Our live coverage of the Trump administration and the government shutdown has ended. Get the latest reporting here.
Johnson says he's open to meeting with Grijalva after refusing to swear her in
House Speaker Mike Johnson said today that he would be open to meeting with Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, whom he has yet to swear in to Congress amid the ongoing government shutdown.
Grijalva later said she no longer wants to meet with Johnson, citing Arizona’s lawsuit against the House of Representatives over the speaker’s refusal to swear her in.
The lawsuit accuses Johnson of delaying Grijalva’s swearing in because he is attempting to prevent a petition that would force a vote in the House on releasing records around Jeffrey Epstein as well as “strengthen his hand in the ongoing budget and appropriations negotiations.”
Grijalva went on to say, “If (the swearing-in) is just ceremonial and just a procedure then why can’t I — can I sign the Epstein files then?”
Johnson also told Collins that while Grijalva waits to be sworn in, “She can be serving her constituents and trying to help them through this chaos, just like the House Republicans are doing,” adding that she has a 16-person staff and access to phones and computers.
Rubio says US still wants to meet with Russia after imposing sanctions
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the US still wants to meet with Russia despite the Trump administration imposing sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies.
“I think the president has said repeatedly for a number of months now that at some point he will have to do something if we don’t make progress on the peace deal. Today was the day he decided to do something,” Rubio said.
Earlier Wednesday, President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, telling reporters in the Oval Office he “felt it was time” for the sanctions, and noting he “waited a long time” to impose them.
Trump also said Wednesday that he’d “canceled” an anticipated meeting with Putin, telling reporters, “It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get – so I canceled it, but we’ll do it in the future,”, “It just didn’t feel right to me.”
Johnson says Republicans have "proposals" ready to address healthcare subsidies
House Speaker Mike Johnson said today that Republicans have a plan to address healthcare subsidies as the issue remains a major sticking point to reopening the federal government.
Asked by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins if the GOP would have a plan to address the subsidies if the government reopened tonight, Johnson said, “Yes, yes, yes, yes, we do.”
“It’s a very complicated, very complex issue that requires a long time to build consensus around. We have ideas on the table and the whole process of the legislative body is to build consensus around it,” he said.
Johnson said that addressing the subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of this year, “was never possible or appropriate” on a continuing resolution bill to fund the government for a few weeks.
Pressed by Collins on why Johnson doesn’t call for the House — which hasn’t been in session for weeks — to return, Johnson maintained, “The House has done its job. The House passed the CR.”
Rubio says he’s not worried about Israel-Hamas ceasefire falling apart as he heads to the region
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday night as he headed to the Middle East that he is not worried about the Israel-Hamas ceasefire falling apart.
“We got to deal with the challenges and make sure they don’t unravel this. So I’m not worried about it, but we’re aware that these are challenges that we have to confront,” Rubio said, noting that Hamas remains a danger.
The secretary’s comments come as Vice President JD Vance, who is in Israel, downplayed concerns about the fragility of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire telling reporters on Tuesday, “I feel very optimistic.”
The ceasefire in Gaza appears to have survived its first major test as Israel and Hamas affirmed their commitment to the deal after two Israeli soldiers were killed in the enclave on Sunday, prompting waves of airstrikes.
EU chief and other leaders react to Trump's Russian oil sanctions
Here’s how international leaders are reacting to the Trump administration’s decision to impose sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies:
Ukrainian Ambassador to the US Olga Stefanishyna hailed the move, which she said was the “first such action under the current US administration.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she “appreciated” the US’ decision “in the face of Russia’s lack of commitment to the peace process.”
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was pleased that the US “joined us with substantial sanctions” against the two Russian oil companies, which Starmer said the UK had sanctioned last week.
“Putin must pay the price for his needless aggression,” Starmer posted on X.
NATO chief welcomes Trump’s sanctioning of Russian oil companies
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte welcomed the Trump administration’s decision to sanction Russia’s two largest oil companies today while calling for greater pressure to be exerted on Moscow to stop its war in Ukraine.
Asked if Ukraine should be provided with American Tomahawk missiles, the military alliance chief said it is up to individual nations to decide what they want to supply to the country. “NATO doesn’t take a position,” he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky failed to obtain Tomahawk missiles for strikes on Russia after a meeting with Trump last week, with the US president later calling for both sides to cease fighting and accept current battle lines.
Analysis: Trump throws Kremlin a curveball with Russian oil sanctions
It’s the middle of the night here in Moscow, so there has been no official reaction from the Kremlin so far in response to the Trump administration’s decision to impose sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies.
