Katie Porter grows testy when CBS reporter asks about 40% of voters who went for Trump, saying: ‘I’m going to call it’

Proposals from both sides fail to receive enough support as no senators changed their votes from recent days

The IRS said it was furloughing nearly half of its workforce and shuttering most operations Wednesday, but will continue work to implement President Donald Trump's signature tax cuts. Work on preparing for next year’s tax-filing season will also continue, but numerous operations will be halted, including taxpayer services like call site operations. The agency will also suspend non-automated tax collections and “most headquarters and administrative functions not related to the safety of life and protection of property” during non-filing season, according to the agency’s latest contingency plan . The plan will idle tens of thousands of employees. While 39,870 — 53.6% of the total workforce — will remain at work, 34,429 will be furloughed. The union that represents IRS workers condemned the move. “Today, due to the government shutdown the American people lost access to many vital services provided by the IRS,” said Doreen Greenwald, the national president of the National Treasury Employees Union. “Expect increased wait times, backlogs and delays implementing tax law changes as the shutdown continues. Taxpayers around the country will now have a much harder time getting the assistance they need, just as they get ready to file their extension returns due next week.” When the government shut down last week, the agency exempted all of its employees from furlough for at least five business days, saying it would stay open by using special funding it was given by Congress in 2020. But Wednesday morning, the agency announced that, “An IRS-wide furlough began on October 8, 2025, for everyone except already-identified excepted and exempt employees,” according to a statement on the IRS’s website . “Employee[s] who are not exempt or excepted are furloughed and placed in a non-pay and non-duty status until further notice.” The IRS’s furlough decision letter — which came a day after a White House memo suggested furloughed federal employees might not receive backpay — includes a reminder that “employees must be compensated on the earliest date possible after the lapse ends, regardless of scheduled pay dates,” per a law President Donald Trump passed in 2019. The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The agency originally dodged the furloughs in part because it bore responsibility for implementing the administration’s marquee tax cuts, including no tax on tips, overtime and Social Security, which Republicans are counting on for a boost in next year's midterm elections. “We suspect people will be getting notified all day,” said Daniel Scharpenburg, a union leader at the IRS.

Trump’s TikTok deal looks like classic crony capitalism as well as open theft.

The scale and scope of federal data and statistics that have been...

Even when a prosecution fails to convict someone, the process of defending against charges can itself can be a form of punishment.

Virginia Giuffre's brother on Tuesday said it’s “hurtful” that President Trump declined to rule out issuing a pardon to Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's longtime associate and girlfriend. “It’s hurtful for a lot of survivors out there. It’s hurtful for me, as a family member, to even hear the potential for a pardon — that he is considering it, or possibly not considering it, as he said. He didn’t waver one way or the other,” Giuffre’s brother, Sky Roberts, told MSNBC’s Jen Psaki, when asked about Trump’s comments about possible clemency for Maxwell. “However, I mean, why is this even a conversation?” he added. Roberts noted Maxwell was convicted of crimes related to the sexual abuse of minors. She is currently serving a 20-year sentence, and the Supreme Court on Monday  declined to review  her 2021 sex-trafficking conviction. “She was convicted of basically running a sex trafficking ring,” Roberts said. “What does this teach our children? What does this teach the people around us? I can’t even look my daughter in the face and give her a square answer about what our government stands for and that’s disgraceful. It really is disgraceful, and it’s very hurtful.” Roberts said that his sister — who died by suicide earlier this year and was among the most outspoken victims of the late convicted sex offender — believed Trump would bring justice to survivors after he discussed the issue on the campaign trail. “I know my sister would be very hurt by it because we did believe, based off of the campaign that he ran, that he would do the right thing,” Roberts said. “And, right now, he seems to have amnesia, as does most of the campaign administrators or people that he appointed.” “They seem to have amnesia that they ran their campaign on this,” he added. On Monday, Trump  was asked whether he would consider  a pardon for Maxwell and repeatedly declined to rule it out, saying instead that he needed to look into the matter further. “You know, I haven’t heard the name in so long. I can say this, that I’d have to take a look at it. I would have to take a look,” Trump said during  an exchange  with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins. “I’ll take a look at it. I’ll speak to the DOJ,” Trump said, referring to the Department of Justice. “I wouldn’t consider it or not consider — I don’t know anything about it. I will speak to the DOJ.” A White House official told The Hill that the "White House does not comment on the existence or nonexistence of pardons." "The President is the final decider on pardons.”

