Millions of Americans who rely on federal food benefits could be among the next casualties of the ongoing government shutdown. 

Approximately 42 million people in the U.S. who use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are in danger of not receiving aid come Nov. 1, when the program’s funds are expected to run dry, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) warned state agencies in a memo obtained by Fox News Digital on Thursday.

More than two dozen states have alerted residents to possible lapses in funding. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency over SNAP benefits on Thursday.

‘It requires about $8 billion each month to fund SNAP benefits nationwide. When there’s no funding it impacts not just pockets of people, but it’s going to impact people all around the country,’ said Rev. Eugene Cho, president and CEO of Bread for the World, a nonprofit hunger advocacy group that works with local partners to educate recipients about access to food.

Cho explained to Fox News Digital that some states will feel the drying up government funding more than others.

‘Yes, funding comes from the federal government, but the administration of it happens through local states,’ he said. ‘And so, when it comes to SNAP, states are on a little bit of a different rhythm in terms of how they’re conveying the reduction or the elimination of SNAP benefits. It is playing out a little bit differently from state to state.’ 

The longer the shutdown goes on, the less funding also becomes available for the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition program, which helps nearly 7 million vulnerable pregnant women and children under age 5.

It could pose a political headache for Democrats who have resisted agreeing to Republicans’ federal funding plan for over a month, demanding significant concessions on healthcare in exchange for their support.

‘We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. Continue to hold out for healthcare for illegals or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive timely WIC and SNAP allotments,’ a USDA spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

The House passed a seven-week extension of FY2025 funding largely along partisan lines on Sept. 19. The measure, a continuing resolution (CR), is aimed at giving lawmakers more time to strike a longer-term deal for FY2026.

But in the Senate, where several more Democrats are needed to break a filibuster than have been voting for it, progress has stalled, with the legislation having failed 12 times already.

Democrats are demanding that any spending plan be paired with an extension of enhanced Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of 2025.

They have also called for Republicans to repeal the Medicaid cuts made in their One Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) earlier this year.

‘Millions of American families are about to lose access to food assistance because Democrats are openly admitting to being afraid of their far-left base and refuse to reopen the government,’ House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., told Fox News Digital.

Thompson’s panel has jurisdiction over SNAP in the House.

‘We need to reopen the government, so we can put Americans first by making sure families can put food on the table and our farmers are supported,’ he said.

Democrats could also be faced with the political quagmire of having previously railed against Republicans moving to expand SNAP work requirements in the OBBBA, to now be blamed by the right for federal food benefits drying up.

The Trump administration does have some power to move existing funding around to help cover shortages during the shutdown. The White House moved research and development funding at the Pentagon to cover active duty military paychecks on Oct. 15 and reallocated some $300 million from tariff revenues for WIC earlier this month.

But any such fix would be temporary, as the two aforementioned adjustments have been.

When reached for comment about the administration’s SNAP warning, the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee told Fox News Digital that USDA needed to tap into the government’s emergency SNAP reserves.

‘It’s time the administration do right by seniors, children and veterans and utilize the SNAP contingency fund to ensure benefits can be provided for November,’ ranking member Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., said.

The SNAP contingency fund currently has some $5 billion — not enough for an entire month’s worth of service.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters Thursday that he believed the White House would tap into that funding, however.

‘As has been the case in prior government shutdowns, the money can be found by the administration if they chose to do so. In fact, there’s about $5 billion available in a contingency fund for emergency circumstances just like this,’ Jeffries said. ‘But the administration refuses to agree to use it. Why? Because they want to starve the American people as part of their continuing effort to visit cruelty on everyday Americans.’

Mayor Eric Adams formally endorsed former Gov. Andrew Cuomo to replace him as the next mayor of New York City on Thursday, less than one month after Adams suspended his re-election campaign.

The endorsement followed Wednesday night’s final mayoral debate, where Cuomo, who is running as an Independent, faced off against Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa. Rather than speak to reporters after the debate, Cuomo dashed off to Madison Square Garden to watch the end of the New York Knicks game courtside with Adams.

‘I’m fighting for the family of New York,’ Adams said. ‘That’s why I’m here today, to endorse Andrew Cuomo, to be part of this fight, and I’m going to give him my all these next few days to make sure that Black and Brown communities, specifically, who have believed there’s nothing at stake in this election for them. It is.’

