Chuck Schumer will vote to keep government open: ‘For Donald Trump, a shutdown would be a gift’
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., says he will vote to keep the government open, warning that a shutdown has worse consequences for Americans and would only empower President Trump and Elon Musk further. “I believe it is my job to make the best choice for the country to minimize the harms to the American people. Therefore, I will vote to keep the government open and not shut it down,” Schumer said while speaking on the Senate floor on Thursday. Democrats have criticized Republicans for their hesitation to pass government funding legislation, while their own party is currently on the brink of allowing a federal shutdown. On Wednesday, Schumer said that his party would oppose the spending bill that Republicans drafted and passed through the House, as the Friday midnight deadline looms for Congress to take action to avoid a government shutdown. Schumer called for a one-month spending bill to keep the government open until April 11 so that Democrats can better negotiate a deal. The continuing resolution, which passed through the House on Tuesday on a nearly party-line vote of 217-213, would keep the government open for the next six months, for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
FEMA wants the names and addresses of migrants helped by Texas nonprofits and local governments that got federal grant money
A letter sent this week claims the grant recipients, including many Texas cities and counties, may have illegally “induced” undocumented immigrants to enter the country.
DOJ drops fight against Texas political maps as Trump administration retreats from voting rights cases
The Biden administration had challenged a Republican-led redistricting plan that diluted the political power of minorities. Other legal challenges will continue.
Orator, conscience, advocate: State lawmakers honor Sylvester Turner with bipartisan accolades in Capitol ceremony
Turner, who spent nearly three decades in the Texas House and died last week, was remembered as a passionate Democrat committed to working across the aisle.
Join us April 8 in Dallas for a full-day symposium about faith, identity and media in Texas
We’ll explore how religion shapes our state and how journalism captures its evolving role.
Trump to invoke wartime Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to fast-track deportations of illegal immigrants
President Donald Trump is reportedly expected to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 in an effort to pave the way for faster mass deportations of illegal immigrants. Trump campaigned on invoking the wartime law, which allows the president to detain or deport the natives and citizens of an enemy nation. ‘WEAPONIZED MIGRATION’: US FACES DEADLY CONSEQUENCES WITH MADURO IN POWER, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION WARNS Trump will use the law to target members of the violent Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, the New York Post reported, citing two sources close to the administration. Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House. The law has been invoked three times during major conflicts: the War of 1812 and World Wars I and II. During World War II, the law was used to detain Japanese Americans. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE The move would come weeks into Trump’s second term in office, which has seen 32,000 illegal immigrants arrested in the first 50 days. During his campaign, Trump promised to use the law to combat Tren de Aragua (TdA) members in the United States. TdA is an international gang that has committed a wave of violent acts across American cities, including taking over entire apartment complexes in Aurora, Colorado. The group was recently designated a foreign terrorist organization by the Department of State. “I’m announcing today that upon taking office, we will have an Operation Aurora at the federal level to expedite the removals of these savage gangs, and I will invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798,” he said during an October rally. “Think of that, 1798.” “Yeah, that’s a long time ago, right?” he added. “To target and dismantle every migrant criminal network operating on American soil.”
Hear the death threats Republican senator received about Trump
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., his staff and family have been the target of harassment and death threats, according to a memo released by his office on Thursday afternoon. Voicemails shared by Tillis’ team, which were filled with profanity and fueled by discontent with President Donald Trump, reveal a frightening new reality. The senator’s senior advisor, Daniel Keylin, said “the volume of threats and harassment directed at members of Congress and their staff is the new normal.” “Yeah, Thom Tillis, afraid of death threats? Then get the f— out of office,” one caller said in a voicemail. Keylin said Tillis’ office in Greenville, North Carolina, received a handwritten and unsigned letter postmarked in Greensboro last month calling his staff members “sacrificial lambs” and insisting they “signed up to be his shield.” The anonymous writer, while reiterating “in no way is this a threat,” said people are going to start “coming in filled with rage.” MEET THE FAR-LEFT GROUPS FUNDING ANTI-DOGE PROTESTS AT GOP OFFICES ACROSS THE COUNTRY The voicemails released by Tillis’ office express outrage over Trump’s policies and include violent threats to Tillis and his staff. “You are not going to destroy my country,” one woman said. Another caller told Tillis he is “not one of the good guys anymore” and said to “get the f— out of government.” SOUTH CAROLINA MAN FACES FEDERAL CHARGES FOR ALLEGEDLY THREATENING TO ASSASSINATE TRUMP “…When things get really bad, people are going to stop calling and writing. They’re going to start coming in, and they’re going to be coming in filled with rage… And you signed up to be his shield. Resign, please resign, or find a Groupon for self defense class because America’s transition to oligarchy is going to be a wild ride for us peons,” reads the anonymous letter sent to Tillis. The anonymous writer references “America’s transition to oligarchy,” a term that has been used by the left to describe the alleged rising power of the billionaire class. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has drawn thousands of supporters to his “Fighting Oligarchy” rallies across the country, with stops in Michigan and Wisconsin this past weekend. The events are billed as an opportunity to “discuss how we take on the greed of the billionaire class and create a government that works for all and not just the few.” Democrats were outraged by Trump inviting billionaires like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg to sit behind him at his inauguration inside the U.S. Capitol. Former President Joe Biden also used the term “oligarchy” in his farewell address to the nation. “Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power, and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead,” Biden told Americans on Jan. 13. Two weeks after Tillis’ office received the letter, Indivisible Guilford County, a local arm of a progressive political action group, organized a protest at Tillis’ Greensboro office. While the protest’s press release encouraged peaceful signs and “solidarity,” Keylin said the protesters attempted to break into Tillis’ office. “They angrily yanked and attempted to open the office’s locked door, yelling at Tillis’ staff to open it: ‘Come back, we see you! Open the door!’ and reminding the staff they had no way to exit their office,” Keylin said in the memo. Keylin said Tillis’ office received several media inquiries questioning if Tillis would attend the protests or town halls planned in Republican-held districts. Outlining years of targeted threats that have only escalated since Trump returned to office, Keylin said, “I imagine anyone with a modicum of sanity would understand what a silly question that is.” The memo says that “out of an abundance of caution,” law enforcement has directed the senator’s office to work from home on the days protests are planned. “We will not make any apologies for prioritizing the safety and security of our staff,” Keylin said. The memo outlines two more instances in which the North Carolina senator was subject to death threats. “Senator Tillis, his staff, and even his family have long been subject to threats, harassment, attempted intimidation, and verbal abuse from unstable individuals who don’t agree with his political view,” Keylin said. A U.S. citizen living abroad was arrested for threatening to kill Tillis and cut off the hands of his staffers in 2023, and a Minnesota man was indicted in 2022 for threatening to kill Tillis, the memo confirmed. Protests have shut down town halls and disrupted local legislative offices in the past two months, and Republicans have opted for tele-town halls instead of in-person town halls as a result. Democrats have accused Republicans of ignoring their constituents’ concerns by avoiding in-person town halls. Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., will host town halls on Friday in Republican-held congressional districts in Iowa and Nebraska “to lend a megaphone to the people.” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has reportedly started planning her own rallies in Republican-held congressional districts as well. MoveOn.org, which has accepted millions of dollars from billionaire George Soros and his Open Society Policy Center, announced in a press release last month that it was mobilizing resources as part of a “Congress Works for Us, Not Musk” initiative “aimed at pressuring lawmakers to fight back against the Trump-Musk agenda.” The group planned protests at congressional-led town halls and congressional offices.
New poll details Americans’ views on Trump and Musk
President Donald Trump, taking questions from reporters on Thursday, touted that “a lot of great things are happening.” But Americans, nearly eight weeks into Trump’s second tour of duty in the White House, seem divided on the job he’s doing steering the country. Trump’s approval rating stood in negative territory at 42%-53% among registered voters nationwide in a new Quinnipiac University national poll conducted March 6-10 and released on Thursday. That’s down from 46% approval and 43% disapproval in Quinnipiac’s survey from late January, in the days after Trump’s second inauguration. NEW POLLS FLASH WARNING SIGNS FOR TRUMP ON THIS KEY ISSUE The president was also underwater in a CNN poll (46%-53%) conducted March 6-10 and released this week. But Trump was above water in three other surveys in the field in recent days. And Trump, who has long kept a close eye on public opinion polling, took to social media on Monday to showcase his “Highest Approval Ratings Since Inauguration.” HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST POLLING FROM FOX NEWS Trump’s poll numbers are an improvement over his first term, when he started out in negative territory and remained there for his four-year term. An average of all the most recent national polls indicates that Trump’s approval ratings are slightly above water. However, Trump has seen his numbers edge down slightly since returning to the White House in late January, when an average of his polls indicated the president’s approval rating in the low 50s and his disapproval in the mid 40s. “A noticeable