{"id":665,"date":"2025-03-14T21:24:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-14T21:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2025\/03\/14\/trump-administration-highlights-schumer-says-enough-democrats-will-vote-to-avert-government-shutdown-the-new-york-times\/"},"modified":"2025-03-14T21:24:00","modified_gmt":"2025-03-14T21:24:00","slug":"trump-administration-highlights-schumer-says-enough-democrats-will-vote-to-avert-government-shutdown-the-new-york-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2025\/03\/14\/trump-administration-highlights-schumer-says-enough-democrats-will-vote-to-avert-government-shutdown-the-new-york-times\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Administration Highlights: Schumer Says Enough Democrats Will Vote to Avert Government Shutdown – The New York Times"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Carl<\/a>\"Catie<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Schumer says he\u2019ll vote to advance the G.O.P. spending bill, arguing that a shutdown would further empower Trump.<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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Image<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

Senator Chuck Schumer warned on Thursday that if the government closed, President Trump and Republicans would have no incentive to reopen it,<\/span>Credit…<\/span>Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, broke with his party on Thursday and lined up enough Democrats to advance a Republican-written bill to keep federal funding flowing past a midnight Friday deadline, arguing that Democrats could not allow a government shutdown that many of them have demanded.<\/p>\n

During a private luncheon with Democrats, Mr. Schumer stunned many of his colleagues by announcing that he planned to vote to allow the G.O.P. bill to move forward, and indicated that he had enough votes to help Republicans break any filibuster by his own party against the measure, according to attendees and people familiar with the discussion.<\/p>\n

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It was a turnabout from just a day earlier, when Mr. Schumer proclaimed that Democrats were \u201cunified\u201d against the legislation<\/a>, and a remarkable move at a time when many of the party\u2019s members in both chambers and progressive activists have been agitating vocally for senators to block it in defiance of President Trump.<\/p>\n

In a speech hours later on the Senate floor, Mr. Schumer announced his plan to vote to move forward with the Republican measure, which would fund the government through Sept. 30. He argued that if Democrats stood in the way, it would lead to a shutdown that would only further empower Mr. Trump and Elon Musk in their bid to defund and dismantle federal programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Republican bill is a terrible option,\u201d Mr. Schumer said in his evening speech. \u201cIt is deeply partisan. It doesn\u2019t address far too many of this country\u2019s needs. But I believe allowing Donald Trump to take even much more power via a government shutdown is a far worse option.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a shutdown, Mr. Schumer said, \u201cthe Trump administration would have full authority to deem whole agencies, programs and personnel nonessential, furloughing staff with no promise that they would ever be rehired.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also warned that if the government closed, Mr. Trump and Republicans would have no incentive to reopen it, since they could selectively fund \u201ctheir favorite departments and agencies, while leaving other vital services that they don\u2019t like to languish.\u201d<\/p>\n

His announcement came little more than 24 hours before a shutdown deadline. If Congress fails to approve legislation extending federal funding, it will lapse at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday.<\/p>\n

In a meeting with reporters after his remarks, Mr. Schumer declined to confirm that he had sufficient Democratic votes to move the legislation past procedural hurdles, saying that senators were making their own decisions. But other Democrats said they were confident that he had the backing to push the measure forward.<\/p>\n

Senate Republicans are expected to need the support of at least eight Democrats to steer around a filibuster. Other than Mr. Schumer, only one Democrat, Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, has said he will support the bill.<\/p>\n

Mr. Schumer has long seen responsibility for government shutdowns as a political albatross. But many Democrats on Capitol Hill have refused to go along with the stopgap spending measure, regarding it as their only leverage against Mr. Trump. All but one House Democrat voted against the plan on Tuesday, and many of them, along with their colleagues in the Senate, have spent the last few days pressing to hold firm against it to challenge the president.<\/p>\n

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York said on CNN that it would be a \u201cmistake\u201d for Mr. Schumer not to block the bill.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope that individuals that are considering that reconsider it,\u201d Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said. \u201cI genuinely do. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s what New Yorkers want.\u201d<\/p>\n

In lengthy closed-door group discussions over the past three days, Senate Democrats have agonized over how to handle the spending bill, which would keep government funding largely flat over the next six months.<\/p>\n

Many of them described an impossible choice between two evils: supporting a bill that would give the Trump administration wide latitude to continue its unilateral efforts to slash government employees and programs, or a shutdown that would also give Mr. Trump and his team broad leeway to decide what to fund.<\/p>\n

