Darkoshi

Posted by Matt Kiser

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2025/10/23/day-1738/

Today in one sentence: The Senate rejected two bills to pay federal workers during the shutdown, which is now in its 23rd day; at least 25 states warned that food aid benefits will stop in November if the federal government shutdown continues; Trump called off a planned “surge” of federal immigration agents in San Francisco after a late-night calls with Mayor Daniel Lurie and tech executives; Virginia Democrats plan to call a special legislative session to redraw the state’s congressional map in an effort to add up to three Democratic seats; House Democrats opened an investigation into Trump’s demand that the Justice Department pay him $230 million for past criminal investigations; the U.S. national debt surpassed $38 trillion, the fastest $1 trillion increase in history outside the pandemic; Trump pardoned the Binance founder who promoted the Trump family’s meme coin and crypto venture; and Russia denounced Trump’s sanctions on its top oil companies, calling them “an unfriendly act” and warning that they would damage U.S.-Russia relations.

1/ The Senate rejected two bills to pay federal workers during the shutdown, which is now in its 23rd day. Workers are set to miss their first full paycheck this week. Democrats insist on negotiating Affordable Care Act subsidy extensions before reopening, while Republicans have maintained that talks could only start after funding passes. Trump, meanwhile, 57 cumulative shutdown days across his two terms set a new record surpassing Jimmy Carter’s 56 days. (Washington Post / Politico / Associated Press / Axios)

2/ At least 25 states warned that food aid benefits will stop in November if the federal government shutdown continues. The Agriculture Department ordered states to suspend Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payments “until further notice,” affecting over 42 million recipients. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said that without a deal to reopen the government, benefits will “go away” by Nov. 1. (Politico / Reuters / CBS News)

3/ Trump called off a planned “surge” of federal immigration agents in San Francisco after a late-night calls with Mayor Daniel Lurie and tech executives. Trump said that “friends of mine who live in the area called last night to ask me not to go forward” and said Lurie “asked, very nicely, that I give him a chance to see if he can turn it around.” Lurie confirmed that Trump “told me clearly that he was calling off any plans for a federal deployment in San Francisco.” The reversal came hours after agents began stagging at a Coast Guard base in Alameda, where police used flash-bang grenades on protesters blocking the entrance. Gov. Gavin Newsom said Trump had “finally, for once, listened to reason.” (CalMatters / San Francisco Standard / Politico / Axios / The Guardian / Associated Press / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / NBC News)

4/ Virginia Democrats plan to call a special legislative session to redraw the state’s congressional map in an effort to add up to three Democratic seats. The move would make Virginia the second state, after California, where Democrats are attempting to counter Trump’s redistricting effort before the 2026 midterm elections. “We are coming back to address actions by the Trump administration,” Virginia Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell said. The proposed changes would take the form of a constitutional amendment, requiring approval in consecutive legislative sessions and a voter referendum. Republicans called the plan “a desperate move.” (NBC News / New York Times / Washington Post)

5/ House Democrats opened an investigation into Trump’s demand that the Justice Department pay him $230 million for past criminal investigations, including the Russia probe and the FBI’s Mar-a-Lago search. Judiciary ranking member Jamie Raskin and Oversight ranking member Robert Garcia requested all related Justice Department records, correspondence, and internal analyses by Oct. 30. The lawmakers wrote that Trump’s plan to direct Treasury funds to himself was “an outrageous and shocking attempt to shake down the American people,” and cited the Constitution’s ban on presidential payments beyond salary. (CBS News / Axios)

6/ The U.S. national debt surpassed $38 trillion, the fastest $1 trillion increase in history outside the pandemic. Interest payments are now the fastest-growing part of the federal budget, projected to hit $14 trillion in the next decade. While the Trump administration claims it cut the deficit by $350 billion this year, economists say shutdown costs and rising interest rates are worsening the country’s finances. (Associated Press / Fortune / CBS News)

7/ Trump pardoned the Binance founder who promoted the Trump family’s meme coin and crypto venture, World Liberty Financial. Earlier this year, Changpeng Zhao and Binance promoted the Trumps’ USD1 token and facilitated a $2 billion investment in the coin. Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023 to money-laundering and served four months in prison, while Binance paid a $4.3 billion penalty. The White House, nevertheless, said Trump “exercised his constitutional authority” and declared, “The Biden Administration’s war on crypto is over.” (Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / New York Times / New Republic)

• Meteora executives were accused of running a “pump-and-dump” scheme tied to Melania Trump’s $MELANIA coin, which spiked to $13.73 before crashing to 10 cents. Investors said the defendants used her name as “window dressing” while secretly buying and reselling the coin for profit. Melania Trump wasn’t named in the lawsuit. (The Guardian)

8/ Russia denounced Trump’s sanctions on its top oil companies, calling them “an unfriendly act” and warning that they would damage U.S.-Russia relations. Putin said the penalties on Rosneft and Lukoil were “serious,” but claimed they wouldn’t “significantly impact our economic well-being.” Russia’s former president, Dmitry Medvedev, called the move “an act of war,” while Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow had built “strong immunity” to Western pressure. The Trump administration imposed the sanctions after canceling a planned summit with Putin and demanding an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine. (NBC News / New York Times / Washington Post / CNN / Wall Street Journal / CNBC)

⏭️ Notably Next: Your government has been shut down for 23 days; the 2026 midterms are in 376 days.

• Today last year: Day 1373: "What do the American people want?"
• Two years ago today: Day 1007: "Embarrassing for the Republican Party."
• Five years ago today: Day 1373: "A dark winter."
• Six years ago today: Day 1007: "This whole thing is about corruption."
• Seven years ago today: Day 642: Cover-up.
• Eight years ago today: Day 277: Outdated, unnecessary, ineffective.

