Washington is barreling into its fifth week of a government shutdown, and despite a handful of payday deadlines for federal workers fast-approaching, there’s been little progress made toward turning the lights back on.

The Senate is expected to again vote on a House-passed plan to reopen the government this week but has failed to advance the continuing resolution (CR) 12 times.

As before, the legislation — which would reopen the government until Nov. 21 — is expected to fail again. The same dispute that triggered the shutdown nearly a month ago remains unresolved.

Senate Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., want an ironclad deal to extend expiring Obamacare premium subsidies, while Senate Republicans want to address the issue only after the government is reopened.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., argued that Democrats’ position had little to do with the actual premium tax credits, nor a desire for negotiations.

‘It’s politics,’ he said.

‘Well, they’d like you to believe that it’s about healthcare,’ he said on the Senate floor last week. ‘It’s not. Republicans have been perfectly clear that we’re willing to have a discussion about healthcare, just not while government funding is being held hostage and all the federal employees that come with that. So if this were really about healthcare, Democrats would be voting in favor of the clean CR as the quickest way to reopen the government.’

In the meantime, payday deadlines for air traffic controllers, military service members, and a funding cliff for federal nutrition assistance programs are right around the corner.

Air traffic controllers are expected to miss their first full paycheck on Tuesday after being partially paid earlier this month.

Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Chair Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has a bill that would fill that funding gap that is expected to be put on the floor for a vote this week. However, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has not yet teed it up.

Then there is the military payday coming on Oct. 31. President Donald Trump previously moved around billions in funding to cover troops’ paychecks earlier this month, but that money is not expected to cover this upcoming pay cycle.

Sen. Ron Johnson’s, R-Wis., bill to pay troops and ‘excepted’ federal workers — meaning federal workers who are currently working during the shutdown but not being paid — was blocked by Senate Democrats last week.

However, there is an effort between Johnson and Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., to bring a new version of the bill to the floor. Van Hollen also tried to get his own bill to pay federal workers and troops on the floor last week but was blocked in the process.

Van Hollen, like other Senate Democrats, warned that Johnson’s version of the bill would allow Trump and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought a ‘blank check as to who they’re going to send home and who they’re going to punish by not paying.’

‘Not one of our federal employees, service members, or contractors deserves to be punished for this government shutdown,’ Van Hollen said in a statement to Fox News Digital. ‘I’m continuing to work to make sure they’re not.’

And on Nov. 1, the same day as the beginning of open enrollment for Obamacare, funding for food stamps, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), is expected to run out.

Meanwhile, Senate Democrats received another blow to their unified front as the shutdown drags on from an outside ally that donates millions of dollars to Democratic political action committees and candidates.

The American Federation of Government Employees, the largest union of federal employees in the nation that represents over 800,000 workers, demanded that Democrats swallow the Republicans’ clean CR to reopen the government.

Everett Kelley, president of the massive union, said in an open letter on Monday that the best path forward was to, ‘Reopen the government immediately under a clean continuing resolution that allows continued debate on larger issues,’ and ensure that every federal employee that has been working or furloughed under the shutdown receive back pay.

‘Because when the folks who serve this country are standing in line for food banks after missing a second paycheck because of this shutdown, they aren’t looking for partisan spin,’ Kelley said. ‘They’re looking for the wages they earned. The fact that they’re being cheated out of it is a national disgrace.’

‘It’s long past time for our leaders to put aside partisan politics and embrace responsible government,’ he continued. ‘A strong America requires a functioning government — one that pays its bills, honors its commitments, and treats its workforce with respect by paying them on time.’

Hamas says it will hand over another body of an Israeli hostage on Monday, as President Donald Trump’s 48-hour deadline looms.

If the latest body is handed over, Hamas will still have the bodies of 12 Israeli hostages in its custody. Trump’s deadline will expire Monday night. Hamas has made no mention of the identity of the deceased hostage set to be released.

‘Within the framework of the Al-Aqsa Flood prisoner exchange deal, the Martyr Izz El-Din Al-Qassam Brigades will hand over the body of one of the occupation prisoners, which was recovered today in the Gaza Strip, at 9 PM Gaza time,’ Hamas announced in a statement.

Trump acknowledged on social media Saturday that some of the deceased hostages are ‘hard to reach.’

