Early voter turnout is exceeding expectations in California’s Nov. 4 special election over redrawing the state’s congressional districts, a Democratic-led effort to counter Republican attempts to keep Congress under GOP control.
“We’re seeing some pretty extraordinary numbers of early votes that have already been cast, people sending back in their ballots,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a livestream with former President Obama on Wednesday.
More than 3.4 million mail ballots have been returned as of Wednesday, with votes from Democrats outpacing ballots from Republicans and Californians registered as not having a party preference, according to a ballot tracker run by Democratic strategist Paul Mitchell. Mitchell is deeply involved in the Democratic effort, and drafted the proposed congressional districts on the Nov. 4 special election ballot.
That’s roughly the same number of ballots returned by this time in the White House contest between then-Vice President Kamala Harris and then-former President Trump in 2024, notable because turnout during presidential elections is higher than in other years.
About a million more ballots had been turned in by this point in the unsuccessful 2021 attempt to recall Newsom, but that was during the COVID pandemic.
This year’s turnout is also especially significant because Proposition 50 is about the esoteric topic of redistricting. Redrawing congressional districts is usually a once-a-decade process that takes place after the U.S. census to account for population shifts.
California’s 52 congressional districts currently are crafted by a voter-approved independent commission, but Newsom and other California Democrats decided to ask voters to allow a rare mid-decade partisan gerrymandering to blunt Trump’s efforts in GOP-led states to boost his party’s numbers in the House.
Obama, who has endorsed Proposition 50 and stars in a television ad supporting the effort, on Wednesday said the ballot measure will affect the entire country.
“There’s a broader principle at stake that has to do with whether or not our democracy can be manipulated by those who are already in power to entrench themselves further,” Obama said. “Or, whether we’re going to have a system that allows the people to decide who’s going to represent them.”
About 51% of the ballots that have been returned to date are from registered Democrats, while 28% are from registered Republicans and 21% are from voters who do not express a party preference.
It’s unknown how these voters cast their ballots, but the Democratic advantage appears to give an edge to supporters of Proposition 50, which needs to be passed by a simple majority to be enacted. About 19.6 million ballots — roughly 85% of those mailed to California voters — are outstanding, though not all are expected to be returned.
The current trend of returned ballots at this point shows Democrats having a small edge over Republicans compared with their share of the California electorate. According to the latest state voter registration report, Democrats account for 45% of California’s registered voters, while Republicans total 25% and “no party preference” voters make up 23%. Californians belonging to other parties make up the remainder.
Mitchell added that another interesting data point is that the mail ballots continue to flow in.
“Usually you see a lull after the first wave — if you don’t mail in your ballot in the first week, it’s going to be sitting on the counter for a while,” Mitchell said. But ballots continue to arrive, possibly encouraged by the “No Kings” protests on Saturday, he said.
A spokesperson for the pro-Proposition 50 campaign said they are taking nothing for granted.
“With millions of ballots still to be cast, we will keep pushing to make sure every Californian understands what’s at stake and turns out to vote yes on Nov. 4th to stop Trump’s power grab,” said spokesperson Hannah Milgrom.
Some Republican leaders have expressed concerns that the GOP early vote may be suppressed by Trump’s past criticism about mail balloting, inaccuracies in the voter guide sent to the state’s 23 million voters and conspiracy theories about the ballot envelope design.
“While ballot initiatives are nonpartisan, many Republicans tend to hold on to their ballots until in-person voting begins,” said Ellie Hockenbury, an advisor to the “No on Prop 50 — Stop Sacramento’s Power Grab” campaign committee. “As this next phase starts — and with nearly two weeks until Election Day — we expect already high turnout to continue rising to defeat Proposition 50 and stop Gavin Newsom’s partisan power grab.”
Amy Thoma, a spokesperson for the other major group opposing the proposition, said the data show that the voters who have returned ballots so far are not representative of the California electorate.
“Special elections tend to be more partisan, older and whiter than general elections, which is one of the reasons we’ve been concerned about the speed with which the politicians pushed this through,” she said.
Poll shows how California voters feel about Prop 50 redistricting effort – CBS News
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Democrats in California want to add more of their party’s seats to Congress, but they need voters’ approval first. CBS News’ Anthony Salvanto has the data on how voters are feeling about the redistricting effort.
Pennsylvania Democratic senator John Fetterman has notoriously been taking an unorthodox path since Donald Trump reentered the White House. It’s a matter of some dispute as to whether Fetterman’s growing estrangement from his own party has anything to do with his medical and mental-health struggles following a 2022 stroke. Regardless of these concerns, Fetterman’s political situtation is becoming increasingly fraught, particularly for someone once firmly ensconced in the progressive, Bernie Sanders wing of the Democratic Party.
Fetterman has famously criticized other Democrats for saying mean things about the 47th president. He has split from them on certain confirmation votes (he was, for example, the only Democrat to vote to confirm Pam Bondi as attorney general). He has defended ICE against Democratic criticism. And most conspicuously, he has become perhaps one of the Senate’s most hardcore supporters of everything Israel has done in its war with Gaza. Public-opinion polls in Pennsylvania show he is now more popular with Republicans than with Democrats.
So it wasn’t particularly surprising when Fetterman joined two of the 47 Senate Democrats (Catherine Cortez Masto and Angus King) in voting for the Republican-sponsored stopgap spending bill at the end of September, rejecting the conditions most Democrats placed on cooperating to keep the federal government open. Fetterman is, however, placing himself on an island by agreeing with far-right Republicans like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Chip Roy that it’s time to crush the Senate Democratic opposition by “nuking” the filibuster, as The Hillreported:
Democratic Sen. John Fetterman (Pa.) told reporters Tuesday that he would support Republicans using the so-called nuclear option to override the Senate filibuster to pass a bill to reopen the government.
Fetterman said the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is running out of money and people “need to eat” as the government shutdown dragged into its 21st day …
“This is just bad political theater. Open it up,” he said.
Asked if he would support Republicans “nuking” the filibuster to let a House-passed funding measure pass the Senate with a simple-majority vote, Fetterman replied affirmatively.
More specifically, Fetterman appeared to endorse not a total abolition of the filibuster but a “carve-out” to allow a vote to reopen the government to pass the Senate by a simple majority. And he rationalized that position by noting that Democrats had in the past supported their own carve-outs.
“We ran on that. We ran on killing the filibuster, and now we love it. Carve it out so we can move on. I support it because it makes it more difficult to shut the government down in the future, and that’s where it’s entirely appropriate,” he said. “I don’t want to hear any Democrat clutching their pearls about the filibuster. We all ran on it.”
The filibuster isn’t an all-or-nothing proposition, and not all carve-outs are alike. Over the years, Congress has carved out a series of exceptions to the right to filibuster Senate votes, notably executive- and judicial-branch confirmations and congressional budget measures (e.g., the huge “budget reconciliation” bills like this year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act). This year, Senate Republicans also implicitly carved out certain budget scoring rules to make it easier to disguise the deficit-swelling nature of the OBBBA. So the question is not, as Fetterman appears to suggest, whether to have filibuster carve-outs: It’s what the carve-out is for and whom it benefits.
The Democratic carve-out proposal Fetterman is apparently alluding to as something “we ran on” was to exempt voting-rights measures from the filibuster following a series of state voter-suppression measures sponsored by Republican-controlled states and defended by Senate Republicans. Some Democrats (notably Kamala Harris) also backed a carve-out for congressional measures to ensure abortion rights in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision reversing Roe v. Wade. In both cases, the proposed carve-outs involved fundamental rights. In the current situation, the right in question is the Senate majority’s power to deny Democrats their one bit of significant leverage over the Trump administration and its congressional allies at a time when Republicans are running the country almost exclusively via executive actions and filibusterproof budget measures (e.g., the OBBBA). The lights really do go out for congressional Democrats if they can’t use this limited power to stand in the way of the Trump 2.0. steamroller.
Fetterman is obviously within his rights to conclude that the cost the country is paying for the government shutdown is too high and to cross the aisle to help the GOP end it. But there’s nothing hypocritical about Democrats wanting to get rid of the filibuster for one thing and not for another; it’s not and never has been an all-or-nothing matter. So Fetterman should probably omit this argument from his litany of grievances about his party.
SAN FRANCISCO — State Sen. Scott Wiener couldn’t wait any longer. The once-in-a-generation political opening he’d eyed for years had arrived, he decided — whether the grand dame of San Francisco politics agreed or not.
On Wednesday, Wiener, 55, a prolific and ambitious lawmaker, formally announced his candidacy for the San Francisco congressional seat held for nearly four decades by Rep. Nancy Pelosi, 85, who remains one of the party’s most powerful leaders and has yet to reveal her own intentions for the 2026 race.
“The world is changing, the Democratic Party is changing, and it’s time,” Wiener said in an interview with The Times. “I know San Francisco, I have worked tirelessly to represent this community — delivering housing, health care, clean energy, LGBTQ and immigrant rights — and I have a fortitude and backbone to be able to deliver for San Francisco in Congress.”
State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) announced Wednesdat that he will run for the congressional seat currently held by former Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
(Josh Edelson/For The Times)
Wiener’s announcement — which leaked in part last week — caught some political observers off guard, given Wiener had for years seemed resigned to run for Pelosi’s seat only once she stepped aside. But it stunned few, given how squarely it fit within the broader political moment facing the Democratic Party.
In recent years, a long-simmering reckoning over generational power has exploded into the political forefront as members of the party’s old guard have increasingly been accused of holding on too long, and to their party’s detriment.
Long-serving liberal Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ruffled many Democratic feathers by declining to step down during Barack Obama’s presidency despite being in her 80s. She subsequently died while still on the court at the age of 87 in 2020, handing President Trump his third appointment to the high court.
Visitors walk past a bust of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein at San Francisco City Hall. The former mayor of San Francisco served in the Senate until she died in 2023 at age 90.
(Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
As a result, age has become an unavoidable tension point for Democrats heading into next year’s midterm elections.
It has also been an issue for Republicans, including Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), 83, the former Senate majority leader who has faced health issues in recent years and is retiring in 2026 after more than 40 years in the Senate. Other older Republicans are facing primary challenges for being perceived as too traditional or insufficiently loyal to Trump or the MAGA movement — including Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), 73 and in office since 2002, and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), 68 and in the Senate since 2015.
For decades, many conservatives have called for congressional term limits in opposition to “career politicians” who cling to power for too long. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, and David Trone, a Maryland Democrat, renewed those calls on Wednesday, announcing in an op-ed published in the New York Times that they would co-chair a national campaign to push for term limits.
