Thune skeptical of one-off funding bills

IN THIS EDITION

In meeting, Thune is cool to one-off funding bills

Dems make New York redistricting moves

The Vault: Dems press Vought on CFPB closure

News: Davis introducing anti-redistricting bill

Elise Stefanik’s new book and more

THE TOP

In meeting, Thune is cool to one-off funding bills

Happy Tuesday morning.

This is Day 28 of the government shutdown. There’s no resolution in sight to this crisis. The House has been out of town for 39 days.

News: Senate Republican leaders are souring on the idea of forcing votes this week on so-called “rifle shot” bills to pay members of the military and air traffic controllers, believing it would make it easier for Senate Democrats to continue voting against reopening the entire government.

During a closed-door GOP leadership meeting Monday evening, Senate Majority Leader John Thune expressed deep skepticism about moving forward with bills to pay those federal employees, according to two people in the room.

Despite teasing such a strategy last week, Thune argued it could be unwise to dampen some of the pressure Democrats are facing, especially after a top labor union called on Democrats to agree to reopen the government. More on that in a bit.

It’s also becoming increasingly clear that this strategy could put Thune at odds with House GOP leadership and the White House. President Donald Trump’s top aides have argued privately that these votes would only help Democrats bail themselves out of a crisis they created. The latter point was mentioned during the meeting, we’re told.

Thune and other top Senate Republicans also believe that teeing up one of these “rifle-shot” bills will inevitably lead to never-ending calls to pass others, such as SNAP funding, which would only drag out the shutdown. As we’ve noted, removing these pain points only lowers the urgency to reopen the government.

Speaking to reporters Monday night, Thune expressed similar skepticism about the strategy but indicated he’d wait to hear from rank-and-file senators at today’s GOP lunch before making a final decision.

“My view is what it has been from the very beginning, and that is to pay SNAP recipients by reopening the government. It’s not complicated,” Thune said.

GOP leaders were encouraged on Monday after the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest union representing federal workers, called on Democrats to end the shutdown immediately. Separately, the air traffic controllers’ union will begin handing out anti-shutdown flyers at major airports.

We’re likely to see more of this pressure from labor unions in the coming days. Republicans think that could make Democrats fold.

“Why would we make this easier for them?” said one GOP senator who opposes the “rifle-shot” strategy.

Dems respond. Despite the press coverage, AFGE’s statement did little to move Senate Democratic leaders beyond Minority Whip Dick Durbin, who wants to discuss the issue during today’s party lunch. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer led Democrats in accusing the Trump administration of delaying the release of info on how much Obamacare premiums are increasing, in part due to the expiration of enhanced ACA tax credits. This is the issue at the heart of the shutdown.

Even Virginia Democratic Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, who represent a disproportionate number of federal workers, downplayed AFGE’s statement and doubled down on health-care messaging.

“If we [voted for the CR], and Trump then fired a bunch of people next week — I know these guys very well. I know what they would say to me: ‘Why did you agree to a deal?’” Kaine said.

“I think we can still deal with health care and SNAP,” Warner added. “But I’ve known the shutdown is a real challenge. Federal employees feel like they’ve been abused and they’re also going for weeks without pay.”

Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), the most endangered in-cycle Democrat, said his constituents want “both health insurance premiums to be affordable and for the federal government to be reopened.”

In the meantime, there’s bipartisan pressure on the Trump administration to fund SNAP unilaterally. Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she wrote to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins asking her to tap into a $5 billion “contingency” fund. Collins hasn’t heard back yet.

White House officials don’t believe they have the legal authority to tap into the fund. Speaker Mike Johnson backed the administration up on that.

Tariffs. The Senate could vote as soon as tonight on three Democratic measures to block Trump’s tariffs on Canada and Brazil, as well as his sweeping global tariffs.

Four Republican senators have already voted to terminate the Canada and global tariffs. So with full attendance, these should pass.

The priority for GOP leaders is to prevent any additional defections, which would signal growing uneasiness with Trump’s tariff regime. Vice President JD Vance will attend today’s GOP lunch meeting to urge Republicans to stay in line. That’s far from a sure bet.

“The farm industry is really suffering right now, and I’m hoping some of the farm-state senators will reconsider the issue,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who cosponsored the anti-tariff resolutions, told us.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) is someone to watch. Tillis has questioned the wisdom of Trump’s tariffs. Tillis also isn’t running for reelection, which could make it easier to vote to block the tariffs. Other Republicans, including Thune, are continuing to give Trump latitude on the issue despite their personal opposition to the tariffs.

“I just want the trade agreements concluded as quickly as possible,” said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), another tariff opponent. “I don’t see how undermining whatever Trump’s trying to do helps those negotiations get completed.”

— Andrew Desiderio, Max Cohen and Laura Weiss

News about Punchbowl News. We’re psyched to welcome the great Anthony Adragna to Punchbowl News, where he’ll join Briana Reilly in launching our defense coverage. Anthony was a colleague of many of ours at Politico. He’s a terrific reporter and will be a big addition to the Punchbowl News team.

TODAY at 9:30 a.m. ET: We’re talking to Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas) about the news of the day and the economic impact of creators. There’s still time to RSVP!

Next week on Tuesday, Nov. 4, at 9:30 a.m. ET we’ll sit down with House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Sam Graves (R-Mo.) to discuss the news of the day and FEMA reform efforts. RSVP today.

REDISTRICTING WARS

Dems make New York redistricting moves

Democrats have landed on a legal strategy that just might net them an additional congressional seat in New York for the midterms.

Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias filed a lawsuit Monday, on behalf of four voters, that alleges New York’s 11th District unconstitutionally weakens the power of Black and Latino voters and should be redrawn.

