Category: The Washington Free Beacon
‘Could Not Have Gone Better’: MSNBC Guest Praises Trump’s Trip To Japan
‘The U.S.-Japanese alliance is still strong’
Here’s every time Senate Democrats voted to keep the government shut down
Nearly a month into the shutdown, Senate Democrats have refused to reopen the government over a dozen times. Even still, Democrats are pointing the finger at Republicans.
Although Republicans hold a majority in both chambers of Congress, there’s been a hang-up in the Senate. Instead of a simple majority, the Senate actually needs 60 votes in order to pass the continuing resolution. Republicans do hold a 53-seat majority in the Senate, but they need the help of at least seven Democrats to reopen the government.
Senate Democrats have effectively voted to continue withholding paychecks from federal workers and critical benefits from the American people over a dozen times.
This is easier said than done. When the Senate voted on the GOP’s clean continuing resolution on September 30, only three Democrats crossed the aisle in an attempt to keep the government open: Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, and Angus King of Maine.
Both Cortez Masto and King origianally voted against the bill on September 19 but flipped their votes ahead of the funding deadline. Notably, Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has consistently voted with Democrats.
As a result, the government shut down and has remained closed ever since midnight of October 1.
RELATED: Democrat senator blocks vote to end shutdown to protest Trump’s ‘authoritarianism’ in drawn-out rant
Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
The Republicans’ funding bill is clean and entirely non-ideological, while the Democrats’ hyper-partisan alternative boasts a hefty $1.5 trillion price tag. Democrats have also insisted on renegotiating the Obamacare subsidies despite the fact that they won’t expire until the end of the year.
Now 28 days into the shutdown, Senate Democrats have effectively voted to continue withholding paychecks from federal workers and critical benefits from the American people over a dozen times. Here is a breakdown of every time Democrats voted to keep the government shut down.
RELATED: ‘These people are sick’: Trump admin slams top Dem for justifying shutdown suffering
Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
- Friday, September 19, 2025, Roll Call No. 528 (44-48)
- Tuesday, September 30, 2025, Roll Call No. 535 (55-45)
- Wednesday, October 1, 2025, Roll Call No. 537 (55-45)
- Friday, October 3, 2025, Roll Call No. 543 (54-44)
- Monday, October 6, 2025, Roll Call No. 545 (52-42)
- Wednesday, October 8, 2025, Roll Call No. 551 (54-45)
- Thursday, October 9, 2025, Roll Call No. 558 (54-45)
- Tuesday, October 14, 2025, Roll Call No. 571 (49-45)
- Wednesday, October 15, 2025, Roll Call No. 572 (51-44)
- Thursday, October 16, 2025, Roll Call No. 573 (51-45)
- Monday, October 20, 2025, Roll Call No. 576 (50-43)
- Wednesday, October 22, 2025, Roll Call No. 581 (54-46)
- Tuesday, October 28, 2025, Roll Call No. 590 (54-45)
Since the shutdown began, no Democrat votes have changed. The slight changes in vote tallies can be attributed to attendance.
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Bondi has bad news for Fauci, Milley, and other Biden pardonees: DOJ is actively reviewing Biden-era autopen use
The House Oversight Committee published a damning 100-page report on Tuesday deeming invalid those executive actions and pardons issued without proper authorization and with machine-generated signatures in former President Joe Biden’s name.
In a corresponding letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) noted that the committee had found “President Biden’s aides coordinated a cover-up of the president’s diminishing faculties” and “that these same aides utilized an ad hoc, inconsistent, and ineffective process to obtain President Biden’s assent to certain key decisions, which raises significant questions about whether President Biden knew — let alone provided a decision regarding — the ‘decisions’ that, often through the use of an autopen, ultimately bore his signature.”
Comer asked Bondi to investigate all executive actions taken during Biden’s time in office “to ascertain whether they were duly authorized by the president of the United States.”
Hours after the publication of the report and the committee’s assertion that Biden’s executive actions are “NULL and VOID,” Bondi revealed on X that her “team has already initiated a review of the Biden administration’s reported use of autopen for pardons.”
President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum on June 4 directing the White House Counsel’s Office to investigate, in consultation with Bondi and the head of any other relevant agency, “whether certain individuals conspired to deceive the public about Biden’s mental state and unconstitutionally exercise the authorities and responsibilities of the president.”
Trump specifically tasked the investigators with looking into the “circumstances surrounding Biden’s supposed execution of numerous executive actions” and reviewing the policy documents for which the autopen was used, including clemency grants and executive orders.
RELATED: House committee declares unauthorized Biden autopen pardons ‘void’ in damning new report
Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images
The Oversight Project, a government watchdog group, concluded in a Monday report that after reviewing approximately 1,597 enrolled copies of documents bearing Biden’s signature, 846 of 958 executive orders, pardons, commutations, and proclamations were signed with autopen.
