Shutdown continues as Senate fails to pass government funding bill for a sixth time

Trump said on Truth Social this evening that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first steps of a peace deal.

"I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan," Trump wrote.

"This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace," he added.

The announcement comes just over two years after the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, leading to a war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip that has killed tens of thousands of people.

The Transportation Department announced today that it procured $41 million in additional funding to keep the Essential Air Service (EAS), a program subsidizing rural airfare, running through early November.

NBC News reported yesterday that the EAS was scheduled to run out of funding by Sunday if the government was still shut down. The EAS connects rural communities to larger airports by subsidizing airfare for private airlines. People living in remote areas rely on the program for access to medical treatment, work opportunities and commercial goods in larger cities. They would have faced travel obstacles to those services if EAS funding had lapsed.

The program typically gets bipartisan support. However, Trump looked to cut its budget by $308 million in his discretionary budget this year. He suggested eliminating the program during his first term.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that Trump will meet with "the troops" at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Friday and then "stop by for his routine yearly check up."

Trump already underwent what was described as his annual physical examination at the famed military hospital on April 11. Dr. Sean Barbabella, the White House physician, said in a memo two days later that Trump was in “excellent health,” with “robust cardiac, pulmonary, neurological, and general physical function.”

Leavitt's statement said that, after the exam Friday, Trump will “return to the White House" and that he is "considering going to the Middle East shortly thereafter."

The FBI took personnel action against three special agents who worked in connection with former special counsel Jack Smith’s probe of Trump, firing at least two, three people familiar with the matter told NBC News.

All three agents were previously named in documents released by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, about “Arctic Frost,” an FBI probe that was the precursor to the Smith investigation, which resulted in two federal criminal cases against Trump: one for his handling of classified documents and the other involving his attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss, which ended in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

One of the fired FBI employees, a combat veteran who was months away from becoming eligible for retirement, was called back to the office after having left for the day and informed of the dismissal, a person familiar with the matter told NBC News. The other dismissed agent was also called back to the office after having left for the day, the person said.

Read the full story here.

Trump was asked during a White House roundtable today whether he has asked the Justice Department about identifying specific charges after he suggested earlier that Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson "should be in jail."

"I've seen the law. And when you have a group of people where the police call off the safety for ICE officials, I've understood that, and I've read it today in numerous journals, that that's illegal," Trump said.

He described an incident that he said involved police calling off efforts to help ICE agents who were "under threat," adding that "the governor knew about it, the mayor knew about it. I understand that's a criminal offense."

The IRS said it is placing more than 34,000 employees, or about 46% of its workforce, on furlough starting today as the government shutdown stretches into its second week.

The agency will also temporarily pause many taxpayer services, such as answering phone calls. The independent Taxpayer Advocate Service will also cease operations because of the lapse in funding.

The agency added that most administrative functions will also come to a halt, as will many planning activities.

“Today, due to the government shutdown the American people lost access to many vital services provided by the IRS when the agency furloughed thousands of employees,” Treasury Employees Union President Doreen Greenwald said.

Read the full story here.

After Secretary of State Marco Rubio handed Trump a note that said the administration is "very close to a deal in the Middle East," Trump said he will "most likely" be traveling to the region.

"I’ll be going to Egypt, most likely, that’s where everybody is gathered right now, and we appreciate that very much," Trump said. "But I’ll be making the rounds, as the expression goes." It wasn't clear whether he would visit additional countries in the Middle East.

"We're going to get peace in the Middle East," he said. "That's what we want to do."

‘We are very close to a deal in the Middle East,’ Rubio note to Trump says

01:37

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem today accused Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and Portland Mayor Keith Wilson of "covering up" terrorism on Portland's streets.

"I was in Portland yesterday and had the chance to visit with the governor of Oregon and also the mayor there in town, and they are absolutely covering up the terrorism that is hitting their streets," Noem said during a roundtable about antifa that Trump held at the White House this afternoon.

"These leaders in these local cities, along with Pritzker and Johnson, ignore what’s going on, or, sir, they’re helping antifa cover it up," she added.

Reached for comment, Wilson's office directed NBC News to a letter Wilson wrote to DHS' general counsel today about protests outside an ICE facility in South Portland, which said, "The actions of certain officers continue to be deeply disturbing to our community, and the lack of accountability and transparency for what appears to be unconstitutional behavior against individuals expressing their rights will only serve to deepen the divide between this facility and our community."