‘Am I angry that I’m not the one taking down Zohran, the socialist and the communist?’ Adams said, eliciting President Donald Trump’s moniker for Mamdani. ‘You’re darn right I am. But, you know what, the city means more to me than anything, and it is time for us as a family to come together.’

‘Today confirms what we’ve long known: Andrew Cuomo is running for Eric Adams’ second term,’ Mamdani said in a statement Thursday. ‘It’s no surprise to see two men who share an affinity for corruption and Trump capitulation align themselves at the behest of the billionaire class and the president himself. We are going to turn the page on the politics of big money and small ideas that these two disgraced executives embody and build a city every New Yorker can afford.’

Mamdani reiterated his criticism of the endorsement during a campaign event in Manhattan on Thursday.

‘We also know that this is the art of the deal,’ Mamdani said before adding, ‘We know that in a moment when New Yorkers are looking for an answer to the authoritarianism that we’re seeing from Washington, D.C., they don’t want the continuation of making City Hall into an embassy of that same administration.’

Adams has aligned with Trump since he was elected in November, visiting both Mar-a-Lago and the White House. Trump’s Justice Department dropped bribery, wire fraud and conspiracy charges against Adams earlier this year. 

Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., weighed removing Adams from office following a slew of City Hall resignations after Adams’ case was dropped. Hochul has since endorsed Mamdani’s campaign, although Mamdani has yet to endorse Hochul’s re-election campaign. 

Pressure had been mounting since Mamdani won the Democratic primary for Adams or Cuomo to drop out of the race to consolidate support against Mamdani.

‘The mayor put his own personal ambition and ego aside to make sure he’s doing everything he can to make sure that New York remains New York,’ Cuomo said Thursday.

Adams announced he was suspending his campaign in a video on Sunday, Sept. 28, prompting the leading mayoral candidates to sharpen their political jabs against each other.

Similar pressure from billionaires, including Red Apple Media CEO John Catsimatidis and hedge fund CEO Bill Ackman, has intensified this week for Sliwa to drop out of the race in order to clear a pathway to victory for Cuomo.

The Democratic nominee, who handily defeated Cuomo in the primary, elicited Adams’ own words against the former governor in the days after he suspended his re-election campaign.

‘Even hearing Eric Adams, the way that he described Andrew Cuomo as a snake and a liar, is something that I’ve heard from a number of New Yorkers in wanting to turn that page,’ Mamdani said.

While Adams and Cuomo have had their fair share of disagreements, the Democrats agreed on Thursday that Mamdani should not become the next mayor of New York City. Adams addressed his own criticism of Adams during the announcement Thursday. 

‘He called me names. But you know what? Now it’s time to fight for the family, and I’m going to fight for the family with Andrew Cuomo as the next mayor of the city of New York,’ Adams said. 

The latest Fox News survey, conducted Oct. 10-14, ahead of the first general election debate last week, revealed that Mamdani has a substantial lead in the race. According to the poll, Mamdani has a 21-point lead among New York City registered voters with 49% of voters backing Mamdani, while 28% go for Cuomo and 13% favor Sliwa.

Mamdani also rose above the 50% threshold among likely voters, garnering 52% support, while Cuomo picked up 28%, and Sliwa received just 14%.

But as Mamdani, ever the social media-savvy candidate, warned his followers on Wednesday, it was Cuomo who was the favorite to win the nomination just weeks before the Democratic primary.

By consolidating support with New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, and cross-endorsing each other to topple Cuomo through ranked-choice voting, Mamdani pulled off the political upset that has since landed him on the national stage.

President Donald Trump is ‘not interested’ in making peace with Colombian President Gustavo Petro, the White House said Thursday, as tensions between Washington and Bogotá continue to escalate.

‘I don’t think we’re seeing de-escalation from the unhinged leader of Colombia right now,’ press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters during a White House briefing when asked what Petro could do to reduce tensions.

‘I don’t think the president, frankly, is interested in that at this point,’ Leavitt added.

Relations between the two countries have sharply deteriorated after Petro accused the U.S. of killing innocent fishermen during strikes targeting narco-traffickers in the Caribbean.