‘Some of the bodies are hard to reach, but others they can return now and, for some reason, they are not,’ Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. ‘Perhaps it has to do with their disarming, but when I said, ‘Both sides would be treated fairly,’ that only applies if they comply with their obligations. Let’s see what they do over the next 48 hours. I am watching this very closely.’

Hours before Trump’s post, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee met with the families of Itay Chen and Omer Neutra, two U.S. citizens who were killed in the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks.

Their bodies are among those still being held by Hamas.

‘We will not forget the lives of the hostages who died in the captivity of Hamas,’ Rubio wrote in an X post. ‘We will not rest until their—and all—remains are returned.’

Authorities believed Chen, a 19-year-old dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, was kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, but was later declared dead by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Huckabee noted Rubio’s visit to Israel was ‘very productive in moving forward’ the U.S.-brokered Gaza peace plan, adding the plan cannot work until all hostages, living and deceased, are released.

Fox News’ Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump is cozying up with top ally Japan’s emperor and new prime minister Monday ahead of a high-stakes meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Upon arrival in Tokyo, Trump sat down with Japanese Emperor Naruhito, the nation’s symbolic leader, at Tokyo’s Imperial Palace.

On Tuesday, Trump will meet Japan’s first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi.

The two are expected to bond over their fondness for Shinzo Abe, Japan’s former prime minister who was assassinated in 2022.

‘I look forward to meeting the new prime minister. I hear phenomenal things,’ Trump said on Monday. ‘He was a great ally and friend of Shinzo Abe, who was my friend, the former prime minister. And he was great. He was one of my best … I know they were very close.’

‘I think she’s going to be great,’ he said of Takaichi.

Meanwhile, U.S. and China negotiators reported great progress in Malaysia on a potential trade deal, easing tensions ahead of the Trump-Xi meeting on Thursday.

Relations between the two world leaders had strained over China’s recent crackdown on critical mineral exports and Trump threatened to bring back the 100% tariff on Chinese goods.

Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent said Sunday talks on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit had eliminated the need for 100% tariffs, expected to take effect Nov. 1, and that he expects China to delay implementation of its restrictions on rare earth minerals and magnets.

Trump and Xi are expected to sign off on the agreement during the meeting if talks go well.

Takaichi took office last week and leads a right-wing coalition. Trump already congratulated the new prime minister on becoming Japan’s first female top leader.

Takaichi is expected to tout Japan’s efforts to increase defense spending, which long sat at 1% of GDP — a figure analysts say falls well short of what the U.S. is pushing for from its allies.

During the meeting with Trump, Takaichi is expected to face pressure to raise defense spending even further to match NATO’s 5% target.

Takaichi has expressed concern about Japan’s reliance on the U.S., but signaled intentions to work closely with Trump. She took office on a recent populist wave in Japan similar to the MAGA movement.

Trump’s suggestion that Japan should pay for U.S. troops in the region has spooked some Japanese officials. Around 60,000 U.S. military personnel are stationed in Japan, making it the largest foreign host of U.S. forces.

Adding to those concerns, a trade framework in July placed a 15% tariff on imported Japanese goods, with higher rates for steel, aluminum and auto parts.

Despite these challenges, both sides are expected to use this week’s meetings to reaffirm what Trump has called ‘the most important partnership in Asia,’ setting the stage for his critical summit with Xi later this week.

Next week’s governor races may tell us more about where the shutdown fight is headed than the shutdown itself will show about those elections.

While the gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia will look largely untouched by the lapse in government funding, their results could serve as a barometer for public perception over who’s at fault for the standoff dragging out in Washington, D.C.

But only if the results stand out. 

Bill Wichterman, former special assistant to President George W. Bush, said the two parties seem entrenched in their positions with no signs of blinking anytime soon. Having seen past shutdown conflicts up close as a policy advisor to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and a chief of staff for other offices, he believes the election results would have to look dramatic to change the resolve of lawmakers.

‘Let’s say it’s normally a 5-point win, and it turns out to be a 15-point win,’ Wichterman said, speaking to the possibility of a Democrat winning in both races. ‘Yeah, that will get people’s attention. But if it’s like a normal 5-point win, whatever the norm is, I don’t think Republicans will look at that as alarming.’

