Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is sending a critical warning to House lawmakers as the government shutdown continues to wreak havoc on air travel.

‘As of Sunday, nearly half of all domestic flights and U.S. flights were either canceled or delayed, and it’s a very serious situation,’ Johnson said in comments to reporters on Monday.

‘So I’m saying that, by way of reminder, I’m stating the obvious, to all my colleagues, Republicans and Democrats in the House, you need to begin right now returning to the Hill. We have to do this as quickly as possible.’

The House leader was referring to taking up the Senate’s bipartisan measure to finally end the government shutdown, now on its 41st day.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is expected to reduce air travel at the nation’s 40 busiest airports by 6% as of Tuesday, amid widespread staffing shortages that have been attributed to the shutdown.

Thousands of federal employees have been furloughed as agencies and critical programs run low on funds, while government workers deemed ‘essential’ have been forced to work without pay for weeks.

People in the latter group include air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers, many of whom have been forced to take second jobs and call out sick to make ends meet.

‘The problem we have with air travel is that our air traffic controllers are overworked and unpaid, and many of them have called in sick. That’s a very stressful job, and even more stressful, exponentially, when they’re having trouble providing for their families. And so air travel has been grinding to a halt in many places,’ Johnson said on Monday.

He delivered a statement to the press less than 12 hours after the Senate broke its weeks-long impasse on the shutdown, with eight Senate Democrats joining the GOP to overcome a filibuster.

Johnson told Fox News Digital exclusively earlier Monday that he would call the House back ‘immediately’ upon Senate passage of the bill — which he suggested could come sooner rather than later.

‘We’re going to get everybody back on a 36-hour notice, so it’ll be happening early this week,’ Johnson said.

The House has not been in session since Sept. 19, when lawmakers there first passed a bill to avert a shutdown by extending current federal funding levels through Nov. 21. Democrats rejected that deal, however, kicking off weeks of a worsening impasse where millions of Americans’ federal benefits and air travel were put at risk.

A Chinese consul general in Japan threatened to decapitate the nation’s new prime minister over her comments in defense of Taiwan, prompting outrage in Tokyo and underscoring the rising tension between the two regional powers.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who took office last month, told a parliamentary committee Friday that a Chinese blockade of Taiwan would likely create a ‘survival-threatening situation’ for Japan — one that could compel Tokyo to deploy its Self-Defense Forces in response. The democratically governed island sits just 60 miles from Japanese territory.

Xue Jian, the Chinese consul general in Osaka, fired back in a since-deleted X post on Sunday: ‘That filthy neck that barged in on its own — I’ve got no choice but to cut it off without a moment’s hesitation. Are you prepared for that?’

Japan’s government condemned the statement, with Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara calling it ‘extremely inappropriate’ and confirming that Tokyo had lodged a formal protest with Beijing. Kihara said Xue had made ‘multiple’ inflammatory remarks in the past and urged China to take disciplinary action.

China instead appeared to defend the diplomat. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters Monday that Xue’s words came in response to Takaichi’s ‘wrongful and dangerous’ comments, which he said misrepresented China’s position on Taiwan. Lin accused Japan of ‘refusing to face up to its historical responsibilities’ and warned Tokyo not to interfere in ‘internal Chinese affairs.’

Takaichi later told reporters her comments were ‘hypothetical’ and said she would refrain from making similar remarks in the future.

The episode threatens to strain already fraught relations between Asia’s two largest economies. Takaichi, a nationalist known for her hawkish views on China and close ties with Washington, has sought to deepen defense cooperation with the Trump administration. She has pledged to push Japan’s long-stagnant defense spending above 1% of GDP and to play a more assertive role in maintaining stability across the Taiwan Strait.

U.S. defense officials have long argued that Japan’s participation would be critical in any potential conflict over Taiwan, which Beijing sees as its own.

Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Minoru Kihara said that while the intent of the post was ‘not entirely clear’ Xue’s remarks were ‘extremely inappropriate.’ He said Xue had made multiple inappropriate statements and Japan has asked Beijing to take action.

