Joe Biden

Did the Biden administration help cover up the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh by Israeli forces?

This week on UpFront, Marc Lamont Hill speaks to Steve Gabavics, a colonel-turned-whistleblower who was sent by the United States Department of State to investigate Abu Akleh’s killing in 2022.

Gabavics found that Israel intentionally killed Abu Akleh, who was fired at 16 times while wearing a blue vest marked “press”, but the State Department labelled her killing “accidental” to avoid angering the Israeli government.

Gabavics claimed that Abu Akleh is among several American citizens killed by the Israeli military for whom the US has taken no action to hold Israel accountable.

Nov. 28 (UPI) — President Donald Trump has announced that all orders signed by former President Joe Biden via autopen are “null and void,” and that if Biden tried to argue that he was involved, he would be charged with perjury.

The president posted on his social media platform Truth Social on Friday: “Any document signed by Sleepy Joe Biden with the Autopen, which was approximately 92% of them, is hereby terminated, and of no further force or effect. The Autopen is not allowed to be used if approval is not specifically given by the President of the United States. The Radical Left Lunatics circling Biden around the beautiful Resolute Desk in the Oval Office took the Presidency away from him. I am hereby cancelling all Executive Orders, and anything else that was not directly signed by Crooked Joe Biden, because the people who operated the Autopen did so illegally. Joe Biden was not involved in the Autopen process and, if he says he was, he will be brought up on charges of perjury. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

The president seemed to be arguing that the autopen was used by his staff without the input of Biden. It’s not clear who will validate the orders or under what legal authority he will cancel Biden’s orders.

Using the autopen is legal, according to an investigation in 2005 by the Justice Department under former President George W. Bush, which found that “the President need not personally perform the physical act of affixing his signature to a bill to sign it within the meaning of Article I, Section 7.”

Trump has acknowledged using the autopen. He said in March that he has used it “only for very unimportant papers.”

In September, the White House unveiled a Presidential Walk of Fame, which posted portraits of past presidents. In Biden’s place, the White House showed a photo of an autopen signing his name.

Biden has denied that any decisions were made without him during his presidency.

“I made the decisions during my presidency,” Biden said in a statement. “I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.”

United States President Donald Trump has said that he will throw out all executive orders issued under predecessor Joe Biden that he believes were signed using an autopen, pushing a dubious claim to delegitimise Democratic policies.

In a social media post on Friday, Trump, a Republican, estimated that the majority of Biden’s orders were executed with autopen, a machine that mimics a given signature.

“Any document signed by Sleepy Joe Biden with the Autopen, which was approximately 92% of them, is hereby terminated, and of no further force or effect,” Trump wrote.

Trump has long maintained that Biden — who was 82 when he left office in January — was not in control of the executive office due to his advanced age and declining mental state.

The Republican leader, himself 79 years old, reiterated that message in Friday’s post and threatened to prosecute Biden if the Democrat denied it.

“I am hereby cancelling all Executive Orders, and anything else that was not directly signed by Crooked Joe Biden, because the people who operated the Autopen did so illegally,” Trump said.

“Joe Biden was not involved in the Autopen process and, if he says he was, he will be brought up on charges of perjury.”

The autopen and similar mechanical signature devices have a long history in the White House, stretching back to the third US president, Thomas Jefferson, in the early 19th century. Trump himself has used the device, particularly during his first term.

But Trump has had an acrimonious relationship with his Democratic predecessors, including Biden and former President Barack Obama.

He has trolled Biden in particular for his age and his use of the autopen while in office. After setting up a “presidential walk of fame” near the White House Rose Garden earlier this year, Trump replaced Biden’s portrait with a picture of the mechanical device.

He recently showed off the picture to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a visit this month.

Biden and Trump faced each other twice in presidential elections: once in 2020, when Trump lost, and once in 2024, when Biden dropped out of the race. Trump ultimately won the latter.

He has also consistently denied his defeat in the 2020 election, falsely claiming widespread voter fraud.

Trump has made other misleading and unfounded statements about Biden, including that White House staffers took advantage of the Democrat’s declining age to sign policy documents without his knowledge.

There is, however, no definitive proof that the autopen was used under Biden without his consent. Biden himself denied the allegation in a June statement.

“Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency,” he wrote. “I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.”

Nevertheless, Trump revisited that allegation in Friday’s message on his platform Truth Social.

“The Radical Left Lunatics circling Biden around the beautiful Resolute Desk in the Oval Office took the Presidency away from him,” the Republican leader wrote.

Friday’s announcement is the latest effort by Trump to frame the actions of his political rivals as illegitimate.

In March, for instance, Trump posted a Truth Social message attempting to invalidate the pardons Biden issued before his departure from the White House.

Biden had controversially awarded “preemptive” pardons to politicians who served on a House select committee investigating Trump for his actions on January 6, 2021, when his supporters stormed the US Capitol.

“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,” Trump wrote in March, reiterating familiar claims.

“Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them!”

Legal experts largely dismissed the president’s post at the time as unconstitutional, as US law does not require presidential pardons to be signed in any given way — or even that they be written down.

A 2005 memo from the US Office of Legal Counsel also explains, “The President need not personally perform the physical act of affixing his signature to a bill he approves and decides to sign in order for the bill to become law.”

It adds that using an autopen to “affix the President’s signature” to legislation — or “directing a subordinate” to do so — is considered acceptable.

Still, Biden did face significant public concern about whether his age had hindered his ability to carry out his duties, particularly in the final years of his four-year term.

A disastrous performance in the June 2024 presidential debate heightened those concerns, as Biden appeared stiff and struggled to maintain his train of thought.

Members of the Democratic Party afterwards pressured Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race, a step he eventually took in July of that year.

Some critics have speculated whether Biden’s age diminished his ability to dedicate time and attention to areas such as foreign policy, giving senior staff members greater influence over policymaking.

This year, Biden revealed he had advanced prostate cancer, and he is currently undergoing radiation therapy.

Should Trump complete his second term, he will also be 82 years old, a few months older than Biden was at the end of his presidential term. Concerns about age and mental health have also dogged Trump’s time in the White House.

Just this week, The New York Times ran an article titled, “Shorter Days, Signs of Fatigue: Trump Faces Realities of Aging in Office”. It detailed instances where Trump appeared to fall asleep during public appearances and described how Trump has limited his public appearances during his second term.

Trump responded on social media by calling the female reporter on the story “ugly” and posting that he had “aced” his physical and cognitive exams.

Nov. 24 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump issued a proclamation granting two years of regulatory relief from a stringent, existing Environmental Protection Agency on coke over facilities.

rump inked a proclamation Friday that exempts manufacturing facilities from Biden-era regulatory updates to the Clean Air Act that affect coal in steelmaking plants known as coke ovens.

The Coke Oven Rule, according to the White House, “places severe burdens on the coke production industry and, through its indirect effects, on the viability of our nation’s critical infrastructure, defense, and national security.”

