‘People Will Go Hungry’
The Trump administration says it will appeal an order to tap alternative reserve funds to deliver money to the states today for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
As the budget impasse in Congress drags on, a wide range of federal services continued while others were paused. The administration proposed partially covering grocery help for the poorest Americans. Late yesterday, US District Judge John McConnell rejected that plan, ordering USDA to send states the $8.5 billion to $9 billion needed for this month’s benefits, Zoe Tillman reports.
“The evidence shows that people will go hungry,” the judge said, doubling down on an earlier order. Read More
Another shutdown upheaval: grounded flights. Airlines across the US have started canceling flights scheduled for the coming days after the FAA told air carriers of flight capacity cuts to keep flying safe amid shutdown-driven staffing shortages, Allyson Versprille, Lucia Kassai, and Miranda Davis report. United Airlines and American Airlines are the most affected, with the highest cancellations on intrastate routes in Colorado and Texas. Read More
Lillianna Byington and Erin Durkin report that senators may stay in town this weekend as talks continue over a path to reopen the government.
Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has offered Democrats a vote on expiring health-care tax credits, while warning that the Senate could decide to leave if they aren’t making progress and if Democrats vote down a continuing resolution today. Read more in this morning’s Congress Tracker.
See Also:
- What to Expect When Airlines Cut Flights Due to the Shutdown
- How Airport Woes Went From Bad to Worse in the Shutdown
- Government Shutdown Jeopardizes State Work Safety Enforcement
At the White House
Hungary’s prime minister and Syria’s president are the next foreign leaders in line to meet President Donald Trump. Prime Minister Viktor Orban will have energy on his mind at his scheduled meeting today, since his administration wants to continue buying Russian oil. Orban has been under pressure to stop those purchases, which help fund Moscow’s war against Ukraine.
Alicia Diaz reports that a bipartisan group of senators, including Republicans Roger Wicker (Miss.), Thom Tillis (N.C.), and Mitch McConnell (Ky.), implored the Hungarian leader and other consumers of Russian energy ahead of that meeting to adhere to a June proposal by the European Union to cut off imports by 2027.
Putin “is a war criminal who uses Russia’s energy exports to fund his campaign of murder and aggression,” Tillis said in a statement, adding that the senators wanted to send the message “that we will not allow energy dependence to become a weapon in the hands of a brutal dictator.”
Last month, the Treasury Department blacklisted Russia’s biggest oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil.
Syria’s leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa goes to the White House Monday. Trump has been working to boost Syria’s battered economy and support the new government after rebels overthrew the regime of Bashar Al-Assad last year.
Contracting Case
Companies that do business with the federal government will be closely following the Supreme Court arguments next week in a case involving a vendor that runs detention facilities for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The contractor, Geo Group, is accused of forcing detainees to accept $1 pay for a day of preparing food, operating the library, doing laundry, and other tasks, or risk solitary confinement under a voluntary work program.
As Khorri Atkinson explained when the Supreme Court term was about to begin, the justices will hear arguments about the correct legal path for litigation like this. One of the contentions is that contractors can have the same immunity that the US itself would have had if they sue over the same actions.
Shifting Politics
It’s the kind of same-party Hunger Games we’re used to seeing every 10 years, after the Census. Because of this week’s election results in California, a new House district map made two current members of Congress look in the mirror and decide how much they want to stay in Washington.
Greg Giroux reports that Republican Reps. Ken Calvert and Young Kim are both going for it, preparing to run in a reconfigured 40th District that combines parts of both of their constituencies.
A two-incumbent race ensures it’ll be an expensive one. Kim began October with $4.8 million in campaign cash-on-hand, compared with $2.9 million for Calvert. They’re among the most cash-rich House members, Federal Election Commission data show. Read More
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R) made it official this morning and announced she’s running for governor of New York, Raga Justin and Nacha Cattan report. Stefanik, one of Trump’s most prominent allies in Congress, slammed incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) in her launch video and promised “a new generation of leadership to Albany to make New York affordable and safe for families.” Read More
California’s also about to experience a giant political shakeup: a year with no Pelosi on the ballot. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D) will retire at the end of this term. Kate Ackley reports that the former speaker is leaving an imprint on Washington lobbying, with scores of ex-aides and allies in high-level K Street and advocacy jobs.
She’ll also have the chance to put her thumb on a few electoral scales, with an eight-figure campaign nest egg available to help her party and the next generation of favored candidates. Read More
Before You Go
CBO Targeted: The Congressional Budget Office was hit by hackers, Erik Wasson and Jamie Tarabay report. “The incident is being investigated and work for the Congress continues,” spokesperson Caitlin Emma said. Read More
Ramping Up: The US attorney’s office in Miami is recruiting prosecutors and restructuring its chain of command for a grand jury investigation expected to target former DOJ officials and others involved in cases against President Donald Trump, Ben Penn reports. The exact scope of the grand jury effort—which an individual familiar with the situation described as “special counsel oversight”—remains unclear. Read More
Sub Guy Cleared: A federal jury found a former DOJ employee not guilty of misdemeanor assault over a viral incident in which he threw a sandwich at a Customs and Border Protection officer. Celine Castronuovo reports that jurors deliberated for about seven hours across two days before handing another loss to the DC US attorney’s office. Read More
Transgender Travel: A divided Supreme Court temporarily revived a Trump administration policy that generally requires new passports to reflect the sex on the holder’s birth certificate. Greg Stohr and Zoe Tillman report that the justices put on hold a lower court ruling that had blocked part of a Jan. 20 executive order as likely illegal. The high court’s decision will apply while the litigation continues. Read More
Retail Spending Boost: Holiday spending will set a record despite consumer caution, according to a forecast by the National Retail Federation. Consumers plan to spend nearly $900 per person on average this year, while retail sales are expected to increase in a range of 3.7% to 4.2% from a year earlier, according to the group. The potential total: more than $1 trillion, Uma Bhat reports. Read More
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