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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Bob Latta (R-Bowling Green Ohio)

Latta Welcomes Ohio Schools to the U.S. Capitol During Government Shutdown

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Johnson (LA-04)

WASHINGTON — On Day 22 of the Democrat Shutdown, Speaker Johnson held a press conference alongside House GOP Leadership, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman, and top appropriator for our national parks, Rep. Mike Simpson to further highlight the split screen between Republicans and Democrats.

“October 22 marks another landmark. This is now the second longest government shutdown of any kind ever in the history of our country. And it’s just shameful,” Speaker Johnson said. “Democrats keep making history, but they’re doing it for all the wrong reasons.”

Watch Speaker Johnson’s full remarks here.

On the glaring split screen between Republicans and Democrats:

But there’s also a figurative split screen. And I would just want to spend a moment this morning and talk with you about that. On one side, you have the Republican Party, the party that controls the White House, the Senate, and the House. We call that unified government. It’s the party that won the popular vote, then every single swing state, and made deep inroads with voters new to the Republican base. And we received that mandate gratefully, and we went immediately to work. Since the election in November, just in the last nine and a half months of this Congress, Republicans have delivered incredible results for the American people. And we could stand up here and spend an hour going through just the bullet points and highlights of all that, but we put a few on the handy chart over here. But just think of what’s been accomplished in the last nine and a half months. A couple of things listed here.

We passed the historic Working Families Tax Cut, one of the most landmark pieces of legislation ever passed by the U.S. Congress for the benefit of the American people. We slashed taxes for hardworking Americans, geared for the lower- and middle-class earners who needed that assistance. We cut hundreds of billions of dollars in fraud, waste, and abuse from government. We solved the border crisis. We are working now to solve the crime crisis in major cities around America. We strengthened Medicaid, we improved health care access, and we’ve lowered premiums with our legislation. We have restored peace through strength. Thanks be to God. We are ending wars around the globe, and we’ve restored common sense to a government that sorely needed it. That’s part of the mandate that was given to us by the American people in the fall. And most recently, we did our jobs, and we passed a clean, non-partisan CR to keep the government open for the people.

Now, look on the other side of that figurative split screen as demonstrated here. The lights were out. It’s all dark. Why? Because what the Democrats have accomplished in nine and a half months is a government shutdown. A couple other things sort of related to that. They have made a lot of TikTok videos. We give them credit for that. They’ve also assaulted law enforcement officers – one of them is on trial for that. They’ve openly embraced and rallied with communists and socialists, most recently across the country on Saturday. They voted to raise taxes on millions of hardworking Americans at the worst possible time. They have voted against reducing fraud, waste, and abuse in government, and they have now voted collectively, Democrats in Congress, have voted 12 times to keep the government closed down.

On Democrats abandoning common sense:

The Democrat shutdown is a glaring example of just how far the Democratic Party has strayed from common sense. Remember the simple truth here, it was over a month ago now that we passed, the Republicans passed, the clean short-term continuing resolution. It’s non-partisan. No gimmicks, no tricks, no riders, no partisan Republican policy priorities added to that. It’s 24 pages in length, as we’ve discussed so many times, and it is very simple. Why? Because it was a very simple, good faith effort on our part to preserve our ability to keep negotiating on the full year funding bills, and of course, the other big issues facing the American people. We wanted to keep the lights on, but what did the Democrats do? Instead of voting for it, as they have always done in the past, they broke from history, and they rejected that, and they offered a counterproposal.

Ours was a clean CR. We called theirs a dirty CR. And you all know why? Because they added one and a half trillion dollars in new spending. That would be a mandate, including hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars for health care for illegal aliens. Go to page 57, section 2141 of what they offered; they want to restore funding for left-wing pet projects in foreign countries. And I’ve given you a list of some of the crazy things that they would include in that. Half a billion dollars for liberal news outlets like NPR and PBS on the backs of taxpayers. And the removal, remember, they wanted to eliminate the $50 billion that Republicans got signed into law by President Trump on July 4 to prop up our rural hospitals.