However, perhaps because they are in power, the calls for a generational shake-up in 2026 have not been nearly as loud on the Republican side.
Democratic Party activists have sounded the alarm about a quickening slide into gerontocracy on the political left, blamed it for their party’s inability to mount an energetic and effective response to Trump and his MAGA movement, and called for younger candidates to take the reins — while congressional leaders in their 70s and 80s have increasingly begun weighing their options in the face of primary challenges.
“It’s fair to say the political appetite for octogenarians is not high,” said Eric Jaye, a veteran Democratic strategist in San Francisco.
“The choice in front of people is not just age,” said Saikat Chakrabarti, a 39-year-old tech millionaire and Democratic political operative who is also running for Pelosi’s seat. “We need a whole different approach and different candidates.”
“There’s like this unspoken rule that you don’t do what we’re doing in this moment. You sit out and wait your turn,” said Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang, 40, who has launched a primary challenge to Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento), who is 81 and has been in Congress since 2005. “But I’m not going to wait on the sidelines, because there is an urgency of now.”
A national trend
The generational shift promises to reshape Congress by replacing Democrats across the country, including some who are leaving without a fight.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, 78 and a senator representing New Hampshire since 2009, said in March that it was “time” to step aside.
In Illinois, Sen. Richard Durbin, 80 and a senator since 1997, and Rep. Jan Schakowsky, 81 and in the House since 1999, both announced in May that they would not run again. Durbin said it was time “to pass the torch,” while Schakowsky praised younger “voices” in the party as “so sharp.”
Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, 78 and in the House since 1992, announced his retirement last month, saying that “watching the Biden thing really said something about the necessity for generational change in the party.”
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks at a news conference.
(Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Other older Democrats, meanwhile, have shown no intention of stepping aside, or are seeking out new roles in power.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills, 77, recently announced she is running to challenge Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who is 72 and has been in the Senate since 1997. Mills has tried to soften concerns about her age by promising to serve just one term if elected.
Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, 79 and in the Senate since 2013, has stiffly rebuffed a primary challenge from Rep. Seth Moulton, 46, accusing Moulton of springing a challenge on him amid a shutdown and while he is busy resisting Trump’s agenda.
In Connecticut, Rep. John Larson, 77, who has been in office since 1999 and suffered a complex partial seizure on the House floor in February, has mocked his primary challengers’ message of generational change, telling Axios, “Generational change is fine, but you’ve got to earn it.”
David Hogg, a survivor of the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., speaks at the 2022 March for Our Lives.
(Leigh Vogel / Getty Images for March For Our Lives)
David Hogg, a 25-year-old liberal activist who was thrust into politics by the 2018 mass shooting at his Parkland, Fla., high school, is among the party’s younger leaders pushing for new blood. He recently declined to seek reelection as the co-vice chair of the Democratic National Committee to bring primary challenges to older Democratic incumbents with his group Leaders We Deserve.
When he announced that decision in June, Hogg called the idea that Democratic leaders can stay in power until they die even if they don’t do a good job an “existential threat to the future of this party and nation.” His group fundraises and disperses money to young candidates it backs.
When asked by The Times about Pelosi and her primary challengers, however, Hogg was circumspect, calling Pelosi “one of the most effective and consequential leaders in the history of the Democratic Party.”
A shift in California
Pelosi is not the only older California incumbent facing a primary challenge. In addition to Matsui, the list also includes Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Porter Ranch), who is 70 and has been in office since 1997, and Rep. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena), who is 74 and has been in office since 1999.
But Pelosi’s challenges have attracted more attention, perhaps in part because her departure from Congress would be the clearest sign yet that the generational shift sought by younger party activists is fully underway.
Nancy Pelosi is sworn in as House speaker in 2007, surrounded by her grandchildren and children of other members of Congress.
(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
A trailblazer as the first female speaker of the House, Pelosi presided over two Trump impeachments. While no longer in leadership, she remains incredibly influential as an arm-twister and strategist.
She played a central role in sidelining Biden after his debate meltdown, and for the last couple months has been raising big money — a special skill of hers — in support of California’s Proposition 50. The measure seeks voter approval to redraw California’s congressional districts to better favor Democrats in response to Trump’s pressure campaign on Texas and other red states to redraw their lines in favor of Republicans.
Pelosi has used Prop. 50 in recent days to deflect questions about her primary challengers and her plans for 2026, with her spokesman Ian Krager saying she “is fully focused” on the Prop 50 fight and will be through Nov. 4.
Chakrabarti, who helped Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) unseat a longtime Democratic incumbent in 2019, said he sees even more “appetite for change” among the party’s base today — as evidenced by “mainstream Democrats who have voted for Nancy Pelosi their whole life” showing up to his events.
And it makes sense, he said.
For decades, Americans have watched the cost of essentials skyrocket while their wages have remained relatively flat, Chakrabarti said, and that has made them desperate to support messages of “bold, sweeping economic change” — whether from Obama or Trump — even as long-serving, mainstream Democrats backed by corporate money have worked to maintain the status quo.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez leaves a news conference at the Capitol in 2019. At left is Saikat Chakrabarti, who was her chief of staff and is now a candidate for the congressional seat held by Rep. Nancy Pelosi.
(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Imag)
He said it is time for Democrats to once again push bold, big ideas, which he plans to do — including Medicare for all, universal child care, free college tuition, millions of new units of affordable housing, a new economy built around climate action, and higher taxes on billionaires and mega-millionaires like him.
Wiener, who also backs Prop. 50 and would be the first out gay person to represent San Francisco in Congress, said he cannot speak to Pelosi’s thinking — or to Politico reporting Wednesday that Pelosi is considering her options and has been seen “publicly elevating” San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan in the race — but is confident in his readiness for the role.
Wiener agreed with Chakrabarti that big ideas are needed from Democrats to win back voters and make progress. He also said that his track record in the state Legislature shows that he has “been willing to take on very, very big fights to make significant progressive change.”
“No one has ever accused me of thinking small,” he said — citing his success in passing bills to create more affordable housing, reform health insurance and drug pricing, tackle net neutrality, challenge telecommunications and cable companies and protect LGBTQ+ and other minority communities and immigrants.
“In addition to having the desire to make big progressive change, in addition to talking about big progressive change, you have to be able to put together the coalitions to deliver on that change, because words are not enough,” Wiener said. “I’ve shown over and over again that I know how to do it, and that I can deliver.”
Political analysts said a message of big ideas will clearly resonate with some voters. But they also said that Pelosi, if she stays in the race, will be hard to beat. She will also face more serious questions than ever about her age and “her ability to function at the extraordinarily high level” she has worked at in years past, Jaye said, and will “have to answer those questions.”
If Pelosi decides not to run, Chakrabarti has the benefit of self-funding and of the current party enthusiasm for fresh faces, they said, and anyone — Chan or otherwise — would benefit from a Pelosi endorsement. But Wiener already has a strong base in the district, a track record for getting legislation passed and, as several observers pointed out, a seemingly endless battery.
“Scott Wiener is an animal. The notion of work-life balance is not a concept he has ever had. He is just like a robotic working machine,” said Aaron Peskin, who served 18 years on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, some alongside Wiener.
Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-Oakland) speaks to reporters at the Capitol in September.
(Kayla Bartkowski/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Amanda Litman, the president of Run for Something, which supports young progressive candidates, said there is pent-up demand for a new generation of leaders, and “older Democrats, especially those in Congress, need to ask themselves, ‘Am I the best person to lead this party forward right now?’”
Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-Oakland), 48, won her seat in 2024 after longtime Rep. Barbara Lee, 79, who had been in the seat since 1998, decided to run for Oakland mayor. Simon said that to her, “it’s not necessarily about birthdays” but who can do the job — “who can govern, who can mentor and who can hold this administration accountable.”
As a longtime community activist who worked with youth, Simon said she is “extremely excited” by all the energy of young Democratic office seekers. But as a freshman in Congress who has leaned on Lee, Pelosi and other mentors to help her learn the ropes, she said it’s also clear Democrats need to “have some generals who are really, really tried and tested.”
“What is not helpful to me in this moment,” Simon said, “is for the Democrats to be a circular firing squad.”
Maine is small: O’Connell put me in touch with a childhood friend, Jesse Einhorn, whose parents, as it turns out, know Platner’s. Einhorn wants to speak with people who know Platner personally before making any decisions. “I’m keeping my mind open, though, because I think that none of it is objectively disqualifying,” he said. “And look, I’m Jewish, so I am kind of hypersensitive to all these things.” He’s on the same page as his father, David Einhorn—a retired lawyer who practiced in Bar Harbor and used to play tennis with Platner’s father. “I think a lot of people would not recognize a skull and crossbones as associated with the Nazis,” said the elder Einhorn. “It’s a tattoo. I don’t think it’s significant.”
Below, Platner describes how he covered up the tattoo, gives his thoughts on where the oppo research against him is coming from, and shares what he’d rather be talking about instead.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
Vanity Fair: Your former political director has described you as a military-history buff, and said that you now know what your tattoo means—even if you didn’t when you got the tattoo. At what point, exactly, did you realize what the symbol means?
Graham Platner: Oh, when this all came out.
Who told you what it means?
Even last week, a few weeks ago, somebody asked me if I had a white supremacist tattoo, and I laughed at them. I thought that was the dumbest thing I’d ever heard.
When you say someone—someone from the media? Someone from your campaign?
Someone—[it] would’ve been a question if I had a white supremacist tattoo. And I said, of course not. That’s insane, because I’m not now, nor ever have been, anyone that—in fact, I’ve lived a life dedicated against antisemitism. This is a core of who I am as a person, which, I will say, makes all of this, essentially, doubly insulting. But then late last week, someone reached out to the campaign—I forget from what news outlet—saying there was this story that I have some kind of white-supremacist–slash–hate tattoo. I want to make this clear: I joined the United States Army with this tattoo. I went to MEPS [Military Entrance Processing Stations]. When you join the service, you get checked for gang and hate tattoos. I went to work for the State Department as a contractor with a full physical, which does the exact same thing. I have had this tattoo for 18 years. My sister-in-law is Jewish, and so is my extended family.
A Texas election review has identified thousands of illegal immigrants on the state’s voter rolls, Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson said Monday.
Nelson said a crosscheck of state voter records found that more than 2,700 possible illegal immigrants were registered on the voter rolls, leading to an eligibility review across the 254 counties.
The data came from a full comparison of Texas’s 18 million registered voters against federal citizenship records in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ SAVE database, according to the Secretary of State’s office.
