A diplomatic battle is being waged between leading Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Nigerian government officials. Cruz has warned he will hold those officials accountable for the reported ‘mass slaughter’ of tens of thousands of Christians in Nigeria. Officials have claimed Cruz is lying, with one claiming that despite even the pope publicly calling out the killings, there is religious harmony in the country.

Nigeria is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a Christian, according to international Christian advocacy group Open Doors International’s 2025 World Watch List (WWL). An estimated 48% of the population is Christian. But of the 4,476 Christians reported killed worldwide in WWL’s latest reporting period, 3,100 of those who died — 69% — were in Nigeria.

On Saturday, the spokesperson for Nigerian President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, told a Lagos, Nigeria newspaper, that Cruz should ‘stop these malicious, contrived lies’ over the murders.

In response, Cruz, the Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy, told Fox News Digital, ‘Nigeria’s federal government and a dozen state governments enforce blasphemy laws in their criminal and sharia codes, and they ignore or facilitate mob violence targeting Christians.’

On Friday, the Nigerian Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, spoke exclusively to Fox News Digital, rejecting Cruz’s claims of Christians being massacred in his country. ‘The Nigerian government rejects that. This is certainly not true,’ he said.

In reaction, Sen. Cruz told Fox News Digital that the killings ‘are the result of decisions made by specific people, in specific places, at specific times. The United States knows who those people are, and I intend to hold them accountable’.

Cruz said, ‘Since 2009, over 50,000 Christians in Nigeria have been massacred, and over 20,000 churches and Christian schools have been destroyed. These atrocities are directly linked to the policies of Nigerian federal and state officials. They are the result of decisions made by specific people, in specific places, at specific times — and it says a great deal about who is lashing out now that a light is being shone on these issues.’

On Friday, Cruz posted on X: ‘Officials in Nigeria are ignoring and even facilitating the mass murder of Christians by Islamist jihadists. It’s time to hold those responsible accountable.’ He went on to refer to a new bill he has introduced in the Senate: ‘My Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act would target these officials with powerful sanctions and other tools.’

This drew an immediate response from Nigerian presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga. Interviewed by the Nigerian Daily Post the next day, Onanuga demanded, ‘Senator, stop these malicious, contrived lies against my country. Christians are not targeted. We have religious harmony in our country.’

Idris told Fox News Digital that Cruz’s comments are ‘very misleading. This is not true. This is not the reflection of what is on the ground. I mean it’s false where you say over 20,000 churches have been burned. It’s also false if you say 52,000 (Christians killed), where did he get those numbers from? I think this is absolutely absurd. It’s not supported by any facts whatsoever. The Nigerian government rejects that. No Nigerian officials will willingly, deliberately indulge in the act of siding with violent extremists to target any particular religion in this country. This is absolutely false.’

Idris also stated, ‘Nigeria is a multi-faith country, meaning that it’s a country that has multiple religions. We have Christians, we have Muslims, we even have those who don’t believe in any of these two religions. Nigeria is a very tolerant country. The government of Nigeria is committed to ensuring that there is religious freedom in this country, but we do have extremist organizations in this country.’ 

Idris continued, ‘It’s unfortunate sadly, that some of these extremists have killed a number of Christians and a number of Muslims almost everywhere where this violent extremism has support. So it’s (the accusation by Sen. Cruz) not true. We find that to be very unfortunate. It’s despicable, it’s not right. This is absolutely false to say that there is a calculated or a deliberate attempt to kill a particular religious group, is not correct and we find that really very, very unfortunate.

Open Doors’ Natalie Blair says independent data from Nigeria shows ‘Christians can be targeted by radical extremists, and radical extremists can also kill Muslims who do not conform to their radical ideology.’ But Blair, a senior member of Open Doors Advocacy team, told Fox News Digital, ‘Boko Haram and ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province) have explicitly and repeatedly declared Christians as targets.  And many victims have told us that when Fulani militants attack they don’t just shout ‘Allahu Akbar’, (God is Great), they yell, ‘we will destroy all Christians.’

Blair added: ‘According to the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa, data of civilians killed — exempting out the military and terrorist deaths — in northern Nigeria is unequivocal: more Christians are killed by the extremists than Muslims — if you are a Christian you are 6.5 times more likely to be killed than a Muslim. This does not make the suffering of a Muslim less significant, it just makes it less likely.’