Following Petro’s accusation, Trump announced plans to cut off all counter-narcotics aid to Colombia and impose new tariffs on the country.

Trump lashed out at his South American counterpart, calling him a ‘thug’ who is ‘making a lot of drugs.’

‘They’re doing very poorly, Colombia. They make cocaine. They have cocaine factories … and he better watch it or we’ll take very serious action against him and his country,’ Trump said. ‘What he has led his country into is a death trap.’

Petro fired back, threatening to sue Trump in U.S. court.

‘From the slanders that have been cast against me in the territory of the United States by high-ranking officials, I will defend myself judicially with American lawyers in the American justice system,’ Petro wrote on X. ‘I will always stand against genocides and murders by those in power in the Caribbean.’

‘When our help is required to fight against drug trafficking, American society will have it. We will fight against the drug traffickers with the states that want our help,’ he added.

Petro has sought closer ties with Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro while distancing Colombia — a major non-NATO ally — from the United States.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has conducted eight strikes on vessels believed to be transporting narcotics from Latin America. The world is now watching to see whether Trump will follow through on threats to strike Venezuelan soil — or even target Maduro himself, directly or indirectly.

Trump confirmed that he had authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela and also warned Colombia could face similar consequences.

‘Petro, a low rated and very unpopular leader, with a fresh mouth toward America, better close up these killing fields immediately,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social, ‘or the United States will close them up for him, and it won’t be done nicely.’

In a statement to Fox News Digital, the Colombian Embassy in Washington sought to ease tensions, saying the U.S. representative in Bogotá recently met with Petro and that ‘both sides agreed to continue dialogue in a spirit of cooperation and mutual respect. The meeting reaffirmed the shared commitment towards efforts against illicit drug trafficking, grounded in accuracy, coordination, and security.’

Former Special Counsel Jack Smith is requesting to testify in open, public hearings before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, Fox News Digital has learned.

Fox News Digital exclusively obtained a letter Smith’s attorneys sent to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley Thursday afternoon, after both panels signaled interest in testimony from the former special counsel.

‘Given the many mischaracterizations of Mr. Smith’s investigation into President Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents and role in attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election, Mr. Smith respectfully requests the opportunity to testify in open hearings before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees,’ Smith attorneys Lanny Breuer and Peter Koski wrote.

‘During the investigation of President Trump, Mr. Smith steadfastly adhered to established legal standards and Department of Justice guidelines, consistent with his approach throughout his career as a dedicated public servant,’ they wrote.

‘He is prepared to answer questions about the Special Counsel’s investigation and prosecution, but requires assurance from the Department of Justice that he will not be punished for doing so,’ they continued. ‘To that end, Mr. Smith needs guidance from the Department of Justice regarding federal grand jury secrecy requirements and authorization on the matters he may speak to regarding, among other things, Volume II of the Final Report of the Special Counsel, which is not publicly available.’

Smith’s attorneys also noted that in order to provide ‘full and accurate answers to your questions, Mr. Smith requires access to the Special Counsel files, which he no longer has the ability to access.’

‘With the guidance and access described above, Mr. Smith is available to testify in an open hearing at your earliest convenience,’ they wrote.

A source familiar told Fox News Digital that Smith’s attorneys are planning to officially seek guidance from the Department of Justice on the matter.

The letter from Smith’s attorneys comes after Jordan, R-Ohio, requested Smith appear for a closed-door transcribed interview and provide all records from his work related to President Donald Trump.

The letter also comes after Grassley, R-Iowa, and nearly two dozen Senate Republicans demanded that the Department of Justice and FBI release documents on Smith’s decision to subpoena telecommunications companies for phone records of a number of Senate Republicans during his probe into Jan. 6, 2021.

Fox News Digital exclusively reported earlier in October that Smith tracked the private communications and phone calls of GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and GOP Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania as part of his ‘Arctic Frost’ investigation.

An official said the records were collected in 2023 by Smith and his team after subpoenaing major telephone providers. 

An FBI official told Fox News Digital that Smith and his team tracking the senators were able to see which phone numbers they called, the location the phone call originated and the location where it was received.

A source said the calls were likely in reference to the vote to certify the 2020 election. 

Smith, though, called his decision to subpoena several Republican lawmakers’ phone records ‘entirely proper’ and consistent with Justice Department policy.

