&nbsp;President Trump hosted a dinner Friday night for GOP members of Congress in the new “Rose Garden Club.”

<p>&nbsp;President Trump hosted a dinner Friday night for GOP members of Congress in the new “Rose Garden Club.”</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">GRAND OPENING: Rose Garden Club 🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/VJe97CondZ">pic.twitter.com/VJe97CondZ</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1964155026323980414?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Grand Opening of the Rose Garden Club at the <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WhiteHouse</a> <a href="https://t.co/BLdk8obft2">pic.twitter.com/BLdk8obft2</a></p>&mdash; Steven Cheung (@StevenCheung47) <a href="https://twitter.com/StevenCheung47/status/1964146753394925915?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1757171663358.png" alt="" />
                        <figcaption></figcaption>
                    </figure><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Rose Garden Club 🌹🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/A3voNntmpy">pic.twitter.com/A3voNntmpy</a></p>&mdash; The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1964335225640481014?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The grand opening of the new Rose Garden Club at the White House last night was epic. Thanks to <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> for his hospitality &amp; visionary leadership. <a href="https://t.co/eoTJu8EMNZ">pic.twitter.com/eoTJu8EMNZ</a></p>&mdash; Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerJohnson/status/1964306857368952927?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Last night at the White House we celebrated the grand opening of the Rose Garden Club. I was honored to offer a prayer for our nation, with <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerJohnson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SpeakerJohnson</a> sharing a great photo of me praying over <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realdonaldtrump</a>. A special night, thank you <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>. <a href="https://t.co/5f45VgDTop">pic.twitter.com/5f45VgDTop</a></p>&mdash; Sen. James Lankford (@SenatorLankford) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenatorLankford/status/1964328662766944410?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

See photos of White House dinner at new ‘Rose Garden Club’

SEPTEMBER 5, 2025 (QUANTICO, VA.) — The Nebraska State Patrol is proud to announce

that Captain Dean Riedel has graduated from the 295th session of the FBI National Academy.

The FBI National Academy is a ten-week program to provide advanced training for law

enforcement leaders from around the world. Captain Riedel’s class included 254 leaders from

agencies covering 49 states and the District of Columbia, along with six military organizations

Captain Riedel and his academy class took part in a graduation ceremony Thursday at the

National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. FBI Director Kash Patel delivered remarks.

“Congratulations, FBINA 295! Leadership development and ongoing education are top priorities

at the Nebraska State Patrol. We are incredibly proud of Captain Riedel for achieving this

exceptional milestone in his career,” said Colonel Bryan Waugh, Superintendent of the Nebraska

State Patrol. “I am confident that Captain Riedel will continue to succeed and provide authentic

leadership, contributing to the success and safety of troopers and staff across our entire agency.

Thank you to Captain Riedel’s family for your sacrifice during this time away. We appreciate it.”

Participation in the FBI National Academy is by invitation only, through a nomination process.

Nationally, fewer than one percent of officers are offered the opportunity to participate.

“Leadership is essential in professional law enforcement, and I am once again reminded of and

confident in the first-class leaders at NSP,” said Colonel Waugh. “Special thanks to FBI Director

Kash Patel and FBI Omaha Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel for their ongoing support

and partnership with state and local law enforcement to ensure safe communities across

Captain Riedel is a 24-year veteran of the Nebraska State Patrol. He currently serves as the

commander of patrol operations in Troop C, covering central Nebraska. 

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1757100153835.jpeg" alt="Dean Riedel FBINA" />
                        <figcaption>Dean Riedel FBINA</figcaption>
                    </figure><p><i>For Immediate Release</i></p><p>SEPTEMBER 5, 2025 (QUANTICO, VA.) — The Nebraska State Patrol is proud to announce</p><p>that Captain Dean Riedel has graduated from the 295th session of the FBI National Academy.</p><p>The FBI National Academy is a ten-week program to provide advanced training for law</p><p>enforcement leaders from around the world. Captain Riedel’s class included 254 leaders from</p><p>agencies covering 49 states and the District of Columbia, along with six military organizations</p><p>and agencies from 20 countries.</p><p>Captain Riedel and his academy class took part in a graduation ceremony Thursday at the</p><p>National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. FBI Director Kash Patel delivered remarks.</p><p>“Congratulations, FBINA 295! Leadership development and ongoing education are top priorities</p><p>at the Nebraska State Patrol. We are incredibly proud of Captain Riedel for achieving this</p><p>exceptional milestone in his career,” said Colonel Bryan Waugh, Superintendent of the Nebraska</p><p>State Patrol. “I am confident that Captain Riedel will continue to succeed and provide authentic</p><p>leadership, contributing to the success and safety of troopers and staff across our entire agency.</p><p>Thank you to Captain Riedel’s family for your sacrifice during this time away. We appreciate it.”</p><p>Participation in the FBI National Academy is by invitation only, through a nomination process.</p><p>Nationally, fewer than one percent of officers are offered the opportunity to participate.</p><p>“Leadership is essential in professional law enforcement, and I am once again reminded of and</p><p>confident in the first-class leaders at NSP,” said Colonel Waugh. “Special thanks to FBI Director</p><p>Kash Patel and FBI Omaha Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel for their ongoing support</p><p>and partnership with state and local law enforcement to ensure safe communities across</p><p>Nebraska and the United States.”</p><p>Captain Riedel is a 24-year veteran of the Nebraska State Patrol. He currently serves as the</p><p>commander of patrol operations in Troop C, covering central Nebraska. </p>

Captain Dean Riedel Graduates from FBI National Academy

By:<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">Jennifer Shutt</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/shauneen-miranda/">Shauneen Miranda</a>

WASHINGTON — Members of Congress began searching for compromise on a short-term government funding bill Wednesday, with just a few weeks left to broker a deal before a possible shutdown.

Fresh off their August recess, congressional leaders and members of the Appropriations Committee appealed for bipartisanship from the other side while admitting they are far from a final agreement.&nbsp;

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., declined to say during a press conference whether he will negotiate a stopgap spending bill with Democrats, or use the go-at-it-alone approach that succeeded in March.&nbsp;

“Republicans are committed to keeping the government open, and unfortunately, it seems like not all Democrats agree with that, and they’re beginning to apply the government shutdown pressure,” Johnson said. “But I want you to remember one thing: All but one House Democrat voted to shut down the government in March, and we expect, sadly, that that may happen again.”