You probably didn’t expect House Speaker Mike Johnson to have good taste in music, but now he’s gone and confirmed it. Reporter Pablo Manríquez of the independent outlet Migrant Insider asked ...

On Tuesday, Senate Republicans confirmed former NFL player Herschel Walker as the U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas, ignoring his history of lying, weird statements, and multiple accusations of ...

Former White House aide Steve Bannon bemoaned that former FBI director James Comey did not walk through the front door of the Virginia courthouse where he was arraigned Wednesday on charges linked to his 2020 congressional testimony about the investigation into Russian ties to President Trump’s 2016 campaign. "They slipped Comey in through another entrance, so he didn't have to come through here," Bannon said on his daily "War Room" show, as the conservative host showed viewers a live feed of the courthouse in Alexandria, Va. "This is bulls---," he continued in comments highlighted by Mediaite , referring to the lack of a perp walk . "I don't know who at [the Justice Department] and who at the FBI, and I hope the White House understands this." Bannon compared Comey's arraignment to his own court proceedings relating to his refusal to comply with a congressional subpoena, a decision that earned him several months in jail. The former FBI chief pleaded not guilty on Wednesday in response to the two-count indictment which came last month after President Trump urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute him. His trial date is set for January and is expected to last two or three days. Trump, Bannon and others in the MAGA movement have vowed retribution against the president's perceived enemies , with Comey ranking as was one of the president's most prominent and longstanding foils. "But they try to sit there and psychologically break you, so they got that image of you walking to court the entire time," Bannon said, complaining Comey was not seen walking through the front door. He added, "I don’t know how James Comey’s in court right now."

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President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to be jailed—ratcheting up his retribution campaign against his perceived enemies. "...

Officials from the U.S., Israel and Qatar are all feeling optimistic that a deal to end the war in Gaza could be reached this week, several sources involved in or briefed on the ongoing talks in Sharm El-Sheikh Egypt tell Axios. Why it matters: The current issues under debate — such as the terms of Israel's military withdrawal from Gaza and the identities of Palestinian prisoners who will be released — are enormously sensitive. Thus, the fact that officials from several countries involved in the process all believe a deal can be finalized on such a short timeline is fairly remarkable. Driving the news: Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived on Wednesday morning local time to represent the U.S. in the talks. Other participants include negotiating teams from Israel and Hamas, the prime minister of Qatar and the intelligence chiefs from Turkey and Egypt. The goal is to announce an agreement this week and begin releasing Israeli hostages next week, according to a source familiar with the talks. Behind the scenes: Two White House officials said there has been good progress in the talks and said an agreement could be reached within days. A senior Israeli official gave a similar status update: "There is progress. We feel cautious optimism." However, Israeli officials cast doubt on an assessment from Turkey's foreign minister that a ceasefire could be announced as early as Wednesday. The source familiar with the talks said the Qatari mediators believe an agreement can be reached by Friday. Yes, but: Any agreement will focus at this stage on the hostage and prisoner exchange, the initial Israeli withdrawal and the ending of hostilities in Gaza. Other thorny issues like the process for disarming Hamas and the future governing structure of the enclave will be negotiated separately at a later stage. Go deeper: How two years of war in Gaza have changed the Middle East forever