A spokesperson for Kotek did not immediately respond to a request for comment this afternoon.

Kotek, who has opposed military intervention in her state, said in a statement that she again told Noem during their meeting that “there is no insurrection in Oregon.”

Portland Police Chief Bob Day wrote in an op-ed published in The Oregonian on Sunday that “national portrayals” of Portland were overstated.

A federal judge this month blocked the Trump administration from deploying the state's National Guard or sending National Guard members from other states to Portland.

DHS Secretary Noem accuses local officials of ‘covering up’ terrorism on city streets 

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The Senate is set to vote this afternoon on a bipartisan War Powers Resolution that would terminate the use of U.S. forces to strike vessels in the Caribbean Sea without a formal congressional declaration of war.

Introduced by Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif, Tim Kaine, D-Va., Rand Paul, R-Ky., Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., the resolution needs only a simple majority to be considered in the Senate. However, it's not clear that it has the votes.

Paul could be the only GOP member to vote yes on the resolution, as other Republican senators have supported Trump's military strikes on Venezuelan boats allegedly carrying drugs.

"Coast Guard statistics show that 25% of the time when they do an inspection of a boat suspected of drugs that there are no drugs, which kind of concerns me," Paul said. "If 25% of the time when they board a ship there's no drugs, what about the ones that are being blown up without being boarded?”

At the beginning of the roundtable on antifa this afternoon, Trump said he may travel to the Middle East "sometime toward the end of the week, maybe on Sunday," echoing Secretary of State Marco Rubio's comments that he could also travel there "pretty soon."

Rubio told reporters earlier today that the administration's Gaza peace deal is moving "so quickly" that he may have to forgo a meeting in Paris tomorrow, also meant to discuss post-war Gaza, to instead head to the Mideast.

"I may be traveling to the Middle East instead, as things have moved so quickly over there that we think we may need to be there pretty soon," he said.

The Senate today failed to advance the Republican House-passed proposal to fund the government through mid-November for the sixth time.

The motion to invoke cloture, or advance the measure to a final vote, failed 54-45. It required 60 votes to pass.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., is urging Americans to share letters they have or will receive from their health insurance that note premium hikes for the upcoming year.

During a press conference with other Democratic leaders, Jeffries called on the public to share these letters with their members of Congress and specifically through a form on his website.

He said that Americans should also share these stories on social media, using the hashtag: "#MyPremiumWentUp."

Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., said in a post on X today that Speaker Mike Johnson “shouldn’t even think about cancelling session for a third straight week.” 

Kiley said the “entire reason a [continuing resolution] is necessary is that Congress has not done its job in passing a timely budget.” 

The House was last in session on Sept. 19, when the chamber passed a short-term continuing resolution to fund the government temporarily. The House has only passed three of the 12 full-year appropriation bills. However, the House and Senate have not reached an agreement on any of the bills, which is why a CR was necessary. 

As of now, the House is scheduled to be in session next week, but Johnson has repeatedly said that the House will only return after the Senate passes the CR and the government reopens. 

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., also told NBC News yesterday that the House should be in session working on appropriations bills. 

Some 500 National Guard members have arrived in the Chicago area and are mobilized for an initial period of 60 days, despite an ongoing lawsuit challenging their deployment there, according to a statement this morning from U.S. Northern Command, a part of the Defense Department.

About 200 members from multiple units in the Texas National Guard and some 300 members from multiple units in the Illinois National Guard have been activated and sent to Chicagoland, the statement said. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has denounced the deployment as an unconstitutional invasion.

Members of the Texas National Guard in Elwood, Ill., yesterday. Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

The troops are stationed at the Army Reserve center in Elwood, outside of Joliet, Illinois, about an hour southwest of Chicago.

“These forces will protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other U.S. Government personnel who are performing federal functions, including the enforcement of federal law, and to protect federal property,” U.S. Northern Command said in its statement.

Read the full story here.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker called President Trump "a coward," in response to a Truth Social post this morning where Trump said he should be in jail.

"He likes to pretend to be a tough guy," Pritzker said. "Come and get me."

Pritzker slammed Trump, asking, "What kind of a country are we living in where the President of the United States is targeting his political opponents?"

The governor also said that the federal government has not communicated with Illinois "in any way whatsoever about what their troop movements are going to be."

"I can’t believe I have to say 'troop movements' in a city in the United States, but that is what we’re talking about," Pritzker said. "We’re getting no information from them. They willy nilly run over people’s rights."