Johnson said he was open to negotiations with Democratic leaders as long as they “are willing to work with us and think responsibly about how we can spend less than we did last year.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said during an afternoon press conference that Democrats want GOP leaders to negotiate the stopgap spending bill across party lines.&nbsp;

“The bottom line is very simple: We Democrats want a bipartisan bill and we are pushing the Republicans very hard to do it,” Schumer said. “We’re on our front foot. We’re unified.”&nbsp;

Schumer, who took considerable flak&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-signs-stopgap-spending-bill-law-following-us-senate-passage" target="_blank">for helping Republicans limit debate</a>&nbsp;on a partisan stopgap bill in March, said “it’s much different than last time.”&nbsp;

Pressed by several reporters about what Democrats would help move through the Senate this time around, Schumer said: “We are willing to sit down and negotiate a bipartisan proposal with significant Democratic input. So far, they are not.”

The House and Senate are supposed to complete work on the dozen annual government funding bills by the start of the fiscal year on Oct. 1 but that hasn’t happened for decades, so lawmakers rely on a stopgap spending bill to keep federal departments and agencies running on autopilot for a couple months.&nbsp;

That measure, sometimes called a continuing resolution, is intended to give lawmakers a bit more time to complete bipartisan House-Senate negotiations on the full-year appropriations bills, though Congress used three CRs to fund the government this fiscal year instead of getting its work done.&nbsp;

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he expects lawmakers will need to approve a stopgap spending bill “for some time into the foreseeable future,” but that discussions are ongoing about how long it will last and what else might be added.&nbsp;

“My hope would be that whatever that CR looks like, that it is clean and that it enables us to buy some time to get a regular appropriations process done,” Thune said. “I still think the best way to fund the government is through the appropriations process.”

President Donald Trump said from the Oval Office earlier in the day that he expects Republicans will vote for a stopgap spending bill but he didn’t address how it would get through the Senate’s 60-vote legislative filibuster, which requires bipartisanship.&nbsp;

“I think the Republicans will vote for an extension,” Trump said. “We won’t have any Democrat votes.”&nbsp;

House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., told reporters he hopes to negotiate final versions of three full-year bills with the Senate before the end of the month.

Lawmakers would then use a stopgap spending bill to keep the departments and agencies covered in the other nine bills flat funded for a couple of months until the two chambers can reach final agreement on the spending levels and policy within those measures.&nbsp;

“We’re talking about relatively modest bills and bills where there is either broad agreement, like MilCon-VA, or LegBranch and Ag,” Cole said. “We’re not talking about major bills. You can’t really do that until you have a topline and we don’t have a topline.”

The Agriculture-FDA, Legislative Branch and Military Construction-VA spending bills are generally easier to negotiate than some of the other full-year measures, like Defense, Homeland Security and Labor-Health and Human Services-Education.&nbsp;

Cole said when House and Senate leaders begin negotiating a total spending level for all of the bills, or topline, is “above my paygrade.”

“I’m ready to do it at any time if they want to empower us, otherwise the leadership on both sides and the president have to” figure that out, Cole said.

The House and Senate are supposed to start off the annual government funding process in the spring by reaching bipartisan agreement on how much in total spending to spread throughout the dozen appropriations bills.&nbsp;

Those talks haven’t even started for fiscal 2026, which is slated to begin Oct. 1.&nbsp;

Instead, the House and Senate Appropriations committees have separately decided how much to spend and written vastly different versions of the bills.&nbsp;

The 12 bills that have been released by the GOP-led House committee are partisan, while the eight bills released by the Senate panel have received broad bipartisan support in committee.&nbsp;

Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she’s spoken with Cole a couple of times about the three-bills-plus-stopgap strategy and supports the concept.&nbsp;

“I have and I agree with that approach,” Collins said.

Washington state Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, ranking member on the Appropriations Committee, said any stopgap bill “needs to be a real bipartisan compromise.”

“For the last few months we have shown a bipartisan way forward on the Appropriations Committee,” Murray said. “Democrats have shown that we are willing to work in good faith to write bipartisan funding bills that protect investments in education, life-saving research and a lot more.&nbsp;

“We’ve already passed eight out of the committee and three on the floor: MilCon-VA, Ag and LegBranch. As part of a bipartisan short-term CR, I support conferencing those three bills and passing them with the short-term CR for the remaining nine bills.”

House Appropriations ranking member Rosa DeLauro said “the best case scenario for us is to move forward.”&nbsp;

“No gimmicks, no riders, let’s clear the decks,” the Connecticut Democrat said. “Talk about how we get Republican priorities, Democratic priorities.”&nbsp;

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said “there’s a chance” to wrap up negotiations between the two chambers on final versions of some of the full-year government spending bills before the end of the month.&nbsp;

“It might not be all 12, but a few of them for sure,” Scalise said. “So let’s give the appropriators that opportunity to keep negotiating. They’ve already been having negotiations for weeks now — Tom Cole and a lot of his counterparts. I have faith they can hopefully get a lot of things done.”

Scalise, R-La., said he plans to reserve floor time later this month to&nbsp; ensure whatever spending bill gets written is “the top priority.”

Rep. Robert Aderholt, chairman of the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee, said he thinks most people agree there’s going to be some sort of stopgap given all 12 of the annual bills aren’t close to becoming law.

The Alabama Republican said this feat is “almost impossible” given the short number of legislative days left before the shutdown deadline.&nbsp;

“The solution, of course, obviously, or the only alternative, would be to have a CR, but I think the shorter the CR, the better,” he said, noting that the measure would have to be “long enough that you can have negotiations, but short enough that it doesn’t drag out until Christmas and that … we’re up here at Christmas doing an omnibus or something like that, which everybody wants to avoid.”&nbsp;

Congress has often bundled the final, conferenced versions of the dozen bills together into a sweeping omnibus package at the end of the year to ensure quick floor votes, though GOP leaders have tried to get away from that practice in recent years.&nbsp;

Rep. Chuck Edwards, a North Carolina Republican who sits on the House Appropriations Committee, said that while he hopes a stopgap spending bill is “not necessary,” the panel is “certainly prepared to put together a short-term CR if that’s what’s required to avoid a shutdown.”