Of the Biden-era documents analyzed, Oversight Project indicated that 75% of the pardons — including for Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley, members of the Biden clan, and former members of the House Jan. 6 select committee — and 51.8% of the commutations were signed with autopen.
‘The “Pardons” that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT.’
Bondi noted that Comer’s “new information is extremely helpful, and his leadership on this issue is invaluable,” adding that the DOJ will continue working with the House Oversight Committee “to deliver accountability for the American people.”
Ed Martin, the DOJ’s pardon attorney who announced a similar investigation into the matter of Biden’s alleged pardons in May, responded to Bondi’s statement with emojis signifying police and the scales of justice. Martin also suggested that the Oversight Project’s statistics regarding autopen usage during the Biden administration warrant “closer review.”
A determination that some or all of the Biden-era pardons are invalid could prove consequential for many of the recipients, including Fauci, the fifth director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who received a “full and unconditional” pass for possible federal crimes going back to 2014, and for Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff whom Trump has accused of committing “treason.”
However, Trump has made clear that he especially wishes to see consequence visited on the former members of the House Jan. 6 select committee.
Trump announced after the Oversight Project’s initial exposé about the liberal use of the presidential autopen during the Biden administration,
The “Pardons” that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen. In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them! The necessary Pardoning Documents were not explained to, or approved by, Biden. He knew nothing about them, and the people that did may have committed a crime. Therefore, those on the Unselect Committee, who destroyed and deleted ALL evidence obtained during their two year Witch Hunt of me, and many other innocent people, should fully understand that they are subject to investigation at the highest level.
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NJ’s blue wall may be cracking in governor race, new poll shows — GOP hopeful racks up Democrat endorsements
In the fiercely competitive race for New Jersey governor, just one point separates the Democratic and Republican candidates, a new poll shows.
Mikie Sherrill (D), a current U.S. representative, held a narrow lead against Jack Ciattarelli (R), a former New Jersey state representative, in an October 27 co/efficient poll. Males, individuals ages 55 and older, and those with no party affiliation preferred Ciattarelli, while females and those ages 18 to 54 favored Sherrill, according to the recent survey.
‘Why would anyone vote for New Jersey and Virginia Gubernatorial Candidates, Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger, when they want transgender for everybody, men playing in women’s sports, High Crime, and the most expensive Energy prices almost anywhere in the World?’
Separate poll results from Emerson College, dated September 25, gave Ciattarelli the best odds, showing the two candidates tied.
All other polls gave Sherrill a more substantial lead over Ciattarelli, ranging from one to seven points, with the RealClearPolitics poll average showing her 3.8 points ahead of her Republican rival.
By Sunday, roughly 90,500 New Jersey residents had returned their early-voter ballots, according to Newsweek. Of those turned in, 38,039 were from registered Democrats, 35,512 were from Republicans, and another 16,895 ballots belonged to those with other party affiliations.
Only New Jersey and Virginia are holding gubernatorial races this year.
Mikie Sherrill. Photo by Matthew Hatcher/Getty Images
President Donald Trump has weighed in on these races, stating Sunday in a post on Truth Social, “Why would anyone vote for New Jersey and Virginia Gubernatorial Candidates, Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger, when they want transgender for everybody, men playing in women’s sports, High Crime, and the most expensive Energy prices almost anywhere in the World? VOTE REPUBLICAN for massive Energy Cost reductions, large scale Tax Cuts, and basic Common Sense!”
Trump endorsed Ciattarelli in May, calling him “a terrific America First Candidate.”
While New Jersey has traditionally been a blue stronghold, Ciattarelli has grabbed at least eight endorsements from local Democrats, according to the New York Post.
RELATED: Pressure mounts for New Jersey Democrat gubernatorial candidate as past catches up to her
Jack Ciattarelli. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images
On Saturday, New Era Democrats President Celia Iervasi stated, “We are proud to endorse Jack Ciattarelli for Governor of New Jersey.”
“As life continues to become unaffordable for the working class and New Jersey continues to be one of the highest taxed states in the country, Jack is the right person that is needed to make life more affordable for the residents of the Garden State,” Iervasi said. “We look forward to joining a coalition of organizations that are supporting Jack in the upcoming election and know that he is the right person to lead New Jersey in the right direction.”
Other New Jersey Democrats to support Ciattarelli include North Bergen Mayor Nick Sacco, North Bergen Commissioner Allen Pascual, Dover Mayor Jim Dodd, Branchville Mayor Anthony Frato, Branchville Councilman Jeff Lewis, and former Hudson County Democratic Organization Chair Anthony Vainieri. Garfield Mayor Everett Garnto also endorsed Ciattarelli and, at the same time, announced he was leaving the Democratic Party to switch to the GOP.
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Trump can’t call it ‘mission accomplished’ yet
With a divided Congress and the clock likely running out on GOP control, President Trump’s decision to forgo a second budget reconciliation bill is puzzling. Reconciliation is the only tool available to pass major priorities without a filibuster. So why refuse another chance to make the America First agenda permanent?
