What to know today
- NATIONAL GUARD: Troops from the Texas National Guard arrived in Illinois this afternoon, outside Chicago, as part of the Trump administration's push to crack down on crime in Democrat-led cities. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, meanwhile, is visiting Portland, Oregon, days after a judge blocked the administration from deploying federalized National Guard troops to the city.
- BONDI HEARING: Attorney General Pam Bondi faced questions from senators about National Guard deployments and immigrant arrests in U.S. cities, the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey and files related to Jeffrey Epstein, among other issues.
- GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN: The White House is facing heat over a draft memo arguing that furloughed federal workers are not entitled to back pay after the government shutdown lifts. The memo clashes with previous White House guidance on shutdowns and a 2019 law that requires back pay for federal workers.
- U.S.-CANADA TALKS: President Donald Trump met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to discuss trade issues, including U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum.
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Senate confirms Herschel Walker as U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas
The Senate today confirmed Herschel Walker as U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas.
Walker, a staunch ally of Trump who unsuccessfully ran for a Senate seat in Georgia three years ago, was confirmed along with more than 100 other nominees in a 51-47 vote that fell along party lines.
Walker will be the first U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas in nearly 15 years. The U.S. Embassy there has been led by a series of chargés d’affaires since 2011.
Walker is a former NFL player who played with Dallas, Minnesota, Philadelphia and the New York Giants. He won the Heisman Trophy at the University of Georgia.
Former Republican governors air concerns about Trump’s National Guard moves
As Trump clashes with Democratic governors over his push to deploy federalized National Guard troops to their cities, several former Republican governors are raising concerns about strong-arm tactics and constitutional crises — while also noting that the president has wide latitude to deploy the guard.
The three former governors, who have long histories of criticizing Trump, also expressed a sense of resignation, saying they believe he will charge ahead unless the courts rein him in.
“This is infuriating,” former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, who left the Republican Party in 2022 after years of opposing Trump and endorsing his opponents, said in an interview. “It is stoking resentment and fanning the flames. But as a governor there is nothing you can do to really stop the president from federalizing the guard.”
Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich expressed concern with the communication between the Trump administration and state and local officials.
Trump keeps threatening to use the Insurrection Act. What is it?
Trump suggested numerous times this week that he could invoke the sweeping presidential powers granted by the Insurrection Act “if necessary.”
“It’s been invoked before,” Trump told reporters today, adding, “We want safe cities.”
Using the Insurrection Act was something Trump repeatedly suggested he might do in his first term, although he never actually did.
A spokeswoman for the White House, Abigail Jackson, said in a statement today that Trump has “exercised his lawful authority to protect federal officers and assets. President Trump will not turn a blind eye to the lawlessness plaguing American cities.”
Here’s a look at what the Insurrection Act is and what it would enable Trump to do.
Kristi Noem says she gave Portland's mayor an ultimatum
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said tonight that she told Portland Mayor Keith Wilson that she would bring “four times” the number of federal officers to Portland if he did not comply with her demands on protecting government agents.
“I told him is that if he did not follow through on some of these security measures for our officers, we were going to cover him up with more federal resources and that we were going to send four times the amount of federal officers here so that the people of Portland could have some safety,” Noem said on Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime.”
Demonstrators have protested an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland since June.
Asked for comment on Noem’s remarks, a spokesperson for Wilson referred NBC News to a statement Wilson made after Noem’s visit, in which he confirmed that he had met with her and said he maintains that “the tactics used by federal agents at the ICE facility are troubling and likely unconstitutional.”
“As Mayor, it is my responsibility to protect our community from the federal government’s increasingly unpredictable and escalating actions that we continue to face. Portland will continue the hard work of protecting our community, keeping our streets safe, and defending the right to peaceful protest. I welcome federal partnership that is transparent, accountable, and aligned with Portland’s standards,” Wilson said.
