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The government shutdown underscored President Donald Trump’s whirlwind work week after Senate lawmakers failed to reach a budget agreement in a stalemate that’s anticipated to spur “thousands” of federal layoffs.
The shutdown took effect after the clock struck midnight Wednesday and has continued since. Trump championed earlier in the week that he did not want a shutdown to bring the government to a screeching halt, but remarked some “good” could come from it as he looks to further trim down the size of the government.
“A lot of good can come down from shutdowns,” he said Tuesday. “We can get rid of a lot of things that we didn’t want, and they’d be Democrat things. But they want open borders. They want men playing in women’s sports. They want transgender for everybody. They never stop. They don’t learn. We won an election in a landslide.”
“Thousands” of federal employees are set to face layoffs, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, while Trump met with Office of Management and Budget chief Russell Vought Thursday to map out which agencies and programs could be targeted.
HERE’S WHAT TRUMP WANTS TO DO TO RESHAPE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DURING THE SHUTDOWN
House lawmakers passed a short-term extension earlier in September of fiscal year 2025 funding, aimed at keeping the government open through Nov. 21. Senate lawmakers, however, could not reach an agreement on the budget ahead of the Oct. 1 deadline, sparking the shutdown.
Democrats expressed frustration they were sidelined from spending negotiations, as well as the GOP bill excluding enhanced Obamacare subsidies from the Biden era that are set to lapse at the end of 2025.
KAROLINE LEAVITT WARNS DEMOCRATS FACE ‘VERY REAL’ CONSEQUENCES IF SHUTDOWN STANDOFF DRAGS ON
The Trump administration and Republicans have since pinned blame for the shutdown on Democrats pushing to include taxpayer-funded medical benefits for illegal immigrants. Democrats have denied the claims and pinned blame on Republicans for the shutdown.
It is unclear how long the shutdown will last as the Senate comes to stalemate on votes.
Trump’s Hamas ultimatum
Outside of Capitol Hill buzzing about the shutdown, Trump also gave Hamas terrorists until Sunday to reach a peace agreement as the war with Israel, which started Oct. 7, 2023, continues raging. Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday at the White House, where he announced a 20-point plan to end the Gaza war.
Hamas is now left to agree to the plan or face the military wrath of Israel.
TRUMP UNVEILS 20-POINT PLAN TO SECURE PEACE IN GAZA, INCLUDING GRANTING SOME HAMAS MEMBERS ‘AMNESTY’
“They will be given one last chance,” Trump said in a Friday Truth Social post. “THIS DEAL ALSO SPARES THE LIVES OF ALL REMAINING HAMAS FIGHTERS!”
“We will have PEACE in the Middle East one way or the other. The violence and bloodshed will stop,” Trump added. “RELEASE THE HOSTAGES, ALL OF THEM, INCLUDING THE BODIES OF THOSE THAT ARE DEAD, NOW! An Agreement must be reached with Hamas by Sunday Evening at SIX (6) P.M., Washington, D.C. time.”
Hegseth, Trump meet with top military brass
U.S. generals from around the world were summoned to convene with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Trump at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia Tuesday, when Trump celebrated “reawakening the warrior spirit” within the military.
“We’re bringing back a focus on fitness, ability, character and strength,” Trump said Tuesday. “And that’s because the purpose of America’s military is not to protect anyone’s feelings. It’s to protect our republic.”
TRUMP DECLARES ‘REAWAKENING’ OF ‘WARRIOR SPIRIT,’ UNWAVERING SUPPORT FOR MILITARY: ‘I HAVE YOUR BACKS’
Trump criticized the military’s recent shift toward political correctness.
“The apparatus of our country was not set up for merit,” Trump said. “It was set up for political correctness. And you can never be great if you’re going to do that.”
“We will not be politically correct when it comes to defending American freedom, and we will be a fighting and winning machine,” he continued. “We want to fight. We want to win, and we want to fight as little as possible.”
US in ‘non-international armed conflict’ with drug cartels
The Trump administration also sent a memo to Congress Thursday explaining the United States is now “in a non-international armed conflict” with drug cartels, which administration officials have designated as “terrorist organizations.”
TRUMP ADMIN TELLS CONGRESS IT DETERMINED US ENGAGED IN FORMAL ‘ARMED CONFLICT’ WITH ‘TERRORIST’ DRUG CARTELS
“The President directed these actions consistent with his responsibility to protect Americans and United States interests abroad and in furtherance of United States national security and foreign policy interests, pursuant to his constitutional authority as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive to conduct foreign relations,” the memo stated.
The White House said the memo was filed following a Sept. 15 strike on “a Designated Terrorist Organization.”
The memo follows Trump vowing to unleash the U.S. military on drug cartels amid a buildup in the Caribbean in August, and has signed off on a series of U.S. military strikes against alleged drug vessels from Venezuela to combat the flow of illegal drugs into the U.S.
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The most recent U.S. strike on an alleged drug trafficking vessel was carried out Friday off the coast of Venezuela.
Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind, Louis Casiano and Morgan Philips contributed to this report.
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