Politics
GOP senator blasts Schumer, Dems as 'forcing' shutdown while demanding price tag report
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FIRST ON FOX: A Senate Republican wants to know the exact cost of a partial government shutdown as GOP and Democratic leaders are at an impasse to keep the government open.
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, called on the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to provide a detailed report on the sprawling impact that a partial government shutdown could have, including payments throughout the federal government and the possible broader economic impact.
The House GOP passed its short-term funding extension, known as a continuing resolution (CR) last week, but the bill was later blocked by Senate Democrats. For now, Republicans and Democrats in the upper chamber are at odds on a plan to keep the government open.
And the deadline to fund the government by Sept. 30 is fast-approaching.
TOP HOUSE DEM FIRES BACK AT TRUMP’S ‘UNHINGED’ SHUTDOWN REMARKS AMID COLLAPSE OF GOV FUNDING TALKS
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, called on the Congressional Budget Office to produce a report on the economic impact that a possible government shutdown could have. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Ernst, who chairs the Senate DOGE Caucus named after tech-billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, laid the fault of a potential shutdown on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in her letter to CBO Director Phillip Swagel.
“The same politicians who whined and complained about the Department of Government Efficiency laying off unnecessary bureaucrats just a few months ago are now forcing a government-wide shutdown themselves to expose who is and isn’t an essential employee,” she wrote.
Ernst requested a sweeping economic operational impact analysis from the agency, including how a shutdown could affect back pay costs for furloughed non-essential employees, military pay, congressional pay and the broader economic impact that the government closing could have on the private sector.
TRUMP CANCELS MEETING WITH SCHUMER, JEFFRIES OVER ‘RIDICULOUS DEMANDS’ AS FUNDING DEADLINE LOOMS
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks with reporters outside the Senate Chamber at the Capitol on Sept. 10, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
Specifically, she wanted to know how businesses could be impacted by a temporary stoppage of government services, like loans, permits and certifications, and how companies and businesses could recoup losses after a shutdown ended.
She also wanted information on lost efficiencies in the government and the costs that could accrue from unfulfilled procurements or allowing contracts to lapse, and whether the burden of keeping national parks open would fall onto the states or if they’d be shuttered, too.
The CBO did provide an analysis of the cost of the last time the government shuttered in 2019, when Schumer and President Donald Trump were at odds on providing funding to construct a wall at the southern border. That 35-day shutdown was the longest in U.S. history, and no funding for a border wall was granted.
The report, published in January 2019, found that the shutdown saw roughly $18 billion in federal spending delayed, which led to a dip in that year’s first quarter gross domestic product of $8 billion. The report noted roughly $3 billion of that would not be recovered.
THUNE SLAMS DEMOCRATS’ ‘COLD-BLOODED PARTISAN’ TACTICS AS FUNDING DEADLINE NEARS
President Donald Trump steps off Air Force One in Arizona after arriving for the memorial service for political activist Charlie Kirk at State Farm Stadium, on Sept. 21, 2025 in Glendale, Arizona. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
It also found that federal workers who received delayed payments and private businesses were the hardest hit.
“Some of those private-sector entities will never recoup that lost income,” the report stated.
It remains unclear whether Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Schumer can strike a deal. After Trump canceled a planned meeting Tuesday with Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., both Democrats blamed the president for the looming shutdown.
However, Democrats’ asking price for a short-term funding extension is too high for Republicans.
They want permanent extensions to Affordable Care Act subsidies, a full repeal of the “big, beautiful bill”s health care title, which includes the $50 billion rural hospital fund, and a clawback of the canceled funding for NPR and PBS.
“Once again, Donald Trump has shown the American people he is not up to the job,” Schumer said. “It’s a very simple job: sit down and negotiate with the Democratic leaders and come to an agreement, but he just ain’t up to it. He runs away before the negotiations even begin.”
Politics
Video: Hillary Clinton Denies Ever Meeting Jeffrey Epstein
new video loaded: Hillary Clinton Denies Ever Meeting Jeffrey Epstein
transcript
transcript
Hillary Clinton Denies Ever Meeting Jeffrey Epstein
The former first lady, senator and secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, told congressional members in a closed-door deposition that she had no dealings with Jeffrey Epstein.