Marjorie Taylor Greene doubles down on her unexpected break with Republicans over health care in shutdown fight
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene isn’t backing down from her very public break with fellow Republicans on health care that shook up Washington.
In an extensive interview today, Greene, R-Ga., accused her party of not having a plan on health care and made the case that it should be working to fix the problem now.
“When it comes to the point where families are spending anywhere from $1,500 to $2,000 a month and looking at hikes coming on their insurance premiums, I think that’s unforgivable,” she said.
GOP leaders in Congress are desperately working to keep their ranks unified amid Republican efforts to reopen the federal government without making any concessions to Democrats.
State Rep. Aftyn Behn captures Democratic nomination in deep-red Tennessee district
State Rep. Aftyn Behn, a community organizer and licensed social worker, won the Democratic primary in Tennessee's 7th Congressional District in a close contest against two other state lawmakers and a businessman. She represents a deep-blue seat including downtown and east Nashville.
She will face Republican Matt Van Epps, who was backed by Trump in the GOP primary, in the special general election for the House seat vacated by Rep. Mark Green.
Democrats hope to compete for the heavily Republican seat (Trump won more than 60% there in 2024) during the special general election on Dec. 2, which is likely to record lower voter turnout than a regular election.
Trump-endorsed Matt Van Epps wins GOP primary for vacant House seat in Tennessee
Matt Van Epps, a former state official who earned an endorsement from Trump last week, has won the Republican nomination in the special election for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, NBC News projects.
Van Epps bested 10 other Republican candidates after a primary in which all of them campaigned on their support for Trump. But Van Epps was the only one to get Trump’s backing, adding it to early endorsements from former Rep. Mark Green — the Republican who resigned from the 7th District this year — as well as Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.
Van Epps now advances to the special general election for the district, which Trump carried with more than 60% of the vote in 2024. The 7th District ranges from the two of the richest counties in Tennessee to some of its poorest, including an Army base and part of Nashville. It has been solidly Republican for decades.
A key lifeline for rural communities, federal air travel funds, will expire Sunday if the shutdown continues
Federal funding for air travel in rural areas will run out Sunday if the government shutdown continues, threatening to isolate remote communities across the country.
The Essential Air Service (EAS), established in 1978, provides funds to airline carriers to operate out of rural airports for routes that would otherwise be unprofitable. The program is a lifeline for remote communities because it connects them to cities with larger airports, ensuring access to medical treatments, work opportunities and commercial goods that would otherwise be lengthy travels away.
“Money runs out this Sunday. So there’s many small communities across the country that will now no longer have the resources to make sure they have air service in their community,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at a news conference yesterday. “Every state across the country will be impacted by the inability to provide the subsidies to airlines to service these communities.”
The EAS gives money to regional air carriers in 177 communities across all 50 states, as well as Puerto Rico, according to the Transportation Department. The Regional Airline Association, an advocacy group for regional airlines that receive EAS funds, said that “commercial air service at EAS airports had an economic impact of $2.3 billion and supported more than 17,000 U.S. jobs” before the pandemic.
Polls close in Tennessee's special House primaries
Polls closed at 8 p.m. ET in Tennessee's 7th Congressional District, where voters are picking nominees in the race to succeed former GOP Rep. Mark Green, who resigned this year.
There are 11 Republicans on the ballot in the heavily Republican district, but Trump jumped into the race last week to endorse Matt Van Epps, a former member of Gov. Bill Lee's administration.
Four Democrats are competing for their party's nomination.
Thune says Senate will vote tomorrow on stopgap funding bills — for the sixth time
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said tonight that the Senate will vote again tomorrow on the House-passed GOP spending bill and the Democratic alternative measure, most likely in the “late morning.”
It will be the sixth time the Senate has taken up both short-term funding bills. The Senate has rejected each bill the previous five times.
Thune said there were no votes to reopen the government today because of procedural “sequencing and timing.”
He also confirmed to NBC News that he is aware of a bipartisan group of lawmakers getting dinner tonight to discuss the shutdown but would not share additional details.
