Shutdown Day 13: House still gone, Trump in Israel

IN THIS EDITION

Trump is in Israel for a triumphant hostage release. Plus, Day 13 of shutdown

U.S. Coast Guard will get paid too

Rubio reassures Republicans on AUKUS

Why two billionaires got involved in a Tennessee special

THE TOP

Trump is in Israel for a triumphant hostage release. Plus, Day 13 of shutdown

Happy Monday morning.

This is Day 13 of the government shutdown. There’s no resolution to this crisis in sight.

The House isn’t in session this week, the Senate returns Tuesday night.

President Donald Trump landed in Israel this morning and was greeted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and other U.S. and Israeli officials. Trump will address the Knesset in Jerusalem before flying to Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

Israel and Hamas have officially begun an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners. Seven Israeli hostages were turned over to the IDF, with as many as 2,000 Palestinian prisoners expected to be released later today.

Capitol Hill crossroads. Back home, Congress faces a critical moment. Especially the GOP-run House, which has pretty much given up any pretense of relevancy during this impasse. An institution that voluntarily shuts itself down for weeks in the midst of a huge clash over federal spending — something that impacts all Americans — isn’t playing a real role in governing.

Yes, the House passed a CR 23 days ago. But Senate Democrats, who instigated this crisis, have rejected it seven times now. So maybe it’s time to go back to the drawing board.

We’ve told you that the cumulative impacts of a shutdown grow the longer it lasts, and that’s the case here.

On Saturday, Trump ordered the Pentagon to find a way to pay U.S. troops on Oct. 15. Defense Department officials are diverting $8 billion in previously appropriated research and development funding, per our own Briana Reilly. It’s not clear that the Pentagon can do this legally, but leaders in both parties are privately happy Trump did.

Yet one of the main pressure points for ending the shutdown is resolved for the moment, meaning the devastating stalemate could go on for even longer. Hundreds of thousands of civilian federal employees have been furloughed and aren’t getting paid. This includes air-traffic controllers, Customs and Border Patrol and ICE agents, Federal Bureau of Prisons guards, the FBI and CIA — the gamut of tough, dangerous jobs. Federal contractors are suffering as well.

As they warned, Trump and OMB Director Russ Vought started firing thousands of federal workers on Friday. Some agencies were particularly hard hit, including Treasury and HHS. However, Trump administration officials quickly rescinded the firing of hundreds of CDC scientists who deal with dangerous epidemics. It’s a ritual that’s become a standing operating procedure since the DOGE era.

The Ghost House. Speaker Mike Johnson and top House GOP leaders have kept members home since Sept. 19. While the complaints are growing louder inside House GOP ranks over the issue, Johnson insists Republicans have done their job and there’s no reason for them to be here.

House GOP lawmakers passed a “clean” CR that would keep federal agencies open until Nov. 21. Senate Democrats have repeatedly blocked that measure, which led to this shutdown. Democrats are demanding a vote on their own proposal to permanently extend expiring Obamacare premium credits, a rollback in massive Medicaid cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the end of unilateral spending rescissions.

Yet the House’s absence makes it easier for the shutdown to continue. Part of what ends shutdowns is anxiety building among the rank-and-file. Members are home, so there’s limited pressure on House GOP leaders to do anything. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and dozens of Democrats have been in D.C. throughout the shutdown.

More importantly, Johnson has emerged as the “face” of the shutdown for House Republicans. He’s doing daily press conferences and more media interviews, putting himself in the center of the fracas. A C-SPAN caller begging Johnson to bring the House back last week went viral.

So did Johnson’s hallway confrontation with Arizona Democratic Sens. Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly over Johnson’s refusal to swear in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, a move that has infuriated Democrats.

Grivalja would be the 218th signature for a discharge petition mandating a floor vote on releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files. House GOP leaders think Trump will be furious if the discharge petition gets that vote, mainly because it will be viewed as Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) besting the president. The petition will fail in the Senate and Trump will never sign it. But the symbolism is important.

Johnson sent the House home early in July because of an internal House GOP rebellion over the Epstein case, and months later, it remains a problem for Johnson and the White House.

OBBB and done. The reality is that since the OBBB passed on July 3, the House has been checked out. A virtual non-entity for more than three months. And this is the off-year, when Congress is supposed to be busy.

Since July 3, the House has only been in session for 20 days (out of more than 100 calendar days.) Even accounting for the normal August break — which began early because of the Epstein mess – the House has been AWOL.

There have been just over 90 floor votes during this period. A lot of these were amendment votes or votes on non-controversial suspension bills. Several were partisan FY2026 spending bills that have no chance of passage. All in all, very little of substance has been taken up. But as Johnson will remind you, the House did pass a CR.

The only period comparable to this in recent decades was in 2020, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi used proxy voting to buttress the Democratic leadership’s power. Republicans yelled loudly about that at the time, even filing an unsuccessful lawsuit to stop it. But a similar thing is happening in reverse now.

If you see it, don’t say it. House Republicans have done virtually no oversight on the Trump administration, rolling over on a number of issues that their predecessors would have screamed loudly about. It’s true that House Democrats did little or nothing to rein in President Joe Biden when they controlled the House. But Trump has gone far beyond Biden in using executive authority. “Inside the White House, top advisers joke that they are ruling Congress with an ‘iron fist,’” the Wall Street Journal reported.

For an institution that has complained for years about the need to claw back power from the executive branch, it’s a sad state of affairs. And it shows no sign of ending soon.

– John Bresnahan and Jake Sherman

DEFENSE

U.S. Coast Guard will get paid too

News: President Donald Trump plans to pay U.S. Coast Guard personnel, along with the other members of the armed forces, during the government shutdown — even though the maritime security branch doesn’t fall under the Pentagon’s purview.

