DEMS IN BIND FROM BASE: Democrats are in a tough spot amid the government shutdown after renewed "No Kings" protests on Saturday raised pressure to oppose the Trump administration.
The Hill's Alexander Bolton reports how Democratic senators are afraid of getting "hammered" by their base after the nationwide protests opposing Trump. Democrats have consistently indicated in polling that they want their leaders to focus on opposing the administration's actions and standing up to the president.
"We would have enough votes" to reopen the government "if people were not terrified of getting the guillotine," one person familiar with the dynamics within the Senate Democratic Caucus told Bolton.
Organizers said nearly 7 million people turned out for Saturday's protests in more than 2,700 cities and towns, more than 2 million more people than the first No Kings protests held on June 14, which coincided with Trump's birthday and a polarizing military parade.
"While the Republican-led government shutdown continues to wreak havoc, forcing hundreds of thousands of families to go without pay and cutting off critical services, the people they represent are stepping up to lead," a release from the organizers states. "Across districts, neighbors are organizing, marching, and demanding a government that serves the many, not the powerful few."
The shutdown is entering its third full calendar week and still has no end in sight, with no major negotiations seeming to happen between the White House and congressional Democratic leadership.
So far, only three members of the Senate Democratic Caucus have voted for the House GOP-passed continuing resolution (CR) to reopen the government — Sens. John Fetterman (Pa.), Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.) and Angus King (Maine), who is an independent who caucuses with Democrats.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) plans to continue holding votes on the CR to try to increase pressure on centrist Democrats to fold. But that doesn't seem likely to happen soon.
"Are there enough Democrats to join Republicans to reopen the government? Not in the near term. There is no bipartisan conversation that's anything but bulls‑‑‑," one Democratic senator told The Hill.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has become the voice of the GOP's shutdown strategy, refusing to negotiate with Democrats on extending ObamaCare subsidies until they agree, in his words, to stop holding the government "hostage." He has kept the House out of session since the shutdown began at the start of October, saying the ball is in Senate Democrats' court to pass the CR the House already approved.
Johnson's frustration has increasingly come out in his latest public appearances, The Hill's Emily Brooks reports.
"To get everybody together and build that consensus is not possible until we get the government operating again. We stop holding — I'm sorry, I get very upset about it," Johnson said late last week, raising his voice before stopping himself. "We stop holding the American people hostage for these ridiculous political games."
▪ The Hill: "Trump steamrolls GOP Congress during shutdown to implement agenda."
▪ The Hill: "When could the shutdown end? 5 key dates to watch."
▪ CNN: Millions at risk of losing food assistance next month amid shutdown.
TRUMP TURNS TO AI: Trump drew significant Democratic backlash over the weekend after using an artificial intelligence-generated video again to respond to the "No Kings" protests, posting a video showing him dumping what appears to be feces on protesters.
The post on Truth Social shows the president piloting a fighter jet emblazoned with "King Trump" while Kenny Loggins's song "Danger Zone" plays in the background. He flies over Time Square in New York City and drops brown liquid on protesters.
"He's definitely not mad that 7 million Americans came out to protest him yesterday...." 2016 presidential rival Hillary Clinton posted about the video.
"The President is disgusting and a disgrace. And he's clearly rattled by yesterday's turnout," Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) posted on X. "Keep speaking out. The power belongs to the people."
"But seriously why would the President post an image on the Internet of airdropping feces on American cities?" added Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii).
Trump also shared another video, originally posted on Vice President Vance's Bluesky account, showing him wearing a crown and a cape and unsheathing a sword.
The videos were aimed at jabbing protesters who have accused the president of trying to act like a monarch and undermining U.S. democracy through his expansion of federal power.
Trump has regularly used AI and deepfake videos to troll his opponents, recently posting another of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) in a sombrero that Democrats denounced as racist.
▪ The Hill: Defiant Democrats embrace 'No Kings' rallies.
▪ The New York Times: "Scenes from a day of mass protests."
BOAT STRIKE SURVIVORS: Two people who survived the Trump administration's recent boat strike in the Caribbean are being sent back to their countries of origin.
The two are seemingly the first to survive from the administration's more than half-dozen attacks on boats that it alleges were seeking to smuggle drugs into the U.S.
Trump said Saturday the two people would be repatriated back to Ecuador and Colombia, respectively, for "detention and prosecution."
Whether the two countries will prosecute the alleged "narcoterrorists" is unclear.
The two individuals were detained Thursday after the strike and transferred to a Navy ship where they received medical treatment.
Trump said the vessel on which the two survivors and two others were traveling used a "well-known narcotrafficking transit route" and carried fentanyl and other drugs.
Another strike happened on Sunday, killing three passengers, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said. He said the strike happened in international waters and alleged the target was transporting "substantial amounts of narcotics."
While the strikes are part of the administration's actions in its "armed conflict" with alleged drug cartels, they have spurred concerns among critics, including some members of Trump's own party.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that the strikes "go against all our tradition," saying individuals have been killed "without any evidence of a crime."
The retirement of the four-star Navy admiral overseeing the strikes has also raised alarm bells about their validity and the administration's longer-term plans in the region, The Hill's Ellen Mitchell reports.
Hegseth announced on Thursday that U.S. Southern Command (Southcom) head Adm. Alvin Holsey would step down at the end of the year, two years ahead of schedule. Southcom oversees operations in Central and South America, and Hegseth and Holsey reportedly were at odds over the Caribbean strikes.
"Everything we're seeing is setting off alarm bells," a national security lawyer told Mitchell. "The military buildup in the Caribbean, these lawless strikes on vessels there … the administration talking about potential action in Venezuela. None of this is being undertaken with congressional authorization."
▪ Fox News: "Trump releases video of drone strike on 'drug-carrying sub."
GOP DEMANDS SMITH INVESTIGATION: A group of Republican lawmakers on Friday requested the Department of Justice investigate former special counsel Jack Smith after it was revealed that the FBI analyzed the phone records of nine Republican members of Congress during its probes of Trump.
The letter came from GOP Sens. Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Tommy Tuberville (Ala.) and Dan Sullivan (Alaska) as well as Rep. Mike Kelly (Pa.).
The lawmakers alleged that Smith, who led investigations into Trump's actions seeking to influence the results of the 2020 presidential election and alleged mishandling of classified and sensitive documents, took "concerted steps to spy on duly elected members of Congress." They also accused Smith of "serious prosecutorial conduct."
A document released last month by the Senate Judiciary Committee revealed the FBI analyzed the phone records of nine Republicans, including the five signers of the letter.
They accused Smith of going on a "fishing expedition" targeting Trump. They requested Smith be referred to the Office of Professional Conduct, a division within the Justice Department that investigates lawyers suspected of crimes or prosecutorial misconduct.
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