That district is currently held by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, the lone Republican representing New York City. Her seat includes all of Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn.

The lawsuit alleges that the growing Black and Latino populations on Staten Island don’t have the opportunity to elect their candidate of choice, a violation of the state’s constitution and newly enacted state voting rights act.

The map. The proposed remedy, as noted in the lawsuit, is a map that “pairs Staten Island with lower Manhattan.” That suggests that Democrats are going for a targeted approach, urging the court to order a partial swap between Malliotakis’ district and that of Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman, who represents lower Manhattan and western Brooklyn.

In a statement, Goldman said he’d be willing to run in a district that included Staten Island.

“If Staten Island is drawn into my district, then I will be ready to step up and take the fight for democracy and a Democratic House majority to Nicole Malliotakis’ doorstep,” Goldman said. “Nothing can stand in the way of us defeating Donald Trump.”

The final decision is up to the New York courts, but Democrats believe a likely outcome is that the Brooklyn portions of Goldman’s and Malliotakis’s districts combine into one seat. Lower Manhattan and Staten Island then form another.

New York Democrats have been told Goldman’s new district would likely have a PVI of around D+10 in that scenario, according to sources close to the process, keeping it relatively safe.

The strategy. New York has been the site of redistricting nightmares for Democrats. A state court struck down the legislature’s redistricting proposal in 2022, calling it an illegal partisan gerrymander. A lawsuit gave them another chance to draw in 2024 but Democrats were hesitant to get too aggressive and push their luck.

This lawsuit is alleging racial gerrymandering, prescribing a much narrower fix. Democrats hope to avoid the claims of partisan gerrymandering that dogged them previously.

New York is the home state of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who has been leaning on blue states to redraw their maps. But New York is prohibited from mid-decade redistricting unless ordered to do so by a court.

A lawsuit to reopen the redistricting process was long expected.

– Ally Mutnick

The Vault: Dems press Vought on CFPB closure

First in The Vault: Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee warned Russ Vought not to illegally shutter the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau after the White House official suggested the agency could be closed within months.

In a letter signed by every Democrat on the Banking panel, the group told Vought — who is the Senate-confirmed director of OMB and the acting director of the CFPB — that his “continued attempts to shutter the CFPB are illegal, and American families stand to pay the price.”

Vought told The Charlie Kirk Show earlier this month that he was working to “close down” the CFPB and would “be successful probably within the next two or three months.”

The Trump administration remains locked in a court battle with the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents many of the CFPB employees the White House has sought to fire since February. Officially, the Trump administration has said it doesn’t intend to eliminate the consumer watchdog entirely.

But Democrats aren’t convinced, and Vought’s recent comments haven’t helped. “[Y]our brazen admission last week confirms what has been apparent all along: You are working to shut down the CFPB in violation of the law,” the Democrats wrote, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

The Democratic senators demanded answers on the “current unobligated balance” of the CFPB’s Fund, how much money remains in the agency’s Civil Penalty Fund and whether CFPB management had drafted any “specific plans” for further reducing the agency’s headcount.

Read the full letter here, which was signed by Democratic Sens. Jack Reed (R.I.), Mark Warner (Va.), Chris Van Hollen (Md.), Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.), Tina Smith (Minn.), Raphael Warnock (Ga.), Andy Kim (N.J.), Ruben Gallego (Ariz.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (Del.) and Angela Alsobrooks (Md.)

A CFPB spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

– Brendan Pedersen

REDISTRICTING LATEST

News: Davis introducing anti-redistricting bill

News: Rep. Don Davis (D-N.C.), whose district was recently redrawn as part of a GOP gerrymander, is introducing a bill on Tuesday that would institute a retroactive and proactive ban on mid-decade redistricting.

The legislation, titled the “Stop Retaliatory Redistricting Act of 2025,” would bar mid-decade redistricting unless required by states to comply with the Voting Rights Act or constitutional reasons. This would apply to states that redistricted post-2020 “beyond the regular decennial census.” North Carolina would be one of those states.

Davis’ bill includes two exceptions, for courts redrawing maps to and for court-mandated redrawing by the state legislature.

The North Carolina Democrat will introduce the bill during the House pro forma session this afternoon. The GOP-dominated North Carolina legislature shifted Davis’ district from a swing seat that leaned slightly Republican to a seat that backed President Donald Trump by double digits in 2024.

— Max Cohen

… AND THERE’S MORE

Elise Stefanik’s new book and more

News: Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who is openly eyeing a bid for governor of New York, has a new book coming out in April.

The book is called “Poisoned Ivies: The inside account of the academic and moral rot at America’s elite universities.”

Stefanik has made her crusade against Ivy League universities a central part of her political persona. She is a graduate of Harvard.

Oversight latest: House Oversight Committee Republicans are asking the Justice Department to investigate former President Joe Biden’s executive actions in a new report and letter out today. The Oversight GOP has been probing Biden’s use of an “autopen” and capacity in office, which they’re now urging DOJ to address. Oversight Democrats have said the GOP is focusing on the past.

DSCC news: The Senate Democratic campaign arm is out with a new memo warning of an upcoming “Republican health care crisis” once open enrollment begins. The document ticks through all of the battleground states and the impact the expiring ACA credits will have there.

Launch pad. Air Force veteran Jennifer-Ruth Green is launching another run for Indiana’s 1st District after narrowly losing in 2022. Republicans hope to draw out incumbent Democratic Rep. Frank Mrvan in a mid-decade redistricting.

Endorsement latest: Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) is endorsing Rep. Angie Craig’s (D-Minn.) Senate bid. McBride called Craig a “fighter” and a “principled leader” in her endorsement statement.

— Jake Sherman, Laura Weiss, Max Cohen and Ally Mutnick

MOMENTS

CLIPS