uptick of discontent can be seen over President Trump’s handling of a range of issues: from Ukraine to the economy to the federal workforce,” Quinnipiac polling analyst Tim Malloy highlighted in the survey’s release. The president’s approval rating was underwater in nine of the 10 issues tested in the Quinnipiac survey, with his handling of trade with China the only issue where most respondents gave him a thumbs-up. And on the top issue on the minds of Americans, the economy, Trump stood at 41%-54%. It was the third poll conducted this month, after the CNN survey and a Reuters/Ipsos poll, to spell trouble for Trump on the economy, which arguably was the most important issue that boosted him to victory in last November’s presidential election. On his handling of the federal workforce, the president stood at 40% approval and 55% disapproval in the Quinnipiac survey. GAME ON: EARLY MOVES IN THE NEXT WHITE HOUSE RACE GET UNDERWAY Trump, through his recently created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is on a mission to overhaul and downsize the federal government. Trump named Elon Musk, the world’s richest person and the chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, to steer the organization. DOGE has swept through federal agencies, rooting out what the White House argues was billions in wasteful federal spending. It has also taken a meat cleaver to the federal workforce, resulting in a massive downsizing of employees. The moves by DOGE have triggered a slew of lawsuits in response. Sixty percent of voters questioned in the poll disapprove of the way Musk and DOGE are dealing with workers employed by the federal government, with only 36% approving. And the survey’s release adds that “54% of voters think Elon Musk and DOGE are hurting the country, while 40% think they are helping the country.” The CNN poll indicated that more than 6 in 10 thought the cuts by DOGE would go too far and that important federal programs would be shut down, with 37% saying the cuts wouldn’t go far enough in eliminating fraud and waste in the government. It’s no surprise that there’s a massive partisan divide in the latest polls when it comes to Trump and DOGE. Democrats, by a 96%-2% margin in the Quinnipiac survey, gave the president a thumbs-down on the job he’s doing in office, while Republicans approved by an 89%-9% margin. Independent voters disapproved, 58%-36%. There was also a large partisan gap over how Musk and DOGE are performing, with more than three-quarters of Republicans approving and 96% of Democrats and more than two-thirds of independents disapproving. The poll also asked respondents about Vice President JD Vance’s performance in office. Vance stood at 41% approval and 49% disapproval. Quinnipiac’s survey questioned 1,198 registered voters nationwide for their latest poll. The survey’s overall sampling error was plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.
Fox News Politics Newsletter: Dems Divided
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening… -White House pulls nomination for CDC director -The Hitchhiker’s Guide to where we stand to avoid a government shutdown -Judge orders Trump admin to reinstate probationary workers fired at 6 agencies Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., was heard screaming inside Democratic senators’ private lunch on Thursday amid ongoing debate over the looming government shutdown. Democrats remained tight-lipped as they left the meeting, which lasted over an hour, but Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters: “You’ll hear from me soon.” Senate Democrats are in disagreement over how to proceed on the House-passed stopgap spending bill to avert a government shutdown, with some inclined to help advance it and others apparently willing to risk a lapse in funding…Read more ‘UNCONSTITUTIONAL’: Trump must ditch Biden-era memo pushing ‘racially discriminatory’ discipline, says parents group ‘GREEN CARD ON STEROIDS’: Trump continues to push alternative to controversial visa amid concerns about Chinese influence SHOT ACROSS THE BOW: Trump admin task force moves rapidly to punish colleges for inaction over antisemitism PAYDAY: Trump crafts plan to cut spending without Congress after shutdown is averted ‘BLOATED’ WORKFORCE: Deadline looms for federal agencies to submit mass layoff plans as Trump admin guts ‘bloated’ workforce ‘ABSURD’: White House blasts law firm that helped fuel Russia hoax after challenging Trump order HEATING UP: Pre-season moves in 2028 presidential race getting underway ‘THIS IS NO DRILL’: China’s dominance over US shipbuilding sparks bipartisan effort DEADLY DETERRENCE: Russian border states eye exit of landmine treaty to fortify defenses and deter Putin ‘I THINK IT’LL HAPPEN’: Trump remains optimistic about odds of acquiring Greenland: ‘I think it’ll happen’ SOFTENED STANCE?: Trump softens Gaza stance, says Palestinians will not be expelled from the war-torn territory TO THE SENATE: NIH nominee Jay Bhattacharya full senate vote RUNNING OUT OF TIME: Senate Democrats say they’ll oppose GOP funding bill as government shutdown deadline looms 2026 WATCH: GOP gears up to challenge Georgia’s Dem senator in state Trump won by 2% SENATE SHOWDOWN: Senate Republicans coin ‘Schumer shutdown’ ahead of critical vote on Trump spending bill ‘I’M COMING FOR YOUR SEAT’: Sister of Army soldier murdered at Texas base floats potential congressional challenge to Rep Al Green SQUAD RANT: Dems rally against Trump healthcare changes outside Capitol ANGRY OUTBURST: House Dem goes on screaming rant against Elon Musk, DOGE during hearing ‘AMAZING DIFFERENCE’: Border area bustling under Biden now quiet under Trump, says veterans group PETE’S POLITICAL PLAY: Pete Buttigieg expected to make