A coke oven is a chamber in which coal is flamed to produce coke, which then fuels steelmaking. The Biden EPA estimated compliance cost would cost companies about$500,000 in additional fees.

The Trump administration’s new policy switch will absolve at least 11 U.S. coke oven plants from a need to cut back on release of toxic pollutants, including mercury, formaldehyde, soot and dioxins for two years.

“Specifically, the Coke Oven Rule requires compliance with standards premised on the application of emissions-control technologies that do not yet exist in a commercially demonstrated or cost-effective form,” Trump’s proclamation said.

A number of companies eligible for the exemptions include ABC Coke, EES Coke, SunCoke Energy, Cleveland Cliffs and U.S. Steel.

The previous administration under then-President Joe Biden argued the rule was critical to cut back on pollution and could curtail an increase in dirty air.

In March, the EPA set the stage for the coke oven proclamation by announcing it would allow Clean Air Act exemptions to be processed online.

Prominent environmental groups, meanwhile, say the exemptions will likely harm local communities.

It followed a slew of other Trump administration rollbacks on environmental regulations, most recently on wetland protection and other greenhouse gas emission standards for motor vehicles and engines.

Nov. 22 (UPI) — President Donald Trump said he is “immediately” ending deportation protections for more than 400 Somali immigrants living in Minnesota.

Trumo made the announcement on Truth Social on Friday night.

The East African nation has had protection since 1991, and it was renewed on Sept. 18, 2024, through March 17, 2026, when Joe Biden was president.

“I am, as President of the United States, hereby terminating, effective immediately, the Temporary Protected Status (TPS Program) for Somalis in Minnesota,” he wrote. “Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great State, and BILLIONS of Dollars are missing. Send them back to where they came from. It’s OVER!”

He did not offer evidence related to the allegations of terrorist gangs in the state.

In addition, he blamed Democratic Gov. Walz of overseeing a state that had become a “hub of fraudulent money laundering activity” — also without proof.

“It’s not surprising that the President has chosen to broadly target an entire community. This is what he does to change the subject,” Walz, who was Kamala Harris‘ vice presidential candidate in the 2024 election against Trump, said less than two hours later in a post on X.

TPS was created in 1979 to allow migrants who escaped “civil unrest, violence or natural disasters” from being deported from the United Stats.

Somalia, which for decades has experienced civil war and instability, is among 17 migrants’ countries with protection. Somalia’s population is 20 million.

There are 705 Somali immigrants approved for the status as of March 31 with 430 in Minnesota, according to a Congressional Research Service report.

The Cedar-Riverside neighborhood east of downtown Minneapolis is nicknamed “Little Mogadishu” because of its large Somali population.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Democrat representing Minneapolis and born in Somalia, blasted the decision.

“Good luck celebrating a policy change that really doesn’t have much impact on the Somalis you love to hate. We are here to stay,” Omar wrote on X, noting that most Somalian immigrants are U.S. citizens.

Trump in the past has been at odds with Omar.

“I look at somebody that comes from Somalia, where they don’t have anything – they don’t have police, they don’t have military, they don’t have anything,” Trump said in a Nov. 11 interview with Laura Ingraham on Fox News. “All they have is crime — and she comes in and tells us how to run our country.”

Since 1979, more than 26,000 Somali refugees moved to Minnesota, according to the state Department of Health.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, a Democrat, said his office is “monitoring the situation and exploring all of our options.

“Somali folks came to Minnesota fleeing conflict, instability and famine, and they have become an integral part of our state, our culture and our community,” Ellison wrote on Facebook. “Donald Trump cannot terminate TPS for just one state or on a bigoted whim.”

“I am confident that Minnesotans know better than to fall for Donald Trump’s scare tactics and scapegoating,” he added.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey also spoke out with a Facebook post that he is “standing with our Somali community today. Minneapolis has your back — always.”

Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuthg, who is running for governor against Walz, applauded the decision.

“The unfortunate reality is that far too many individuals who were welcomed into this country have abused the trust and support that was extended to them, and Minnesota taxpayers have suffered billions of dollars in consequences as a result,” Demuth said in a statement to the Minnesota Star Tribune.

Minnesota Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer adding a post posted on X that “accountability is coming.”

Emmers post linked to a report from right-wing Breitbart about a letter he wrote to Daniel Rosen, U.S. attorney for the District of Minnesota, urging him to “open an investigation into reports that Minnesota taxpayer dollars are ending up in the hands of the al-Shabab terrorist network in Somalia.”

The move was criticized by Jaylani Hussein, president of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

“This is not just a bureaucratic change; it is a political attack on the Somali and Muslim community driven by Islamophobic and hateful rhetoric,” Hussein told CBS News. “We strongly urge President Trump to reverse this misguided decision.”

He added that the protection provided “a legal lifeline for families who have built their lives here for decades.”

Trump has also ended TPS protections for Afghan, Venezuelan, Syrian and South Sudanese nationals. Those actions from each have been challenged in courts.

Nov. 19 (UPI) — Billionaire activist Tom Steyer announced his run for California governor after the former presidential candidate claimed no plans existed for him to again run for political office.

Steyer, 68, pointed to his business experience in a candidate video vying to replace term-limited Gov, Gavin Newsom, a Democrat and rumored 2028 presidential contender, saying he’s running because “Californians deserve a life they can afford.”

“Sacramento politicians are afraid to change this system. I’m not,” he added in a campaign launch video.

He joined the field with other gubernatorial candidates such as former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., ex-U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

A 2020 presidential candidate, Steyer said that his long business background separates him from other candidates.

“I wanted to build a business here. Now it’s worth billions of dollars. And I walked away from it because I wanted to give back to California,” Steyer said.

In 2010, Steyer signed the Giving Pledge vowing to donate half his massive fortune to charity during his lifetime.

On Wednesday, he said California needs to “get back to basics,” which he says meant “making corporations pay their fair share again.”

“Californians deserve a top 10 education state,” he added. “They deserve to be able to afford to live in a decent house. I will launch the largest drive to build homes that you can afford in the history of California.”

He revealed plans targeting the state’s high utility bills with California’s massive energy infrastructure, noting the west coast state has the second highest electricity rates in the United States.

Steyer, a former hedge fund manager and frequent Democratic donor in San Francisco, frequently crusades against big corporate money in politics. He later suspended his 2020 campaign in March after finishing third place in the South Carolina primary election won by Joe Biden.

“If we break up the monopolistic power of utilities, we’re going to unleash a complete wave of innovation and drop our sky-high energy prices,” Steyer continued in the video.

“This is about disrupting the way people think so we can get a completely different and much better outcome,” he said, adding it was “for the people of California.”

In the days and weeks after the 2020 election, partisans across the country used lies and deceit to try to defraud the American people and steal the White House.

Although Joe Biden was the clear and unequivocal winner, racking up big margins in the popular vote and electoral college, 84 fake electors signed statements certifying that Donald Trump had carried their seven battleground states.

He did not.

