaccurate, and are merely a legal pretext for Trump to try to “federalize” Democratic-led cities. They’ve used news conferences to highlight declines in violent crime, and have argued in court that the effort to deploy federal troops exceeds Trump’s authority as commander-in-chief.

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares blasted Democratic challenger Jay Jones after a court filing indicated the probe into Jones’ I-64 reckless driving arrest remains or is again under criminal investigation.

A court filing obtained by Fox News Digital in New Kent County shows that Commonwealth’s Attorney Scott Renick asked to be recused from the case, citing largely unspecified reasons — a move that indicates an investigation remains active.

“It is not possible for Jay Jones to fulfill the duties of the attorney general while under an open criminal investigation,” Miyares told Fox News Digital after learning of the document, first reported by National Review.

VIRGINIA AG CANDIDATE JAY JONES CONVICTED OF RECKLESS DRIVING, CALLS IT ‘MISTAKE’

“If Jay stays in the race, it shows a contempt for voters never seen in modern Virginia political history.”

Miyares said Jones’ text messages envisioning the murder of then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, already disqualified him from the position, but that Wednesday’s news is icing on the proverbial cake.

“Now we learn that he may have misled the courts to avoid jail time for recklessly driving 116mph. He has not taken accountability for his words or actions,” Miyares said.

WATCH: KAINE DEFENDS JONES AMID AG CANDIDATE’S TEXTS ENVISIONING MURDER OF GOP LEADER: ‘STILL A SUPPORTER’

The order, signed by New Kent County Circuit Judge B. Elliott Bondurant, cites the case Commonwealth v. Jerrauld C. Jones.

Bondurant wrote that Renick advised the court he believed it would be “improper for him to act in the matter currently pending in the General District Court in New Kent County, due to a potential conflict.”

Without extrapolating the conflict further, Bondurant consented to the request and has appointed James City County Commonwealth’s Attorney Nathan R. Green as special prosecutor.

JONES AND MIYARES CLASH OVER MURDER TEXTS AS DEM REPEATEDLY INVOKES TRUMP AT HEATED, HIGH-STAKES DEBATE

Green, whose jurisdiction is adjacent to New Kent, is based out of and also includes the independent city of Williamsburg.

Green will be able to “exercise all powers of the Attorney for the Commonwealth in this matter,” Bondurant wrote.

Questions have also surfaced about the legality and ethics of Jones completing half of his 1,000 community service hours for the reckless driving case through his own political action committee. The remaining 500 hours were logged with the NAACP of Virginia, according to a sworn statement signed by the group’s president, Rev. Cozy Bailey.

JASON MIYARES TOUTS RECORD ON CRIME, FENTANYL AS JONES SCANDAL ROILS VIRGINIA RACE

Fox News Digital has a pending Freedom of Information Act request with New Kent County for any communications between the committee – MOMPAC – and the county as well as the NAACP and the county.

Legal documents obtained by Fox News Digital earlier in October did not indicate whether time logs were also filed along with the sworn certificates of completion of 500 hours each.

Jones was also issued a $1,500 fine for the incident.

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Officials who answered the phone at both the New Kent County Circuit Court and Renick’s office declined to provide details about the investigation referenced in the recusal document, though the court did release a copy of the order to Fox News Digital.

Fox News Digital reached out to Jones for comment for purposes of this story but did not hear back by press time. 

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening…

-Florida mayor predicts ‘substantial exodus’ of NYC businesses if Mamdani wins

–Jack Smith defends subpoenaing Republican senators’ phone records: ‘Entirely proper’

-Republican calls for public database naming illegal immigrants facing deportation

Former top leader of radical group tied to Mamdani has been on AOC’s campaign payroll for years

FIRST ON FOX: A former top leader and “lifetime member” of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) has been on the payroll of “Squad” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s, D-N.Y., campaign since she first ran for Congress in 2018.

Frank Llewellyn, the former director of the largest socialist organization in America and a founding member of the socialist group that would later become DSA’s sister organization, serves as the treasurer for both Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign and her political action committee, Courage to Change.

Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign has paid Llewellyn a total of over $250,000 for payroll, travel and other administrative expenses dating back to 2018, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings reviewed by Fox News Digital. Disbursements range from $77.50 for cellphone, travel and internet stipends and salary payments of $1,281 approximately every two weeks…READ MORE.

White House

WORST OF WORST: DHS arrests worst of VA illegals in the closing days of campaign

DIPLOMACY IN MOTION: Trump meets NATO’s Rutte as Ukraine peace talks take center stage after Zelenskyy visit

FINAL PUSH: Trump jumps into New Jersey race as GOP chases rare flip of governor’s seat

World Stage

TOKYO REBOUND: Japan plans to tell Trump it will build up its military after years of 1% defense spending

‘DAYS OF DESTINY’: Vance hails ‘days of destiny’ as VP seeks to build on ceasefire agreement

PUTIN SAYS NYET: Trump, Zelensky agree on crucial aspect to end Ukraine war: ‘good compromise’
 

ALLY TURNED ENEMY: Alliance with US ‘dismantled’ by leftist Petro regime, Colombia’s former defense minister says

Capitol Hill

FAITH UNDER FIRE: Cruz leads Senate push to hold China accountable for Beijing church crackdown

HEATED STANDOFF: White House slams Jeffries’ dismissal of bill to pay troops as government shutdown enters day 22

Across America 

NUMBERS GAME: Trump-backed North Carolina House map approved by lawmakers as Republicans aim to pick up seat

MAGA MOMENT: MAGA stars hit campaign trail in blue-leaning New Jersey as Republicans aim to flip governor’s office

POLITICAL CALCULUS: Clinton campaign alum urges Jeffries, Schumer not to ‘take the bait,’ get ‘bullied’ into Mamdani endorsement

ELECTION INTEGRITY: California Republicans launch voter ID ballot push, need 875K signatures by deadline

‘SHAME ON YOU’: WATCH: Scathing report exposes what New Yorkers think of sanctuary policies as Mamdani victory looms

RETURN BID: Former GOP senator emerges from private sector with new mission: ‘Somebody has to step up’

ARMED RESISTANCE: Los Angeles teacher says ICE agents are ‘not the only ones with guns’ after federal shooting

Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

“I know that I know nothing” – Socrates

“You don’t know nothing” – Baseball Legend Yogi Berra

Socrates may have been claiming ignorance, Berra was talking about baseball, but both may as well have been talking about the government shutdown.

So when will it end?

“You shouldn’t ask me because I’m the guy who said it’ll only last five days,” Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., said on Fox. “But I will tell you, a couple of Democrat senators recently indicated that they think this is going to go ‘til at least the first of November.”

However, Biggs added that he doesn’t “see an end in sight.”

GOVERNMENT ENTERS LONGEST FULL SHUTDOWN IN US HISTORY WITH NO END IN SIGHT

Whether you are Socrates or Yogi Berra, we don’t know “nothing.” Which technically means that we do know something.

However, I do know proper grammar.

The one thing that I do know in this case is that I don’t know anything about ending the government shutdown.

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN STALLS AS DEMOCRATS DEMAND OBAMACARE SUBSIDY EXTENSION

Regardless… Is it even possible to game out when the government shutdown may end?

Congressional Republicans believed that Democrats would fold after a matter of days once funding lapsed in the wee hours of Oct. 1. Then Republicans argued that Democrats would cry “uncle” once federal workers missed their first paycheck last week. Later, the GOP suggested Democrats would keep the government shuttered through the “No Kings” rallies around the country last weekend.

The GOP argued that Democrats needed to show their base that they were “fighting” against President Donald Trump.

