administration is for federal workers during a , reversing what has been longstanding policy for some 750,000 furloughed employees, according to a memo being circulated by the White House.
The move was widely seen as a strongarm tactic to pressure lawmakers to , as party leaders remain seemingly at an impasse on day 7 of the shutdown. Democrats are conditioning their support for a short-term funding patch on that lessen the cost of plans offered under the Affordable Care Act.
After the , Trump signed legislation into law that ensures federal workers receive back pay during any federal funding lapse. But in the new memo, his Office of Management and Budget says back pay must be provided by Congress, if it chooses to do so, .
The president during an Oval Office meeting Tuesday suggested he鈥檒l 鈥� 鈥� on back pay for federal workers, minutes after saying the compensation 鈥� 鈥� and that some workers would be taken care of 鈥渋n a different way.鈥�
The Latest:
Seeking more immigration barriers, Noem waives environmental protections in New Mexico
The Trump administration is waiving a long list of environmental protections and regulations as it seeks to expand barriers to immigration along the southwest U.S. border in New Mexico.
In a notice to be published Wednesday in the Federal Register, the Department of Homeland Security is invoking an 鈥渁cute and immediate need to construct additional physical barriers and roads鈥� in a remote area of the state near the border with Mexico.
The directive from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem describes the area west of El Paso, Texas, as a traditional place of high illegal entry to the U.S. Noem is suspending federal regulations there aimed at protecting endangered species, clean water, migratory birds, sacred Native American sites and more.
Laiken Jordahl of the Center for Biological Diversity said there are fears any new construction would take a toll on wildlife populations near the remote bootheel of southwest New Mexico.
House Democrats press Trump on drug cartels he designated as terrorist groups
Several House Democrats say they want President Donald Trump to name the drug cartels he claims are in an 鈥�
Five U.S. representatives Tuesday that also asks the president to explain just how he determined the cartels were designated as terrorist organizations.
The lawmakers also asked for the intelligence and the legal justifications behind the U.S. military鈥檚 four fatal strikes recently against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean.
Trump has declared drug cartels to be unlawful combatants in an administration memo, which was obtained by The Associated Press last week. The memo appears to represent an extraordinary , with Trump effectively declaring that into the U.S. amounts to armed conflict requiring use of military force.
Justice Department names new head of immigration courts
A former immigration court judge and longtime Marine is going to be the next director of the federal office overseeing the nation鈥檚 immigration courts.
The Justice Department announced Tuesday that Daren K. Margolin will head the Executive Office of Immigration Review.
Margolin has served as an assistant chief immigration judge and as a lawyer at the legal office prosecuting immigration cases. He also served in various legal positions during a nearly 30-year career in the Marine Corps.
Margolin takes over an immigration court system struggling with a ballooning case backlog. Immigration courts have also increasingly become hubs for immigration enforcement with ICE agents arresting people in hallways after their court proceedings.
Past surgeons general argue HHS secretary is 鈥榚ndangering’ nation’s health
Six former surgeons general said in a on Tuesday that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. poses a 鈥減rofound, immediate and unprecedented threat鈥� to the nation鈥檚 health.
The former public officials 鈥� appointed by every Republican and Democratic president since George H.W. Bush 鈥� warned that Kennedy鈥檚 moves on vaccines, autism and other issues have undermined the public health system and amplified health misinformation instead of combating it.
An HHS spokesperson, Andrew Nixon, accused the past surgeons general of criticizing the first HHS secretary who is taking on the 鈥渄ecline in America鈥檚 public health鈥� after they presided over it.
鈥淲e remain committed to restoring trust, reforming broken health systems, and ensuring that every American has access to real choice in their health care,鈥� Nixon said.
Oregon Gov. Kotek meets with DHS Sec. Noem in Portland
Democratic Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said she met with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for about 20 minutes upon Noem鈥檚 arrival at the Portland airport on Tuesday. Kotek reached out to Noem after hearing through 鈥渦nofficial channels鈥� that Noem might be visiting.
鈥淭oday, in my meeting with Secretary Noem, I reiterated again that there is no insurrection in Oregon. Twice now, a federal judge has affirmed that there is no legal basis for military deployment in Portland,鈥� Kotek said in a statement.
Noem then went to the city鈥檚 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building. News crews and some protesters lined up behind yellow police tape that cordoned off the blocks in front of the building.
White House says it will use tariff revenue to bolster food aid program facing funding shortages
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X that Trump has 鈥渋dentified a creative solution to transfer resources鈥� from tariffs the administration has imposed on U.S. trading partners to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children.
Also known as WIC, the program provides vouchers to buy infant formula as well as , low-fat milk and other healthy staples but was threatened by the government shutdown.
