The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a spending measure to bring an end to the record-setting 43-day government shutdown, sending the bill to President Trump for his signature and final approval.
Lawmakers voted 222–209 to advance the Senate-passed plan, which will restart pay for hundreds of thousands of federal employees, reopen shuttered agencies, restore food assistance, and resume air traffic control operations that had been disrupted during the standoff.
Republicans celebrated the bill’s passage as a victory for common sense after weeks of gridlock. “The legislation finally reopens the government, restores critical services, and puts an end to the needless hardship Democrats have inflicted on the country,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole of Oklahoma.
Democrats, however, expressed deep frustration, charging that their Senate allies folded without extracting any concessions on healthcare — the main issue they claimed justified the shutdown in the first place.
“I rise in opposition to this bill that does nothing, not one thing to address the Republican health care crisis, amid a cost-of-living crisis,” declared Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) in her floor remarks before the vote.
Once signed by President Trump, the legislation will immediately reopen the federal government and ensure back pay for all affected employees. It will fund key departments that handle veterans’ services, social programs, and other essential functions through January 30. Certain appropriations — including for SNAP, veterans’ programs, and military construction — will remain in effect through the end of the fiscal year on September 30.
The prolonged shutdown had left hundreds of thousands of workers and aides unpaid for over six weeks, prompting unions representing government employees to pressure congressional Democrats to reach a resolution.
The crisis had also spilled into the nation’s airports, where mounting absenteeism among unpaid controllers caused widespread delays and cancellations.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned last week that airspace operations could be reduced by as much as 20% if the government remained closed through Thanksgiving. “As of Sunday, nearly half of all domestic flights and US flights were either canceled or delayed. And it’s a very serious situation,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) cautioned Monday, urging his colleagues to act swiftly.
“Shutting down the government never produces anything,” Johnson added. “It never has.”
Six Democrats ultimately sided with Republicans to approve the measure — the first significant House action since its September recess. The Senate had already broken ranks earlier in the week, when eight Democrats joined the GOP in voting to end the impasse.
Trump, in an interview with Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle, said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer miscalculated. “I think he made a mistake in going too far,” Trump said. “He thought he could break the Republicans, and the Republicans broke him.”
Before this week’s reversal, Senate Democrats had repeatedly blocked 14 separate attempts to reopen the government. They were reportedly hoping to rally progressive turnout in several key state elections in Virginia, New Jersey, and New York.
One Democrat-aligned independent who voted with the GOP, Sen. Angus King of Maine, acknowledged that the standoff had failed to achieve its goal. “Standing up to Trump didn’t work,” he admitted.
A spokesperson for King later told The Post that Democratic leadership had been holding out to secure a vote on extending ObamaCare tax subsidies, an issue still on the table for later this year. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has promised a vote, while Speaker Johnson has yet to commit. Without such action, Democrats warn, health insurance premiums could surge.
Some House Democrats, including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), announced early Wednesday that they would oppose the funding measure over the lack of guarantees on the tax credit extension.
“Democrats will continue to press the case to say to our Republican colleagues, ‘You have another opportunity to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits,’” Jeffries said Tuesday. He added that his caucus would introduce an amendment extending those credits for another three years, matching the timeline approved back in 2022.
Many of those enhanced subsidies were first expanded under President Joe Biden during the COVID-19 pandemic but are now scheduled to expire at the end of 2025.
{Matzav.com}
The White House on Wednesday firmly dismissed claims that the Trump administration intends to establish a new American military base in southern Israel close to the Gaza border.
When questioned about the report by an Israeli journalist, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “This article was based on a single piece of paper – an inquiry that somebody in the Department of Navy made about an idea that may happen in the future, and this reporter deemed that as an official plan.”
Leavitt emphasized that after consulting with senior U.S. officials, she confirmed the matter was not under consideration. “I checked with the highest levels of the United States federal government. This is not something the United States is interested in being engaged in. Sometimes we see reporters take a piece of paper like this and just deem it as official policy, and sometimes that misleads people a little bit.”
Her remarks came after the Israeli investigative outlet Shomrim published a report earlier in the week claiming that Washington was moving forward with plans for a large military installation in the so-called Gaza envelope. According to that report, Israeli officials who reviewed the proposal said the facility would accommodate thousands of international troops responsible for enforcing a ceasefire within Gaza.
The Shomrim article alleged that the project carried an estimated price tag of $500 million and that the U.S. had already begun surveying potential sites for construction, coordinating efforts with both the Israeli government and the IDF.
Despite the detailed claims, the White House has made it clear that no such project is being pursued, seeking to put an end to speculation sparked by what it called an unfounded interpretation of internal correspondence.
{Matzav.com}
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed Wednesday that discussions are underway in the Trump administration about setting income limits for the president’s proposed $2,000 tariff dividend, potentially restricting the payments to households earning under six figures.