Both Democratic candidates, Abigail Spanberger in Virginia and Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey, lead their Republican challengers with just a week to go until Election Day. Republicans Winsome Earle-Sears, the Virginia candidate, and Jack Ciattarelli in New Jersey both trail by under 10 points. 

In the aftermath of a presidential election, Wichterman said a good performance by the minority party isn’t particularly surprising; that would fit the historical trend for how the public reacts to a new president of either party. 

‘A Democratic win in those two states? Does that freak out Republicans? No, they’re both blue states,’ Wichterman said. 

But if Republican gubernatorial candidates can pull upsets, Wichterman believes that changes things.

‘I think Democrats would look at that and say, ‘My gosh, we’re not doing well. What’s going on here?’ That would be disruptive.’

Government funding ran dry on Oct. 1 when lawmakers failed to reach an agreement over a Republican-led short-term spending bill that would have kept the government open through Nov. 21. Democrats, led by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have opposed the measure on 12 separate occasions, demanding Congress first consider the extension of COVID-era emergency subsidies for Obamacare premiums.

Republicans have rejected those demands out of hand, maintaining that the subsidies have nothing to do with the question of government funding.

Despite the lapse in funding, state-level elections will remain largely unaffected. 

On a practical level, the federal government largely leaves states to carry out their own elections and plays a minimal role in their administration. In many cases, the federal government awards funding for states to update, modernize or shore up security for elections.

In one of the most notable examples, the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) doesn’t directly help organize state-level elections. Instead, it helps provide funding for security and infrastructure-related expenses through grants established by the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). 

New Jersey and Virginia have each already received $272,700 through HAVA grants in 2025. Congress approved that funding in appropriation legislation earlier this year.

Wichterman believes that another way that the election could tip the scales for the shutdown is how the White House reacts. Even if lawmakers in Congress stay put after the election, President Donald Trump’s direction over government funding could force a change in position for lawmakers.

So far, Trump hasn’t budged and has his focus elsewhere. On Monday, Trump traveled to Japan to meet with the country’s emperor, among other officials.

‘I think Democrats have been waiting for Trump to crack [on the shutdown],’ Wichterman said. ‘And he’s not. I’ve been in lots of shutdown fights starting back in ‘95. I know what it feels like when you’re part of a party that’s taking on water. Doesn’t feel that way on the Republican side yet.’ 

Democrats expressed similar thoughts as they shot down a supplemental funding bill to pay essential government workers. To them, the gridlock on Capitol Hill likely will remain until something provokes Trump to get personally involved in negotiations. 

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., believes the president is the only Republican voice that matters.

‘He says, ‘Jump,’ they say, ‘How high?’ And so, he’s the one that needs to come to the table,’ Van Hollen said when asked about shutdown-ending negotiations.

California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris both remarked in the past few days that they’re keeping their options open for potential 2028 presidential runs. 

‘Yeah, I’d be lying otherwise,’ Newsom told ‘CBS News Sunday Morning’ when asked if he would give ‘serious thought’ to a 2028 presidential run after the 2026 midterms. ‘I’d just be lying. And I’m not — I can’t do that.’

‘I have no idea,’ Newsom said of whether he would decide to run, adding that he has not let academic struggles from across his life prevent him from working to ascend the political ladder. ‘The idea that a guy who got 960 on his SAT, that still struggles to read scripts, that was always in the back of the classroom, the idea that you would even throw that out is, in and of itself, extraordinary. Who the hell knows? I’m looking forward to who presents themselves in 2028 and who meets that moment. And that’s the question for the American people.’

Newsom long has been floated as a likely Democrat nominee for the presidency, most notably after the unprecedented 2024 race when President Joe Biden dropped out of the running amid heightened concerns over his mental acuity, and then-Vice President Harris took up the mantle in his absence. President Donald Trump ultimately swept the seven battleground states and won the popular vote and the Electoral College. 

Harris also left the door open to a potential 2028 presidential run while speaking with the BBC in an interview that aired Saturday. Harris is a longtime California Democrat who has served as San Francisco district attorney, the California attorney general, and a U.S. senator representing California before ascending the political landscape as the nation’s vice president in 2021. 

‘I am not done,’ Harris told the British outlet. ‘I have lived my entire career as a life of service, and it’s in my bones.’