Bishop Wilfred Anagbe’s Makurdi Diocese is almost exclusively Christian. But the constant and escalating attacks by Muslim Fulani militants led him to testify at a congressional hearing in March in Washington, saying there is ‘a long-term Islamic agenda (in Nigeria) to homogenize. The population has been implemented over several presidencies through a strategy to reduce and eventually eliminate the Christian identity of half of the population all over Nigeria. These terrorists are going about on a jihad and conquering territories and renaming them accordingly.’ 

Idris was dismissive of the Bishop’s Congressional testimony: ‘let me say that the Bishop’s position is an extreme one. It’s not true. The Nigerian government has debunked that in the past.’

Open Doors’ Blair, with access to Nigerian villagers, responded, ‘We must listen to the voices of those who have experienced the violence firsthand.  People on the ground do not trust that anyone will pay for these violent crimes. This is because they have seen hundreds of suspects arrested over the years and then most of them released, having never been charged or brought to trial.’

Blair concluded, ‘the right to life, guaranteed under Section 33 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, is meaningless unless the state acts decisively to punish those who violate it. The ongoing culture of impunity will only result in more bloodshed and continue to erode public trust in the rule of law.’

The House Oversight Committee has dropped its subpoena for former FBI Director James Comey, after he said he had no knowledge relevant to the panel’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, The Hill reported, citing a letter Comey sent to the committee.

In the Oct. 1 letter sent to Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky, Comey said he had no ‘knowledge’ or ‘information relevant to the Committee’s investigation’ into the late pedophile.

Comey was slated to sit for a deposition on Tuesday before the committee that is examining Epstein’s contacts and potential government ties dating back to the 1990s. 

‘I offer this letter in lieu of a deposition that would unproductively consume the Committee’s scarce time and resources,’ Comey wrote.

Comey served as deputy attorney general from 2003 to 2005 and later as FBI director from 2013 to 2017 — two periods now under scrutiny by House Republicans seeking answers about Epstein’s federal connections.

‘At no time during my service at the Department of Justice or the FBI do I recall any information or conversations that related to Jeffrey Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell,’ Comey wrote.

Because the letter was submitted under penalty of law — making any false statements a potential federal crime — Comer accepted Comey’s response and withdrew the subpoena.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Oversight Committee for a copy of Comey’s letter and confirmation of the subpoena’s withdrawal.

The late pedophile Epstein committed suicide in 2019 while awaiting prosecution on federal sex trafficking charges, though questions continue to swirl about the circumstances surrounding his death.

Comer issued a wave of subpoenas in August tied to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation — including to Comey and former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Comer also subpoenaed the Justice Department for records related to Epstein’s case.

Others ordered to appear include former FBI Director Robert Mueller and former Attorneys General Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, William Barr, Jeff Sessions and Alberto Gonzales.

Holder and Attorney General Merrick Garland sent letters similar to Comey’s, denying any knowledge of Epstein and prompting Comer to withdraw those subpoenas as well, per The Hill.

It’s unclear if sessions for the Clintons will proceed.

The committee’s work comes amid growing partisan tension over how to handle the Epstein investigation, and the GOP base has fractured over the current administration’s handling of the case.

Top Republicans, including President Donald Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., support continuing the Oversight inquiry as the fastest route to uncover new information. Comer has already released thousands of pages of subpoenaed documents from the Justice Department and Epstein’s estate.

Critics, however, accuse the GOP of shielding certain figures by selectively releasing records. Several lawmakers are instead pushing legislation to declassify all government files related to Epstein and Maxwell — a move endorsed by multiple Epstein victims.

Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.  

The Senate remains deadlocked on a path to end the shutdown as it nears its second week, and Republicans’ meager support across the aisle to reopen the government may be crumbling.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., needs at least eight Senate Democratic caucus members to join Republicans to reopen the government, given that Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has consistently voted against the GOP’s bill.

So far, a trio of Democratic caucus members, Sens. John Fetterman, D-Pa., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Angus King, I-Maine, have crossed the aisle to reopen the government.

That group has joined Republicans in nearly all five attempts to reopen the government.

But, as time drags on and a deal remains out of reach, at least one is considering changing his vote.

King said ahead of the fifth vote to reopen the government on Monday that he was considering flipping his support of the GOP’s bill, and he argued that he needed ‘more specificity about addressing the problem’ of the expiring Obamacare tax credits.

