Government Shutdown Becomes 2nd Longest in US History
The U.S. government shutdown has surpassed its third week, making it the second-longest shutdown in U.S. history.What began on Oct. 1, after Democrats demanded the repeal of provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the Working Families Tax Cut Act, signed into law in July, as a condition for their vote to reopen the federal government, has now reached a stalemate.
The Senate failed its 12th vote on Oct. 23 to pass a continuing resolution that would secure enough emergency funding until the end of the year.
Another bill, the Shutdown Fairness Act, which would secure funding to pay U.S. troops and federal workers while the government remains shut, also failed on Sept. 23 to secure the 60 votes required to advance it to the Senate.
Democrats want the continuing resolution to include making permanent enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at year’s end. Republicans say that this is a separate issue that shouldn’t be used as a bargaining chip to reopen the government.
US Sends Aircraft Carrier to Latin America
The U.S. military is sending an aircraft carrier to the Latin America region in its latest move to crack down on cartels that are trafficking drugs into the United States.
The Pentagon announced on Oct. 24 that it will be sending the USS Gerald R. Ford to U.S. Southern Command—which covers Central America, South America, and the Caribbean—to “detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.
The U.S. government has been taking a more direct approach at targeting drug traffickers—such as hitting drug-laden boats with air strikes rather than conducting coast guard seizures—since designating them as foreign terrorist organizations.
US Government Seeks to Deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia
The U.S. government is now seeking to deport illegal immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia, in the latest move involving the case of the El Salvadoran who has prompted a legal showdown in recent months over immigration policy.Garcia’s case has made headlines over recent months as the man who was accused of being a member of the notorious El Salvadoran transnational gang MS-13.
He was deported to his home country in March as part of a deal between the United States and El Salvador following the Justice Department’s designation of MS-13 as a foreign terrorist organization earlier this year.
US Homeland Security Probe Finds Emergency Aid Discriminated Against Trump Supporters
The Department of Homeland Security announced on Oct. 21 the results of an investigation concluding that agencies during the Biden administration withheld or delayed disaster aid to Trump supporters.The wide-ranging investigation concluded that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) engaged in “textbook political discrimination” between 2021 and 2024 by recording citizens’ political affiliations and bypassing them during disasters such as Hurricane Milton in Florida in October 2024.