Harris said during the interview that her grandnieces would see the first female president ‘in their lifetime, for sure,’ and that she could ‘possibly’ be that woman, according to the BBC. 

Harris brushed off polling that shows her as a 2028 Democrat outsider, saying during the interview that she historically has not listened to polling data.

‘If I listened to polls I would have not run for my first office, or my second office — and I certainly wouldn’t be sitting here.’

The 2024 presidential election threw the Democrat Party into a tailspin as it continues searching for its next de facto leader. Harris published a memoir in September detailing her 107 days on the campaign trail after Biden dropped out of the race, which included a handful of shots at the former president that has caused rifts within the party to grow deeper as it looks for fresh leadership. 

Both Newsom and Harris are longtime political foes of Trump, who has railed against both of them for promoting left-wing West Coast policies. 

Trump, who is term limited and in the midst of his second presidency, welcomed a potential Newsom presidential run back in May, but said the California high-speed rail project intended to connect San Francisco and Los Angeles would prevent him from proceeding in a presidential race.

‘I would love him to run for president,’ he said. ‘I’d love to see that, but I don’t think he’s going to be running because that one project alone — well, that, and the fires and a lot of other things — pretty much put him out of the race.’

The ‘one project alone’ refers to the high-speed rail project that has been plagued by delays and increased costs, with the Trump administration pulling the funding plug on the project in July. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the respective offices of Newsom and Harris Monday morning for additional comment on their 2028 remarks and has yet to receive replies. 

The U.S. Navy’s Tomahawk cruise missile would put Moscow well within target range if President Donald Trump were to fulfill Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s request.

The Tomahawk has long been one of the most recognizable weapons in America’s arsenal. At $2 million per missile and $6 million per launcher, it can strike up to 1,500 miles into enemy territory.

If the United States were to authorize Ukraine to use it, it would mark a dramatic escalation in both capability and psychology. For the first time, Russian forces and strategic sites far beyond the front lines — including inside Russian territory — would fall within reach of a Western-supplied, precision long-range weapon that Moscow has no reliable defense against.

Unlike the shorter-range Storm Shadow or ATACMS systems already used by Kyiv, the Tomahawk would give Ukraine the ability to strike targets hundreds of miles inside Russia — air bases, ammunition depots, logistics hubs and naval assets supporting the war in Ukraine. That reach would instantly change the strategic balance.

Critically, it would give Ukraine the ability to hit at Russia’s energy industry, which, through exports to nations like China, Iran and India, funds the war effort.

Ukraine has used ATACMS systems to strike behind enemy lines in Russian-occupied Ukraine and near Russia’s borders — helicopter shelters, ammunition depots and runways. But even as missiles regularly rain down on Kyiv, its defense forces have not been able to respond in kind to Moscow, leaving the Kremlin hub unscathed and largely secure after three and a half years of war.

Recently, Ukraine used U.K.-made Storm Shadow missiles to strike a gun depot in Russia. The U.S. supplies targeting data for the Storm Shadow, and The Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration had lifted a ban on using the missiles to strike inside Russia.

‘Transferring Tomahawks to Ukraine would mark a major inflection point for Western support of Ukraine,’ Hudson Institute defense analyst Can Kasapoglu wrote in a recent essay. ‘The Tomahawk is one of the most effective missiles in the arsenals of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) nations.’

Kasapoglu noted that the Tomahawk’s strategic appeal ‘lies less in its raw explosive yield and more in its precision.’

For Moscow, the implications would be profound. Russia’s military doctrine has long depended on the assumption that its homeland infrastructure — especially command and logistics networks — would remain beyond direct threat from Western-supplied weapons. The introduction of Tomahawks into Ukrainian hands would destroy that assumption overnight.

The missile’s ability to fly low and evade radar would make it extremely difficult for Russian defenses to stop. Even advanced systems like the S-400 or S-500, already stretched across multiple fronts, could not guarantee interception. Each missile launched would carry not only destructive power but psychological weight — forcing Russia to divert resources away from its offensive operations in Ukraine to protect bases hundreds of miles away.

‘Such a move would inevitably free up airspace for the Ukrainian Air Force’s growing fleet of F-16 aircraft and Western-supplied ground-attack smart munitions,’ Kasapoglu wrote.