‘I think this problem is urgent, and just saying, as the leader did on Friday, ‘well, we’ll have conversations about it,’ is not adequate,’ he said.

King’s possible defection comes as Republicans and Democrats engage in low-level conversations on a path out of the shutdown. Those impromptu dialogues have so far not morphed into real negotiations, however.

And the stalemate in the upper chamber has only further solidified both sides’ positions.

Senate Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., want a firm deal in place to extend expiring Obamacare subsidies. Senate Republicans have said that they will negotiate a deal only after the government is reopened and want reforms to the program that they charge has been inflationary and further increased the cost of healthcare for Americans.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has circulated an early plan that includes a discussion of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies that could be a way out of the shutdown, but so far, it’s in its preliminary stages.

‘It suggests that there be a conversation on the ACA extension for the premium tax credits after we reopen the government,’ she said. ‘But there will be a commitment to having that discussion.’

President Donald Trump signaled on Monday that he would be open to a deal on the subsidies, and he said that negotiations with Democrats were ongoing.

However, Schumer pushed back and called Trump’s assertion ‘not true.’ The top Senate Democrat has also shifted the onus of the shutdown, and lack of negotiations, directly onto House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

‘Clearly, at this point, he is the main obstacle,’ Schumer said on the Senate floor. ‘So ending this shutdown will require Donald Trump to step in and push Speaker Johnson to negotiate.’

Meanwhile, the White House is exerting more pressure on Senate Democrats to cave and reopen the government. A new memo reported by Axios suggested that furloughed federal employees may not have to receive back pay, running counter to a law that Trump signed in 2019 that guaranteed furloughed workers would receive back pay in future shutdowns.

That comes on the heels of a memo from the Office of Management and Budget last month that signaled mass firings beyond the typical furloughs of nonessential federal workers, and it follows the withholding of nearly $30 billion in federal funds for blue cities and states.

Thune argued that ‘if you’re the executive branch of the government, you’ve got to manage a shutdown.’

‘At some point, you’re going to have to make some decisions about who gets paid, who doesn’t get paid, which agencies and departments get priorities and prioritized and which ones don’t,’ Thune said. ‘I mean, I think that’s a fairly standard practice in the event of a government shutdown. Now, hopefully that doesn’t affect back pay … but again, it’s just that simple: open up the government.’

President Donald Trump met with Edan Alexander, who was freed in May from captivity with Hamas, on Tuesday — exactly two years after Hamas attacked Israel. 

This marks the second time Alexander, a 21-year-old American–Israeli who spent nearly 600 days as a hostage after Hamas abducted him after its initial attack on Israel, will visit the White House since his release from captivity. Alexander previously visited the White House in July. 

Alexander was raised in Tenafly, New Jersey, and headed to Israel when he was 18-years-old to volunteer for the Israel Defense Forces. He lived with his grandparents in Tel Aviv before he was taken hostage by Hamas. 

Alexander’s appearance at the White House also comes as the Trump administration has put forth a 20-point plan to end the conflict and return the 48 hostages still in captivity. The plan would require all hostages, both dead and alive, to be returned within 72 hours of Hamas signing off on the deal. It also calls for Israeli forces to withdraw its troops and for a complete disarmament of Hamas. 

Trump’s Justice Department has cracked down on Palestinian militant group Hamas, and established a new task force in March aimed at providing justice to the victims of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. 

Attorney General Pam Bondi said the group, known as Joint Task Force October 7, would focus on identifying, charging and prosecuting those who conducted the 2023 attacks, which took the lives of roughly 1,200 people — including 47 U.S. citizens. Hamas also took more than 250 people hostage that day, including eight U.S. citizens.

The IDF is the national military for Israel. Hamas has served as the governing body of Gaza.

Meanwhile, lawmakers on Capitol Hill have warned that antisemitic attacks are becoming more common in the U.S., in the aftermath of the ongoing conflict. Antisemitic violence reached a new high in 2024, according to the Anti-Defamation League, which recorded 9,354 antisemitic instances of harassment, assault and vandalism in the U.S. in 2024. That is a 5% increase from the 8,873 incidents recorded in 2023 and a 344% increase in the past five years.

‘The October 7 Hamas-led terrorist attack was not only a horrific assault on innocent civilians in Israel, including numerous American citizens, but it was also a wake-up call to the threats we face here at home,’ Rep. Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, said in a Tuesday statement to Fox News Digital.

