Highlights from Sept. 19, 2025
- TRUMP-XI CALL: President Donald Trump said that he made progress on several issues with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in a call this morning, including on the “approval of the TikTok deal,” and that he plans to meet with Xi in person this year and in China in 2026.
- FEDERAL PROSECUTOR RESIGNS: Erik S. Siebert, the acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, resigned today after Trump said he no longer wanted him in the role. Siebert was in charge of pursuing mortgage fraud allegations against New York Attorney General Letitia James.
- SHUTDOWN THREATS: The Senate voted to block dueling Republican and Democratic proposals to keep the federal government funded on a short-term basis, raising the chances of a shutdown at the end of the month.
- VIRGINIA EARLY VOTING: Today is the first day of early voting in Virginia, which will hold statewide elections this year for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and its House of Delegates. New Jersey is the only other state holding a statewide general election this year.
Voters in Virginia focus on social issues as early voting begins
Virginians headed to the polls today, for the first of 45 days of early voting. Democratic candidate Abigail Spanberger is facing off against current Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears in the closely watched governor’s race.
On the airwaves, the candidates have traded barbs on the economy, crime, and immigration. But one topic that appears to be really connecting with voters NBC News has spoken to today is the social issues, including the rights of transgender students.
“She voted to allow men in girls' sports, bathrooms, and locker rooms,” a recent Sears ad states, referencing Spanberger’s vote in February 2021 on a House bill — named the Equality Act – that proposed adding “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the traits protected under various pieces of federal civil rights laws. The House, controlled by Democrats at the time, passed the bill, but it stalled in the Senate.
Spanberger hit back with an ad of her own. “Nothing matters more to me than the safety of all our kids, and as a law enforcement officer, I went after child predators, so it really angers me to hear these lies about who I am,” she said.
And voters are responding.
“I don’t want boys in girl’s lockers,” one voter who was reluctant to share her name told NBC News.“They don’t belong in girl’s lockers. Undressing in front of boys who claim they’re girls. We’ve got two sexes. Male, female. You can’t change it.”
But not everyone we spoke to felt that way.
“I think they have just as much a right to exist,” voter Bob Siegel said. Other voters NBC News spoke to want more compassion in their politics.
“I think we need to get back to some sense of normalcy, and work together,” Henrico County voter Randy Williams said. “I’m not seeing that.”
Also on the ballot in Virginia this year are races for lieutenant governor and attorney general, along with all 100 members of the House of Delegates as Democrats hope to maintain control of that chamber.
Federal prosecutor tasked with investigating Trump adversary Letitia James resigns under pressure
The federal prosecutor in charge of pursuing mortgage fraud allegations against New York Attorney General Letitia James resigned Friday after President Donald Trump said he no longer wanted him to serve in the position.
Erik S. Siebert, the acting U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, announced his resignation in an email to colleagues that was obtained by NBC News.
Trump unleashed an attack Friday on Seibert, who was tasked with pursuing mortgage fraud charges against James, a longtime Trump foe.
“I want him out,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked if he wanted Siebert to be fired.
Trump posts video of 'lethal kinetic strike' on vessel which he says killed three 'narcoterrorists'
Trump said today that the United States carried out a strike on a ship, alleging the vessel was trafficking illicit narcotics and traveling along a known “narcotrafficking passage enroute to poison Americans.”
Trump said the strike killed three people, whom he called “male narcoterrorists,” and that no U.S. forces were harmed. He announced the strike on Truth Social, where he also wrote that the vessel was affiliated with a “designated terrorist organization conducting narcotrafficking” in the U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility.
His post included a short video of the boat being set aflame, and he wrote, “STOP SELLING FENTANYL, NARCOTICS, AND ILLEGAL DRUGS IN AMERICA, AND COMMITTING VIOLENCE AND TERRORISM AGAINST AMERICANS!!!”
Today’s event came after a U.S. military strike Monday on a second Venezuelan boat, which Trump also alleged was carrying drugs.
Senate Commerce Committee Democrats demand Ted Cruz hold a hearing with FCC's Brendan Carr
Democrats on the Senate Commerce Committee are demanding an oversight hearing with Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr in a new letter to Committee Chairman Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
Cruz called Carr’s actions related to ABC indefinitely suspending Jimmy Kimmel’s show “unbelievably dangerous“ on a podcast today.
