Trump to meet with prime minister of Qatar; Sen. Chuck Schumer issues shutdown warning

Missouri’s state Legislature has passed a plan to redraw the state’s congressional map and turn Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s district into a Republican-leaning seat, the latest move in a nationwide redistricting fight aimed at shifting the balance of power in Washington in next year’s midterm elections.

Just weeks after Texas successfully passed maps aimed at netting Republicans up to five more congressional districts, Missouri’s state House and Senate convened in a special session to redraw the lines to benefit the GOP. They had far less room to grow than Texas Republicans did, given that six of Missouri’s eight U.S. House seats are already represented by Republicans.

But the new map will carve up Cleaver’s district in the Kansas City area in the hopes of creating one new red seat there.

In between Texas and Missouri’s moves, California Democrats voted to place a measure before voters this November to temporarily override the state’s independent redistricting commission and draw new maps that could result in a gain of five Democratic seats.

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe, a Republican, is expected to sign the new map into law. Kehoe called the special session as President Donald Trump urges Republican-led states to embark on rare mid-decade redraws aimed at shoring up his party’s majority in the House.

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In a letter to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., requested Kennedy's “strong public support” for the vaccine for pertussis, or "whooping cough."

“In my state of Louisiana, we are experiencing the worst pertussis outbreak in 35 years. The outbreak has already killed two babies,” Cassidy wrote.

“I want to work together to stop pertussis. Your strong public support for this vaccine will save lives. Families responded to your decisive leadership when you clearly promoted the [measles, mumps and rubella] vaccine to stop the outbreak in West Texas. They would respond again to your call that the DTaP vaccine is the best way to protect our babies," the senator added.

Cassidy also pointed to Trump’s support for vaccines, writing: “Trump recently declared unequivocally ‘you have vaccines that work. They just pure and simple work. They’re not controversial at all.’”

The letter comes ahead of the HELP Committee’s hearing with former CDC Director Susan Monarez — who was fired by Kennedy — on Wednesday, Sept. 17. 

A White House meeting between the Qatari prime minister, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio concluded after roughly one hour. 

A source familiar with the meeting described it as “very positive” in which the two sides discussed how Qatar could continue to play a key regional role in facilitating mediation between major regional players and the U.S. while also ensuring a strengthened defense cooperation agreement directly with the U.S. to avoid future attacks.

The two sides discussed Israel’s strike on Doha targeting Hamas leadership earlier this week and the fallout from the Israeli effort on future regional relations.

The Qatari PM is now heading to New York for a meeting with Trump and White House special envoy Steve Witkoff.

Food and Drug Administration officials plan to present data it claims links the Covid vaccine to 25 deaths in children at what’s expected to be a closely watched vaccine advisory committee next week, a source confirmed to NBC News.

The Washington Post first reported the expected data.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, is scheduled to meet Thursday and Friday to review and make recommendations on several vaccines, including this fall’s updated Covid shots.

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The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a hearing with Washington's mayor, City Council chairman and attorney general next week on oversight of the nation's capital, it announced this morning.

The hearing Thursday will examine the council’s "soft-on-crime policies," juvenile crime, law enforcement’s response and general oversight of the city, the panel said in a news release.

The committee advanced several D.C.-related bills this week, including one that would codify Trump's executive order creating a task force to focus on crime and beautification in the district.

The capital has seen crime rates drop since Trump surged federal law enforcement personnel and National Guard troops into the city. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, said the district would revert to the "status quo" after Trump's 30-day takeover of the city's police force expired earlier this week, but she said federal law enforcement would remain in the capital.

“The House Oversight Committee and President Trump have sent a clear message to D.C. officials: it’s time to make our nation’s capital safe," James Comer said in statement in the release. "All Americans should feel safe in their capital city, but radical left-wing policies pushed by the D.C. Council have created an environment for truancy and violent crime to flourish."

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is holding a closed-door transcribed interview with former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre as part of its investigation into the use of autopen during Joe Biden’s presidency. 

Jean-Pierre arrived at a little before 10 a.m. and did not answer press questions. 

Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., told reporters ahead of the interview that Jean-Pierre was “intentionally” one of the last people in their investigation because of her book about her time working in the Biden White House. 

"We believe that she’s written things in the book that are going to be of interest to our entire investigation," Comer said. "We’ve seen a lot of reports, and obviously we have the emails that have surfaced in the last week that would suggest that there was a process that the Biden administration was using to use the autopen that was in direct conflict with the Merrick Garland Department of Justice. And the process by which the email said the Biden administration was using to approve the autopen are inconsistent with many of the depositions and transcribed interviews that we’ve gotten thus far from this investigation, so.” 