Leavitt did not provide details of how such funding transfers might work. But she wrote that the Trump White House 鈥渨ill not allow impoverished mothers and their babies to go hungry.鈥�
Trump meets with American hostage freed from Gaza and with relatives of American killed there
Trump has met with an American hostage freed from Gaza, and with the family of an American-Israeli soldier who was killed there but whose remains have yet to be recovered.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted a photo online of Trump meeting in the Oval Office with Edan Alexander. He was taken hostage by Hamas in the .
The meeting wasn鈥檛 public. But the picture also showed Trump with the family of Omer Neutra, whose body is still in Gaza. Peace talks are being held in Egypt over Trump鈥檚 plan to end fighting between Hamas and Israel.
Trump also met this summer with Alexander, who was the last living American hostage in Gaza and released from captivity in May.
House Speaker Mike Johnson says he鈥檒l schedule the swearing in of new Arizona Democrat 鈥榓s soon as she wants鈥�
Adelita Grijalva won a special election for a House seat on Sept. 24, but has been unable to actually represent her district in Congress until the speaker officially swears her into office. Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, has so far refused to accommodate her request to officially take office while the House is not conducting legislative business during the government shutdown.
Johnson did not elaborate on what he meant Tuesday by saying he would swear her into office as soon as she wants. However, Grijalva could be sworn in during one of the House鈥檚 pro-forma sessions. The next one is Wednesday.
Once she officially takes office, Grijalva has said she will join a legislative maneuver to force a vote in the House on a bill that would require the Department of Justice to release the case files on the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Judge blocks changed guidance for teen pregnancy prevention grants
A judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump鈥檚 administration from requiring recipients of federal teen pregnancy prevention grants to comply with Trump鈥檚 orders aimed at curtailing 鈥渞adical indoctrination鈥� and 鈥済ender ideology.鈥�
The is a victory for three Planned Parenthood affiliates that sued to try to block enforcement of a Department of Human Services policy document issued in July that they contend contradict the requirements of the grants as established by Congress.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, an Obama appointee, blasted the administration鈥檚 policy change in her written ruling, saying it was 鈥渕otivated solely by political concerns, devoid of any considered process or analysis, and ignorant of the statutory emphasis on evidence-based programming.鈥�
Federal grand jury in Atlanta charges 2 men with making threats against ICE officer and his wife
A federal grand jury in Atlanta has indicted two men after authorities said they made online threats against an ICE officer and his wife.
Frank Andrew Waszut and Anthony Patrick Noto are charged with knowingly making interstate threats of violence. Both men were indicted last month, and the indictments were unsealed Monday. They were both in custody and online court records did not show either man having a lawyer who could comment on the charges.
Federal prosecutors said in a news release Tuesday that Waszut posted a video on Instagram that identified and showed photos of the officer, who lives and works in Georgia. Waszut is accused of encouraging people to 鈥渕ake him famous鈥� and urging anyone who sees the officer to 鈥済ive him the cell block one treatment,鈥� which prosecutors said means subjecting him to violence.
Noto posted a comment on Instagram under a photo of the officer鈥檚 wife that called her a 鈥減retty good target鈥� for anyone wanting to test out a semiautomatic rifle.
Waszut, who lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, was in jail in Texas, where he鈥檚 accused of making separate threats against Republican lawmakers. Noto, who lives in Ronkonkoma, New York, was in federal custody.
National Guard members from Texas are in Illinois in Trump鈥檚 latest move to send troops to cities
National Guard members from Texas are at an Army training center in Illinois. It鈥檚 the most visible sign yet of the Trump administration鈥檚 plan to send troops to the Chicago area despite a lawsuit and from Democratic elected leaders.
The Associated Press saw military personnel in uniforms with the Texas National Guard patch at the U.S. Army Reserve Center in Elwood, 55 miles (88 kilometers) southwest of Chicago. On Monday, Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott posted a picture on social media showing National Guard members from his state boarding a plane, but he didn鈥檛 specify where they were going.
-By Erin Hooley and Christine Fernando
US authorities report 2025 border arrests at 55-year low
Customs and Border Protection said Tuesday that authorities made 237,565 arrests at the border with Mexico during the government鈥檚 fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. That鈥檚 down 84% from more than 1.5 million during the previous 12-month period and the lowest tally since 1970.
There were more than 2 million arrests in 2022 and 2023.
The latest number includes nearly four months of the Biden administration. Arrests fell sharply after the Biden administration imposed severe asylum restrictions in June 2024. They plummeted more after the Trump administration virtually eliminated asylum access and dispatched thousands of miliary troops to the border.
During September, authorities averaged 279 arrests a day. That鈥檚 up from 204 arrests a day in August but down from nearly 1,800 a day in September 2024.
Democrats ask Bondi about Tom Homan: Where鈥檚 the money?