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1757020412274.png" alt=" U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., takes questions from reporters during a press conference in the Rayburn Room of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. Also pictured, from left to right, are Ohio Republican Rep. Dave Taylor; Majority Whip Tom Emmer R-Minn.; co-founders of Patriot Industries Sarah and Tom Click; Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.; and Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Mich. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)" />
                        <figcaption> U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., takes questions from reporters during a press conference in the Rayburn Room of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. Also pictured, from left to right, are Ohio Republican Rep. Dave Taylor; Majority Whip Tom Emmer R-Minn.; co-founders of Patriot Industries Sarah and Tom Click; Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.; and Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Mich. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>By:<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">Jennifer Shutt</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/shauneen-miranda/">Shauneen Miranda</a></p><p>WASHINGTON — Members of Congress began searching for compromise on a short-term government funding bill Wednesday, with just a few weeks left to broker a deal before a possible shutdown.</p><p>Fresh off their August recess, congressional leaders and members of the Appropriations Committee appealed for bipartisanship from the other side while admitting they are far from a final agreement.&nbsp;</p><p>Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., declined to say during a press conference whether he will negotiate a stopgap spending bill with Democrats, or use the go-at-it-alone approach that succeeded in March.&nbsp;</p><p>“Republicans are committed to keeping the government open, and unfortunately, it seems like not all Democrats agree with that, and they’re beginning to apply the government shutdown pressure,” Johnson said. “But I want you to remember one thing: All but one House Democrat voted to shut down the government in March, and we expect, sadly, that that may happen again.”</p><p>Johnson said he was open to negotiations with Democratic leaders as long as they “are willing to work with us and think responsibly about how we can spend less than we did last year.”</p><p>Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said during an afternoon press conference that Democrats want GOP leaders to negotiate the stopgap spending bill across party lines.&nbsp;</p><p>“The bottom line is very simple: We Democrats want a bipartisan bill and we are pushing the Republicans very hard to do it,” Schumer said. “We’re on our front foot. We’re unified.”&nbsp;</p><p>Schumer, who took considerable flak&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-signs-stopgap-spending-bill-law-following-us-senate-passage" target="_blank">for helping Republicans limit debate</a>&nbsp;on a partisan stopgap bill in March, said “it’s much different than last time.”&nbsp;</p><p>Pressed by several reporters about what Democrats would help move through the Senate this time around, Schumer said: “We are willing to sit down and negotiate a bipartisan proposal with significant Democratic input. So far, they are not.”</p><h2>Spending running on autopilot</h2><p>The House and Senate are supposed to complete work on the dozen annual government funding bills by the start of the fiscal year on Oct. 1 but that hasn’t happened for decades, so lawmakers rely on a stopgap spending bill to keep federal departments and agencies running on autopilot for a couple months.&nbsp;</p><p>That measure, sometimes called a continuing resolution, is intended to give lawmakers a bit more time to complete bipartisan House-Senate negotiations on the full-year appropriations bills, though Congress used three CRs to fund the government this fiscal year instead of getting its work done.&nbsp;</p><p>Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he expects lawmakers will need to approve a stopgap spending bill “for some time into the foreseeable future,” but that discussions are ongoing about how long it will last and what else might be added.&nbsp;</p><p>“My hope would be that whatever that CR looks like, that it is clean and that it enables us to buy some time to get a regular appropriations process done,” Thune said. “I still think the best way to fund the government is through the appropriations process.”</p><p>President Donald Trump said from the Oval Office earlier in the day that he expects Republicans will vote for a stopgap spending bill but he didn’t address how it would get through the Senate’s 60-vote legislative filibuster, which requires bipartisanship.&nbsp;</p><p>“I think the Republicans will vote for an extension,” Trump said. “We won’t have any Democrat votes.”&nbsp;</p><h2>Three spending bills seen as possible</h2><p>House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., told reporters he hopes to negotiate final versions of three full-year bills with the Senate before the end of the month.</p><p>Lawmakers would then use a stopgap spending bill to keep the departments and agencies covered in the other nine bills flat funded for a couple of months until the two chambers can reach final agreement on the spending levels and policy within those measures.&nbsp;</p><p>“We’re talking about relatively modest bills and bills where there is either broad agreement, like MilCon-VA, or LegBranch and Ag,” Cole said. “We’re not talking about major bills. You can’t really do that until you have a topline and we don’t have a topline.”</p><p>The Agriculture-FDA, Legislative Branch and Military Construction-VA spending bills are generally easier to negotiate than some of the other full-year measures, like Defense, Homeland Security and Labor-Health and Human Services-Education.&nbsp;</p><p>Cole said when House and Senate leaders begin negotiating a total spending level for all of the bills, or topline, is “above my paygrade.”</p><p>“I’m ready to do it at any time if they want to empower us, otherwise the leadership on both sides and the president have to” figure that out, Cole said.</p><p>The House and Senate are supposed to start off the annual government funding process in the spring by reaching bipartisan agreement on how much in total spending to spread throughout the dozen appropriations bills.&nbsp;</p><p>Those talks haven’t even started for fiscal 2026, which is slated to begin Oct. 1.&nbsp;</p><p>Instead, the House and Senate Appropriations committees have separately decided how much to spend and written vastly different versions of the bills.&nbsp;</p><h2>House and Senate at odds</h2><p>The 12 bills that have been released by the GOP-led House committee are partisan, while the eight bills released by the Senate panel have received broad bipartisan support in committee.&nbsp;</p><p>Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she’s spoken with Cole a couple of times about the three-bills-plus-stopgap strategy and supports the concept.&nbsp;</p><p>“I have and I agree with that approach,” Collins said.</p><p>Washington state Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, ranking member on the Appropriations Committee, said any stopgap bill “needs to be a real bipartisan compromise.”</p><p>“For the last few months we have shown a bipartisan way forward on the Appropriations Committee,” Murray said. “Democrats have shown that we are willing to work in good faith to write bipartisan funding bills that protect investments in education, life-saving research and a lot more.&nbsp;</p><p>“We’ve already passed eight out of the committee and three on the floor: MilCon-VA, Ag and LegBranch. As part of a bipartisan short-term CR, I support conferencing those three bills and passing them with the short-term CR for the remaining nine bills.”</p><p>House Appropriations ranking member Rosa DeLauro said “the best case scenario for us is to move forward.”&nbsp;</p><p>“No gimmicks, no riders, let’s clear the decks,” the Connecticut Democrat said. “Talk about how we get Republican priorities, Democratic priorities.”&nbsp;</p><h2>Negotiations ‘for weeks now’</h2><p>House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said “there’s a chance” to wrap up negotiations between the two chambers on final versions of some of the full-year government spending bills before the end of the month.&nbsp;</p><p>“It might not be all 12, but a few of them for sure,” Scalise said. “So let’s give the appropriators that opportunity to keep negotiating. They’ve already been having negotiations for weeks now — Tom Cole and a lot of his counterparts. I have faith they can hopefully get a lot of things done.”</p><p>Scalise, R-La., said he plans to reserve floor time later this month to&nbsp; ensure whatever spending bill gets written is “the top priority.”</p><p>Rep. Robert Aderholt, chairman of the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee, said he thinks most people agree there’s going to be some sort of stopgap given all 12 of the annual bills aren’t close to becoming law.</p><p>The Alabama Republican said this feat is “almost impossible” given the short number of legislative days left before the shutdown deadline.&nbsp;</p><p>“The solution, of course, obviously, or the only alternative, would be to have a CR, but I think the shorter the CR, the better,” he said, noting that the measure would have to be “long enough that you can have negotiations, but short enough that it doesn’t drag out until Christmas and that … we’re up here at Christmas doing an omnibus or something like that, which everybody wants to avoid.”&nbsp;</p><p>Congress has often bundled the final, conferenced versions of the dozen bills together into a sweeping omnibus package at the end of the year to ensure quick floor votes, though GOP leaders have tried to get away from that practice in recent years.&nbsp;</p><p>Rep. Chuck Edwards, a North Carolina Republican who sits on the House Appropriations Committee, said that while he hopes a stopgap spending bill is “not necessary,” the panel is “certainly prepared to put together a short-term CR if that’s what’s required to avoid a shutdown.”</p>

