The Patriot Post® · Thursday Executive News Summary
- Schumer Shutdown update: Today marks the 16th day of the Democrat-caused partial government shutdown. Yesterday, once again, the Chuck Schumer-led Senate Democrats refused to allow a floor vote for moving forward with a continuing resolution funding the government, allowing the Senate to wrangle over a new budget deal. Therefore, the Trump administration acted to ensure that military members got paid by tapping into unused research and development funds. However, as House Speaker Mike Johnson observed, that action is just a “temporary fix” if Democrats don’t end the shutdown soon. Meanwhile, Schumer has welcomed the ongoing shutdown, stating, “Every day gets better for us. It’s because we’ve thought about this long in advance, and we knew that healthcare would be the focal point on September 30, and we prepared for it. … Their whole theory was — threaten us, bamboozle us, and we would submit in a day or two.”
Demos’ Fetterman Problem: Republicans will not agree to tax-funded healthcare for illegal immigrants or an extensions of the so-called “Affordable Care Act” subsidies that Demos themselves previously voted to terminate. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) is not playing along with his Demo leadership: “Right now I’m 1 of only 2 Democrats that are voting to keep the government open. And I have chosen to do that because I think it’s a core responsibility as a senator to keep our government open. The Democratic Party, my party, the Republican Party, they have different priorities, and that’s how democracy, you sort those things out. But you don’t hold shutting the government down as a hostage. I would love to have a conversation about extending the tax credits for health care. But I would remind everybody too … this was designed by the Democratic Party to expire at the end of the year. This is not something taken from the Republicans. They were designed to expire.” Fetterman concludes: “[S]hutting the government is really what the Democratic Party wants to do… I follow country, then Party, and it’s the wrong thing for the country in a period of chaos. I refuse to vote to shut our government down… That’s not fighting. That’s mutilating our nation. If you vote to shut our government down, you are going to harm millions of Americans, and why would you do this? Where is our leverage?”
Dems point fingers at Young Republicans to protect Jay Jones: Virginia Democrat AG candidate Jay Jones wished for the death of a Republican coworker and his children in a text sent to another Republican coworker. No Democrat in leadership has denounced Jones’s comments or required anything from him but a half-hearted apology. As Jones’s story was trending in the news cycle, Politico broke a story about a group of New York Young Republicans making racist and offensive jokes in a private group chat. Out of 2,900 pages of chat material, involving around a dozen people and spanning from January to August, Politico found 251 messages deemed front-page worthy. That includes an obviously satirical message saying, “Great. I love Hitler.” Young Republican leadership nationwide denounced the messages and called for those responsible to resign. Until Democrats can police their own side, Republicans clearly own the high ground.
Harrisburg airport hacked by anti-Semite: On Tuesday evening at the Harrisburg International Airport in Pennsylvania, a hacker briefly took over the airport’s public address system and began spewing anti-Trump and anti-Semitic messages. The hacker, who called himself “Turkish hacker Cyber Islam,” said “Free Palestine” and “F*** Netanyahu and Trump.” Immediately following the hacker’s message, a Delta flight that was boarding at the time was searched, with a Delta spokesman explaining, “Delta followed the direction of TSA to return to the gate and complete a security check of the aircraft. We appreciate our customers’ patience and cooperation.” Back in July, the FBI warned of the notorious cybercriminal organization “Scattered Spider,” noting, “They target large corporations and their third-party IT providers, which means anyone in the airline ecosystem, including trusted vendors and contractors, could be at risk.”
Probation for DOGE staffer’s assailants: In August, Edward Coristine, known by his nickname “Big Balls,” made famous during his time at DOGE, was attacked by a gang of criminal teens during their attempted carjacking. Coristine was left with a broken nose and a concussion, but he was able to prevent the carjacking. Of the 10 or so teens that jumped Coristine, only one boy and one girl, both 15, were apprehended, and a judge more interested in rehabilitation than punishment has sentenced them to probation. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said this kind of slap on the wrist is exactly why crime has run rampant in DC. U.S. Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro says that for crimes such as this that do not lead to death, she is unable to prosecute and therefore is advocating for a lowered age of criminal responsibility.