The Trump administration is looking to use funds from the One Big Beautiful Act, enacted earlier this year, to cover active-duty Coast Guard pay, according to two people familiar with the plan. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the U.S. Coast Guard, didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The White House deferred to the Office of Management and Budget, which also didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The news comes days after Trump announced on Truth Social that he was directing the Defense Department to pay military personnel, though his post didn’t mention the Coast Guard or DHS specifically.

A DOD official confirmed military leaders are poised to direct some $8 billion in FY2025 research and development funding, that can be used over two years, to pay active duty troops on Wednesday. A person familiar with the matter said the transfer is not expected to impact any critical programs.

Pentagon leaders opted to draw from those funds rather than the $150 billion Congress gave the department under the OBBB. The plan signals top military officials are likely more confident in the legality of targeting unobligated prior-year dollars than using OBBB money for military pay.

Congress would’ve needed to pass a standalone bill to cover troops’ salaries by Monday in order to ensure 1.3 million active-duty troops, National Guard members, reservists and Coast Guard personnel did not miss a paycheck.

– Briana Reilly

WASHINGTON X THE WORLD

Rubio reassures Republicans on AUKUS

News: Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to reassure Senate Republicans last week that the AUKUS security pact will survive an ongoing Pentagon review, telling GOP senators during a closed-door lunch meeting that the partnership will emerge “stronger.”

Rubio’s comments, described to Punchbowl News by two senators who attended the meeting last Tuesday, come as Republicans have publicly and privately raised alarms about what the DoD review could mean for the pact.

AUKUS is a trilateral security agreement with Australia and the United Kingdom that focuses on the Indo-Pacific and countering China, most notably through the production of submarines. Inked in 2021, AUKUS has enjoyed strong bipartisan backing on the Hill. Republicans often note that it’s one of the few Biden administration foreign policy initiatives they supported.

Inside the room. Rubio, who also serves as Trump’s national security adviser, downplayed the administration’s review of AUKUS during the Tuesday meeting with his former colleagues.

He said the official leading the process — Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s No. 3 official and policy chief — “just likes to review things.”

Colby is close with Vice President JD Vance and has been panned as an “isolationist” by GOP hawks because of his view that the United States should shift resources away from Europe to prioritize the Indo-Pacific.

Colby said last year he was “skeptical” of AUKUS. That has contributed to Hill Republicans’ anxiety about the Pentagon review.

Bipartisan buy-in. Senators, as recently as Thursday night, affirmed their support for the pact when they adopted an NDAA amendment intended to streamline co-production of Virginia-class submarines under the deal. The provision, from Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), was included in a package of amendments that was adopted via voice vote.

The Pentagon has spent months reviewing AUKUS. John Noh, who was tapped to serve as assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, signaled the pact could see changes as a result of that work.

“There are things that I believe are common-sense things that we can do to strengthen AUKUS, to strengthen Pillar I, to ensure that it is more sustainable,” Noh said during his confirmation hearing last week.

Pillar I of the plan is focused on the buildup of Australia’s nuclear-powered submarine fleet. As part of that phase, the United States will sell Canberra at least three Virginia-class attack subs.

Noh, who currently serves as the deputy assistant defense secretary for East Asia, added the review should be wrapped up “by this fall.”

AUKUS is perhaps best known for the planned future-year transfer of submarines to Australia. But the most immediate action under the deal will come from joint technology development under what’s known as Pillar II.

Defense leaders have discussed broadening participation in those projects to include other countries, such as Canada and Japan. But any expansion would likely require congressional signoff because of restrictive U.S. export controls that limit the sharing of sensitive technologies with foreign nations.

Those conversations have largely been sidelined amid the Pentagon’s review of AUKUS.

— Andrew Desiderio and Briana Reilly

PRIMARY PROBLEMS

Why two billionaires got involved in a Tennessee special

Here’s a good lesson in modern-day GOP politics: Don’t mess with mega billionaires.

House Freedom Action, the political arm associated with the House Freedom Caucus, started running ads and a post on X on Sept. 26, accusing billionaires Ken Griffin of Citadel and Paul Singer of Elliott Management of spending money to defeat Jody Barrett.

Barrett is the HFC’s pick in a Tennessee special election to replace former GOP Rep. Mark Green.

The only problem? Griffin and Singer weren’t involved in the race. Conservatives for American Excellence, a super PAC, was boosting Matt Van Epps. Singer and Griffin had been donors to the PAC, but Griffin hadn’t donated since January 2024 and Singer gave earlier this year.

Griffin and Singer were on the sidelines of the Tennessee primary.

“They were planning to stay out of the race until they were attacked,” a person involved in their spending decisions said. “That was a declaration of war.”

Three days later, American Patriots PAC — backed by Singer and Griffin — put $300,000 into the race, supporting Matt Van Epps. President Donald Trump also endorsed Van Epps down the stretch.

Here’s the real kicker: Barrett, House Freedom Action’s candidate, led in late September. Fabrizio, Lee and Associates had polling with Barrett up 23%-18% over Van Epps.

– Jake Sherman

THE CAMPAIGN

News: Rebecca Cooke, the Democrat challenging Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), will report raising $952,000 in Q3. Cooke has raised nearly $3 million since launching her campaign.

Ad Watch. Richard Boykin, who is running for retiring Rep. Danny Davis’ (D-Ill.) seat, has a new spot up touting his work for the outgoing lawmaker. Davis endorsed La Shawn Ford, who represents the area in the state house.

Boykin was Davis’ chief of staff before serving on the Cook County Board of Commissioners.

You can watch the spot here.

– Jake Sherman and Ally Mutnick

MOMENTS

CLIPS