Despite shutdown deadline, little movement in Congress on spending deal

<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">President Trump signs executive order renaming the Defense Department as Department of War: &quot;It has to do with winning. We should have won every war. We could have won every war. We really chose to be a very politically correct or wokey and we just fight forever.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/bluS2rZ4k2">pic.twitter.com/bluS2rZ4k2</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1964064319714300314?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Back to work. <a href="https://t.co/M7wRax9gOm">pic.twitter.com/M7wRax9gOm</a></p>&mdash; Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) <a href="https://twitter.com/PeteHegseth/status/1964071082710683650?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🚨 President Donald J. Trump signs an Executive Order officially restoring the name &quot;Department of War&quot; to the Department of Defense.<br><br>This is the 200th Executive Order the President has signed since taking office. <a href="https://t.co/OuLfuSoRLR">pic.twitter.com/OuLfuSoRLR</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1964062437721756148?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: &quot;We won the first World War. We won the second World War. We won everything before that and in between — and then we decided to go woke and we changed the name to Department of Defense. So, we&#39;re going Department of War.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/Vct6X3L9JU">pic.twitter.com/Vct6X3L9JU</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1964063136643678641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Secretary of War <a href="https://twitter.com/PeteHegseth?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PeteHegseth</a>: &quot;This War Department, Mr. President, just like America, is BACK... We&#39;re going to set the tone for this country.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/NrVn35zz62">pic.twitter.com/NrVn35zz62</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1964062304816779733?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Workers take down &quot;Secretary of Defense&quot; signage at The Pentagon <a href="https://t.co/70lO1fSVkg">pic.twitter.com/70lO1fSVkg</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1964102398328160727?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="qme" dir="ltr">👀 <a href="https://t.co/FG5uBRbGrK">https://t.co/FG5uBRbGrK</a> <a href="https://t.co/xXNs8DXQ8w">pic.twitter.com/xXNs8DXQ8w</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1964070460104044925?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="zxx" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/NwFIdAHsxL">https://t.co/NwFIdAHsxL</a> <a href="https://t.co/Dmr6bL2t7p">pic.twitter.com/Dmr6bL2t7p</a></p>&mdash; DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) <a href="https://twitter.com/DOWResponse/status/1964075449677410603?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

President explains why he's changing the name of the Dept. of Defense 

WASHINGTON — U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro on Friday announced arrests in the murder of 21-year-old Eric Tarpinian-Jachym who worked in the office of Kansas Congressman Ron Estes.

Two 17-year-olds have been arrested and a third arrest is at large, according to Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith. Both teens will be charged as adults, according to Pirro.

Just before 10:30p.m. June 30, Third District officers responded to the sound of gunshots in the 1200 block of 7th Street, Northwest Washington, DC. according to a media release from Washington Metropolitan Police.

 Officers located Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, of Granby, Massachusetts  unconscious, and an adult female and a 16-year-old male conscious and breathing suffering from gunshot wounds. DC Fire and EMS responded and transported all three victims to area hospitals.

On Tuesday, after all lifesaving measures failed Tarpinian-Jachym succumbed to his injuries at a hospital, according to Metropolitan Police.

The preliminary investigation indicates that multiple suspects exited a vehicle at the intersection of 7th and M Street, Northwest District of Columbia and began firing at a group. Detectives believe Tarpinian-Jachym&nbsp; was not the intended target of the shooting.&nbsp;&nbsp;

"I will remember his kind heart and how he always greeted anyone who entered our office with a cheerful smile," Kansas 4th District Congressman Ron Estes stated in a release from his office in June.&nbsp;Tarpinian-Jachym worked in Estes office since early June. He was a student at University of Massachusetts Amherst.