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Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York said it would not be a normal shutdown.<\/span>Credit…<\/span>Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Several Democrats \u2014 including both centrists and progressives \u2014 declared that they could not back legislation that would give that kind of power to the president and Mr. Musk. They groused that Republicans had unilaterally drafted the legislation and refused to consider any changes to win their votes, essentially daring them to take the blame for a politically toxic shutdown.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat everyone is wrestling with is that either outcome is terrible,\u201d said Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico. \u201cThis president has put us in a position where, in either direction, lots of people\u2019s constituents are going to get hurt and hurt badly. So people are wrestling with what is the least worst outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thursday\u2019s session was particularly emotional, stretching on for two hours and at times growing heated. At one point, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York could be heard through closed doors shouting, \u201cThis will not be a normal shutdown!\u201d<\/p>\n

Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, who had widely been seen as one of the Democrats who might be willing to join Republicans to overcome a filibuster, announced that he would oppose the measure, adding that his decision was the most difficult call he had made since he was elected five years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is a calculation I\u2019ve been struggling with for days \u2014 weeks, in fact,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a tough call, and that\u2019s why we spent a lot of time talking. That\u2019s one of the challenging things on either path: There\u2019s a lot of unknowns out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, center, said that it was a \u201ctough call\u201d but that he would oppose the measure.<\/span>Credit…<\/span>Eric Lee\/The New York Times<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

But he added that Mr. Musk \u201chad been wreaking havoc on our government,\u201d and said that the Republican-written bill, drafted in consultation with the White House, \u201cis designed to give him more influence, more power.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not the way we should be funding the government,\u201d Mr. Kelly said.<\/p>\n

Republicans sought to escalate the pressure on Democrats to relent and end the spending fight, and warned on Thursday that the moment for making a decision was at hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the expression goes, it\u2019s time for Democrats to fish or cut bait,\u201d said Senator John Thune, the South Dakota Republican and majority leader. \u201cDemocrats need to decide if they\u2019re going to support funding legislation that came over from the House or if they\u2019re going to shut down the government. So far it looks like they plan to shut it down.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the same time, residents of the District of Columbia were protesting on Capitol Hill<\/a> to demand that Senate Democrats block a spending bill that would amount to a $1 billion budget cut for the District over the next six months. Crowds of school-age children carried signs made with crayons and colored markers, one of which read<\/a>, \u201cYou cut my dad\u2019s job and now you want to cut my school,\u201d punctuated by four sad faces.<\/p>\n

Some Democrats said they were still trying to assess whether the best approach to reining in Mr. Trump was defeating the spending plan or allowing it to become law.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are intent on stymying and stopping the slide toward Trump\u2019s tyrannical and autocratic power, which is happening in real time and inflicting harm on real people,\u201d said Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, who said he would vote to block the spending bill. \u201cI\u2019m respectful of my colleagues who have a different opinion with the same goal, which is to prevent unchecked and unbridled dictatorial power for President Trump and Elon Musk.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Katherine<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Trump administration escalated its dispute<\/a> with Columbia University on Thursday, demanding the school make dramatic changes before it would discuss lifting the cancellation of $400 million in government grants and contracts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Tim<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Postal Service has reached a deal with Musk\u2019s Department of Government Efficiency.<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.<\/span>Credit…<\/span>Tom Brenner for The New York Times<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The leader of the U.S. Postal Service said in a letter to lawmakers on Thursday that he had reached an agreement with Elon Musk\u2019s cost-cutting team allowing it to help in \u201cidentifying and achieving further efficiencies.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Postal Service has long struggled with its finances, and Mr. Musk and President Trump have both suggested it should be privatized. But Mr. Musk\u2019s cost-cutting group, the Department of Government Efficiency, has not targeted the Postal Service\u2019s roughly 635,000 workers.<\/p>\n

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Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who took his position during the first Trump presidency and moved to shrink the agency\u2019s ranks during the Biden administration<\/a>, said he had signed an agreement with Mr. Musk\u2019s group on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Mr. DeJoy, a Republican megadonor, wrote in the letter that Mr. Musk\u2019s initiative was \u201can effort aligned\u201d with his efforts.<\/p>\n

He said that the Postal Service\u2019s work force had shrunk by 30,000 since the 2021 fiscal year, and that the agency planned to complete a \u201cfurther reduction of another 10,000 people in the next 30 days\u201d through a previously established<\/a> voluntary-retirement program.<\/p>\n

Last week, Mr. Musk said at a tech conference organized<\/a> by the bank Morgan Stanley that the Postal Service should be privatized, declaring, \u201cWe should privatize anything that can reasonably be privatized.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Trump has by turns suggested privatizing<\/a> the independent agency and merging<\/a> it with the Commerce Department. Union officials and Democratic lawmakers have been alarmed by the talk of privatization, and have argued that such a move would hurt workers, drive prices higher and disproportionately damage service in rural areas.<\/p>\n

The agreement described by Mr. DeJoy on Thursday was comparatively less disruptive, but it drew a stern rebuke from Representative Gerald E. Connolly of Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, which oversees the Postal Service.<\/p>\n

Mr. Connolly said in a statement that the deal would bring \u201ccatastrophic consequences for all Americans \u2014 especially those in rural and hard-to-reach areas \u2014 who rely on the Postal Service every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201conly thing worse for the Postal Service,\u201d Mr. Connolly said in the statement, would be if the agency were turned over to Mr. Musk so that he could \u201cundermine it, privatize it, and then profit off Americans\u2019 loss.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his letter, the postmaster general argued that the service had transformed in recent years from a \u201cbattered government bureaucracy\u201d on the verge of financial collapse into an agency \u201cexperiencing an unprecedented period of growth and innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur strategies have focused on maintaining a modified, but sustainable, universal service mission that was noble when constructed, still meritorious today, and that can be financially self-sufficient with the changes we are pursuing,\u201d Mr. DeJoy wrote.<\/p>\n

The Postal Service was once a Cabinet-level department of the government, but was turned into an independent agency<\/a> under President Richard Nixon. In 2021, the agency reported it had<\/a> lost $87 billion in the previous 14 years.<\/p>\n

Brian L. Renfroe, the president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, said in an interview on Thursday that he was \u201cskeptical of DOGE.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Mr. Renfroe said Mr. Musk\u2019s team had not yet done \u201canything that raises big alarms.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will be in wait-and-see mode,\u201d he said, adding that any new cuts at the Postal Service would \u201calmost directly result in challenges providing the service that we provide every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Javier<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Vance is booed at a Kennedy Center concert.<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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\"Video<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>

Vice President JD Vance was booed at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington Thursday night while attending a concert with his wife. It was his first visit to the institution after its takeover by President Trump.<\/span>Credit<\/span>Credit…<\/span>ANSA, via Reuters<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

It was supposed to be a moment of celebration: Vice President JD Vance was attending a concert at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington on Thursday evening for the first time since President Trump\u2019s stunning takeover<\/a> of the institution.<\/p>\n

Instead, as Mr. Vance took his seat in the box tier with the second lady, Usha Vance, loud boos broke out in the auditorium, lasting roughly 30 seconds, according to audience members and a video posted on social media. Mr. Vance was shown in the video waving to the audience as he settled into his seat.<\/p>\n

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The incident put on display the outcry over Mr. Trump\u2019s decision<\/a> last month to purge the Kennedy Center\u2019s once-bipartisan board of its Biden appointees and have himself elected its chairman. (The president, who broke with tradition during his first term by not attending the Kennedy Center Honors after some of the artists being celebrated criticized him, complained that the center had become too \u201cwokey.\u201d)<\/p>\n

Mr. Vance attended Thursday\u2019s performance<\/a> by the National Symphony Orchestra, one of the Kennedy Center\u2019s flagship groups. The ensemble, under the baton of its music director, Gianandrea Noseda, performed Shostakovich\u2019s Violin Concerto No. 2, with Leonidas Kavakos as the soloist. After an intermission, the orchestra played Stravinsky\u2019s \u201cPetrushka.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Vances stayed for the entire concert, audience members said. Ms. Vance was recently appointed by Mr. Trump to serve as a board member at the Kennedy Center, alongside other Trump allies like Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff; and Laura Ingraham, the Fox News host.<\/p>\n

The concert started about 20 minutes late because of added security measures, audience members said.<\/p>\n

A White House spokesman did not immediately return a request for comment.<\/p>\n

Richard Grenell, whom Mr. Trump named as the center\u2019s new president, posted on social media<\/a> on Friday morning that the video showing Mr. Vance being booed \u201cshould challenge us all to commit to making the Kennedy Center a place where everyone is welcomed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt troubles me to see that so many in the audience appear to be white and intolerant of diverse political views,\u201d he wrote. \u201cDiversity is our strength. We must do better. We must welcome EVERYONE. We will not allow the Kennedy Center to be an intolerant place.\u201d<\/p>\n

In February, President Trump ousted the Kennedy Center\u2019s longtime chairman, the financier David M. Rubenstein, the center\u2019s largest donor. His new board of loyalists elected him chairman and fired Deborah F. Rutter<\/a>, the center\u2019s president for more than a decade. At least three other top staff members were also dismissed.<\/p>\n

Performers, including the actress Issa Rae and the musician Rhiannon Giddens, have dropped out<\/a> in protest amid fears that Mr. Trump\u2019s calls to rid the center of \u201cwoke\u201d influences, drag shows and \u201canti-American propaganda\u201d would result in a reshaping of programming. The musical \u201cHamilton\u201d recently scrapped a planned tour there next year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While Mr. Trump has not yet articulated his vision for the center, his appointees have provided some hints. Mr. Grenell recently said<\/a> that the center planned \u201ca big, huge celebration of the birth of Christ at Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Zach<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

A federal judge in Maryland issued an even more sweeping restraining order than one earlier in the day<\/a> on Thursday, broadly barring the Trump administration from carrying out any future \u201creductions in force\u201d like this week\u2019s ordering the termination of half the Education Department\u2019s workers. The order also directed agencies to offer to rehire probationary employees they had recently laid off, and applied to 18 agencies \u2014 up from the six mentioned the case earlier in the day.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Tim<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

On \u201cThe Ingraham Angle\u201d on Fox News Thursday night, Vice President JD Vance addressed an argument<\/a> that erupted last week in the White House between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Elon Musk, saying that Rubio was doing an \u201cincredible job\u201d and that Musk was doing a \u201cgreat job.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that you have a disagreement at a meeting, that does not mean that you have misalignment,\u201d Vance said of the dispute, which took place in a Cabinet meeting and was reported by The New York Times. Vance added, \u201cIt does annoy me that that leaked.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Carl<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Senate has adjourned for the night, meaning the critical procedural vote on advancing the spending bill will take place Friday afternoon. At the moment, Republicans, with help from Schumer and a handful of other Democrats, appear to have the votes to pass the bill and avoid a shutdown.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Tim<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Vice President JD Vance told Laura Ingraham on Fox News that he could not rule out a recession after the Trump administration imposed heavy tariffs on its biggest trade partners<\/a>. \u201cYou never can predict the future,\u201d Vance said in an interview on \u201cThe Ingraham Angle\u201d that aired Thursday night.<\/p>\n

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Credit…<\/span>Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Tim<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The prospect of a recession this year came up earlier this week in another interview on Fox News that aired Sunday. President Trump declined to dismiss<\/a> the possibility of a recession, telling Maria Bartiromo on Fox News that there would be a \u201cperiod of transition, because what we\u2019re doing is very big.\u201d The remark has contributed to anxiety on Wall Street this week, and the S&P 500 fell into a correction<\/a> Thursday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Catie<\/span><\/p>\n

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Catie Edmondson and Carl Hulse<\/span><\/p>\n

Reporting from Capitol Hill<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Not only did Senator Chuck Schumer of New York announce that he planned to vote to allow the G.O.P. bill to move forward at a private luncheon at the Capitol today, but he made it clear that he had enough votes to help Republicans break any filibuster by his own party against the measure, according to attendees and people familiar with the discussion. The news stunned some Democrats in attendance, who have been vociferously opposed to the measure, those people said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Julian<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Musk met this week with the general who leads both the N.S.A. and Cyber Command, an N.S.A. spokesman says.<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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Gen. Timothy Haugh testifying on worldwide security threats on Capitol Hill last year. He leads both the National Security Agency and the U.S. Cyber Command. <\/span>Credit…<\/span>Kent Nishimura for The New York Times<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Elon Musk met with the head of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command this week, an N.S.A. spokesman said on Thursday, a sign that the effort to shrink the size of the federal work force could soon turn to a critical arm of the intelligence community.<\/p>\n

Mr. Musk, who is leading efforts to reorganize the federal government, traveled to the National Security Agency at Fort Meade, Md., on Wednesday, his first visit there as a special adviser to Mr. Trump, according to the N.S.A. spokesman, who said Mr. Musk had met with General Timothy Haugh, who leads both the N.S.A. and Cyber Command.<\/p>\n

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The spokesman, who did not allow his name to be used, also said that General Haugh was holding meetings with key White House advisers to ensure the N.S.A. and Cyber Command were \u201caligned\u201d with the priorities of Mr. Trump, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence.<\/p>\n

Mr. Musk\u2019s visit was reported earlier by The Washington Post<\/a> and The Wall Street Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The N.S.A. is one of the most bureaucratic of the U.S. spy agencies but collects some of the most valuable intelligence, scooping up telephone and computer communications around the world.<\/p>\n

Cyber Command, while a separate organization, is also headquartered at Fort Meade.<\/p>\n

While Mr. Musk has criticized the federal government\u2019s computer systems, the N.S.A. has some of the most expert cryptologists and computer network experts in the world.<\/p>\n

Mr. Musk this week complained about a disruption of service attack on X that caused service outages. On Monday, he said on Fox News that the cyberattack originated from \u201cIP addresses originating in the Ukraine area.\u201d However, an activist hacking group, Dark Storm<\/a>, claimed responsibility, and experts have cast doubt that the attack actually originated from Ukraine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Annie<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Panamanian officials responded to a news report<\/a> that the White House had directed the U.S. military to draw up plans for sending troops to the Panama Canal with a statement in which they said that while Panama valued its partnership with the U.S. and remained committed to regional security, \u201cour sovereignty over the Panama Canal is absolute and not the basis of any negotiation.\u201d The report by NBC News was based on the accounts of two American officials and said that President Trump and his advisers wanted to see \u201ca U.S. military presence in Panama and on the canal itself.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Annie<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The American officials told NBC News that the administration\u2019s possible strategies around the Panama Canal ranged from ensuring that U.S. ships had safe passage through the waterway to restoring total American ownership of the U.S.-built canal, which has been owned and operated by Panama since 1999.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Annie<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Panamanian officials continued: \u201cSince 1999, we have successfully managed and secured this global trade route without foreign military presence. Our security strategy is built on varied cooperation, not deployment, and any move to increase foreign forces in Panama would challenge our neutrality and sovereignty.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Credit…<\/span>Nathalia Angarita for The New York Times<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Zach<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

A federal judge declined<\/a> to require a coalition of states suing the Trump administration to post a bond covering the federal government\u2019s legal costs if the challenged failed. A week ago, the White House circulated a memo<\/a> directing agencies to increasingly make that demand of parties suing the government in an attempt to stem the tide of lawsuits it is facing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Zach<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In explaining the decision, the judge cited legal precedent allowing \u201can exception to the bond requirement in suits to enforce important federal rights or public interests.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Chris<\/a>\"Jack<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Ra\u00fal Grijalva, Democrat who urged Biden to drop out in 2024, dies of cancer.<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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Representative Ra\u00fal M. Grijalva, chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, during a hearing on the Capitol, in 2020.<\/span>Credit…<\/span>Pool photo by Bonnie Cash<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Representative Ra\u00fal M. Grijalva, a progressive Arizona Democrat who was one of the first to publicly urge President Biden to end his re-election campaign last year<\/a>, died from cancer, his office said in a statement. He was 77.<\/p>\n

Mr. Grijalva had lived for a year with his illness, which caused frequent absences from the Capitol that affected the balance of power in recent months, as Republicans held a slim majority.<\/p>\n

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Mr. Grijalva, as durable as a cactus in Arizona\u2019s political scene, represented a border district in his state \u2014 covering parts of Tucson, tribal reservations and the vast desert along the U.S.-Mexico border \u2014 for more than two decades. He was a liberal fixture of a fast-changing state powered by new arrivals, neighborhoods and businesses eating into the Sonoran desert that Mr. Grijalva, a passionate conservationist<\/a>, cherished and tried to protect.<\/p>\n

His liberal stances often put him out of step with Arizona\u2019s Republican-heavy congressional delegation and even Democratic leaders who often tacked to the center in the bitterly contested swing state.<\/p>\n

But his progressivism endeared him to voters in his left-leaning district and earned loyal support from tribal leaders. One of his final major legislative efforts sought to block a copper mining project at Oak Flat, a sacred area to Western Apache people.<\/a><\/p>\n

As the son of a Mexican father who came to the United States as part of the bracero-guest-worker program<\/a>, Mr. Grijalva espoused staunch support for immigrants, unions, tribal rights and environmental protections. He got his start in politics in Tucson, serving as a school board member and county supervisor before being elected to Congress in 2002.<\/p>\n

Mr. Grijalva announced in April<\/a> that he had been diagnosed with cancer. Months later, he said that he would retire at the end of his current term in January 2027.<\/p>\n

Gov. Katie Hobbs of Arizona is required to call a special election for the seat within 72 hours. A special primary election must then be held between 120 and 130 days later, followed by a special general election 70 to 80 days afterward. Mr. Grijalva won re-election with 63.4 percent of the vote in 2024<\/a>, and whoever wins the Democratic primary for the seat would be the favorite to replace him.<\/p>\n

A spokesman for Ms. Hobbs said that it was too soon for any announcement on the timing of an election. Ms. Hobbs also praised Mr. Grijalva in a separate statement as a \u201ctrue champion for the people of our state.\u201d<\/p>\n

She continued: \u201cTo his last day, he remained a servant leader who put everyday people first while in office. I join every Arizonan in mourning his passing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robert Jimison contributed reporting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Catie<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Schumer\u2019s argument for why a shutdown would give Trump more power than if Democrats approved the stopgap funding bill: \u201cUnder a shutdown, the Trump administration would have full authority to deem whole agencies, programs and personnel nonessential, furloughing staff with no promise they would ever be rehired. The decision on what is essential would be solely left to the executive branch.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that if the government shut down, House and Senate Republicans could \u201cpursue a strategy of bringing bills to the floor to reopen only their favorite departments and agencies, while leaving other vital services that they don\u2019t like to languish.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Carl<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

After declaring that he would vote to keep the government open, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, is to meet with reporters. What remains unclear is if sufficient Democrats will join him in advancing the Republican bill and what the timing for such a vote might be. Senators have not yet been sent home for the night.<\/p>\n

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Credit…<\/span>Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Minho<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Kari Lake, a special adviser to Voice of America\u2019s parent organization said that she had directed VOA, a federally funded news agency, to cancel all contracts with news wire services provided by The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. President Trump named her as the next director for VOA, but she has not yet assumed the job<\/a>, as a bipartisan board that oversees federal news agencies must confirm leadership positions, including those at VOA.<\/p>\n

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Credit…<\/span>Maansi Srivastava for The New York Times<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Minho<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Lake has rebuffed calls from Elon Musk to abolish VOA altogether. But she has said the broadcaster\u2019s coverage will be free from what she described as \u201cTrump derangement syndrome,\u201d or T.D.S. \u201cIt won\u2019t become Trump TV,\u201d Lake said during a speech last month<\/a> at the Conservative Political Action Conference, an influential gathering of conservatives. \u201cBut it sure as hell will not be T.D.S.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Catie<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, says on the Senate floor of the Republican funding bill, known as a C.R.: \u201cWhile the C.R. bill is very bad, the potential for a shutdown has consequences for America that are much, much worse. The Republican bill is a terrible option. It is not a clean C.R. It is deeply partisan. It doesn\u2019t address far too many of this country\u2019s needs, but I believe allowing Donald Trump to take even much more power via a government shutdown is a far worse option.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Catie<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cA shutdown would give Donald Trump, Elon Musk and DOGE the keys to the city, state and country,\u201d Schumer says. We reported earlier that Schumer told colleagues at the party\u2019s private luncheon at the Capitol on Thursday that he would vote to clear the way for a final vote on the bill.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Eileen<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

What to know about Trump\u2019s large-scale layoff plans so far.<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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Demonstrators held signs during a protest against the dismantling of the Education Department at its headquarters in Washington on Tuesday.<\/span>Credit…<\/span>Eric Lee\/The New York Times<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Resignations. Retirements. Firings.<\/p>\n

And now large-scale layoffs, as agencies faced a Thursday deadline to turn in their plans for executing the next phase of President Trump\u2019s goal of significantly reducing the government payroll.<\/p>\n

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Agencies were given guidance and a timeline last month to submit outlines for \u201creductions in force\u201d \u2014 a bureaucratic term meaning shrinking of an organization. Many agencies have not yet announced detailed plans. But some plans have trickled out<\/a>, pointing to a downsizing effort exceeding the number of probationary workers already fired and the number of workers who accepted voluntary resignation offers.<\/p>\n

At least some planned cuts could be blocked by the courts. On Thursday night, a federal judge temporarily restrained the government<\/a> from carrying out any reductions in force across 18 agencies. <\/p>\n

And if the layoffs go forward, there are rules governing how government agencies can make them. Part of the process is assigning scores to individual employees <\/strong>based on their length of service, performance and veteran status. Those with the highest scores are supposed to be prioritized for finding other jobs in the agency.<\/p>\n

Here is what we know about the reduction in force efforts at various agencies.<\/p>\n