It’s Monday. We did it. We saved the daylight.
In today’s issue:
- SNAP benefits to be partially paid in November
- Trump’s newsy ‘60 Minutes’ interview
- President needles CBS over settlement
- Kash Patel jet controversy
- Clooney calls Harris bid a mistake
- Vance dresses as his viral meme
🥪 GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
Trump administration to make partial SNAP payments in November:
The Trump administration just announced it will send partial Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to Americans who qualify for the program.
What sparked this announcement: Two federal judges on Friday ordered the Trump administration to use emergency funds to pay food stamp benefits to tens of millions of Americans in November. The judges gave the administration until noon today to comply. That deadline just passed, and the administration has announced it will pay some of those benefits.
Why wasn’t the Trump administration doing that anyway?: It had argued the emergency funds were “reserved for situations like natural disasters” and not for disbursement amid the ongoing government shutdown.
Why just partial benefits?: The Trump administration told a judge it would *not* tap into additional funding that may have meant recipients would receive their full benefit in November.
Keep in mind: After the Friday ruling, President Trump said his administration has been looking for a way to comply, writing that his lawyers were looking into how to fund SNAP.
➤ 8 DEMOCRATS TO WATCH FOR A POSSIBLE OFF-RAMP:
At least eight Senate Democrats have been meeting to negotiate a way to end the 34-day government shutdown, The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports.
The eight Democrats who are most likely to vote to reopen the government: Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), Jon Ossoff (Ga.), Gary Peters (Mich.), Mark Kelly (Ariz.), Maggie Hassan (N.H.), Peter Welch (Vt.), Tammy Baldwin (Wis.) and Elissa Slotkin (Mich.).
Related read, via The Hill’s Mike Lillis and Sudiksha Kochi: ‘How Democrats, GOP could end shutdown and save face’
➤ WHAT IS TRUMP DOING TO END THE SHUTDOWN?:
CBS’s Norah O’Donnell asked Trump what he’s doing, as president and leader of the GOP, to end the shutdown. He didn’t offer any new ideas or plan to end it. Instead, he cut in to blame Democrats. 📹 Watch the back and forth
Keep in mind: In polling, Republicans have generally faced more blame than Democrats for the shutdown. A new NBC News poll shows that 52 percent of Americans blame the GOP, while 42 percent blame Democrats.
➤ TIDBIT — TOM MASSIE GOT MARRIED:
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) announced that he recently married a former congressional staffer whom he first met while she was working for Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).
From his post: “Fun facts about our wedding: Of course we served raw milk with the wedding cake and margaritas made with frozen peaches from our farm! Senator Rand Paul and Representatives Jim Jordan, Warren Davidson, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Victoria Spartz attended, however the real VIPs were my three grandkids.” 📸 Photo from their wedding
⏱️ IN THE WHITE HOUSE
Highlights from Trump on ‘60 Minutes’:
President Trump sat down with CBS News’s Norah O’Donnell for his first “60 Minutes” appearance since his feud with the network that ended in a $16 million settlement.
Trump made a reference to the settlement during the interview, claiming the network intentionally edited its interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris to make her sound more coherent. The network has rejected that premise.
“And actually ‘60 Minutes’ paid me a lot of money. And you don’t have to put this on, because I don’t want to embarrass you, and I’m sure you’re not — you have a great — I think you have a great, new leader, frankly, who’s the young woman that’s leading your whole enterprise is a great, from what I know,” Trump said about CBS’s new editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss.
Other highlights:
• China, Russia and nuclear weapons: Trump suggested that China and Russia are testing nuclear weapons.
• Trump suggests he’d vote for Cuomo over Mamdani: Trump said he’s “not a fan” of Andrew Cuomo but he’d prefer him over Zohran Mamdani, whom he called a “communist.”
^ FWIW: Mamdani mocked Cuomo for this.