“Only eligible United States citizens may participate in our elections,” Nelson said. “The Trump Administration’s decision to give states free and direct access to this data set for the first time has been a game changer, and we appreciate the partnership with the federal government to verify the citizenship of those on our voter rolls and maintain accurate voter lists.”
A voter wearing a protective mask and gloves signs a document at a drive-thru mail ballot hand delivery center in Austin, Texas.(Sergio Flores/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The investigation showed after running the SAVE crosscheck, that state officials could identify 2,724 potential noncitizens whose voter files have been sent to local counties to be further investigated.
This process falls under Chapter 16 of the Texas Election Code, which requires counties to verify each voter’s eligibility and remove confirmed noncitizens from the rolls.
Nelson said the review is part of an effort to maintain an accurate voter list and to safeguard election integrity ahead of the 2026 election cycle.
“Everyone’s right to vote is sacred and must be protected,” Nelson said. “We encourage counties to conduct rigorous investigations to determine if any voter is ineligible – just as they do with any other data set we provide.”
Each flagged voter will receive a notice from their county registrar giving them 30 days to provide proof of U.S. citizenship. If a voter does not respond, their registration will be canceled, though it can be reinstated immediately once proof of citizenship is provided.
Nelson’s statement said confirmed noncitizens who voted in previous Texas elections will be referred to the Attorney General’s Office for further review and potential prosecution.
The announcement comes amid growing national scrutiny of voter rolls as several states – including Georgia, Arizona, and Florida – have conducted similar audits of voter eligibility.
Republican Governor Greg Abbott said that since Senate Bill 1 was signed into law, Texas has removed more than one million ineligible or outdated registrations from the state’s voter rolls, calling the effort essential to safeguard Texans’ right to vote.
Texas has confirmed noncitizens who voted in previous elections will be referred to the Office of the Attorney General for further review and potential prosecution.(Getty Images)
“These reforms have led to the removal of over one million ineligible people from our voter rolls in the last three years, including noncitizens, deceased voters, and people who moved to another state,” Abbott said. “The Secretary of State and county voter registrars have an ongoing legal requirement to review the voter rolls, remove ineligible voters, and refer any potential illegal voting to the Attorney General’s Office and local authorities for investigation and prosecution. Illegal voting in Texas will never be tolerated. We will continue to actively safeguard Texans’ sacred right to vote while also aggressively protecting our elections from illegal voting.”
Abbott has called the initiative proof that Texas is “leading the nation in election integrity.”
A breakdown of the information was released by the Secretary of State’s office showing Harris County with the largest number of potential noncitizens at 362, followed by Dallas County (277), Bexar County (201), and El Paso County (165). Smaller counties, including Andrews, Llano, and Cooke, reported fewer than ten flagged registrations.
In total, all 254 Texas counties were included in the SAVE database review. Counties began sending verification notices this week as part of the 30-day review process.
In June, Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson announced that she had referred to the Office of Attorney General to investigate the names of 33 potential noncitizens who voted in the November 2024 General Election.
The statement released by Nelson said the referral came within weeks of Texas gaining access to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service’s SAVE Database.
“Gaining access to this database has been a game-changer. Not only have we been able to identify individuals who should not have voted in the last election, we have also been able to confirm naturalization of dozens more,” Secretary Nelson said.
The crosscheck was made possible after the Trump Administration granted states direct and free access to the federal SAVE database for the first time.
The tool allows election officials to confirm voter citizenship against immigration and naturalization records.
The statement also said Texas was among the first states to join a pilot program with DHS, USCIS, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to improve the database’s functionality.
“We are in the early stages of this pilot program, but we already see promising results. This may be the most current and accurate data set there is when it comes to citizenship verification,” Secretary Nelson said.
County registrars are expected to complete their investigations by early December, with official removals and potential referrals to follow.
The Secretary of State’s office said the review will continue with periodic checks against federal databases to ensure accuracy.
“The SAVE database has proven to be a critically important data set and one of many that we will continue to use in Texas to ensure that only qualified voters cast a ballot in our elections,” Nelson said.
Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a stark warning Monday that food assistance benefits for millions of low-income Californians could be delayed starting Nov. 1 if the ongoing federal shutdown does not end by Thursday.
The benefits, issued under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, and formerly called food stamps, include federally funded benefits loaded onto CalFresh cards. They support some 5.5 million Californians.
Newsom blamed the potential SNAP disruption — and the shutdown more broadly — on President Trump and slammed the timing of the potential cutoff just as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches.
“Trump’s failure to open the federal government is now endangering people’s lives and making basic needs like food more expensive — just as the holidays arrive,” Newsom said. “It is long past time for Republicans in Congress to grow a spine, stand up to Trump, and deliver for the American people.”
The White House responded by blaming the shutdown on Democrats, as it has done before.
Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, said the “Democrats’ decision to shut down the government is hurting Americans across the country,” and that Democrats “can choose to reopen the government at any point” by voting for a continuing resolution to fund the government as budget negotiations continue, which she said they repeatedly did during the Biden administration.
“Newscum should urge his Democrat pals to stop hurting the American people,” Jackson said, using a favorite Trump insult for Newsom. “The Trump Administration is working day and night to mitigate the pain Democrats are causing, and even that is upsetting the Left, with many Democrats criticizing the President’s effort to pay the troops and fund food assistance for women and children.”
Congressional Republicans also have blamed the shutdown and resulting interruptions to federal programs on Democrats, who are refusing to vote for a Republican-backed funding measure based in large part on Republican decisions to eliminate subsidies for healthcare plans relied on by millions of Americans.
Newsom’s warning about SNAP benefits followed similar alerts from other states on both sides of the political aisle, after the U.S. Department of Agriculture warned state agencies in an Oct. 10 letter that the shutdown may interrupt funding for the benefits.
States have to take action to issue November benefits before the month ends, so the shutdown would have to end sooner than Nov. 1 for the benefits to be available in time.
Newsom’s office said Californians could see their benefits interrupted or delayed if the shutdown is not ended by Thursday. The Texas Health and Human Services Department warned that SNAP benefits for November “won’t be issued if the federal government shutdown continues past Oct. 27.”
Newsom’s office said a cutoff of funds would affect federally funded CalFresh benefits, but also some other state-funded benefits. More than 63% of SNAP recipients in California are children or elderly people, Newsom’s office said.
In her own statement, First Partner of California Jennifer Siebel Newsom said, “Government should be measured by how we protect people’s lives, their health, and their well-being. Parents and caregivers should not be forced to choose between buying groceries or paying bills.”
States were already gearing up for other changes to SNAP eligibility based on the Republican-passed “Big Beautiful Bill,” which set new limits on SNAP benefits, including for nonworking adults. Republicans have argued that such restrictions will encourage more able-bodied adults to get back into the workforce to support their families themselves.
Many Democrats and advocacy organizations that work to protect low-income families and children have argued that restricting SNAP benefits has a disproportionately large effect on some of the most vulnerable people in the country, including poor children.
According to the USDA, about 41.7 million Americans were served by SNAP benefits per month in fiscal 2024, at an annual cost of nearly $100 billion. The USDA has some contingency funding it can utilize to continue benefits in the short term, but does not have enough to cover all monthly benefits, advocates said.
Andrew Cheyne, managing director of public policy at the advocacy group End Child Poverty California, urged the USDA to utilize its contingency funding and any other funding stream possible to prevent a disruption to SNAP benefits, which he said would be “disastrous.”
“CalFresh is a lifeline for 5.5 million Californians who rely on the program to eat. That includes 2 million children. It is unconscionable that we are only days away from children and families not knowing where their next meal is going to come from,” Cheyne said.
He said the science is clear that “even a brief period of food insecurity has long-term consequences for children’s growth and development.”
Ted Lempert, president of Children Now, said a disruption would be “horrific.”
“We speak out for the needs of kids and families, and kids need food — basic support to live and function and go to school,” he said. “So this could be really devastating.”
Times staff writer Jenny Gold contributed to this report.
The government shutdown is entering a fourth week as Democrats and Republicans blame each other for holding the country “hostage.” Caught in the middle, federal workers, government services, and the economy are all feeling the impact. Previous shutdowns have seen reduced overall economic growth, disproportionately affecting certain industries. National parks and museums remain closed, flight delays are mounting, and backlogs for new small business loans and flood insurance renewals are growing.Republicans continue to accuse Democrats of blocking paychecks by refusing to reopen the government, while Democrats argue that Republicans are unwilling to negotiate over the core issue of health care funding. “Congressional Democrats seem to want to keep the government shut down even though it would mean that a lot of you would not get your paycheck,” Vice President JD Vance said in remarks to an audience of Marines celebrating the 250th anniversary Saturday.Democrats pushed back in “No Kings” protests across the country.”They’re the ones acting like children refusing to negotiate with Democrats in the Senate who they know have to vote for a budget in order for it to become law,” Sen. Chris Murphy said in an interview Saturday.The shutdown has had a sizable impact as uncertainty weighs on the federal workforce. Under the Trump administration’s direction, federal agencies have been planning not just furloughs but also permanent layoffs. However, a federal judge has temporarily blocked the firings, deeming them potentially illegal.Public perception of who is to blame has been roughly evenly split. A new Associated Press poll finds that a majority, about 6 in 10 Americans, blame President Donald Trump and Republicans for the shutdown. An even larger majority, three-quarters of Americans, believe both sides deserve at least a “moderate” share of the blame, suggesting that no one has truly escaped responsibility for the shutdown.Watch the latest coverage on the federal government shutdown:
WASHINGTON —
The government shutdown is entering a fourth week as Democrats and Republicans blame each other for holding the country “hostage.” Caught in the middle, federal workers, government services, and the economy are all feeling the impact.
Previous shutdowns have seen reduced overall economic growth, disproportionately affecting certain industries.
National parks and museums remain closed, flight delays are mounting, and backlogs for new small business loans and flood insurance renewals are growing.
Republicans continue to accuse Democrats of blocking paychecks by refusing to reopen the government, while Democrats argue that Republicans are unwilling to negotiate over the core issue of health care funding.
“Congressional Democrats seem to want to keep the government shut down even though it would mean that a lot of you would not get your paycheck,” Vice President JD Vance said in remarks to an audience of Marines celebrating the 250th anniversary Saturday.
Democrats pushed back in “No Kings” protests across the country.
“They’re the ones acting like children refusing to negotiate with Democrats in the Senate who they know have to vote for a budget in order for it to become law,” Sen. Chris Murphy said in an interview Saturday.