 "We are grateful to Eric for his service to Kansas' 4th District and the country," Estes wrote.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1757089518113.png" alt="<br>" />
                        <figcaption><br></figcaption>
                    </figure><p>WASHINGTON — U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro on Friday announced arrests in the murder of 21-year-old Eric Tarpinian-Jachym who worked in the office of Kansas Congressman Ron Estes.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Two arrests have been made connected to the murder of my intern, Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, as announced by <a href="https://twitter.com/USAttyPirro?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@USAttyPirro</a> today.<br><br>I extend my appreciation to Attorney Pirro, her team, and <a href="https://twitter.com/DCPoliceDept?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DCPoliceDept</a> for diligently working on this case to bring those responsible to justice. <a href="https://t.co/XT81e9y7NV">https://t.co/XT81e9y7NV</a></p>&mdash; Rep. Ron Estes (@RepRonEstes) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepRonEstes/status/1964022335930859917?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IvX-6f7q9tQ?si=TAzqL4wNBiMZZsVV" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><p>Two 17-year-olds have been arrested and a third arrest is at large, according to Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith. Both teens will be charged as adults, according to Pirro.</p><p>Just before 10:30p.m. June 30, Third District officers responded to the sound of gunshots in the 1200 block of 7th Street, Northwest Washington, DC. according to a media release from Washington Metropolitan Police.</p><p> Officers located Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, of Granby, Massachusetts  unconscious, and an adult female and a 16-year-old male conscious and breathing suffering from gunshot wounds. DC Fire and EMS responded and transported all three victims to area hospitals.</p><p>On Tuesday, after all lifesaving measures failed Tarpinian-Jachym succumbed to his injuries at a hospital, according to Metropolitan Police.</p><p>The preliminary investigation indicates that multiple suspects exited a vehicle at the intersection of 7th and M Street, Northwest District of Columbia and began firing at a group. Detectives believe Tarpinian-Jachym&nbsp; was not the intended target of the shooting.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>"I will remember his kind heart and how he always greeted anyone who entered our office with a cheerful smile," Kansas 4th District Congressman Ron Estes stated in a release from his office in June.&nbsp;Tarpinian-Jachym worked in Estes office since early June. He was a student at University of Massachusetts Amherst.</p><p> "We are grateful to Eric for his service to Kansas' 4th District and the country," Estes wrote.</p>

🎥2 arrested in killing of 21-year-old intern for Kansas Congressman

LINCOLN — The Nebraska Legislature’s Urban Affairs Committee will hold a public hearing next week on Legislative Resolution 148, which focuses on the McCook Work Ethic Camp.

The hearing will take place at the State Capitol in Lincoln, Room 1507, on Thursday, Sept. 12. It will be livestreamed on Nebraska Public Media and archived on the Legislature’s website under LR 148.

Residents who wish to comment must submit written testimony online at least 24 hours before the hearing for it to be included in the official record. Comments are noted at the hearing but not read aloud. Those wanting to speak in person may do so during the hearing, though testimony time limits are expected to be around three minutes per person.

The hearing will primarily focus on building code issues related to the facility, but lawmakers have said other community concerns may be heard. Representatives from the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services have been invited, though ICE officials have not.

Following the hearing, the committee will prepare a report on its findings. No follow-up hearing in McCook is planned, though several senators indicated they intend to visit the facility.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1646089328158.png" alt="The Nebraska State Capitol Building in Lincoln. (Courtesy Rebecca S. Gratz for Nebraska Examiner)" />
                        <figcaption>The Nebraska State Capitol Building in Lincoln. (Courtesy Rebecca S. Gratz for Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>LINCOLN — The Nebraska Legislature’s Urban Affairs Committee will hold a public hearing next week on Legislative Resolution 148, which focuses on the McCook Work Ethic Camp.</p><p>The hearing will take place at the State Capitol in Lincoln, Room 1507, on Thursday, Sept. 12. It will be livestreamed on Nebraska Public Media and archived on the Legislature’s website under LR 148.</p><p>Residents who wish to comment must submit written testimony online at least 24 hours before the hearing for it to be included in the official record. Comments are noted at the hearing but not read aloud. Those wanting to speak in person may do so during the hearing, though testimony time limits are expected to be around three minutes per person.</p><p>The hearing will primarily focus on building code issues related to the facility, but lawmakers have said other community concerns may be heard. Representatives from the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services have been invited, though ICE officials have not.</p><p>Following the hearing, the committee will prepare a report on its findings. No follow-up hearing in McCook is planned, though several senators indicated they intend to visit the facility.</p>

Public Hearing on McCook Work Ethic Camp Set for Sept. 12

Announcement Catches WEC Employees Off Guard

Gov. Jim Pillen’s late August announcement that the Work Ethic Camp (WEC) north of McCook will become an ICE detention facility came as a shock to the staff. 

Employees learned of the plan only one hour before the news became public. Pillen attempted to reassure them: “All of the folks that work in the facility, the 85 or 86 people that are employed and work at the Department of Corrections, will continue in the same fashion.”

The facility is expected to operate under a 365-day contract, with the option to extend. Staff will be converted to ICE-aligned operations, receiving “orientation specific to ICE standards.” Still, uncertainty remains among employees and families regarding the long-term fate of the facility and their employment post-contract.

State Pushed to Offer WEC to Federal Government

Recent legislative testimony confirmed the state offered WEC, not the other way around. 

State Sen. Wendy DeBoer said, “Nebraska reached out, and then was given a number of questions…about staffing levels and things like that.” She also clarified lawmakers are waiting on a formal agreement: “We’re told if and when an agreement is made…at that point at least the legislature will be apprised of that.” 

Sen. Victor Rountree noted concerns over costs for the state. Locals in McCook also question what kind of support the government will offer to the town. 

McCook Officials Limited by Federal Property Ownership

McCook city officials and Red Willow County leaders have emphasized that the WEC sits on state-owned land, limiting local control over zoning and permitting. In a joint press release, officials explained, “Because it is State of Nebraska owned property, the zoning regulations and procedures that apply to standard use matters, do not apply. This distinction…means that the state may proceed independently of local zoning ordinances.”

Despite this limitation, city leaders stressed their commitment to community development and safety. “Our priority is to continue building a community where people are proud to live, work, and play,” the press release said. 

Ongoing community projects include the P.F.C. Gerald L. Walters Youth Sports Complex, the expansion of McCook Industrial Park Phase II, the North Pointe Subdivision, and the recently completed McCook Aquatic Center, all of which aim to enhance recreational, residential, and commercial opportunities for residents. 

City and county officials emphasized transparency and promised to keep the public informed as additional details about the facility become available.

Overcrowding Pressure Mounts as Inmates Must Be Relocated

Nebraska’s prison system faces significant overcrowding, currently operating at 147% of its design capacity, according to the Inspector General of Corrections’ 2025 annual report.

The transfer of 186 inmates from WEC is expected to take place over a 45–60 day period. 

Relocating existing WEC inmates will require logistical planning, as the state’s detention facilities are stretched thin. Pillen highlighted the operational flexibility of the state’s corrections system, but acknowledged the challenges: “We have flex in our operational capacity of our prisons…we’re focused on operational capacity.” The move underscores the delicate balance between repurposing existing facilities for federal use and maintaining stability in Nebraska’s already overburdened prison system.