• The president defended ICE raids: Trump argued he hadn’t gone too far in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids “because we’ve been held back by the judges, by the liberal judges that were put in by Biden and by Obama.” He said he’s OK with the tactics they’ve used.
• And defended his political enemies’ prosecutions: “I think I’ve been very mild-mannered,” Trump said. “You’re looking at a man who was indicted many times, and I had to beat the rap. Otherwise, I couldn’t have run for president. They tried to get me not to run for president by going after me and by indicting me.”
Read more takeawaysfrom The Hill’s Brett Samuels
✈️ OTHER NEWS
The Kash Patel jet controversy:
FBI Director Kash Patel has been under criticism over speculation that he used an agency jet to visit his girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins, perform in Pennsylvania.
Patel hit back at the reports on Sunday, slamming “uninformed internet anarchists and the fake news.” “I’ve always said — criticize me all you want. But going after the people doing great work, my personal life, or those around me is a total disgrace,” he continued.🔎 Read his lengthy post
Keep in mind: “Patel’s critics, including ex-FBI agent Kyle Seraphin, drew attention to Patel’s apparent use of the government jet to see Wilkins perform. Some critics also resurfaced comments from 2023 in which Patel chastised then-FBI Director Christopher Wray’s use of a government jet.”
What’s going on with Venezuela?:
“The drumbeat for some kind of military action against Venezuela keeps getting louder,” writes The Hill’s Niall Stanage.
“The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that the Trump administration had identified land targets that could be struck in the South American nation. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has reacted with fury to what he sees as a Washington-led effort to depose him.”
“Meanwhile, there have now been at least 14 American strikes on vessels in the Caribbean, often of Venezuelan origin. The Trump administration says these boats are smuggling drugs, through the evidence it has produced in support of those claims is scant.”
Stanage published a helpful explainer of the situation: ‘What to know about Trump and rising tensions with Venezuela’
➤ QUICK HITS:
— Hollywood star George Clooney, who pushed for former President Biden to step aside in the 2024 presidential election, says that it was “mistake” for former Vice President Kamala Harris to step in.
— Amazon and OpenAI sign a $38 billion cloud computing deal.
— Kimberly-Clark will buy the maker of Tylenol for $40 billion.
— Trump is targeting comedian Seth Meyers after the host mocked him on “Late Night.”
➤ MORE READS:
The New York Times: With an Eye on the Midterms, Trump Fuels a Nationwide Scramble for Power
Axios: “Most important case ever”: Supreme Court to decide fate of Trump’s tariffs
The Hill: Trump’s MRI scan raises specter of secrecy in presidential health
The Washington Post: Can Democrats reverse Trump’s Latino gains? This county has clues.
The Hill: Nvidia chief embraces Trump as chipmaker reaches new heights
The Atlantic: A Third Term Is a Legal Problem With a Political Solution
COMING UP
The House is out. The Senate is in. President Trump is at the White House. (All times ET)
12:15 p.m. Democratic House candidate Abigail Spanberger campaigns in Richmond, Va. 💻Livestream
5:30 p.m. The Senate votes on a judicial nomination. 📆 Today’s agenda
7 p.m. Trump participates in a Virginia telerally.
7:30 p.m. Trump participates in a New Jersey telerally.
8 p.m. New Jersey Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli campaigns in Raritan, N.J. 💻Livestream
Tuesday: Election Day
INTERNET BUZZ
🥪 Celebrate: Today is National Sandwich Day.
👩🦱 This is pretty funny: Vice President Vance dressed up as the viral Vance meme for Halloween, sporting a curly wig. 📸 Photo
🐍 This costume wins: Heidi Klum spent 10 hours on hair and makeup to be transformed into Medusa, complete with animatronic snakes.
🐦⬛ And this wins for the best decor: Check out this massive bird display in the West Village of Manhattan.
AND FINALLY
Because I want to leave you with a smile, watch this horse figure out whether she has found a sweet treat.