The shutdown has had a sizable impact as uncertainty weighs on the federal workforce. Under the Trump administration’s direction, federal agencies have been planning not just furloughs but also permanent layoffs. However, a federal judge has temporarily blocked the firings, deeming them potentially illegal.
Public perception of who is to blame has been roughly evenly split. A new Associated Press poll finds that a majority, about 6 in 10 Americans, blame President Donald Trump and Republicans for the shutdown. An even larger majority, three-quarters of Americans, believe both sides deserve at least a “moderate” share of the blame, suggesting that no one has truly escaped responsibility for the shutdown.
Watch the latest coverage on the federal government shutdown:
Protesting the direction of the country under President Donald Trump, people gathered Saturday in the nation’s capital and communities across the U.S. for “ No Kings ” demonstrations — what the president’s Republican Party is calling “Hate America” rallies.They rallied with signs like “Nothing is more patriotic than protesting” or “Resist Fascism,” and in many places it looked more like a street party. There were marching bands, a huge banner with the U.S. Constitution’s “We The People,” preamble that people could sign, and protesters in frog costumes, which have emerged as a sign of resistance in Portland, Oregon.This is the third mass mobilization since Trump’s return to the White House and comes against the backdrop of a government shutdown that not only has closed federal programs and services, but is testing the core balance of power as an aggressive executive confronts Congress and the courts in ways that organizers warn are a slide toward American authoritarianism.Demonstrators packed places like New York City’s Times Square, the historic Boston Commons, Chicago’s Grant Park, Washington, D.C., and hundreds of smaller public spaces.Many protesters were especially angered by attacks on their motives. In Washington, Brian Reymann said being called a terrorist all week by Republicans was “pathetic.”“This is America. I disagree with their politics — but I don’t believe that they don’t love this country. I believe they are misguided. I think they are power hungry,” Reymann said, carrying a large American flag.Trump himself is spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.“They say they’re referring to me as a king. I’m not a king,” Trump said in a Fox News interview airing early Friday, before he departed for a $1 million-per-plate MAGA Inc. fundraiser at his club. Protests are expected nearby Saturday.Organizers hope to build opposition movementMore than 2,600 rallies are planned Saturday in cities large and small, organized by hundreds of coalition partners.“Big rallies like this give confidence to people who have been sitting on the sidelines but are ready to speak up,” Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy said in an interview with The Associated Press.While protests earlier this year — against Elon Musk’s cuts in the spring and Trump’s June military parade — drew crowds, organizers say this one is uniting the opposition. Top Democrats such as Senate Leader Chuck Schumer and Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders are joining in what organizers view as an antidote to Trump’s actions, from the administration’s clampdown on free speech to its military-style immigration raids.“There is no greater threat to an authoritarian regime than patriotic people-power,” said Ezra Levin, a co-founder of Indivisible, among the key organizers. In April, the national march against Trump and Elon Musk had 1,300 registered locations. In June, for the first “No Kings” day, there were 2,100 registered locations.Before noon, several thousand people had gathered in Times Square, chanting “Trump must go now,” and waving sometimes-profane signs with slogans insulting the president and condemning his immigration crackdown. Some people carried American flags.Retired family doctor Terence McCormally was heading to Arlington National Cemetery to join others walking across the Memorial Bridge that enters Washington directly in front of the Lincoln Memorial. He said the recent deployment of the National Guard made him more wary of police than in the past.“I really don’t like the crooks and conmen and religious zealots who are trying to use the country” for personal gain, McCormally said, “while they are killing and hurting millions of people with bombs.”Republicans denounce ‘Hate America’ ralliesRepublicans have sought to portray Saturday’s protesters as far outside the mainstream and a prime reason for the government shutdown, now in its 18th day.From the White House to Capitol Hill, GOP leaders disparaged the rallygoers as “communists” and “Marxists.” They say Democratic leaders, including Schumer, are beholden to the far-left flank and willing to keep the government shut down to appease those liberal forces.“I encourage you to watch — we call it the Hate America rally — that will happen Saturday,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.“Let’s see who shows up for that,” Johnson said, listing groups including “antifa types,” people who “hate capitalism” and “Marxists in full display.”Many demonstrators responded to such hyperbole with silliness in part because they say Trump leans heavily on theatrics — like claiming cities he sends troops to are war zones — said Glen Kalbaugh, a Washington protester.“So much of what we’ve seen from this administration has been so unserious and silly that we have to respond with the same energy,” said Kalbaugh, who wore a wizard hat and held a sign with a frog on it.Democrats try to regain their footingDemocrats have refused to vote on legislation that would reopen the government as they demand funding for health care. Republicans say they are willing to discuss the issue later, only after the government reopens.But for many Democrats, the government closure is also a way to stand up to Trump, and try to push the presidency back to its place in the U.S. system as a co-equal branch of government. It’s also a way to draw a moral line in the sand, said Murphy, the senator from Connecticut.“Trump does think that he’s a king,” Murphy said at the Washington rally, “and he thinks that he can act more corruptly when the government is shut down. But he cannot.”The situation is a potential turnaround from just six months ago, when Democrats and their allies were divided and despondent. Schumer in particular was berated by his party for allowing an earlier government funding bill to sail through the Senate without using it to challenge Trump.“What we are seeing from the Democrats is some spine,” said march organizer Levin. “The worst thing the Democrats could do right now is surrender.”___Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro, Kevin Freking, and Chris Megerian in Washington, Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, and Safiya Riddle in Montgomery, Alabama, contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON —
Protesting the direction of the country under President Donald Trump, people gathered Saturday in the nation’s capital and communities across the U.S. for “ No Kings ” demonstrations — what the president’s Republican Party is calling “Hate America” rallies.
They rallied with signs like “Nothing is more patriotic than protesting” or “Resist Fascism,” and in many places it looked more like a street party. There were marching bands, a huge banner with the U.S. Constitution’s “We The People,” preamble that people could sign, and protesters in frog costumes, which have emerged as a sign of resistance in Portland, Oregon.
This is the third mass mobilization since Trump’s return to the White House and comes against the backdrop of a government shutdown that not only has closed federal programs and services, but is testing the core balance of power as an aggressive executive confronts Congress and the courts in ways that organizers warn are a slide toward American authoritarianism.
Demonstrators packed places like New York City’s Times Square, the historic Boston Commons, Chicago’s Grant Park, Washington, D.C., and hundreds of smaller public spaces.
Many protesters were especially angered by attacks on their motives. In Washington, Brian Reymann said being called a terrorist all week by Republicans was “pathetic.”
“This is America. I disagree with their politics — but I don’t believe that they don’t love this country. I believe they are misguided. I think they are power hungry,” Reymann said, carrying a large American flag.
Trump himself is spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
“They say they’re referring to me as a king. I’m not a king,” Trump said in a Fox News interview airing early Friday, before he departed for a $1 million-per-plate MAGA Inc. fundraiser at his club. Protests are expected nearby Saturday.
Organizers hope to build opposition movement
More than 2,600 rallies are planned Saturday in cities large and small, organized by hundreds of coalition partners.
“Big rallies like this give confidence to people who have been sitting on the sidelines but are ready to speak up,” Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy said in an interview with The Associated Press.
While protests earlier this year — against Elon Musk’s cuts in the spring and Trump’s June military parade — drew crowds, organizers say this one is uniting the opposition. Top Democrats such as Senate Leader Chuck Schumer and Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders are joining in what organizers view as an antidote to Trump’s actions, from the administration’s clampdown on free speech to its military-style immigration raids.
“There is no greater threat to an authoritarian regime than patriotic people-power,” said Ezra Levin, a co-founder of Indivisible, among the key organizers. In April, the national march against Trump and Elon Musk had 1,300 registered locations. In June, for the first “No Kings” day, there were 2,100 registered locations.
Before noon, several thousand people had gathered in Times Square, chanting “Trump must go now,” and waving sometimes-profane signs with slogans insulting the president and condemning his immigration crackdown. Some people carried American flags.
Retired family doctor Terence McCormally was heading to Arlington National Cemetery to join others walking across the Memorial Bridge that enters Washington directly in front of the Lincoln Memorial. He said the recent deployment of the National Guard made him more wary of police than in the past.
“I really don’t like the crooks and conmen and religious zealots who are trying to use the country” for personal gain, McCormally said, “while they are killing and hurting millions of people with bombs.”
Republicans denounce ‘Hate America’ rallies
Republicans have sought to portray Saturday’s protesters as far outside the mainstream and a prime reason for the government shutdown, now in its 18th day.
From the White House to Capitol Hill, GOP leaders disparaged the rallygoers as “communists” and “Marxists.” They say Democratic leaders, including Schumer, are beholden to the far-left flank and willing to keep the government shut down to appease those liberal forces.
“I encourage you to watch — we call it the Hate America rally — that will happen Saturday,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.
“Let’s see who shows up for that,” Johnson said, listing groups including “antifa types,” people who “hate capitalism” and “Marxists in full display.”
Many demonstrators responded to such hyperbole with silliness in part because they say Trump leans heavily on theatrics — like claiming cities he sends troops to are war zones — said Glen Kalbaugh, a Washington protester.
“So much of what we’ve seen from this administration has been so unserious and silly that we have to respond with the same energy,” said Kalbaugh, who wore a wizard hat and held a sign with a frog on it.
Democrats try to regain their footing
Democrats have refused to vote on legislation that would reopen the government as they demand funding for health care. Republicans say they are willing to discuss the issue later, only after the government reopens.
But for many Democrats, the government closure is also a way to stand up to Trump, and try to push the presidency back to its place in the U.S. system as a co-equal branch of government. It’s also a way to draw a moral line in the sand, said Murphy, the senator from Connecticut.
“Trump does think that he’s a king,” Murphy said at the Washington rally, “and he thinks that he can act more corruptly when the government is shut down. But he cannot.”
The situation is a potential turnaround from just six months ago, when Democrats and their allies were divided and despondent. Schumer in particular was berated by his party for allowing an earlier government funding bill to sail through the Senate without using it to challenge Trump.
“What we are seeing from the Democrats is some spine,” said march organizer Levin. “The worst thing the Democrats could do right now is surrender.”
___
Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro, Kevin Freking, and Chris Megerian in Washington, Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, and Safiya Riddle in Montgomery, Alabama, contributed to this report.