“Now that they had their protests, I just pray that they come to their senses and re-open the government this week,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., accused Republicans of continually changing their reasons for why Democrats are blocking the GOP bill to fund the government.

“In a few days, it will be about something else,” Jeffries said.

So, we enter the ice age of Congressional inactivity as the government shutdown enters its fourth week.

Who could have predicted it?

Then again, who could have predicted thieves could make off with millions of dollars of jewelry inside the Louvre in an historic heist? At least the bandits stole our attention away from the government shutdown for a bit.

SHUTDOWN STANDSTILL: NO HEADWAY UNTIL THERE’S ‘INCENTIVE,’ POLITICOS LAMENT

That said, everyone knows (even if they won’t say it publicly) who will likely end the government shutdown: Trump.

He’s not just the president. Trump has a sway over Republicans in Congress that Ronald Reagan could only envy. So until he joins the fray, the government will remain closed.

“Donald Trump definitively needs to get involved. He needs to get off the sidelines. Get off the golf course and actually decide to end the shutdown that he’s created and that he has allowed to happen,” Jeffries said.

“Donald Trump, instead of leaving the country before he leaves the country, should sit down and negotiate with us so we can address this horrible crisis,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “The president should meet with us. It’s not me, him or anything political. It’s that the people are in crisis every day.”

The president did meet with lawmakers this week, holding court with Senate Republicans for lunch in the renovated Rose Garden.

“Did you notice the white marble floor?” quipped the president.

But Democrats contend that Trump huddled with the wrong party. Schumer characterized it as “a Rose Garden pep rally.”

Trump implored Democrats to bend – and vote for the GOP spending bill.

“They’re getting killed in the polls,” he said.

SCREAMING MATCH ERUPTS BETWEEN HAKEEM JEFFRIES, MIKE LAWLER AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CHAOS CONTINUES

“Shouldn’t the president get involved in negotiations at this stage to end this?” yours truly asked Johnson.

“We’re not going [to] pay a ransom to reopen the federal government,” replied the speaker.

“Isn’t the only key to end this shutdown to just have a sit-down negotiation with both sides?” I countered.

“Republicans have nothing to offer to Democrats,” replied Johnson.

In fact, some Republicans argued that Trump shouldn’t even negotiate.

“If I’ve learned anything about President Trump, it’s his timing. I think that he feels like the timing is not right now. We’re winning the messaging war,” said Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan. “So there’ll be a time. But the time is not ripe yet.”

It’s unclear when that time may come, considering that the government has remained shuttered for more than three weeks.

And two weeks ago, Republicans torched Schumer for declaring things got “better” for Democrats the longer the shutdown dragged on, but shutdown fatigue is now setting in on Capitol Hill.

BATTLEGROUND REPUBLICANS HOLD THE LINE AS JOHNSON PRESSURES DEMS ON SHUTDOWN

“Welcome to day 22 of the Democrats’ shutdown,” Johnson declared at the now sonorous daily press briefings delivered by both sides.

“This does suck,” said Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., on Fox Business about the shutdown.

Lawmakers are now seeking shutdown daylight.

“The hope is that we get this shutdown resolved before the end of the month,” Jeffries said.

There’s worry about how the shutdown might impact national parks.

“(Here are) the more negative consequences that we’ll start to see without regular staffing. Litter will pile up and park ecosystems will be affected,” said House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman, R-Ark.

Both parties are convinced they’re prevailing in the shutdown.

“What I did hear on our telephone town hall repeatedly (is) ‘Don’t you guys give into these hostage takers,’” said Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho. “I heard that repeatedly.”

“It’s resonating with Americans. What I’m hearing from people in Connecticut is ‘hang tough,’” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.

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The Senate holds a test vote Thursday on a bill to pay essential workers who are on the job without a paycheck, but Democrats are skeptical.

“I’d be in favor of paying the federal workers,” said Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt. “That bill, unfortunately, gives a lot of latitude to the president to pick and choose, or, I should say, (White House Budget Director) Russell Vought to pick and choose (who gets paid).”

So while shutdown weariness sets in, no one knows when it might end.

It is said that knowing what you don’t know actually constitutes true knowledge.

And if no one knows the end of the shutdown, that must mean that everyone is pretty smart.

Maine Democrat Graham Platner, a first-time Senate candidate backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., says he has covered up a tattoo widely recognized as a Nazi symbol after critics unearthed old social media posts and demanded he quit the race.

Platner’s campaign is facing intense scrutiny after it was revealed he once had a skull-and-crossbones tattoo resembling the Totenkopf used by Hitler’s SS paramilitary forces. 

Platner said he got the tattoo in 2007 during a “night of drinking” while on leave in Croatia in the Marine Corps and claimed he did not know its historical associations at the time. He has since covered the image with another tattoo.

DELETED POSTS URGING VIOLENCE HAUNT DEMOCRATIC SENATE HOPEFUL IN MAINE RACE

In a video posted to Instagram Wednesday afternoon, Platner elaborated that the design was chosen from a flash tattoo wall while “carousing” with fellow Marines in Split, Croatia. 

“We thought it looked cool,” he said. 

He claimed he had “lived a life dedicated to anti-fascism, anti-racism and anti-Nazism” and was “appalled” to learn it resembled a hate symbol.

Platner said he had never been questioned about the tattoo during his service and passed Army background checks.

He told The Associated Press he chose to cover rather than remove the tattoo due to a lack of removal services near his home in rural Maine.

“Going to a tattoo removal place is going to take a while,” Platner said. “I wanted this thing off my body.”

In the video, Platner said he had the symbol inked over with a Celtic knot and imagery of dogs, a tribute to his family pets. 

“This far more represents who I am now than even the skull and crossbones did,” he said, lifting his shirt to reveal the new tattoo.

REPUBLICAN LAWMAKER DIRECTS INVESTIGATION AFTER SWASTIKA VANDALISM DISCOVERED IN DC OFFICE

The controversy comes on the heels of deleted Reddit posts in which Platner appeared to mock military sexual assault victims, criticize police and make racially-charged comments about tipping. 

Platner since apologized and blamed the posts on depression and PTSD after his military service in Afghanistan. He has vowed to stay in the race and has the backing of Sanders.

Jordan Wood, a Democratic rival in the primary and former chief of staff to Rep. Katie Porter, is calling on Platner to drop out.

“Graham Platner’s Reddit comments and Nazi SS Totenkopf tattoo are disqualifying and not who we are as Mainers or as Democrats,” Wood said in a statement. “With Donald Trump and his sycophants demonizing Americans, spewing hate and running roughshod over the Constitution, Democrats need to be able to condemn Trump’s actions with moral clarity. Graham Platner no longer can.”

Platner said he believes the controversy is part of his life story, not disqualifying.

“I don’t look at this as a liability. I look at this as a life that I have lived, a journey that has been difficult, that has been full of struggle, that has also gotten me to where I am today,” Platner told the AP. “And I’m very proud of who I am.”

He blamed “establishment” forces for amplifying the backlash to derail his campaign. 

“Every second we spend talking about a tattoo I got in the Marine Corps is a second we don’t talk about Medicare for all,” Platner said in the video.

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He is running in a packed Democratic primary against Wood and two-term Gov. Janet Mills. 

GOP Sen. Susan Collins, who has held the seat for three decades, has not yet commented on the controversy.

Sanders and Collins did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Speaking from the Oval Office on Wednesday evening, President Donald Trump said the U.S. will “hit” drug smugglers attempting to enter the U.S. by land after a series of lethal strikes on cartel boats at sea.

The president was questioned about his use of military force to crack down on drug smugglers in the Caribbean and Pacific following the eighth such strike in recent weeks.