The electoral votes at issue constituted nearly a third of the number needed to win the presidency and would have been more than enough to reverse Biden’s victory, granting Trump a second term against the wishes of most voters.

To some, the attempted election theft is old (and eagerly buried) news.

The events that culminated in the violent assault on the Capitol and attempt to block Biden from taking office occurred half a decade ago, the shovel wielders might say, making them as relevant as those faded social-distancing stickers you still see in some stores. Besides, Trump was given a second turn in the White House by a plurality of voters in 2024.

But it’s only old news if you believe that justice and integrity carry an expiration date, wrongdoing is fine with the passage of enough time and the foundational values of our country and its democracy — starting with fair and honest elections — matter only to the extent they help your political side prevail.

It bears repeating: “What we’re talking about here is an attempt to overturn the outcome of a presidential election,” said Sean Morales-Doyle, who heads the Voting Rights and Elections Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, a law and policy think tank at New York University. “If people can engage in that kind of conduct without consequence or accountability, then we have to worry about it happening again.”

Which is why punishment and deterrence are so important.

Last week, the Nevada Supreme Court unanimously reinstated the criminal case against six Republicans who signed certificates falsely claiming Trump had won the state’s electoral votes. Those charged include Nevada’s GOP chairman, Michael McDonald, and the state’s representative on the Republican National Committee, Jim DeGraffenreid.

The ruling focused on a procedural matter: whether the charges should have been brought in Douglas County, where the fake certificates were signed in the state capital — Carson City — or in Clark County, where they were submitted at a courthouse in Las Vegas. A lower court ruled the charges should have been brought in Douglas County and dismissed the case. The high court reversed the decision, allowing the prosecution on forgery charges to proceed.

As well it should. Let a jury decide.

Of course, the Nevada Six and other phony electors are but small fry. The ringleader and attempted-larcenist-in-chief — Donald “Find Me 11,780 Votes” Trump — escaped liability by winning the 2024 election.

This month, he pardoned scores of fake electors and others involved in the attempted election heist — including his bumbling ex-attorney, Rudolph W. Giuliani — for any potential federal crimes. The move was purely symbolic; Trump’s pardoning power does not extend to cases brought in state courts.

But it was further evidence of his abundant contempt for the rule of law. (Just hours after taking office, Trump pardoned nearly 1,600 defendants — including some who brutalized cops with pepper spray and wooden and metal poles — who were involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.)

Efforts around the country to prosecute even those low-level schemers, cheaters and 2020 election miscreants have produced mixed results.

In Michigan, a judge threw out the criminal case against 15 phony electors, ruling the government failed to present sufficient evidence that they intended to commit fraud.

In New Mexico and Pennsylvania, fake electors avoided prosecution because their certification came with a caveat. It said the documentation was submitted in the event they were recognized as legitimate electors. The issue was moot once Trump lost his fight to overturn the election, though some in Trump’s orbit hoped the phony certifications would help pressure Pence.

Derek Muller, a Notre Dame law professor, looks askance at many of the cases that prosecutors have brought, suggesting the ballot box — rather than a courtroom — may be the better venue to litigate the matter.

“There’s a fine line between what’s distasteful conduct and what’s criminal conduct,” Muller said. “I don’t have easy answers about which kinds of things should or shouldn’t be prosecuted in a particular moment, except to say if it’s something novel” — like these 2020 cases — “having a pretty iron-clad legal theory is pretty essential if you’re going to be prosecuting people for engaging in this sort of political protest activity.”

Other cases grind on.

Three fake electors are scheduled for a preliminary hearing on forgery charges next month in Wisconsin. Fourteen defendants — including Giuliani and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows — face charges in Georgia. In Arizona, the state attorney general must decide this week whether to move forward with a case against 11 people after a judge tossed out an indictment because of how the case was presented to grand jurors.

Justice in the case of the 2020 election has been far from sure and swift. But that’s no reason to relent.

The penalty for hijacking a plane is a minimum of 20 years in federal prison. That seems excessive for the fake electors.

But dozens of bad actors tried to hijack an election. They shouldn’t be let off scot-free.

Nov. 17 (UPI) — The Trump administration on Monday ended a Biden-era policy that forced airlines to reimburse travelers for issues such as long flight delays.

The White House pulled the proposal by then-U.S. President Joe Biden from the Federal Register, arguing the move was part of President Donald Trump‘s plan to scrap perceivably wasteful federal regulations.

It required airlines to, among other things, compensate its customers with meals, hotels, transportation, or rebooking fees after significant domestic flight delays.

The department announced in September it intended to ditch the policy implemented by Biden and then-Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

On Monday, the Transportation Department said it would “continue to allow airlines to compete on the services and compensation that they provide to passengers.”

“Rather than imposing new minimum requirements for these services and compensation through regulation, which would impose significant costs on airlines and potentially consumers,” it added.

On Friday, Trump Transportation officials claimed the passenger protection rule created “unnecessary regulatory burdens.”

Officials added Monday that the Transportation Department was “not convinced that a new regulatory regime that includes passenger compensation requirements would yield meaningful improvements in airline flight performance.”

But it was “just the latest example of [the Trump administration] siding with corporations and against customers,” Buttigieg, a rumored 2028 presidential candidate, stated in September on X.

The air carrier trade group Airlines for America previously praised the action.

Meanwhile, the senate’s leading consumer advocate criticized Trump’s move, saying it lets airlines “off the hook.”

“Who does this policy help aside from the CEOs at major airlines?” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said on social media. “If this is Trump’s idea of lowering costs, then we’re in a lot of hot water.”

Nov. 12 (UPI) — President Donald Trump late Wednesday signed legislation to reopen the federal government, resuming programs and again paying millions of workers, blaming Democrats for the longest shutdown in history at 43 days.

The new stopgap bill will fund the government through Jan. 30, and provide a full year of funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and veterans programs. Furloughed employees are expected to return to report on Thursday.

The U.S. House, convening for the first time in two months, approved legislation sent two days earlier by the Senate. Most Democrats and Republicans have been on opposite sides on enhanced health insurance subsidies through the Affordable Care Act.

At 8:21 p.m., the House voted 222-209 to send the stopgap funding bill to the president. The outcome wasn’t strictly along party lines with six Democrats voting yes and two Republicans voting no. There were two not voting and two vacancies.

Two hours later, Trump appeared in the Oval Office with U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune — both Republicans — as well as other House members. Also, financial industry leaders, whom he dined with earlier at the White House, watched the signing.

“I just want to tell the American people, you should not forget this when we come up to midterms and other things,” Trump said about elections in 2026 for the House and Senate. “Don’t forget what they’ve done to our country.”

In the public ceremony, Trump blasted the Affordable Care Act as “Obama madness,” bragged about the record-high stock market and spoke about gas prices around $2.50 a gallon. He didn’t take any questions from reporters.

Trump wants Obamacare to be scrapped.

“We’ll work on something having to do with healthcare,” said Trump, who hasn’t been able to find a replacement since first being president in 2017. “We can do a lot better.”

