12:30 Report is The Hill’s midday newsletter. Subscribe here.
It’s Wednesday. Well, the kids won. “6-7” has been declared the word of 2025. If you don’t know what this means, neither does anyone who is old enough to vote.
In today’s issue:
- World braces for today’s Trump-Xi meeting
- Hurricane Melissa batters Cuba
- US sends emergency crews to Jamaica
- Interest rate cut predicted for today
- Vance, Erika Kirk to speak
🎤 IN SOUTH KOREA
World braces for Trump-Xi meeting:
This is the day we’ve been nervously awaiting. President Trump will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea for their first face-to-face meetup in six years.
What are Trump’s biggest goals:
• Finalizing a trade deal
• Increase U.S. access to Chinese critical minerals
• Talk China into buying more U.S. agriculture
• Finalizing the TikTok sale
What are Xi’s biggest goals?:
• Nixing the tariff on Chinese goods
• Avoid export restrictions on American technology
• Move Washington closer to Beijing’s position toward Taiwan
Read Laura Kelly’s preview on these goals: ‘Trump extends friendly hand to Xi in fraught relationship with China’
Keep an eye tooon whatever the two sides say about China helping crack down on fentanyl.
How did Trump’s day with the South Korean president go?: Lots of flattery. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung gifted Trump a golden crown and a coveted medal.
^ But just a few hundred miles away: North Korea conducted a series of cruise missile tests. For what it’s worth, Trump has repeatedly said during this trip that he would like to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, though nothing has been scheduled.
Related read, via The New York Times: ‘How the 19th-Century Opium War Shapes Xi’s Trade Clash With Trump’
🌀 HURRICANE MARIA
Melissa mangles the Caribbean:
Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Cuba as a Category 3 storm this morning after devastating Jamaica. More than 700,000 people are in evacuation shelters.
The U.S. is deploying emergency teams to the Caribbean to help with the disaster response.
The storm pummeled Jamaica: It made landfall on Tuesday afternoon as the strongest hurricane in Jamaica’s history. Jamaica’s prime minister has declared the entire country as a disaster area.
Will it impact the U.S.?: The storm’s path shows it moving out to sea, meaning it wouldn’t hit the U.S. 🗺️ Hurricane Melissa’s path
📉 OTHER NEWS
Get low, get low (but at a slow, calm, stable pace):
The Federal Reserve is expected to announce a small interest rate cut this afternoon.
What we know: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is expected to make an announcement at 2:30 p.m. If he does announce a rate cut, that would be the second cut of this year.
💡 This is a particularly hard decision for the Fed: There is a lot of uncertainty about the state of the U.S. economy. Hiring has slowed butinflation has remained elevated. The jobs report gives a gold standard metric, but it hasn’t been released because of the government shutdown. Oh, and the shutdown may harm the economy in the coming months.
Day 32 will be a bad day:
The pain of the government shutdown is set to spiral this weekend when tens of millions of Americans from all over the country will be affected.
The Hill’s Mike Lillis reports on the massive impact that will be felt beginning this weekend:
“The D-Day moment, which hits this weekend, is poised to wallop groups as varied as military troops, patients on ObamaCare, kids in Head Start, and low-income families on food stamps,” Lillis writes.
It’s not just SNAP benefits: “The administration shifted funds to pay out October benefits for a federal nutrition program for young mothers and kids, known as WIC. But that emergency funding is set to run out near the end of the month. And a huge fight is brewing over the fate of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides food aid to millions of low-income people.”
Read more: ‘Shutdown pain spikes this weekend, upping pressure on Congress to strike deal’
Democrats may be starting to wobble: The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports that “Senate Democrats are taking a close look at a Republican proposal to pay all federal employees — including essential and furloughed workers — as they’re under new pressure from the nation’s largest federal workers union to pass a clean continuing resolution to reopen the government.”
Plus: “They also plan to introduce legislation to pay for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and extend funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, which provides essential nutrition assistance for lower income mothers.”