“Well, there are a lot of options here that the president’s talking about a $2,000 rebate and those — that would be for families making less than, say, $100,000,” Bessent said on Fox & Friends. When asked whether the administration had finalized that threshold, he clarified, “We haven’t. It’s in discussion.”
The idea of a tariff-funded dividend gained traction after President Trump, still facing legal scrutiny over his “reciprocal tariffs,” floated the $2,000 proposal following a tense Supreme Court hearing last week. While the president has continued to tout the plan as a way to return tariff proceeds directly to Americans, he has yet to outline the mechanics of how such payments would be distributed.
Bessent elaborated on ABC’s This Week that the initiative “could come in lots of forms” and “could be just the tax decreases that we are seeing,” referencing the tax cuts included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed earlier this year. He emphasized that the administration’s tax measures have already led to “no tax on tips, overtime, Social Security, and the big refunds you’re going to see are a result of that.”
The Treasury secretary also highlighted a lesser-known element of the new tax law — “Trump accounts” — automatic savings accounts the government will create for all minors between 2025 and 2028, seeded with a one-time $1,000 deposit.
The $2,000 dividend plan has drawn widespread attention and skepticism. On Sunday, Trump hinted at the idea again, posting, “a dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone.” But such a sweeping initiative would require congressional approval, something far from guaranteed.
“It’ll never pass,” said Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio, who was backed by Vice President JD Vance in his Senate race. “We have a $37 trillion debt.”
Funding remains a major hurdle. The tariffs enacted under Trump’s authority via the International Emergency Economic Powers Act — currently being reviewed by the Supreme Court — have generated only about $90 billion since they were implemented, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data through September 23.
For comparison, pandemic-era stimulus proposals that included $2,000 checks were estimated to cost approximately $464 billion. Even if the payments were restricted to individuals earning less than $100,000, the plan would still carry a roughly $300 billion price tag, according to Erica York, vice president of federal tax policy at the Tax Foundation.
Complicating matters further is the possibility that a Supreme Court ruling could force the administration to refund importers if the justices strike down Trump’s use of IEEPA tariffs.
Data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows that total tariffs collected — including those outside IEEPA authority — amounted to $195.9 billion in fiscal year 2025 as of August 31. Because tariff rates have fluctuated throughout the year as part of Trump’s ongoing negotiations with trade partners, that figure could rise substantially in fiscal year 2026.
The debate over the proposed dividend comes amid mounting voter anxiety over living costs, an issue that played a decisive role in last week’s Democratic victories in several state elections.
“We inherited this affordability mess. It was the worst inflation, 40, 50 years,” Bessent said. “Imagine two lines. There is the inflation line; we’ve got that under control. It’s leveled out. That is going to start turning down.”
He continued, “And there’s the income line, which under Biden, because so many of the jobs were government jobs, you can’t get real wage growth from a government job, real wages are going to increase.”
{Matzav.com}
Hamas officials have acknowledged facing serious challenges in their efforts to locate the bodies of captives still held in the Gaza Strip, according to a report by Saudi media.
The officials reportedly told the outlet that “there are significant difficulties in searching for the remaining bodies in Gaza.” The statement comes as both Hamas and Red Cross teams are said to be preparing to enter the so-called “yellow zone” to search for the remains of hostages, according to Israel’s i24NEWS.
Earlier, Al Jazeera also reported that joint teams from the Red Cross and Hamas were planning to enter the “yellow zone” east of Gaza to carry out similar recovery efforts.
Sources familiar with the issue of the deceased hostages told Kan News that Hamas is believed to possess detailed information on each of the four deceased captives whose bodies remain in Gaza. They added that the terrorist organization also holds information on bodies in the possession of Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Officials have emphasized the need for continued international pressure on Hamas to return all four bodies, insisting that “there must be no compromise until the last body is brought home.” The joint Hamas–Red Cross search operations are expected to continue in the coming days.
{Matzav.com}
Mossad Director David Barnea has informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he plans to step down from his position in June, according to a Wednesday report by Channel 12. The Prime Minister’s Office later confirmed that preparations are underway to initiate the process of finding his replacement in the coming weeks.
Three figures are said to be in contention for the prestigious role. Two of them—identified only as A. and H.—are senior Mossad officials, with one currently serving as Barnea’s deputy and the other holding a top-level strategic position. The third contender is Maj.-Gen. Roman Gofman, who presently serves as Netanyahu’s military secretary.
The process of choosing the next Mossad chief is expected to be extensive, involving multiple interviews and a comprehensive assessment of each candidate’s background, leadership qualities, and operational expertise. Netanyahu will personally oversee the evaluations before making his final selection.