major announcement regarding his political future TOP LAWYER OUT: FDA chief counsel who defended abortion pill under Biden resigns 2 days into job ‘LET US IN’: Homan warns NY leaders ICE will swarm the state if they don’t accommodate deportation activities UNDER SCRUTINY: Justice Department launches criminal investigation into 2 NYC migrant shelters COMMUNITY NOTES: Meta unveils new community notes program; will not apply distribution penalties nor limit flow of information LIFETIME PASS: More military families could qualify for this free perk JUDGE’S ORDERS: Federal judge orders Elon Musk, DOGE to reveal its plans to downsize government, identify all employees ‘FREE TINFOIL HAT’: Gavin Newsom responds to book claiming he secretly helped fund his own bronze bust ‘BASIC DUTY’: Dems killed VA sex offender bill before it could get a hearing, Republican says, despite recent incidents ‘NEEDS TO RESIGN’: California asks for loan amid skyrocket illegal immigrant healthcare costs COURTING CONTROVERSY: Soros-backed judge defends reduced sentence for repeat child molester at debate in state Supreme Court race Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
Dems, facing shutdown, previously criticized Republicans for ‘political games’ during gov funding fights
Senate Democrats are teasing a government shutdown this week in protest of a Republican-led funding bill, despite repeatedly stoking fears over shutdowns and criticizing GOP lawmakers for hesitating over funding legislation in the past. “Funding the government is the most basic responsibility we have in Congress,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in September. The House passed a continuing resolution (CR) this week to keep the government open until October, but Democratic Senators are holding up the legislation to advocate for a “clean” month-long stopgap bill. Schumer said on Wednesday that Republicans “do not have the votes” to pass the House version of the bill – putting the government at risk as the Friday funding deadline looms. While Democrats are on the brink of allowing the government to shut down this week, their past comments reveal they have criticized Republicans over the same issue. SENATE REPUBLICANS COIN ‘SCHUMER SHUTDOWN’ AHEAD OF CRITICAL VOTE ON TRUMP SPENDING BILL In September 2024, Schumer warned of the implications that would follow if the government were to shut down. “If the government shuts down, it will be average Americans who suffer most. A government shutdown means seniors who rely on Social Security could be thrown into chaos,” the Democratic Senator said. “So what changed, Chuck?” Trump’s Rapid Response team said on Thursday in a post on X alongside a resurfaced clip of the remarks. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., amid the September spending bill fight, claimed that “MAGA Republicans have exploited each funding deadline to play political games and force their radical Project 2025 policies on Americans while American families’ livelihoods hang in the balance.” “This is no way to govern, but the last thing Florida families need is a government shutdown as Floridians prepare for Hurricane Helene and its difficult aftermath,” Castor said. TRUMP-BACKED BILL TO AVERT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN PASSES HOUSE DESPITE MUTINY THREATS “We are mere days away from a partial government shutdown on March 1,” Schumer said in a February 2024 letter. “Unless Republicans get serious, the extreme Republican shutdown will endanger our economy, raise costs, lower safety, and exact untold pain on the American people.” In another instance, in 2023, Schumer claimed that “a shutdown would be a terrible outcome for the country despite what some on the hard right would have us ludicrously believe.” “It’s hard for me to believe that some, the extreme right in the other chamber, say they actually want a shutdown. What insanity,” the New York Democrat said. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., during a meeting with President Donald Trump in 2018, also cautioned against a government shutdown. “I think the American people recognize that we must keep the government open, that a shutdown is not worth anything,” Pelosi told Trump in the Oval Office. During the same meeting, Schumer mirrored Pelosi’s stance, telling Trump that “we shouldn’t shut down the government over a dispute.” Castor, in response to Democratic opposition to the CR this week, told Fox News Digital, “Elon Musk and Republicans in Congress are exploiting a deadline to continue their illegal shutdowns and firings of public servants who serve veterans, neighbors who rely on Social Security and more.” “Let’s be clear: Republicans control the White House, the Senate, and the House. This is their chaos, their crisis, and their responsibility,” Castor’s office said in a statement. “If they want to ram through a funding bill that inflicts pain on the American people, they’ll have to do it on their own.” Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., speaking to reporters, said that if Democrats shut down the government, it would be “a Schumer shutdown.” A spokesperson for Pelosi told Fox News Digital that, given their majority, it is the Republicans’ responsibility to fund the government. “Republicans have control of the House, Senate and White House. Democrats are ready, willing and able to support bipartisan government funding – but Republicans walked away from negotiations, so it is their responsibility to fund the government. Democrats do not have the ability to shut down the government,” a spokesperson for Pelosi told Fox. Fox News Digital reached out to Schumer for comment, but did not immediately receive a response. Fox News’ Julia Johnson and Remy Numa contributed to this report.