President Donald Trump has seized on the government shutdown as an opportunity to reshape the federal workforce and punish detractors, by threatening mass firings of workers and suggesting “irreversible” cuts to programs important to Democrats.
Rather than simply furlough employees, as is usually done during any lapse of funds, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said layoffs were “imminent.” The Office of Management and Budget announced it was putting on hold roughly $18 billion of infrastructure funds for New York’s subway and Hudson Tunnel projects — in the hometown of the Democratic leaders of the U.S. House and Senate.
Thursday is day two of the shutdown, and already the dial is turned high. The aggressive approach coming from the Trump administration is what certain lawmakers and budget observers feared if Congress, which has the responsibility to pass legislation to fund government, failed to do its work and relinquished control to the White House.
Here’s the latest:
The blame game is on at federal agencies, where political messages fault Democrats for the shutdown
A growing number of Americans’ routine interactions with the federal government this week have been met with messaging that is far more partisan than the straightforward alerts that typically grace agency websites during shutdowns. Some traditionally apolitical agencies are using their official channels to spread a coordinated political message: It’s the Democrats’ fault.
The rhetoric, popping up in bright-red webpage banners, email autoreplies and social media posts, lays blame on the political party that is out of power in Washington when both sides are refusing to accommodate the other.
Democrats, who have minorities in both the Senate and House, have demanded that a set of expiring health insurance tax credits be extended before they sign on to any deal. Republicans, who need several Democratic votes in the Senate, said those negotiations should wait until after the funding measure passes.
▶ Read more about partisan messaging from federal agencies
Justice Department fires key prosecutor in elite office already beset by turmoil, AP sources say
The DOJ dismissed the top national security prosecutor amid criticism from a conservative commentator over his work during the Biden administration, further roiling the prominent U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia after the ousting of other senior attorneys in recent weeks, according to people familiar with the matter.
Michael Ben’Ary, who was chief of the office’s national security section, was fired Wednesday just hours after writer and activist Julie Kelly shared online that he was previously senior counsel to Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco during the Biden administration, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters.
Kelly’s post speculated that Ben’Ary may have been part of the “internal resistance” in the office to the recently charged case against FBI Director James Comey. But Ben’Ary played no role in the Comey case, one of the people said.
— Alanna Durkin Richer and Eric Tucker
▶ Read more about the firings
The government shuts down, and Trump goes online — very online
On Thursday morning, as thousands of federal employees stayed home and faced potential layoffs because of the government shutdown, Trump got right to work on social media.
He started by sharing praise from supporters. Then he falsely claimed that “DEMOCRATS WANT TO GIVE YOUR HEALTHCARE MONEY TO ILLEGAL ALIENS.” And then he announced that he would meet with his top budget adviser to figure out where to make permanent cuts to federal programs that “are a political SCAM.”
All that was before 8 a.m., just one flurry in a blizzard of online commentary from the president. Like so many other times when he’s faced complex crises with no easy solutions, Trump seems determined to post his way through it.
The stream of invective and trolling has been remarkable even for a 79-year-old president who is as chronically online as any member of Gen Z. His style is mirrored by the rest of his administration, which so far seems more interested in mocking and pummeling Democrats than negotiating with them.
▶ Read more about the president’s online presence here
Hegseth’s decision on Wounded Knee medals sparks outrage in Native American communities
Native American communities that have long wanted the removal of military honors for the soldiers involved in the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre had their hopes dashed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in his effort to root out what he calls a “ woke culture ” in the armed forces.
Hegseth announced last week in a video on social media that the soldiers will keep their Medals of Honor, part of a wider Trump administration move that Indigenous leaders and historians call part of a culture war against racial and ethnic minorities and women’s rights.
In 1890 an estimated 250 men, women and children were killed by soldiers on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, many as they fled the violence and well after orders to cease fire. Some estimates put the number of dead at over 300, more than half women and children.
In a social media post Thursday, Hegseth referred to the events at Wounded Knee as a “battle.” But most historians disagree.
“Hegseth’s proclamation on this reflects the way that this administration thinks of history — as something that one person can somehow determine through a magical proclamation,” said Philip Deloria, a Harvard history professor and member of the Dakota Nation.