At a recent meeting with Senate Republicans, Trump told lawmakers, “We don’t need to pass any more bills. We got everything” in the big, beautiful bill earlier this year. “We got the largest tax cuts in history. We got the extension of the Trump tax cuts. We got all of these things.”
The first Trump presidency showed what executive courage can do. The second must prove what lasting law can achieve.
Really? That answer ignores reality. Tax cuts were never the full measure of the Trump revolution. The movement promised structural reform — from securing the border to dismantling bureaucracies. Limiting the victory to tax relief leaves unfinished the hard work of codifying executive policies into law before the next Democrat in the White House wipes them out with the stroke of a pen.
Biden’s first weeks in office in 2021 proved how fragile executive action can be. Nearly every Trump-era reform — on immigration, energy, education, and national security — vanished within days. The same will happen again if core policies remain tied to presidential discretion instead of actual statutes.
Immigration is the clearest example. Trump moved the country in the right direction, but many key policies remain blocked by courts or enjoined indefinitely. These include:
• Ending birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants,
• Defunding sanctuary cities,
• Cutting federal assistance for noncitizens,
• Requiring states to verify lawful status for benefits under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act,
• Expanding expedited removal of gang members under the Alien Enemies Act,
• Authorizing ICE arrests at state courthouses,
• Deporting pro-Hamas foreign students,
• Returning unaccompanied minors to Central America,
• Suspending refugee resettlement, and
• Ending “temporary” protected status for long-term illegal residents.
Each of these reforms can and should be codified through legislation. Courts can’t enjoin what Congress writes into law.
The same applies beyond immigration. Critical Trump policies remain trapped or reversible, including:
• Abolishing the Department of Education,
• Keeping male inmates out of female prisons,
• Blocking federal funding for hospitals that perform gender “transitions” on minors,
• Removing Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, and
• Requiring proof of citizenship to vote and restricting mail-in ballots in federal elections.
All of these measures would fulfill campaign promises. All of them will vanish the instant Democrats reclaim the White House — unless Republicans act now to make them permanent.
RELATED: While the lights are off, let’s rewire the government
Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images
Meanwhile, the economic front remains unsettled. Inflation continues to crush families, and Washington’s spending addiction keeps prices high. Health care remains broken, with no Republican alternative to stop Democrats from reinstating Biden’s Obamacare subsidies. The challenges are mounting, not receding.
The reconciliation process exists precisely for moments like this. It allows a governing majority to bypass the filibuster and pass budget-related priorities with a simple majority — the same procedure Democrats used twice under Biden to jam through massive spending and climate legislation. Refusing to use it again would be an act of political negligence.
Trump has accomplished much, but claiming “mission accomplished” now risks repeating the failures of his first term — executive orders that were erased within weeks and policies undone overnight.
The task ahead is to legislate the revolution. Codify the border. Dismantle bureaucratic strongholds. Rein in judicial activism. Secure election integrity. Cement economic reform.
The first Trump presidency showed what executive courage can do. The second must prove what lasting law can achieve. If Trump wants his achievements to outlive his term, he must act now — not by declaring victory, but by legislating it.
Meet the Violent Career Criminals Who Received Reduced Bail, Walked Free Thanks to Roy Cooper’s Judicial Appointees
A violent repeat offender who skipped court before raping a 29-year-old woman in a porta-john. A career criminal who racked up 37 felony charges, including strangling a woman to stop her from calling 911. These are some of the offenders who received substantially reduced bonds or walked free thanks to judges appointed by former North Carolina governor and Senate hopeful Roy Cooper (D.).
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Trans Rabbi Booted From Biden White House Event Headlines ‘Jews for Zohran’ Ad Campaign
A transgender rabbi who was once booted from a Biden White House pride party is headlining a new ad campaign on behalf of Zohran Mamdani.
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Mainstream Media Lament Deportation of Foreign ‘Journalist’ Who Celebrated Oct 7
ICE on Sunday detained British-born Muslim activist Sami Hamdi over his open support for Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack against Israel and plans to deport him from the country. Mainstream media outlets, though, have claimed the administration targeted Hamdi for criticizing Israel, an assortment of reports from outlets including but not limited to CBS News, CNN, and the New York Times shows.
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What They’re Saying About Zohran Mamdani’s Aunt, the Real Victim of 9/11
Zohran Mamdani, the extreme left-wing, Israel-hating trust fund kid running for mayor of New York City, sobbed like a girl last week during a speech about so-called Islamophobia. Mamdani lashed out at his political opponents for noticing his ties to radical Islamic preachers, his embrace of violent anti-Semitic rhetoric, and his father’s seething contempt for America. He suggested the real victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks were Muslims, especially his aunt, who “stopped taking the subway after September 11th because she did not feel safe in her hijab.”
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