The Kentucky lawmaker said the committee will release the transcripts from the interviews once all the depositions are finished.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Israel this weekend to discuss with officials the latest developments in the war in Gaza, the State Department said today.

“In Israel, he will convey America’s priorities in the Israel-Hamas conflict and broader issues concerning Middle Eastern security, reaffirming the U.S. commitment to Israeli security,” State Department principal deputy spokesperson Tommy Piggot said in a statement. “He will also emphasize our shared goals: ensuring Hamas never rules over Gaza again and bringing all the hostages home.”

The visit comes at a moment of high tension for the longtime allies following Israel’s attempted assassination of Hamas leaders on Qatari soil earlier this week. Israel’s strikes in the middle of peace negotiations to end the war in Gaza have outraged Qatar, a key mediator in the war, as well as other key U.S. allies in the region and the Trump administration has attempted to distance itself from the action.

“The unilateral bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation working very hard and bravely taking risks alongside the United States to broker peace, does not advance Israel’s or America’s goals,” Dorothy Shea, the acting U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations, said yesterday at an emergency Security Council session.

Trump told reporters Tuesday that he was “very unhappy” with the Israeli strikes.

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Officials have identified the person accused of fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk as 22-year-old Utah resident Tyler Robinson.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox confirmed the suspect’s identity at a news conference this morning, standing along FBI Director Kash Patel and other law enforcement officials.

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Speaking on Fox News, Trump said that he believes “with a high degree of certainty” that law enforcement officials have the suspect in Charlie Kirk’s shooting in custody.

Special Report: Trump says suspect in Kirk shooting is in custody

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Trump said this morning that he’s planning to send federal law enforcement and the National Guard into Memphis, Tennessee, to lower crime in the city following his surge into Washington, D.C., over the last month.

“We’re going to Memphis. Memphis is deeply troubled,” Trump said in an interview on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends” in New York. “The mayor is happy. He’s a Democrat. And the governor of Tennessee, the governor is happy. We’re gonna fix that just like we did Washington.” 

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Trump said that opposition to Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani should coalesce behind one candidate, and chided Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.

"I think they have to have one candidate, and it would look to me like Cuomo, frankly, is leading the other two. Look, I'm a Republican but Curtis is not exactly prime time, you know?" Trump said during an extended interview on Fox News' "Fox and Friends." He stopped short of calling for Sliwa or New York City Mayor Eric Adams to drop out of the race, though.

Sliwa owns more than a dozen rescue cats and told Gothamist and WNYC during his 2021 bid that a mayoral victory would allow him to move out of a 328-square-foot apartment and into the large mayoral residence that would "allow more opportunities to have cats, that would not be euthanized" and allow him to have a yard for rescue dogs.

Sliwa also told New York magazine the same year: “I’ve been in Gracie Mansion before. There is easily room in there for 60 cats."

Trump chided Sliwa during the interview for those comments: "He wants cats to be in Gracie Mansion. ... We don't need to have thousands of cats."

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that he did not believe that the Russian drones that violated Polish airspace this week were there by "mistake."

"We would also wish that the drone attack on Poland was a mistake. But it wasn’t. And we know it," Tusk wrote in a post on X.

His comment came after Trump yesterday suggested that "it could’ve been a mistake" when asked by reporters at the White House about the incident.

During a lengthy interview on Fox News' "Fox and Friends" this morning, the president spoke about Russia and President Vladimir Putin, floating the idea that he could impose more sanctions on the Eastern European nation.

"It'll be hitting very hard on — with sanctions to banks and having to do with oil and tariffs, also," Trump said in response to a question about what it looks like for the U.S. to clamp down on Putin.

Trump also argued that, "I've already done it. I've done a lot," pointing to the sanctions his administration imposed on India for buying Russian oil.

NASA has tightened Chinese citizens’ access to its facilities and networks, citing security concerns as China makes rapid gains in its space program and the U.S. and China race to the moon.

The U.S. government agency has “taken internal action pertaining to Chinese nationals, including restricting physical and cybersecurity access to our facilities, materials and network to ensure the security of our work,” spokesperson Bethany Stevens said in an emailed statement to NBC News.

The details of the new restrictions were not immediately clear. Previously, Chinese nationals with U.S. visas were allowed to participate in NASA projects as contractors, graduate students and in other capacities as long as they were not affiliated with a Chinese state institution, according to the agency’s website.

China’s state-backed nationalist tabloid Global Times slammed NASA’s decision as “another irrational move in politicizing science and technology.”

U.S. Capitol Police again responded to “a potential security concern” at the DNC Headquarters in Washington. Police said soon after that the situation at the DNC was "all clear."