Once a successor is chosen, an orderly handover period will follow, allowing Barnea to brief the incoming director and ensure a seamless transition of command and responsibilities within Israel’s intelligence apparatus.
From the outset of his leadership, Barnea made clear that he did not intend to extend his service beyond the standard five-year term. His tenure has been defined by significant operational milestones, including the Mossad’s “Pager Operation” against Hezbollah and a series of daring missions conducted deep inside hostile territories.
{Matzav.com}
House Democrats ignited a media storm Wednesday by selectively unveiling three emails from the massive Jeffrey Epstein archives that referenced President Trump. The excerpts included one in which Epstein wrote that “Victim 1 spent many hours at my house with him.” Yet in a glaring omission, Democrats withheld the identity of “Victim 1” — Virginia Giuffre, who before her death this year had made clear that Trump never engaged in any misconduct and was always respectful toward her.
News outlets such as CNN and The New York Times rushed to publicize the limited release, appearing to have received early access to the material.
Republicans immediately accused Democrats of staging a political setup designed to create false impressions rather than transparency.
“The Democrats selectively leaked emails to the liberal media to create a fake narrative to smear President Trump,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt in a statement to The NY Post.
Leavitt continued, “The ‘unnamed victim’ referenced in these emails is the late Virginia Giuffre, who repeatedly said President Trump was not involved in any wrongdoing whatsoever and ‘couldn’t have been friendlier’ to her in their limited interactions. These stories are nothing more than bad-faith efforts to distract from President Trump’s historic accomplishments, and any American with common sense sees right through this hoax and clear distraction from the government opening back up again.”
The partisan release came from Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, whose ranks include Robert Garcia of California, Jasmine Crockett of Texas, and Ro Khanna of California. Republicans on the same panel countered by publishing the full cache of roughly 20,000 files, including references to Bill Clinton and journalist Michael Wolff — correspondence Democrats had chosen not to reveal.
Giuffre’s story dates back to 2000, when, as a 16-year-old working at Mar-a-Lago, she met Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who recruited her. In her memoir Nobody’s Girl, released after her death, Giuffre recalled being introduced to Trump by her father, who was a maintenance manager at Mar-a-Lago.
“Trump couldn’t have been friendlier,” she wrote, “telling me it was fantastic that I was there.” She further described how Trump even helped her earn extra money babysitting for guests staying at his Palm Beach properties — a depiction utterly at odds with the insinuations in the Democrats’ selective release.
The broader trove includes a January 31, 2019, email in which Epstein told Wolff that Trump had confronted Maxwell. “[T]rump said he asked me to resign,” Epstein wrote. “[I was] never a member ever.” He added, “[O]f course he knew about the girls as he asked [G]hislaine to stop.”
Trump has consistently said the renewed push to tie him to Epstein is a politically motivated “hoax.” Federal investigators concluded years ago that Epstein acted alone and that there was no secret “client list” implicating others — a determination that hasn’t stopped political opponents from attempting to resurrect the scandal.
Speaking in July, Trump explained how Epstein’s access to his staff led to a permanent ban from Mar-a-Lago. “Everyone knows the people that were taken, and it was the concept of, taking people that work for me is bad,” he told reporters. “But that story has been pretty well out there, and the answer is yes, they were.”
“I have a great spa, one of the best spas in the world, at Mar-a-Lago,” he added. “And people were taken out of the spa, hired by him. When I heard about it, I told him, I said, ‘Listen, we don’t want you taking our people,’ whether it was spa or not spa, I don’t want him taking people. And he was fine. And then not too long after that, he did it again. And I said, ‘Out of here.’”
Epstein’s death in 2019 ended his criminal trial but not the controversy surrounding his connections. Though he and Trump had once been friendly in the 1990s, they reportedly split over a real estate dispute years before Epstein’s downfall.
Michael Wolff also reappears in the cache, exchanging messages with Epstein ahead of a 2015 Republican debate. “I hear CNN planning to ask Trump tonight about his relationship with you–either on air or in scrum afterward,” Wolff wrote. Epstein replied, “[I]f we were able to craft an answer for him, what do you think it should be?”
“I think you should let him hang himself,” Wolff responded. “If he says he hasn’t been on the plane or to the house, then that gives you a valuable PR and political currency. You can hang him in a way that potentially generates a positive benefit for you, or, if it really looks like he could win, you could save him, generating a debt. Of course, it is possible that, when asked, he’ll say Jeffrey is a great guy and has gotten a raw deal and is a victim of political correctness, which is to be outlawed in a Trump regime.”
Meanwhile, a bipartisan House petition to compel the Justice Department to release its Epstein files reached the necessary 218 signatures Wednesday. Once Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva of Arizona is sworn in, the measure can advance to the floor within seven legislative days. If approved, the bill would still require passage in the Republican-led Senate and President Trump’s signature to become law.
{Matzav.com}