It would also inject uncertainty into Russian planning. Commanders would have to assume that every major staging area — from Belgorod to the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol — could be targeted. That uncertainty erodes confidence, slows operations, and imposes constant strain on air defense assets.

Trump explained on Wednesday why he did not provide Tomahawks to Ukraine despite speculation that he would do so.

‘There is a tremendous learning curve with the Tomahawk. It’s a very powerful weapon, very accurate weapon,’ Trump said Wednesday. ‘And maybe that’s what makes it so complex. But it will take a year. It takes a year of intense training to learn how to use it, and we know how to use it. And we’re not going to be teaching other people. It will be just too far out into the future.’

Trump also made clear he believes the U.S. has few to spare.

‘We need Tomahawks for the United States of America too. We have a lot of them, but we need them.’

The U.S. supply of Tomahawks is classified. But analysts say providing Ukraine with the missiles would weaken preparations for conflict in the Indo-Pacific. 

‘Tomahawk is one of the few munitions (Patriot is another) that would be useful both in Ukraine and the Western Pacific,’ an analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said. 

The Department of War has already established a review process to ensure that weapons offered to Ukraine do not weaken what it regards as higher priority needs. 

‘This review process will almost certainly raise objections to this transfer, and presidential intervention may be required,’ the analysis found. 

Over the weekend, Zelenskyy told Axios Ukraine would welcome other long-range missiles as well. 

‘We speak not only about Tomahawks. The U.S. has a lot of similar things that doesn’t require much time for training. I think the way to work with Putin is only through pressure,’ Zelensky said.

Earlier in the week, he expressed skepticism that Ukraine could win the war.

‘They could still win it. I don’t think they will, but they could still win it,’ Trump told reporters Monday.

Putin’s calculus depends heavily on escalation control — the belief that NATO will stop short of providing weapons capable of directly threatening Russian territory. Tomahawks would shatter that red line. For the Kremlin, it would signal that Washington is prepared to move from containment to punishment — just after Trump triggered sanctions on Russia’s lucrative energy exports.

Putin told journalists this week that if Russia were attacked with Western long-range missiles, the response would be ‘very serious, if not overwhelming. Let them think about it.’

In the view of Avik Roy — one of the first and most vocal critics of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare — Republicans and Democrats alike have missed the mark in the healthcare debate that has dragged the government into a 24-day shutdown.

‘Both sides are wrong,’ Avik said. ‘I’m sympathetic to the Republican view, but it’s a strategic mistake.’

The way Roy sees things, Republican wariness over renewing expanded government subsidies should be directed at the bigger problem behind them.

‘The subsidies aren’t inherently the problem,’ Roy said. ‘If you want low-income people who are near the poverty line to have insurance, you’re going to have to subsidize. Subsidies have been a part of Republican [healthcare] plans and Democratic plans. I would argue that the approach to subsidies that Obamacare used was actually pretty reasonable.’ 

That doesn’t mean he believes the government’s current healthcare trajectory is sustainable, either.

The federal government entered a 24-day shutdown at the beginning of October when lawmakers failed to come to an agreement over spending legislation to begin the new fiscal year. Republicans advanced a short-term spending bill that would have bought more time for lawmakers to finalize funding for 2026. But Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., have shot down that measure repeatedly, demanding that Congress first address expiring COVID-era insurance subsidies. 

As a part of its American Rescue Plan, the Biden administration greatly widened the pool of eligible applicants who could receive a federal subsidy to help pay for their Obamacare health insurance.

In its original form, Obamacare capped subsidies for anyone making over 400% of the federal poverty level. But that changed in 2021 when, as an emergency response to COVID-19, Congress temporarily removed that cap.

The cap will go back into effect at the end of 2025.

Findings by KFF, a healthcare policy think tank, indicate that over 90% of the 24 million Obamacare enrollees make use of the expanded credits. Letting them expire could leave those Obamacare enrollees suddenly footing a substantially heftier bill. But, according to the Committee of a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan fiscal policy think tank, continuing the policy would also come with a steep price tag; upwards of $30 billion annually.

Republicans — especially the Hill’s most fiscally conservative lawmakers — have called for the subsidies to expire to help reel the country’s spending back under control.