‘In the two years following this tragedy, acts of terrorism and targeted antisemitic violence are increasingly common on U.S. soil, as both foreign and domestic terrorists work to inspire lone-wolf actors,’ Garbarino said. ‘Jewish Americans continue to face intimidation and attacks simply because of their faith. This is unacceptable, and anyone who defends these calls for violence is complicit.’ 

Trump also met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney Tuesday amid ongoing trade negotiations between the two countries.

Fox News’ Caitlin McFall contributed to this report. 

Senate Republicans confirmed a staggering tranche of President Donald Trump’s nominees on Tuesday as the government shutdown continues.

Lawmakers voted along party lines to confirm the batch of 107 of Trump’s nominees, a move that whittled down the remaining pending nominees on the Senate’s calendar to double digits. It also came as the upper chamber was deadlocked in the midst of a government shutdown, during which floor votes have largely been dedicated to trying to reopen the government.

The slate of confirmed nominees included many of Trump’s top allies and former candidates that he hand-picked to run in previous elections.

Some of the most recognizable on the list were former Republican Senate candidate and ex-NFL star Herschel Walker, who was tapped as the U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas, and Sergio Gor, a top advisor to Trump who he picked to be his U.S. Ambassador to India.

Other posts confirmed included a wave of senior administration officials, several prosecutors and the reappointment of Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins to a seat on the commission until 2031.

The vote also marked the second time that Senate Republicans have deployed the new rule change surrounding confirmations since going ‘nuclear’ on Senate rules last month.

Republicans opted to change confirmation rules to allow a simple majority of votes to advance large swathes of nominees in response to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus’ blockade of Trump’s picks that lasted nearly nine months into his presidency.

Typically, subcabinet-level nominees, particularly those with bipartisan support out of committee, are sped through the Senate either by unanimous consent or through a voice vote, two fast-track procedural moves in the upper chamber. But Senate Democrats refused to relent, and Republicans argued they forced their hand on a rules change that they believed would benefit both parties in the future.

The rule change allows for an unlimited number of nominees to be confirmed in a single batch, but includes several procedural hoops to jump through before a final confirmation vote.

Senate Republicans previously confirmed 48 of Trump’s picks last month. Among that batch were Kimberly Guilfoyle, who Trump tapped to be the U.S. ambassador to Greece, and Callista Gingrich, who was picked to be the U.S. ambassador to Switzerland.

An expected sixth vote to reopen the government didn’t come to fruition on Tuesday, but lawmakers face a new wrinkle: the possibility that furloughed employees won’t be paid. 

The government shutdown marched into its seventh day with both Senate Republicans and Democrats still at odds on a path forward, and no real clear end in sight. The Senate was expected to vote on the GOP’s plan again, but no agreement could be reached to bring the bill, along with the Democrats’ counter-proposal, to the floor. 

Both sides are still entrenched in their positions, too. Senate Democrats want a firm deal on the extension of expiring ObamaCare tax credits to earn their votes to reopen the government, while Senate Republicans have promised that negotiations on the credits can happen once the government is open again.

Lawmakers failed to hold a sixth vote to reopen the government Tuesday as a new White House memo warned that furloughed workers may not get paid.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has continued to ramp up his messaging that Americans broadly support their push, and blamed House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Republicans for not being in session as a major roadblock to progress. 

‘Hundreds of thousands of federal workers are furloughed and thousands more are working without pay. And meanwhile, House Republicans are getting paid and not working,’ Schumer said. ‘So federal workers working and not getting paid. House Republicans paid and not working. Very bad. Very bad thing for them. Very bad picture for them.’

While lawmakers traded barbs and discussed an off-ramp on Capitol Hill, the latest memo from the White House, first reported by Axios, signaled that up to 750,000 nonessential furloughed federal workers may not be paid.

The memo adds fresh uncertainty for hundreds of thousands of federal employees caught in the political crossfire.

When asked if it was the White House’s position whether federal workers should be paid back pay, President Donald Trump said, ‘I would say it depends on who we’re talking about.’

‘I can tell you this,’ Trump said. ‘The Democrats have put a lot of people in great risk and jeopardy, but it really depends on who you’re talking about. But for the most part, we’re going to take care of our people. There are some people that really don’t deserve to be taken care of, and we’ll take care of them in a different way.’

