President Donald Trump has repeated his call for Republicans on Capitol Hill to abolish the Senate filibuster in order to use its majority in the chamber to force through a deal to end the government shutdown as voters prepare to go to the polls in state and local elections nationwide Tuesday.
“TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER, NOT JUST FOR THE SHUTDOWN, BUT FOR EVERYTHING ELSE,” the president urged his party on Truth Social in all-caps. “WE WILL GET ALL OF OUR COMMON SENSE POLICIES APPROVED (VOTER ID, ANYONE?) AND MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Meanwhile, the first elections of Trump’s second term get underway tomorrow, the results of which will be heralded by the victors as either a major repudiation of his controversial policy agenda or a resounding stamp of approval.
The race to find the next mayor of New York City will be closely watched but other key contests include gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia and a vote on California’s “Proposition 50” to enact a new congressional map, which could flip as many as five Republican-held U.S. House seats to Democratic control.
Control of Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court is also up for grabs.
Trump speaks out on Andrew losing his royal titles: ‘A terrible thing’
Returning to Washington from Mar-a-Lago Sunday, the president told reporters aboard Air Force One that disgraced British royal Andrew Mountbatten Windsor being stripped of his titles is a “terrible thing.”
The former prince’s titles were taken away by his brother, King Charles III, shortly after the publication of Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir, Nobody’s Girl.
Trump, who has long battled with rumors about his own close relationship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, described the scandal as “too bad.”
“I mean, it’s a terrible thing that’s happened to the family,” he said. “That’s been a tragic situation, and it’s too bad. I mean I feel badly for the family.”
Owen Scott has the story.
Government shutdown lurches towards unwanted record as Trump digs in his heels
The U.S. government shutdown is poised to become the longest ever this week as the impasse between Democrats and Republicans drags into a new month.
Millions of people could lose food aid benefits, healthcare subsidies are set to expire and there are few real talks between the parties over how to end it.
Trump said in an interview with 60 Minutes on CBS that aired Sunday (much more from which shortly) that he “won’t be extorted” by the opposition who are demanding negotiations to extend the Affordable Care Act subsidies that expire at the end of the year for millions of Americans.
Here’s more.
Americans to go the polls in New York, California, New Jersey and Virginia Tuesday
The first elections of Trump’s second term get underway tomorrow, the results of which will be heralded by the victors as either a major repudiation of his controversial policy agenda or a resounding stamp of approval.
The race to find the next mayor of New York City will be closely watched, with progressive Zohran Mamdani on course to beat Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa with ease.
Other key contests include gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia and a vote on California’s “Proposition 50” to enact a new congressional map, which could flip as many as five Republican-held U.S. House seats to the Democrats.
Control of Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court is also up for grabs while Virginia will also choose a new state attorney general and 16 candidates in Texas are vying to fill a vacant seat previously held by the late Democratic congressman Sylvester Turner.
Detroit, Pittsburgh, Jersey City, and Buffalo will elect new mayors while incumbents in Atlanta, Minneapolis, and Cincinnati are seeking another term.
The Minnesota Senate and Virginia House of Delegates could see power shifts while New Jersey Democrats will defend their 52-28 General Assembly majority.
Maine voters will meanwhile decide statewide questions on voting protocol and whether to give the go-ahead to a “red flag” law aimed at preventing gun violence.
In Texas, constitutional amendments on parental rights and limiting voting to U.S. citizens are up for consideration.
Colorado and Washington also have statewide measures on the ballot.
Donald Trump reiterates call for Republicans to scrap Senate filibuster
The president has repeated his call for Republicans on Capitol Hill to abolish the Senate filibuster in order to use its majority in the chamber to force through a deal to end the government shutdown as voters prepare to go to the polls in state and local elections nationwide Tuesday.
“TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER, NOT JUST FOR THE SHUTDOWN, BUT FOR EVERYTHING ELSE,” the president urged his party on Truth Social in all-caps. “WE WILL GET ALL OF OUR COMMON SENSE POLICIES APPROVED (VOTER ID, ANYONE?) AND MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
“REMEMBER, THE DEMOCRATS WILL DO IT IMMEDIATELY, AS SOON AS THEY GET THE CHANCE. OUR DOING IT WILL NOT GIVE THEM THE CHANCE. REPUBLICANS, BE TOUGH AND SMART! THE DEMS ARE CRAZED LUNATICS, THEY WILL NOT OPEN UP OUR COUNTRY NO MATTER HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE IRREPARABLY HARMED!”
The shutdown, which began on October 1, is now into its 34th day and, without an agreement between Republicans and Democrats, is on course to beat the 35-day record set in Trump’s first term between 2018 and 2019 and become the longest in American history.
Good morning
Hello and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of Donald Trump’s administration on the eve of the first Election Day of his second term.
More than half of the states will go to the polls to vote in new officials Tuesday, with the New York City mayor’s race the pick of the bunch but key contests also happening in New Jersey, Virginia, California, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
The results will be interpreted as an important indicator of public sentiment on the president’s second term ahead of the 2026 midterms and come in a moment when the country is mired in a more than month-long government shutdown, which is on course to become the longest in American history.