Though the post was deleted, China backed up Xue. Foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said in a news conference on Monday his words were in response to Takaichi’s ‘wrongful and dangerous’ remarks on Taiwan, urging Tokyo to ‘take a hard look at its historical responsibilities.’

Takaichi said on Monday her comments were ‘hypothetical’ and she would refrain from making them again.

The consulate in Osaka could not immediately be reached for comment.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is glad the Senate finally managed to break through its weeks-long standoff on the government shutdown, he told Fox News Digital on Monday morning.

‘It’s a great development. It’s long overdue. It vindicates our position in this all along,’ the House leader said.

He added that he would have ‘a lot more to say at a press conference this morning.’

Asked how soon the House would return to session, Johnson said, ‘Immediately.’

‘We’re going to get everybody back on a 36-hour notice, so it’ll be happening early this week,’ Johnson said.

The House has not been in session since Sept. 19, when lawmakers there first passed a bill to avert a shutdown by extending current federal funding levels through Nov. 21. Democrats rejected that deal, however, kicking off weeks of a worsening impasse where millions of Americans’ federal benefits and air travel were put at risk.

Eight Senate Democrats joined all but one Senate Republican in breaking a filibuster to advance an updated government funding deal late on Sunday night.

It came on Day 40 of the government shutdown — which already holds the record for being the longest shutdown in U.S. history.

Terms of the deal include a new extension of fiscal year (FY) 2025 federal funding levels through Jan. 30, in order to give congressional negotiators more time to strike a longer-term deal on FY 2026 spending.

It would also give lawmakers some headway with that mission, advancing legislation to fund the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration; the Department of Veterans Affairs and military construction; and the legislative branch.

They are three of 12 individual bills that are meant to make up Congress’ annual appropriations, paired into a vehicle called a ‘minibus.’

In a victory for Democrats, the deal would also reverse federal layoffs conducted by the Trump administration in October, with those workers getting paid for the time they were off.

It also guarantees Senate Democrats a vote on legislation extending Obamacare subsidies that were enhanced during the COVID-19 pandemic, which are set to expire at the end of this year.

Extending the enhanced subsidies for Obamacare, formally called the Affordable Care Act (ACA), was a key ask for Democrats in the weeks-long standoff.

No such guarantee was made in the House, however, so Democrats effectively folded on their key demand in order to end the shutdown — a move that infuriated progressives in Congress.

‘Tonight, eight Democrats voted with the Republicans to allow them to go forward on this continuing resolution,’ Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said in a video he posted Sunday night. ‘And to my mind, this was a very, very bad vote.’

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., also announced his opposition over the lack of concrete movement on Obamacare.

‘We will not support spending legislation advanced by Senate Republicans that fails to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits,’ he said in a statement. 

Several Republicans also pointed out the final deal was not dissimilar to what Senate GOP leaders had been offering Democrats for weeks.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is glad the Senate finally managed to break through its weeks-long standoff on the government shutdown, he told Fox News Digital on Monday morning.

‘It’s a great development. It’s long overdue. It vindicates our position in this all along,’ the House leader said.

He added that he would have ‘a lot more to say at a press conference this morning.’

Asked how soon the House would return to session, Johnson said, ‘Immediately.’

‘We’re going to get everybody back on a 36-hour notice, so it’ll be happening early this week,’ Johnson said.

The House has not been in session since Sept. 19, when lawmakers there first passed a bill to avert a shutdown by extending current federal funding levels through Nov. 21. Democrats rejected that deal, however, kicking off weeks of a worsening impasse where millions of Americans’ federal benefits and air travel were put at risk.

Eight Senate Democrats joined all but one Senate Republican in breaking a filibuster to advance an updated government funding deal late on Sunday night.

It came on Day 40 of the government shutdown — which already holds the record for being the longest shutdown in U.S. history.

Terms of the deal include a new extension of fiscal year (FY) 2025 federal funding levels through Jan. 30, in order to give congressional negotiators more time to strike a longer-term deal on FY 2026 spending.