Trump acknowledged “it is violent” but said that “every one of those boats that gets knocked out is saving 25,000 American lives.”

“We have the greatest military in the world. We have the greatest weapons in the world. And you see a little bit of it there, one shot, every one dead center. And the only way you can’t feel bad about it is you realize … that every time you see that happen, you’re saving 25,000 American lives.

TRUMP’S WAR ON CARTELS ENTERS NEW PHASE AS EXPERTS PREDICT WHAT’S NEXT

“Whenever I see that, I say to myself, I just saved 25,000 lives.”

Trump said, after these strikes, “there are very few boats traveling on the water, so now they’ll come in by land to a lesser extent.

“And they will be hit on land also.”

Pressed on whether he has legal authority to unleash strikes on drug smugglers on U.S. territory, Trump answered confidently, “Yes, we do.”

TRUMP ADMIN ON PACE TO SHATTER DEPORTATION RECORD BY END OF FIRST YEAR: ‘JUST THE BEGINNING’

“We have legal authority. We’re allowed to do that,” he said, noting that “if we do it by land, we may go back to Congress.

“We’ll probably go back to Congress and explain exactly what we’re doing when we come to the land. We don’t have to do that.

“This is a national security problem,” Trump added. “They killed 300,000 Americans last year, and that gives you legal authority.

“We will hit them very hard when they come in by land. They haven’t experienced that yet, but now we’re totally prepared to do that.

TRUMP REFUSES TO RULE OUT STRIKING VENEZUELA. WHAT’S NEXT FOR TRUMP’S WAR ON DRUGS?

“Something very serious is going to happen. The equivalent of what’s happening by sea. And we’re going to Congress just to tell them what we’re doing, just to keep them informed. But we have to do it for national security. We have to do it to save lives.”

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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday that, at Trump’s direction, the military carried out its first kinetic strike on “narco-terrorists” in the Eastern Pacific. This was the eighth such strike in recent weeks.

New York City mayoral contenders relentlessly criticized their opponents as they made their final pitch to voters Wednesday night in the last debate before early voting starts this Saturday. 

Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, Independent candidate and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa once again traded barbs on the debate stage, meeting for the second time in less than a week.

Wednesday’s debate at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City came as billionaires called for Sliwa to drop out of the mayoral race this week to consolidate support for Cuomo against Mamdani, and as more than 650 rabbis nationwide, including those from the largest New York City synagogues, signed an open letter condemning Mamdani for what they said was anti-Israel rhetoric. 

‘TIME FOR A CHANGE’: OUTSIDE 30 ROCK, NEW YORKERS TRADE CHANTS AND ARGUMENTS DURING TENSE MAYORAL SHOWDOWN

TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM FIERY NYC MAYORAL DEBATE: ‘HE LITERALLY HAS NEVER HAD A JOB’

Both issues were on full display Wednesday night, as the moderators pressed Sliwa about staying in the race and Mamdani fielded questions about his support for Israel. 

When asked if Mamdani has any regrets about his “longstanding” anti-Israel views, the Democratic socialist affirmed his commitment to protecting Jewish New Yorkers. 

“You won’t denounce ‘globalize the intifada,’ which means, ‘Kill Jews.’ There’s unprecedented fear in New York. It was not several rabbis. It was 650 rabbis who signed the letter, not several,” Cuomo said. While Mamdani refused to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada” during the primary, he has since said he would “discourage” others from using the slogan. 

“I’ve heard from Jewish New Yorkers about their fears about antisemitism in this city and what they deserve is a leader who takes it seriously, who roots it out of these five boroughs, not one who weaponizes it as a means by which to score political points on a debate stage,” Mamdani fired back in a fiery moment on the debate stage. 

Sliwa also chimed in, telling Mamdani that Jewish New Yorkers are “frightened” and “scared.”

“They view you as the arsonist who fanned the flames of antisemitism,” Sliwa charged, while accusing him of being in support of the “global jihad.” New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand had to issue an apology earlier this year for “mischaracterizing Mamdani’s record” when she made the same implication. 

“I have never, not once, spoken in support of global jihad,” Mamdani said. “That is not something that I have said and that continues to be ascribed to me. And frankly, I think much of it has to do with the fact that I am the first Muslim candidate to be on the precipice of winning this election.”

Moderators for the final New York City mayoral debate were Spectrum News NY1 Political Anchor Errol Louis, WNYC’s Brian Lehrer and THE CITY’s Katie Honan. 

The first question posed to candidates during Wednesday’s debate focused on the federal raid in New York City’s Chinatown neighborhood on Tuesday that led to the arrest of nine migrants from West Africa who were in the United States illegally, according to the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

All three candidates agreed that the Trump administration was beyond its jurisdiction on Tuesday. Cuomo called the raid “dangerous.”

“You don’t send ICE in without coordinating with our police,” Cuomo said, arguing he would have personally called President Donald Trump if he was mayor to tell him the administration was “way out of bounds.” Sliwa agreed that the matter should have been left up to the NYPD. 

Mamdani took the criticism a step further, calling ICE a “reckless entity that cares little for the law and even less for the people that they’re supposed to serve,” and urging an “end to the chapter of collaboration between City Hall and the federal government, which we’ve seen under” Mayor Eric Adams, who is no longer seeking re-election and built a reputation for his willingness to collaborate with the Trump administration on immigration reform. 

At one point, candidates were allowed to ask their opponents a question, sparking a tense moment between Cuomo and Mamdani. Cuomo questioned how Mamdani could pose for a photo with an anti-LGBTQ advocate. Mamdani said had he known, he wouldn’t have agreed to take the picture. 

Mamdani clapped back, asking Cuomo,”What do you say to the 13 women that you sexually harassed?” Cuomo has continued to deny the allegations and said the cases were dropped. 

The latest Fox News survey, conducted Oct. 10-14, ahead of the first general election debate last week, revealed that Mamdani has gained a substantial lead in the New York City mayoral race as voters see him as the best candidate to tackle the city’s top problems. 

According to the poll, Mamdani has a 21-point lead among New York City registered voters with 49% of voters backing Mamdani, while 28% go for Cuomo and 13% favor Sliwa. Mamdani also rose above the 50% threshold among likely voters, garnering 52% support, while Cuomo picked up 28%, and Sliwa received just 14%.

But as Mamdani, ever the social media-savvy candidate, warned his followers on Wednesday, it was Cuomo who was the favorite to win the nomination just weeks before the Democratic primary. By consolidating support with New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, cross-endorsing each other to topple Cuomo through ranked-choice voting, Mamdani pulled the political upset that has since landed him on the national stage. 

Since winning the primary, Trump has labeled Mamdani a “100% Communist Lunatic” and “my little Communist.” Mamdani has rejected that moniker, affirming that he is a democratic socialist. 

Nevertheless, the odd-year election has captivated a national audience at a time when Democrats are still grappling with devastating losses last year. And with Trump back in the White House, Democrats nationwide are seeking to capitalize on growing discontent over Trump’s sweeping, second-term agenda. 

Less than two hours before candidates took the stage on Wednesday, The New York Times reported that Mamdani intends to keep New York City Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Jessica Tisch on as his police commissioner if elected in November, citing two senior campaign aides and two more sources who were briefed on the plans. 

“I can confirm that reporting,” Mamdani said on the debate stage. “My administration will be relentless in its pursuit of safety and affordability for every New Yorker, and the delivery of that will require us to put together a team of the best and the brightest.”

Mamdani applauded Tisch for taking on a “broken status quo charter to deliver accountability, rooting out corruption and reducing crime across the five boroughs.” Cuomo and Sliwa also confirmed they would keep her on as commissioner if elected. 

