Top Senate Democrat blames ‘heartless’ Trump for food aid being cut off – US politics live

Chuck Schumer condemns president for stopping Snap benefits for millions as overall cost of shutdown to US economy could reach $14bn

On X, Adam Schiff, one of California’s Democratic senators, criticized acting US attorney Bill Essayli, after a judge found that he was in the Los Angeles-based position illegally.

Schiff wrote:

“Unlawfully serving” in his role. Acting illegally. But left in place? While this Administration continues to replace career professionals with illegitimate political allies eager to do Trump’s bidding, Californians need better relief than this.

I do the American People’s bidding at the direction of their duly elected President. That’s how our Constitution works. Try reading and abiding by it sometime.

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Obamacare insurance prices will jump up 26% next year, report predicts

Enhanced subsidies keeping premiums affordable for millions will expire, threatening to more than double what households pay out of pocket

People in the US shopping for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces will face a steep 26% average price increase next year, according to new analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation released just days before enrollment begins on 1 November.

The jump represents one of the sharpest rises since the healthcare program l...

Top Senate Republican says he can ‘guarantee’ a vote on key healthcare provision amid shutdown standoff – live

Senate majority leader there will be a vote on Obamacare subsidies, as Democrats have demanded, but ‘can’t guarantee it’s going to pass’

Mike Johnson said that Bernie Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Democratic congresswoman from New York, said the “quiet part out loud” during a televised CNN town hall on Wednesday.

“They don’t know what they want to end the shutdown. They couldn’...

The populist playbook: Democratic US Senate candidate seeks to replicate Mamdani’s success

Abdul El-Sayed’s bid for Michigan senator centers on bold leftwing populism similar to the NYC mayoral candidate

During Vermont senator Bernie Sanders’s Fight the Oligarchy tour stop in Michigan, Democratic US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed hit on bold populist policies like Medicare For All and taxing the rich.

But he drew among the loudest cheers from the crowd in Kalamazoo, when he bellowed his updated reversal of an Obama catchphrase that signified a new pugilistic tactic ...

How Democrats are trying to bust Republican lies about healthcare for undocumented immigrants

At the centre of the government shutdown is the issue of healthcare for Americans being stripped by Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’

Leading up to the government shutdown on Wednesday, congressional Republicans and Donald Trump have repeated misleading claims that Democrats were trying to pass a resolution that would provide “free healthcare for illegals”. It’s become a well-rehearsed refrain fueling GOP lawmakers as government funding lapsed this week.

At the White House on Wedne...

Trump to meet with Project 2025 architect on cutting ‘Democrat agencies’ amid government shutdown – live

Trump touts meeting with Russ Vought ‘of Project 2025 fame’ to determine where cuts can be made as the federal government remains shut for second day

In his interview this morning with CNBC Scott Bessent also said that he could “guarantee” Republicans will not meet Democratic leaders’ demands to extend Obamacare subsidies as a way to end the government shutdown.

Democrats are negotiating “like terrorists”, the treasury secretary claimed, adding: “They want to say, ‘This is what we have to have, and if we don’t get it, we’re going to close down the government.’”

President Trump, in the first nine months now, has been unstoppable. They’ve tried to stop him in the courts, they tried to stop him in the press, and now they’re trying to stop him with the shutdown.

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What does a government shutdown mean and why is this year’s threat more serious?

The US government has shut down because Congress couldn’t reach a funding agreement. Here’s what to know about what happens next

  • US government shutdown – live updates

Much of the federal government officially began to shut down on Wednesday, after Congress failed to reach a funding agreement before the midnight deadline. The shutdown will have a wide range of effects on government services and potentially the US economy.

Republicans put forward a stopgap...

Why healthcare spending was at the center of the US government shutdown battle

Democrats said they won’t vote for legislation unless Republicans reversed Medicaid cuts and extended subsidies

  • US government shutdown – live updates

The federal government shut down on Wednesday in part, due to a battle between Democrats and Republicans over healthcare spending.

Democrats had said that they would not vote for legislation to keep the government open unless Donald Trump and Republicans, who hold the majority in Congress, agreed to reverse...

Tensions expected as Trump meets with top Democrats and Republicans in effort to avoid shutdown

Trump and Republicans are unfazed at prospect of shutdown, and talks with Democrats are anticipated to be confrontational

  • US politics – latest updates

Democrats and Republicans are gearing up for a crunch White House meeting with Donald Trump in an 11th-hour bid to avert a potentially damaging federal government shutdown.

Monday’s gathering is aimed at reaching an agreement over funding the government and largely hinges on Democrat demands for an extensi...

‘It’s harsh. I mean, brutal’: Trump bill to cause most harm to America’s poorest

President embraces Robin-Hood-in-reverse policies to benefit wealthiest and hurt those earning under $50,000

Last November, Donald Trump made a solemn vow to all Americans: “Every citizen, I will fight for you, your family and your future every single day.” Eight months later, Trump is vigorously backing many policies that will mean pain for millions.

Trump has pushed to enact the Republican budget bill, which would make significant cuts to Medicaid, Obamacare, and food assistance, and would do the greatest damage to those Americans struggling hardest to make ends meet – the 30% of the US population that lives in households earning under $50,000 a year.

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