What to know today
- SENATE SHUTDOWN VOTE: The Senate tonight passed a bipartisan bill that would end the government shutdown. The measure, which garnered support from 8 Democrats and has the backing of President Donald Trump, now heads to to the House.
- MAXWELL SEEKS COMMUTATION: Ghislaine Maxwell, the co-conspirator of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, is seeking a commutation of her 20-year prison sentence from Trump, a whistleblower has told House Democrats.
- U.S.-SYRIA BILATERAL: Trump met today with Ahmad al-Sharaa, the first Syrian president to visit the White House. The former jihadist was expected to commit to joining the U.S.-led coalition to defeat the Islamic State militant group, two U.S. officials said before the meeting.
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House vote to reopen the government could take place as early as Wednesday afternoon
House lawmakers were notified tonight that votes on the Senate-passed legislation to reopen the government could start as soon as 4 p.m. on Wednesday, according to a whip notice.
The notice indicates that multiple vote series are likely. The House Rules Committee will need to approve a rule that the full House must adopt before debate and a vote on the legislation itself.
The House last held votes on Sept. 19.
Senate passes bill to reopen the government as 8 Democrats join with Republicans to send it to the House
The Senate passed legislation tonight to reopen the government and end the record-long shutdown after eight Democrats broke with their party and joined Republicans to break the logjam.
The vote was 60-40, with every Republican except Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky voting in favor of the measure.
The measure now goes to the House, which could vote as early as Wednesday to pass the package and send it to Trump, who said today that he supports the bipartisan deal.
Senate passage came after a long vote series to reject several amendments and package the components of a deal into one.
Syria to resume embassy operations in Washington, senior administration official says
Syria's embassy in Washington, D.C., is reopening.
“The United States will allow Syria to resume operations at its Embassy in Washington to further counterterrorism, security, and economic coordination,” a senior administration official said after Trump met today with Syria's president at the White House.
The official added that Syria will become the 90th member of the D-ISIS Coalition, partnering with the U.S. to eliminate ISIS remnants and halt foreign fighter flows.
Prosecutors in James Comey case ordered to provide grand jury transcripts
There was a brief hearing this afternoon in James Comey's criminal case to discuss the court’s earlier order for prosecutors to provide a complete transcript of the grand jury proceedings against the former FBI director at the request of the defense. The government had appealed the order.
Comey’s lawyers said they need to review the proceedings to determine if interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan violated any grand jury regulations or used previously obtained information that may have violated attorney client privilege.
Some of what is under discussion derives from four search warrants that were obtained in 2019 and 2020 that were used to investigate Comey and his longtime friend and attorney, Columbia law professor Daniel Richman, for leaks to the media. The investigation was called “Arctic Haze.”
Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick ordered the government to “submit to the Court forthwith, for in camera review, all materials relating to the September 25, 2025 grand jury proceedings, including complete audio recordings and transcripts reflecting (i) all testimony presented to the grand jury and (ii) any statements made by any prosecutor, law enforcement officer, or witness to the grand jury, or in the presence of the grand jury,” so Fitzpatrick is going to review the material before the defense gets to see it.
Comey is charged with making false statements to Congress and obstruction of a congressional proceeding in connection with his testimony at a 2020 Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
John Fetterman says it's 'entirely possible' ACA subsidies won't be extended
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who has consistently voted with Republicans during the shutdown on a government funding bill rejected by his party, said today that it is "entirely possible" that Affordable Care Act subsidies, which drove the shutdown, may not be extended following a bipartisan Senate deal.
"Absolutely, it’s entirely possible," Fetterman said during a "Meet the Press NOW" interview.
“It’s run its course, and now enough people finally realize that we’re gonna put country over the party at this point,” Fetterman said of the shutdown, which began on Oct. 1.
The Pennsylvania Democrat also talked about disagreeing with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who has faced backlash from some Democrats for the party's disunity in opposing a bill devoid of Affordable Care Act funds despite voting against the measure.
"I disagree with his vote, but I’m not gonna criticize him and I’m not gonna attack him," Fetterman said.
