Author: Sarah Fortinsky

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) said on Sunday that a hypothetical commitment from Republicans to hold a vote by the end of the year on extending health care subsidies would not be sufficient to secure Democratic support for the GOP proposal to reopen the government. Kelly, in an interview on NBC News’s “Meet the Press,” called for a “real negotiation” and solution to the expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies that are expected to increase health insurance premiums for millions of Americans. “Not right now, no,” Kelly said, when asked whether he would support a deal that secures a GOP commitment to…

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) encouraged more Republicans to speak out against federal troop deployments across state lines, pointing to recent criticism from Oklahoma’s GOP governor as “good news.” “We’ve got to all stand together because there [are] truly unconstitutional actions that are coming out of this administration, coming at the states and the people of the United States and all of us, Democrats and Republicans, need to speak out about it,” Pritzker said in an interview on ABC News’s “This Week.” Pritzker praised Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) for pushing back on the Texas National Guard’s presence in the…

President Trump says he expects the remaining hostages to be released from Gaza on Monday as part of the first phrase of Trump’s 20-point peace plan. “The big thing is hostages are going to be released. It’s probably, our time, would be probably Monday, and you know, it’s… a terrible situation there,” the president said late Wednesday in a phone interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity. Referring to where Hamas is holding those taken captive on Oct. 7, 2023, Trump continued, “They’re deep, they’re deep in the earth, and they’re being gotten, and a lot of things are happening right…

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Tuesday he thinks it was a “terrible decision” for the NFL to tap Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Bad Bunny to headline the Super Bowl halftime show in February. “I didn’t even know who Bad Bunny was, but it sounds like a terrible decision, in my view,” Johnson told a reporter, when asked for his thoughts on the controversial selection. Johnson suggested a more suitable choice would have been Lee Greenwood, the country singer known for his patriotic anthem, “God Bless the U.S.A.,” which has remained a staple at political rallies for President Trump. “Well, it sounds…

White House officials are raising the possibility that furloughed federal workers might not be entitled to back pay from their time off during the government shutdown. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers woke up Oct. 1 to find themselves furloughed or working without pay, after government funding lapsed overnight. President Trump on Tuesday said some furloughed federal workers “don’t deserve” back pay after a draft White House memo raised the possibility that some employees might not be paid after the government shutdown. “I would say it depends on who we’re talking about,” Trump said to reporters alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. “I…

President Trump on Monday called on Democrats to reopen the government, saying he will only discuss a potential deal on extending health care tax credits once they support the GOP funding proposal. In a statement on Truth Social, Trump appeared to shift from his earlier comments on Monday, when he signaled he was open to a deal with Democrats on health care, an issue at the core of the shutdown debate. “Democrats have SHUT DOWN the United States Government right in the midst of one of the most successful Economies, including a Record Stock Market, that our Country has ever…

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) signaled a willingness to negotiate with Democrats on their health care demands, breaking with her party on an issue at the core of the government shutdown standoff. In a lengthy post on the social platform X, Greene said she’s “absolutely disgusted” that health insurance premiums could double if the Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits expire, even as she stressed her strong opposition to the Obama-era legislation and to health insurance in general. “But I’m going to go against everyone on this issue because when the tax credits expire this year my own adult children’s…

Vice President Vance relaunched his TikTok profile on Monday, posting his first video to the popular social platform since taking office in January. Vance, posting from his personal account, said his team plans to use the page to update followers on daily White House activity, as well as politics, and will throw in “some sombrero memes here and there.” “JD Vance here. Just want to let you know that we are relaunching the VP’s TikTok page,” Vance said in the video. “I got a little lazy the last few months. I was focused on the job of being VP, not…

United States liquor exports to Canada declined by 85 percent in the second quarter of 2025, according to a new report, which cited the “adverse impact” of ongoing trade tensions. The midyear report, released Monday by the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS), shows that exports to Canada dropped to $9.6 million in the second quarter of 2025, down from $63.1 million in the second quarter of 2024. President Trump announced sweeping tariffs on U.S. trading partners earlier this year, including a 35 percent tariff on Canada. Goods covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, which Trump struck during…

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said the Trump administration’s plan to lay off thousands of federal workers is “regrettable,” but the fault is with Democrats who won’t agree to the Republicans’ proposal to reopen the government. In an interview on NBC News’s “Meet the Press,” host Kristen Welker pressed Johnson on the administration’s unprecedented plan to lay off thousands of federal workers, noting it’s “never been done before in a shutdown.” “We haven’t seen the details yet about what’s happening,” Johnson told Welker, when asked if he supports “laying off thousands of federal workers as a part of this shutdown.” “But…