‘As described by various Senators, the toll data collection was narrowly tailored and limited to the four days from January 4, 2021 to January 7, 2021, with a focus on telephonic activity during the period immediately surrounding the January 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol,’ Smith’s lawyers wrote Tuesday to Grassley. 

Smith was appointed special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022.

Smith, after months of investigating, charged Trump in the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C., in his 2020 election case, but after Trump was elected president, Smith sought to dismiss the case. Judge Tanya Chutkan granted that request. 

Smith’s case cost taxpayers more than $50 million. 

‘Jack Smith certainly has a lot of answering to do, but first, Congress needs to have all the facts at its disposal,’ Grassley told Fox News Digital Thursday. ‘Hearings should follow once the investigative foundation has been firmly set, which is why I’m actively working with the DOJ and FBI to collect all relevant records that Mr. Smith has had years to become familiar with.’

Fox News Digital reached out to Jordan for comment and has yet to receive a reply. 

Fox News’ Ashley Oliver contributed to this report. 

Two federal judges admitted that members of their staff used artificial intelligence to prepare court orders over the summer that contained errors.

The admissions, which came from U.S. District Judge Julien Xavier Neals in New Jersey and U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate in Mississippi, came in response to an inquiry by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Grassley described the recent court orders as ‘error-ridden.’

In letters released by Grassley’s office on Thursday, the judges said the rulings in the cases, which were not connected, did not go through their chambers’ usual review processes before they were released.

The judges both said they have since adopted measures to improve how rulings are reviewed before they are posted.

Neals said in his letter that a June 30 draft decision in a securities lawsuit ‘was released in error – human error – and withdrawn as soon as it was brought to the attention of my chambers.’

The judge said a law school intern used OpenAI’s ChatGPT to perform legal research without authorization or disclosure that he also said was contrary to the chamber’s policy and relevant law school policy.

‘My chamber’s policy prohibits the use of GenAI in the legal research for, or drafting of, opinions or orders,’ Neals wrote. ‘In the past, my policy was communicated verbally to chamber’s staff, including interns. That is no longer the case. I now have a written unequivocal policy that applies to all law clerks and interns.’

Wingate said in his letter that a law clerk used Perplexity ‘as a foundational drafting assistant to synthesize publicly available information on the docket,’ adding that releasing the July 20 draft decision ‘was a lapse in human oversight.’

‘This was a mistake. I have taken steps in my chambers to ensure this mistake will not happen again,’ the judge wrote.

Wingate had removed and replaced the original order in the civil rights lawsuit, declining at the time to give an explanation but saying it contained ‘clerical errors.’

Grassley had requested that the judges explain whether AI was used in the decisions after lawyers in the respective cases raised concerns about factual inaccuracies and other serious errors.

‘Honesty is always the best policy. I commend Judges Wingate and Neals for acknowledging their mistakes and I’m glad to hear they’re working to make sure this doesn’t happen again,’ Grassley said in a statement.

‘Each federal judge, and the judiciary as an institution, has an obligation to ensure the use of generative AI does not violate litigants’ rights or prevent fair treatment under the law,’ the senator continued. ‘The judicial branch needs to develop more decisive, meaningful and permanent AI policies and guidelines. We can’t allow laziness, apathy or overreliance on artificial assistance to upend the Judiciary’s commitment to integrity and factual accuracy. As always, my oversight will continue.’

Lawyers have also faced scrutiny from judges across the country over accusations of AI misuse in court filings. In response, judges have issued fines or other sanctions in several cases over the past few years.

Reuters contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump called off his meeting in Budapest, Hungary, with Russian President Vladimir Putin because he didn’t see enough progress toward peace — although a future summit hasn’t been ruled out, according to the White House. 

While Trump and Putin spoke over the phone Oct. 16, plans for the meeting were scrapped after Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Tuesday.

Trump ‘feels as though, unfortunately, from the Russian side as of late, he has not seen enough interest in enough action in terms of moving the ball forward toward peace,’ White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday. ‘And so a meeting between these two leaders is not completely off the table. I think the president and the entire administration hopes that one day that can happen again, but we want to make sure that there’s a tangible positive outcome out of that meeting, and that it’s a good use of the president’s time.’ 