Many lawmakers had just learned about the memo as of Tuesday afternoon. It suggested that a 2019 law signed by Trump that guaranteed back pay for furloughed workers in future shutdowns may not have to be followed.

‘I just heard that,’ Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.V., said. ‘My phones are lighting up.’

When asked if the memo hurt or helped talks, she said, ‘It could get more urgent, it also could tick a lot of people off.’

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said that the memo was ‘probably not a good message to send right now to people who are not being paid.’

‘I’m not an attorney, but I think it’s bad strategy to even say that sort of stuff,’ Tillis said. ‘We got a lot of hard-working people there on the sidelines now because the Democrats have put them there.’

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said that she believed that issue had been settled with the 2019 law, but as a ‘back up,’ Congress could pass a bill that any ‘obligations that were incurred during the shutdown are authorized to be paid.’

And Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, argued that regardless of the memo, the law said ‘shall.’

‘I left my law degree in the car, but ‘shall’ is relatively straightforward,’ he said. ‘I think it doesn’t matter at all, because we’re fighting for healthcare.’

The latest pressure tactic on Senate Democrats comes after the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directed in a previous memo that mass firings could be on the horizon beyond the typical furloughs during a shutdown.

It also comes after OMB Director Russ Vought announced nearly $30 billion in federal funding was set to be withheld from blue cities and states. 

Both Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., wanted to see federal workers get paid, but contended that the issue would go away if Schumer and Senate Democrats reopened the government.

‘My assumption is that furloughed workers will get back pay,’ Thune said. ‘But that being said, this is very simple. Open up the government and this is a non-issue. We don’t have to have this conversation. Everybody gets paid when the government is open.’

Meanwhile, the previous tactics did little to nudge Democrats from their position, and so far, have not killed talks between either side.

But Sen. Jean Shaheen, D-N.H., who has been a key communicator for Senate Democrats in bipartisan talks, said that Vought’s actions weren’t helping matters.

‘It would be a lot easier to resolve the situation if Russ Vought would stop talking,’ Shaheen said. 

Former FBI Director James Comey will be arraigned in federal court Wednesday morning after being indicted on charges of alleged false statements and obstruction of a congressional proceeding.

Comey has said he is innocent.

The former FBI director is set to have his first court appearance at 10 a.m. Eastern Time in the Albert V. Bryan United States Courthouse in the Eastern District of Virginia.

The judge presiding over the hearing is District Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff.

Comey was indicted in September by a federal grand jury on two counts: alleged false statements within jurisdiction of the legislative branch and obstruction of a congressional proceeding.

The indictment alleges that Comey obstructed a congressional investigation into the disclosure of sensitive information in violation of 18 USC 1505.

The indictment also alleges Comey made a false statement when he stated he did not authorize someone at the FBI to be an anonymous source. According to the indictment, that statement was false.

Fox News Digital exclusively reported in July that Comey was under criminal investigation by the FBI. The probe into Comey centered on whether he lied to Congress during his Sept. 30, 2020, testimony about his handling of the original Trump–Russia probe at the FBI, known inside the bureau as ‘Crossfire Hurricane.’

‘No one is above the law,’ Attorney General Pam Bondi said on X after the indictment, adding that it ‘reflects this Department of Justice’s commitment to holding those who abuse positions of power accountable for misleading the American people. We will follow the facts in this case.’

FBI Director Kash Patel said ‘previous corrupt leadership and their enablers weaponized federal law enforcement, damaging once proud institutions and severely eroding public trust.’

‘Every day, we continue the fight to earn that trust back, and under my leadership, this FBI will confront the problem head-on,’ Patel said. ‘Nowhere was this politicization of law enforcement more blatant than during the Russiagate hoax, a disgraceful chapter in history we continue to investigate and expose.’

He added: ‘Everyone, especially those in positions of power, will be held to account – no matter their perch.’

Comey, after being indicted, posted an Instagram video, denying the allegations.

‘My family and I have known for years that there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump, but we couldn’t imagine ourselves living any other way,’ he said. ‘We will not live on our knees, and you shouldn’t either. Somebody that I love dearly recently said that fear is the tool of a tyrant, and she’s right.’

‘But I’m not afraid,’ Comey added.

‘My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system and I am innocent, so let’s have a trial and keep the faith,’ Comey said.

Fox News Digital also exclusively reported that former CIA Director John Brennan is under criminal investigation related to the Trump–Russia probe. 

Under federal law, prosecutors have five years to bring a charge, with the five-year mark occurring Tuesday.