Protesting the direction of the country under President Donald Trump, people will gather Saturday in the nation’s capital and communities across the U.S. for “No Kings” demonstrations — what the president’s Republican Party is calling “Hate America” rallies.This is the third mass mobilization since Trump’s return to the White House and it is expected to be the largest. It comes against the backdrop of a government shutdown that not only has closed federal programs and services, but is testing the core balance of power as an aggressive executive confronts Congress and the courts in ways that organizers warn are a slide toward American authoritarianism.Trump himself is away from Washington at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.“They say they’re referring to me as a king. I’m not a king,” Trump said in a Fox News interview airing early Friday. He later departed for a $1 million-per-plate MAGA Inc. super PAC fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago. Protests are expected nearby Saturday.While the earlier protests this year — against Elon Musk’s cuts in spring, then to counter Trump’s military parade in June — drew crowds, organizers say this one is building a more unified opposition movement. Top Democrats such as Senate Leader Chuck Schumer and Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders are joining in what organizers view as an antidote to Trump’s actions, from the administration’s clampdown on free speech to its military-style immigration raids.“There is no greater threat to an authoritarian regime than patriotic people-power,” said Ezra Levin, a co-founder of Indivisible, among the key organizers.As Republicans and the White House dismiss the protests as a rally of radicals, Levin said their own sign-up numbers are growing. More than 2,600 rallies are planned in cities large and small, organized by hundreds of coalition partners. They said rallies are being planned within a one-hour drive for most Americans.Overseas, a few hundred Americans already gathered in Madrid to chant slogans and hold signs at a protest organized by Democrats Abroad, with similar rallies planned in other major European cities.Republicans have sought to portray participants in Saturday’s rallies as far outside the mainstream of American politics, and a main reason for the prolonged government shutdown, now in its 18th day.From the White House to Capitol Hill, GOP leaders disparaged the rallygoers as “communists” and “Marxists.”They say Democratic leaders, including Schumer, are beholden to the far-left flank and willing to keep the government shut down to appease those liberal forces.“I encourage you to watch — we call it the Hate America rally — that will happen Saturday,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.“Let’s see who shows up for that,” Johnson said, listing groups including “antifa types,” people who “hate capitalism” and “Marxists in full display.”Democrats have refused to vote on legislation that would reopen the government as they demand funding for health care. Republicans say they are willing to discuss the issue later, only after the government reopens.But for many Democrats, the government closure is also a way to stand up to Trump, and try to push the presidency back to its place in the U.S. system as a co-equal branch of government.In a Facebook post, Sanders of Vermont, himself a former presidential contender, said, “It’s a love America rally.”“It’s a rally of millions of people all over this country who believe in our Constitution, who believe in American freedom and,” he said, pointing at the GOP leadership, “are not going to let you and Donald Trump turn this country into an authoritarian society.”The situation is a potential turnaround from just six months ago, when Democrats and their allies were divided and despondent, unsure about how best to respond to Trump’s return to the White House. Schumer in particular was berated by his party for allowing an earlier government funding bill to sail through the Senate without using it to challenge Trump.In April, the national march against Trump and Elon Musk had 1,300 registered locations. In June, for the first “No Kings” day, there were 2,100 registered locations. The march Saturday will have more than 2,600 registered locations, Levin said.“What we are seeing from the Democrats is some spine,” Levin said. “The worst thing the Democrats could do right now is surrender.”House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he wasn’t sure if he would join the rallygoers Saturday, but he took issue with the Republicans’ characterization of the events.“What’s hateful is what happened on January 6th,” he said, referring to the 2021 Capitol attack, as Trump’s supporters stormed the building to protest Joe Biden’s election victory. “What you’ll see this weekend is what patriotism looks like, people showing up to express opposition to the extremism that Donald Trump has been unleashing on the American people.”Riddle reported from Montgomery, Alabama. Associated Press writer Chris Megerian contributed.
WASHINGTON —
Protesting the direction of the country under President Donald Trump, people will gather Saturday in the nation’s capital and communities across the U.S. for “No Kings” demonstrations — what the president’s Republican Party is calling “Hate America” rallies.
This is the third mass mobilization since Trump’s return to the White House and it is expected to be the largest. It comes against the backdrop of a government shutdown that not only has closed federal programs and services, but is testing the core balance of power as an aggressive executive confronts Congress and the courts in ways that organizers warn are a slide toward American authoritarianism.
Trump himself is away from Washington at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
“They say they’re referring to me as a king. I’m not a king,” Trump said in a Fox News interview airing early Friday. He later departed for a $1 million-per-plate MAGA Inc. super PAC fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago. Protests are expected nearby Saturday.
While the earlier protests this year — against Elon Musk’s cuts in spring, then to counter Trump’s military parade in June — drew crowds, organizers say this one is building a more unified opposition movement. Top Democrats such as Senate Leader Chuck Schumer and Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders are joining in what organizers view as an antidote to Trump’s actions, from the administration’s clampdown on free speech to its military-style immigration raids.
“There is no greater threat to an authoritarian regime than patriotic people-power,” said Ezra Levin, a co-founder of Indivisible, among the key organizers.
As Republicans and the White House dismiss the protests as a rally of radicals, Levin said their own sign-up numbers are growing. More than 2,600 rallies are planned in cities large and small, organized by hundreds of coalition partners. They said rallies are being planned within a one-hour drive for most Americans.
Overseas, a few hundred Americans already gathered in Madrid to chant slogans and hold signs at a protest organized by Democrats Abroad, with similar rallies planned in other major European cities.
Republicans have sought to portray participants in Saturday’s rallies as far outside the mainstream of American politics, and a main reason for the prolonged government shutdown, now in its 18th day.
From the White House to Capitol Hill, GOP leaders disparaged the rallygoers as “communists” and “Marxists.”
They say Democratic leaders, including Schumer, are beholden to the far-left flank and willing to keep the government shut down to appease those liberal forces.
“I encourage you to watch — we call it the Hate America rally — that will happen Saturday,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.
“Let’s see who shows up for that,” Johnson said, listing groups including “antifa types,” people who “hate capitalism” and “Marxists in full display.”
Democrats have refused to vote on legislation that would reopen the government as they demand funding for health care. Republicans say they are willing to discuss the issue later, only after the government reopens.
But for many Democrats, the government closure is also a way to stand up to Trump, and try to push the presidency back to its place in the U.S. system as a co-equal branch of government.
In a Facebook post, Sanders of Vermont, himself a former presidential contender, said, “It’s a love America rally.”
“It’s a rally of millions of people all over this country who believe in our Constitution, who believe in American freedom and,” he said, pointing at the GOP leadership, “are not going to let you and Donald Trump turn this country into an authoritarian society.”
The situation is a potential turnaround from just six months ago, when Democrats and their allies were divided and despondent, unsure about how best to respond to Trump’s return to the White House. Schumer in particular was berated by his party for allowing an earlier government funding bill to sail through the Senate without using it to challenge Trump.
In April, the national march against Trump and Elon Musk had 1,300 registered locations. In June, for the first “No Kings” day, there were 2,100 registered locations. The march Saturday will have more than 2,600 registered locations, Levin said.
“What we are seeing from the Democrats is some spine,” Levin said. “The worst thing the Democrats could do right now is surrender.”
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he wasn’t sure if he would join the rallygoers Saturday, but he took issue with the Republicans’ characterization of the events.
“What’s hateful is what happened on January 6th,” he said, referring to the 2021 Capitol attack, as Trump’s supporters stormed the building to protest Joe Biden’s election victory. “What you’ll see this weekend is what patriotism looks like, people showing up to express opposition to the extremism that Donald Trump has been unleashing on the American people.”
Riddle reported from Montgomery, Alabama. Associated Press writer Chris Megerian contributed.
State Sen. Scott Wiener is a strategic and effective legislator who rarely lets emotion make his decisions — much like Nancy Pelosi, whose congressional seat he would like to take.
It has been a wide-open secret for years that Wiener wanted to make a run for federal office when or if Pelosi retired, but he’s also been deferential to the elder stateswoman of California politics and has made it equally clear that he would wait his turn in the brutal and parochial machine of San Francisco politics.
Until now.
The San Francisco Standard broke the news Thursday that Wiener is running on the 2026 ballot, though he has yet to formally announce.
It is news that shocked even those deep in the dog-eat-dog world of S.F. politics and ignited the inevitable news cycle about whether Pelosi (who was instrumental in removing President Biden from the 2024 race for age-related issues) is being Bidened herself. It also ensures a contentious race that will be nationally watched by both MAGA and the progressive left, both of which take issue with Wiener.
Oh, the drama.
Take it for what you will, but a few months after having hip replacement surgery, Pelosi is (literally) back in her stiletto heels and raising beaucoup dollars for Proposition 50, the ballot initiative meant to gerrymander California voting maps to counteract a GOP cheat-fest in Texas.
Yes, she’s 85, but she’s no Joe. She is also, however, no spring chicken. So the national debate on whether Democrats need not just fresh but younger candidates has officially landed in the City by the Bay, though Wiener remains both practical and polite enough to not frame it that way.
He’ll leave that to the journalists, who have hounded Pelosi for months to announce whether she will seek another term, a question she has declined to directly answer. Instead, her team has focused on the looming election for Proposition 50 and said any announcement on her future has to wait after the ballots are counted.
To be fair to Pelosi, she’s gone all-in to both fundraise and campaign for the redistricting effort, and its passage is essential to Democrats having even a shot at winning back any power in the midterms.
If Prop. 50 fails, there is no non-miracle path, except perhaps an unexpected blue wave, through which Democrats can retake a chamber. So Nov. 4 isn’t an arbitrary date. It will determine if there is any possibility of checking Trump’s power grab, and preserving democracy. Personally, I don’t fault Pelosi for being engaged in that fight.
To also be fair to Wiener, his decision to announce now was probably driven more by money and political momentum than by Pelosi’s age.
That’s because Pelosi already has a challenger — the ultra-wealthy progressive Saikat Chakrabarti, a startup millionaire who served as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign manager during her first upset win for Congress in 2018. Chakrabarti has long been an antagonist to Pelosi, and recently announced his candidacy, positioning himself as a disrupter.
In 2019, before the House impeached Trump over his questionable actions involving Ukraine, Chakrabarti tweeted, “Pelosi claims we can’t focus on impeachment because it’s a distraction from kitchen table issues. But I’d challenge you to find voters that can name a single thing House Democrats have done for their kitchen table this year. What is this legislative mastermind doing?”
Chakrabarti, who was born the year before Pelosi was first elected to Congress in 1987, has self-funded his campaign with $700,000 and has the financial ability to spend much more. Wiener, in his on-the-down-low shadow campaign, has raised a bit over $1 million, not nearly enough. The primary will be in June and it will be expensive.