On Democrats manufacturing a health care crisis to serve their political goals:

Now, they’re trying their very best to somehow blame Republicans for the forthcoming “health care crisis” that they themselves created. By way of just very quick review for the record, because they’re trying to obscure this as well. Let’s remember the true origins of the boondoggle that is American health care under Obamacare. Democrats wrote that bill, they passed it into law without a single Republican vote. During the COVID pandemic, Democrats created temporary Obamacare credits again, without a single Republican vote. Democrats then voted to extend those credits. They set the expiration date on it and then when they held the majority in the Senate, it was Democrats who chose not to extend those credits beyond this year. Now, as we approach their own self-imposed expiration date, they are breathlessly insisting to you and on all the interviews that somehow, it’s a Republican crisis.

Give me a break. The facts are the facts. We are up here sharing the simple facts and truth. As John Adams said, facts are stubborn things. Democrats are the ones who manufactured this entire situation without a single Republican vote. And now when the chickens are coming back home to roost, they’re trying to blame the other team. It is utter nonsense, and you should call them on it. That’s the job of the press and continue to do that every single time.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Salud Carbajal (CA-24)

Today, U.S. Representative Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24) sent a letter to Jamieson Greer, Acting Special Counsel, demanding that the Office of Special Counsel immediately investigate the Trump administration’s apparent illegal use of government resources to promote a partisan political agenda. Carbajal’s letter comes on the heels of political messages regarding the current government shutdown being posted to federal agency websites and displayed in airports nationwide.

“Recent postings on official government websites and reported emails to employees promote a partisan political narrative regarding the causes of the shutdown—activity that federal law expressly prohibits when ‘directed toward the success or failure of a political party, partisan political group, or candidate for partisan political office’,” wrote Carbajal. “The Hatch Act is clear: Federal employees must remain impartial in the performance of their duties, regardless of political climate or leadership. Federal employees, including those on California’s Central Coast, deserve clear guidance to ensure that directives do not compromise their integrity or the public’s trust.”

Carbajal cites the website for the Los Padres National Forest, which includes a partisan message about the government shutdown, as an example of a Hatch Act violation.

Carbajal continued, “It has been brought to my attention that the website for the Los Padres National Forest under the U.S. Department of Agriculture includes partisan messaging attempting to place blame on Congressional Democrats— another violation of the Hatch Act. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident.”

In light of these apparent violations of the Hatch Act, Carbajal demands the Office of Special Counsel to open an immediate investigation.

The full text of the letter can be found here and below.

Dear Mr. Greer:

I am writing to request that you open an investigation concerning reports that political messaging has been disseminated through federal agency channels during the ongoing government shutdown. This includes reports of a request by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to airports that they air videos framing the cause of the federal shutdown in political terms. I believe that the request from DHS to airports, messaging included in federal government websites and communications disseminated to employees are in clear violation of the Hatch Act and federal restrictions on partisan activity by government employees. This is an inappropriate and wasteful use of taxpayer dollars for political gain that merits a full investigation.  

Recent postings on official government websites and reported emails to employees promote a partisan political narrative regarding the causes of the shutdown—activity that federal law expressly prohibits when “directed toward the success or failure of a political party, partisan political group, or candidate for partisan political office.” 

Again, the Hatch Act is clear: Federal employees must remain impartial in the performance of their duties, regardless of political climate or leadership. Federal employees, including those on California’s Central Coast, deserve clear guidance to ensure that directives do not compromise their integrity or the public’s trust. 

It has been brought to my attention that the website for the Los Padres National Forest under the U.S. Department of Agriculture includes partisan messaging attempting to place blame on Congressional Democrats— another violation of the Hatch Act.  Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. There are multiple reports that several agencies have issued communications blaming one political party for the ongoing shutdown, using official government resources to amplify these claims.  These statements—some of which appeared on agency websites and others distributed internally to staff—frame the shutdown as being “caused by Democrats” or “driven by the left,” language that raises significant Hatch Act concerns. Regardless of which party holds power, such messaging violates the foundational principle that federal agencies serve the American people, not partisan agendas.