Trump also has signaled in recent days that his patience has worn thin with Russia, and his administration slapped stringent sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies Wednesday. 

Specifically, the sanctions freeze all U.S.-linked assets from the two companies and bar U.S. citizens from engaging in any business with them. 

In response, Putin called the sanctions an ‘unfriendly act,’ and warned that global oil prices could increase as a result. However, he also said that the sanctions would not majorly impact Moscow’s economy. 

While Trump routinely has said in recent months that he has pleasant conversations with Putin, he’s also voiced frustration at the lack of progress made as he’s sought to mediate an end to the conflict. Trump also said Tuesday that he didn’t want to have a ‘wasted meeting’ with Putin in Hungary. 

‘The president wants to see action, not just talk,’ Leavitt said. ‘And I think the president is extremely motivated by the success of his peace deal in the Middle East to get things done, and he wants this war to come to an end. He’s been saying it now for nine months, being in office, and he’s grown increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress from both sides of this war.’ 

Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Friday, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte Wednesday to address ongoing negotiations to end the conflict. 

On Wednesday, Trump told reporters the meeting with Putin ‘didn’t feel right,’ and explained why he wasn’t interested in arming Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles like he’d previously suggested he might. 

‘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.’

Meanwhile, Trump has voiced skepticism recently about whether Ukraine can win against Russia.

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

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Former special counsel Jack Smith is standing by his 2023 decision to subpoena several Republican lawmakers’ phone records, calling the move ‘entirely proper’ and consistent with Justice Department policy.

Smith said through his lawyers in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital that the subpoenaed data, known as toll records, belonging to eight senators and one House member were carefully targeted to support his investigation into President Donald Trump’s alleged subversion of the 2020 election.

‘As described by various Senators, the toll data collection was narrowly tailored and limited to the four days from January 4, 2021 to January 7, 2021, with a focus on telephonic activity during the period immediately surrounding the January 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol,’ Smith’s lawyers wrote Tuesday to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

Toll records do not reveal the contents of phone calls but instead reveal when calls were made and to whom.

Smith’s lawyers said that although Grassley, who brought the subpoenas to light, has not reached out to Smith, they felt compelled to write to the chairman to address claims from Republicans that Smith improperly spied on lawmakers.

Grassley responded to the letter, saying he would continue an unbiased probe into Arctic Frost, the name of the FBI investigation that led to Smith’s election-related prosecution of Trump.

‘I’m conducting an objective assessment of the facts&law like he says he wants So far we exposed an anti-Trump FBI agent started the investigation/broke FBI rules &only REPUBLICANS were targeted SMELLS LIKE POLITICS,’ Grassley wrote on X.

The targeted senators included Republican Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. 

In addition to the eight senators, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told Fox News’ Sean Hannity Tuesday that he recently discovered Smith also attempted to subpoena his toll records but that his phone company, AT&T, did not hand them over.

The Republicans have broadly claimed they were inappropriately spied on, and compared Arctic Frost to the Watergate scandal.

Smith’s lawyers emphasized the normalcy of seeking out phone records and said that public officials are not immune from investigation.

Smith brought four criminal charges against Trump alleging he illegally attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 election, but he dismissed the charges after Trump won the 2024 election, citing a DOJ policy that discourages prosecuting sitting presidents. 

Former special counsel Robert Hur sought toll records during his investigation into former President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents. The DOJ subpoenaed phone records of former Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez, who is serving prison time after he was convicted in 2024 of corruption charges.

The first Trump administration subpoenaed phone records of Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and then-Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and dozens of congressional staffers from both parties as part of a leak investigation.

Former DOJ inspector general Michael Horowitz warned in a report about the leak probe that lawmakers’ records should only be subpoenaed in narrow circumstances because it ‘risks chilling Congress’s ability to conduct oversight of the executive branch.’

Smith’s lawyers also disputed FBI Director Kash Patel’s accusations that he attempted to hide the subpoenas ‘in a lockbox in a vault,’ noting that the former special counsel mentioned subpoenaing senators’ records in a footnote of his final special counsel report.

‘Moreover, the precise records at issue were produced in discovery to President Trump’s personal lawyers, some of whom now serve in senior positions within the Department of Justice,’ Smith’s lawyers said.

Read Smith’s letter below. App users click here.