Though we have yet to reach Halloween, a stroll down the aisles of any big box store can tell you that Christmas is neigh, a season when fundraising becomes harder — putting pressure on Wiener to raise money as quickly as possible before the winter freeze.
Add to that pressure the fact that Chakrabarti has political skills and growing popularity. He was the tech architect behind a successful push to activate volunteers for both AOC and Bernie Sanders.
An internal poll released a few months ago (and any internal poll must be viewed skeptically) showed Chakrabarti drawing 34% of voters to Pelosi’s 47%. His numbers increased as voters learned more about him — a few have even compared him to New York’s socialist wonder-kid Zohran Mamdani, currently running for mayor against Andrew Cuomo.
The problem with that is that Wiener is not Cuomo. He’s a progressive himself, and one with an established track record of getting stuff done, often progressive stuff.
I’ve watched him for years push ambitious agendas through the statehouse, including bills where I would have bet against him.
Most recently, he wrote the state’s ban on cops, including ICE, wearing masks. Although the feds have said they will ignore the new law, recently signed by Newsom, and it will almost certainly end up in court, it is a worthy message to send about secret police in America.
Wiener also this term passed a controversial housing bill that will increase density around transit hubs, and spearheaded a bill to regulate artificial intelligence.
He has also passed numerous laws protecting immigrant and LGBTQ+ rights, which has made him a favorite target of the far right. He has received death threats on a regular basis for years, including one from an anti-vaxxer who was convicted on seven counts in 2022 after threatening Wiener and being found in possession of weapons. Wiener doesn’t have Pelosi’s charisma, but he has receipts for getting the job done and handling the vicious vitriol of modern politics.
Unlike Chakrabarti, Wiener has also been a part of San Francisco’s insular community for decades, and has his own base of support — though he is considered a moderate to Chakrabarti’s progressiveness. This is where San Francisco gets wonderfully weird. In nearly any other place, Wiener would be solidly left. But some of his constituents view him as too developer-friendly for his housing policies and have criticized his past policies around expanding conservatorships for mentally ill people.
But still, a recent poll done by EMC research but not released publicly found that 61% of likely primary voters have a favorable opinion of Wiener. That vastly outpaces the 21% that said the same about Chakrabarti or even the 21% who liked Pelosi’s daughter, Christine Pelosi, who has also been mentioned as a possible successor.
Which is all to say that Wiener is in a now-or-never moment. He has popularity but needs momentum and cash. The Democratic Party is in a mess, and the old rules are out the window, even in San Francisco.
So waiting for Pelosi had become a little bit like waiting for Godot, a self-imposed limbo that was more likely to lead to frustration than victory.
The top Democrat in the House of Representatives attacked White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt with a slew of insults on Friday.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., accused Republican officials of unjustly going after Democrats amid a controversy over a swastika flag found in a House GOP lawmaker’s office this week, though the lawmaker denied he or his staff played any role. Jeffries made the comments during a press conference with reporters on day 17 of the ongoing government shutdown.
“You’ve got Karoline Leavitt, who’s sick. She’s out of control. And I’m not sure whether she’s just demented, ignorant, a stone-cold liar, or all of the above,” Jeffries said.
“But the notion that an official White House spokesperson would say that the Democratic Party consists of terrorists, violent criminals, and undocumented immigrants makes no sense, that this is what the American people are getting from the Trump administration in the middle of a shutdown.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries attacked White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt as “sick” and “demented” on Friday.(Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for a response.
Jeffries had been asked about the swastika, which was reportedly embedded into a small American flag that was hanging on a cork board in the office of Rep. Dave Taylor, R-Ohio. It was first reported by a local Ohio social media reporter who goes by the X handle “The Rooster.”
Taylor said in a statement to Fox News that several offices were targeted with the flag, which he said was the work of an “unidentified group” in a coordinated opposition campaign.
An American flag altered with a swastika in an office on Capitol Hill.(Obtained by Politico)
“New details have emerged from a coordinated investigation into the vile symbol that appeared in my office. Numerous Republican offices have confirmed that they were targeted by an unidentified group or individual who distributed American flags bearing a similar symbol, which were initially indistinguishable from an ordinary American flag to the naked eye,” Taylor said.
“After a full-scale internal investigation, I am confident that no employee of this office would knowingly display such a despicable image, and the flag in question was taken down immediately upon the discovery of the obscured symbol it bore.”
It’s not immediately clear why the events made Jeffries invoke Leavitt specifically, however.
Tensions have run high on both sides as the shutdown drags on, and the standoff shows no signs of slowing down.
Senate Democrats, led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., tanked the GOP’s funding bill ten times.(Reuters)
In fact, it’s expected to roll into its fourth week after Senate Democrats blocked the GOP’s federal funding measure for a fourth time on Thursday before leaving Washington for the weekend.
Republicans put forward last month a seven-week extension of fiscal year (FY) 2025 funding levels, called a continuing resolution (CR), aimed at giving congressional negotiators more time to strike a long-term deal for FY2026.
But Democrats in the House and Senate were infuriated by being sidelined in those talks. The majority of Democrats are refusing to accept any deal that does not include serious healthcare concessions, at least extending COVID-19 pandemic-era Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of this year.
Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
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More than 1 million ballots turned in for California special election on Prop 50, data firm says
NEXT MONTH’S SPECIAL ELECTION. IF APPROVED, PROP 50 WILL GIVE CALIFORNIA LAWMAKERS THE POWER TO REDRAW CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS, CREATING FIVE HOUSE SEATS FOR DEMOCRATS. KCRA 3’S CECIL HANNIBAL JOINS US LIVE IN DOWNTOWN SACRAMENTO. SO, CECIL, WHAT ARE VOTERS SAYING ABOUT THE PROCESS SO FAR? WE SPOKE TO SEVERAL VOTERS TODAY WHO SAY THAT IT’S BEEN A SMOOTH AND EASY PROCESS SO FAR. ONE, BECAUSE THEY CAN SIMPLY WALK UP OR DRIVE UP TO A BALLOT BOX AND PUT THEIR VOTE RIGHT IN THERE. OR ALSO BECAUSE THEY SAY WHAT’S ON THE BALLOT IS SIMPLE. IT’S 70 WORDS. ONE QUESTION WITH TWO OPTIONS YES OR NO FOR PROP 50. NOW, ELECTION OFFICIALS TODAY SAY THEY WANT THIS TO BE A SIMPLE AND SMOOTH PROCESS FOR VOTERS. PROBABLY WONDERING WHY WE’RE HERE IN DOCO. WELL, THAT’S BECAUSE THIS IS ONE LOCATION WHERE VOTERS IN SACRAMENTO COUNTY CAN COME DROP OFF THEIR BALLOT INSIDE OF THE KINGS TEAM STORE. ACTUALLY, AN EMPLOYEE JUST TOLD ME THEY’VE HAD THREE PEOPLE SHOW UP TODAY, TWO YESTERDAY. SO PEOPLE ARE GETTING OUT AND CASTING THEIR VOTES NOW. SACRAMENTO, EL DORADO AND SAN JOAQUIN COUNTIES ALL SAY THAT BALLOTS HAVE BEEN MAILED OUT, AND IF YOU HAVEN’T RECEIVED IT ALREADY, YOU SHOULD VERY SOON. WELL, YOU KNOW, VOTING LASTS UNTIL NOVEMBER 4TH. ANOTHER REMINDER FOR YOU WHEN YOU’RE DROPPING OFF YOUR BALLOT, MAKE SURE YOU SIGN THE PINK ENVELOPE. THAT’S VERY, VERY IMPORTANT. SO ELECTION OFFICIALS CAN VERIFY THAT IT IS YOU AND NOT VOTER FRAUD. YOU CAN ALSO MAIL IT IN FOR FREE THROUGH USPS. NOW WE TALKED ABOUT PROP 50, BUT IT’S NOW TIME FOR VOTERS TO DECIDE WITHOUT DISCUSSING PARTY AFFILIATION. WE TALKED TO VOTERS IN SACRAMENTO COUNTY TODAY ABOUT THE MEASURE. WELL, IT’S REALLY ONE SINGLE QUESTION. AND THAT QUESTION IS CLEAR TO ME. I THINK THAT IT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME. I THINK IT’S REALLY UNFORTUNATE THAT WE HAVE TO DO THIS, BUT I FEEL LIKE WE’VE BEEN FORCED BY THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. ONLY ONE VOTE. YOU KNOW, GOT TO DO WHAT I THINK IS RIGHT. YEAH. BACK OUT HERE LIVE AGAIN. THIS IS ONE LOCATION WHERE VOTERS CAN DROP OFF THEIR BALLOTS. IF YOU’RE HEADING TO A KINGS PRESEASON GAME THIS WEEK, RIGHT ON YOUR WAY TO THE ARENA OR SOMEWHERE TO WATCH THE GAME, YOU CAN JUST COME DROP OFF YOUR BALLOT. NOW WE’RE TALKING ABOUT DROP OFF YOUR BALLOT. IF YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS ABOUT SECURITY. TODAY, WE TALKED TO ELECTION OFFICIALS FROM SACRAMENTO, EL DORADO AND SAN JOAQUIN COUNTIES ABOUT JUST THAT SECURITY AND STAFFING FOR THIS SPECIAL ELECTION. WE’LL HAVE MORE ON THOSE DISCUSSIONS COMING UP TONIGHT AT SIX. LIVE IN DOCO. CECIL HANNIBAL KCRA THREE NEWS, OKC. SO THANK YOU. AND THE SECRETARY OF STATE’S OFFICE OFFERS A WAY FOR VOTERS TO TRACK THEIR BALLOTS. IT’S CALLED WHERE’S MY BALLOT? VOTERS COULD SIGN UP WITH THEIR NAME, THEIR BIRTH DATE, AND ZIP CODE. ONCE LOGGED IN, YOU CAN TRACK WHERE THE BALLOT IS FROM WHEN IT’S MAILED TO YOU, SENT BACK TO COUNTY ELECTIONS OFFICE, AND RECEIVED AND THEN COUNTED. JUST A REMINDER, THE LAST DAY TO REGISTER IS OCTOBER 20TH AND TODAY IS THE SEVENTH. SO AS OF LAST MONTH, NEARLY HALF OF ALL VOTERS ARE REGISTERED. DEMOCRATS, 25% A
More than 1 million ballots turned in for California special election on Prop 50, data firm says
More than 1 million ballots have been returned so far in California’s special election to decide Proposition 50, according to a data firm used by political campaigns.Political Data Inc. said on X Wednesday that 4.49% of ballots sent out to California voters have already been returned. The firm cited a rate that was “close to recall election numbers,” in a reference to the 2021 vote over whether to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom. According to the early mail-in vote, 5% of Democrats and 5% of Republicans have turned in their ballots. That equates to more than 530,000 votes from Democrats and more than 293,000 from Republicans. About 76% of ballots returned were from people ages 50 or older. White voters have been overrepresented with 72% of the vote so far. California voters on Nov. 4 will decide if the state should temporarily toss its current congressional district map drawn by the state’s independent commission and replace it with a new one that was quickly drawn by Democrats. It’s part of a larger national fight in which Republicans and Democrats are trying to gerrymander their congressional districts to determine which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives halfway through President Donald Trump’s term.The proposed maps target five California Republicans in an attempt to offset the five Republicans Texas is aiming to add.If approved, the maps would be in place for the 2026, 2028 and 2030 elections. State leaders have said the power to draw maps would return to the independent redistricting commission in 2031.One of the people who works at Political Data Inc., Paul Mitchell, is the owner of a consulting firm that helped to create the congressional redistricting maps for Democrats. He said he is not campaigning for the measure. The last day to register to vote is Oct. 20, though people can also vote on Nov. 3 with Conditional Voter Registration. | RELATED | Everything you need to know about California’s Proposition 50See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channelPHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiPiFmdW5jdGlvbigpeyJ1c2Ugc3RyaWN0Ijt3aW5kb3cuYWRkRXZlbnRMaXN0ZW5lcigibWVzc2FnZSIsKGZ1bmN0aW9uKGUpe2lmKHZvaWQgMCE9PWUuZGF0YVsiZGF0YXdyYXBwZXItaGVpZ2h0Il0pe3ZhciB0PWRvY3VtZW50LnF1ZXJ5U2VsZWN0b3JBbGwoImlmcmFtZSIpO2Zvcih2YXIgYSBpbiBlLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdKWZvcih2YXIgcj0wO3I8dC5sZW5ndGg7cisrKXtpZih0W3JdLmNvbnRlbnRXaW5kb3c9PT1lLnNvdXJjZSl0W3JdLnN0eWxlLmhlaWdodD1lLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdW2FdKyJweCJ9fX0pKX0oKTs8L3NjcmlwdD4=
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
More than 1 million ballots have been returned so far in California’s special election to decide Proposition 50, according to a data firm used by political campaigns.