The Democratic nominee has faced a slew of criticism on the campaign trial for his past comments, including calling the NYPD “racist, anti‑queer & a major threat to public safety” in 2020, among other insults. Mamdani made a public apology to the NYPD during a Fox News interview last week. 

Ahead of those competitive midterm elections expected next year, Republicans have already seized on Mamdani’s progressive politics, including Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who is considering a run for governor. Her campaign said in a recent statement, “Kathy Hochul literally has endorsed a full blown jihadist pro-terrorism Mayor of New York City.”

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Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., endorsed Mamdani last month after previously withholding her support. Fellow New York Democrats House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have still yet to coalesce behind the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, although Jeffries indicated this week that a decision is imminent. 

This week, Red Apple Media CEO John Catsimatidis and hedge fund CEO Bill Ackman, urged Sliwa to drop out of the race, arguing that a vote for Sliwa is a vote for Mamdani. The New York Post editorial board even joined the calls for Sliwa to drop out, but the Republican nominee has maintained that he is staying in the race. 

Fox News’ Kirill Clark contributed to this report. 

Democrats pulled out all the stops on Wednesday to delay the vote on a short-term spending bill to reopen the government — the 12th time the Senate has considered the measure since the government entered a shutdown on Oct. 1.

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., embarked on a nearly 24-hour speech at 6:23 p.m. on Tuesday, concluding his remarks at 5:00 p.m. the next day. Merkley, 68, warned viewers of the authoritarianism he said had become a facet of the Trump administration.

“Be aware and worried about the possibility of the use of an emergency in order to expand authoritarian power. That’s the position we’re in now in the United States of America. Authoritarianism with a rubber-stamp Congress, a court that’s delivering more and more power to the executive and an executive who has a well-planned strategy,” Merkley said in his remarks.

JOHNSON WARNS US ‘BARRELING TOWARD ONE OF THE LONGEST SHUTDOWNS’ IN HISTORY

“Republicans have shut down the government to continue the strategy of slashing Americans’ healthcare,” he said.

His speech comes as lawmakers remain gridlocked over federal funding for 2026. Whereas Republicans in the House of Representatives have passed a short-term funding bill to keep the government open through Nov. 21, Democrats in the Senate have voted a dozen times to defeat the package.

The Senate once again failed to advance the package on Wednesday. It failed in a 54-46 vote. 

Democrats, led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., have demanded an extension of COVID-era supplemental funding for Obamacare healthcare subsidies that are set to sunset in 2025. 

SCREAMING MATCH ERUPTS BETWEEN HAKEEM JEFFRIES, MIKE LAWLER AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CHAOS CONTINUES

Republicans need the support of seven Democrats to overcome the 60-vote threshold to overcome a filibuster. The GOP holds 53 seats in the chamber. 

Merkley, who came close to breaking Sen. Cory Booker’s 25-hour and 4-minute record that was set earlier this year, put the shutdown blame on Republicans throughout his discourse.

Booker praised Merkley’s stalling efforts online.

“Listening to Senator Jeff Merkley for over 22 hours, it is clear that we need to stand up for our democracy. We must continue to call out and counter Trump’s authoritarian tactics. Thank you, Jeff!” Booker said in a post on X. 

BOOKER CONCLUDES RECORD 25-HOUR SPEECH AGAINST TRUMP, MUSK, MARKING THE LONGEST EVER ON THE SENATE FLOOR

On the issue of authoritarianism, which comprised the bulk of Merkley’s remarks, Merkley decried what he saw as the Trump administration’s attempts to push the limits on executive power — like its deployment of the National Guard to urban areas.

“If you remove a clear standard as to whether there is a rebellion and just say a president can deploy the military on a whim in places he doesn’t like against peaceful protesters to distract Americans or to exercise a suppression of dissent, then you have flung the doors open to tyranny. To a strongman state,” Merkley said. 

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President Donald Trump has deployed the National Guard to Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Chicago, Memphis, and Portland, Oregon, citing a need to protect law enforcement and government operations in those cities.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, said Wednesday she would “strongly consider” a run for the U.S. Senate, telling SiriusXM’s “The Lurie Daniel Favors Show” that recent polling suggests she would be a top contender in the Texas Democratic primary.

During the interview, Favors asked Crockett about her district redrawn by the Texas legislature and whether she planned to continue running to represent her new district.

Crockett said she had no idea where she might run, noting that she and her team are waiting for the court to issue a final ruling on whether the new district lines will go into effect. If the lines change, she said, she will be moved to another district.

“The other option is every other day there’s a poll that comes out that makes it clear that I can win the primary for the U.S. Senate race in Texas, and I am looking, because if you want to take my seat of 766,000 away, I feel like there has to be some karma in that to where I take your seat that is for 30 million away,” Crockett said.

TEXAS GOP’S NEW MAP WOULD MOVE REP. CROCKETT’S HOME OUT OF HER DISTRICT, SLASH DEM SEATS

“The primary is the primary. That’s cool. But, you gotta win in general, so we are doing some testing here shortly to see if I can expand the electorate,” she added.

Crockett said she does not put much stock in traditional polling, arguing it fails to capture voters who don’t typically participate in elections. She added that both Barack Obama and President Donald Trump succeeded by inspiring nontraditional voters, saying pollsters often overlook those who might be motivated to vote for the first time.

She said the key to winning in Texas is not relying on the existing electorate but expanding it. Crockett told the host she is studying polling data to identify which demographics could be mobilized and said that if she believes the electorate can be broadened enough, she would “strongly consider” entering the U.S. Senate race.

CROCKETT CHEERS TEXAS DEMS FLEEING TO DELAY CONGRESSIONAL MAPS BACKED BY ‘RIDICULOUS TYRANT’ TRUMP: ‘DEUCES!’

Fox News Digital reached out to Crockett’s team for comment on the matter.

Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, signed a new congressional map into law in August, securing an additional five Republican-leaning U.S. House districts ahead of competitive midterm elections expected in 2026.

The Republican-controlled Texas House and Senate passed the new map through their respective chambers last week, following weeks of Lone Star State Democrats breaking quorum and fleeing the state to avoid a redistricting vote.

CROCKETT CRITICIZES AOC AND BERNIE SANDERS’ ‘FIGHTING OLIGARCHY’ TOUR FOR MAKING IT ABOUT THEMSELVES

Crockett’s comments come after a year of statements that have drawn controversy.

Last month, she was a guest on CNN’s “The Arena” when she said critics who believe “Hitler” and “fascist” comparisons contribute to political violence were “absolutely wrong.”

Host Kasie Hunt asked Crockett during the show to respond to critics who pointed fingers at Democrats who use those terms and asked whether she thought they contribute to political violence.

JASMINE CROCKETT ALLEGEDLY TRIED ‘SHUTTING DOWN’ ATLANTIC PIECE AFTER REPORTER CONTACTED OTHER DEMOCRATS

“They’re absolutely wrong,” Crockett said. “Here’s the reality: They don’t want the American people to know any forms of history. We know that there was news out today about the president going after yet more historical information.

“The reality is that when we look at what is taking place, when you look at an authoritarian, and what they do is they try to basically say you have to do whatever the government says, even if that means that your personal freedoms are going to be subjected to whatever we say, whether it’s right or wrong. Right now, our personal freedoms are constantly under attack,” she said.

Crockett also appeared to mock Abbott, who is paralyzed from the waist down and uses a wheelchair, while speaking at a Human Rights Campaign event in March.

“Y’all know we got Governor Hot Wheels down there – come on now! And the only thing hot about him is that he is a hot a– mess, honey,” Crockett said.

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The remark resurfaced as Crockett was already facing heavy criticism for other recent statements calling for Elon Musk to be “taken down” and for Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to be “knocked over the head, like hard.”

