What we covered here
• All eyes on the House: The House Rules Committee has voted on party lines to advance the Senate-passed package to reopen the government. GOP leaders are hopeful the legislation could pass on Wednesday, before it is sent to President Donald Trump to be signed.
• Democratic support in Senate: The Senate approved the legislation after a small band of Senate Democrats voted with the GOP.
• Warning on flights: The record-long shutdown is still impacting US air travel. FAA-mandated cuts to US flights rose to 6% on Tuesday, and US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned the percentage would increase substantially if the shutdown doesn’t end soon.
Our live coverage has ended. Get the latest here.
House Rules Committee advances Senate-passed package to reopen the government
The House Rules Committee voted on party lines early Wednesday morning to advance the Senate-passed package to reopen the government, 8-4.
The panel did not adopt any amendments offered in committee during the seven-hour meeting, including amendments extending the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies and eliminating a provision requiring DOJ to notify Congress if senators are being investigated
Next, the full House will have to take a procedural vote on the rule, as soon as Wednesday evening, before moving to vote on final passage of the legislation.
Despite some GOP concern, House Rules panel votes to keep provision requiring DOJ to notify Congress if senators are being investigated
Despite several House Republicans expressing concern, the House Rules Committee voted to keep a provision in the Senate-passed package to reopen the government that allows senators to sue if DOJ or the FBI subpoena their information or investigate them without notifying the Senate.
The vote was party line, 4-8. The Republicans that had expressed concern over the measure argued that if it were stripped from the package, that would potentially extend the shutdown, as the legislation would then have to be sent back to the Senate.
“The suffering needs to end, and we can end it,” said GOP Rep. Morgan Griffith.
House Rules Committee rejects an amendment to extend enhanced health care subsidies for three years
The House Rules Committee voted to reject an amendment that would extend enhanced health care subsidies for three years.
The panel is meeting to consider the Senate-passed bill to reopen the government, which is expected to get a House vote tomorrow.
The extension of the expiring credits have been a key demand from congressional Democrats throughout the shutdown, though enough Senate Democrats eventually agreed to accept the promise of a vote in the Senate to support the compromise bill that did not include an extension.
The vote was party line, 4 to 8.
Democrats criticize House Rules Committee Republicans for stepping away during testimony
As the lengthy and tense House Rules Committee meeting drags on, Democrats testifying and Democrats on the committee are criticizing GOP members of the panel for stepping away from the dais.
It is common in meetings and hearings for lawmakers to step away to conduct other business. But Democrats on the panel have pointed out that they are staying in their seats while their Republican colleagues are not. At one point, ranking member Jim McGovern moved for a motion to adjourn, forcing Republicans to return to the room to vote to continue the meeting.
Democratic Rep. Melanie Stansbury became emotional while presenting her amendment to the panel, telling the committee that listening to the debate has made her feel “sad,” and called Republicans’ absence from the committee room — and from the Capitol amid the shutdown — “heartbreaking.”
“I just I, I literally find it disgusting. I mean, it is a privilege to serve in Congress. It is a privilege. I grew up in a low income family. I grew up in a humble family, like the people that I represent, and I don’t take for granted that I have the opportunity to come here every week and represent my people and show up for my people. So I want to know from our colleagues, who I can literally hear laughing in the other room, where were you?” she asked.
Jeffries refuses to say if he’s okay with House Democrat calls to dump Schumer
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries sidestepped a question about some Democrats calling on Chuck Schumer to be replaced as Senate Minority Leader.
Asked by CNN’s Manu Raju whether he was okay with those calls, Jeffries responded, “As I’ve indicated, we’re focused right now on pressing the case in addressing the Republican healthcare crisis … We’ll have a family conversation as House Democrats. We’re strongly opposed as House Democrats to this reckless Republican effort to continue to raise the high cost of living on everyday Americans, which is exactly what they’re doing by failing to extend the Affordable Care Act [subsidies].”
Jeffries had indicated to reporters the day before that he believed Schumer was effective and should remain in his role. He credited Schumer and Senate Democrats for waging a “valiant fight” on health care during the government shutdown.
Three House Republicans express concern over DOJ investigation provision
GOP Reps. Austin Scott, Chip Roy and Morgan Griffith said during the House Rules Committee meeting that they are concerned with a provision in the Senate-passed package allowing senators to sue if the DOJ or FBI subpoena their information or investigate them without notifying the Senate.