Public Outcry: Protests and 18,000+ Petition Signatures

Opposition has surged statewide. On September 1, protestors in North Platte joined a nationwide movement against Trump-era immigration policies. 

Public opposition to the ICE detention facility in McCook has spread quickly across the state. A petition launched by advocacy groups has gathered more than 18,300 signatures from residents in 386 towns and cities, according to organizers.

In their statement, organizers said: “Nebraskans made it clear: More than 18,300 people from 386 towns and cities throughout our state signed this petition saying this is NOT who we are. Nebraska is a state that welcomes our neighbors and values the contributions of local moms, dads, coworkers, neighbors, and friends.”

The petition also pointed to the lack of federal immigration reform, noting that U.S. immigration laws have not been meaningfully updated in nearly 40 years. “We need policy change, NOT punishment,” the statement read.

Organizers warned that opening the detention center could damage Nebraska’s reputation, linking it to family separation and expanded enforcement actions. They urged Governor Jim Pillen to reject what they called “a cruel and harmful ICE detainment camp” and instead represent “Nebraska values.”

Staffing Expansion and Security Plans Raise Questions

The ICE conversion will include 20 National Guard personnel and six State Patrol officers joining WEC staff, with roles in administrative support and logistics. 

Pillen said: “They will assist ICE in administrative taking fingerprints, doing swabs, checking people in and out, working with transportation logistics.” 

While the state maintains all current WEC staff are safe under the contract, lawmakers are watching closely to see if benefits and training remain intact.

Next Steps Clouded Amid Legislative Oversight Calls

No agreement has been formally signed, though state officials anticipate a 365-day intergovernmental service contract.

"And you can be rest assured I and your mayor are going to make sure nothing changes in the community of McCook," said Gov. Pillen in his McCook&nbsp; press conference Aug. 19. "That security is actually enhanced and that it will. McCook will go down in history, making an extraordinary difference in correcting some really, really silly things that have taken place in this country in the last four years."

Lawmakers expressed frustration over the lack of legislative involvement: “The executive branch has been responsive…but a public hearing is premature,” said Judiciary Chair Sen. Carolyn Bosn. 

With public protests, employee anxiety, and questions about capacity, Nebraska awaits clarity on WEC’s future as a potential ICE hub.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1757081481948.jpeg" alt="McCook Work Ethic Camp being considered for federal ICE Detention Facility.&nbsp;" />
                        <figcaption>McCook Work Ethic Camp being considered for federal ICE Detention Facility.&nbsp;</figcaption>
                    </figure><div><iframe title="Governor Pillen Press Conference at McCook Work Ethic Camp Aug. 19" allowtransparency="true" height="150" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);height:150px;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=uxvid-1957140-pb&from=pb6admin&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Times%20New%20Roman&skin=3267a3&font-color=auto&logo_link=episode_page&btn-skin=ff6d00" loading="lazy"></iframe></div><h2>Announcement Catches WEC Employees Off Guard</h2><p>Gov. Jim Pillen’s late August announcement that the Work Ethic Camp (WEC) north of McCook will become an ICE detention facility came as a shock to the staff. </p><p>Employees learned of the plan only one hour before the news became public. Pillen attempted to reassure them: “All of the folks that work in the facility, the 85 or 86 people that are employed and work at the Department of Corrections, will continue in the same fashion.”</p><p>The facility is expected to operate under a 365-day contract, with the option to extend. Staff will be converted to ICE-aligned operations, receiving “orientation specific to ICE standards.” Still, uncertainty remains among employees and families regarding the long-term fate of the facility and their employment post-contract.</p><h2>State Pushed to Offer WEC to Federal Government</h2><p>Recent legislative testimony confirmed the state offered WEC, not the other way around. </p><p>State Sen. Wendy DeBoer said, “Nebraska reached out, and then was given a number of questions…about staffing levels and things like that.” She also clarified lawmakers are waiting on a formal agreement: “We’re told if and when an agreement is made…at that point at least the legislature will be apprised of that.” </p><p>Sen. Victor Rountree noted concerns over costs for the state. Locals in McCook also question what kind of support the government will offer to the town. </p><h2>McCook Officials Limited by Federal Property Ownership</h2><p>McCook city officials and Red Willow County leaders have emphasized that the WEC sits on state-owned land, limiting local control over zoning and permitting. In a joint press release, officials explained, “Because it is State of Nebraska owned property, the zoning regulations and procedures that apply to standard use matters, do not apply. This distinction…means that the state may proceed independently of local zoning ordinances.”</p><p>Despite this limitation, city leaders stressed their commitment to community development and safety. “Our priority is to continue building a community where people are proud to live, work, and play,” the press release said. </p><p>Ongoing community projects include the P.F.C. Gerald L. Walters Youth Sports Complex, the expansion of McCook Industrial Park Phase II, the North Pointe Subdivision, and the recently completed McCook Aquatic Center, all of which aim to enhance recreational, residential, and commercial opportunities for residents. </p><p>City and county officials emphasized transparency and promised to keep the public informed as additional details about the facility become available.</p><h2>Overcrowding Pressure Mounts as Inmates Must Be Relocated</h2><p>Nebraska’s prison system faces significant overcrowding, currently operating at 147% of its design capacity, according to the Inspector General of Corrections’ 2025 annual report.</p><p>The transfer of 186 inmates from WEC is expected to take place over a 45–60 day period. </p><p>Relocating existing WEC inmates will require logistical planning, as the state’s detention facilities are stretched thin. Pillen highlighted the operational flexibility of the state’s corrections system, but acknowledged the challenges: “We have flex in our operational capacity of our prisons…we’re focused on operational capacity.” The move underscores the delicate balance between repurposing existing facilities for federal use and maintaining stability in Nebraska’s already overburdened prison system.</p><h2>Public Outcry: Protests and 18,000+ Petition Signatures</h2><p>Opposition has surged statewide. On September 1, protestors in North Platte joined a nationwide movement against Trump-era immigration policies. </p><p>Public opposition to the ICE detention facility in McCook has spread quickly across the state. A petition launched by advocacy groups has gathered more than 18,300 signatures from residents in 386 towns and cities, according to organizers.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1757085609715.png" alt="Opinions of Alliance, North Platte, Lexington, Kearney and more were expressed with their signatures and the Nebraska Appleseed petition. " />
                        <figcaption>Opinions of Alliance, North Platte, Lexington, Kearney and more were expressed with their signatures and the Nebraska Appleseed petition. </figcaption>
                    </figure><p>In their statement, organizers said: “Nebraskans made it clear: More than 18,300 people from 386 towns and cities throughout our state signed this petition saying this is NOT who we are. Nebraska is a state that welcomes our neighbors and values the contributions of local moms, dads, coworkers, neighbors, and friends.”</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1757085652371.png" alt="Residents of Scottsbluff, Hebron, Hastings, Freemont, and McCook, along with others, submitted concerns along with their signatures on the Nebraska Appleseed petition." />
                        <figcaption>Residents of Scottsbluff, Hebron, Hastings, Freemont, and McCook, along with others, submitted concerns along with their signatures on the Nebraska Appleseed petition.</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>The petition also pointed to the lack of federal immigration reform, noting that U.S. immigration laws have not been meaningfully updated in nearly 40 years. “We need policy change, NOT punishment,” the statement read.</p><p>Organizers warned that opening the detention center could damage Nebraska’s reputation, linking it to family separation and expanded enforcement actions. They urged Governor Jim Pillen to reject what they called “a cruel and harmful ICE detainment camp” and instead represent “Nebraska values.”</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1757083572079.jpeg" alt="Pins show where signatures on the Nebraska Appleseed petition are from. Heavily concentrated on the east side of the state and spread through the rest of the state.&nbsp;" />
                        <figcaption>Pins show where signatures on the Nebraska Appleseed petition are from. Heavily concentrated on the east side of the state and spread through the rest of the state.&nbsp;</figcaption>
                    </figure><h2>Staffing Expansion and Security Plans Raise Questions</h2><p>The ICE conversion will include 20 National Guard personnel and six State Patrol officers joining WEC staff, with roles in administrative support and logistics. </p><p>Pillen said: “They will assist ICE in administrative taking fingerprints, doing swabs, checking people in and out, working with transportation logistics.” </p><p>While the state maintains all current WEC staff are safe under the contract, lawmakers are watching closely to see if benefits and training remain intact.</p><h2>Next Steps Clouded Amid Legislative Oversight Calls</h2><p>No agreement has been formally signed, though state officials anticipate a 365-day intergovernmental service contract.</p><p>"And you can be rest assured I and your mayor are going to make sure nothing changes in the community of McCook," said Gov. Pillen in his McCook&nbsp; press conference Aug. 19. "That security is actually enhanced and that it will. McCook will go down in history, making an extraordinary difference in correcting some really, really silly things that have taken place in this country in the last four years."</p><p>Lawmakers expressed frustration over the lack of legislative involvement: “The executive branch has been responsive…but a public hearing is premature,” said Judiciary Chair Sen. Carolyn Bosn. </p><p>With public protests, employee anxiety, and questions about capacity, Nebraska awaits clarity on WEC’s future as a potential ICE hub.</p>