Fox News Digital’s Peter Pinedo, Deirdre Heavey and Alex Miller contributed to this report.

The government shutdown meandered into its 22nd day with no end in sight after a 12th GOP attempt to reopen the government was stalled and then blocked by Senate Democrats on Wednesday evening. 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus kneecapped Republicans’ bid to reopen the government for the 12th time. The latest failed vote comes as Schumer has demanded another meeting with President Donald Trump and on the heels of an almost 24-hour filibuster by Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore, that pushed the vote late into Wednesday.

During his marathon floor speech, which began at 6:23 pm on Tuesday, Merkley spoke on authoritarianism — what he called the Trump Administration’s overreach on immigration, separation of powers, and more.

“Republicans have shut down the government to continue the strategy of slashing Americans’ healthcare,” Merkley said, referring to the healthcare-centered debate holding up consideration of the government’s funding.

He concluded his remarks at 5:00 p.m. on Wed.

Little has changed in the upper chamber since the shutdown began. Schumer and the Senate Democratic caucus demand that there be a real, ironclad deal to extend expiring Obamacare subsidies, while Senate Republicans remain adamant that there is no path forward available on the matter until the government is reopened.

SCHUMER REQUESTS MEETING WITH TRUMP ‘ANY TIME, ANY PLACE’ AS DEMOCRAT STALEMATE DRAGS ON

But what is old is new in a repeating cycle, and Schumer wants to meet with Trump again.

Schumer, speaking on behalf of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., requested another meeting with Trump ahead of the vote in a bid to go around Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and congressional Republicans to secure a deal.

There have been informal talks — more casual conversation than true negotiation — between Republicans and Democrats, but nothing has materialized that puts lawmakers any closer to solving the ongoing stalemate.

“Hakeem and I reached out to the president today and urged him to sit down and negotiate with us to resolve the healthcare crisis, address it and end the Trump shutdown,” Schumer said. “He should sit — the things get worse every day for the American people. He should sit down with us, negotiate in a serious way before he goes away.”

The last time the top congressional Democrats met with Trump came just a day before the climactic vote to avert a shutdown. Neither side walked away with a compromise, or agreement, to keep the lights on.

SENATE DEMS EMBOLDENED BY WEEKEND RALLIES BLOCK GOP PLAN TO END SHUTDOWN FOR 11TH TIME

Fast-forward to the shutdown’s fourth week, and Trump signaled he’d speak with Schumer and Jeffries — only after the government is reopened.

“The government has to be open,” he said. “You know how long it will take for them to do that? Just say, ‘OK, government is open.’ That’s it. There is nothing — They’re not negotiating.”  

“What they’re doing is saying they lost the negotiation,” Trump continued. “And when we got the great ‘big beautiful [bill]’ done, they lost the negotiation. Now they’re saying, ‘Well, we want to get some of the things we lost.’ But the problem is the things they lost are very bad for our country.”

Congressional Democrats’ initial demands, made in a counter-proposal to the House-passed continuing resolution (CR), called for a permanent extension to the enhanced Obamacare premium tax credits and guardrails on Trump’s ability to claw back congressionally approved funding, among other things.

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

A White House official doubled down on Trump’s position and told Fox News Digital, “We will not have policy conversations while the Democrats are holding the American people hostage. Reopen the government.”

While Democrats desire more than just an extension to the COVID-19-era subsidy, they’ve made their primary argument all about the tax credits.

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Thune offered Senate Democrats a vote on the subsidies, but so far they have declined to take the leap and instead are holding out for a guaranteed outcome in the shutdown fight. However, that is unlikely to come as Republicans and the White House, so far, are equally dug in against Schumer’s demands.

“I think [Trump] wants the Democrats to take ‘yes’ for an answer,” Thune said. “We’ve offered them a lot of the things they were asking for — a normal appropriations process, an opportunity to get a vote on some of the things that they want to see voted on, with respect to the expiring Obamacare enhanced subsidies. But that can’t happen until we open up the government.”

Over a decade ago, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, predicted that healthcare premiums would skyrocket, even in the face of subsidies put into effect under Obamacare that were meant to bring them down. 

Today, the ballooning of those premiums and their accompanying subsidies are at the center of the 22-day shutdown that looks poised to get longer still.

“Despite Obamacare subsidies, many Americans will still be paying higher premiums in 2014 as a result of Obamacare,” Cruz said in 2013, referring to the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES AT CENTER OF DEM SHUTDOWN FIGHT ‘FUEL’ HEALTHCARE COST INFLATION, CONSERVATIVES SAY

HOUSE DEMOCRATS THREATEN SHUTDOWN FIGHT TO PROTECT OBAMACARE PERKS

In his 2013 floor speech, Cruz pointed to research from Avik Roy, a healthcare researcher who, at the time, was a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Roy’s research made the case that subsidies passed by the Obama administration would do little to stop government-backed healthcare plans from growing more expensive over time or competing effectively with non-government-backed plans. 

But even those forecasts have paled in comparison to the costs of the government’s emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The subsidies under Obamacare have vastly expanded in recent years. An emergency provision included in President Joe Biden’s 2021 American Rescue Plan widened the range of eligible applicants as a response to the global pandemic. 

Now that those COVID-era provisions are set to sunset at the end of 2025, an expiration date set by Democrats themselves, Democrats are voicing alarm that Obamacare policyholders will have to shoulder the costs of health insurance without the enhanced supplemental aid. 

‘THE PANDEMIC’S OVER’: GOP, DEM SENATORS SPAR ON CAMERA OVER COSTLY OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES

According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan think tank that focuses on fiscal policy, continuing the expanded credits could cost upwards of $30 billion annually. Findings by KFF, a healthcare policy group, say that over 90% of the 24 million Obamacare enrollees make use of the enhanced credits.

KFF analysis indicates that the enhanced premium tax credits saved subsidized enrollees an average of $705 last year. 

Democrats in Congress, led by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have demanded some sort of extension to the already expanded COVID-era subsidies as a condition for passing spending legislation to end the current government shutdown, which is now the longest full shutdown in history.

Republicans, who maintain that the subsidies are completely unrelated to government funding considerations, have said lawmakers will address the subsidies when the government is open again.

The most conservative members in Congress have said cutting back on the subsidies is key to returning the government to pre-COVID levels of funding.

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Lawmakers in the Senate have voted 11 times on a short-term spending extension meant to keep the government open through Nov. 21 but have so far failed to move past the gridlock over the enhanced premium tax credits.

Cruz did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

A pilots association jumped into the government shutdown fray Wednesday, calling on U.S. lawmakers to pass a “clean continuing resolution” and reopen the government, citing the mounting strain the shutdown has placed on airport employees. 

“Our air traffic controllers and the broader air traffic system are already operating under immense pressure — a government shutdown only compounds that stress and threatens the efficiency of our skies as we see the impact of reduced controller availability at facilities across the country,” Jody Reven, president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, wrote in a Wednesday statement. 

“Likewise, TSA professionals continue to show up every day to safeguard the traveling public, even without pay. These men and women deserve our full support and the certainty of a paycheck,” he continued. 

The government shutdown has persisted since Oct. 1, when Senate lawmakers failed to reach a funding agreement before a midnight deadline. The Trump administration and Republicans have since pinned blame for the shutdown on Democrats, claiming they sought taxpayer-funded medical benefits for illegal immigrants. 

NOEM AIRS CLIP BLASTING DEMOCRATS FOR GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN AT EVERY AIRPORT IN AMERICA

Democrats, however, have denied the claims and pinned blame for the shutdown on their Republican colleagues. 

