As the government shutdown continues, Capitol Hill is bracing for yet another weekend without resolution. A Senate vote that could have guaranteed pay for troops fell short Thursday, with most Democrats blocking the defense appropriations bill — intensifying a bitter partisan deadlock that’s beginning to affect national security and morale.
Democrats Block Troop Pay Bill as Shutdown Drags On
The Senate failed to advance a defense spending bill Thursday that would have ensured U.S. troops receive paychecks during the ongoing government shutdown. The vote, 50–44, fell short of the 60 votes needed to proceed, with just three Democrats — Sens. John Fetterman (PA), Catherine Cortez Masto (NV), and Jeanne Shaheen (NH) — siding with Republicans.
The bill would have funded the Department of Defense through the fiscal year and included a military pay raise. Without it, future pay for service members remains uncertain if the shutdown continues into November. President Trump has used unused Pentagon funds to temporarily cover military pay, averting an immediate crisis this week.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) delivered a scathing rebuke on the floor, accusing Democrats of hypocrisy.
“After voting last week for an authorization bill to increase troop pay, Democrats just voted against the bill that would actually pay the troops,” he said.
The bill had passed the Senate Appropriations Committee with near-unanimous support in July. Now, the same chamber is paralyzed, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer holding the line until Republicans agree to tie unrelated healthcare policy changes to the broader funding bill.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) argued the need for a more lawful process, even as he voted against the measure.
“We have an obligation… to pay our military in a lawful way instead of just moving funds from one account to another,” he said.
A separate bipartisan measure to reopen the government was also filibustered for the tenth time Thursday. Only Fetterman, Cortez Masto, and Independent Sen. Angus King (ME) crossed party lines.
The Senate is not expected to reconvene until Monday, making this one of the longest funding lapses in U.S. history.
John Bolton Indicted for Mishandling Classified Documents
Former National Security Advisor John Bolton was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury in Maryland on 18 counts related to the alleged mishandling of classified national defense information.
According to the indictment, Bolton transmitted top-secret documents using personal email and stored materials — some referencing weapons of mass destruction — in his Washington, D.C. office. None were found at his Maryland residence during an FBI search in August.
FBI Director Kash Patel said Bolton’s conduct posed a grave national security risk.
“Weaponization of justice will not be tolerated, and this FBI will stop at nothing to bring to justice anyone who threatens our national security.”
Among the charges are eight counts of unauthorized transmission and ten counts of unlawful retention of classified materials. The documents reportedly included detailed diary-style messages Bolton sent to two unauthorized individuals — both personally connected to him.
After a cyberattack allegedly linked to Iran compromised his account in 2021, Bolton did not disclose that classified materials had been exposed.
Bolton’s attorney maintains that many of the materials had been cleared during the pre-publication review for his 2020 memoir, The Room Where It Happened.
Attorney General Pam Bondi emphasized that “no one is above the law,” citing a string of recent indictments against high-profile figures including James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Texas Court Halts Influencer’s “Free Homes for Votes” Scheme
In Texas, a judge has temporarily shut down a political influencer’s controversial attempt to reshape a tiny rural county’s electorate.
Malcolm Tanner, leader of the group “Melanated People of Power,” has been barred from moving people into homes he offered in Loving County — the least populous county in the U.S. — as part of what Attorney General Ken Paxton called a “fraudulent political takeover.”
Tanner, who publicly planned to “take over” Loving County by 2026 and elect allies to local office, had lured mostly black voters to his properties by promising free housing. But the court sided with Paxton’s lawsuit, which claims the homes are uninhabitable and violate public health laws, lacking sewage, running water, and proper infrastructure.
Paxton did not mince words.
“Malcolm Tanner is a two-bit charlatan attempting to defraud people out of their money… Texas is for Texans, not out-of-state grifters trying to steal political power.”
Tanner, who plans to run for president in 2028, insists the county violated his constitutional rights and vows to “fight back.”
“What we built was destroyed. What we worked for was attacked.”
Photos submitted in court show tents, RVs, and burn pits allegedly used for waste. The court’s order will remain in place until at least November 1, pending a full hearing.
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Republicans need to be strong and not cave to any wasteful spending at all