Political Data Inc. said on X Wednesday that 4.49% of ballots sent out to California voters have already been returned.
The firm cited a rate that was “close to recall election numbers,” in a reference to the 2021 vote over whether to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom.
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According to the early mail-in vote, 5% of Democrats and 5% of Republicans have turned in their ballots. That equates to more than 530,000 votes from Democrats and more than 293,000 from Republicans.
About 76% of ballots returned were from people ages 50 or older. White voters have been overrepresented with 72% of the vote so far.
California voters on Nov. 4 will decide if the state should temporarily toss its current congressional district map drawn by the state’s independent commission and replace it with a new one that was quickly drawn by Democrats. It’s part of a larger national fight in which Republicans and Democrats are trying to gerrymander their congressional districts to determine which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives halfway through President Donald Trump’s term.
The proposed maps target five California Republicans in an attempt to offset the five Republicans Texas is aiming to add.
If approved, the maps would be in place for the 2026, 2028 and 2030 elections. State leaders have said the power to draw maps would return to the independent redistricting commission in 2031.
One of the people who works at Political Data Inc., Paul Mitchell, is the owner of a consulting firm that helped to create the congressional redistricting maps for Democrats. He said he is not campaigning for the measure.
The last day to register to vote is Oct. 20, though people can also vote on Nov. 3 with Conditional Voter Registration.
Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., the No. 2 Democrat in the House of Representatives and the whip of the caucus, placed healthcare messaging at the center of the party’s attention in an interview with Fox News — even amid other questions about the party’s direction.
“Fighting for healthcare is our defining issue,” Clark told senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram on Thursday when asked whether the age of the party’s candidates would play into the party’s considerations in the 2026 midterms.
“Shutdowns are terrible and, of course, there will be, you know, families that are going to suffer. We take that responsibility very seriously. But it is one of the few leverage items we have. It is an inflection point in this budget process where we have tried to get the Republicans to meet with us and prioritize the American people.”
House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark speaks during a press conference with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar as the government shutdown continues in Washington, Oct. 1, 2025.(Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The government ran out of funding on Oct. 1 after lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on spending legislation for 2026, plunging the country into a shutdown that has gone on for 16 days. Democrats in Congress have made it clear they won’t support any funding package to reopen the government that doesn’t also include an extension of COVID-era Obamacare subsidies.
Those subsidies, which dramatically extended the pool of eligible applicants for enhanced premium tax credits as a part of the 2021 American Rescue Plan, are set to expire at the end of 2025. Several lawmakers from both parties have expressed alarm that letting them expire would leave millions of Obamacare policyholders — who took advantage of that extended eligibility — suddenly stuck with dramatically higher premiums overnight.
Open enrollment for the enhanced premium tax credits is set to start at the beginning of next month.
“We are watching a crisis come at us,” Clark said. “And this is the crisis of that.”
“The marketplace, the ACA marketplace, open enrollment takes place on November 1,” she said, referring to Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA). “People are receiving their premium notices that they’re going to go to that marketplace and say, ‘I can’t afford this.’ That is a real crisis for American families. And it drives up the cost of healthcare for every single person, no matter where you get your health insurance from.”
Clark’s messaging echoes the position of other leaders in the Democratic Party, such as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who have similarly made healthcare a focus of their messaging on the shutdown.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., flanked by House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., and Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Ill., speaks at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.(Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
Clark noted that Democrats perceive a heightened political leverage to push for an extension to the Obamacare credits in light of GOP-led changes to Medicaid that became law under Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) earlier this year.
“This is a fight that we are waging on behalf of the American people who are telling us, ‘We’re not making it.’ And they deserve to have healthcare when they need it that they can afford and where they need it,” Clark said.
Among other changes, the OBBBA pushed some of the costs of Medicaid back onto the individual states, implemented new reporting requirements, and it introduced slightly higher work requirements for certain demographics.
President Donald Trump, joined by Republican lawmakers, signs the OBBBA into law on Independence Day at the South Lawn of the White House in Washington.(Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
Republicans in the House have rebuffed Democratic demands to open negotiations on the Obamacare tax credits as a condition for re-opening the government. Some of the chamber’s most conservative lawmakers called the idea a “non-starter” on Wednesday as the shutdown entered a third week.
The Senate voted for a 10th time on Thursday to reopen the government, but the vote failed amid the continued gridlock.
Chad Pergram currently serves as a senior congressional correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC). He joined the network in September 2007 and is based out of Washington, D.C.
As the partial government shutdown grinds on, with no end in sight, Catherine Cortez Masto stands ready to end it right now.
The lawyerly senator from Nevada is one of just two Democrats to repeatedly vote with Republicans and Maine’s independent senator, Angus King, to have the federal government up and running.
She’s not only bucking her Senate colleagues with her contrarian stance, but also placing herself squarely at odds with the animating impulse of her party’s political base: Stop Trump! Give no quarter! Now is the time! This is the fight!
Cortez Masto evinces not a flicker of doubt.
“I have been very consistent about the cost of a shutdown and the impact to Americans and the fact that I believe we need to work in a bipartisan way to find solutions to what we’re seeing right now, which is this looming healthcare crisis,” Cortez Masto said from Washington.
“And I think we can do that by keeping the government open. I don’t think we should do it by swapping the pain of one group of Americans for another.”
Unlike the Democrats’ other defector, Pennsylvania’s quirky Sen. John Fetterman, Cortez Masto hasn’t developed a reputation for partisan heresy, or antagonized party peers by playing footsie with President Trump and the MAGA movement.
Despite her temporary alliance with the GOP, she’s unstinting in her criticism of the president and the Republican stance on healthcare, the issue at the heart of the shutdown fight.
“Of course we need to stand up to Trump’s attacks on our families and our country,” she said. “I’ve been one of the most vocal opponents of Trump’s disastrous trade and tariff policies.”
Her split with fellow Democrats, she suggested, is not over ends but rather means.
It’s entirely possible, Cortez Masto insisted, to keep the government open for business and, at the same time, work through the parties’ differences over healthcare, including, most imminently, the end of subsidies that have kept insurance costs from skyrocketing.
It comes down to negotiation, trust and compromise, which in Cortez Masto’s view, is still possible — even in these rabidly partisan times.
“That’s what Congress is built on,” she said. “Congress is built on compromise, working together across the aisle to get stuff done. I still believe in it.”
Although she noted — with considerable understatement — “there are those in the administration and some of my colleagues” who disagree.
Not to mention a great many Democratic activists who believe anything short of jailing Trump and dispatching the entire GOP-run Congress to a far-off desert island amounts to cowardly capitulation.
Cortez Masto, a former state attorney general, was first elected to the Senate in 2016, replacing the onetime Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, after the Democrat retired.
Six years later, when she sought reelection, Cortez Masto was widely considered Democrats’ most endangered incumbent. She was not nearly as powerful or prominent as Reid had been. Inflation was raging, and Nevada was still suffering an economic hangover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Her opponent was a middling Republican, Adam Laxalt, a failed gubernatorial candidate and one of the architects of Trump’s Big Lie about the 2020 election. He also seemed to harbor a soft spot for the Jan. 6, 2021, rioters.
Still, Cortez Masto barely beat him, winning by fewer than 10,000 votes out of more than 1 million cast. In retrospect, the result could be seen as a harbinger of Trump’s success in carrying the state after twice losing Nevada.
Cortez Masto next faces reelection in 2028, which is politically ages away. By then, the shutdown will be long forgotten. (And presumably long over.)
Her focus, she said, is the here and now and, especially, the shutdown’s economic effect at a time Nevada is already feeling the negative consequences of Trump’s trade and immigration policies. Las Vegas, which runs on tourism, has experienced a notable slump, and Cortez Masto suggested the shutdown only makes things worse.
That, however, hasn’t deterred Nevada’s other U.S. senator, Jacky Rosen, who has repeatedly voted alongside nearly every other Democrat to keep the government shuttered until Republicans give in.
“Nevadans sent me here to fight for them,” Rosen said in a speech on the Senate floor. “Not to cave.”
