• Gov’t shutdown underway: The U.S. government has entered a partial shutdown as of midnight after the Senate failed to pass a continuing resolution (CR) to maintain current government funding levels through November 21. Senate Democrats, led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, have refused to vote on a CR in an effort to force Republicans to accept their demand for extending expiring COVID-enacted ObamaCare subsidies. Republicans have refused to be bullied. Senate Majority Leader John Thune noted that Democrats have repeatedly passed CRs in the past when they were in the majority, “but we are not going to be held hostage for over $1 trillion in new spending on a continuing resolution.” Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought issued shutdown guidance to government agencies, observing that, depending on how long Democrats hold out, it could result in permanent job losses for a significant number of federal employees.

• 100,000 federal workers resign: Part of this administration’s efforts to cut the federal bureaucracy involved offering deferred resignation packages (DRP) to employees. Roughly 100,000 bureaucrats took the DRP earlier this year and formally resigned yesterday. U.S. Office Director of Personnel Management Scott Kupor stated that the package was designed as a humane way to drive necessary movement and that it will save taxpayers over $ 20 billion annually. More fat trimming is expected at any moment now that the government has entered a shutdown, as the Office of Management and Budget ordered agencies to develop reduction-in-force plans.

• TrumpRx: On Tuesday, Donald Trump and Pfizer announced a plan to build a government-run website from which American consumers can purchase certain drugs directly from manufacturers with cash. Some medications that will be listed on this website include a migraine drug, a rheumatoid arthritis drug, and a dermatitis treatment. In a separate but related announcement, Pfizer will be offering its drugs to Medicaid at “most favored nation” pricing, which likely means they will equal the lowest prices the drugs sell for abroad. In exchange, Trump is granting Pfizer a three-year grace period from his tariffs, provided the company invests in manufacturing in the US. For Americans with insurance, the proposed TrumpRx.gov website, expected to go live in early 2026, is likely to offer only modest savings, with the benefits primarily applicable to drugs not covered by insurance or those who are uninsured.

• White House pulls BLS nominee E.J. Antoni: On Tuesday, the White House announced it had pulled the nomination of economist E.J. Antoni for commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Back in August, Donald Trump fired previous BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer after accusing her of faking “the Jobs Numbers before the Election to try and boost Kamala’s chances of Victory.” Antoni, who had been the chief economist at The Heritage Foundation when Trump nominated him, will return to his position there. Antoni’s nomination was reportedly pulled due to a rumored lack of backing from moderate Republican Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski. The White House issued a statement commending Antoni as “a brilliant economist and an American patriot [who] will continue to do good work on behalf of our great country.” A White House official noted that a new nominee would be named soon.

• Team Trump stimulates coal: The Trump administration is reversing the anti-coal policies of the Obama and Biden administrations. On Monday, the Department of Energy and the Department of the Interior announced a $625 million investment in the coal industry. The plan will provide funding to recommission and modernize existing coal plants, as well as support new investments in coal power projects, innovations, and waste management systems. “Beautiful, clean coal will be essential to powering America’s reindustrialization and winning the AI race,” explained Energy Secretary Chris Wright. The funding and directives for this coal investment come from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed back in July. This action will also open up millions of acres for coal extraction, while also lowering the royalty rates that mining companies pay.

• Useful idiot judge sides with pro-terrorists on campus: The American Association of University Professors, Harvard, NYU, and Rutgers chapters, with the Middle East Studies Association, sued the Trump administration over its targeting of pro-Hamas protesters on university campuses. Judge William Young sided with these anti-American and anti-Israel protesters, asserting the administration had coordinated efforts to “chill” their speech. The problem this robed despot failed to address was that the targeted “speech” was specifically the non-peaceful protests, where Jewish students were made to feel unsafe on campus or denied access to buildings.

• Communist Chinese flag raised over Philadelphia City Hall: The communists are in the building. Almost 250 years after courageous Americans signed the Declaration of Independence at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, cowardly anti-American leftists have raised the Chinese Communist flag over City Hall to celebrate the founding of one of the most evil regimes ever seen on earth. Pennsylvania State Senator Doug Mastriano objected and called on City Hall to “say no to raising a flag … that oppresses people.” The House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar warned Philadelphia not to raise the flag as well, but these objections were not heeded. The state of America’s great cities has never been sorrier, and the sooner liberty-loving Americans wake up to that fact, the better.

• CCP influence in AZ? Back in May and June, Arizona Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed two bipartisan bills aimed at blocking China’s growing infiltration of the Grand Canyon State. The two bills would have banned healthcare and research facilities from using genetic sequencing equipment and software from Chinese enterprises that the Pentagon has deemed to be “Chinese military companies,” as well as blocked Beijing from owning land in the state. Weeks after her vetoes, according to campaign finance records, a CCP businessman, Pin Ni, wrote a $10,000 check to the Democratic Governors Association, a primary financial supporter of Hobbs’s 2026 reelection campaign. Michael Lucci, founder of the national security group State Armor, observes, “Hobbs has vetoed more legislation to protect her state from the CCP than any other governor in the country.” Interestingly, both current Democrat gubernatorial candidates for New Jersey (Mikie Sherrill) and Virginia (Abigail Spanberger) have received large donations from Pin.

Headlines

• Federal judge blocks Voice of America mass terminations (Fox News)

• Texas judge says guns can’t be banned from post offices (Courthouse News)

• Second immigrant dies after shooting at Dallas ICE facility (Texas Tribune)

• Sham marriages, elder “exploitation,” fake death certificates uncovered in massive Minnesota immigration bust (Fox News)

• Jimmy Kimmel’s short-lived ratings spike comes to screeching halt (Fox News)

• American Eagle CEO hits back at woke mob outrage over Sydney Sweeney ad as company boasts 1M new customers (NY Post)

• Christianity Today has taken over $1 million in grants from one of Planned Parenthood’s biggest supporters (Not the Bee)

• AI chatbot giants claim Charlie Kirk’s killer was right-wing, left-wing violence “exceptionally rare” (Washington Free Beacon)

• 45% of Dems downplay violent crime as “not that much of a problem” (Washington Stand)

• Taliban kills internet across Afghanistan, citing morality concerns (Fox News)

• Humor: 10 changes Hegseth is making to military health requirements (Babylon Bee)

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