He has proposed bypassing providers with direct payment to users, who then could purchase their own plans.

“I’m calling today for insurance companies not to be paid,” Trump said, “but for this massive amount of money to be given directly to the people.” Basic Medicare is administered by the government rather than companies.

The House had been out of session since Sept. 19, when it passed the first version of a continuing resolution to temporarily fund the government. The Senate held 14 votes on the same legislation, but failed to reach the 60-vote supermajority needed to pass it.

The House originally approved the spending bill on a majority vote, but the Senate needed 60 votes and approval was held up in finding enough Democrats to agree to legislation that doesn’t guarantee enhanced health insurance subsidies starting Jan. 1.

The GOP holds a 53-47 edge.

Trump again on Wednesday night called for an end to the filibuster, saying “if we had the filibuster terminated, this would never happen again.”

Most Republicans have opposed this “nuclear option,” because Democrats could use it when they are in power.

After the House Rules Committee advanced the Senate bill Tuesday night, the full chamber convened at 4:08 p.m., and began debate for one hour at 4:36 p.m. The bill advanced 213-209.

The GOP has a 219-214 advantage, with Democrat Adelita Grijalvi having been sworn in when the House convened. She was elected Sept. 23. There are two vacancies.

Government reopens

At least 670,000 federal employees furloughed will return to work and roughly 730,000 essential workers, including air traffic control workers, will be paid, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.

The White House’s Office of Management and Budget furloughed workers will return on Thursday.

“Agencies should take all necessary steps to ensure that offices open in a prompt and orderly manner on November 13, 2025,” the memorandum released Wednesday night reads.

Essential workers had to work without pay, including air traffic control personnel. This resulted in several thousand flights being canceled.

Government programs also will resume, including 42 million people receiving monthly payments from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. For the first time in history, November money wasn’t sent electronically.

“For 40 days, hardworking Americans have endured flight cancellations, missed paychecks and empty dinner tables – all because Democrats closed the government,” Johnson posted on X with a video before the vote.

“It was foolish, pointless, cruel and entirely avoidable. Republicans have been working every day to get the government reopened for the American people, and today we should finally be able to overcome the Democrats and accomplish our mission.”

Divided on insurance subsidies

The program, which became known as Obamacare, was approved in 2010 during Barack Obama’s presidency. A record 25 million were enrolled this year.

The credits were enhanced in 2021 by the American Rescue Plan Act during the pandemic and extended one year later through 2015. They increased the amount of financial assistance, expanded eligibility and capped the percentage of household income for the benchmark silver plan.

Eight senators who caucus with the Democrats voted Monday in favor of the new bill on Tuesday night, allowing the chamber to pass it with a vote of 60-40.

The Senate broke the impasse over the weekend after Republicans agreed to hold a separate vote on ACA tax credits in December.

On Wednesday night, Johnson told reporters that Republicans are “pulling together the best ideas that we think can, in the quickest fashion, bring premiums down.”

And that includes working with Democrats.

“I sent a note to Hakeem Jeffries and I said, ‘Look, we would love to do this in a bipartisan fashion,’ you know, and he and I exchanged texts yesterday about that.”

Democrats focus on healthcare

Jeffries unsuccessfully attempted a three-year extension of Obamacare by a discharge petition. There would be a vote if the minority party can secure support for a majority of the chamber — a total of 218 signatures. But there are only 214 Democrats and there wasn’t sufficient GOP backing.

“Affordable Care Act tax credits were extended by three years in the Inflation Reduction Act,” Jeffries said outside the Capitol before the House convened. “The legislation that we will introduce in the context of the discharge petition will provide that level of certainty to working-class Americans who are on the verge of seeing their premiums, copays and deductibles skyrocket in some cases, experiencing increases of $1,000 or $2,000 per year.”

Jeffries said Democrats will continue to fight on healthcae.

“We’ll continue to fight for the principle that in this great country, the wealthiest country in the history of the world, healthcare can’t simply be a privilege available only to the well-off, the wealthy and the well-connected.

“Healthcare must be a right available to every single American. And that’s the fight that House Democrats will continue to wage for the American people.”

Colorado Rep. Jeff Hurd said he wanted to extend the enhanced premium tax credits for time to work on “the underlying drivers that are pushing up those health care costs to begin with.”

Workers union wants healthcare addresses

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, with 1.4 million members, called on Congress to help Americans afford health insurance.

“AFSCME members have been clear from the start of this shutdown: we need to lower health care costs and fund public services,” AFSCME President Lee Saunders said in a statement to UPI.

“Unfortunately, this administration and the Project 2025 ideologues in Congress refused to come to the table to address the healthcare crisis gripping families across the country. We applaud all of the leaders in Congress who stood up and sounded the alarm about the massive insurance premium hikes affecting millions of Americans.

“The fight to protect families from these increases is far from over. Now that the government is reopening, we’re calling on members of Congress to keep their promise and hold a vote to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. Working families cannot afford to wait any longer to lower health care costs.”

Provision on suing DOJ

The legislation includes funds for eight senators to sue the Department of Justice for obtaining their phone records during an investigation when Joe Biden was president.

Rather than removing the provision and returning it to the Senate, Johnson said he plans to have separate legislation next week.

“I was very angry about it,” Johnson said. “I was, and a lot of my members called me and said, ‘Did you know about it?’ We had no idea. That was dropped in at the last minute. And I did not appreciate that, nor did most of the House members. Many of them were very – are very angry about that.”

Democrats also opposed the provision.

“What makes this corruption so staggering is that the payout is specifically designed to go to eight senators whose phone records were lawfully subpoenaed under due process by the Department of Justice,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations panel, wrote in a statement.

She accused the senators of voting “to shove taxpayer dollars into their own pockets — $500,000 for each time their records were inspected.”

Daniel Haynes contributed to this report.

Nov. 12 (UPI) — The U.S. House, convening for the first time in two months on Wednesday, approved legislation sent two days earlier by the Senate to reopen the federal government, resuming programs and paying millions of workers.

President Donald Trump plans to sign the legislation, ending the longest shutdown in history at 43 days.

The House originally approved a spending bill in September on a majority vote, but the Senate needed 60 days and approval was held up in finding enough Democrats to agree to legislation that doesn’t guarantee enhanced health insurance subsidies starting Jan. 1.

At 8:21 p.m., the House voted 222-209 to send the stopgap funding bill to the president. The outcome wasn’t strictly along party lines with six Democrats voting yes and two Republicans voting no. There were two not voting and two vacancies.

The White House said Trump would sign the legislation on camera at 9:45 p.m. from the Oval Office. He earlier attended a private dinner at the White House with financial industry leaders.

“I’ll abide by the deal,” he said earlier Monday. “The deal is very good.”

His signature means at least 670,000 federal employees furloughed will return to work and roughly 730,000 essential workers, including air traffic control workers, will be paid, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.