However, they noted that they are still leaning towards backing the package as a whole and seeking to address that measure at a later time.
“I had a hard night, and I’ve been struggling with what the right vote is because of what the Senate did,” he added.
This language comes after Senate Republicans released FBI records related to an investigation called Arctic Frost, which pertained to the fake elector scheme from 2020.
“Now, this language did not go through any committee markup. This language was not shared with the House of Representatives prior to it being put in the bill. And I personally agree that it should be removed,” said Scott, though he acknowledged that would keep the government closed until the Senate could come back and pass another version without that section.
He also called for the House to pass standalone language removing it, insisting the provision “would never pass” if it was a standalone bill.
Griffith also said he is “very concerned,” but added, “I’ve already made the decision that I will vote for this bill and not vote for any amendments, because the shutdown needs to end. Been going on too long, too many of my people are hurting, and we got to get it — got to get it done.”
Over 1,200 flights canceled today as airlines comply with FAA's 6% operations reduction
As the 42nd day of government shutdown comes to an end, hundreds of flights within, into, or out of the United States Tuesday have been canceled and thousands have been delayed, according to the flight tracking site FlightAware.
So far, more than 1,200 flights have been canceled, tracking data shows as of 8 p.m. ET. More than 3,000 flights have been delayed, according to the site.
The country’s top airlines preemptively canceled hundreds of flights Tuesday in response to the FAA’s emergency order that flight operations must be cut by 6 percent at 40 major airports.
Here’s a breakdown of cancellations by major carrier:
- Southwest Airlines: Southwest canceled roughly 145 flights set for Wednesday, according to a Monday update. About 150 flights were canceled Tuesday, the airline has said.
- Delta Air Lines: The Atlanta-based airline expects to run the majority of its schedule Wednesday, a Delta spokesperson told CNN Tuesday, adding that all “planned FAA-directed cancellations” are complete through Thursday. Nearly 100 Delta flights were canceled Tuesday, according to FlightAware.
- United Airlines: For Wednesday, 271 flights have been called off by the airline, according to a United spokesperson. Meanwhile, Tuesday saw 269 United cancellations, the airline said.
- American Airlines: The airline canceled about 200 flights set for Tuesday, and another 200 are set for Wednesday, American said in an earlier update.
Until a deal to end the federal government shutdown is officially inked, airlines must continue to follow the FAA’s emergency order to incrementally reduce flight capacity this week.
By Thursday, 8% of flights will be cut, the order said. On Friday, up to 10% of flights are expected to be cut.
The order calls for airlines to cancel flights seven days before they are scheduled to fly, and once they are canceled and passengers are informed, they can’t easily be reinstated.
Top GOP appropriator says he was "surprised" by provision requiring DOJ to notify Congress if senators are being investigated
House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole said he was “surprised” to see a provision in the Senate-passed package to reopen the government that allows senators to sue if they are not notified about their data being used in an investigation or that they are the target of an investigation, and dodged when pressed on whether he supports the provision.
“Do I support the bill? Yes. Do I support every single provision in the bill? No,” said Cole. “I was surprised to see it in the bill. I was unaware of it.”
He added, “Do I think it needs to be in a funding bill? Not particularly. But do I think getting the government open is important? Yes, I do.”
House Democrats on the Rules Committee are planning to force a committee vote on an amendment striking this provision from the bill. The vote is expected to fail.
CNN has reported that the Senate deal to end the government shutdown includes a requirement that would necessitate that the Justice Department and FBI notify the Senate when a lawmaker is under investigation and if their personal information is being subpoenaed.
It also says that any senator who is not notified about their data being used in an investigation or that they are the target of an investigation may file a lawsuit saying that investigators did not comply with federal law.
Flight carrying members of Congress makes emergency stop due to disruptive passenger, lawmaker says
As House lawmakers rush back to Washington, DC, ahead of a vote on a measure to reopen the government, a flight carrying at least four House members made an emergency stop to remove a “disruptive passenger,” Arizona Rep. Greg Stanton shared on X.
“We’re making emergency stop in Kansas City to remove disruptive passenger,” Stanton, a Democrat, said in the post. He added that he will be voting against the measure as it “fails to lower health care costs.”
Reps. Eli Crane, Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar were also on the flight, according to Stanton.
The congressman, in a follow-up post, thanked law enforcement for “handling the situation professionally and without incident.”