Schumer said on the Senate floor this morning that he couldn't support the Republican bill "because it fails to do anything of substance to fix America’s health care crisis."
Democrats rebel after 8 senators cut a deal to end the shutdown without ACA funds
Many Democrats are fuming after a breakaway group of eight senators teamed up with Republicans to strike a deal to reopen the government without extending health care subsidies, backing off on the demand that led to the shutdown.
The agreement, which cleared a key procedural hurdle late yesterday by a vote of 60-40, sparked heavy criticism from congressional candidates, progressive activists and Democratic lawmakers. That includes some members with higher ambitions, who said it shows party leaders are not up to the task of marshaling effective opposition to Trump.
“This is a defining moment for the party. We need new faces with bold new ideas,” Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who is considering a presidential run, told NBC News. “The American people are tired of a failed status quo.”
Even though Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., criticized the deal and voted against it, some liberal groups and Democratic candidates running against the establishment pointed the finger at him for failing to keep his caucus unified in opposition to a deal that did not include Affordable Care Act funds. If the subsidies expire on schedule at the end of 2025, more than 20 million Americans could face health insurance premium hikes.
Trump responds to criticism from Marjorie Taylor Greene: ‘She’s lost her way
Trump today said that MAGA-aligned Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., had “lost her way” with her criticism of the administration’s focus on foreign policy.
“I don’t know what happened to Marjorie. She’s a nice woman, but I don’t know what happened. She’s lost her way, I think,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
“But I have to view the presidency as a worldwide situation, not locally. I mean, we could have a world that’s on fire, where wars come to our shores very easily, if you had a bad president,” he added.
Asked about Trump’s comments, Greene said in a statement: “I haven’t lost my way. I’m 100% America first and only!”
Senate locks in votes to pass government funding package tonight
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., just locked in the vote series that will end with final passage of the bipartisan deal to reopen the government.
Once the Senate passes the bill it will then go to the House for approval. The House is not currently in session.
Trump, who said he supports the agreement, would then need to sign the measure into law to end the shutdown.
Trump administration asks Supreme Court to extend pause on fully funding SNAP benefits this month
The Trump administration today filed a supplemental briefing at the Supreme Court in support of an extension of the pause imposed last week by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson in a major case regarding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP.
The administration wants to extend the pause beyond Tuesday night, to block full federal funding of SNAP benefits for 42 million people.
“The government unequivocally agrees that any lapse in SNAP funding is tragic,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in the filing. “But it is a tragedy of Congress’s creation, by shutting the government down, allowing appropriations to lapse, and creating a Hobson’s choice for the Executive Branch on how to triage which crucial programs get limited available residual funds."
"Congress appears to be on the brink of breaking the deadlock, though that outcome is unsure," Sauer added. "The district court’s unlawful orders risk upsetting that compromise and throwing into doubt how innumerable critical federal programs will be.”
The nonprofits in this case have until 8 a.m. Tuesday to respond to the administration's arguments.
Trump suggests D.C. midair collision in January was caused by faulty air traffic control system
Trump suggested today that the midair collision between an Army helicopter and a commercial aircraft over the Potomac River in January was caused by shortcomings in the air traffic control system under his predecessor.
“They had hundreds of companies working on it, and they were spending billions of dollars. And when they turned it on it didn’t work. It didn’t even work a little bit," Trump claimed. "That’s why you had a helicopter crashing into an airplane.”
The president's remarks contrast with his comments during a news conference shortly after the crash when he implied that DEI programs caused the crash that left 67 people dead.
The National Transportation Safety Board is not expected to publish its final report on the collision until next year, but it has already listed numerous factors that may have contributed to the disaster.
Trump's remarks today came in response to a question about what the state of air travel will look like once the government reopens, with the president insisting it will be better than it was under the Biden administration.Travelers across the country are facing long flight delays and cancellations because there aren't enough air traffic controllers. The FAA is mandating that 6% of all air travel be reduced by tomorrow and 10% by Friday. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has said it will take time for air traffic controllers to return after the shutdown ends.