The case is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

The FBI opened its Trump-Russia probe in July 2016, known inside the bureau as ‘Crossfire Hurricane.’ 

President Donald Trump, during his first term, fired Comey in May 2017. 

Days later, Robert Mueller was appointed special counsel to take over the FBI’s original ‘Crossfire Hurricane’ investigation.

After nearly two years, former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, which concluded in March 2019, yielded no evidence of criminal conspiracy or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russian officials during the 2016 presidential election.

Shortly after, John Durham was appointed as special counsel to investigate the origins of the ‘Crossfire Hurricane’ probe.

Durham found that the FBI ‘failed to act’ on a ‘clear warning sign’ that the bureau was the ‘target’ of a Clinton-led effort to ‘manipulate or influence the law enforcement process for political purposes’ ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

‘The aforementioned facts reflect a rather startling and inexplicable failure to adequately consider and incorporate the Clinton Plan intelligence into the FBI’s investigative decision-making in the Crossfire Hurricane investigation,’ Durham’s report states.

‘Indeed, had the FBI opened the Crossfire Hurricane investigation as an assessment and, in turn, gathered and analyzed data in concert with the information from the Clinton Plan intelligence, it is likely that the information received would have been examined, at a minimum, with a more critical eye,’ the report continued.

Durham, in his report, said the FBI ‘failed to act on what should have been — when combined with other incontrovertible facts — a clear warning sign that the FBI might then be the target of an effort to manipulate or influence the law enforcement process for political purposes during the 2016 presidential election.’

This government shutdown isn’t President Donald Trump’s first rodeo navigating a lapse in government funding — but this time, the focus is less on the White House as all eyes are locked on Congress and its budget impasse. 

While the 35-day shutdown during Trump’s first term centered around the president’s priorities to fund a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico, the current shutdown doesn’t pit the White House against the legislative branch. 

Rather, there is a stalemate between Republicans and Democrats in Congress over certain healthcare provisions — alleviating pressure on the White House and giving Trump time to post videos showing House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., in a sombrero in an AI-generated clip underscoring Republicans’ claims that Democrats want to provide healthcare to illegal immigrants. 

This paves the way for Trump to remain in the wings during the partial shutdown, and let Democrats take the fall for the consequences, according to libertarian political columnist Kristin Tate.

‘By staying relatively quiet right now, President Trump is allowing Democrats to ‘own’ the shutdown,’ Tate said in a Wednesday email to Fox News Digital. ‘The president realizes that if he says anything confrontational right now, the narrative will center around his remarks rather than the Democrats’ refusal to support a reasonable spending bill.’ 

‘By maintaining a low profile, Trump is allowing the public to see how the Democrats are acting,’ Tate said. ‘The Democrats will ultimately bear most of the political consequences of the shutdown.’

The government entered a partial shutdown Wednesday, amid a stalemate between Senate Republicans and Democrats over a short-term funding bill to keep the government open through Nov. 21. The House had previously passed the temporary spending bill in September. 

Three Senate Democrats joined Republicans to vote for the stopgap funding bill Tuesday, but the measure fell short of the required 60 votes needed for passage. 

Meanwhile, Trump and Republicans have claimed Democrats are seeking to provide health care for illegal immigrants, keeping the government from operating. They cite a provision that would repeal part of Trump’s tax and domestic policy bill — the so-called ‘big, beautiful bill’ — which scaled back Medicaid eligibility for noncitizens. 

But Democrats have said Republicans’ claims are false, and instead, have said they want to permanently extend certain Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to lapse at the end of 2025. 

‘They say that undocumented people are going to get these credits,’ Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday. ‘That is absolutely false. That is one of the big lies that they tell.’

The shutdown differs from the one during Trump’s first term, where Trump and Democrats in Congress sparred about nearly $6 billion in funding for a U.S.-Mexico border wall in the spending bill for weeks. 

Ultimately, Trump backed off amid mounting pressure to reopen the government so federal employees could resume being paid after weeks of stalled payroll, and signed off on legislation to temporarily reopen the government without the border wall funding. 

Matt Wolking, who previously served as the deputy communications director for Trump’s 2020 campaign, said that the main difference between this shutdown in comparison to the previous one is that Democrats are the one requesting a policy change — not the White House. 