As the government shutdown goes into its eighth day, lawmakers on Capitol Hill remain deadlocked. Both parties are exchanging blame with no resolution in sight on competing bills to end the stalemate. NBC’s Ryan Nobles reports for the "TODAY" show on where negotiations stand.

Government Shutdown Day 8: Where Do Negotiations Stand?

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The Senate rejected the Democrats’ alternative short-term government spending bill along party lines, 47-52, with all Democrats voting for the measure and all Republicans voting against it.

It was the sixth time the chamber has voted on the measure, which needed 60 votes to advance. 

The Senate is now voting on the House-passed short-term spending bill, which would reopen the government through Nov. 21 at current funding levels. It is also expected to fail to get the 60 votes needed to advance.

Flight delays are expected across the country for a third straight day today, as the Federal Aviation Administration braced for more airport staffing shortages amid the ongoing government shutdown.

Within the last 48 hours, delays due to air traffic controller staffing shortages were reported at airports in Boston; Burbank, California; Chicago; Denver; Houston; Las Vegas; Nashville, Tennessee; Newark, New Jersey; Philadelphia; and Phoenix, according to the FAA.

Read the full story here.

The House Oversight Committee is speaking with attorneys for former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about interviewing them as part of its Jeffrey Epstein investigation, a source familiar with the situation said. 

In August, the committee subpoenaed both Clintons along with the Justice Department, several former attorneys general, and former FBI directors Robert Mueller and Comey. 

The deposition with Hillary Clinton was scheduled for tomorrow but could shift, depending on the committee’s conversations with the attorneys. Bill Clinton’s deposition was scheduled for Oct. 14. 

Comey’s deposition was originally scheduled for yesterday, but the committee reached an agreement with him to accept a letter stating that he had no knowledge or information on the Epstein matter. The committee has done this with several former attorneys general as well. 

Former FBI Director James Comey's indictment was front and center during a heated hearing with Attorney General Pam Bondi, in which she refused to discuss any conversations she had with President Trump about Comey's indictment. NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell reports for the "TODAY" show.

James Comey indictment takes spotlight at Pam Bondi hearing

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Nearly a quarter of FBI agents working on counterterrorism, cybersecurity, counter-intelligence and other criminal cases have been reassigned to immigration cases, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, will say in prepared remarks for a hearing later today.

“In recent months, nearly a quarter of the FBI agents who handle counterterrorism, cyberespionage, and other criminal cases have been reassigned to immigration enforcement. Some reports suggest that in the largest field offices, that number could climb to 45%,” Warner's remarks say.

“Firing agents who investigate terrorists, drug traffickers, and sexual predators … and pulling cyber experts off cases targeting Chinese and Russian hackers, does not make America safer," he adds. "For all its ‘tough on crime’ rhetoric, this administration’s actions suggest otherwise.”

The FBI declined to comment.

The Senate Intelligence Committee is holding a hearing this afternoon on the nominations of Joshua Simmons to be general counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency and Peter Metzger to be the assistant secretary for intelligence and analysis at the Treasury Department.

The Senate will vote on two short-term government funding measures today for the sixth time.

Neither the Democratic nor the Republican measure is expected to gain the 60 votes needed to advance.

Three Democratic caucus members have repeatedly voted for the House-passed GOP funding bill, which would simply maintain current spending levels: Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., John Fetterman, D-Pa., and Angus King, I-Maine. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has voted against the measure. 

Now, conversation in the halls of the Capitol is turning toward what could happen this weekend.

Comey was arraigned on a two-count indictment in the Eastern District of Virginia this morning, pleading not guilty through his attorney to one count of making a false statement to Congress and a count of obstructing a congressional proceeding. 

Comey spoke only once during the hearing in response to a question from the judge on whether he understood his rights, including the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney.

“I do, your honor," Comey said. "Thank you very much.” 

A trial date has been set for Jan. 5, and both parties expect it to last two to three days. 

Comey’s team said they will file two sets of motions in the coming days. The first will challenge the charges as a vindictive and selective prosecution, while the second challenging Lindsey Halligan’s appointment as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, which Comey's attorney, Patrick Fitzgerald, called “unlawful."

Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears has launched a new TV ad in the Virginia governor’s race highlighting texts from the Democratic nominee for attorney general that suggested a GOP leader get “two bullets to the head.” 