Despite agreeing with Republicans that Obamacare did little to make health insurance more affordable, Roy believes Republican insistence on letting them expire won’t solve Obamacare’s underlying problems that are driving prices higher: regulations. 

Roy believes Republicans should use the moment to negotiate, extending the subsidies for maybe one to two years for existing enrollees in exchange for a permanent fix of the costliest Obamacare regulations driving costs upward. 

‘In Switzerland [health insurance] costs $200 a month or $300 a month. The same plan in America costs $1,000 a month or $15,000 a month. Subsidizing it also costs a lot. But having a scale where the subsidy fades out gradually as you go up the income scale — that part is fine.’

Roy praised efforts from the Trump administration to bring the underlying costs of healthcare down, most recently through the most favored nation strategy. Under that plan, the Trump administration had leveraged the price other countries pay for pharmaceuticals to bring U.S. prices down.

In theory, the most favored nation plan would set American prices at the lowest rates other countries pay.

‘They’re not actually deals that truly establish most favored nation status because it’s company by company, and they are on particular drugs. But the general idea — if you want to participate in the U.S. market you’ve got to give us the lowest price you give any other advanced economy — I think that’s eminently reasonable,’ Roy said of the administration’s negotiations. 

In response to Democratic demands, Republicans in Congress maintain that the enhanced premium tax credits are completely unrelated to the government’s funding and rejected those demands out of hand.

The Senate has voted on a short-term funding bill 12 times since the beginning of the shutdown and appeared no closer to finding a resolution when the lawmakers left town on Thursday.

The Senate will return to Washington, D.C., at the beginning of next week. 

Former President Joe Biden suggested that the U.S. is currently facing ‘dark days.’

During a ceremony where he was honored with a lifetime achievement award for inspired leadership from the Edward M. Kennedy Institute, Biden described the current state of affairs as the ‘worst’ he has seen in his many decades of ‘elected public life,’ opining that ‘our very democracy is at stake in my view.’

‘Friends, I can’t sugarcoat any of this. These are dark days,’ Biden asserted.

But the Democrat said the U.S. is one of the only nations that comes out of each crisis it faces ‘stronger’ than before.

Biden said he believes the U.S. will ’emerge… stronger, wiser, more resilient, more just, so long as we keep the faith,’ urging people to ‘fight like hell.’

The lifetime achievement award recognizes Biden for serving 36 years as a senator, eight years as vice president alongside President Barack Obama, and four years as president. Before his time in federal posts, he served on the New Castle County Council in Delaware.

Biden, who left office earlier this year at the age of 82, was the oldest person ever to serve as president in American history.

The Trump administration is warning that millions of Americans could lose out on federal food benefits within days if Democrats do not accept Republicans’ plan to end the government shutdown.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said it does not have the ability to independently reshuffle funds into the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps, according to a recent memo obtained by Fox News Digital.

‘Due to Congressional Democrats’ refusal to pass a clean continuing resolution (CR), approximately 42 million individuals will not receive their SNAP benefits come November 1st,’ the memo said.

‘This jeopardizes all SNAP recipients in November, including those that have applied for benefits in the last half of October, and furloughed Federal employees who will not receive their combined October/November benefits.’

Democrats had been pressing the Trump administration to use the federal government’s SNAP contingency fund, which they said contains about $5 billion, to cover at least some of the shortfall.

It takes about $8 to $9 billion per month to cover all SNAP benefits.

But the USDA argued that the emergency funding was not ‘legally available’ for use.

‘SNAP contingency funds are only available to supplement regular monthly benefits when amounts have been appropriated for, but are insufficient to cover, benefits. The contingency fund is not available to support [fiscal year (FY) 2026] regular benefits, because the appropriation for regular benefits no longer exists,’ the memo said.

‘Instead, the contingency fund is a source of funds for contingencies, such as the Disaster SNAP program, which provides food purchasing benefits for individuals in disaster areas, including natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods, that can come on quickly and without notice.’

The department also argued that shuffling existing funds from other areas would harm Americans who rely on those programs.

‘Transfers from other sources would pull away funding for school meals and infant formula,’ the memo said. ‘This Administration will not allow Democrats to jeopardize funding for school meals and infant formula in order to prolong their shutdown.’

