Upcoming elections pose early test of Trump’s presidency as government shutdown drags on – CNN

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Updated 9:28 AM EST, Sun November 2, 2025

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Food bank CEO: Disruption to SNAP causing bigger need than in years past

01:13 • Source: CNN

Food bank CEO: Disruption to SNAP causing bigger need than in years past

01:13

Consequential week ahead: The government shutdown’s impact is deepening across the country, including for food stamp recipients and health care enrollees. It comes as campaigns gear up for Tuesday’s off-year elections, which are providing an early test of voter response to President Donald Trump’s administration.

On the campaign trail: We’re tracking key races in California, New York, Virginia and New Jersey. Democrats are deploying top surrogates, including former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Kamala Harris, as they seek to position the November 4 elections as a referendum on Trump.

On Capitol Hill: GOP leaders claim Democrats are waiting until after Election Day to acquiesce on reopening the government, but top Democrats insist the party will stand firm. Trump is urging Republicans to abolish the filibuster, an unprecedented move that party leaders have resisted.

About six in 10 Americans disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president, according to a new poll from ABC News, the Washington Post and Ipsos.

Majorities disapproved of Trump’s handling of a range of key issues, with 67% saying things in the country are pretty seriously off on the wrong track.

The president’s approval rating in the poll stands at 41% approve to 59% disapprove, similar to the current CNN Poll of Polls average.

Three-quarters (75%) in the new poll say they are concerned about the shutdown, up from 66% who felt that way in a Washington Post poll on the first day the government shut down.

On the issues: Trump’s approval ratings are deeply negative on the economy (37% approve to 62% disapprove).

Most (59%) blame Trump a great deal or a good amount for the current rate of inflation, and more see themselves as worse off (37%) than better off (18%) financially since Trump became president.

Democrats also received negatively: The overall negative perception of Trump expressed in the poll — which extended to questions on foreign policy issues and his efforts to expand the power of the presidency — did not necessarily yield an advantage for Democrats.

More see the Democratic Party as “out of touch” with the concerns of most people in the US today (68%) than say the same about Trump (63%) or Republicans (61%), and the survey finds registered voters about evenly divided with no clear leader in a generic congressional ballot test.

While President Donald Trump deals with the government shutdown and upcoming elections at home, we’ll also keep you posted on the latest foreign policy news from the administration.

Claims about Nigeria: Trump said yesterday he’d ordered the Defense Department to prepare for possible military action in Nigeria as he continues to accuse the nation of violence against Christians — an accusation Nigeria has repeatedly denied.

Trump wrote that the United States would “immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria” and warned the government there to “move fast” to end what he claims is widespread persecution of Christians in the country.

Violence in the country is driven by varying factors and affecting both Muslims and Christians. Some incidents are religiously motivated, while others arise from disputes between farmers and herders over limited resources, as well as communal and ethnic tensions.

Another strike in the Caribbean: The US military carried out another deadly strike on alleged drug traffickers at sea yesterday, continuing a monthslong campaign by the Trump administration that has been widely criticized as likely illegal and is causing increasing alarm in South America.

The latest strike targeted a boat in the Caribbean Sea and killed three people on board, according to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

Potential meeting with Putin: The Kremlin has said there is “no need” for an imminent meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, state news agency TASS reported today.

Trump called off an expected Budapest meeting with Putin last month, just days after announcing it, saying he didn’t want it to be a “waste of time.”

Sources have told CNN that both sides had divergent expectations about a possible end to the war in Ukraine.

The Los Angeles Dodgers celebrate after defeating the Toronto Blue Jays in game seven of the 2025 World Series in Toronto last night.

President Donald Trump congratulated the Los Angeles Dodgers this morning on winning their second consecutive World Series.

Calling the team “incredible CHAMPIONS” in a post on Truth Social, the president also congratulated team ownership and announced that he will invite the team to the White House for a traditional visit.

Past White House visits under Trump’s presidency have been at-times fraught affairs for championship teams in major American sports, though the back-to-back champion Dodgers visited last year when invited.

Former President Barack Obama joins Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger during a campaign rally in Norfolk, Virginia on Saturday.

It’s the final sprint to the November 4 elections, with the Democratic Party seeking to position key contests in several states as a referendum on the policies of President Donald Trump.

Former President Barack Obama rallied voters yesterday evening in a college gymnasium in Newark, New Jersey, urging them to vote for Democratic gubernatorial nominee Mikie Sherrill after the state shifted right in 2024.

He earlier appeared with former Rep. Abigail Spanberger — the Democrat facing Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears in Virginia’s governor race — telling a crowd in Norfolk that after the first nine months of Trump’s second term, “the stakes are now clear.”

Obama is the closer after a number of ambitious Democrats have also hit the trail for Sherill and Spanberger, including five of the party’s most high-profile governors.

Meanwhile, former Vice President Kamala Harris appeared in California, stressing that a Democratic-led ballot measure on redistricting in the state is about protecting the voice of voters.

California voters on Tuesday will vote on Proposition 50, which would allow Democrats to replace maps drawn by an independent commission with new maps. The goal is to even the odds in the House midterms after similar efforts in GOP-led states.

Harris slammed Republicans’ redistricting efforts, saying, “What they are doing is about an implementation of a plan that has been long-standing, about taking the voice of the people, intimidating voters, suppressing the vote.”

Another day, another 24 hours of deadlock.

We’re now two days into November, the government shutdown is on the verge of becoming the longest in history, and lawmakers don’t know what will happen next.

Let’s take you through where things stand on Capitol Hill:

  • House Speaker Mike Johnson suggested yesterday there could be progress in the stalemate next week — after Election Day. He claimed Democrats believe ending the shutdown could harm voter turnout, with key races taking place in New Jersey, Virginia, New York City and California.
  • This came after Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he expected senators to continue talking this weekend. Thune previously noted that there was an uptick in bipartisan talks last week, though GOP leaders rejected a potential compromise involving partially funding the government before fully reopening.
  • Meanwhile, President Donald Trump yesterday doubled down on his call for Senate Republicans to abolish the filibuster, saying it is the only way to end the shutdown and push through his legislative priorities. GOP leaders have previously resisted eliminating the 60-vote threshold for passing legislation.
  • White House officials have insisted that their stance remains unchanged, and that there won’t be any negotiations until Democrats cave and reopen the government.
  • In the days before Trump returned to the US from his trip to Asia, aides had privately discussed options for enticing Democrats to give in, including agreeing to undo the administration’s recent mass firing of federal workers in exchange for reopening the government, two people familiar with the deliberations told CNN.
  • This comes against a backdrop where millions on the SNAP program face delays to their food stamp benefits and consumers viewing the cost of health care coverage will see higher premiums because of the end of Obamacare subsidies — the crux of the current impasse in Congress.

Voters cast their ballots on the first day of early voting in Henrico, Virginia, on September 19.

Tuesday will feature the first major elections of President Donald Trump’s second term, a series of tests both for Trump and for Democrats trying to decide how to oppose him.

Virginia

• Polls close: 7 p.m. ET

Key race: Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears faces former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger.

When we might see results: In last year’s presidential election, Virginia reported its first votes at 7:09 p.m. on Election Day. Half of the vote was in by around 9 p.m. and 90% was in by midnight.

New Jersey

Polls close: 8 p.m. ET

Key race: Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill faces Republican Jack Ciattarelli in the race for governor.

When we might see results: In last year’s election, the first votes came in at 8:02 p.m., with half of the vote reported by around 9:20 p.m. About 90% of the vote was in by midnight.

New York City

Polls close: 9 p.m. ET

Key race: The mayoral race between Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo — running as an independent after losing June’s Democratic primary — and Republican Curtis Sliwa.

When we might see results: The first votes in 2024 came in at 9:03 p.m. and half of the vote was reported by 9:16 p.m. Ninety percent of the vote was in around 11 p.m.

California

Polls close: 11 p.m. ET

Key race: Gov. Gavin Newsom is leading a push to persuade California voters to allow the redrawing of the state’s congressional maps to counteract gerrymandering in Republican-led states.

When we might see results: California reported its first votes last fall at 11:06 p.m. ET and had half of the votes by around 1 a.m.

Reporting continued through much of Wednesday, but at 1 p.m. that day, only 62% of the vote was in. It wasn’t until 9 days after the election that 90% of the vote was in.

It’s unclear, however, whether a decisive outcome on the proposition could lead to a call in the race much sooner.

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