As Attorney General Pam Bondi faced a Senate panel, Democrats time and again asked her what happened to $50,000 that White House 鈥渂order czar鈥� Tom Homan accepted last year from undercover agents posting as businesspeople.
The investigation into Homan was shut down by the Trump administration, but Democrats repeatedly questioned whether the money was recovered or whether Homan kept the money and reported it as income on his taxes.
鈥淒o you know sitting here whether he took the money?鈥� Sen. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, asked Bondi during one particularly combative exchange with the attorney general.
Bondi said the decision to clear Homan of wrongdoing was made before she was sworn in as attorney general and defended Homan. She repeatedly refused to say what actually happened to the $50,000, though.
鈥淵ou think you got a gotcha with Tom Homan our border czar who has been out there fighting for our country since Donald Trump took office,鈥� Bondi replied to Schiff.
GOP senator questions whether National Guard deployment to cities is 鈥榖est practice鈥�
Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina is suggesting that National Guard troops are not the best equipped to address crime in cities and that instead accountability for policing should remain with local officials.
鈥淚s this deployment of the National Guard a part of an emerging best practice that I just don鈥檛 get yet?鈥� Tillis asked Attorney General Pam Bondi during a Senate oversight hearing.
It was a bit of indirect criticism from Tillis, who is not seeking reelection next year, on how President Donald Trump is deploying National Guard troops to major cities as part of his crime and immigration agenda.
Supreme Court seems skeptical about state bans on 鈥榗onversion therapy鈥�
鈥檚 conservative majority seems likely to side with a Christian counselor challenging bans on LGBTQ+ 鈥渃onversion therapy鈥� for kids as a violation of her First Amendment rights.
Most justices on the high court didn鈥檛 seem convinced that states can restrict voluntary talk therapy aimed at potentially changing feelings or behavior for kids who identify as gay or transgender.
Justice said the Colorado law being challenged 鈥渓ooks like blatant viewpoint discrimination.鈥�
GOP senator questions whether National Guard deployment to cities is 鈥榖est practice鈥�
Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina is suggesting that National Guard troops are not the best equipped to address crime in cities and that instead accountability for policing should remain with local officials.
鈥淚s this deployment of the National Guard a part of an emerging best practice that I just don鈥檛 get yet?鈥� Tillis asked Attorney General Pam Bondi during a Senate oversight hearing.
It was a bit of indirect criticism from Tillis, who is not seeking reelection next year, on how President Donald Trump is deploying National Guard troops to major cities as part of his crime and immigration agenda.
DHS Sec. Kristi Noem to visit Portland
The city and police department confirmed her visit in a joint statement after conservative podcaster and influencer Benny Johnson said on social media that Noem was going to Portland on Tuesday.
The city said it received notice of her visit to the Portland area but did not have full details about her agenda. Portland police 鈥渨ill provide the same routine support they would for any visiting dignitary.鈥�
Her trip comes as local and state officials continue to fight the Trump administration鈥檚 efforts to deploy the National Guard to the city.
A federal judge issued two restraining orders over the weekend blocking the deployment, and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has scheduled oral arguments in the case for Thursday morning. The court indicated the arguments could be canceled if judges determine they aren鈥檛 needed.
Trump praises Carney as a 鈥榳orld-class leader鈥� and 鈥榞ood man鈥�
The president said of his Canadian counterpart that he is 鈥渁 great prime minister,鈥� and added: 鈥淗e could represent me anytime.鈥�
But, Trump said: 鈥淗e鈥檚 a nice man but he can be nasty.鈥�
When asked by a reporter what is holding up trade talks with Carney if he鈥檚 such a great man, Trump said: 鈥淏ecause I want to be a great man too.鈥�
Trump says he鈥檒l meet with Xi in a few weeks
鈥淚鈥檒l be meeting him in South Korea,鈥� Trump said, referencing a summit that he鈥檚 expected to attend there at the end of the month.
A meeting between the two leaders has not been formally announced.
Trump says his first-term trade deal with Mexico and Canada could be negotiated 鈥� or even replaced
The president appeared to dismiss a key achievement of his first term, replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement.
Trump says he鈥檒l negotiate trade deals on Tuesday with the visiting Canadian prime minister.
But asked about USMCA — which took effect in 2020, replacing NAFTA — he offered a surprise. 鈥淲e could renegotiate it or we could create a different deal,鈥� Trump said.
He offered no further details.