It would also give lawmakers some headway with that mission, advancing legislation to fund the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration; the Department of Veterans Affairs and military construction; and the legislative branch.

They are three of 12 individual bills that are meant to make up Congress’ annual appropriations, paired into a vehicle called a ‘minibus.’

In a victory for Democrats, the deal would also reverse federal layoffs conducted by the Trump administration in October, with those workers getting paid for the time they were off.

It also guarantees Senate Democrats a vote on legislation extending Obamacare subsidies that were enhanced during the COVID-19 pandemic, which are set to expire at the end of this year.

Extending the enhanced Obamacare subsidies was a key ask for Democrats in the weeks-long standoff.

No such guarantee was made in the House, however, so Democrats effectively folded on their key demand in order to end the shutdown — a move that infuriated progressives in Congress.

With a deal to end the record government shutdown taking shape, President Donald Trump is turning to foreign policy at the start of the week.

On Monday, Trump will host Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House, the first official visit by a Syrian leader to Washington. Officials describe the meeting as a landmark attempt to bring Damascus back into the diplomatic fold after years on the international sidelines.

It will be the third meeting between Trump and al-Sharaa this year, as Syria’s new leadership works to rebuild a shattered nation and restore ties with Arab states and the West following the end of Bashar al-Assad’s 14-year civil war.

In a move paving the way for the talks, Washington eased key restrictions on Syria’s leadership ahead of the meeting.

On Friday, the United States lifted sanctions on al-Sharaa, mirroring a United Nations Security Council move a day prior, ahead of his meeting with Trump. According to a notice on the U.S. Treasury Department’s website, the Specially Designated Global Terrorist designations were removed from both Sharaa and Syria’s interior minister, Anas Khattab.

The White House meeting also comes against the backdrop of a grinding government shutdown that has paralyzed federal agencies and left Washington mired in a political standoff over funding.

Senate Republicans and Democrats have reached a deal to end the impasse on Sunday evening, but the government won’t officially reopen until the House, which has been out of session for nearly six weeks, approves the agreement. The measure would then go to President Trump for his signature.

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Sunday evening, Trump said a deal to end the government shutdown was within reach.

‘It looks like we’re very close to the shutdown ending,’ he said.

The shutdown, which began on Oct. 1, has become the longest in U.S. history. It’s the 21st government shutdown since 1976 and the longest since a 34-day standoff over funding for Trump’s border wall halted operations from December 2018 to January 2019.
 

A federal judge appointed by former President Ronald Reagan announced in an op-ed published Sunday that he resigned from his position, relinquishing his lifetime appointment to speak out against President Donald Trump, whom he views as eroding judicial independence and using the law to reward allies and punish opponents.

Mark Wolf, who was appointed by Reagan in 1985, said in The Atlantic that he had looked forward to serving on the bench for the rest of his life but felt compelled to resign.

‘My reason is simple: I no longer can bear to be restrained by what judges can say publicly or do outside the courtroom. President Donald Trump is using the law for partisan purposes, targeting his adversaries while sparing his friends and donors from investigation, prosecution, and possible punishment,’ he wrote.

‘This is contrary to everything that I have stood for in my more than 50 years in the Department of Justice and on the bench. The White House’s assault on the rule of law is so deeply disturbing to me that I feel compelled to speak out. Silence, for me, is now intolerable.’

The former federal judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts said he began his career in public service at the Department of Justice in 1974, several years after the Watergate scandal.

Wolf served under former President Gerald Ford’s Attorney General Edward Levi, who he argued helped shape his views on what it means to uphold the rule of law and to seek justice in a nonpartisan way.

‘I decided all of my cases based on the facts and the law, without regard to politics, popularity, or my personal preferences. That is how justice is supposed to be administered—equally for everyone, without fear or favor. This is the opposite of what is happening now,’ he wrote.

Wolf’s successor was selected and nominated after he became a senior judge in 2013, and the seat was officially filled by Judge Indira Talwani in 2014.

