Live updates: Senate passes government funding bill, Trump appeals E. Jean Carroll verdict
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A Utah judge has rejected a congressional map drawn by state Republicans in favor of one that creates a Democratic-leaning district in Salt Lake City.
What to know today
- SENATE SHUTDOWN VOTE: The Senate last night passed a bipartisan bill that would end the government shutdown with support from eight Democrats and the backing of President Donald Trump. The bill now heads to the House for a vote as soon as tomorrow.
- DEMOCRATIC DIVISIONS: Democrats are furious over the decision by the breakaway group of Senate Democrats to support the government funding package, which does not include an extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits.
- TRUMP APPEALS CARROLL VERDICT: President Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court to review a $5 million civil judgment that found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll.
- UTAH REDISTRICTING: A Utah judge late last night rejected new congressional district lines drawn by Republican state lawmakers, instead approving a new map drawing a solidly Democratic seat with voters from Salt Lake City that’s likely to flip in next year’s midterms.
Flight disruptions accelerate amid air traffic controller shortage
As the fallout from the government shutdown continues to wreak havoc on air travel plans, flight delays and cancellations are accelerating at airports across the United States due to ongoing staffing shortages — with some air traffic controllers and TSA officers now working without two paychecks. NBC’s Tom Costello reports for "TODAY."
FBI director visits China for talks on fentanyl and more
FBI Director Kash Patel visited China last week to discuss fentanyl and law enforcement issues, arriving in Beijing on Friday and holding talks with Chinese officials Saturday, according to a source familiar with the visit.
His visit was first reported by Reuters.
During talks with Trump last month, Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed to intensify China’s efforts to stem the flow of fentanyl precursor chemicals. In exchange, Trump reduced his fentanyl-related tariffs on Chinese goods to 10% from 20%.
Yesterday, China announced new restrictions on the export of 13 precursor chemicals to the United States, Canada and Mexico, including those used to produce the synthetic opioid that is blamed for tens of thousands of U.S. overdose deaths each year.
Janet Mills hits Susan Collins for ‘betrayal’ after she rejects ACA funding extension
Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat who is vying to challenge Republican Sen. Susan Collins next year, criticized the Republican senator for joining her party to vote down a one-year extension of expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies in the run-up to passage of the government funding bill.
“Susan Collins just voted against extending the ACA subsidies. This vote is a betrayal of Maine people, and it will send health care costs through the roof,” Mills said on X. “While I have fought to expand health care and to make it more affordable, Senator Collins and Republicans in Washington are doing the opposite.”
In response, Collins campaign spokesperson Shawn Roderick told NBC News the senator wants income-based restrictions on the ACA funds in order to renew them.
“Susan Collins has been clear that she supports extending the ACA subsidies, but believes there should be an income cap so wealthy people are not eligible for subsidies that are intended for people who are struggling to afford their insurance,” Roderick said. “Janet Mills’ position seems to be that wealthy Mainers making $300,000 a year should receive taxpayer funded health care subsidies.”
GOP House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington decides not to seek re-election
House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, has decided not to seek re-election, he told Fox News.
“I have a firm conviction, much like our founders did, that public service is a lifetime commitment, but public office is and should be a temporary stint in stewardship, not a career,” Arrington told Fox.
NBC News reached out to Arrington's office for comment.
The Texas Republican has served in the House since 2017 and has led the House Budget Committee since 2023. He represents the 19th Congressional District, which is located in the upper midwestern part of the state and includes Lubbock and Abilene.
Arrington is the 21st House Republican to announce plans to retire or seek other office at the end of the current term.
Trump requests Supreme Court overturn verdict in E. Jean Carroll sexual abuse and defamation case
Trump asked the Supreme Court yesterday to review a $5 million civil judgment that found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll.
A jury in 2023 awarded the judgment after it found Trump liable of sexual abuse, following Carroll’s allegations that Trump assaulted her in the dressing room of a Manhattan department store in 1996 and later defamed her during his first term by referring to her allegations as a “hoax” and a “con job.”
Utah judge rejects GOP redistricting effort, approving new map with a Democratic-leaning seat
A Utah judge late last night rejected new congressional district lines drawn by Republican state lawmakers, instead approving a new map drawing a solidly Democratic seat with voters from Salt Lake City that’s likely to flip in next year’s midterms.
The ruling is a blow for Republicans, who had designed a map to protect the state’s all-GOP congressional delegation, and a big win for Democrats who have struggled to find places to respond in kind to Republicans’ mid-decade redistricting efforts and win control of the House.
House vote to reopen the government could take place as early as tomorrow afternoon
House lawmakers were notified last night that votes on the Senate-passed legislation to reopen the government could start as soon as 4 p.m. tomorrow, 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 Sept. 19.
Trump addresses financial concerns of air traffic controllers working without pay for more than 40 days
Trump repeated criticism last night of air traffic controllers who have been absent during parts of the record-long government shutdown, when they’re required to work without pay.
During a Fox News interview, Trump discussed the employees who in some cases have had to take on second jobs to pay their bills amid a funding lapse that will hit the six-week mark today.
“You know, a lot of people who showed up also had a second job. They took a second job temporarily. But they all know the money’s coming, and the money was coming,” Trump told host Laura Ingraham.
Steve Kornacki: Republicans took a political hit in the shutdown. How long will it last
With the government shutdown now poised to end, it’s clear Republicans are in worse shape politically now than when it started. The question is whether that will prove to be temporary — as has been the case with past funding showdowns — or if the political atmosphere has been reset in a way that will linger into next year’s midterm elections.
As the six-week shutdown played out, Trump’s job approval rating ebbed to the lowest point of his second term, with a majority of voters pinning the blame on him and Republicans in Congress. Democrats opened up a wide lead in the generic congressional ballot — 8 points in our NBC News poll, a level last seen in the run-up to the “blue wave” in the 2018 midterms.
And then there was last Tuesday, when Democrats posted an unexpected landslide in New Jersey, a state where both parties saw the gubernatorial contest as competitive and recent elections had suggested Republican momentum. Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill’s victory was so staggering that it lifted a host of downballot Democrats and gave the party its largest state Assembly majority in a half-century. The Democratic rout was even bigger in Virginia: The party’s deeply flawed candidate for attorney general, Jay Jones, coasted easily on the coattails of Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger.
Off-year election losses spark Republican concerns about redistricting
Trump is confident that he drew the right battle lines when he launched a nationwide redistricting fight to try to preserve the Republican House majority, GOP strategists familiar with the White House’s thinking say — even after last Tuesday’s election results gave Democrats openings to counterstrike in California and Virginia.
But two other Republicans close to the White House told NBC News that there are growing concerns in the party that the political war is not going as planned — that the juice may not have been worth the squeeze and could, in a nightmare scenario, result in a net gain for Democrats. And within broader GOP circles, misgivings about the strategy heightened last week after California voters overwhelmingly approved Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to redraw the state’s congressional districts in a manner that Democrats hope will flip five House seats in their direction.
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 Sunday 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.
Senate passes bill to reopen the government as 8 Democrats join with Republicans to send it to the House
The Senate passed legislation last night 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 tomorrow to pass the package and send it to Trump, who said yesterday that he supports the bipartisan deal.