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D), responding to President Trump’s remarks that he and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) should be arrested , called Trump “unstable” and “unhinged.” “First of all, this president is unstable, unhinged, a double-minded individual that, quite frankly, is a threat to our democracy,” Johnson said during an appearance on CNN’s “ The Situation Room .”  “And it’s certainly not the first time that Donald Trump has called for the arresting of Black man unjustly. I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to stay firm as the mayor of this amazing city, which was voted nine years in a row the best big city in America, and we’re going to defend all of Chicago,” he added.  Amazon Prime Big Deal Days The 100+ best deals of October Prime Day, Day 2  Amazon has massive generator deals for October Prime Day  All the best October Prime Day deals on Apple bestsellers BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. Earlier in the day, Trump said Johnson and Pritzker “should be in jail for failing to protect [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] Officers!” His comments come after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said there had been resistance to the uptick in federal agents in the Windy City.  Pritzker and Johnson have both rejected the push to deploy hundreds of National Guard soldiers to Illinois in an effort to quell criminal activity and crack down on immigration enforcement.  “I will not back down. Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power. What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?” Pritzker said in a Wednesday post responding to Trump’s remarks alleging he should be jailed. “His masked agents already are grabbing people off the street. Separating children from their parents. Creating fear. Taking people for ‘how they look,’” he added in a follow-up post .  Johnson said he’s hoping the courts will help rectify the “illegal” push to militarize the city.  “There’s been no communications with my administration and the federal government. What we do know is that this president is working outside the bounds of the constitution, and that there are National Guard from the state of Texas that are being ‘trained’ just outside of the city of Chicago,” Johnson told CNN.  “And keep in mind these individuals do not have policing powers. They do not have arresting powers.” Illinois and Chicago on Monday sued to block President Trump’s deployment of National Guard members to the city. The suit followed a Saturday temporary restraining order blocking Trump’s deployment of 200 National Guard members to Portland, Ore.  “The judge right now in Illinois is looking at what exactly is the mission of the National Guard from the state of Texas. We know this is illegal, unconstitutional,” the Chicago mayor said.  “That’s already been proven in the courts in Oregon. and we fully expect the same ruling to take place here in the state of Illinois,” he added.

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said Tuesday that he would “strongly discourage” President Trump from pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell, the  longtime associate of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, after Trump declined to rule out the possibility. In an interview on CNN’s “The Lead,” Comer pointed to the dearth of evidence he’s reviewed as part of his committee’s investigation into the disgraced financier and Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for crimes related to the sexual abuse of minors. “I do not think he should,” the Kentucky Republican told host Jake Tapper about whether Trump should consider pardoning Maxwell clemency. “I’ve been very vocal about that.” “I’ve seen enough information thus far from the thousands of pages of documents that the Department of Justice has turned over, in addition to the documents that we subpoenaed from the estate, in addition to conversations that I’ve had with some of the victims of Epstein and Maxwell, that I can say with confidence — I would strongly discourage any type of pardon or commutation of Maxwell,” he continued. Comer was asked about remarks Trump made on Monday, when the president declined to rule out  issuing a pardon for Maxwell but would need to look into the matter further. “You know, I haven’t heard the name in so long. I can say this, that I’d have to take a look at it. I would have to take a look. Did they reject that?” Trump said during  an exchange  with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins in the Oval Office. “Well, I’ll take a look at it. I’ll speak to the DOJ,” he continued. “I wouldn’t consider it or not consider — I don’t know anything about it. I will speak to the DOJ.” Asked why she might deserve reprieve, Trump said, “a lot of people have asked me for pardons,” including Sean “Diddy” Combs, who was  sentenced last week  to four years in prison on prostitution charges. Collins added, “But she was convicted of child sex trafficking." “Yeah, I mean, I’m going to have to take a look at it,” the president replied. “I’d have to ask DOJ. I didn’t know they rejected it. I didn’t know she was even asking for it, frankly.” Maxwell, who was moved earlier this year to a lower-security prison, was convicted in 2021 on sex trafficking charges. Epstein died in 2019 in his New York jail cell while awaiting charges. The Supreme Court on Monday  declined to review  her 2021 sex-trafficking conviction.

Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee are escalating their investigation into the Trump administration's handling of bribery allegations against White House border czar Tom Homan , Axios has learned. Why it matters: Democrats have seized on the allegations, which Homan and the White House have denied, as part of their anti-corruption message against President Trump and his team. Senate Democrats grilled Attorney General Pam Bondi on the topic at a hearing Tuesday. She said the Justice Department found no evidence of wrongdoing but did not say if Homan returned the purported $50,000 bribe, Axios' April Rubin reported. Homan said in a Fox News interview last month he "did nothing illegal" and told NewsNation the reports were "bullsh*t," with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying Homan "never took the $50,000." Driving the news: In a letter to Associate Attorney General Edmund Woodward, a group of House Democrats led by Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) wrote that Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel "failed to answer" their initial letter on Homan last month. "We write now to follow up and demand that you answer fundamental questions," they continued. "Who knew about the Homan cash bribery scandal, when did they know it, and why was Mr. Homan appointed 'Border Czar' even in the face of such damning evidence of his taking bribes for government contracts?" Zoom in: The lawmakers noted that Woodward led the vetting of potential candidates for administration jobs as part of Trump's 2024 transition team. They wrote that, under standard FBI procedures, agents would have notified that DOJ about the allegations against Homan, and that DOJ leadership would have then informed the transition team. "We have every reason to believe the normal process was followed here," the lawmakers added. They sent a list of seven questions regarding Homan's appointment and the administration's handling of the FBI investigation into him, including whether Trump appointed "other persons to public office who were the targets of ongoing criminal investigations." Catch up quick: MSNBC and the New York Times reported last month that Homan was recorded in September 2024 accepting a Cava bag with $50,000 as part of an undercover FBI probe. Homan allegedly agreed to help the agents, who were posing as businessmen, secure federal border security contracts. The case was shut down by DOJ officials after Trump took office. Homan said in a Fox News interview last month he "did nothing illegal" and told NewsNation the reports were "bullsh*t," with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying Homan "never took the $50,000." The White House and Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) expressed concern Tuesday over President Trump's apparent use of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to prosecute political rivals , something he and his colleagues have "real questions" about. Booker's remarks came after Attorney General Pam Bondi testified earlier Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Democrats later described the hearing as " aggressive " and " combative ." "We have real questions about using the Department of Justice as an arm of the president, as his personal attorneys, to prosecute his personal political vendettas, to pull people away from the kind of crimes that we want solved and instead focus on people like [former FBI Director James] Comey and other political targets of his," Booker told MSNBC's Ali Vitali. "He's not hiding it," the senator continued. "He's being very open. He's literally tweeting at the attorney general of the United States of America, telling her to 'take out my enemies' in a prosecutorial manner." The New Jersey Democrat also called the heated exchanges with senators "very unfortunate." "I've never seen [these] kind of personal attacks ... just not even coming out of the box," Booker added. "Attacking senators in a very personal manner. That's not the way it should be done. We have a responsibility, actually, as spelled out in the Constitution to provide oversight and checks and balances." During the hearing, Bondi faced questions over the recent indictment of Comey on charges of making a false statement as well as another for obstruction of a congressional proceeding in connection with testimony he gave before the Senate in 2020. He pleaded not guilty during an arraignment Wednesday. President Trump's ramp up of immigration enforcement efforts across the U.S., including in the Golden State, were also on the agenda. The attorney general turned her ire on Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) during the proceeding, claiming he did not care about his home state and that California's violent crime rate is "currently 35 percent higher than the national average." She also called out the lawmaker after he was forcibly removed from a Department of Homeland Security press conference earlier this year. A shouting match between the two forced Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the committee’s chair, to intervene. Bondi also accused Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) of accepting campaign contributions from Reid Hoffman, a major Democratic donor who has been accused of having ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Whitehouse later told CNN that the claim "simply isn’t true." “All they had to do was go and look at my public campaign finance reports and see that this individual appears on them nowhere,” Whitehouse told CNN's Erin Burnett on Tuesday. “So, she went off into the salacious discussion, she went off into the false accusations about campaign contributions.” The DOJ has also been under scrutiny over its handling of files related to Epstein's sex trafficking case during its investigation into the deceased financier.