▶ Read more about the massacre and Hegseth
House Minority Leader calls for permanent extension of health care subsidies
“Donald Trump enacted massive tax breaks for their billionaire donors, for the wealthy, the well off and the well-connected. All to subsidize the lifestyles of the rich and shameless. And this was done permanently?,” Hakeem Jeffries, the top House Democrat, said to reporters on the steps of the Capitol.
“And now, they want the American people — not us Democrats — the American people to accept anything less than a permanent extension of tax credits that make their healthcare affordable?”
Jeffries said that a permanent extension of the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance subsidies was House Democrats’ negotiating stance. Some Senate Democrats have floated a temporary annual extension of the subsidies in shutdown talks.
Jeffries said House Democrats were open to “common sense” and “bipartisan” negotiations to fund the government but questioned whether the president, vice president and congressional Republicans “are behaving like individuals who actually want to reopen the government.”
FDA approves another generic abortion pill, prompting outrage from opponents
Federal health officials have approved another generic version of the abortion pill, prompting outrage from abortion opponents.
Anti-abortion groups quickly criticized the move on Thursday, calling it a “stain” on the administration of President Donald Trump. The groups have been pushing for a safety review of mifepristone.
The FDA first approved the drug as safe and effective in 2000.
The new version of the pill is from tiny drugmaker Evita Solutions. It’s not the first generic version. The FDA first approved a generic in 2019.
▶ Read more about generic abortion pill
US calls Gaza flotilla a ‘deliberate and unnecessary provocation’ of Israel
The State Department says the flotilla of humanitarian aid and activists intercepted by Israel as it was heading to Gaza is a “deliberate and unnecessary provocation” that could distract from the Trump administration’s latest effort to secure a peace deal between Israel and Hamas.
In brief comments sent to reporters on Thursday, the department said it was committed to assisting any U.S. citizens who may have been participating in the flotilla and been detained by Israel but offered no details other than to say it was “monitoring the situation.”
However, it also cast aspersions on the concept of the flotilla, vessels of which were stormed by Israeli authorities Wednesday in the Mediterranean.
“The flotilla is a deliberate and unnecessary provocation,” it said. “We are currently focused on realizing President Trump’s plan to end the war, which has been universally welcomed as a historic opportunity for a lasting peace.”
Trump says he could cut ‘favorite projects’ of Democrats because of shutdown
The president said in an interview taped Wednesday with One America News that “there could be firings and that’s their fault,” but said there could be other impacts from the shutdown.
“We could cut projects that they wanted, favorite projects, and they’d be permanently cut,” Trump said in a clip from the interview, which was released ahead of the full interview set to air Thursday night.
Trump said he didn’t want the shutdown but people are suggesting he did because, he said, “I’m allowed to cut things that never should have been approved in the first place and I will probably do that.”
US sending staff overseas for World Cup visa interviews
The State Department says it will increase staffing at certain U.S. embassies and consulates to accommodate an expected major jump in visa applications from soccer fans wanting to attend World Cup matches in the United States next year.
The department said Thursday that it will send hundreds of additional consular officers to “designated countries” to handle the demand for visa interviews. The number of additional staffers and the countries where they will be deployed have yet to be determined because the 48-team field for the 2026 World Cup hasn’t yet been finalized.
Tickets for the tournament hosted by U.S., Canada and Mexico next year went on sale Wednesday amid concerns over the Trump administration’s crackdown on both migration and temporary visas that offer permission to enter the United States.
Congressional Black Caucus launches political campaign pushing back on GOP shutdown message
“When you look at the number of individuals that have been laid off already, prior to the shutdown, the overwhelming majority of them are Black federal workers,” said Rep. Gregory Meeks, a New York Democrat.
Meeks, who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus’s political arm, said the group is launching a campaign to counter Republican messages blaming Democrats for the shutdown. The campaign will include on the ground events in targeted districts, as well as engagement with local news, influencers and civic leaders across the country.
“Whether it’s churches or barbershops, we’re going to be looking to get the message out to and where the people are, in the streets,” said Meeks.
Trump declares drug cartels in Caribbean unlawful combatants
President Donald Trump has declared drug cartels operating in the Caribbean are unlawful combatants and says the United States is now in a “non-international armed conflict,” according to a Trump administration memo obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday.
A U.S. official familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly said the Congress was notified about the designation by Pentagon officials on Wednesday.