‘I hope to be a spokesperson for embattled judges who, consistent with the code of conduct, feel they cannot speak candidly to the American people,’ he told The New York Times.

White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson told the Times that judges who look to ‘inject their own personal agenda into the law have no place on the bench.’ 

‘Any other radical judges that want to complain to the press should at least have the decency to resign before doing so,’ she said.

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Let’s put politics aside, as if that were possible, and look at how the craziness of the last few days is affecting people.

A week ago, President Donald Trump announced that the 42 million Americans on the SNAP nutrition program would not be getting their benefits — this against the backdrop of a government shutdown that has now reached its 40th day.

This against the backdrop of millions of federal workers who have not been paid while the shutdown drags on — and many of whom live paycheck to paycheck.

This against the backdrop of Trump throwing a lavish, Great Gatsby-themed Mar-a-Lago bash where guests in formal wear watched opera and feasted on blue cheese mousse, sliced beef filet, seared scallops and Trump chocolate cake.

Meanwhile, a federal judge ordered the administration to resume SNAP benefits, which cost $8.5 billion a month, but the Supreme Court gave Trump time to appeal.

And when at least nine states said they would pay for SNAP benefits during the crisis, Trump ordered them to ‘immediately undo’ any effort to provide food stamps to lower-income families — or face financial penalties.

Let’s see: how does this make the president look?

I hate this word, but what are the optics of this determined effort to stop these benefits from reaching hungry families?

After all, when a wealthy donor pal, Timothy Mellon, a banking and railroad heir, offered $130 million to ensure that American troops get paid during the shutdown, Trump seized the opportunity.

After all, the Trump tax cut was tilted toward the wealthy.

After all, Trump has further cut capital gains taxes on home sales that will mostly benefit the affluent and wealthy, enabling many to pay zero, or a reduced rate, on these sales. If you are totally unaware of this, you probably don’t qualify.

After all — this may have been the weirdest thing — Trump said Obamacare is so terrible that he wants to send people $2,000 checks so they can buy their own insurance.

But, where would they buy it, if not from an insurance company? And what would they do if the stock market plunged? There’s a reason that privatization of health insurance has never gone anywhere.

So to come back to politics (inevitably), how does any of this help Trump?

I get the notion that he’s trying to boost the pain level so that Democrats will end the shutdown on his terms.

The Democrats, who have made soaring Obamacare premiums a central part of their pitch — and fear millions will lose coverage unless expiring subsidies are extended — have hung on longer than anyone expected.

For what it’s worth, both sides deserve a ton of blame for failing to keep the lights on during this endless blame game, rather than work out a compromise, which is what we pay them to do.

But don’t Trump and JD Vance, who called the judge’s order ‘absurd,’ look like they don’t particularly care if millions of families go hungry, or are taking food from dumpsters?

Seriously, is there an alternative explanation?

Blaming the other side is fine for the usual political fun and games. But doing it during this kind of self-inflicted crisis?

With the opposition throwing out charges of cruelty, is there some nine — dimensional chess level on which this helps Trump?

Trump says former President Joe Biden ‘went totally crazy’ and handed out food stamps to ‘anybody that would ask.’ So is this liberalism gone wild? I decided to do a little digging.

Turns out there are income limits, and those in the program must meet work requirements. What’s more, the oft-repeated charge that illegal immigrants are getting SNAP benefits is simply untrue, though there are exemptions for children and refugees. (Obviously, you can never completely rule out instances of fraud.)

During the pandemic, when unemployment soared, Congress passed an emergency measure that temporarily suspended a work requirement for adults without dependents who were capable of holding jobs. This happened under … President Trump, in his first term, in 2020.

Under a deal with Republicans in 2023, work requirements for SNAP were increased. That happened under … Biden. Some Republicans, meanwhile, said the measure didn’t go far enough.

By the way, SNAP participation peaked in the fall of 2017, under Trump, which was related to hurricane emergencies.

Sorry for the green-eyeshade stuff, but I thought it was worth more research.