These clear violations of federal law demand a prompt and thorough investigation. To ensure accountability and transparency, I respectfully request that the Office of Special Counsel:

1. Immediately open an investigation into the use of government communications channels for partisan purposes during the shutdown; and
2. Provide guidance on how your office plans to address these incidents and prevent future violations. 

Preserving the impartiality of federal agencies and their employees is essential to ensuring the integrity of our democracy and sustaining the public’s trust in our institutions. I ask that you give this request your immediate attention. Please reach out to my office at (202) 225-3601 should you have any questions. 

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23)

“It’s clear the Trump Administration targeted this highly successful program based on inaccurate information as part of its drive to attack any effort aimed at giving all students a chance to excel and succeed,” said Wasserman Schultz. “The Education Department, or what’s left of it, clearly acted prematurely by threatening to withhold funding from our local schools, and it all appears to be based on erroneous information, an incomplete investigation, and a purely political agenda. Latinos in Action has for nearly a decade helped all our students grow as scholars and leaders. This baseless decision by the Department is an attack on our students’ educational opportunities.”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Bob Latta (R-Bowling Green Ohio)

Latta Hosts Telephone Town Hall Amid Government Shutdown

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Jesús Chuy García (IL-04)

CHICAGO — Congressman Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04) issued the following statement as people in Illinois begin receiving notices about the interruption of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits due to the Republican government shutdown:

“Nearly two million people in Illinois rely on food stamps to put groceries on the table, including children and people with disabilities. Families are being notified that their SNAP benefits will run out by the end of October if Republicans continue to hold the government hostage and extend the shutdown.

“Democrats are at the table to reopen the government; however, Republicans continue to play political games and refuse to sit down with our leadership. Speaker Mike Johnson has stated there is ‘nothing to negotiate.’ While families in Illinois and across the country are wondering how they’ll put food on the table, the Trump administration has tripled ICE’s budget and spent $172 million in tax dollars on private jets for Secretary Noem to film propaganda videos, while masked agents kidnap community members, including green card holders and U.S. citizens. This administration’s priorities are clear: cruelty over compassion, billionaires over working people. It’s time to end this shutdown and put families first.”

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett (USVI)

For Immediate Release              Contact: Alayah Phipps  

October 21, 2025                        202-813-2793  

PRESS RELEASE   

CONGRESSWOMAN PLASKETT INTRODUCES BIPARTISAN LEGISLATION TO EXPAND THE COMMERCIAL DRIVER’S LICENSE PROGRAM TO THE VIRGIN ISLANDS AND PUERTO RICO 

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett shared the following statement on the introduction of H.R. 5656, legislation which would grant the United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico eligibility to issue commercial driver’s licenses:  

“I am proud to introduce bipartisan legislation to expand access to commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) for residents of the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, which will strengthen highway safety and bolster our local economies. This measure rectifies an inequity that has denied U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico residents these nationally recognized licenses, which are available to all other Americans. I appreciate the partnership of my colleagues Congressman Chuck Edwards (R-NC) and Resident Commissioner Hernández (D-PR) on this critical legislation, and I commend organizations like the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance for championing CDL access for our communities,” stated Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett. 

“Americans in every part of the United States, including the territories, deserve access to the tools needed to strengthen their workforce and grow economically. The introduction of the OPEN CDL Act is a critical step toward meeting this goal by allowing Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands to issue commercial driver’s licenses to those who are there legally,” said Congressman Chuck Edwards. “This legislation marks an important milestone in expanding the economic mobility of all Americans while enhancing the safety of our roads.” 