A DNC spokesperson told NBC News, “This morning, DNC HQ was notified by U.S. Capitol Police that there was a second bomb threat and conducted a sweep of the building, giving us the all clear. As we stated yesterday, political violence is unacceptable and has become far too commonplace in our country. We are grateful for the service and partnership of the U.S. Capitol Police and DNC building security for acting swiftly.”

Police responded to a bomb threat to the DNC headquarters yesterday, but that threat was also deemed not to be credible. 

Trump said that federal troops will be “going to Memphis" in his latest crime crackdown effort. He added that the Democratic mayor wants him there.

He also threatened again to send troops into New Orleans and Chicago.

"We'd love to save Chicago," he said.

WASHINGTON — Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer weathered backlash from Democrats earlier this year when he voted with Republicans to keep the government open. But he’s now willing to risk a shutdown at the end of the month if Republicans don’t accede to Democratic demands.

Schumer says he and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries are united in opposing any legislation that doesn’t include key health care provisions and a commitment not to roll them back. He argues that the country is in a different place than it was in March, when he vigorously argued against a shutdown, and he says he believes Republicans and Trump will be held responsible if they don’t negotiate a bipartisan deal.

“Things have changed” since the March vote, Schumer said in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday. He said Republicans have since passed Trump’s massive tax breaks and spending cuts legislation, which trimmed Medicaid and other government programs, and Democrats are now unified — unlike in March, when he voted with Republicans and Jeffries voted against legislation to fund the government.

A shutdown, Schumer said, wouldn’t necessarily worsen an environment in which Trump is already challenging the authority of Congress. “It will get worse with or without it, because Trump is lawless,” Schumer said.

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A source familiar with the matter confirms to NBC News that Trump and special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff are expected to meet with Qatari PM Mohammed Al-Thani today. 

The meeting comes after Israeli strikes inside Qatar, targeting Hamas leaders earlier this week. Trump told reporters Tuesday that he was "very unhappy" with the attack.

“I view Qatar as a strong Ally and friend of the U.S., and feel very badly about the location of the attack," he said Tuesday on Truth Social.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said in an interview yesterday that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is "looking for a reason" to shut down the government.

“I think that they see it as politically advantageous to have a shutdown. I think that their base is clamoring for that. They want to fight with the Trump administration," Thune said in an interview with Punchbowl News.

Schumer said Wednesday that a "clean" short-term funding bill is “is not good enough to meet the needs of the American people and not good enough to get our votes."

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is set to meet with a top Chinese official to discuss trade, TikTok and more.

During a trip to Spain that begins today, Bessent will meet with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng “to discuss key national security, economic, and trade issues of mutual interest,” the Treasury said in a statement yesterday, including the status of the Chinese-owned short-video app TikTok and “cooperating on money laundering networks that threaten both the United States and China.”

Bessent will then travel to Britain as part of Trump’s official state visit, the Treasury said.

Josh Kraft, the son of the New England Patriots’ owner, announced yesterday he is dropping his bid to unseat Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, days after advancing to the November ballot.

He announced the move on WCVB-TV after Kraft and Wu bested two challengers to advance during a preliminary election Tuesday.

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Former President Joe Biden is running into a problem in his nascent effort to raise money for a presidential library: Donors are checked out.

“I want an $800,000 refund,” said John Morgan, a Florida-based personal injury lawyer. He was referring to the nearly $1 million he said he raised for Biden that went to then-Vice President Kamala Harris last year, after she assumed Biden’s role as the Democratic presidential nominee.

“I don’t believe a library will ever be built unless it’s a bookmobile from the old days,” added Morgan, who is a longtime Biden devotee.

Susie Buell, a major donor in the Democratic Party, said, “No one has asked, but I am not inclined to give to libraries.”

Organized labor is shifting to the right in Ohio, where several unions have issued surprisingly early endorsements of Republicans in the state’s races for governor and U.S. Senate.

Vivek Ramaswamy, a billionaire closely aligned with Trump’s MAGA movement, already has three labor groups backing him for governor in 2026, with the most recent nod coming this week from the Central Midwest Carpenters Union. And Sen. Jon Husted, the Republican appointed to fill Vice President JD Vance’s old Senate seat, has two supporting him in next year’s special election to fill the remainder of Vance’s term.

The endorsements on their own aren’t a total shock, coming from groups that occasionally back GOP candidates in a state where unions have been spreading their political donations more evenly between the two parties. In Ohio, voters from households with at least one union member favored Trump over Democrat Kamala Harris, 54%-45%, in last year’s general election, according to NBC News exit polling — part of a broader, long-term shift around the U.S.

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WASHINGTON — Following Charlie Kirk’s assassination, President Donald Trump may be uniquely positioned to tamp down the anger that suffuses American politics and lead a movement to bind up a bitterly divided country if he chooses.

But, political strategists and officials from both parties told NBC News, that’s not the path Trump appears to be taking.

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