Government programs will resume, including 42 million people receiving monthly payments from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. For the first time in history, November money wasn’t sent electronically.

After the House Rules Committee advanced the Senate bill Tuesday night, the full chamber convened at 4:08 p.m., and began debate for one hour at 4:36 p.m.

The bill advanced 213-209.

The GOP has a 219-214 advantage, with Democrat Adelita Grijalvi having been sworn in when the House convened. She was elected Sept. 23.

“For 40 days, hardworking Americans have endured flight cancellations, missed paychecks and empty dinner tables – all because Democrats closed the government,” Johnson posted on X with a video before the vote.

“It was foolish, pointless, cruel and entirely avoidable. Republicans have been working every day to get the government reopened for the American people, and today we should finally be able to overcome the Democrats and accomplish our mission.”

A provision was stripped from the House version regarding funds for eight senators to sue the Department of Justice for obtaining their phone records during an investigation when Joe Biden was president.

“House Republicans are introducing standalone legislation to repeal this provision that was included by the Senate in the government funding bill,” Johnson posted on X on Wednesday afternoon. “We are putting this legislation on the fast-track suspension calendar in the House for next week.”

Democrats have opposed the provision.

“What makes this corruption so staggering is that the payout is specifically designed to go to eight senators whose phone records were lawfully subpoenaed under due process by the Department of Justice,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations panel, wrote in a statement.
She accused the senators of voting “to shove taxpayer dollars into their own pockets — $500,000 for each time their records were inspected.”

The House had been out of session since Sept. 19, when it passed the first version of a continuing resolution to temporarily fund the government. The Senate held 14 votes on the same legislation, but failed to reach the 60-vote supermajority needed to pass it.

A majority of Democrats in the Senate voted against the legislation, seeking to tie the funding bill to a renewal of enhanced Affordable Care Act tax subsidies set to expire in the new year.

The Senate broke the impasse over the weekend after Republicans agreed to hold a separate vote on ACA tax credits. Unnamed sources told ABC News that Republicans promised to hold a vote on the issue in December, though House Speaker Mike Johnson has yet to commit to voting on any ACA measure passed by the Senate.

The credits were enhanced in 2021 by the American Rescue Plan Act during the pandemic and extended one year later through 2015. They increased the amount of financial assistance, expanded eligibility and capped the percentage of household income for the benchmark silver plan.

Eight senators who caucus with the Democrats voted Monday in favor of the new bill on Tuesday night, allowing the chamber to pass it with a vote of 60-40.

The new stopgap bill will fund the government through Jan. 30, provide a full year of funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and veterans programs.

Democrats criticized the bill.

“As Democrats, we’re committed to addressing this affordability crisis. That’s what this fight has been all about,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said outside the Capitol before the House convened. “We’ll continue this fight to fix our broken healthcare system.

“We’ll continue to fight for the principle that in this great country, the wealthiest country in the history of the world, healthcare can’t simply be a privilege available only to the well-off, the wealthy and the well-connected.

“Healthcare must be a right available to every single American. And that’s the fight that House Democrats will continue to wage for the American people.”

Jeffries unsuccessfully attempted a three-year extension of Obamacare by a discharge petition. There would be a vote if the minority party can secure support for a majority of the chamber — a total of 218 signatures. But there are only 214 Democrats and there wasn’t sufficient GOP backing.

“Affordable Care Act tax credits were extended by three years in the Inflation Reduction Act,” Jeffries said. “The legislation that we will introduce in the context of the discharge petition will provide that level of certainty to working-class Americans who are on the verge of seeing their premiums, copays and deductibles skyrocket in some cases, experiencing increases of $1,000 or $2,000 per year.”

Colorado Rep. Jeff Hurd said he wanted to extend the enhanced premium tax credits for time to work on “the underlying drivers that are pushing up those health care costs to begin with.”

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, with 1.4 million members, called on Congress to help Americans afford health insurance.

“AFSCME members have been clear from the start of this shutdown: we need to lower health care costs and fund public services,” AFSCME President Lee Saunders said in a statement to UPI.

“Unfortunately, this administration and the Project 2025 ideologues in Congress refused to come to the table to address the healthcare crisis gripping families across the country. We applaud all of the leaders in Congress who stood up and sounded the alarm about the massive insurance premium hikes affecting millions of Americans.

“The fight to protect families from these increases is far from over. Now that the government is reopening, we’re calling on members of Congress to keep their promise and hold a vote to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. Working families cannot afford to wait any longer to lower health care costs.”

Nov. 11 (UPI) — President Donald Trump mentioned political correctness, President Joe Biden and renaming Veterans Day at Arlington National Cemetery after laying a wreath for the holiday.

Trump said he plans to rename the holiday celebrated on Nov. 11 as “Victory Day for World War I.”

“You know, I was recently at an event and I saw France was celebrating Victory Day, but we didn’t,” he said. “And I saw France was celebrating another Victory Day for World War II, and other countries were celebrating. They were all celebrating.

“We’re the one that won the wars. … And we could do for plenty of other wars, but we’ll start with those two. Maybe someday somebody else will add a couple of more, ’cause we won a lot of good ones.”

Veterans Day was originally named Armistice Day to celebrate the end of World War I. But it eventually became Veterans Day to celebrate all who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Since he took office, Trump has been on a renaming streak. He has renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America,” the Persian Gulf to the “Arabian Gulf,” Mount Denali to “Mount McKinley” and the Department of Defense to the “Department of War.”

“Under the Trump administration, we are restoring the pride and the winning spirit of the United States military,” he said at Arlington. “That’s why we have officially renamed the Department of Defense back to the original name, Department of War.”

He also complained about political correctness.

“We don’t like being politically correct, so we’re not going to be politically correct anymore,” Trump said. “From now on when we fight a war, we only fight for one reason: to win.”

He thanked American troops for their service.

“And we want to also say thank you for carrying America’s fate on your strong, very broad, and proud shoulders,” he said. “Each of you has earned the respect and the gratitude of our entire nation.

“We love you. We salute you, and we will never forget what you have done to keep America safe, sovereign, and free.”

Trump also used the speech to attack the Biden administration and its management of the Veterans Administration.

“And the other thing is, we fired thousands of people who didn’t take care of our great veterans,” he said. “They were sadists. They were sick people. They were thieves. They were everything you want to name. And we got rid of over 9,000 of them.

“And then, when Biden came in, he hired them back, many of them. But we got rid of them. And I think we got rid of them permanently. We replaced them with people who love our veterans, not people who are sick people.”

The Department of Veterans Affairs laid off more than 2,400 people in February.

Nov. 8 (UPI) — No military-sponsored events, including flyovers, will take place at this week’s Veterans Day “Salute to Service” NFL games, because they have fallen victim to the federal government shutdown.

But there will be a veteran commemoration planned Sunday in Northern Virginia as will be President Donald Trump on hand for the game between the Washington Commanders and the Detroit Lions.

