| September 29, 2025 07:28:21 AM |
|
|
| September 29, 2025 07:28:21 AM |
|
|
It’s down to the wire for government funding. Democratic and Republican congressional leaders are heading to the White House for a meeting with President Donald Trump on Monday in a late effort to avoid a shutdown.
Welcome to this week’s edition of AP Ground Game. |
Policy changes, but facts endure. AP delivers accurate, fact-based journalism to keep the world informed in every administration. Support independent reporting today. Donate. |
The White House is seen on a sunrise Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
|
Shutdown draws closer as congressional leaders head to the White House |
Trump has said repeatedly he fully expects the government to enter a shutdown this week, and Republicans are daring Democrats to vote against legislation that would keep government funding mostly at current levels. Democrats so far have held firm, using one of their few points of leverage to demand that Congress take up legislation to extend health care benefits.
Trump abruptly canceled a meeting that was planned with congressional leaders last week, calling Democrats' demands “unserious and ridiculous.” Still, Democrats argued that Trump's agreement to meet now shows that he is feeling the pressure to negotiate, noting that, because Republicans control the White House and Congress, Americans will mostly blame them for any shutdown.
But to hold on to their negotiating leverage, Senate Democrats will likely have to vote against a bill to temporarily extend government funding on Tuesday, just hours before a shutdown — an uncomfortable position for a party that has long denounced shutdowns as pointless and destructive. Already passed the Republican-controlled House, the bill would keep the government funded for seven more weeks while Congress works on annual spending legislation. Read more.
|
|
|
Of note:
If government funding legislation is not passed by Congress and signed by Trump on Tuesday night, many government offices across the nation will be temporarily shuttered and non-exempt federal employees will be furloughed, adding to the strain on workers and the nation's economy. |
|
|
Oregon leaders say Trump is deploying 200 National Guard troops |
The latest federal military action in the states is apparently coming in Oregon, where two hundred members of the state's National Guard are being placed under federal control and deployed to protect immigration enforcement officers and government facilities.
A Defense Department memo received by state leaders on Sunday doesn’t specifically cite Portland as the target of the proposed deployment. But in a social media post on Saturday, Trump said he directed the Pentagon “to provide all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists.”
Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek said Sunday that she objected to the deployment in a conversation with the president. There was no immediate comment from the White House, and none of the Pentagon officials contacted would confirm or deny the authenticity of the memo. Read more. |
|
|
Of note:
So far, Oregon seems different than federal action in other cities this year. The Trump administration deployed active-duty Marines to Los Angeles, and more than 1,000 National Guard troops, including units from other states, have patrolled Washington, D.C.’s streets for weeks. A deployment in Memphis, Tennessee is expected soon, and Trump has threatened to send the National Guard into Chicago but has yet to follow through. |
|
|
Trump's team keeps posting AI portraits of him. We keep clicking. |
On the social media accounts of Donald Trump and his second-term administration, a new official image of the president is emerging bit by bit: one generated artificially. From a chiseled and brawny version of Trump, to a Star Wars Jedi wielding a patriot-red lightsaber – even Pope Trump – AI images posted by Trump and his team run the gamut. And they arrive in Trump’s usual style: brassy, unabashed and attention-grabbing, in line with the heavy meme posting his social media team has promised to continue.
The White House recognizes the appeal. In July, it posted to its X account: “Nowhere in the Constitution does it say we can’t post banger memes.” Attached to the post, a photo of a sign on the White House lawn parodying the naysayers: “oMg, diD tHe wHiTE hOuSE reALLy PosT tHis?” Read more.
|
|
|
Of note:
The lack of subtlety in Trump’s AI images of himself helps explain their consistent virality. Commenters can be found lamenting the demise of presidential decorum, relishing those very reactions, and everything in between.
But that is tradition for Trump, cashing the currency of our attention economy: Whether you cracked a smile or clutched your pearls, he still made you look. |
|
|
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before departing the White House, Friday, Sept. 26, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) |
- At the White House on Monday, Trump holds separate meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Republican and Democratic congressional leaders.
- On Tuesday, Trump is expected to speak to a gathering of top U.S. military leaders at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia.
|
|
|
|