🎙️ Nebraska’s ICE Detention Plan Sparks Statewide Backlash and Local Concern

<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">BREAKING 🇺🇸 : President Trump hosts tech leaders for a dinner at the White House. Guests include Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman<a href="https://t.co/GUJavrxP9M">pic.twitter.com/GUJavrxP9M</a></p>&mdash; Zaid Ahmd (@realzaidzayn) <a href="https://twitter.com/realzaidzayn/status/1963766937500156283?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Google co-founder Sergey Brin: &quot;It&#39;s a real incredible inflection point right now in AI and the fact that your administration is supporting our companies instead of fighting with them — it&#39;s hugely important.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/3vUGc1Dvai">pic.twitter.com/3vUGc1Dvai</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1963780730632180101?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Google CEO Sundar Pichai: &quot;The AI moment is one of the most transformative moments any of us have ever seen... The AI Action Plan, under your leadership, I think is a great start, and we look forward to working together — and thanks for your leadership.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/AKzlSgbYJl">pic.twitter.com/AKzlSgbYJl</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1963781769108332769?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/AMD?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AMD</a> CEO <a href="https://twitter.com/LisaSu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LisaSu</a>: &quot;The incredible work that your administration has done to support the semiconductor industry... the amount of acceleration that we&#39;ve seen just in the few short months that the administration has been in place — we&#39;re so grateful for that support.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/UjrORUbzLQ">pic.twitter.com/UjrORUbzLQ</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1963782822218313962?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/Microsoft?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Microsoft</a> CEO <a href="https://twitter.com/satyanadella?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@satyanadella</a>: &quot;Everything that you&#39;re doing in terms of setting in place the platform where the rest of the world can not only use our technology, but trust our technology more than any other alternative, is perhaps the most important issue.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/4xNxZggG3f">pic.twitter.com/4xNxZggG3f</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1963783827442057465?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/Apple?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Apple</a> CEO <a href="https://twitter.com/tim_cook?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@tim_cook</a>: &quot;I want to thank you for setting the tone such that we could make a major [$600 billion] investment in the United States... That says a lot about your focus and your leadership and your focus on innovation.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/289vkiB6vy">pic.twitter.com/289vkiB6vy</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1963786061114417495?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/OpenAI?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@OpenAI</a> CEO Sam Altman: &quot;Thank you for being such a pro-business, pro-innovation President. It&#39;s a very refreshing change...The investment that&#39;s happening here, the ability to get the power of the industry back... I don&#39;t think that would be happening without your leadership.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/suGDIJFlx8">pic.twitter.com/suGDIJFlx8</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1963787418429018457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/OpenAI?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@OpenAI</a> President Greg Brockman <a href="https://twitter.com/gdb?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@gdb</a>: &quot;We&#39;ve been just very impressed with how this Administration has really embraced AI... There has been a choice of whether to approach it with optimism, and I think that that&#39;s what I&#39;ve really seen from this Administration.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/cLGmDzLwtO">pic.twitter.com/cLGmDzLwtO</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1963790825273348601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥 Trump hosts top tech CEOs, not  Elon Musk, at White House dinner

‘While the challenges are significant, I see this as a time of profound opportunity,’ says Dr. Jeffrey Gold

By:<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/author/zachwendling/">Zach Wendling</a><br><a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/03/17/lincoln-senators-clash-over-nebraska-school-retirement-bill-as-school-leaders-weigh-in/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — University of Nebraska President Jeffrey Gold said Thursday that impending systemwide budget cuts of more than $40 million will be “incredibly painful” but “necessary” for NU’s survival.