Veterans Day is Tuesday, and unlike previous years, there will not be honor guards and military service members unveiling American flags, in addition to the lack of a flyover, at the 13 NFL games on Sunday and Monday.

Before the shutdown, there was a flyover at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis., on September 11 between the Packers and the Commanders as F-35 Lightning II jets from the Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 115th Fighter Wing flew over the stadium.

The campaign with the NFL began in 2011, according to Fox News.

The Pentagon’s press office said service members and Defense Department personnel are “prohibited from participating in official outreach activities.”

Those events are paid from the Pentagon’s annual budget, Fox News reported.

“Service members are permitted to wear military uniforms at Veterans Day events, in a personal capacity, as long as it follows their service-specific guidelines, and no official endorsement or involvement is implied by the Department,” the Pentagon said in a statement to The Washington Post on Thursday.

A guidance document by the Post said there will be no “jet and jump demonstration teams, bands and ceremonial unit appearances, port visits, service weeks and nonprofit and corporate leader outreach.”

In 2015, a flyover was estimated to cost $80,000 by then-Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby.

“There is a minimal expense involved with the flyover,” he said during a Defense Department briefing on Jan. 30, 2015, noting aircraft fly from nearby bases with maintenance personnel at the site.

“It’s not an exorbitant cost, and I would, you know, obviously remind you that you know, we stand to gain the benefit. And there’s an exposure benefit from having the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds fly over, a well-known, famous team, and that certainly helps us in terms of keeping our exposure out there for the American people,” he said.

Last year when Joe Biden was president, there were about a dozen flyover events at NFL games throughout November.

“While Salute to Service comes to life on-field each November — as it will again this year, starting this weekend — our long-standing efforts to support the military community continue throughout the year,” said Anna Isaacson, the NFL’s senior vice president of social responsibility said in a statement to the Post.

Trump will fly from Palm Beach County on Sunday to attend the game against the Detroit Lions at Northwest Field in Landover, Md.

He is expected to join owner Josh Harris in his suite for the game, as well as a halftime ceremony. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:25 p.m. EST.

“We are honored to welcome President Trump to the game as we celebrate those who have served and continue to serve our country. The entire Commanders organization is proud to participate in the NFL’s league-wide Salute to Service initiative, recognizing the dedication and sacrifice of our nation’s veterans, active-duty service members, and their families this Sunday,” the Commanders said in a statement.

Trump said he has opposed calling the team the Commanders after they changed their name from the Redskins, and often refers to them as the “Washington Whatevers.”

The last time Trump was at a football game was Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, when the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs.

Nov. 8 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump has exempted Hungary from sanctions over the nation’s purchase of Russian gas and oil for one year after meeting with Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Trump is a close ally of the far-right populist and authoritarian, who came into power in 1998 but was out of office from 2002 to 2010.

On Friday at the White House, Trump said he was considering the exemption because “it’s very difficult for him to get the oil and gas from other areas.”

After the meeting, Orban posted on X with a video: “Decision reached: President Donald Trump has guaranteed full sanction exemptions for the TurkStream and Friendship pipelines, allowing Hungary to continue providing families with the lowest energy prices in Europe. Thank you, Mr. President!”

The BBC confirmed the exemption was for one year.

Hungary’s dependence on Russian crude oil was 61% before Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, then rose to 86% in 2024 and 92% this year.

On Oct. 22, the U.S. added sanctions against Russia, including blacklisting two of Russia’s largest oil companies: Open Joint Stock Company Rosneft Oil Company and Lukoil OAO.

Russia has been the world’s third-largest oil exporter, generating $120 billion in 2024 behind No. 1 Saudi Arabia at $225 billion and No. 2 Canada. $121billion. The United States is No. 4 at $117 billion.

Extensive sanctions were imposed after Russia’s full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022. Initially, they were imposed in March 2014 after Russia annexed Crimea.

The Trump administration is attempting to use tariffs to halt third-country access, including by India.

But Trump said he understands Hungary’s situation of being a landlocked nation with limited access to gas and oil.

The U.S. State Department said Hungary has agreed to purchase U.S. liquefied gas worth about $600 million, NBC News reported.

Also, Hungary agreed to purchase American nuclear fuel, which it currently buys from Russia.

Despite similar policies as Trump, Orban said the pipelines are not “ideological” or “political” and instead a “physical reality.”

Orban had blamed U.S. President Joe Biden for “politically motivated sanctions,” including his top aid Antal Rogaan with allegations of corruption.

“Now we are quite a good position to open up a new chapter – let’s say a golden age – between the United States and Hungary,” Orban said.

Trump has used the term “golden age of America,” declaring it began with his second inauguration on Jan. 20.

The exemption was criticized by an analyst.

“The U.S. decision is a terrible and unnecessary mistake that will allow over 1 billion euros [$1.2 billion] to flow into the Kremlin’s war chest,” Isaac Levi, with the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air, told CNN. “By carving out special treatment for Hungary, Washington is telling other buyers that they can keep handling Russian oil and still expect to be let off the hook.”

Levi noted the Czech Republic is another country with a port that manages without Russian crude oil and has lower fuel prices at the pump than Hungary.

“This clearly shows that the oil flows that continue to finance Putin’s war in Ukraine are entirely unnecessary,” he said.

Trump said he is “very disturbed” by other European countries that still buy Russian commodities despite not being landlocked.

Hungary and neighboring Slovakia are the only EU countries still getting Russian oil from the Druzhba pipeline.

EU countries’ gas comes via Turkey through the TurkStream pipeline. Russia’s share of EU gas imports fell from 40% pre-invasion to 11% in 2024.

But Slovakia is “almost 100% dependent” on Russian crude oil, according to a report from the Center for Research and Energy and Clean Air and the Center for the Study of Democracy.

The European Commission granted an exemption to Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic – three countries heavily reliant on Russian imports – for time to reduce reliance.

Other nations don’t have close relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

For other products, Trump has imposed a baseline 15% tariff as part of a trade agreement with the European Union.

That includes Hungary’s car industry.

On Oct. 21, Trump canceled his planned summit with Putin in Budapest, Hungary, after Putin’s demands on ending the war in Ukraine remained.

Nov. 7 (UPI) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visited the White House Friday for a summit with President Donald Trump and lavished praise on the president while disparaging former President Joe Biden.

“The reason why we are here, to open a new chapter between the bilateral relation between the United States and Hungary basically because during the Democrat administration everything was rigged,” Orbán said, according to The Hill.

“Everything was basically broke, ruined, cancelled. A lot of harm done by the previous administration,” he said. “You’ve improved the bilateral relationship. You repaired what was done badly by the previous administration, so now we are in quite a good position to open up a new chapter. Let’s say a golden age between the United States and Hungary.”

Orbán wants Trump to come to Budapest and to meet with Russia President Vladimir Putin about the Ukraine war. Trump has already canceled one meeting, saying he didn’t want to “have a waste of time.”

Orbán also came to the White House to ask Trump to give Hungary an exception to the sanctions on buying Russian oil. The president said he might exempt Hungary from those sanctions.