Top appropriators spar in tense House Rules meeting
House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole and ranking member Rosa DeLauro were the first witnesses to speak at the tense House Rules Committee meeting on the package to reopen the government, which has so far been marked by raised voices and frustration as Democrats and Republicans spoke over each other.
Cole argued that enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies were passed on a partisan basis by Democrats, saying that they own those measures, and pointed out that his constituents in Oklahoma were more worried about getting furloughed and missing paychecks during the shutdown. However, DeLauro interrupted GOP Rep. Chip Roy to interject that Republicans have been trying to get rid of the Affordable Care Act for 15 years with no alternative in place.
DeLauro consistently interjected to tell Republicans on the committee that the continuing resolution was partisan, and “not clean,” citing the fact that it doesn’t include the previously appropriated funds rescinded by the Trump administration. She scoffed at GOP insistence that they have been working during the weeks-long recess.
“It is not the same bill, no, and they have allowed for the president and for Russell Vought, an unelected bureaucrat, to really steal appropriated funds, and that the CR does nothing about that. It gives them carte blanche to continue to do the same thing, which anybody who serves on your Appropriations Committee, quite frankly, needs to understand what role we have.” said DeLauro. “That is our role. The president wants to take away — take it away from us.”
Jeffries predicts House Democrats “will be strongly opposed” to bill to reopen federal government
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Democrats vowed Tuesday night to continue fighting rising health care costs and said they would seek to amend the bill reopening the federal government to also address expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies.
Democrats will introduce an amendment to extend the subsidies for three years during a Rules committee meeting Tuesday night, but it won’t be adopted. Still, it reflects Democrats’ efforts to pressure Republicans on the health care costs issue.
“House Republicans, welcome back from your taxpayer-funded seven-week vacation,” Jeffries said at a press conference at the Capitol. “You now have an opportunity to actually take some action in an area of this health care crisis by working with Democrats before the Rules committee this evening.”
Jeffries said it was his “strong expectation” that House Democrats “will be strongly opposed” to the Senate-passed bill to reopen the federal government when it comes up for a vote in the House on Wednesday, and pointed to the legislation’s failure to address health care.
Top Democrat on House Rules panel asks Republicans, "Where the hell have you been?"
Rep. Jim McGovern, the top Democrat on the powerful House Rules Committee, ripped into House Republicans for leaving town during the government shutdown.
Meanwhile, House Rules Chairwoman Virginia Foxx said that Democrats walked away “empty handed” at the end of the shutdown, noting that they did not get enhanced health care subsidies extended, despite their demands.
See McGovern’s remarks below
Rep. Jim McGovern, the top Democrat on the powerful House Rules Committee, ripped into House Republicans for leaving town during the government shutdown.
Don’t use air traffic controllers as “political pawns,” NATCA president urges
Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) said air traffic controllers take pride in their work and “the responsibility that they shoulder day in and day out,” even during the longest government shutdown in history.
Daniels said that the impact of the shutdown – now in its 42nd day – will take some time to recover from.
“You don’t flip the light switch back on and we reverse 42 days of all the damage that this shutdown has caused,” Daniels told CNN’s Jake Tapper Tuesday. “You want to know the way to not have this happen again is – don’t shut down the government and use air traffic controllers is a political pawn.”
Daniels said that during the 2019 shutdown, it took air traffic controllers over two months to recover financially.
A congressman is riding his motorcycle from Wisconsin to Washington, DC
Wisconsin Rep. Derrick Van Orden is riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle back to Washington, DC, because he said that flights are unreliable during the government shutdown.
The Republican congressman posted a video yesterday on X, saying the journey would take him about 16 hours:
The House is expected to vote tomorrow on a Senate-passed bill to reopen the government and lawmakers from districts across the country are heading back to Washington, DC for the vote.
“It’s going to be a little chilly, but I will do my duty. I’m getting back to DC, we’re going to get this country back on track,” the congressman said in the video, saying it was 32 degrees Fahrenheit outside at the time.
He has posted videos and updates through his journey — he said he ate at a gas station Arby’s and paid tolls in Indiana — with his latest post indicating he has arrived in Pennsylvania.
The transportation secretary gave updates today on the “crisis within aviation.” Here's what he said
Secretary Department of Transportation Sean Duffy provided updates this afternoon on air travel, as FAA-mandated cuts continue to impact travelers across the country.
Duffy called it a “crisis within aviation” due to the record government shutdown. However, the impasse shows signs of ending soon after the Senate passed a bill to fund the government last night. It now goes to the House.