The shutdown has led to delays at massive travel hubs such as Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and Newark, New Jersey, as air traffic controllers — who are employed by the Federal Aviation Administration — suffer staffing shortages. 

Reven’s statement comes as travelers gear up for holiday flights for Thanksgiving and Christmas, with a White House official telling Fox News Digital that as the shutdown continues, it “threatens to ruin the holidays.” The 2025 holiday season is expected to break travel records as Americans book trips at a higher pace than 2024, travel forecasters reported in October.

“There is no reason the Democrat shutdown should have ever happened, let alone last this long,” the official said. “But the longer it goes on, the more it threatens to ruin the holidays, not only for the Americans missing paychecks but also for every American that travels during the holidays.” 

The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association’s press release specifically called on lawmakers to pass a budget as the nation’s entire National Airspace System depends on it. 

TRUMP’S WEEK IN REVIEW: SHUTDOWN SHOWDOWNS AND ARMED CARTEL CONFLICT

“Pass a clean Continuing Resolution, return to Washington, and work in a bipartisan manner to address the challenges each side is so passionate about,” it stated. “Our National Airspace System, the workers that support it, and the traveling public depend on it.” 

When approached for comment on the statement, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers demanded Democrats “stop causing chaos.”

“Democrats say that every day of the shut down gets better and that they want to use suffering families as leverage to achieve their radical left-wing agenda — but the people they’re using as ‘leverage’ disagree,” Rogers said. “From pilots to flight attendants and air traffic controllers, their message is simple: the Democrats need to stop causing chaos and end the shutdown.” 

The Air Line Pilots Association, the world’s largest airline pilot union, also called on lawmakers to reopen the government earlier in October. 

“The job of keeping aviation safe and secure is tough on an easy day, but forcing them to do it without pay undermines the safety and security of our entire system,” Jason Ambrosi, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, said in a statement Oct. 15. “We are at a critical moment in aviation safety, and we need our leaders to be focused on the necessary infrastructure and staffing improvements.” 

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

President Donald Trump accused Senate Democrats of “holding the entire federal government hostage” Tuesday while demanding the government reopen by passing a “clean, bipartisan CR.” 

“They are the obstructionists,” he said. “And the reason they’re doing it is because we’re doing so well. We’re doing well all over the world.” 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday that he and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., reached out to Trump to request a meeting to negotiate an end to the shutdown. 

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“Hakeem and I reached out to the president today and urged him to sit down and negotiate with us to resolve the healthcare crisis, address it and end the Trump shutdown,” Schumer said. “He should sit — the things get worse every day for the American people. He should sit down with us, negotiate in a serious way before he goes away.”

Fox News Digital’s Alex Miller contributed to this report. 

FIRST ON FOX: Law enforcement officials have made more than 1,000 arrests and found dozens of missing children in Memphis, Tennessee, as part of President Donald Trump‘s crime crackdown in the notoriously violent city, Fox News Digital learned Wednesday. 

“From arresting more than 100 gang members to locating more than 70 missing children, our brave federal agents and local authorities are doing incredible work to protect the good people of Memphis,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said Wednesday in comment to Fox News Digital. “Tolerating crime is a choice: under President Trump, we refuse to accept the victimization of innocent American citizens and will continue making our cities safe again.” 

A White House official told Fox Digital that there have been 1,309 total arrests since September, when the operation officially launched, including nine arrests for homicide, 52 arrests for sex offenses, 527 for warrants and 132 for firearm offenses. 

Memphis, Tennessee, has long been one of America’s most dangerous cities, frequently ranking in the top spot for violent crime and recording 40.6 homicides per 100,000 people in 2024. 

TRUMP STORMS MOST VIOLENT US CITY WITH FEDERAL MUSCLE AS POLICE GROUP WARNS OF SOFT-ON-CRIME CONSEQUENCES

Trump signed a presidential memorandum Sept. 15 that established the Memphis Safe Task Force and authorized the National Guard to report to the city. 

Tennessee is a red state, with Republican Gov. Bill Lee supporting and encouraging the administration’s efforts to snuff out crime in the city. Lee said during a press conference earlier in October that the crime crackdown could last “forever” as federal officials converge on the city. 

“We do know this is going to last for months, and we have just begun,” Lee said. “In fact, I will tell you that it will last forever.” 

TRUMP ORDERS NATIONAL GUARD, FBI TO MEMPHIS IN NEW CRIME CRACKDOWN

The White House official told Fox News Digital that the operation has located 72 missing children and seized 247 firearms from the streets of Memphis, Tennessee. All in, law enforcement officials made 109 arrests of known gang members associated with groups such as Tren de Aragua or MS-13. 

The official provided Fox News Digital with a snapshot of arrests on the night of Oct. 21, including one man who was arrested on a warrant for aggravated rape of a child, the arrest of a known Grape Street Crip gang member on a warrant for kidnapping, aggravated assault, theft, domestic assault and parole violation, and the arrest of a known Bloods gang member on a warrant for harassment.

A known member of the gang Gangster Disciples, and a known member of the Vice Lords were also arrested Tuesday evening, according to the White House official. 

National Guard troops arrived in the city in September, with Bondi, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller meeting with the task force in Memphis, Tennessee, Oct. 1 to rally the team as the operation launched. 

TRUMP EYES FEDERAL TAKEOVER OF BLUE CITY WITH HIGHEST VIOLENT CRIME RATE IN US: ‘DEEPLY TROUBLED’

Local lawmakers, such as Democrat Rep. Steve Cohen, railed against the operation when it first launched. 

“Memphians are not enemies; they are Americans,” Cohen said, The Associated Press reported in October. “They are entitled to constitutional rights, not their government working to ‘intimidate, demoralize, hunt and kill’ them. We are not a training ground or target practice.”

The Memphis crime crackdown is a piece of a larger puzzle the administration is working on to obliterate crime trends in cities that have been racked by violence since 2020’s crime spiral and before. 

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Trump federalized the Washington, D.C., police force in August in an ongoing effort to end crime in the nation’s capital, and also has ordered troops to crime-riddled cities such as Portland, Oregon, and Chicago, but those operations have been ensnared in court battles. 

“Memphis is deeply troubled,” Trump said on “Fox & Friends” in September. “We’re going to fix that, just like we did in Washington.”

Republicans in California are launching an effort to require voters to show ID before casting their ballots.

Assemblymember Carl DeMaio is raising funds for the initiative through his grassroots organization Reform California. The campaign requires 875,000 signatures in order to show up on the ballot in 2026.

“Voter ID is about restoring not only internal controls to improve the process but restoring public trust and confidence in our democracy,” DeMaio told NBC Bay Area.

“People are harboring concerns about how our elections are being conducted, and it’s hard to show and prove voter fraud because you don’t know how many votes are being fraudulently cast because there are no internal controls or checks,” he said.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION RESURRECTS ‘NEIGHBORHOOD CHECKS’ FOR CITIZENSHIP APPLICANTS LAST USED IN FIRST BUSH-ERA

As of Wednesday, the petition has collected over 300,000 signatures. The petition has 129 days to collect the remaining 575,000 signees.

Across the U.S., 36 states have laws that require voters to present some form of identification to cast a ballot on Election Day. Of those, 24 require photo IDs, according to Ballotpedia.

President Donald Trump signed an election integrity executive order earlier this year that, among other things, required voters to provide proof of citizenship. The effort failed in the courts, however.

CITIZENSHIP VOTER REGISTRATION BILL IS ‘COMMON SENSE,’ GOP LAWMAKER ARGUES

In April, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia struck down the portions of that order that related to voter identification requirements.

Kollar-Kotelly maintained that Trump did not have the authority to issue such an order, as the Constitution delegates control of election regulations to Congress and states.