He also called on European leaders to be more respectful of Orbán, who has faced battles with them over migration, democracy and rule of law.

“I think they should respect Hungary and respect this leader very, very strongly because he’s been right on immigration,” Trump said.

Hungary claims it must buy Russian oil because it has no other viable source.

“We’re looking at it because it’s very difficult for him to get the oil and gas from other areas,” Trump said. “It’s a big country, but they don’t have sea. They don’t have the ports. And so they have a difficult problem.”

He also accused other European countries of buying Russian oil and gas. They “don’t have those problems, and they buy a lot of oil and gas from Russia. And, as they know, I’m very disturbed by that.”

Trump and Orbán are both conservative leaders who share similar values, including a dislike of immigration.

“Look what’s happened to Europe with the immigration. They have people flooding Europe,” Trump said. “You go to some of the countries, they’re unrecognizable now because of what they’ve done. And Hungary is very recognizable.”

Orbán defended his migration policies, blaming Europe.

“This is the absurd world we are living in now in Europe,” Orbán said. “We are the only government in Europe which considers itself as a Christian government. All the other governments in Europe are basically liberal leftist governments.”

In September, Trump lifted travel restrictions against Hungarians, readmitting them to the Visa Waiver program. Biden had added restrictions against Hungarians when he learned that Budapest was granting Hungarian citizenship without adequate security measures.

The Guardian reported that at Friday’s meeting, Orbán was expected to try to set up another meeting between the two leaders not only to broker peace in Ukraine, but to also boost his own standing as a statesman.

Citing insiders, the news outlet said the far-right leader is facing stiff opposition ahead of April’s parliamentary elections, and a visit from Trump would potentially boost support among conservatives.

“Orbán wants Trump to come to Budapest before the elections,” an unnamed source working in the Hungarian government told The Guardian. “This is a top priority. They will discuss the Russian gas issue, but the thing Orbán cares about the most is the elections.”

In a post on X on Thursday, Orbán said Trump’s first 10 months back in office have repaired the relationship between the United States and Hungary. He said the Biden administration damaged that relationship through “politically motivated sanctions.”

“Our goal is to establish a strategic partnership that includes energy cooperation, investments, defense collaboration, and discussions on the post-war landscape following the Russia-Ukraine conflict,” Orbán wrote.

“We are working on an agreement based on mutual benefits — one that serves the interests of every Hungarian citizen.”

Trump told reporters last week that Orbán wants an exemption from the oil and gas sanctions.

“We haven’t granted one, but he has asked,” Trump said aboard Air Force One. “He’s a friend of mine. He’s asked for an exemption.”

Nov. 7 (UPI) — The Trump administration on Friday night appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court after a federal appeals court upheld a district judge’s order to pay full benefits in November to 42 million in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

A short time earlier, the 1st District Circuit left in place a decision on Thursday by Rhode Island federal Judge Jack McConnell, who ordered the administration to pay out the full benefits within one day, saying, “People have gone without for too long.”

The three-member appeals court’s decision means the U.S. Department of Agriculture must take steps to disperse the electronic payments, which are staggered each month. Earlier Friday, the agency said it notified states that it is working to process the payments.

The panel was Chief Appellate Judge David Barron, appointed by President Barack Obama, and Gustavo Atavo Gelpi Jr. and Julie Rikelman, both picked by President Joe Biden.

The judges said that they are still considering a bid for longer relief while assessing the appeal.

Attorney General Pam Bondi posted on X the Trump administration will ask the Supreme Court to stay the Rhode Island-based lower court judge’s ruling, which she called “judicial activism at its worst.”

“A single district court in Rhode Island should not be able to seize center stage in the shutdown, seek to upend political negotiations that could produce swift political solutions for SNAP and other programs, and dictate its own preferences for how scarce federal funds should be spent,” Bondi said.

Seven days ago, McDonnell and U.S. District Court of Massachusetts Judge Indira Talwani told the Trump administration to access available funds to continue. They were both nominated by Obama.

On Monday, the administration told the judge it only had reserved money to pay out 50% of the total $9 billion cost. Then, it was raised to 65%.

The judge directed USDA to find $4 billion “in the metaphorical couch cushions.”

McConnell said the administration could use Section 32 funds, which the USDA uses to help with child nutrition programs. But the administration rejected that plan.

In the appeal, DOJ claimed that the judge’s order “makes a mockery of the separation of powers.” Lawyers said transferring funds would mean diverting money from Child Nutrition Programs.

“Unfortunately, by injecting itself with its erroneous short-term solution, the district court has scrambled ongoing political negotiations, extending the shutdown and thus undercutting its own objective of ensuring adequate funding for SNAP and all other crucial safety-net programs,” they said.

Plaintiffs in the case, which are nonprofit organizations, asked for the full payment, and McConnell agreed.

“The evidence shows that people will go hungry, food pantries will be overburdened, and needless suffering will occur” if SNAP is not fully funded, he said.

“While the president of the United States professes a commitment to helping those it serves, the government’s actions tell a different story,” McConnell wrote in a written order.

The federal government has been shut down since Oct. 1, and the shutdown is now the longest in history.

In every past shutdown, emergency funds have been used to fund the program.

McConnell also mentioned a social media post that Trump made, saying he refused to release any more funds until “the radical-left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before.”

The post was used as evidence that the administration would ignore McConnell’s order.

When Nancy Pelosi first ran for Congress, she was one of 14 candidates, the front-runner and a target.

At the time, Pelosi was little known to San Francisco voters. But she was already a fixture in national politics. She was a major Democratic fundraiser, who helped lure the party’s 1984 national convention to her adopted home town. She served as head of California’s Democratic Party and hosted a salon that was a must-stop for any politician passing through.

She was the chosen successor of Rep. Sala Burton, a short-timer who took over the House seat held for decades by her late husband, Philip, and who delivered a personal benediction from her deathbed.

But at age 49, Pelosi had never held public office — she was too busy raising five kids, on top of all that political moving and shaking — and opponents made light of role as hostess. “The party girl for the party,” they dubbed her, a taunt that blared from billboards around town.

She obviously showed them.

Pelosi not only made history, becoming the nation’s first female speaker of the House. She became the party’s spine and its sinew, holding together the Democrat’s many warring factions and standing firm at times the more timorous were prepared to back down.

The Affordable Care Act — President Obama’s signature achievement — would never have passed if Pelosi had not insisted on pressing on when many, including some in the White House, wished to surrender.

She played a significant role in twice helping rescue the country from economic collapse — the first time in 2009 amid the Great Recession, then in 2020 during the shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic — mustering recalcitrant Democrats to ensure House passage.

“She will go down in history as one of the most important speakers,” James Thurber, a congressional expert at Washington’s American University, said. “She knew the rules, she knew the process, she knew the personalities of the key players, and she knew how to work the system.”