But when morning comes, one thing is clear: Russian officials are not going to be happy about what has taken place.
Some in Russia had started to believe that US President Donald Trump was never going to use the leverage at his disposal to force his Russian counterpart into compliance, particularly after he refused to give Ukraine American Tomahawk cruise missiles last week.
That all seems to have changed in just a matter of hours.
The move also comes after US officials poured cold water on the proposed Trump-Putin summit, with Trump saying earlier today that he had canceled the meeting himself.
For their part, the Russian side had said negotiations were still underway, but with the US ratcheting up economic pressure on the country overnight, little remains certain.
Trump is the “only one” who could set up dialogue with Putin, NATO chief says
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said US President Donald Trump was the only person who “could open up” a channel of communication with Russian leader Vladimir Putin amid the war in Ukraine.
“In February, he started to have a dialogue with President Putin. And I think he was the only one who really could open up that channel of communication,” Rutte said following a meeting with Trump at the White House today.
The Trump administration imposed sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies as it called on Moscow to agree to an immediate ceasefire.
Asked if the Trump administration’s sanctions will be enough, Rutte told CNN’s Jake Tapper: “You can change Putin’s calculus. You can change his way, how he wants to end the war. And I think what we discussed today and the president and I are in complete agreement on this, sustained pressure is needed.”
The military alliance chief added that the relationship between the United States and NATO “has never been better thanks to President Trump,” adding that European countries are stepping up under the leadership of the Trump administration.
Trump just spoke on an array of topics in the Oval Office. Here is some of what he said
We learned more about an array of topics today from the president, including plans for his snazzy new ballroom, his decision to impose sanctions on Russia, his growing antipathy toward Colombia, and more.
Here’s what President Donald Trump talked about alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte:
On Russia: Trump said he’s canceled an anticipated meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, telling reporters that “it just didn’t feel right to me.” Trump also said he “felt it was time” to impose further sanctions on Russia, following an announcement today from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on new penalties for Russia’s two largest oil companies. But Trump did say he’ll talk about how to end the war in Ukraine during his upcoming high-stakes meeting with China’s leader Xi Jinping.
On Ukraine: The commander-in-chief pointed to the complexity and “tremendous learning curve” of Tomahawk missiles as one of the reasons as to why he has not agreed to give the weapons to Ukraine. And according to Trump, the the US does not control what Ukraine does with missiles it receives from other countries, including attacking inside Russia.
On Colombia: Making good on a threat from this weekend, the president announced that the US halted all payments and subsidies to Colombia. Trump on Sunday accused Colombian President Gustavo Petro of not doing anything to deter the productions of drugs in his country, “despite large scale payments and subsidies from the USA.”
On international strikes: The US military conducted a strike this week against a boat in the Eastern Pacific, marking the 8th known strike on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel. Trump said he believes he has the legal authority to launch strikes in international waters to target illegal drug cartels, but indicated he may seek Congressional approval for any operations on land.
On his new ballroom: Trump pushed back against those who say he was not transparent about the East Wing demolition for his new 90,000-square-foot ballroom. He defended his plans to build the space — which he said will cost “about $300 million” — and showed printed renderings of the new ballroom.
CNN’s Donald Judd, Kit Maher, Betsy Klein, Elise Hammond, Adam Cancryn and Natasha Bertrand contributed reporting.
Merkley said he almost fainted at one point during marathon speech
Shortly after his marathon floor speech came to an end, Sen. Jeff Merkley told CNN that he almost fainted at one point during his speech and noted that he had been dehydrating himself since Monday morning.
“It is about dehydration. My last sip of anything — well, I might have had a micro-sip – was breakfast on Monday morning on the plane. That was my last food too. And I wasn’t really sure that was going to work out, and I said, ‘I hope I’m not fasting for no reason.’ I love to eat,” said Merkley, later adding that he had a slice of pizza just off the floor.
He said “there was one moment” where he thought he might faint, and noted that he had injured his back while running a few weeks ago. “My back hurt the whole damn time,” said Merkley.
Asked about gallery staff and Capitol Police, who are working without pay during the shutdown, being forced to work through the night during his speech, Merkley said it was “outrageous” that there are no negotiations happening to end the shutdown, and noted, “having this speech tonight or not having this tonight isn’t going to speed up paychecks.”
However, he added that after he finished speaking, “I went around and thanked everybody who had been on the floor, including the pages, including the floor staff, including everybody, because I do realize it was such an imposition.” He said that he also thanked the Republicans in the chair for presiding over his speech.