‘Trump is as engaged as ever — and using humor effectively, of course — and the biggest difference between now and then is that now it’s Democrats who are demanding a specific policy change,’ Wolking said in a Wednesday email to Fox News Digital. ‘They voted against funding the government because they want taxpayer-funded health care for illegal immigrants, and that’s why Trump and Republicans are well positioned to win the shutdown messaging battle this time.’ 

Additionally, Republican strategist Matt Gorman said that Democrats have put themselves in a tough position since they were the ones that voted against the continuing resolution. 

‘Times have shown over and over through the years that the public supports funding the government. They penalize the party that attaches extra policy priorities to whatever bill does that,’ Gorman, who previously served as the communications director for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a Wednesday email to Fox News Digital. ‘You’re already seeing moderate Democrats splinter off. As this goes on, I expect that to continue.’

Meanwhile, Trump is taking advantage of the shutdown to advance his priorities to whittle down the federal government in an unprecedented move. The White House’s Office of Management and Budget ordered agencies in Septemberto draw up plans for a reduction-in-force in the event of a lapse in appropriations. 

While federal employees typically are furloughed during government shutdowns, the Trump administration’s plans would permanently scale back the size of the federal workforce if a government shutdown occurs.

‘Republicans must use this opportunity of Democrat forced closure to clear out dead wood, waste, and fraud,’ Trump said in a social media post on Wednesday. ‘Billions of Dollars can be saved. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!’ 

Vice President JD Vance has adopted a proactive role carrying the administration’s position, and told reporters Tuesday he predicted the shutdown wouldn’t last long. Specifically, he said that evidence suggests moderate Democrats are ‘cracking a little’ because they understand the ‘fundamental illogic’ of the shutdown. 

Still, he said that layoffs were forthcoming. Trump said Sunday that layoffs were ‘taking place right now’ as thousands of workers’ jobs remain in jeopardy. 

‘We’re going to have to make things work,’ Vance said. ‘And that means that we’re going to have to triage some certain things, that means certain people are going to have to get laid off. And we’re going to try to make sure that the American people suffer as little as possible from the shutdown.’

The White House said in a statement to Fox News Digital that every shutdown comes with consequences.

‘The Democrats can reopen the government at any time,’ White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said Monday. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., dismissed the top House Democrat’s demand for a primetime debate on the government shutdown.

Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., wrote to Johnson on Monday morning challenging him to a debate on the House floor ‘any day this week,’ to be broadcast live ‘to the American people.’

Johnson suggested he would not entertain that, however, calling the move a ‘publicity stunt’ to reporters that same morning.

‘When the poll says that about 13% of the people approve of your messaging, then you make desperate pleas for attention, and that’s what Hakeem Jeffries has done,’ Johnson said.

‘We debated all this on the House floor. As you know, before we passed our bill, he spoke for seven or eight minutes. He had all of his colleagues lined up. They gave it their best shot, and they argued, and they stomped their feet and screamed at us and all that. And still we passed the bill in bipartisan fashion and sent it over to the Senate.’

The House speaker was referring to a short-term federal funding bill aimed at keeping the government running through Nov. 21, in order to give congressional negotiators more time to pass fiscal year (FY) 2026 spending priorities.

That bill passed the House largely along party lines — with two Republicans opposed and one Democrat in support — but has stalled in the Senate.

‘The House has done its job. I’m not going to let Hakeem try to pretend for theatrics. I mean, this is a [Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.] decision. The ball is in the Senate’s court now,’ Johnson said.

‘We don’t need to waste time on that nonsense. Those debates have been had. I mean, Hakeem is a friend and a colleague. I respect him, but we all know what he’s trying to do there.’

The government is in its sixth day of the current shutdown, with Senate Democrats having rejected the GOP-led funding plan four times.

Democrats in the House and Senate, infuriated by being sidelined in federal funding talks, have been pushing for an extension of Obamacare subsidies enhanced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those enhancements would expire by the end of 2025 without congressional action.

‘Democrats have been clear and consistent in our position. The country needs immediate, bipartisan negotiations between the White House and congressional leadership in order to reach an enlightened spending agreement that reopens the government, improves the lives of hardworking American taxpayers and addresses the Republican healthcare crisis,’ Jeffries wrote to Johnson on Monday.

‘Unfortunately, Donald Trump and your party decided to shut down the government, because the GOP refuses to provide healthcare to everyday Americans. Further, you have kept House Republicans on vacation instead of working with Democrats to reopen the government.’