“Consistent with that allocation of power, Congress is currently debating legislation that would affect many of the changes the President purports to order,” Kollar-Kotelly, a Clinton appointee, wrote in her order. “No statutory delegation of authority to the Executive Branch permits the President to short-circuit Congress’s deliberative process by executive order.”

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A poll from Gallup taken just before the 2024 elections found that 84% of U.S. adults were in favor of requiring voters to show identification and 83% supported requiring proof of citizenship when registering for the first time.

Former special counsel Jack Smith is standing by his 2023 decision to subpoena several Republican lawmakers’ phone records, calling the move “entirely proper” and consistent with Justice Department policy.

Smith said through his lawyers in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital that the subpoenaed data, known as toll records, belonging to eight senators and one House member were carefully targeted to support his investigation into President Donald Trump’s alleged subversion of the 2020 election.

“As described by various Senators, the toll data collection was narrowly tailored and limited to the four days from January 4, 2021 to January 7, 2021, with a focus on telephonic activity during the period immediately surrounding the January 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol,” Smith’s lawyers wrote Tuesday to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

JACK SMITH INVESTIGATORS NEED TO ‘PAY BIG’ FOR JAN. 6 PHONE RECORDS PROBE, WARNS SEN. GRAHAM

Toll records do not reveal the contents of phone calls but instead reveal when calls were made and to whom.

Smith’s lawyers said that although Grassley, who brought the subpoenas to light, has not reached out to Smith, they felt compelled to write to the chairman to address claims from Republicans that Smith improperly spied on lawmakers.

Grassley responded to the letter, saying he would continue an unbiased probe into Arctic Frost, the name of the FBI investigation that led to Smith’s election-related prosecution of Trump.

“I’m conducting an objective assessment of the facts&law like he says he wants So far we exposed an anti-Trump FBI agent started the investigation/broke FBI rules &only REPUBLICANS were targeted SMELLS LIKE POLITICS,” Grassley wrote on X.

The targeted senators included Republican Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. 

In addition to the eight senators, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told Fox News’ Sean Hannity Tuesday that he recently discovered Smith also attempted to subpoena his toll records but that his phone company, AT&T, did not hand them over.

DEM REP DEFENDS DOJ OBTAINING GOP SENATOR CALL RECORDS IN 2023: ‘YOU WEREN’T SURVEILLED’

The Republicans have broadly claimed they were inappropriately spied on, and compared Arctic Frost to the Watergate scandal.

Smith’s lawyers emphasized the normalcy of seeking out phone records and said that public officials are not immune from investigation.

Smith brought four criminal charges against Trump alleging he illegally attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 election, but he dismissed the charges after Trump won the 2024 election, citing a DOJ policy that discourages prosecuting sitting presidents. 

Former special counsel Robert Hur sought toll records during his investigation into former President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents. The DOJ subpoenaed phone records of former Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez, who is serving prison time after he was convicted in 2024 of corruption charges.

The first Trump administration subpoenaed phone records of Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and then-Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and dozens of congressional staffers from both parties as part of a leak investigation.

Former DOJ inspector general Michael Horowitz warned in a report about the leak probe that lawmakers’ records should only be subpoenaed in narrow circumstances because it “risks chilling Congress’s ability to conduct oversight of the executive branch.”

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Smith’s lawyers also disputed FBI Director Kash Patel’s accusations that he attempted to hide the subpoenas “in a lockbox in a vault,” noting that the former special counsel mentioned subpoenaing senators’ records in a footnote of his final special counsel report.

“Moreover, the precise records at issue were produced in discovery to President Trump’s personal lawyers, some of whom now serve in senior positions within the Department of Justice,” Smith’s lawyers said.

Read Smith’s letter below. App users click here.

President Donald Trump suggested on Tuesday that the Department of Justice (DOJ) owes him money for past prosecutions against him. 

In the Oval Office, a reporter asked Trump if he was seeking compensation from the DOJ over past federal investigations into him and, if so, how much he was seeking. 

“Well, I guess they probably owe me a lot of money for that,” Trump said in response. “No, I get no salary. I gave up my salary. It’s a good salary. Not as much as these guys make, but that’s OK. It’s a lot of money, and I don’t, as you know, I didn’t take it in the first four years. I didn’t take it these four years either.”

“But as far as all of the litigation, everything that’s been involved, yeah, they probably owe me a lot of money,” the president added. “But if I get money from our country, I’ll do something nice with it. Like, give it to charity or give it to the White House while we restore the White House, and we’re doing a great job with the White House, as you know, the ballroom is under construction.” 

TRUMP ADMIN AGENCIES COORDINATING TO EXPOSE BIDEN ADMIN’S ‘PROLIFIC AND DANGEROUS’ WEAPONIZATION OF GOVERNMENT

The New York Times reported sources as saying Trump is seeking approximately $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for investigations into him. 

Trump told reporters Tuesday that he was “not looking for money,” but that they “would have to ask the lawyers about that.” 

“We’ll see what happens,” Trump said. “We have numerous cases having to do with the fraud of the election, the 2020 election, and because of everything that we found out, I guess they owe me a lot of money. But I’m not looking for money. I’m looking for — really, I think it’s got to be, it’s got to be handled in a proper way… We don’t want it to happen again. We can never let what happened in the 2020 election happen again. We just can’t let that happen.” 

He was later pressed again about the exact dollar amount in the request and said, “I don’t know what the number is. I don’t even talk to them about it.”

Trump then remarked that the decision would have to come across his desk, saying that it would be “awfully strange to make a decision where I’m paying myself.”

However, the Times noted that the DOJ’s rules state that settlement claims against the department that exceed $4 million “must be approved by the Deputy Attorney General, or Associate Attorney General, as appropriate.”

It is unclear where the claims or negotiations with the DOJ stand. However, The Associated Press noted that the ties between Trump and those authorized to make a decision on the settlement could present problems. 

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche served as one of Trump’s attorneys in the Mar-a-Lago case. Additionally, Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward represented Trump’s co-defendant, Walt Nauta, in the Mar-a-Lago case.

“In any circumstance, all officials at the Department of Justice follow the guidance of career ethics officials,” DOJ spokesperson Chad Gilmartin said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

TRUMP CELEBRATES WHITE HOUSE DEMOLITION AS NEW BALLROOM RISES: ‘MUSIC TO MY EARS’

The investigations include the FBI’s 2022 raid of Mar-a-Lago as part of the classified documents case and another probe looking into possible ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. According to the Times, the first claim was filed in late 2023 and was in relation to the Russia probe, while the second — which focused on the Mar-a-Lago raid — was filed in the summer of 2024.

The Times reported Tuesday that Trump had submitted complaints through an administrative claim process, noting that it is something that often precedes lawsuits. 

Despite the president saying that he would donate the funds, some Democrats painted the report as an example of Trump trying to enrich himself. 

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said on Wednesday morning that the president was looking “to line his own pockets, or he says now to give to a charity of his choice.” The senator added to the accusation, saying Trump was “focusing on getting $230 million that he doesn’t deserve back into his pocket instead of helping the American people get healthcare.”

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Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., who was in the middle of an hours-long speech, slammed Trump for “suing the government, then instructing his Department of Justice to settle the suit, thereby translating money into the president’s pocket out of the government.”

Merkley then remarked that “there is no limit to the self-serving” and called for his colleagues, particularly Republicans, to speak out against the president.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Vice President JD Vance declared Wednesday that, “these are days of destiny,” as he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to build on the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.

“We have a very, very tough task ahead of us, which is to disarm Hamas but rebuild Gaza to make life better for the people in Gaza, but also to ensure that Hamas is no longer a threat to our friends in Israel,” Vance said in Jerusalem, speaking alongside Netanyahu.

