Author: The Hill Staff

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will hold his weekly press conference with GOP leadership on Tuesday morning, marking two weeks of the government shutdown. Johnson, who has spoken to reporters almost every day despite sending his colleagues home during the shutdown, warned on Monday that the standoff with Democrats was far from over. “We’re barreling toward one of the longest shutdowns in American history, unless Democrats drop their partisan demands and pass a clean, no-strings-attached budget to reopen the government and pay our federal workers,” Johnson said in during a press conference. The speaker has refused to negotiate over Democratic demands…

Senate Republicans blocked the Democratic proposal to reopen the government on Thursday.  Still, with no resolution in sight, Democrats are feeling like they have the upper hand — at least for now. The chamber is now voting on the House-backed GOP measure, which is also expected to fail. This is the seventh vote seeking to end the shutdown. Meanwhile, President Trump is celebrating the newly brokered first phase of a peace deal between Israel and Hamas, which both are expected to approve on Thursday. This morning, Trump praised members of his administration and their work in bringing the ceasefire and…

President Trump announced Wednesday that Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of a peace deal after more than two years of war. “This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace,” Trump wrote on social media. “All Parties will be treated fairly” Earlier on Wednesday, Trump hinted that he “may” travel to Egypt — and even war-torn Gaza — over the weekend. The development in the Middle East comes hours after the Senate…

The government officially shut down at 12:01 a.m. after the Senate failed to pass a government funding bill. The chamber voted down a proposal from Democrats, followed by a GOP House-passed stopgap bill that would have kept the lights on through Nov. 21. Shortly after the vote, Russell Vought, the head of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), issued a memo directing government agencies to begin executing their plans “for an orderly shutdown.” Both parties have blamed each other for a failure to reach a deal and refused to blink, leaving it unclear how Washington exits a shutdown. Also on Tuesday, at…

President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will speak to military generals and admirals in Quantico, Va., on Tuesday morning. Hegseth called for the rare last-minute gathering of military leaders earlier this month, which has raised some alarms. It is very rare for such a large meeting of top officers in person in one location and the timing was also unusual. Bringing together senior military leadership would typically take months to plan and prior notice would have to be given well in advance, as officers could be coming in from overseas. While mystery surrounds the event, Trump described it to…

President Trump on Tuesday addressed the United Nations General Assembly, questioning the purpose of the organization and rebuking allies as he outlined his “America First” agenda.  Trump touted his role in ending seven global conflicts and railed against member countries over what he described as unchecked migration.  “When your prisons are filled with so-called asylum-seekers … it’s time to end the failed experiment of open borders,” Trump said. “You have to end it now. I can tell you. I’m really good at this stuff. Your countries are going to hell.” On Tuesday afternoon, Trump met with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres…