Highlights from Oct. 15, 2025
- SHUTDOWN VOTES: The Senate failed to advance the House-passed short-term spending bill for a ninth time as the government shutdown stretched into a third week. Republicans needed at least five more Democrats to break a filibuster and have made no progress in the more than two weeks since the shutdown began.
- LAYOFFS BLOCKED FOR NOW: A federal judge today temporarily blocked President Donald Trump from laying off federal employees during the shutdown. Russell Vought, director of the White House budget office, estimated the administration could cut more than 10,000 positions during the shutdown.
- AN UNPRECEDENTED ACKNOWLEDGMENT: Trump today said he authorized the CIA to take unspecified action in Venezuela. His remarks come hours after The New York Times published a story reporting that the administration had approved the agency to commit covert, lethal action in the country.
- VOTING RIGHTS: The conservative-majority Supreme Court today appeared open to undermining the landmark Voting Rights Act in a congressional redistricting case from Louisiana. The justices heard oral arguments about whether states can ever consider race in drawing new districts while seeking to comply with Section 2 of the 1965 law.
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Judge says Trump administration’s layoffs are 'far from normal'
In her written order tonight, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston wrote that the Trump administration’s Reduction in Force (RIFs) efforts during a government shutdown “are not 'ordinary' RIFs in any sense of the word.”
"Based on the record before the Court, some employees do not even know if they are being laid off because the RIF notices were sent to government e-mail accounts, and furloughed employees may not access their work e-mail during a shutdown,” Illston wrote.
Illston said it was “far from normal” for an administration “to fire line-level civilian employees during a government shutdown as a way to punish the opposing political party.”
“But this is precisely what President Trump has announced he is doing,” she wrote.
She said the thousands of layoffs across the federal government during a government shutdown “is the epitome of hasty, arbitrary and capricious decision-making.”
Trump again increases projected capacity of new ballroom
Trump hosted a dinner in the East Room this evening for people who have supported construction of his new ballroom, which he now says will accommodate 999 people, further expanding projections of its capacity since he announced the construction project in July.
"We're going to build a room that's going to be able to hold, literally, the inauguration, if we want," Trump said.
The larger figure is not Trump's first revision of the ballroom's expected capacity.
Trump last month told NBC News in an interview that it would be “a little bigger” than initially planned and accommodate 900 people instead of the 650 the White House described in July.
The price tag is north of $200 million, and Trump has said he will personally help pay for the ballroom, in addition to private donors. Construction began last month.
“I’m very good at building things on time, on budget,” Trump said.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
During tonight's remarks, Trump also joked about his administration's efforts to conduct military strikes on boats in the Caribbean that he has said are carrying drugs.
"We had a lot of drugs coming in by water, and that stopped. In fact, nobody wants to go fishing anymore," Trump said.
"They might have a beautiful boat, and they might as well get rid of their boat, because they are very nervous," he added.
Vance says young Republicans accused of racism shouldn’t have their lives ‘ruined’
Vice President JD Vance has come to the defense of young Republican leaders who are under scrutiny after Politico published “hundreds of racist and hateful messages” from what it reported was their private group chat.
The “reality is that kids do stupid things, especially young boys,” Vance said today in an appearance on “The Charlie Kirk Show,” the podcast launched by the recently assassinated conservative activist who was a close ally of Vance and Trump.
“They tell edgy, offensive jokes, like, that’s what kids do,” Vance continued. “And I really don’t want us to grow up in a country where a kid telling a stupid joke — telling a very offensive, stupid joke — is cause to ruin their lives. And at some point we’re all going to have to say enough of this BS, we’re not going to allow the worst moment in a 21-year-old’s group chat to ruin a kid’s life for the rest of time. That’s just not OK.”
Senate to vote a 10th time on government funding stopgap, will try to start defense funding bill
The Senate will vote tomorrow for a 10th time on the House-passed clean stopgap funding bill, a vote to move forward with the bill, which will need 60 votes to pass and is expected to fail again.
But the Senate will also vote tomorrow on a procedural motion related to the Defense Department appropriations Bill, which would start the Senate on the process to pass a bill to fully fund the military. That motion, which will also need 60 votes to pass, will be a key test of whether Democrats want to block even normal appropriations government funding bills as a part of their protest to get negotiations started surrounding an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies.
If tomorrow’s procedural vote passes, the Senate could pass the bill in the coming weeks, and if the House were to also pass the same version and Trump were to sign it into law, the military’s not being paid during a shutdown would no longer be an issue (if the shutdown has continued that long).
The votes will be at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The Senate is also expected to leave town for the weekend after votes tomorrow, most likely meaning the government shutdown will last until Monday.
Zohran Mamdani says it’s ‘too early’ to give Trump credit for Gaza ceasefire deal
Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee in the New York mayoral race, said today that it was “too early” to give Trump credit for negotiating a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, saying he would be willing to do so if the ceasefire is “lasting” and “durable.”
“When it comes to the ceasefire, I am thankful, and I have hope that it will actually endure and that it will be lasting,” Mamdani told Fox News’ Martha MacCallum.
Asked by MacCallum about whether he credits Trump, whose administration negotiated the first phase of a peace plan with Israel and Hamas, Mamdani said, “I think it’s too early to do so.”
'A dark day for press freedom': Pentagon reporters criticize confiscation of badges
The Pentagon Press Association sharply criticized the Defense Department's move to confiscate the badges of the Pentagon reporters who refused to sign the Pentagon’s new media policy yesterday.
"It did this because reporters would not sign onto a new media policy over its implicit threat of criminalizing national security reporting and exposing those who sign it to potential prosecution," the group said.
NBC News and five other major broadcast news networks yesterday joined other media outlets in opposing the new rules, which bar Pentagon reporters from reporting on information the government hasn't authorized for release even if it is unclassified.
The Pentagon Press Association said in today's statement that confiscating the badges marked "a dark day for press freedom that raises concerns about a weakening U.S. commitment to transparency in governance, to public accountability at the Pentagon and to free speech for all."
Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement that the policy "does not ask for them to agree, just to acknowledge that they understand what our policy is."
"This has caused reporters to have a full blown meltdown, crying victim online. We stand by our policy because it’s what’s best for our troops and the national security of this country," Parnell said.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had also defended the policy Monday on X, writing, “Pentagon access is a privilege, not a right."
Trump confirms he authorized CIA action in Venezuela
The CIA’s operations abroad are usually shrouded in secrecy, but Trump said today he had authorized it to take unspecified action in Venezuela, an extraordinary and unprecedented acknowledgment from a commander in chief.
“Why did you authorize the CIA to go into Venezuela?” a reporter asked Trump at the White House.
“I authorized for two reasons, really,” Trump said. “No. 1, they have emptied their prisons into the United States of America.”
The second reason, he said, is narcotics trafficking.
“And the other thing are drugs. We have a lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela,” Trump said.
Trump’s highly unusual remarks came only hours after The New York Times reported that the Trump administration had authorized the CIA to carry out covert lethal action in Venezuela.
The CIA declined to comment on the report.
Trump suggests he could play a bigger role in efforts to prosecute his perceived political foes
Trump suggested this afternoon that he could be playing a bigger role in efforts to prosecute his perceived political foes when a reporter asked him in the Oval Office about claims that he has weaponized the Justice Department to seek political retribution.
"If anything, I think this Justice Department has been so respectful of the law,” Trump said.
Trump also suggested that the Justice Department under former President Joe Biden had targeted him unfairly.
"What they did to go after his political opponent is legendary, worse than any third-world country, banana republic, and what we're doing is nothing. Are you kidding? Nothing," Trump said.
"I don't have to leave it up to them, but I choose to at this moment at least," he added.
Trump has faced criticism from Democrats about the recent indictments of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James after he pressed Attorney General Pam Bondi on social media to prosecute them.
When asked about Trump's comments, the Justice Department referred NBC News to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche's remarks during the news conference.
"There's no scenario in which you can look at what we're doing, restoring justice, doing the right thing in every single case, and say that that's weaponization, and yet remain eerily silent about what happened to the past three years," Blanche said.
GOP congressman calls swastika flag displayed in his office ‘vile’
A Republican congressman from Ohio condemned the display of an altered American flag that included a swastika in his office, calling it “a vile and deeply inappropriate symbol” that his office is investigating.
“I am aware of an image that appears to depict a vile and deeply inappropriate symbol near an employee in my office. The content of that image does not reflect the values or standards of this office, my staff, or myself, and I condemn it in the strongest terms,” Rep. Dave Taylor said in a statement.
Politico first reported the existence of the flag, which was spotted pinned to a bulletin board behind one of Taylor’s staffers during a virtual meeting. A picture of the flag obtained by Politico shows the stripes in the American flag forming the Nazi symbol.
Trump says he is 'certainly looking at land' in the Caribbean offensive
Trump said in the Oval Office this afternoon that his administration is considering strikes on land in his crackdown on drug cartels after his administration authorized military strikes on boats in the Caribbean in recent weeks.
"Well, I don’t want to tell you exactly, but we are certainly looking at land now because we’ve got the sea very well under control," he said in response to a reporter's question about whether he was considering land strikes.
Trump has directed at least five military strikes in the Caribbean that officials say have killed 27 people. After a second strike last month, Trump said it targeted “narcoterrorists” who were poised to bring “illegal narcotics” to the United States.
An initial deadly strike last month blew up a Venezuelan boat and killed 11 people. Trump claimed at the time that the Tren de Aragua gang was responsible for the boat, which he said was carrying drugs.
‘The cavalry is coming’: Indivisible predicts massive ‘No Kings’ turnout
Cyndi Greening has a distinct memory of when Trump won the presidency in November. It’s from her living room floor.
Greening, a former college professor from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, said she cried there for days until her 37-year-old son interjected: “Get up and do something. What’s the matter with you?”
That’s when the Chippewa Valley Indivisible group was created. At the first meeting in January, 28 people showed up. At the next, it was 68. It then grew to 124.
Today, membership is nearing 1,900. On Saturday, they’ll be among the millions of people marching in nationwide “No Kings” protests, which organizers expect to far surpass the 5 million demonstrators who turned out for June’s “No Kings” day.
Adams says he's in talks with Cuomo over a potential endorsement in NYC mayoral race
New York Mayor Eric Adams said today he's "in conversation" with former Gov. Andrew Cuomo's mayoral campaign about a potential endorsement.
Adams, a Democrat who launched an independent re-election campaign this year and then dropped out in September, told "The Reset Talk Show": "I’m in conversation with Andrew. I think it’s important that we can’t succumb to the far-left agenda in this city."
With less than a month to Election Day, Cuomo faces an uphill battle against state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, who beat him in the Democratic primary this year.
In an interview this month with NBC News' "Meet the Press NOW," Cuomo said he would "welcome" Adams' endorsement, as they've both criticized Mamdani's progressive policy agenda.
“You know, it’s apples and oranges. We couldn’t be more different. I’m a mainstream Democrat. He’s a fringe Democrat,” Cuomo said.
Adams said today, "Thank God I was the mayor of this city to keep some of that far-left radicalization of our young people and our city away." He added that Cuomo still has a path to victory.
"There’s a lot of time. Don’t let anyone fool you to believe this race is over. Trust me, there’s a lot of time to determine who’s going to be the next mayor of the city of New York," he added.
Cuomo resigned as governor in 2021 after multiple allegations of sexual assault arose. In the "Meet the Press NOW," interview, he dismissed the allegations as "political" and said there was "nothing to them."
In a statement after his comments on "The Reset Talk Show," Adams' campaign clarified that he wasn't endorsing Cuomo today.
"While he is not making any endorsements today, he is keeping his options open for the future. Mayor Adams is proud of what his administration has achieved and remains confident that New York City’s best days are still ahead," a spokesperson for his campaign said in the statement.
Judge temporarily halts federal worker layoffs during shutdown
A federal judge in California today issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from laying off federal workers during the ongoing government shutdown.
Two unions sued the Trump administration last month ahead of the shutdown after it signaled a plan to issue reductions in force (RIF) procedures to federal agencies. The suit argued "the decision to implement RIFs during the federal shutdown, and the actions taken to implement it, are contrary to federal law."
U.S. District Judge Susan Yvonne Illston said she was "inclined to grant" the unions' request because it appears the “activities that are being undertaken here are contrary to the laws."
Illston said the administration had “taken advantage of the lapse in government spending and government functioning to assume that all bets are off, the laws don’t apply to them anymore, and they can impose the structures that they like on the government situation that they don’t like.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Themins Hedges argued that the plaintiffs didn't have standing to sue and that their employment-related harms were “reparable.”
Illston said she'd hold a hearing on whether to issue a longer-term injunction later this month.
Senate votes on House-passed short-term funding bill for 9th time
The Senate is now voting on advancing the House-passed funding bill for the ninth time.
Republicans need 60 votes for it to advance to a final vote.
Vought predicts more than 10,000 jobs will be cut during shutdown
The director of the White House's budget office, Russell Vought, predicted today that the administration will cut more than 10,000 jobs during the government shutdown.
In an interview on "The Charlie Kirk Show," he confirmed that 4,000 jobs have already been cut, and when he was asked whether that number could increase, he said: "It could grow higher. I think will probably end up being north of 10,000."
The administration began laying off the first 4,000-plus people last week. The layoffs involved jobs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some of which were ultimately reversed.
Federal workers are typically furloughed during government shutdowns, not fired, but the Trump administration said, even before the government shutdown, that people would be laid off. Trump and other officials have said they would target programs favored by Democrats.
Federal agents deploy tear gas in clash with Chicago protesters
Tensions are running high in multiple cities in response to Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, with clashes on the streets of Chicago getting heated between protesters and federal agents who deployed tear gas, exposing some in the crowd. Homeland Security officials say Mexican drug cartels are offering cash bounties to target ICE officers and other high-ranking officials. NBC News’ Shaquille Brewster reports for "TODAY."
Supreme Court leans toward further weakening landmark Voting Rights Act
Reporting from Washington
The conservative-majority Supreme Court today appeared open to again undermining the Voting Rights Act in a congressional redistricting case from Louisiana.
The justices, who expanded the scope of the case over the summer, heard oral arguments on whether states can ever consider race in drawing new districts while seeking to comply with Section 2 of the 1965 law, which was enacted against a backdrop of historic racial discrimination to protect minority voters.
The Voting Rights Act has long been a target of conservative legal attacks, with the Supreme Court weakening it in two major rulings in 2013 and 2021.
The long-running dispute concerns the congressional map that Louisiana was required to redraw last year after being sued under the Voting Rights Act to ensure that there were two majority-Black districts. The original map only had one such district in a state where a third of the population is Black.
Supreme Court arguments wrap in Louisiana voting rights case
Supreme Court arguments have concluded in a Louisiana redistricting case that includes a challenge to a key provision of the Voting Rights Act.
Janai Nelson, who is supporting the majority-Black districts in Louisiana, pointed to court precedent in her rebuttal to the challenges to the state map, arguing that her opponents are raising issues that have already been answered by the Supreme Court in other cases.
Nelson also argued that placing limits that effectively neuter Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act would lead to a resurgence of electoral discrimination.
Sen. Cantwell calls for Hatch Act investigation over airport shutdown videos
The top Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., is demanding an investigation into Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem for violating the Hatch Act by airing a “partisan video featuring her” at TSA airport screening locations across the country.
In a letter to acting Special Counsel Jamieson Greer, Cantwell wrote, “When viewed in its totality, Secretary Noem’s video can only be reasonably interpreted as a partisan message intended to misleadingly malign the Trump Administration’s political opponents, convince Americans to blame ‘Democrats in Congress’ for the ongoing government shutdown, and influence their future votes—all while omitting the fact that Republicans currently control the White House, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House of Representatives.”
Some airports have refused to play the video, saying its political content goes against their policies.
The sleeper issue that could play a huge role in Virginia and New Jersey — and the midterms
Leaders in both parties are locked in competition to encourage tech giants to establish sprawling data centers in their states, looking for an economic leg up and an innovation edge in the early days of the artificial intelligence boom.
Now, those same leaders are dealing with a downside that’s more apparent by the month: Those electricity-hungry data centers are a major contributor to rising utility bills for cost-conscious residents who have been concerned about rising prices for years.
“Voters are mad as hell about energy prices increasing,” Virginia state Del. Shelly Simonds, a Democrat, said. “And they’re mad about affordability in general. And anybody who ignores these issues does so at their peril. It’s definitely going to be an issue during the midterms.”
Speaker Johnson denounces Democrats demanding Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva be sworn in
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., rebuked Democratic lawmakers who showed up at his office last night demanding the swearing-in of Democratic Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva of Arizona.
Speaking this morning at a press conference marking the 15th day of the government shutdown, Johnson accused Democrats of playing games.
“They berated a Capitol Police officer, screamed at him,” Johnson said. “He was just merely standing his post. Shows again, their disdain for law enforcement, as we see all around the country.”
Johnson has refused to seat Grijalva in the House because of the government shutdown. The congresswoman-elect said yesterday, “I have not had one word from Speaker Johnson, not one word,” Grijalva said. “We sent a letter. Now our attorney general is getting involved, because this is taxation without representation.”
Democrats have accused Johnson of not seating her because she could sign onto a bipartisan discharge petition that would require the Justice Department to hand over Jeffrey Epstein-related records to Congress.
Liberal justices push lawyer on concepts of 'intentional' discrimination
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson pressed Edward Greim, who is challenging the interpretation of aspects of the Voting Rights Act, on whether he was suggesting that it was only a state's intentional discrimination that needed to be remedied.
Greim said that if a race-based remedy is involved, it must be in response to "intentional discrimination."
Justice Sonia Sotomayor said that the 15th Amendment is not limited to "intentional" discrimination, prompting Greim to argue that the court has never held that the amendment addresses anything other than discrimination that is intentional.
But Sotomayor pushed back, arguing his assertion was not true and that the court has evaluated whether the effect of something is discrimination, regardless of whether that was the intent.
Jackson also pointed to the Americans with Disabilities Act. She noted that the effect of inaccessible buildings was discriminatory because people with disabilities could not access them — an effect that happened whether or not the person who built or owned the building intended to be exclusionary.
Greim argued, however, that the difference between the remedy under that act and other anti-discrimination laws was that it was not race-based and did not "stereotype" people.
Justice Jackson presses Louisiana's solicitor general on the VRA
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson pressed Louisiana Solicitor General Ben Aguiñaga on his perception of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
Jackson emphasized that Section 2 is about identifying a problem of unequal election opportunity, and then identifying a remedy. She pushed back on Aguiñaga's previous comments, asking him why it would not be in the state's interest to identify areas where discrimination is happening.
Jackson argued that the state "obviously" has an interest in remedying the effects of racial discrimination that are identified.
