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October 21, 2025
Top Dem Demands Trump 'Get Off The Golf Course' And Help Solve The Shutdown
(Huff Post) After almost three weeks into a government shutdown, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is wondering what President Donald Trump is doing to end the standoff. Calling out the president for his passive approach during a Monday press briefing, The Hill reported Jeffries said, “Donald Trump definitively needs to get involved. He needs to get off the sidelines, get off the golf course, and actually decide to end this shutdown that he’s created.”
Go to discussionGOP leaders map out potential Obamacare extension as hard-liners warm to health talks
(Politico) Republican leaders on Capitol Hill are quietly ramping up talks within their senior ranks and with White House officials over how to structure and advance a potential extension of key Affordable Care Act insurance subsidies before the end of the year, according to three people granted anonymity to describe the conversations.
Go to discussionSocial Security Offices Impacted Today Amid Government Shutdown
(Newsweek) Several Social Security offices have had their operations disrupted today amid the larger government shutdown. Offices in California, Texas, New York and other states are updating their hours or capabilities as government employees continue to go without pay. Regardless of services offered at respective offices, an SSA spokesperson told Newsweek, in part, "...Social Security beneficiaries will continue receiving their Social Security, Social Security Disability Insurance, and SSI payments." Experts told Newsweek what Americans can expect in the near future if they need to visit a Social Security office.
Go to discussionTrump DOJ Prosecutor Sent Journalist Dozens of Texts -- Then Tried to Claim 'Off the Record'
(Mediaite) U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Lindsey Halligan sent Lawfare Senior Editor Anna Bower dozens of text messages earlier this month to complain about her reporting — and then attempted to claim after the fact that the conversation was off the record. It was most certainly not off the record, and on Monday evening, Bower published screenshots of their texts.
Go to discussionWhite House begins demolishing East Wing facade to build Trump's ballroom
(Washington Post) Demolition crews on Monday began tearing down part of the White House to build President Donald Trump’s long-desired ballroom despite his pledge that construction of the $250 million addition wouldn’t “interfere” with the existing building.
Construction teams were demolishing a portion of the East Wing, with a backhoe ripping through the structure, according to a photo shared with The Washington Post and two people who witnessed the activity and spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe it.
North Carolina GOP advances congressional map to secure another House seat for Trump
(AP) North Carolina’s legislature formally began redrawing the state’s congressional district map Monday, plainly stating their intent to help Republicans gain another U.S. House seat under President Donald Trump’s push to retain his party’s grip on Congress next year. The state Senate gave initial approval along party lines to new boundaries for two eastern North Carolina districts in a move aimed at thwarting the reelection of Democratic Rep. Don Davis, one of the state’s three Black members of Congress.
Go to discussion'I see Republicans losing the House': MAGA lawmaker delivers grim warning for party
(Raw Story) A MAGA lawmaker delivered a grim warning for her party ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. “I can’t see into the future, but I see Republicans losing the House if Americans are continuing to go paycheck-to-paycheck,” Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) told Semafor on Monday. “They’ll definitely be going into the midterms looking through the lens of their bank account.” Greene, a MAGA loyalist who has recently criticized the Trump administration and her own party amid the government shutdown, pointed to Americans' main concern right now: the rising cost of living.
Go to discussionMike Johnson Exploits the Shutdown To Hide the Epstein Files
(Salon) Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is lying. Yes, I know. Writing that is like writing “cats are furry” or “it’s pumpkin spice season.” But the current purpose of the lie is even more depraved than we usually get from this self-proclaimed beacon of Christian morality. The purpose is silencing the victims of infamous child sex predator Jeffrey Epstein and his alleged fellow abusers. Worse, it’s all done to protect President Donald Trump, a man who was already found by a civil jury in New York to have sexually abused journalist E. Jean Carroll in a department store dressing room.
Go to discussionICE boosts weapons spending 700%
(Popular Info) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has sharply increased its spending on weapons in 2025, according to an analysis of federal government contracting data by Popular Information. Records from the Federal Procurement Data System reveal that ICE has increased spending on “small arms, ordnance, and ordnance accessories manufacturing” by 700% compared to 2024 levels. New spending in the small arms category from January 20, 2025, the day Trump was inaugurated, through October 18, totaled $71,515,762. Most of the spending was on guns and armor, but there have also been significant purchases of chemical weapons and “guided missile warheads and explosive components.”
Go to discussionICE official defends agency's tactics amid fallout from raid on wrong home in Portland, Oregon
(CBS News) In footage shared widely on social media last week, federal immigration agents were seen breaking into Gloria Magaña's home Portland, Oregon, even though the person they were looking for does not live there. The agents forced their way into the home without showing a warrant, Magaña told CBS News. The raid occurred on Oct. 15. Magaña, a native of Mexico, said she got a call from her children, who told her the agents were shouting for someone named Israel, but nobody in their home goes by that name. She said she told her children to lock themselves inside a room.
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