Trump likens Dem tactics on shutdown to a 鈥榢amikaze attack鈥�
The president said the Democrats 鈥渟tarted鈥� the shutdown fight and that the minority party was taking such aggressive tactics because 鈥渢hey have nothing to lose.鈥�
鈥淲ell, they鈥檙e the ones that started it,鈥� Trump said in response to a question about his message to Democrats. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e the ones that have it, and it鈥檚 almost like a kamikaze attack by them. You want to know the truth, this is like a kamikaze attack. They, they almost, you know, they have nothing to lose.鈥�
Trump suggests he鈥檒l 鈥榝ollow the law鈥� on federal worker backpay
Asked a second time about backpay for furloughed federal workers given that the requirement is spelled out in law, Trump said: 鈥淚 follow the law, and what the law says is correct.鈥�
But asked about what he meant previously about dealing with workers in 鈥渁 different way鈥� than backpay, the president ducked the question, suggesting reporters would have to find that out for themselves.
Carney says the U.S. and Canada are competing, not in conflict
The Canadian prime minister pushed back at Trump鈥檚 characterization of the two nations being in 鈥渘atural conflict.鈥�
Carney pointed out that Canada is the United States鈥� second-largest trading partner and is also a major foreign investor. He said the relationship between the U.S. and Canada are 鈥渕aybe not so much conflict鈥� but that they 鈥渃ompete.鈥�
鈥淭here are areas where we compete, and it鈥檚 in those areas where we have to come to an agreement that works,鈥� Carney said. 鈥淏ut there are more areas where we are stronger together, and that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e focused on鈥�
GOP senator suggests FBI interview Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick after his comments about Epstein
Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, is suggesting that the FBI look into comments that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick made during a recent interview in which he called the late financier Jeffrey Epstein the 鈥済reatest blackmailer ever.鈥�
During a Senate hearing, Attorney General Pam Bondi reiterated her previous stance that the Department of Justice has not uncovered evidence that could be used in relation to Epstein鈥檚 sex trafficking of teenage girls. But Kennedy said that the comments from Lutnick, who was formerly a neighbor with Epstein, suggested others were involved.
鈥淒on鈥檛 you think that you ought to talk to him after this interview?鈥� Kennedy asked Bondi.
The attorney general responded that Lutnick had not been interviewed and she was noncommittal about any future interviews.
Trump says there is 鈥榥atural conflict鈥� with Canada
The president said there鈥檚 a 鈥渘atural business conflict鈥� between the U.S. and its northern neighbor but said there鈥檚 also 鈥渕utual love.鈥�
鈥淭here鈥檚 still great love between the two countries,鈥� Trump said.
Trump says back pay for furloughed federal workers 鈥榙epends on who we鈥檙e talking about鈥�
The president didn鈥檛 dismiss back pay for all workers, but added, 鈥淭here are some people that don鈥檛 deserve to be taken care of, and we鈥檒l take care of them in a different way鈥� without elaborating.
He also blamed Democrats for putting 鈥渁 lot of people in great risk and jeopardy.鈥�
Trump鈥檚 comments came as his administration in a memo Tuesday. That鈥檚 despite a guaranteeing back pay.
Chicago mayor says he doesn鈥檛 know where National Guard troops are in his city
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said the Trump administration has not told him where the National Guard is, when it may arrive in Chicago or what its task will be.
鈥淣one of that has been made clear,鈥� Johnson said at a Tuesday news conference. 鈥淭hat is what is so difficult about this moment, you have an administration that is refusing to cooperate with a local authority.鈥�
The City of Chicago and state of Illinois , seeking to stop the sending of National Guard troops to Chicago. The legal challenge came hours after a the Guard鈥檚 deployment in Portland, Oregon.
Johnson said Trump鈥檚 federalizing of the national guard is 鈥渦nconstitutional, it鈥檚 illegal and it鈥檚 dangerous.鈥�
鈥淭he federal government is out of control,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淭his is one of the most dangerous times in our nation鈥檚 history.鈥� Johnson said Trump is 鈥渦nchecked鈥� and 鈥淚f Congress is not going to hold the president of the United States of America accountable, then I will.鈥�
鈥楲aw is clear鈥� on federal worker back pay, House Democratic leader says
鈥淓very single furloughed federal employee is entitled to back pay. Period. Full stop,鈥� Hakeem Jeffries said Tuesday, responding to a White House memo outlining a rationale it鈥檚 considering for denying back pay to federal workers during the shutdown.
鈥淭he law is clear,鈥� Jeffries added. 鈥淎nd we will make sure that law is followed.鈥�
Illinois braces for National Guard deployments amid legal challenge
Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, has said that some 300 of Illinois鈥� guard troops were to be to Chicago, along with 400 from Texas.
鈥淗e wants to justify and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command,鈥� Pritzker said, accusing the president of using troops as 鈥減olitical props鈥� and 鈥減awns.鈥�
A federal judge in Chicago scheduled a hearing for Thursday on a that describes Trump鈥檚 military mobilization plan for Illinois as unlawful and dangerous. A federal judge in Oregon to Portland.
Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott posted a picture on social media Monday showing Texas National Guard members boarding a plane, without saying their destination.
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