President Donald Trump is slated to meet with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte Wednesday — days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the White House.

NATO announced Tuesday that Rutte would visit Washington Wednesday, but the organization did not provide any additional details regarding the nature of the trip. However, it comes as Trump has said he wants to direct his focus on ending the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, following the ceasefire deal in the Middle East. 

Rutte said that Wednesday’s White House visit aims to build on the momentum after securing the peace agreement in the Middle East. 

‘I was texting with the president after an enormous success in Gaza, and we said, ‘Hey, let’s have a meeting in Washington to discuss how we now can deliver his vision of peace in Ukraine,’’ Rutte told reporters on Capitol Hill Wednesday after meeting with lawmakers, according to The New York Times.

‘I have total confidence in President Trump. He’s the only one who can get this done,’ Rutte said. 

Rutte has visited the White House on several occasions during Trump’s second term, including in July and also in August after Trump’s Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. NATO has backed Ukraine since Russia first invaded, and has provided Kyiv with military equipment and other assistance since 2022. 

In August, Rutte and other European leaders joined Zelenskyy in an effort to advance peace talks to end the war in Ukraine. At the time, Trump said that European nations would shoulder the bulk of the burden by providing Ukraine with security guarantees in an attempt to deter future aggression from Russia. 

As part of these security guarantees, Ukraine has sought to become a member of NATO during the peace negotiations. However, Trump has routinely ruled that out as a possibility. 

Meanwhile, Russia’s list of demands has historically included prohibiting Ukraine from ever joining NATO, and concessions on some land that previously belonged to Kyiv. 

Additionally, Rutte’s meeting comes as Trump appeared to throw cold water on any hopes that the U.S. would arm Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles, like Trump had said he was considering doing days ahead of Zelenskyy’s visit. 

‘I would much rather have them not need Tomahawks,’ Trump told reporters Friday. ‘I would much rather have the war be over to be honest, because we’re in it to get the war over.’ 

Additionally, Trump changed his tune on whether Ukraine would need to cede territory it had lost to Russia as part of a peace deal. Although Trump altered his position in September and said that Ukraine could secure back its lost territory, Trump reverted to his previously held position on the matter. 

‘They can negotiate something later on down the line,’ Trump told reporters Sunday. ‘But I said cut and stop at the battle line. Go home. Stop fighting, stop killing people.’

The change in tone came after Trump spoke with Putin Thursday and the two were originally slated to meet this month in Budapest. However, plans for the meeting were scrapped after Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. 

‘Secretary Rubio and Foreign Minister Lavrov had a productive call,’ a senior official said in a statement Tuesday to Fox News. ‘Therefore an additional in-person meeting between the Secretary and Foreign Minister is not necessary and there are no plans for President Trump to meet with President Putin in the near future.’ 

Meanwhile, Trump recently has cast doubt on whether Ukraine can defeat Russia. 

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

Fox News’ Gillian Turner and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Vice President JD Vance declared Wednesday that, ‘these are days of destiny,’ as he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to build on the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.

‘We have a very, very tough task ahead of us, which is to disarm Hamas but rebuild Gaza to make life better for the people in Gaza, but also to ensure that Hamas is no longer a threat to our friends in Israel,’ Vance said in Jerusalem, speaking alongside Netanyahu.

‘That’s not easy. I think the prime minster knows that as well as anybody. But it’s something that we’re committed to in the Trump administration,’ Vance continued. ‘And I think that we’ve, even in the past 24 hours, had a lot of good conversations with our friends in the Israeli government, but also, frankly with our friends in the Arab world who are stepping up and volunteering to play a very positive role in this.’

‘As the prime minister said, these are days of destiny, and we’re very excited to sit down and work together on the Gaza peace plan,’ Vance added.

Netanyahu told reporters that Israel has an unmatched alliance and partnership with the U.S. that is generating opportunities for security and the expansion of peace in the Middle East.

Vance also met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday, telling reporters afterward, ‘We’re here to talk about how to ensure that the peace agreement that started about a week ago sticks, that we move into phase two, into phase three with success.’

The peace deal included the release of hostages being held by Hamas.