Read Bolton’s reporting: ‘Democrats wobble as pressure to end shutdown ramps up’
One of Republicans’ biggest headaches (aside from the shutdown):
Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) has been publicly blasting her party over its handling of the government shutdown — and it’s only intensified over the past day.
Her X feed has been full of jabs at Republicans, particularly on the expiring ObamaCare subsidies. She’s been vocally critical of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) for keeping the House in recess during the shutdown.
Her latest grievance: She called out Johnson for not giving any concrete plans for a GOP alternative to ObamaCare or the expiring health care subsidies.
It appears to be rattling the GOP: It’s gotten the attention of some fellow Republicans, including Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas), who accused her of being “very liberal.”
“Suddenly, Marjorie is for massive government spending and taxes. And she’s for open borders and amnesty,” Cruz told CNBC, dismissing Greene’s recent critiques. 📹 Watch Cruz lay into Greene
Does she think she’s moving to the left?: No, she recently argued that she hasn’t changed, but everyone else has. “I’m staying focused on America First, and I’m urging my party to get back to America First,” she said earlier this month.
➤ INTERESTING SHUTDOWN READ — WHERE IS TRUMP?:
The Atlantic pointed out that “in the 29 days that the government has been closed, President Donald Trump has not traveled to Capitol Hill to jump-start negotiations, brought congressional leaders to the White House to broker a deal, or given a speech to the American public about the crisis.”
But he has been busy in October, including traveling, demolishing the East Wing of the White House, etc. Read: ‘The Missing President’
➤ HOW HAVE TRUMP’S SHUTDOWN LAYOFFS BEEN GOING?:
Well, a federal judge indefinitely blocked Trump’s efforts to fire thousands of federal employees during the shutdown.
➤ A LIGHTER TIDBIT:
Punchbowl’s Andrew Desiderio spotted a funny moment in the Senate with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). “Lindsey Graham whispered something into his phone and then Siri responded with full volume: ‘Calling Sean Hannity mobile.’”
➤ QUICK HITS:
— Nvidia has become the world’s first $5 trillion company.
— Trump acknowledged that he cannot run for a third term, telling reporters the Constitution is “pretty clear.”
— The Pentagon yanked key protections for its civilian workers. They’ve directed managers to move with “speed and conviction” to fire underperforming workers.
— Trump fired all six members on the independent commission expected to review some of his new projects, including construction of the new balloon.
— Vice President Vance says Secretary of State Marco Rubio is his “best friend” in the Trump administration.
➤ MORE READS:
Politico: Meet the Senate aide with a $44,000 taxpayer-funded commute
The New York Times: When This Reporter Comes Calling, the White House Insults Go Flying
The Wall Street Journal: Tens of Thousands of White-Collar Jobs Are Disappearing as AI Starts to Bite
The Hill: Ocasio-Cortez faces critical moment with Zohran Mamdani
COMING UP
The House is out. The Senate is in. President Trump is in South Korea. (All times EDT)
2:15 p.m. The Senate votes. 🗓️ Today’s agenda
2:30 p.m. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell holds a news conference. 💻Livestream
6 p.m. Vice President Vance attends a Turning Point USA event at Ole Miss with Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk.
10 p.m. Trump’s bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
INTERNET BUZZ
🥣 Celebrate: Today is National Oatmeal Day.
🔢 People with kids will immediately know what this means: “6-7” has been declared the word of 2025 for Dictionary.com. It’s a silly slang phrase that kids are using, though I’m guessing this distinction may make it less cool… If you don’t know what it means, here’s an explainer.
🍫 Halloween candy may have less chocolate this year: Cocoa prices are high this year, so you may notice more gummies and less chocolate candy.
🏈 Travis has been learning the choreo: Travis Kelce appeared to do Taylor Swift’s “Fate of Ophelia” dance choreography after getting a touchdown. 📹 Watch
AND FINALLY…
To leave you with a smile, watch this dog’s reaction to hearing all of his favorite words.