These airports could see delays tonight because of staffing shortages
More airport delays are possible tonight as the Federal Aviation Administration reports short staffing at some major air traffic control facilities.
Detroit and Houston’s Terminal Radar Approach Controls, commonly called TRACONs, handle planes approaching and departing the airports in the region.
Additionally, the center near Washington DC, which handles high altitude flights, is short staffed until 10 p.m. ET. Some planes are being rerouted to avoid short-staffed areas.
Here’s what that could mean:
- Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental and Hobby airports could see delays tonight, the FAA noted in the 4 p.m. ET operations plan.
- Those delays could be up to 30 to 45 minutes for some flights headed to Houston’s Hobby Airport, an FAA advisory noted.
- Detroit is not likely to see major passenger impacts.
Chicago O’Hare and the two Houston airports had delays last night.
Not all staffing problems result in delays as controllers can take other actions, like routing planes to airspace with more people working, but sometimes there is no choice but to slow aircraft down so they can be safely handled by the employees who showed up.
There have been at least 196 air traffic controller staffing shortages since the start of the government shutdown, according to FAA records. That is more than four times the number on the same dates last year.
This post has been updated with the latest information about shortages.
Senate Democrats block GOP bill to reopen government for 12th time
Senate Democrats again blocked Republicans’ stopgap funding bill from advancing in a 54 to 46 vote.
Republicans need 60 votes to advance the bill that would fund the government through late November.
Three senators in the Democratic caucus voted with most Republicans. They were:
• Catherine Cortez Masto;
• John Fetterman;
• Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats.
GOP Sen. Rand Paul voted against advancing the measure. Senate GOP leader John Thune switched his vote to “no” at end – a procedural move that will allow him to bring it back up again in the future.
Trump says he expects to talk Ukraine-Russia war at upcoming Xi meeting
President Donald Trump laid out his expectations for an upcoming, high-stakes meeting with China’s leader Xi Jinping, suggesting he is heading into the meeting in dealmaking mode and hoping to use his counterpart’s influence to help resolve conflicts elsewhere.
“I think we’ll make a deal. I think we’re going to make a deal on the rare earth is the least of it. … I think we’re going to make a deal on soybeans and the farmers. I think we’re going to make a deal on maybe even nuclear,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Wednesday.
The leaders are expected to meet on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in South Korea next week.
Trump said he also expected to discuss Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“What I’ll really be talking to him about is, how do we end the war with Russia and Ukraine, whether it’s through oil or energy or anything else. And I think he’s going to be very receptive,” Trump said.
Trump responded affirmatively when asked if he believes Xi can influence Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I think he can have a big influence on Putin. I think he can have a big influence on a lot of people. Look, he’s a respected man. He’s a very strong leader of a very big country. Yeah. I think he can have a big influence, and we will certainly be talking about Russia, Ukraine,” he said.
Trump touts tariff benefits for US ranchers amid criticism of beef import plan
President Donald Trump on Wednesday argued that his administration’s tariff policies have greatly benefited US cattle ranchers, in an attempt to counter criticism over his plans to import more beef from Argentina.
“I helped them a lot,” Trump said from the Oval Office. “I put tariffs on things coming in to the country, including beef, and that gave them a chance to finally have a decent industry.”
The president added that he’s now trying to balance aiding the industry with bringing down consumer beef prices — a proposed effort centered on buying more from abroad that has been widely panned by ranchers and lawmakers representing rural states.
“They’ve been able to have an industry, but I also want to keep the beef prices low,” Trump said. “We’re going to do something very quickly and easily on beef to get it down.”
Trump is planning to speak with ranchers about the initiative, he said, though he didn’t specify which groups within the beef industry he planned to hear from.
Ukraine is not using US missiles to attack deep into Russia, Trump says
The United States does not control what Ukraine does with missiles it gets from other countries, President Donald Trump said, including attacking inside Russia.
Trump was asked about reporting in the Wall Street Journal today that the US lifted a restriction on Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles.
The US president denied that report, and said he has not given Ukraine permission to shoot missiles deep into Russia.
“What they do, I don’t control that, but I do control our missiles. They’re not shooting our missiles,” he added.
Ukrainian officials said yesterday that Ukraine had targeted Russia’s Bryansk Chemical Plant — which produces gunpowder and other explosive materials — with long-range Storm Shadow missiles, which use US intelligence.
Trump announces halt in US payments to Colombia
US President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that the US have halted all payments and subsidies to Colombia, making good on a weekend threat during a back-and-forth with the country’s president, Gustavo Petro.