Pelosi’s announcement Thursday that she will not seek reelection — at age 85, after 38 years in Congress — came as no surprise. She saw firsthand the ravages that consumed her friend and former neighbor, Dianne Feinstein. (Pelosi’s eldest daughter, Nancy, was a last caretaker for the late senator.)

She was not about to repeat that final, sad act.

Pelosi, who was first elected in 1987, once said she never expected to serve in Congress more than 10 years. She recalled seeing a geriatric House member hobbling on a cane and telling a colleague, “It’s never going to be me. I’m not staying around that long.”

(She never used a cane, but did give up her trademark stiletto heels for a time after suffering a fall last December and undergoing hip replacement surgery.)

Pelosi had intended to retire sooner, anticipating Hillary Clinton would be elected president in 2016 and seeing that as a logical, and fitting, end point to her trailblazing political career. “I have things to do. Books to write; places to go; grandchildren, first and foremost, to love,” she said in a 2018 interview.

However, she was determined to stymie President Trump in his first term and stuck around, emerging as one of his chief nemeses. After Joe Biden was elected, Pelosi finally yielded the speaker’s gavel in November 2022.

But she remained a substantive figure, still wielding enormous power behind the scenes. Among other quiet maneuvers, she was instrumental in helping ease aside Biden after his disastrous debate performance sent Democrats into a panic. He was a personal friend, and long-ago guest at her political salon, but Pelosi anticipated a down-ticket disaster if Biden remained the party’s nominee. So, in her estimation, he had to go.

It was the kind of ruthlessness that gave Pelosi great pride; she boasted of a reptilian cold-bloodedness and, indeed, though she shared the liberal leanings of her hometown, Pelosi was no ideologue. That’s what made her a superb deal-maker and legislative tactician, along with the personal touch she brought to her leadership.

“She had a will of steel, but she also had a lot of grace and warmth,” said Thurber, “and that’s not always the case with speakers.”

History-making aside, Pelosi left an enduring mark on San Francisco, the place she moved to from Baltimore as a young mother with her husband, Paul, a financier and real estate investor. She brought home billions of dollars for earthquake safety, re-purposing old military facilities — the former Presidio Army base is a spectacular park — funding AIDS research and treatment, expanding public transit and countless other programs.

Her work in the 1980s and 1990s on AIDS funding was crucial in helping move discussion of the disease from the shadows — where it was viewed as a plague that mainly struck gay men and drug users — to a pressing national concern.

In the process, she become a San Francisco institution, as venerated as the Golden Gate Bridge and beloved as the city’s tangy sourdough bread.

“She’s an icon,” said Aaron Peskin, a former San Francisco County supervisor and 2024 candidate for mayor. “She walks into a room, people left, right and center, old, young, white, Black, Chinese stand on their feet. She’s one of the greatest speakers we have ever had and this town understands that.”

Pelosi grew up in Baltimore in a political family. He father, Tommy D’Alesandro, was a Democratic New Deal congressman, who went on to serve three terms as mayor. “Little Nancy” stuffed envelopes — as her own children would — passed out ballots and often traveled by her father’s side to campaign events. (D’Alesandro went on to serve three terms as mayor; Pelosi’s brother, Tommy III, held the job for a single term.)

David Axelrod, who saw Pelosi up close while serving as a top aide in the Obama White House, said he once asked her what she learned growing up in such a political household. “She didn’t skip a beat,” Axelrod said. “She said, ‘I learned how to count.’ ”

Meaning when to call the roll on a key legislative vote and when to cut her losses in the face of inevitable defeat.

Pelosi is still so popular in San Francisco she could well have eked out yet another reelection victory in 2026, despite facing the first serious challenge since that first run for Congress. But the campaign would have been brutal and potentially quite ugly.

More than just about anyone, Pelosi knows how to read a political situation with dispassion, detachment and cold-eyed calculation.

She knew it was time.

Nov. 4 (UPI) — Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits will not be distributed until the federal government is funded and reopened, despite federal court orders to do so.

Two federal judges on Friday ordered the Trump administration to access contingency funds and distribute SNAP benefits despite the lack of funding for the federal government.

President Donald Trump on Saturday said his administration would do so, but he changed course and said SNAP benefits will not be distributed until the federal government is funded again.

“SNAP benefits, which increased by billions and billions of dollars during crooked Joe Biden‘s disastrous term in office, will be given only when radical-left Democrats open up the government and not before!” Trump said Tuesday in a Truth Social post.

U.S. District Court of Rhode Island Judge John McConnell Jr. on Saturday ordered the Trump administration to fund SNAP benefits no later than Wednesday, which the president initially agreed to do.

McConnell ordered the Trump administration to apprise him of efforts to fund SNAP, but White House officials on Monday said doing so would create an “unacceptable risk,” The Hill reported.

A contingency fund for SNAP benefits has about $4.65 billion, which is slightly more than half of the $9 billion spent monthly to provide SNAP benefits for about 42 million recipients.

Administration officials on Monday told McConnell that half of the cost of SNAP benefits would be covered for November, but the president on Tuesday changed course, according to CNBC.

Holding up the matter is an insistence by Congressional Democrats that a continuing resolution also include an extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits that expire at the end of the year, plus expanded Medicaid funding.

Congressional Republicans say they are willing to negotiate with Democrats on those matters, but only in the fiscal year 2026 budget.

The Senate on Tuesday again failed to gain the 60 votes needed to overcome the Senate’s filibuster rule and approve the funding resolution.

Instead, the measure was supported by a simple majority, 54-44, which was the 14th vote on the bill.

Senate Democrats John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, along with independent Sen. Angus King of Maine, for the 14th time, were the only members of the Senate Democratic Party Caucus to support passage of the funding measure.

Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky was the only dissenting vote among Senate Republicans for the 14th time.

Congressional leaders did not immediately respond to questions from UPI as to whether House and Senate members are continuing to negotiate a Fiscal Year 2026 budget or if all efforts are focused only on trying to pass a continuing resolution.

The House-approved continuing resolution favored by most GOP members of Congress would fund the federal government through Nov. 21, which is a little more than two weeks from Tuesday.

A continuing resolution introduced by Senate Democrats would have funded the federal government through Oct. 31 and no longer would be in effect.

This major investigative documentary examines the facts surrounding the murder of Palestinian American Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, as she was reporting in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, in May 2022.

It sets out to discover who killed her – and after months of painstaking research, succeeds in identifying the Israeli sniper who pulled the trigger.

It gets through the smokescreens of both the Israeli and US governments and reveals how the close political relationship between them frustrated efforts to obtain justice at the time.

Through interviews with an Israeli former national security adviser, a former deputy assistant US secretary of state for Israeli-Palestinian affairs, Israeli soldiers and Shireen’s colleagues and family, the film challenges official versions of events – and, in doing so, highlights issues of accountability, press freedom and the geopolitical dynamics surrounding the case, particularly in the light of the Israeli killing of Anas al-Sharif and four of his Al Jazeera colleagues in Gaza in August 2025.