Asked about the fissure, Cortez Masto responded evenly and with diplomacy. “She’s a good friend.… Our goal is to fight for Nevada and we are doing it,” she said. “We both are doing it in different ways.”
So, negotiation. Bipartisanship. Compromise.
What makes Cortez Masto think Trump, who’s run roughshod over Congress and the courts, can be trusted to honor any deal Democrats cut with Republicans to reopen the government and address the healthcare crisis she sees?
“Well, that’s the rub, right? We know what he’s doing,” she replied. He’s “flouting the law when it comes to … taking the role of legislators and appropriating funds at his own whim…. So, of course, no, you can’t trust him.
“But he is there. What you got to figure out is how you work together with Republican colleagues to get something done.”
Cortez Masto noted, dryly, that Congress is, in fact, a separate branch of government with its own power and authority. Republicans have ceded both to Trump and if they really want to solve problems, she said, and do more than the president’s bidding, they “need to come out and do bipartisan legislation to push back on this administration.”
“We’ve got to govern,” Cortez Masto said. “We’ve got to work together.”
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter, under fire for recently emerged videos showing her scolding a reporter and swearing at an aide, expressed remorse for her behavior on Tuesday in her first public remarks since the incidents were publicized.
“I think I’m known as someone who’s able to handle tough questions, who’s willing to answer questions,” Porter told Nikki Laurenzo, host of Inside California Politics and anchor on Fox40 in Sacramento. “I want people to know that I really value the incredible work that my staff can do. I think people who know me know I can be tough. But I need to do a better job expressing appreciation for the amazing work my team does.”
Last week, a video emerged of Porter telling a separate television reporter that she doesn’t need the support of the millions of Californians who voted for President Trump, and brusquely threatening to end the interview because the reporter asked follow-up questions. The following day, a second video emerged of Porter telling a young staffer “Get out of my f—ing shot!” while videoconferencing with a member of then-President Biden’s cabinet in 2021.
Porter on Tuesday said that she had apologized to the staffer. She repeatedly sidestepped Laurenzo’s questions about whether other videos could emerge.
“What I can tell you … is that I am taking responsibility for the situation,” Porter said.
Porter’s behavior in the videos underscored long-standing questions about her temperament and high staff turnover while she served in Congress.
The most recent polls showed that Porter held a narrow lead in the competitive race to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is serving his second and final term as governor. After the videos emerged last week, several of Porter’s rivals criticized her behavior, including former state Controller Betty Yee, who said she should drop out of the race.
On Tuesday, Yee argued that Porter’s temperament could imperil Democrats’ efforts to pass Proposition 50, the Nov. 4 ballot measure to redraw congressional districts in California to boost their party’s numbers in the House.
Yee, a former vice chair of the state Democratic party, warned that a Republican could potentially win the governor’s race and Democrats could lose the U.S. House of Representatives because of Porter’s “demeanor.”
“I don’t relish picking a fight, and it’s not even a fight,” Yee said during a virtual press conference. “I’m doing what’s best for this party.”
Porter is also expected to address the issue Tuesday night during a virtual forum with the California Working Families Party.
Prior to her statements on Tuesday, Porter had released one statement about the 2021 video, saying, “It’s no secret I hold myself and my staff to a high standard, and that was especially true as a member of Congress. I have sought to be more intentional in showing gratitude to my staff for their important work.”
The UC Irvine law professor has not responded to multiple interview requests from the Times.
Mehta reported from Los Angeles and Smith reported from Sacramento.
The government shutdown is in its 14th day, and the Senate is set to reconvene on Tuesday to vote for an eighth time on measures that would reopen the government. Meanwhile, President Trump indicated in a social media post that he redirected some research funds to pay the military during the shutdown. CBS News’ Nikole Killion has more from Capitol Hill.
The National Hockey League played seven games in its young 2025-2026 season by the end of the day last Wednesday. The contests featured a grand total of two fights.
The government shutdown had run for eight days by the end of the day on that Wednesday. And the now lengthy shutdown sparked two extraordinary verbal brawls in the halls of Congress between lawmakers.
NHL referees Gord Dwyer and Mitch Dunning worked the Washington Capitals/Boston Bruins tilt Wednesday night in DC. Perhaps the House and Senate Sergeants at Arms could have summoned Dwyer and Dunning up to Capitol Hill to dole out a few ten-minute misconducts beforehand.
“You’re embarrassing yourself right now!” hollered House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., at Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer said Democrats, led in the House by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, are putting health care access at risk by refusing the GOP’s federal funding plan.(Annabelle Gordon/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“The only embarrassment here is you!” thundered Lawler at Jeffries.
Tempers exploded as Lawler lay in wait outside the House Radio/TV Gallery Studio for a shutdown smackdown after Jeffries concluded his now-daily press conference.
“You’re not going to talk to me and talk over me when you don’t want to hear what I’m going to say!” yelled an animated Jeffries at Lawler, jabbing his index finger toward his colleague’s chest but never poking him.
“Oh, I’m listening,” said Lawler.
“So just keep your mouth shut!” shouted the usually cool Jeffries.
There were multiple rounds of vocal fisticuffs between Members and Congressional leaders.
Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., summoned the press to the hallway outside the office of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to complain about the shutdown and criticize the Speaker for not swearing-in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., more than two weeks after her election. Johnson then confronted the Arizona senators. And Lawler was nearby, serving as “fourth man in.”
“This is the longest the House has gone…” interrupted Gallego.
“Do you want me to answer the question?” shot back Johnson.
“You’re not actually answering the question,” countered Gallego.
The multiple rounds of brawls in the halls between lawmakers were nearly unprecedented in Congress. The shutdown smackdowns featured arguments about health care. Lawler waved around legislation focused on the Democrats’ push during the shutdown: a package to extend Obamacare subsidies.
“If you believe in it so much!” chided Lawler, with a rhetorical uppercut.
“Bro, do you understand math?” counterpunched Jeffries.
Tensions are spiking at the Capitol. Yours truly asked Johnson about Lawler confronting Jeffries and his decision to step out of the Speaker’s Office to engage Kelly and Gallego. I noted to the Speaker that if the House was in session, there may be fistfights in the hallways.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on the tenth day of the federal government shutdown on Oct. 10, 2025, in Washington, D.C.(Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty Images)
“Are you concerned and is it incumbent upon you as the Speaker to try to lower this temperature?” I asked.
Johnson added that the contretemps “concerns me.” He added that he wanted to “restore civility to the institution.”
“Let’s have policy disputes. But not make it personal. This gets personal. Emotions are high. People are upset. I’m upset. I’m a very patient man. But I am very angry right now because this is dangerous stuff. And so is it better for them to be physically separated right now? It probably is.” said Johnson.
Lawmakers aren’t the only ones raging. Thousands of federal workers are fuming at the shutdown. The administration is now firing federal workers.
“Right now, many families are paying the price for political gridlock that they didn’t cause,” said American Federation of Government Employees President Everett Kelley.
Rep. Sarah Elfreth, D-Md., represents 44,000 federal employees in her district near Washington, DC. She notes that Maryland has lost 15,000 federal jobs since President Trump took office in January.
“I believe that (the firings) are not only unethical and immoral, but illegal for him to be RIF-ing people during a shutdown. There’s no new authority granted to the President or OMB during a shutdown,” said Elfreth. “I don’t believe in negotiating by threat. It also shows that I think they have the weaker hand and that they’re losing the PR battle nationally to resort to threats.”
While the shutdown is the main event, the undercard is a fight between Democrats and Johnson over Grijalva to succeed her late father, Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz. The elder Grijalva died in March after a battle with cancer.
“I can’t hire staff. We don’t have an office,” said Grijalva “So it’s very much second-class citizen feeling for me.”
Democrats have tried on multiple occasions to compel the House to swear-in Grijalva during brief, pro forma sessions where the body gavels in and gavels out after just a few seconds. Once in office, Grijalva would provide the crucial 218th signature to go over the head of the Speaker and force the House to vote on a measure to release the Epstein files.
“Get your people in and stop covering up for the pedophiles,” shouted Gallego at Johnson during their confrontation in the corridor.
“That’s ridiculous,” responded Johnson.
“There’s nobody covering up for pedophiles,” chirped Lawler from the back of the scrum. “So knock it the hell off.”
Johnson denies the Grijalva holdup is about the Epstein files.
Speaker Mike Johnson is canceling House votes for a third straight week in a bid to put pressure on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer during the government shutdown.(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite; Allison Robbert/AP Photo)
“We’ll schedule it, I guess, as soon as she wants. It has nothing to do with it,” said Johnson.
But Grijalva wrote to the Speaker last week demanding the House swear her in immediately. And the House still hasn’t sworn her in.
Circumstances were different this spring when the House GOP majority dwindled to a net seat of one. Republicans needed as many votes as they could muster to pass parliamentary frameworks for the Big, Beautiful Bill. Johnson swore-in Reps. Randy Fine, R-Fla., and Jimmy Patronis, R-Fla., a day after they won special elections.
“These guys worked hard and they earned the position,” said Johnson when he met with them back in April. “These gentlemen are going to come in and help us deliver the America First agenda.”
Johnson noted that swearing-in Fine and Patronis made “the margin a little more comfortable” for House Republicans.
So Johnson is keeping the House out of session for now. House Democrats are returning to Capitol Hill this week to make a point of Johnson keeping the House out of session during the shutdown. Regardless, pouring everyone back into the Capitol would likely trigger the Congressional equivalent of a line brawl.
There are unwritten rules about hockey fights. You don’t sucker punch someone. You don’t knee your opponent. You generally square off in a fight with someone in your same weight class. In hockey, both sides warm up on their own side of the red line before the game and between periods. Violation of that code might trigger a big brawl.
Lawmakers from both sides seemingly left their own side of the rink to pick fights with the other side. Gallego and Kelly outside the Speaker’s Office. Lawler outside Jeffries’ news conference.
But lawmakers are apparently ignoring these unwritten rules. The government shutdown soon enters its third week and everyone is dropping their gloves.
Chad Pergram currently serves as a senior congressional correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC). He joined the network in September 2007 and is based out of Washington, D.C.
U.S. stock markets rebound after sharp dip Friday over potential tariff increase on China – CBS News
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U.S. stock markets are up Monday after President Trump walked back tariff threats against China that sent stocks sliding Friday afternoon. CBS News MoneyWatch correspondent Kelly O’Grady reports.
Government shutdown drags into third week as Senate set to reconvene – CBS News
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The government shutdown entered its third week on Monday as the Senate is set to reconvene on Tuesday. CBS News’ Nikole Killion has more from Capitol Hill.