“That’s not easy. I think the Prime Minster knows that as well as anybody. But it’s something that we’re committed to in the Trump administration,” Vance continued. “And I think that we’ve, even in the past 24 hours, had a lot of good conversations with our friends in the Israeli government, but also, frankly with our friends in the Arab world who are stepping up and volunteering to play a very positive role in this.”

“As the Prime Minister said, these are days of destiny, and we’re very excited to sit down and work together on the Gaza peace plan,” Vance added.

VANCE WARNS HAMAS AS GAZA PEACE PLAN’S CIVILIAN MILITARY COOPERATION CENTER OPENS

Netanyahu told reporters that Israel has an unmatched alliance and partnership with the U.S. that is generating opportunities for security and the expansion of peace in the Middle East.

Vance also met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday, telling reporters afterward, “We’re here to talk about how to ensure that the peace agreement that started about a week ago sticks, that we move into phase two, into phase three with success.”

JOHNSON, SCALISE DEMAND ANSWERS AFTER SUSPECTED HAMAS OPERATIVE DISCOVERED ON US SOIL

The peace deal included the release of hostages being held by Hamas.

“As the president said, there will be torments along the way. It will be difficult, but I feel very optimistic based on my conversation with our Israeli friends and also with our Gulf Arab friends, that it’s possible that we actually can make peace stick, and that we can create the kind of environment where our Gulf Arab friends and our Israeli friends can build a better Middle East for everybody,” Vance added. “So that is the goal of the administration. We think that it’s in the best interest of the United States. We also think that it’s in the best interest of everybody who lives here.”

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Herzog said, “I truly believe that the fact you’re here is another brick in building the future for peace.”

“We all are grateful to President Donald Trump for his steadfast insistence on moving forward. We must move forward,” Herzog continued. “We must offer hope for the region, for Israel, the Palestinians, our neighbors, and for the future of our children.”

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is looking to hold Democrats’ “feet to the fire” with new legislation seeking special funding for farmers and food assistance programs amid the government shutdown.

Hawley’s bills would reinstate federal funding for the Farm Service Agency as well as the federal SNAP food program. Democrats have so far refused to work with Republicans amid the government shutdown, now the second-longest in U.S. history.

“We need to start forcing Democrats to make some tough votes. We need to start holding their feet to the fire,” Hawley said in an interview with Fox News Digital. “I mean, do they really not want people to be able to eat? This situation is ridiculous.”

He says the farm bill is critical as the shutdown has landed squarely in harvest season for much of the country, including his home state of Missouri.

WHITE HOUSE SLAMS SCHUMER’S ‘DISGUSTING’ STATEMENT ON SHUTDOWN AS POLITICAL STANDOFF CONTINUES

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has led Republicans in voting to fund the government eleven times since the shutdown began on Oct. 1, but Democrats have refused to cooperate, demanding extensive changes to the budget.

SENATE DEMS EMBOLDENED BY WEEKEND RALLIES BLOCK GOP PLAN TO END SHUTDOWN FOR 11TH TIME

President Donald Trump has taken executive action to secure funding for members of the military, but the vast majority of the government remains stalled.

“I have huge respect for what President Trump has done during this shutdown with shifting the funding pools available to him to help servicemembers and police. But even he is going to run out of tools soon,” Hawley said.

Trump, speaking to Hawley and other Senate Republicans at the White House on Tuesday, accused Democrats of “holding the entire federal government hostage.”

‘GOOFBALLS’ AND HOSTAGES: GOP SENATORS SAY SCHUMER’S SHUTDOWN TACTICS DESTROYING THE SENATE

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, R-N.Y., has remained obstinate, in his demands for an extension to expiring Obamacare subsidies. Though Senate Republicans have been open to holding a vote on the matter after the government reopens, Democrats want an ironclad guarantee that the subsidies will be extended well before their expiration at the end of this year.

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Thune reiterated at the White House on Tuesday that Senate Republicans are united in their war of attrition strategy to continue putting the same bill on the floor again and again.

“I mean, they want $1.5 trillion in new spending. They want free healthcare for people who are noncitizens in this country. That is just a flat nonstarter. It doesn’t pass the Senate. It won’t pass the House. It won’t be signed into law by the president,” Thune said.

Read Hawely’s Fund Our Farmers Act below (App users click here)

Read Hawley’s Keep SNAP Funded Act below (App users click here)

Fox News’ Greg Norman contributed to this report.

The federal government is now in its longest full shutdown ever, and Congress is not giving any signs that an end is in sight.

A full government shutdown occurs when the end of the fiscal year comes on Sept. 30 with none of Congress’ 12 single-subject appropriations bills passed by the House and Senate.

While both the House and Senate have passed three separate appropriations bills each, they have yet to sync up and pass the same version of any spending measure.

That means that, for the most part, all agencies and programs that rely on discretionary funds appropriated by Congress every year are either paused or severely altered to meet their lack of budget.

BATTLEGROUND REPUBLICANS HOLD THE LINE AS JOHNSON PRESSURES DEMS ON SHUTDOWN

The current government shutdown, now 22 days old, is now also the second-longest in U.S. history in general.

Thousands of federal workers have been furloughed, and thousands more laid off. Meanwhile, employees deemed essential, like congressional staffers, are working without paychecks until the shutdown is over.

Active-duty military personnel who were expected to work without pay did get their money on Oct. 15, when the Trump administration reshuffled Pentagon funding meant for research and development. However, it’s not clear if the same can be done during the military’s next pay period on Oct. 30 if the shutdown continues.

SCREAMING MATCH ERUPTS BETWEEN HAKEEM JEFFRIES, MIKE LAWLER AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CHAOS CONTINUES

A partial government shutdown lasted 35 days under President Donald Trump’s first term but saw several critical departments — including the Department of War, the Department of Education, and Department of Health and Human Services — funded.

The previous longest full shutdown occurred in fiscal year (FY)2014, under President Barack Obama.

“This is now the longest full shutdown in American history. And yet again, Senate Democrats voted for the 11th time — 12 times overall, when you count House and Senate Democrats — to prolong the pain and keep the government closed,” Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said during his press conference on Tuesday.

The House passed a seven-week extension of FY2025 funding largely along partisan lines on Sept. 19. The measure, a continuing resolution (CR), is aimed at giving lawmakers more time to strike a longer-term deal for FY2026.

But in the Senate, where several more Democrats are needed to break a filibuster than have been voting for it, progress has stalled, with the legislation having failed 11 times already.

Democrats are demanding that any spending plan be paired with an extension of enhanced Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of 2025.

The shutdown’s historic milestone has been a cause for frustration on both sides of the Senate.

“We have long since lost the plot — the purpose, you know, of the whole thing,” Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., told Fox News Digital. “Now it’s a food fight, and we have forgotten that on the other side of the food fight there’s a name and there’s a family. And I said it just a few minutes ago, but what this place needs more than anything is a constant IV of common sense.”

As the shutdown continues, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., extended an olive branch to Senate Democrats and offered a vote on the expiring subsidies, only after the government reopened, however. 

So far, Senate Democrats have not bitten on the proposal, largely due to a lack of trust in their Republican counterparts. 

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“I think we would operate much better if people trusted each other,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said. 

Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., argued that Senate Democrats made a “strategic error” in shutting the government down. 

“Now they don’t have a graceful way out, and that’s a problem,” he said. 

Meanwhile, Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, didn’t want to predict if the shutdown would break other records but took a shot at House Republicans for being out of session for weeks. 

“I will just say it’s very hard to get out of a shutdown if the majority party has an unexpected month-long break,” he said.