Support today’s essential newsletter and resist the daily shock and awe: Become a member

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https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2025/10/23/day-1738/

Posted by Matt Kiser

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2025/10/22/day-1737/

Today in one sentence: Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes sued the House in federal court to force Speaker Mike Johnson to swear in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva; Trump told Republicans to “hold the line” on the government shutdown, saying “We will not be extorted” and that he would meet Democratic leaders “only” after they vote to reopen the government; 59% of Americans say they are “extremely” or “very” concerned about rising health care costs in the next year; Sen. Jeff Merkley spoke for more than 18 hours on the Senate floor, accusing Trump of “shredding our Constitution” and acting as an authoritarian; North Carolina’s Republican Legislature approved a new U.S. House map designed to add one Republican seat; the U.S. military carried out its eighth strike on a suspected drug-smuggling vessel; Trump will host Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House in November; the White House began demolishing the entire East Wing for Trump’s planned ballroom before submitting construction plans to the National Capital Planning Commission; and 62% of Americans say the country is headed in the wrong direction.

1/ Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes sued the House in federal court to force Speaker Mike Johnson to swear in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, who won a Sept. 23 special election. The filing claims Johnson lacks authority to delay and asked a judge to let “any person authorized by law” administer the oath if he refuses. Johnson called the suit “patently absurd,” said “We run the House,” and argued he was following a “Pelosi precedent” to wait until regular session or the shutdown ends. Democrats said Johnson has delayed swearing-in Grijalva to block the 218th signature needed for a discharge petition to release Jeffrey Epstein files. (NBC News / Washington Post / CNN / CBS News)

2/ Trump told Republicans to “hold the line” on the government shutdown, saying “We will not be extorted” and that he would meet Democratic leaders “only” after they vote to reopen the government. Democrats have tied reopening the government to extending enhanced Affordable Care Act premium subsidies, while Republicans insist that talks can only happen after voting to fund the government. The nonpartisan health policy group KFF estimates that premiums will rise 18% on average, with the typical marketplace consumer paying $1,904 next year, up from $888. Meanwhile, 13 vulnerable House Republicans urged Speaker Mike Johnson to address the credits “immediately” after reopening. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said public pressure would make it “readily apparent” why Congress must extend the credits now. (NPR / The Hill / Washington Post / Bloomberg)

• poll/ 59% of Americans say they are “extremely” or “very” concerned about rising health care costs in the next year. About 4 in 10 are worried they won’t be able to afford needed care, access services, or keep their insurance. 80% say health care is “extremely” or “very” important to them personally, placing it alongside the economy as a top national concern. (Associated Press)

3/ ✨ Well, that’s fantastic: Sen. Jeff Merkley spoke for more than 18 hours on the Senate floor, accusing Trump of “shredding our Constitution” and acting as an authoritarian. The Oregon Democrat said “tyranny has already arrived” as he protested Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Portland and Chicago and the indictments of Trump’s political opponents. The speech came on day 22 of the government shutdown. Republicans dismissed the marathon speech as political theater. (The Guardian / CNN / Associated Press / Reuters / NBC News)

4/ North Carolina’s Republican Legislature approved a new U.S. House map designed to add one Republican seat, with the House voting 66-48 a day after the Senate passed it. Democratic Gov. Josh Stein can’t veto redistricting, and the map will take effect for the 2026 elections. Trump, meanwhile, praised the “improved” map and said it would “give the fantastic people of North Carolina the opportunity to elect an additional MAGA Republican.” (Associated Press / NPR / Politico / NBC News)

5/ The U.S. military carried out its eighth strike on a suspected drug-smuggling vessel, hitting a boat off Colombia in the Pacific Ocean for the first time. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed two people were killed and claimed the vessel was operated by a “designated terrorist organization” carrying narcotics. He offered no evidence beyond a video showing the vessel engulfed in flames. The attack, ordered by Trump, expands a campaign that has killed at least 34 people since Sept. 2. (New York Times / Reuters / CBS News)

6/ Trump will host Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House in November. It will be the crown prince’s first U.S. visit since the 2018 killing of Jamal Khashoggi, which the CIA concluded he likely ordered. Officials said the trip could produce a defense cooperation deal enacted by executive order, along with agreements on trade, artificial intelligence, nuclear energy, and security. (Associated Press / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / Semafor)

7/ The White House began demolishing the entire East Wing for Trump’s planned ballroom before submitting construction plans to the National Capital Planning Commission. A senior administration official said the tear-down should be finished this weekend and that full demolition was “cheaper and more structurally sound” than building an addition. The National Trust for Historic Preservation, meanwhile, warned that the 90,000-square-foot project “will overwhelm the White House itself” and must undergo “legally required” public review. The White House dismissed objections as “manufactured outrage” and said it would submit construction plans “soon.” (The Guardian / New York Times / CBS News / Reuters / Washington Post)

poll/ 62% of Americans say the country is headed in the wrong direction, including 92% of Democrats, 71% of independents, and 24% of Republicans. 65% say the economy and the federal government’s functioning are going in the wrong direction, and 60% say the same about U.S. foreign policy. 56% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s job performance, including two-thirds of independents. (PPRI)

⏭️ Notably Next: Your government has been shut down for 22 days; the 2026 midterms are in 377 days.

• Today last year: Day 1372: "There’s no point."
• Four years ago today: Day 276: "The principal obstacles to progress."
• Five years ago today: Day 1372: "Out of whack."
• Six years ago today: Day 1006: Direct line.
• Seven years ago today: Day 641: A great mind.

Support today’s essential newsletter and resist the daily shock and awe: Become a member

Subscribe: Get the Daily Update in your inbox for free

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2025/10/22/day-1737/