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“I don’t know how many times I had to say I did not know Jeffrey Epstein. I never went to his island. I never went to his homes. I never went to his offices. So it’s on the record numerous times.” “This isn’t a partisan witch hunt. To my knowledge, the Clintons haven’t answered very many questions about everything.” “You’re sitting through an incredibly unserious clown show of a deposition, where members of Congress and the Republican Party are more concerned about getting their photo op of Secretary Clinton than actually getting to the truth and holding anyone accountable.” “What is not acceptable is Oversight Republicans breaking their own committee rules that they established with the secretary and her team.” “As we had agreed upon rules based on the fact that it was going to be a closed hearing at their demand, and one of the members violated that rule, which was very upsetting because it suggested that they might violate other of our agreements.”
By Jackeline Luna
February 26, 2026
Politics
Vulnerable House Dem lashes out at Trump’s ‘racist’ SOTU challenge: ‘That was uncomfortable’
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Rep. Janelle Bynum, D-Ore., called a challenge from President Donald Trump at the 2026 State of the Union “racist” when he asked listeners to stand if they agreed the U.S. should prioritize the safety of its own citizens over illegal aliens.
“If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support,” Trump said.
“The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.”
Democrats remained seated for over a minute and a half as the Republican side of the chamber burst into prolonged applause.
President Donald Trump pictured ahead of his 2026 State of the Union Address on Feb. 24, 2026. (Kenny Holston-Pool/Getty Images)
After the address, Bynum, who is on the National Republican Congressional Committee’s list of vulnerable Dem incumbents, said the moment made her uneasy.
“I think you can agree with the ‘what’ — like standing up for American citizens,” Bynum said. “But I disagree with the ‘how.’”
“There’s thinly veiled racist language, anti-immigrant language in what he was asking, and that was uncomfortable,” Bynum said.
Bynum’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how Trump’s challenge had asked lawmakers to discriminate on the basis of race.
TRUMP SHAMES DEMOCRATS IN VIRAL STATE OF THE UNION CHALLENGE ON MIGRANT CRIME: ‘FIRST DUTY’
Trump’s remarks to Democrats on Tuesday came as a partial government shutdown drags on over demands Democrats have made to reform the agency at the heart of Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Rep. Janelle Bynum, D-Ore., left, pictured alongside President Donald Trump, right. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Craig Hudson For The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Democrats are demanding a set of 10 enforcement reforms for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and won’t vote to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) until Republicans meet their demands.
DHS, which oversees ICE, went into a shutdown on Feb. 14.
DHS SHUTDOWN DRAGS INTO WEEK TWO AS IRAN THREAT, SOTU CLASH COMPLICATE HILL TALKS
Among other changes, Democrats are looking for a ban on masks, an end to roaming patrols, visible identification and stiffer warrant requirements for arresting illegal aliens in public.
Republicans have dismissed those demands, arguing that Democrats must first pass legislation to restrict “sanctuary cities” — local communities that have instructed their law enforcement not to cooperate with federal agents on immigration apprehensions and deportations.
DHS Agents in Charlotte, North Carolina on a mission. (Ryan Murphy/Getty Images)
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In a press release after the State of the Union, Bynum, who voted against DHS earlier this year, listed Trump’s framing of his immigration crackdown among her many critiques of the address.
“Tonight, I watched President Trump spend the majority of his speech lying about the state of our economy, demonizing immigrants and spewing more of the same divisive BS. I can’t say I’m surprised,” she wrote.
Politics
Trump’s State of the Union address draws 32.6 million viewers, marking smallest audience yet
Over 32.6 million viewers watched President Trump address the nation on Tuesday night, according to Nielsen data.
It’s both the smallest audience Trump has received for the annual speech to a joint session of Congress, and the longest State of the Union address in recent history.
This was the president’s first State of the Union address of his second term. Previously, his addresses scored 45.5 million in 2018, 46.8 million in 2019 and 37.1 million in 2020, the Nielsen data show.
This year’s speech clocked in at 107 minutes, topping the record set by President Clinton in 2000.
Facing low approval ratings, Trump played up positive economic numbers, some of which were misstated, and the administration’s aggressive crackdown on undocumented immigrants, drawing polarized reactions in the chamber.
Trump also recognized the Men’s Olympic hockey team, which won its first gold medal since 1980 on Sunday with its victory against Canada, and a number of other guests attended the address, including the widow of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk and Paramount Skydance’s CEO David Ellison.
The U.S. Olympic men’s ice hockey team arrives for the State of the Union address .
(Kenny Holston / Pool, Getty Images)
There were 15 networks that televised the speech. Fox News had the largest audience with 9.1 million viewers. ABC was second with 5.1 million, followed by NBC‘s 3.6 million, CBS’ 3.3 million, MS NOW’s 2.4 million, CNN’s 2.2 million, and the Fox broadcast network’s 2.1 million.
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