USDA emphasized its point with an announcement on its website seen Monday morning that said, ‘Senate Democrats have now voted 12 times to not fund the food stamp program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).’

‘Bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 1. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. They can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance,’ the department said.

A letter signed by nearly all House Democrats sent to the USDA on Friday said the SNAP contingency fund was available ‘precisely for this reason.’

‘We urge USDA to use these funds for November SNAP benefits and issue clear guidance to states on how to navigate benefit issuance. Additionally, while the contingency reserve will not cover November benefits in full, we urge USDA to use its statutory transfer authority or any other legal authority at its disposal to supplement these dollars and fully fund November benefits,’ they wrote.

Democrats have said they would not accept any federal funding bill that does not also include an extension of Obamacare subsidies that were enhanced during the COVID-19 pandemic — but which are set to expire at the end of this year.

Republicans’ plan, a short-term extension of FY2025 federal funding called a continuing resolution (CR), passed the House on Sept. 19 but has since stalled in the Senate.

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said China has been conducting training missions in the western Pacific aimed at limiting U.S. and allied military access. The exercises reflect Beijing’s effort to expand its anti-access/area-denial, or A2/AD, capabilities – a strategy meant to keep opposing forces from entering or operating freely in nearby regions.

The military spokesman for Taiwan – officially known as the Republic of China (ROC) – Lt. Gen. Sun Li-fang, told Fox News Digital in exclusive comments that the armed forces of the independently governed island fully understand the threats posed by China’s expanding military might. 

Sun said Taiwan has prepared a series of responses if the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) provocations escalate into acts of war and has detailed plans to counter and survive a potential Chinese naval blockade.

Taiwan’s military is on alert for the possibility that Communist China could turn ‘training’ or an exercise into an actual war. Some analysts warn that a Chinese blockade would be difficult to break, but Sun said Taiwan has ‘holistic plans to breach [any] blockade.’ He added that Taipei would ‘urge its allies and like-minded partners to treat any blockade as an act of war that should trigger a coordinated international response,’ noting that shipping disruptions in the seas near Taiwan would have serious effects on the global economy.

Sun said Taiwan expects the PLA to continue its campaign of ‘hybrid warfare’ or ‘gray-zone operations,’ a mix of nonmilitary and paramilitary actions designed to pressure and harass Taiwan without formally declaring war. He warned that the PLA seeks to ‘exhaust [Taiwan’s] defense capability and blur the battlespace.’

An example of this can be seen in the near-daily incursions by Chinese warplanes into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, resulting in Taiwanese air force jets scrambling to intercept them. The tactic, analysts say, is deliberate – part of a broader effort to wear down Taiwan’s air force, degrade equipment and exhaust Taiwan’s personnel.

Beijing has never ruled Taiwan for even a single day, and Taiwan’s military insists it will not allow China to dictate the rules of any future conflict. Instead, the island democracy is prioritizing the development of asymmetric warfare, a strategy in which, as Sun put it, ‘the weaker party strikes at the weak point of the stronger party with appropriate tactics and weapons in order to gain advantages on the battlefield and change the outcome of the war.’

The general said Taiwan’s top priorities are to build asymmetric capabilities, strengthen operational resilience, expand reserve force capacity and improve defenses against gray-zone harassment. To achieve these goals, he said, Taiwan is expanding production and deployment of unmanned and AI-driven systems while dispersing command-and-control networks to make a knockout punch much more difficult. He also noted that Taiwan’s surveillance and reconnaissance units are ‘vigilant’ and that they ‘exchange intelligence and perspectives on PLA activities with our allies and partners.’

Sun also rejected the idea that Taiwan lacks the will to defend itself and believes people here would strongly resist any attempt by the PRC to take Taiwan by force. Taiwan’s military wants the world to know it is committed to its own defense, Sun said, pointing to the proposed 2026 defense budget, which will exceed 3% of GDP. Furthermore, he said, the government is actively pursuing reforms to make training ‘as realistic as possible,’ is expanding reserve forces, and has already extended mandatory military service to one year.

Taiwan’s government is stressing that an attack or blockade by Beijing would not just be a local confrontation but a global crisis. Government and military leaders of democratic Taiwan hope their statements and actions will convince China – and the world – that Taiwan will fight back with everything it’s got.