Earle-Sears' opponent, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, has said she was disgusted by the 2022 texts from Jay Jones that resurfaced last week, in which he mused about then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert being shot. But the new ad notes Spanberger has still supported Jones, with a narrator saying, “She stands with him, not us.”

The ad also features footage of Spanberger saying, “Let your rage fuel you.” 

Trump said in a post to Truth Social this morning that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker “should be in jail” in an escalation of his conflict with the two Democratic officials.

“Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers!” he said in the post. “Governor Pritzker also!”

The president’s post comes a day after Texas National Guard troops arrived in Illinois, despite the Democrats’ fierce opposition. Trump has threatened for weeks to send troops to Chicago as part of a crime-fighting and immigration effort, and Democrats have slammed his push as overreach and a political stunt.

Read the full story here.

Comey pleaded not guilty to both counts of the indictment — one count of making a false statement to Congress and one count of obstructing a congressional proceeding.

Comey's attorney, Pat Fitzgerald, said his client received the indictment and read it. He is asking for a jury trial and waived the reading of the indictment. 

Comey is inside the courtroom in Alexandria, Virginia, and is waiting for his arraignment to begin.

Tennessee state Rep. Justin Pearson, who drew national attention in 2023 for protesting gun violence on the state House floor, announced today that he is launching a Democratic primary challenge against longtime Rep. Steve Cohen.

Pearson was one of three Democratic state legislators, who became known as the “Tennessee Three,” who led protests on the floor after a school shooting. Pearson and fellow state Rep. Justin Jones were expelled from the Legislature, while state Rep. Gloria Johnson withstood her expulsion vote. Pearson and Jones were eventually reinstated. 

Read the full story here.

The Federal Aviation Administration's list of airports on the watch list for staffing-related delays include some of the busiest in the country, and the existing shortage of air traffic controllers is being aggravated by some calling out sick amid the government shutdown, a move the controller union insists is not an organized walkout. NBC’s Tom Costello reports for "TODAY."

Government shutdown disrupts travel at more U.S. airports

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Comey's family has arrived at the Albert V. Bryan United States Courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia.

His wife, children and son-in-law Troy Edwards entered the courthouse.

Edwards worked as a prosecutor in the U.S. attorney's office that charged Comey and resigned shortly after he was indicted.

Patrice Failor, wife of former FBI director James Comey, is embraced by her daughter Maurene Comey as they arrive at court today. Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner will join Gaza ceasefire talks in Egypt today, as Hamas said the two sides had taken an initial step toward a key point of the U.S. plan to end the devastating war.

The arrival of the U.S. delegation, as well as the leader of mediator Qatar, comes after a second day of indirect talks as Israel and Palestinians mourned the second anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks and the brutal conflict that has followed.

Hamas released a statement Wednesday saying that a list of Palestinian prisoners who would be released under a deal had been provided to Israel.

Read the full story here.

National Guard troops from Texas are now on the ground just outside Chicago as part of a mobilization ordered by Trump. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has denounced the deployment as an unconstitutional invasion. NBC’s Peter Alexander reports for "TODAY."

Texas National Guard troops arrive outside Chicago

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When the White House discouraged Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from launching a Senate bid in Georgia this spring, Greene — a longtime loyal ally of Trump — agreed to back off her statewide ambitions.

But that didn’t mean the firebrand Republican was going to back down from other fights she felt were worth waging — including, or perhaps especially, with her own party.

Over the past six months, Greene has made waves in Washington for publicly breaking with Trump and the GOP on a number of high-profile issues and lobbing some pointed attacks at her fellow Republicans in the process. She was critical of the Trump administration’s strikes on Iran, referred to the situation in Gaza as a “genocide,” signed her name to an effort to force a House vote to require the Justice Department to release its files related to the Jeffrey Epstein case and, most recently, sided with Democrats in calling for an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies amid the government shutdown fight.

Read the full story here.

Former FBI Director James Comey will appear in a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, today for his arraignment on charges brought after a public campaign by Trump to prosecute him.

A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia indicted Comey, whom Trump fired during his first term in office, on two charges last month: making a false statement and obstruction of a congressional proceeding.

Trump had posted just days earlier on his social media platform, calling on Attorney General Pam Bondi to charge Comey. “We can’t delay any longer,” he wrote.

Comey, who was a registered Republican and served in the Justice Department during the George W. Bush administration, became the subject of Trump’s ire after he helped spark Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Read the full story here.