Homeland Security Security Kristi Noem called a song Zach Bryan teased last week “disrespectful” to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. "I hope he understands how completely disrespectful that song is, not just to law enforcement but to this country, to every single individual that has ever stood up and fought for our freedoms. He just compromised it all by putting out a product such as that,” Noem told conservative commentator Benny Johnson on Tuesday evening.  Noem added that she is “very happy” she does not listen to Bryan’s music. As of Tuesday, Bryan’s songs have been streamed more than 16 billion times on Spotify . The country music star posted a portion of the song, titled “Bad News,” to Instagram on Friday. In the clip, Bryan sings “And ICE is gonna come bust down your house, try to build a house no one builds no more, but I got a telephone, kids are all scared and all alone.” “The bars start bumping, the rocks start rolling, the middle finger’s rising and it won’t stop showing, got some bad news. The fadin’ of the red, white and blue,” Bryan continued.  The lyrics received criticism and support online. Bryan, who served in the Navy from 2013 to 2021, said on his Instagram story Tuesday the song “is about how much I love this country and everyone in it more than anything,” and that the song “hits on both sides of the aisle.” “Everyone using this now as a weapon is only proving how devastatingly divided we all are. We need to find our way back,” Bryan added. According to ICE data , the agency has arrested 527,429 people this year. Immigrant communities across the country, from Los Angeles to Chicago to the nation’s capital, have been impacted by ICE’s increased operations under the Trump administration.

The IRS shared guidance Wednesday suggesting furloughed employees are guaranteed back pay under a 2019 law despite White House objections .  “Although you will be placed in non-pay and non-duty status during the furlough, the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 requires employees of the federal government who are furloughed or required to work during a lapse in appropriations to be compensated for the period of the lapse,” reads a notice reviewed by The Hill.  “The employees must be compensated on the earliest date possible after the lapse ends, regardless of scheduled pay dates. Employees required to work during the lapse in appropriations may use leave,” it adds.  10-8-2025-furlough-decision-letter-fy26 Download The law referenced was passed after a 35-day shutdown lasted from late 2018 to early 2019 under the first Trump administration, ensuring federal employees would be compensated for their work after funding lapses in Washington. The legislative text says paychecks will be dispersed after “any lapse in appropriations that begins on or after December 22, 2018.” However, a draft memo from the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) implies a different interpretation under an amended version of the law, which states that furloughed workers will receive back pay “subject to the enactment of appropriations Acts ending the lapse.” On Tuesday, President Trump told reporters “for the most part, we’re going to take care of our people.”  “There are some people that really don’t deserve to be taken care of. And we’ll take care of them in a different way,” he added. His stance has received pushback from some Republicans, Democrats and union representatives.  ​​“It’s not up to the president,” GOP Sen. John Kennedy (La.) said when asked about the possibility the Trump administration might not commit to back pay for the federal workers. “I mean, his opinion matters, but Congress has got to appropriate the money,” he continued, according to a video posted online by a CBS News reporter. “Read the Constitution.” Kennedy's fellow Republican, House Speaker Mike Johnson (La.), shared a different take and argued the administration is under no legal obligation to compensate furloughed workers for days lost to the shutdown. “It is true that in previous shutdowns, many or most of them have been paid for the time that they were furloughed,” Johnson said Tuesday. “But there are some legal analysts who are saying that that may not be appropriate or necessary, in terms of the law requiring that back pay be provided.”

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