“This bill is about fairness and opportunity. By allowing Puerto Rico to issue commercial driver’s licenses and working with federal regulators to ensure compliance, we’re opening doors for our people to access good-paying jobs, strengthen our transportation workforce, and ensure safety standards are met. Puerto Ricans deserve the same opportunities as workers in every state, and this measure helps level the playing field,” noted Resident Commissioner Pablo José Hernández.  

“The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance supports H.R. 5656. As a transportation safety organization, the Alliance is committed to preventing commercial motor vehicle crashes, injuries and fatalities on our roadways,” said Collin Mooney, Executive Director, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance. “This inclusive bill will bolster that goal by enabling the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico to enhance their existing commercial driver’s license programs, aligning them with U.S. federal regulations and allowing for the recognition of those licenses as equivalent to other U.S. licenses with a single and proper credential for all CDL holders from both territories.” 

“Expanding CDL access to the Virgin Islands is a strategic investment in our economy and public safety. It also ensures that our commercial drivers meet federal safety standards, which is essential for protecting passengers, freight, and everyone who shares our roads. I applaud Congresswoman Plaskett for her leadership in advancing this vital initiative,” stated Barbara Jackson-McIntosh, Director, U.S. Virgin Islands Bureau of Motor Vehicles. “The Bureau of Motor Vehicles is prepared to implement this program, helping residents access new career opportunities while ensuring our commercial drivers meet federal safety standards.” 

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Pete Aguilar (31 CD Ca)

Donald Trump and Republicans are making health care more expensive for people in the Inland Empire by gutting Medicaid by almost $1 trillion, cutting funding for Medicare by $500 billion, and failing to extend the Affordable Care Act Tax Credits

Rep. Pete Aguilar recently sat down with Dr. Jason Lohr, CEO of SAC Health, for a discussion on how Republican cuts to health care will drive up costs and make it harder for people in the Inland Empire to access quality, affordable health care. You can watch the full discussion between Rep. Aguilar and Dr. Jason Lohr here and read an excerpt from the interview below:
Rep. Pete Aguilar: You’re the CEO of the system, but you also are a doctor, and you still provide care… What is this going to mean to areas like the Inland Empire? You’ve seen this area grow. I remember giving speeches 20 years ago, saying, ‘the Inland Empire is two million people, and we’re growing.’ We’re 4.5 million people now in this region, and we continue to grow. What will these cuts mean to the Inland Empire? How will people feel it? How will everybody feel it?
Dr. Jason Lohr, CEO of SAC Health: When you’re talking about 300,000 people, that’s not a small amount, right? And those folks are losing their coverage. That’s going to happen here in the next 18 months… I know when we talk numbers, it’s easy to just get caught up in numbers and be like, well, what’s 300,000? But that’s like, each individual is a family. [It] represents a family, represents a person, represents, you know, they’re a member of the community. When one person in the community suffers, then others suffer, right? Their neighbors, their friends, their family, their extended family. There’s no way that there’s not going to be an impact…We’re talking about hundreds of thousands of people losing their coverage.
Donald Trump and Republicans’ ‘Big Ugly Law’ represents the largest rollback of federal support for health care in U.S. history, including gutting Medicaid by almost $1 trillion and Medicare by $500 billion. This will cause emergency rooms to fill up, hospitals to close and health care costs to skyrocket. On top of these health care cuts, Donald Trump and Republicans have shut down the government because they are refusing to protect Americans’ health care or extend Affordable Care Act tax credits that help families afford their health insurance premiums. In California’s 33rd Congressional District, families covered under the Affordable Care Act will see their premiums go up by an average of $2,160 every year. Democrats are doing everything possible to save Americans’ health care from these cruel Republican cuts.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Johnson (LA-04)

WASHINGTON — Following the left-wing “Hate America” rallies over the weekend, the Democrat Shutdown has officially become the longest full government shutdown in United States history.

Now that the “Hate America” rallies have ended, Democrats find themselves presiding over a shutdown they have caused — with no plan articulated to end it, no path forward, and millions of Americans at risk of missing out on paychecks and basic government services that they pay for.