The move comes after the U.S. military last month carried out three deadly strikes against alleged drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean. At least two of those operations were carried out on vessels that originated from Venezuela.
▶ Read more about drug cartels
— Aameer Madhani and Lisa Mascaro
Senate Majority leader says weekend votes to reopen the government are ‘unlikely’
Senate Majority Leader John Thune says that the Senate will come back on Friday to vote once again on reopening the government.
“If that fails, then we’ll give them the weekend to think about it. We’ll come back and we’ll go again on Monday,” the South Dakota Republican said.
Senate majority leader says he’s glad bipartisan talks happening but demands government reopening
Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters that he is “glad” that rank-and-file Democratic and Republican senators are talking about a potential compromise that could lead to the government reopening, but he sounded a note of skepticism about some of the ideas under discussion.
Some senators have been discussing legislation that would fund the government for a few weeks while they also negotiate extending Affordable Care Act tax credits.
“I’m hoping that perhaps that leads somewhere, but it all starts with what I’ve said before — reopening government,” the South Dakota Republican said.
He also expressed skepticism about any funding that would last shorter than the seven weeks put forward by Republicans and any extension to the ACA credits without significant reforms to address what he called “waste, fraud and abuse.”
House Oversight Democrats call for investigation over the Trump administration’s shutdown messages
The Trump administration made “apparent violations of the Hatch Act, and illegal use of government resources to promote a false, partisan Republican political agenda,” wrote Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, in a letter to the U.S. Office of the Special Counsel.
“Messages shared by multiple Trump Administration agencies in the last few days attempt to place blame for the current government shutdown on congressional Democrats and the Democratic Party,” Garcia’s letter reads, citing social media posts from department secretaries and messages on the websites of federal agencies.
Garcia requested that the Special Counsel’s office, which is headed by an acting official and Trump appointee, “immediately investigate these likely violations of federal law,” which prohibits government agencies and officials from engaging in partisan electoral politics.
Garcia said that any probe would inform future House Democratic investigations into “any and all cases in which federal power or resources are weaponized for political reasons.”
Hispanic groups criticize use of sombrero memes in government shutdown fight
In a joint response, the Hispanic Federation, the Latino Victory Foundation, League of United American Citizens, Mi Familia Vota, UnidosUs and Voto Latino said the AI videos and memes are distracting the public from the issue at hand and perpetuating Latino stereotypes.
“Targeting the Latino community is not only irresponsible — it is reprehensible and beneath the office of the presidency,” the joint statement said. “The troubling use of AI to amplify hateful stereotypes is not only reckless, but it serves as an act of disinformation designed to further stigmatize Latinos when the tensions facing the community driven by policy and rhetoric are at an all-time high.”
White House postpones event for National Hispanic Heritage Month
The president was expected to host a gathering Thursday afternoon. However, it’s been postponed because of the government shutdown, according to a White House official who wasn’t authorized to comment publicly on the matter.
— Chris Megerian
White House says video attacks on Democrats will continue until they reopen the government
“The sombreros will continue until the government reopens,” White House Deputy Communications Kaelan Dorr said in a post on X sharing a video of House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries that was previously shared during a White House press briefing Wednesday.
What started with a video of Jeffries wearing a sombrero with mariachi music in the background as he delivers a fabricated rant has turned into a trolling campaign led by Republicans.
On Wednesday evening, the official GOP X account and Sen. Ted Cruz’s personal account shared various versions of the sombrero meme.
Cruz’s post depicts various images of Democrats in sombreros and mustaches while playing an altered version of the 1990s Latino hit “Macarena.”
In his post, Cruz said, “The 44 senate Democrats who voted for Schumer’s Shutdown should know that the Sombrero posting will continue until they re-open our government. Hey Macarena.”
Trump administration canceling nearly $8 billion in clean energy grants for blue states
The Trump administration is canceling $7.6 billion in grants that supported hundreds of clean energy projects in 16 states — all of which voted for Democrat Kamala Harris for president.
The cuts were announced by Russell Vought, the White House budget director, who said in a social media post that “Nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left’s climate agenda is being cancelled.”
The cuts come as the Trump administration threatens major spending cuts and firings in its escalating fight with congressional Democrats over the government shutdown.
The energy cuts are likely to effect battery plants, major hydrogen technology projects, upgrades to the electric grid and carbon capture efforts, according to the environmental nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council.
By The Associated Press