Trump said on social media over the weekend that Petro “does nothing to stop” the production of drugs in his country, “despite large scale payments and subsidies from the USA that are nothing more than a long term rip off of America,” adding that those payments would end.
The two leaders have clashed on the issues of migration and drug trafficking, especially as the US conducts strikes on vessels allegedly carrying illegal drugs in the Caribbean. But Trump’s latest move escalated the friction with new financial stakes. The Andean country had previously been Washington’s most reliable ally in South America on national security and defense.
Referring to Colombia’s failure to fight drug trafficking, Trump warned Petro Wednesday that he “better watch it or we’ll take very serious action against him and his country.”
Colombia is the world’s leading producer of cocaine, accounting for almost two-thirds of total cocaine production, according to the United Nations Office for Drug and Crime.
Petro responded to Trump’s Sunday threat with criticism of Trump, but did not directly weigh in on the funding halt.
“You are rude and ignorant toward Colombia. Read, as your chargé d’affaires in Colombia did, ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude,’ and I assure you, you will learn something about solitude,” Petro said in a post to social media.
Trump defends strikes on international waters: "We have legal authority"
President Donald Trump said he believes he has the legal authority to launch strikes in international waters to target illegal drug cartels, but indicated he may seek Congressional approval for any operations on land.
“We do – we have legal authority,” Trump said when questioned about the strikes Wednesday in the Oval Office.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had announced earlier Wednesday that the US military conducted a strike the day before against a boat in the Eastern Pacific, marking the 8th known strike on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel.
South American leaders have questioned the legality of Trump’s strikes, and Colombian President Gustavo Petro recently accused the US of murdering an innocent Colombian national.
Trump defended the strikes, saying, “Every one of those boats that gets knocked out is saving 25,000 American lives.”
Last week, Trump acknowledged that he’d authorized the CIA to conduct covert action in Venezuela and said the United States was considering strikes on Venezuelan territory. But on Wednesday, he suggested some openness to informing Congress about future operations on land.
“We’re allowed to do that, and if we do by land, we may go back to Congress, but we have, this is a national security problem. They killed 300,000 people last year. Drugs, these drugs coming in, they killed 300,000 Americans last year, and that gives you legal authority,” he said.
Trump added, “We’ll probably go back to Congress and explain exactly what we’re doing when we come to the land. We don’t have to do that, but I think Marco, I’d like to do that,” referring to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Trump says he was transparent about East Wing demolition: "I've shown this to everybody that would listen"
President Donald Trump is pushing back against those who say he was not transparent about the demolition of the White House’s East Wing for his new ballroom.
“I haven’t been transparent? Really?” Trump said. “I’ve shown this to everybody that would listen.”
“These pictures have been in newspapers. They’ve been all over the place. And, you know, we’re very proud of it. It’s gotten great reviews,” Trump continued.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation urged the administration to pause demolition, which began on Monday, citing concerns that the new ballroom will “overwhelm the White House itself — it is 55,000 square feet — and may also permanently disrupt the carefully balanced classical design of the White House.”
Trump defended his plans, which he reiterated is paid for personally and through donors. Trump said it would cost “about $300 million,” which is higher than originally projected $200 million price tag. He also defended the East Wing demolition, noting how “certain areas are being left.”
However, Trump did acknowledge the big changes he’s making on the White House grounds.
“Over the years, many presidents have made changes. This obviously would be the biggest change, but this was something they’ve wanted for at least 150 years,” Trump said, without specifying who “they” is.
Trump brought out printed renderings of the new ballroom inside the Oval Office, which show how the construction would take place where the East Wing once stood.
As CNN’s Kevin Liptak reported in July, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the new “state ballroom” would occupy space currently housing the East Wing of the executive mansion.
Tomahawks have too long of a learning curve to give them to Ukraine, Trump says
President Donald Trump pointed to the complexity and “tremendous learning curve” of Tomahawk missiles as one of the reasons why he has not agreed to give the weapons to Ukraine.
“The problem with the Tomahawk that a lot of people don’t know, it’ll take a minimum of six months, usually a year, to learn how to use them. They’re highly complex,” Trump said alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office today.
He added that the “only way a Tomahawk is going to be shot is if we shot it, and we’re not going to do that.”
It comes after the US president met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last week. Ukraine’s leader was pushing for the US to give his country the weapons to use to strike deep into Russia.
Later, Trump was asked about his decision to sanction two of Russia’s largest oil companies and called it a “very big day in terms of what we’re doing.”
“Those are against their two big oil companies and we hope that they won’t be on for long. We hope that the war will be settled. We just answered having to do with the various forms of missiles and everything else that we’re looking at,” Trump said.