‘As the president said, there will be torments along the way. It will be difficult, but I feel very optimistic based on my conversation with our Israeli friends and also with our Gulf Arab friends, that it’s possible that we actually can make peace stick, and that we can create the kind of environment where our Gulf Arab friends and our Israeli friends can build a better Middle East for everybody,’ Vance added. ‘So that is the goal of the administration. We think that it’s in the best interest of the United States. We also think that it’s in the best interest of everybody who lives here.’

Herzog said, ‘I truly believe that the fact you’re here is another brick in building the future for peace.’

‘We all are grateful to President Donald Trump for his steadfast insistence on moving forward. We must move forward,’ Herzog continued. ‘We must offer hope for the region, for Israel, the Palestinians, our neighbors, and for the future of our children.’

The government shutdown meandered into its 22nd day with no end in sight after a 12th GOP attempt to reopen the government was stalled and then blocked by Senate Democrats on Wednesday afternoon.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus kneecapped Republicans’ bid to reopen the government for the 12th time in a 54-46 vote where Republicans needed at least 60 votes to advance the measure. The latest failed vote comes as Schumer has demanded another meeting with President Donald Trump and on the heels of an almost 24-hour filibuster by Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore, that pushed the vote late into Wednesday.

During his marathon floor speech, which began at 6:23 pm on Tuesday, Merkley spoke on authoritarianism — what he called the Trump Administration’s overreach on immigration, separation of powers, and more.

‘Republicans have shut down the government to continue the strategy of slashing Americans’ healthcare,’ Merkley said, referring to the healthcare-centered debate holding up consideration of the government’s funding.

He concluded his remarks at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday.

Little has changed in the upper chamber since the shutdown began. Schumer and the Senate Democratic caucus demand that there be a real, ironclad deal to extend expiring Obamacare subsidies, while Senate Republicans remain adamant that there is no path forward available on the matter until the government is reopened.

But what is old is new in a repeating cycle, and Schumer wants to meet with Trump again.

Schumer, speaking on behalf of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., requested another meeting with Trump ahead of the vote in a bid to go around Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and congressional Republicans to secure a deal.

There have been informal talks — more casual conversation than true negotiation — between Republicans and Democrats, but nothing has materialized that puts lawmakers any closer to solving the ongoing stalemate.

‘Hakeem and I reached out to the president today and urged him to sit down and negotiate with us to resolve the healthcare crisis, address it and end the Trump shutdown,’ Schumer said. ‘He should sit — the things get worse every day for the American people. He should sit down with us, negotiate in a serious way before he goes away.’

The last time the top congressional Democrats met with Trump came just a day before the climactic vote to avert a shutdown. Neither side walked away with a compromise, or agreement, to keep the lights on.

Fast-forward to the shutdown’s fourth week, and Trump signaled he’d speak with Schumer and Jeffries — only after the government is reopened.

‘The government has to be open,’ he said. ‘You know how long it will take for them to do that? Just say, ‘OK, government is open.’ That’s it. There is nothing — They’re not negotiating.’  

‘What they’re doing is saying they lost the negotiation,’ Trump continued. ‘And when we got the great ‘big beautiful [bill]’ done, they lost the negotiation. Now they’re saying, ‘Well, we want to get some of the things we lost.’ But the problem is the things they lost are very bad for our country.’

Congressional Democrats’ initial demands, made in a counter-proposal to the House-passed continuing resolution (CR), called for a permanent extension to the enhanced Obamacare premium tax credits and guardrails on Trump’s ability to claw back congressionally approved funding, among other things.

A White House official doubled down on Trump’s position and told Fox News Digital, ‘We will not have policy conversations while the Democrats are holding the American people hostage. Reopen the government.’

While Democrats desire more than just an extension to the COVID-19-era subsidy, they’ve made their primary argument all about the tax credits.

Thune offered Senate Democrats a vote on the subsidies, but so far they have declined to take the leap and instead are holding out for a guaranteed outcome in the shutdown fight. However, that is unlikely to come as Republicans and the White House, so far, are equally dug in against Schumer’s demands.

‘I think [Trump] wants the Democrats to take ‘yes’ for an answer,’ Thune said. ‘We’ve offered them a lot of the things they were asking for — a normal appropriations process, an opportunity to get a vote on some of the things that they want to see voted on, with respect to the expiring Obamacare enhanced subsidies. But that can’t happen until we open up the government.’