“No Kings” protests this weekend: Apparently, Democrats think another fruitless and valueless protest against a problem that doesn’t exist will shore up support for their shutdown. Leftists around the country will be taking to the streets on Saturday to protest an issue that was solved when Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown. More than 2,500 events are planned across all 50 states, and organizers claim the crowds will be larger than the five million participants they allegedly had in June. Republican Senator Roger Marshall put the thoughts of conservatives into words: “Hopefully it will be peaceful — I doubt it.” Republican House leadership called the event a “hate America rally.” Adam Swart, CEO of Crowds on Demand, a group that provides paid protesters for events, says he turned this event down, not wanting to “be part of the noise.” However, he suggested that paid agitators will likely be present.
Judge blocks Trump admin’s federal layoffs during shutdown: On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston issued a temporary block on the Trump administration’s layoff of federal workers in response to the Democrats’ government shutdown. In her decision, Illston sided with two labor unions representing federal workers who claim the layoffs are an illegal effort to reduce the number of government employees. Prior to the layoffs, Donald Trump warned, “These are largely people that the Democrats want. Many of them will be fired.” Thus far, the Office of Management and Budget has laid off roughly 4,000 government employees coming from seven departments, including Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Homeland Security, and Treasury. OMB Director Russ Vought has warned that upwards of 10,000 government employees could be laid off.
Trump touts impact of FBI’s crime crackdown: “Operation Summer Heat,” the FBI’s latest crime crackdown, has netted some serious results. More than 8,500 arrests have been made, representing a 250% increase from June 24 to September 20. Additionally, 557 missing children were identified, and enough drugs to kill tens of millions were seized. FBI Director Kash Patel commented, “This is what happens when you take out the fangs of weaponization.” Trump bragged that over 170 organized gangs have been destroyed or severely disrupted. Washington, DC, and Memphis, Tennessee, have already been hosting National Guardsmen, leading to remarkable results for law and order, and Trump suggested that San Francisco might be next.
Health insurance premiums to rise thanks to pricey new drugs: According to the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Americans’ health insurance premiums provided by private employers will jump by 8.5% next year. That represents the biggest rate increase since 2012, just two years after ObamaCare was passed. According to Gerard Anderson, a health policy and management professor at Johns Hopkins University, “Pharmaceutical prices are the main reason for higher costs, primarily because a number of very high-cost drugs have entered the market recently.” Last year, the FDA approved 50 pricey new drugs used to treat common medical conditions like obesity and mental illness.
Videos emerge of Hamas militants executing Palestinians: With the ink barely dry on the Israel/Hamas peace deal, Hamas is back out on the streets of Gaza in an attempt to, in the terrorist group’s words, “restore law and order.” However, CBS reports that new videos show armed Hamas militants gathering up Palestinians they accuse of being gang members collaborating with Israel and executing them. According to Israeli hostage negotiator Gershon Baskin, these Palestinian militant groups, who were opposed to Hamas, were armed by Israel during the war in an effort to weaken Hamas’s power. Baskin elaborated that these gangs were the types involved in illegal smuggling and selling drugs in the past. Seems like an impossible situation for regular Palestinians (if there are any) if the “governing” groups are also gangs and terrorists. They all need to be disarmed and kicked out by the incoming Board of Peace.
Headlines
Trump issues black ops kill order for Venezuela (OutKick)
Mamdani doesn’t “really have opinions” on Hamas — but doubles down on call for Netanyahu’s arrest (National Review)
One of the bodies Hamas released was actually “a Gazan wearing IDF uniform” (Washington Free Beacon)
Starving Gazans somehow gained back all their body weight one day after war ends (Not the Bee)
War Secretary Pete Hegseth’s plane makes “unscheduled landing” after windshield crack (Fox News)
Humor: Clarence Thomas gently explains to KBJ that not all black people are mentally disabled, just her (Babylon Bee)
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