Most people don’t have the time or interest in excavating the details. They just know they aren’t getting the food aid they expected and that neither are millions of other lower-income families. And especially with his dogged determination to block the states from helping out, many are holding Trump accountable.

President Donald Trump has granted ‘full, complete and unconditional’ pardons to several key allies accused of attempting to overturn the 2020 election, U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin announced Sunday night.

In a post on X, Martin shared Trump’s proclamation granting pardons for dozens of people, including notable figures like Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows and Sidney Powell.

The pardon proclamation was posted in response to a message Martin shared on X on May 26, 2025, that said, ‘No MAGA left behind.’

‘This proclamation ends a grave national injustice perpetrated upon the American people following the 2020 Presidential Election and continues the process of national reconciliation,’ the document reads.

Trump wrote in that proclamation that he did not include himself in the pardons.

The Senate took a massive step forward on its way to reopening the government on Sunday, with a group of Senate Democrats caving and joining Republicans in their bid to pass a revamped plan to end the shutdown.

Signs that the shutdown, which entered its 40th day, could be ending became more and more clear as the day went on, particularly with the unveiling of a bipartisan package of spending bills that lawmakers hope to attach to a modified bill to reopen the government.

Eight Senate Democrats crossed the aisle to mark the first step in the GOP’s quest to end the shutdown. Many of the lawmakers that splintered from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., were among those engaged in bipartisan talks over the last several weeks.

Among the defectors were Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, John Fetterman, D-Pa., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Jacky Rosen, D-N.M., Tim Kaine, D-Va., and the number two Democrat in the Senate, Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

‘The question was, does the shutdown further the goal of achieving some needed support for the extension of the tax credits? Our judgment was that it will not,’ King said. ‘It would not produce that result. And the evidence for that is almost seven weeks of fruitless attempts to make that happen.’

Schumer and Senate Democrats long stayed the course that they would only vote to reopen the government in exchange for a solid deal on extending expiring Obamacare subsidies.

But the solution developed over the last several days included nothing of the sort. While there were some wins in the updated continuing resolution (CR), like reversals of some of the firings of furloughed workers undertaken by the Trump administration and guaranteeing back pay for furloughed workers, there was no guaranteed victory in sight on the Obamacare issue.

That means that Senate Democrats effectively caved with little to show for their healthcare push, save for the guarantee of a vote on the subsidies from Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., which was reflected in the updated CR. 

Schumer panned the compromise deal, and charged that when Republicans rejected Democrats’ own counter-proposal that would have extended the expiring subsidies for a year, ‘They showed that they are against any health care reform.’

‘This healthcare crisis is so severe, so urgent, so devastating for families back home that I cannot, in good faith, support this CR that fails to address the healthcare crisis,’ Schumer said. 

Thune was optimistic that the plan would work, and reiterated his promise of a vote on the expiring subsidies. However, whatever legislation is produced to address the Obamacare issue is likely to fail. 

‘Regardless, as I have said for weeks to my Democrat friends, I will schedule a vote on their proposal, and I’ve committed to having that vote no later than second week in December,’ he said. 

Progressives in the caucus were unhappy with the developments, too.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, charged that it would be a ‘horrific mistake’ for Democrats to cave now without an Obamacare deal.

‘If Democrats cave on this issue, what it will say to Donald Trump is that he has a green light to go forward toward authoritarianism,’ Sanders said. ‘And I think that would be a tragedy for this country.’

Still, there is a long way to go before the government officially reopens.

Sunday’s vote was the first in a series needed in the Senate to modify the original House-passed continuing resolution and combine it with the three-bill spending package and updated CR, which, if passed, would reopen the government until Jan. 30, 2026.

Lawmakers hope that if given the extra time, they could finish funding the government with spending bills rather than turning to another CR or colossal omnibus spending package, which crams all 12 government funding bills into one piece of legislation.

‘If we blow this window, we’re going to get stuck with a yearlong CR,’ Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said.