DEMOCRAT SHUTDOWN MONTHS IN THE MAKING

This crisis didn’t happen by accident. It’s been building since March — when Chuck Schumer voted for the same exact clean continuing resolution that is currently before the Senate.

In the months that followed, Far-Left activists — and even some Congressional Democrats — called on him to step aside. Under that political pressure, Schumer reversed course and now opposes the very same clean CR he once supported.

According to Axios, Schumer began coordinating his shutdown strategy two months before the October 1 deadline. In early September, the “No Kings” rally was scheduled and received funding from a network of dark-money donors like George Soros.

The result is clear: a Democrat-manufactured shutdown driven by political fear and outside pressure — and it’s the American people who are paying the price.

THE RALLY THEY WERE WAITING FOR

For weeks, Democrat leaders stalled congressional action while their activist allies prepared the “No Kings” and “Hate America” rallies — anti-American spectacles featuring Marxists who openly oppose what makes America great.

Democrat Senators and aides privately admitted they were paralyzed by political fear of their own base — acknowledging they were unwilling to break with party leadership while activists organized the rally.

THE SIGNS TELL THE STORY

The “Hate America” rally wasn’t about peace or policy — it was about hate, violence, and division.

 

Here are more signs from the rally stoking violence:

These were not peaceful slogans — they were violent threats and anti-American hate speech directed at the President, law enforcement, and millions of patriotic Americans.

THE RALLY IS OVER. THE EXCUSES ARE GONE.

House Republicans have already passed a clean, responsible bill to reopen the government through November 21 and finish appropriations through regular order.

Democrats had their rallies, their protests, and their political theater. The American people have had enough.

It’s time for Democrats to end the shutdown they created and get back to work for the country.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (8th District of New York)

Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries held a press conference with Ranking Member Jamie Raskin and Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva, where he emphasized that while Republicans remain on their month-long vacation, Democrats are ready to work on behalf of the American people to end the Republican healthcare crisis.

LEADER JEFFRIES: This is day 21 of the Trump-Republican shutdown and House Republicans remain on vacation. Donald Trump is missing in action, continues to engage in unreasonable, un-American and un-presidential behavior. And Senate Republicans still don’t have a clue as it relates to what needs to be done to address the healthcare crisis that they’ve created. Tens of millions of Americans all across the country, as we speak, are beginning to receive notices that their premiums, copays and deductibles are about to skyrocket. They are about to experience thousands of dollars in additional expense per year and, in some cases, thousands of dollars in additional expense per month. It’s unsustainable. And Republicans have refused to address it. They’d rather keep the government shut down than provide affordable healthcare and extend the tax credits for everyday Americans, for working-class Americans and for middle-class Americans.

Democrats will continue to make clear that we will sit down anytime, anyplace, with anyone here at the Capitol or back at the White House in order to reopen the government, decisively address the Republican healthcare crisis and enact a spending agreement that actually makes life better for the American people as opposed to continuing these Republican policies that are raising the already-too-high cost of living and ripping healthcare away from the American people. Republicans are on vacation for four weeks, and one of the consequences of that is that Republicans have refused now for four consecutive weeks to swear in Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva, depriving hundreds of thousands of people in the state of Arizona of the representation that they deserve, particularly during this challenging moment in the country. And once again on the House Floor during a pro forma session, Republicans refused to recognize the distinguished gentleman from the great state of Maryland on behalf of Representative-elect Grijalva, who should be sworn in today. It’s already four weeks too late.

[…]

It’s a disgrace that Mike Johnson and Republicans continue to refuse to swear in Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva. It’s disrespectful of her. It’s disrespectful to the 812,000 people who elected her. It’s disrespectful to the great state of Arizona. And it’s disrespectful to the House of Representatives, which is supposed to be the People’s House, but under Republican leadership has turned into nothing but a rubber stamp for Donald Trump’s extreme agenda.

Full press availability can be watched here.

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