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Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on the government shutdown, SNAP benefits and eliminating the filibuster
06:59 • Source: CNN
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on the government shutdown, SNAP benefits and eliminating the filibuster
06:59
• Shutdown impacts: Millions more Americans could be affected by the government shutdown as the calendar turns to November and federal aid programs run dry. Food stamp recipients face delays this month even after two judges ruled that the Trump administration must tap into emergency funds for the benefits.
• Congress still at odds: Senators are expected to continue talks over the weekend on breaking the impasse between Democrats and Republicans. GOP leaders are so far resisting calls from President Donald Trump to end the shutdown by eliminating the filibuster.
• Election Day approaches: It will be a busy weekend for the campaigns on key races in California, New York, Virginia and New Jersey. The November 4 elections are being watched as a test of voter reaction to Trump’s presidency, the shutdown and a soul-searching Democratic Party.
Open enrollment for 2026 Affordable Care Act coverage begins today as Congress remains at an impasse over extending Obamacare’s enhanced premium subsidies. The stalemate led the federal government to shut down on October 1.
Many consumers will likely experience sticker shock as they view the cost of coverage without the more generous assistance, which is set to lapse at the year’s end.
Congressional Democrats are demanding that any federal funding package contain an extension of the beefed-up subsidies. Republicans say they’ll only discuss the matter after the government reopens.
What to expect: Obtaining coverage on the ACA exchanges will be much more expensive next year, due to the end of the enhanced subsidies and steep premium rate increases by insurers.
Because of insurers’ rate hikes, the monthly premium for the benchmark plan in the 30 states that use the federal exchange, healthcare.gov, will soar 30%, on average, according to an analysis of federal data by the health policy research group KFF. In states that run their own exchanges, the benchmark plan premium will rise by an average of 17%.
But the actual amount enrollees pay will be far, far higher because the enhanced assistance will disappear. Monthly payments are expected to more than double, according to a separate analysis from KFF.
More context: The enhanced subsidies, which a Democratic Congress approved in 2021 and extended the following year, have helped drive Obamacare sign-ups to a record 24 million for this year. Roughly 92% of enrollees receive subsidies.
If the subsidies expire, consumers are expected to flee the exchanges. About 4 million more people would be uninsured in 2034, according to a Congressional Budget Office analysis.
Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says he has apologized to Donald Trump for a political advertisement that angered the US president so much he terminated trade talks with Canada.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has said his province government pulled the ad after it achieved its goal of starting “conversation” about US trade policy.
Trump — who announced he was ending all trade negotiations with Canada after the ad aired prominently in the US, including during the World Series — said as he flew back from South Korea yesterday that his administration is unlikely to resume trade negotiations.
“I like (Carney) a lot, but you know what they did was wrong. He was very nice; he apologized for what they did with the commercial,” the president said.
Remember: The ad was released last month by the Ontario government and featured audio from a speech by former US President Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs on foreign goods.
In the 1987 speech, Reagan lambasted tariffs as hurting “every American worker and consumer” and “triggering fierce trade wars.”
After the ad aired, the Ronald Reagan Foundation claimed it misrepresented the speech, and that the Ontario government had not asked permission to use the clip.
For context: Trump has repeatedly called the ad “fake,” but it was edited using clips from a 1987 Reagan speech ahead of a meeting on trade with the prime minister of Japan
In addition to our updates on the Trump administration and government shutdown, we’re keeping an eye on key races in several states that will hold elections on November 4.
These off-cycle elections are the traditional first test of voters’ reaction to the presidency and take on added dimension given the shutdown.
Virginia governor: Virginia’s election for governor takes place in the shadow of an unpopular GOP administration in Washington, DC.
In a recent Washington Post-Schar School poll, negative comments about President Donald Trump or Republicans came second only to concerns about economic issues and the cost of living.
Polls have found Democrat Abigail Spanberger with a stable advantage over Republican Winsome Earle-Sears among likely voters.
New Jersey governor: New Jersey’s gubernatorial race is a tale of two incumbents: Trump is unpopular there as well, but the state’s outgoing Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy also draws closely divided ratings.
Many recent surveys have found Democrat Mikie Sherrill with an edge among likely voters, hovering around the 50% mark, while her opponent, Republican Jack Ciattarelli, stands closer to 45%.
New York City mayor: Surveys of likely voters have been largely consistent in showing Democrat Zohran Mamdani with a double-digit lead over his nearest rival, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, with Republican Curtis Sliwa in third.
California redistricting: Voters are weighing Proposition 50, a ballot measure to temporarily enact a new congressional map drawn by Democrats in response to Republican-driven redistricting in other states.
A mid-October poll from CBS/YouGov found 62% of likely voters in support of Proposition 50, while an October Public Policy Institute of California poll put that support at 56%.
It’s worth noting that past research has found that polling sometimes overshoots support for initiatives that implement new changes, because some voters ultimately default to preferring the status quo.
President Donald Trump flew back from South Korea Thursday after a landmark meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
It capped a busy week for his administration on the foreign policy front. Here’s what we’ve been reporting the past few days:
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stood in for Trump today at the annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, which groups together countries accounting for more than half of global trade. Despite the president’s absence, his protectionist trade policies and punishing global tariffs loomed over the two-day event.
- A key component of the US-brokered Gaza ceasefire has yet to materialize after more than a month. The 20-point plan calls for a multinational force to stabilize the battered enclave, but potential participants say critical details about its mandate are still not finalized.
- Trump accused Nigeria of severe religious freedom violations in a social media post yesterday, claiming that “Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria.” He designated it a “country of particular concern” in a post on Truth Social.
- Search and rescue teams from the US started to arrive in Jamaica yesterday to help with ongoing “rescue and recovery” efforts following Hurricane Melissa, Jamaica’s Ambassador to the US Antony Anderson said. At least 19 people have died and 70 percent of the island is without power.
Two federal judges ruled yesterday that the Trump administration must tap into emergency funds to at least partially cover food stamp benefits for tens of millions of Americans this month.
The rulings reject a controversial US Department of Agriculture claim that it could not use a contingency fund, which the agency says has $5.3 billion, to help cover some of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program during the government shutdown.
President Donald Trump has said he’s asking the courts for clarity on how his administration can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible.
But some of the damage is already done: Millions of recipients will still face delays in getting their benefits, which were scheduled to start being distributed today. It will take time for the Department of Agriculture and states to get the money flowing again.
States stopped the process of issuing benefits for November after the USDA sent them a letter on October 10 ordering them to do so. States send SNAP enrollees’ information to vendors every month so they can load funds onto recipients’ benefit cards.
Each state has a specific date by which they must send the information ahead of the new month in order for benefits to go out on time, according to the lawsuit at the center of one of the cases. Payments are made on a staggered basis throughout the month.
It also remains unclear whether recipients will receive their full benefits or a smaller amount, since the US Department of Agriculture’s contingency fund doesn’t have enough money to cover the total cost.
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