And the shutdown won’t end in the Senate, given that the changes to the legislation will need to be greenlit by the House before making it to President Donald Trump’s desk.

Democrats could still extract pain through procedural hurdles unless there is unanimous agreement from all 100 senators to move forward with the remaining votes.

The Obamacare issue is still bubbling on both sides of the aisle, however. Senate Republicans slammed the state of healthcare throughout Saturday, particularly over how the subsidies funneled money to insurance companies.

Democrats still remained skeptical if their frustration, and desire to make changes to take on insurance companies, was legitimate.

‘The point, I think that’s really relevant here, is if they’re serious, and I really question whether that’s the case,’ Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) started reducing air traffic across 40 airports Friday due to air traffic controller staffing issues stemming from the government shutdown.

As the government shutdown has hit 40 days, more air traffic control workers have refused to come to work as they’re about to miss a second paycheck next week — prompting the FAA to make cuts to ensure no safety issues arise.

But these flight reductions will likely continue if the shutdown does — or worsen — and could impact thousands of flights daily, according to Marc Scribner, a senior transportation policy analyst at the libertarian Reason Foundation think tank.

‘This would affect thousands of flights per day, and tens of thousands of passengers potentially seeing their flights canceled — a major disruption,’ Scribner told Fox News Digital Thursday.

As of Sunday, there are now enough Senate Democrats willing to back a revamped plan to reopen the government. But if the shutdown doesn’t end, air travel disruptions are at risk. 

‘I don’t think we would expect, if the shutdown continues, for staffing levels to improve over what they are right now,’ Scribner said. ‘If anything, they will continue to deteriorate as controllers call out sick or perhaps even resign. So I would expect it would not get better as long as the shutdown continues.’

Scribner said that travelers shouldn’t be concerned that the reduction in flights would translate to a lapse in safety, but said they should be aware that their travel schedules will likely take a hit as a result.

‘They’re not going to allow unsafe flights. So whatever that means in terms of staffing capability and workflow, they are going to reduce the flights in order to maintain that very high level of safety that’s demanded of that,’ Scribner said. ‘Travelers shouldn’t be concerned about safety in this, but they should be concerned about their travel schedules, which are likely to be impacted.’

Richard Stern, director of the Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget at conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, also said he expects this reduction to continue until the shutdown ends. 

‘Unfortunately, I think it’s going to have to continue until the shutdown ends, because they’re running through resources that they don’t have until this funding again,’ Stern told Fox News Digital Thursday. 

Stern said the government has been entering into uncharted territory now with what minimum services the government is required to provide, despite the fact that funding has expired. 

‘No one really knows exactly what the next steps are after this,’ Stern said. 

No clarity has been provided regarding how long this reduction in flights is expected to continue. The Department of Transportation, which oversees the FAA, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

The FAA said Friday that air traffic will be cut by 10% in the coming days across 40 ‘high-volume’ markets, including those in major cities like Atlanta, Denver, Dallas, Orlando, Miami and San Francisco, according to a list of airports obtained by The Associated Press. Major metropolitan areas with several airports like New York and Chicago will have outages at multiple locations.

Reducing air traffic in response to the lapse in funding from the government shutdown is unprecedented, according to FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford.

‘I’m not aware in my 35-year history in the aviation market where we’ve had a situation where we’re taking these kinds of measures,’ Bedford said at a news conference Wednesday.

Air traffic controllers have been working without pay since the shutdown kicked off Oct. 1, and often are required to work six days a week in addition to mandatory overtime.

Bedford said that the decision to reduce air traffic was made in order to prevent a crisis from emerging, amid increased staffing pressures and voluntary safety reports from pilots suggesting that air traffic controllers were facing heightened levels of fatigue.

‘We’re not going to wait for a safety problem to truly manifest itself when the early indicators are telling us we can take action today to prevent things from deteriorating,’ Bedford said. ‘The system is extremely safe today and will be extremely safe tomorrow. If the pressures continue to build even after we take these measures, we’ll come back and take additional measures.’

The Associated Press contributed to this report.