Here’s what else Duffy said:
- Flight risks: The secretary said officials haven’t seen near misses between aircraft while they try to manage air traffic, but there have been other signs of increased risks.
- Impending cuts: The percentage of flights canceled would be massive if the shutdown does not come to an end soon, he said. He also suggested that the FAA’s flight reductions may not end immediately after a deal is reached.
- On the holidays: Duffy shared optimism about the air traffic control system, but warned travelers of major disruptions if a shutdown deal is not passed this week. Asked about the Thanksgiving travel period, Duffy said regular flight schedules should resume if Congress passes the funding bill and air traffic controllers return to work.
- Paying air traffic controllers: Duffy said controllers are to get 70% of their back pay within 48 hours after the government opens. He also supported President Donald Trump’s message that controllers who have worked as scheduled the entire shutdown should get a $10,000 bonus.
- Firing controllers: Duffy said the Transportation Department is considering possibly firing some controllers who consistently called out of work during the shutdown.
CNN’s Elise Hammond, Amanda Musa, Michelle Watson and Chris Boyette contributed reporting.
The White House shutdown strategy: Don't "spike the football"
The White House’s response to the bipartisan Senate deal to reopen the government has been muted in recent days — a strategy at odds with its typical motto of eagerly declaring victory and dumping on Democrats when possible.
There’s broad acknowledgement inside the West Wing, White House officials told CNN, that nobody should say anything that could rock the boat at this point. Trump’s advisers are also deliberately being careful with their messaging, they said, as Congress appears poised to end the record-long government shutdown.
“Now is not the time to go slamming the Democrats,” a senior White House official told CNN.
Another put it this way: “We feel it would be imprudent to spike the football when the bill hasn’t reached the president’s desk yet.”
That’s in part because some administration officials predict they may need some Democratic support to push the package over the finish line in the House, given the chamber’s slim GOP majority.
The White House expects the House will pass the legislation in the coming days. The White House has not yet planned a signing ceremony to celebrate the measure’s potential passage, one of the officials said, though Trump will likely want to mark the occasion with some sort of pageantry.
Supreme Court keeps full SNAP payments on hold with short-term order
The Supreme Court today extended a short-term order that allows the Trump administration to withhold full food stamp payments in November, a move that appeared designed to put off the case a few days in the hope that Congress approves a pending agreement to reopen the federal government.
The fast-moving emergency appeal at the Supreme Court over Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits that help more than 40 million Americans — as well as several lawsuits playing out in lower courts — would almost certainly be dismissed as moot if the historic shutdown ends in coming days.
But until that happens, the “administrative stay” that Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued Friday will continue to block a lower court order that required the administration to provide full federal food benefits.
In a brief order, the court said it was extending the administrative stay through the end of the day Thursday. Jackson dissented from the extension.
ATC centers report fewer staffing issues Tuesday compared to recent days
Fewer air traffic control facilities have reported staffing problems Tuesday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
So far, only five reports have been recorded. That’s a dramatic decrease from the 40 reports seen on Monday.
Air traffic controllers who handle high altitude flights at the center near Los Angeles are short-staffed until 1 a.m. EST. The control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport also will not have all of its controllers until 9 p.m., the FAA said in a recent update.
The Terminal Radar Approach Control facility that handles flights approaching and departing Newark Liberty International Airport was short-staffed on two separate occasions Tuesday. The facility managing flights in and out of Las Vegas also saw staffing problems, according to the FAA.
There have been 641 reports of short staffing since the start of the shutdown, more than six times as many as were reported on the same dates last year.
Speaker Johnson to swear in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva tomorrow
House Speaker Mike Johnson will swear in Arizona Congresswoman-elect Adelita Grijalva on Wednesday around 4 p.m. ET, according to an advisory from the speaker’s office.
Her seating will take place seven weeks after she was elected to fill the Arizona seat left vacant by her late father, and follows repeated demands from Democrats for the speaker to swear her in. The Arizona attorney general last month filed a lawsuit seeking to compel Johnson to seat her.
Johnson has defended his decision to delay Grijalva’s swearing in by arguing that she won her race on September 23 when the House was already out of session amid the shutdown. He vowed to do so as soon as the House returned to Washington.
Grijalva has said one of her first moves in office will be to provide the pivotal signature on a petition to force a floor vote on legislation compelling the federal government to release the Jeffrey Epstein case files.