“As the Committee with jurisdiction over the FCC, it is our constitutional duty to conduct oversight over this matter and demand Chairman Carr answer for this unprecedented attack on the First Amendment,” wrote Committee Democrats, led by Ranking Member Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.
In a direct appeal to Cruz, they added: “You have long prioritized conducting oversight to ensure our government is not being used to weaponize the censorship of speech. At a time when free speech is under threat, this hearing could not be more important for the American people. We look forward to working with you on this hearing with Chairman Carr and upholding our duty to conduct robust oversight over the FCC.”
Senate Republicans poke holes in the filibuster despite vowing to protect it
Senate Republican leaders have made consequential moves this year to weaken or end-run minority power when it stands in the way of their ambitions during the second Trump administration and GOP control of Congress.
In three separate instances, they have knocked down longstanding precedents and established new rules to advance their goals in the face of Democratic opposition, eroding the power of the minority in the process.
Gov. Josh Shapiro says Trump’s threats to revoke TV networks’ licenses are an attempt to ‘stifle dissent’
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro today accused the Trump administration of “trying to stifle dissent” after ABC removed late-night comedy host Jimmy Kimmel from the airwaves this week following comments from a federal regulator.
“Without question, they’re trying to stifle dissent,” Shapiro, a Democrat, told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker, also characterizing the move as “extremely dangerous.”
Shapiro’s comments come after Trump suggested that the television networks were “97% against” him and that those who give him “bad publicity” should have their federal broadcasting licenses revoked during a gaggle aboard Air Force One yesterday.
Trump raises fee for H-1B visas to $100,000
Trump signed a proclamation this afternoon requiring companies to pay a $100,000 fee to obtain H-1B worker visas.
The proclamation comes as the Trump administration intensifies its crackdown on immigration, through raids and massive deportation efforts in cities nationwide.
The proclamation-signing is a win for immigration hardliners on Capitol Hill, but is likely to rankle tech executives seeking qualified workers from abroad.
The H-1B visa program, which was signed into law by then-President George H.W. Bush in 1990, enables skilled workers from overseas to temporarily work in the United States. Major tech companies have relied on approvals from the program to hire employees from abroad. Amazon was among the top beneficiaries of the program, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data, with more than 10,000 approvals, followed by Tata Consultancy Services, with 5,500 and Microsoft and Meta, with more than 5,000 approvals each.
Why Trump wants the U.S. to ‘get back’ the Bagram Airfield from the Taliban
Trump has said he hopes to see Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan returned to U.S. control, suggesting a renewed American presence in the country now again ruled by the Taliban.
“We’re trying to get it back,” Trump said of Bagram during a news conference yesterday alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer that capped a whirlwind state visit to the United Kingdom.
Taking aim at the Biden administration’s fraught withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan as a “total disaster,” Trump criticized the decision to relinquish Bagram Airfield, which quickly fell under the control of the Taliban as they swept back into power in 2021.
Trump made clear at least one motivating factor for his interest in reclaiming Bagram, noting its proximity to rival superpower China.
Trump signs executive order for 'Trump Gold Card' expedited visa program
Trump signed an executive order in the Oval Office today establishing a program that would permit foreigners to pay for access to expedited visa treatment.
The program has been billed as a new visa pathway for foreigners who pay $1 million to the Treasury, or in the case of corporate sponsorship, a corporation paying $2 million for access to an expedited visa as part of the program.
Trump said that he expects the program to be very lucrative and to enable more tax cuts “and paying down debt.”
"They’re very productive people," Trump said of potential gold card applicants. "It’s going to raise billions of dollars, billions and billions of dollars, which is going to go to reduce taxes, pay off debt and other good things."
Kennedy's autism report to be released at the end this month
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will release a long-awaited report on autism later this month, likely Sept. 29 or 30, according to a person familiar with the schedule. The Department of Health and Human Services is also likely to announce which autism research projects will receive federal funding to move forward.
Despite early reports that the health agency will look into a possible connection between the complex developmental disorder and the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy, an HHS spokesperson said that until the final report is released, “any claims about its contents are nothing more than speculation.” Trump told reporters in the Oval office today that there would be a news conference early next week on autism, adding, “‘It’s out of control, and I think we maybe have a reason why.”
In April, Kennedy said autism was a “preventable disease” and vowed to uncover its underlying causes by September. At the time, Kennedy said HHS would look at environmental exposures such as mold, food additives, pesticides, water, medicines and ultrasound.
