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Vulnerable Lawmakers Try to Spurn Shutdown Pay

October 1, 2025 at 12:38 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Capitol Hill staff are preparing to miss paychecks if the shutdown drags on, but their bosses don’t need to worry — pay for lawmakers is mandated in the Constitution and continues regardless of whether Congress funds the government,” Bloomberg reports.

“Already, House members and senators across the political spectrum are engaging in the custom of rejecting their paychecks when the government is closed. But since the Treasury is constitutionally required to pay them a salary, the process is more complicated than simply not paying lawmakers who refuse the money.”

Trump to Withhold Billions from New York City Projects

October 1, 2025 at 12:21 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Trump administration is planning to withhold billions of dollars from one of the nation’s largest public works projects in direct retaliation for the government shutdown, which Republicans are blaming on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and fellow Democrats,” Politico reports.

“White House budget director Russell Vought said Wednesday the administration is withholding ‘roughly $18 billion’ from New York City infrastructure projects because of ‘unconstitutional DEI principles.'”

A Novice Defense Secretary Lectures the Brass

October 1, 2025 at 12:09 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “The military officers assembled in the room listened silently. It is likely, though, that at least some of them were seething at his suggestion that their collective failure to enforce basic standards had caused, or even contributed to, the military’s failings in Afghanistan and Iraq.”


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Pentagon Plans Random Polygraph Tests

October 1, 2025 at 11:53 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Pentagon plans to impose strict nondisclosure agreements and random polygraph testing for scores of people in its headquarters, including many top officials,” the Washington Post reports.

The Case Democrats Should Be Making

October 1, 2025 at 11:38 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Democrats are once again testing a strategy that history suggests is doomed to fail.

They’ve tied the extension of Obamacare subsidies to the stopgap government funding bill — a move that has shut down the government over a policy objective only loosely related to the fight at hand.

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Supreme Court Allows Lisa Cook to Keep Her Job for Now

October 1, 2025 at 11:18 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to keep her job for now and scheduled arguments in January to weigh President Trump’s bid to fire her,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The justices on several occasions have allowed Trump to fire officials at other government agencies, but they also have signaled they believe the Fed is unique and enjoys more protections from presidential intervention. By placing the case on its argument calendar, the court buys itself more time to consider the issue.”

Trump Promises to Defend Qatar

October 1, 2025 at 11:16 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The White House published an executive order on Wednesday vowing to defend Qatar in the event of an attack from another country, a remarkable security guarantee for a single country akin to NATO’s Article V,” Politico reports.

Google Blocks Searches for Trump and Dementia

October 1, 2025 at 11:13 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Google appears to have blocked AI search results for the query “does Trump show signs of dementia” as well as other questions about his mental acuity, even though it will show AI results for similar searches about other presidents, The Verge reports.

K Street Is Living in Fear of Trump’s Retribution

October 1, 2025 at 11:01 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “Much of the private sector is paralyzed by Trump’s broader efforts to leverage the might of the government to bend companies to his whims.”

“But that pressure is magnified in government affairs shops across Washington, where corporations are desperate to curry Trump’s favor and avoid his wrath.”

Madison Cawthorn Kicks Off Comeback Bid

October 1, 2025 at 10:20 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC), who left office in 2023 after a series of scandals, is launching a comeback campaign in Florida, the Washington Post reports.

Cawthorn announced Wednesday that he is running for the state’s 19th congressional district, a seat that is open next year because the incumbent, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), is running for governor.

Vance Says He’ll Talk Obamacare Premiums

October 1, 2025 at 10:10 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Vice President JD Vance has an offer for Senate Democrats to end the government shutdown,” Politico reports.

“Join onto the Republicans’ continuing resolution, and he’ll head to the Capitol ‘right now’ to work with Democrats on extending insurance subsidies for the Affordable Care Act.”

Said Vance: “But only after they’ve reopened the government. You can’t reward this exercise in hostage taking.”

Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert Trade Guest Spots

October 1, 2025 at 9:47 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Jimmy Kimmel was a guest on Stephen Colbert’s show last night and Colbert also visited Kimmel’s show on the same night “a move that has never happened before in late-night,” Deadline reports.

Said Kimmel: “We thought it might be a fun way to drive the president nuts.”

Meanwhile, Jimmy Fallon told Variety he’ll keep his show out of politics: “I just keep my head down and make sure the jokes are funny.”

Bari Weiss to Take Leading Role at CBS News

October 1, 2025 at 9:44 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Bari Weiss’ appointment to the top of CBS News is imminent,” Status reports.

“Paramount is set to formally announce its acquisition of The Free Press in the coming days, with Weiss set to be named editor in chief of CBS News.”

Unions Sue Over Trump’s Mass Layoff Plans

October 1, 2025 at 9:39 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Labor unions representing hundreds of thousands of government employees sued the Trump administration over its threats to fire federal workers during the government shutdown,” Axios reports.

“If the White House follows through on the threat, the shutdown could bring another wave of layoffs for a federal workforce already hollowed out by Trump’s DOGE cuts earlier this year.“

U.S. Lost 32,000 Jobs in September

October 1, 2025 at 9:08 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The U.S. shed 32,000 private-sector jobs in September, payroll processing giant ADP said on Wednesday,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The surprise job loss in September is the latest sign that the labor market is weakening.”

New York Times: “Economists generally consider ADP’s data less reliable than figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But with the federal government shut down, the BLS won’t be releasing the monthly jobs report on Friday as planned. That means economists will be paying more attention than usual to other indicators.”

The Senate Will Keep Voting

October 1, 2025 at 9:06 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Senate is set to vote again at 11 a.m. on the Democrats’ and Republicans’ spending bills to reopen the government, but neither measure is expected to muster the support to pass,” the New York Times reports.

“Senate Republicans have indicated that they intend to keep forcing these votes to put Democrats on the record as opposing the House-passed stopgap bill that would fund the government.”

House Republicans Stay Out of Sight

October 1, 2025 at 8:58 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

NOTUS: “The House will likely not return to Capitol Hill until Oct. 7, a week into a shutdown. But Republican leadership is projecting confidence that they will have the upper hand, both in terms of negotiations with Democrats and in the eyes of the public. Leadership, however, is warning Republican members that even a few missteps could cost them the messaging battle.”

Said one House GOP leadership aide: “Don’t fly to Cancun.”

Some Democrats Want to Upsize Trump’s New Tax Cuts

October 1, 2025 at 8:54 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Some Democrats have found an answer to President Trump’s popular tax cuts for tipped workers, overtime pay and senior citizens: expand them,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“In bills introduced since the Trump signed the Republicans’ sprawling tax-and-spending legislation on July 4, Democrats are proposing to eliminate some of the GOP’s restrictions on the targeted tax breaks.”

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  • The Case Democrats Should Be Making
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Word of the Day

Balanced Ticket: A balanced ticket is a paring of political party candidates designed to appeal to a broad swathe of the electorate.

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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