Dr. Gold, speaking at his inaugural “<a href="https://nebraska.edu/president/speeches-communications/speeches/2025/09/2025-state-of-the-university-address" target="_blank">State of the University</a>” address, said NU will still embark on what he’s coined the “<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/09/05/odyssey-to-the-extraordinary-dr-gold-charts-new-path-as-university-of-nebraska-president/">Odyssey to the Extraordinary</a>.” He set out his vision one year ago during the formal ceremony celebrating him as NU’s ninth president. Gold returned Thursday to say he still seeks to make an “already good, already excellent” NU “something more.”

Gold didn’t shy away from NU’s challenges, such as slowing state support and uncertainty in federal research dollars or policies, in an event believed by NU officials to be the first NU presidential address of its kind, and which Gold hopes to make an annual tradition.

“While the challenges are significant, I see this as a time of profound opportunity,” Gold said Thursday. “An opportunity to actively reimagine our university. An opportunity to lead. An opportunity to help define what higher education in the next decades must look like.”

Thursday’s address and Gold’s 2024 investiture were both held in the Nebraska State Capitol, which Gold said was purposefully in the “people’s house.”

Gold said Thursday that since 2016, NU&nbsp;has had an average annual net loss of $206 million across the NU system, when accounting for inflation and state funding growth. He said the university system is funded to about 74% of where it would be if available money had matched inflationary expectations.

Tuition increases have also been kept lower over the past six years than many of NU’s national peers, increasing tuition by 13.8% in that time frame, slightly more than half what many other universities increased tuition by during that period.&nbsp;

Combined, those pressures mean an NU budget that has annually been about $260 million leaner in recent years.

Under President Donald Trump, NU now also faces a tightening research environment in which competition is growing for more-limited funding. Universities also need to absorb the costs of more cutting-edge research, Gold said, which he said isn’t sustainable in the long term. He said federal research dollars often make discoveries possible.

“Fewer federal resources put this nationwide research enterprise at risk,” Gold said.

At NU, nearly three out of every four students are Pell Grant-eligible, stressing federal dollars, and Gold noted that student demographics are also shifting. Instead of 18-year-old high school graduates, NU is seeing more teenagers taking dual-credit courses to get a leg up or attending community college first. Many also prefer online courses or online-only degree programs.

Combined with inflation and a smaller-than-requested bump in state dollars this spring, NU faces a $20 million shortfall by the end of this year.&nbsp;That comes even as the NU Board of Regents&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/06/19/regents-approve-5-tuition-increase-20-million-in-cuts-for-university-of-nebraska/">raised tuition by 5%</a>&nbsp;ahead of this academic year.

NU’s four main campuses in Lincoln, Omaha and Kearney have already unveiled how much each campus will have to cut to&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/08/08/nu-will-offer-tenured-faculty-buyout-program-to-help-close-budget-gaps/">shore up that systemwide deficit</a>&nbsp;and campus-specific structural deficits, though specifics of most of these cuts have yet to be announced:

At UNL, for example, costs have outpaced revenues. UNL Chancellor Rodney Bennett, the lone campus chancellor not to attend Gold’s address, is expected to announce UNL’s proposed cuts next week. UNL’s target of $27.5 million in cuts is greater than the combined budgets of the UNL College of Journalism and Mass Communications, UNL College of Architecture and Nebraska College of Law.

Gold said the Office of the NU President also would make cuts. He did not specify by how much, but said the combined efforts are required for a “sustainable, viable future” for an NU that still contributes to students, the state’s economy and communities.

“Make no mistake: We cannot cut our way to excellence, and certainly we cannot cut our way to our extraordinary destiny,” Gold said.

Gold told reporters that cuts would likely include eliminating whole degree programs and possibly departments, along wit combining some departments or degrees, while some new degrees might be established.

Any cuts of that nature would need the approval of the eight-member NU Board of Regents, likely by the board’s December meeting. Most campuses hope to finalize budget decisions by late October.

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen served as an NU regent for 10 years before becoming governor in 2023, a period that included confirming Gold as UNMC chancellor in 2013.

Pillen in January initially proposed cutting NU’s budget by 2% over the next two fiscal years. Gold and Pillen negotiated, landing at a staggered increase this fiscal year and a smaller bump next year.

Asked whether Pillen had indicated whether NU would not get its increase next year, a 0.625% increase, Gold said no. He said Pillen has also not asked NU to make deeper cuts.

Laura Strimple, a Pillen spokesperson, said Thursday that Nebraska provides more than $720 million to NU each year, equivalent to 13% of state tax spending and the largest&nbsp;spending area that comes&nbsp;out of the main state piggy bank. She said Nebraskans expect fiscal responsibility across state government.

“Governor Pillen applauds the university for recent steps to curb spending and notes that more can and should be done as a good steward of taxpayer dollars to meet the mission of educating students and ultimately making sure that the university’s focus is on improving graduate outcomes,” Strimple said.

A recent&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraska.edu/economic-impact" target="_blank">third-party analysis of NU’s annual economic impact</a>, done at NU’s direction, indicates an impact of $6.4 billion and a return on investment for every state dollar of $10. NU also educates one in seven working-age Nebraskans and represents 9% of Nebraska’s gross domestic product.

State Sen. Dave Murma of Glenvil, chair of the Legislature’s Education Committee, was one of about a dozen lawmakers to attend Gold’s event. He said NU is vital as an economic driver and for research and education that officials hope to build and grow, even in tight budget times.

“We will do what we can to fund the university,” Murman said. “Our goal is that the university will continue to be the premier university in Nebraska … and one of the best universities nationwide.”

State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln, also a member of the Education Committee and the Legislature’s most senior member at 11 years of service, said she is proud of NU’s accomplishments but placed the blame for NU’s challenges on Pillen and the Legislature.

Conrad said support for higher education, such as during her first two legislative terms in the 2000s and early 2010s under former Gov. Dave Heineman, wasn’t political. But now, NU and others are caught in the “crosshairs of ridiculous political battles” that she said have passed on the state’s “fiscal mismanagement” to NU students and families. She called it a “Pillen tax.”

“Being a supporter of the university means more than just waving a flag on game day,” Conrad said.

Gold said the 10:1 return is a good deal for state officials but that NU leaders will not waver from quality and growth, even if that means a deep cut in one area to help preserve NU’s ability in the others.

“I’d rather see programs disappear than do anything to dilute the quality of what that diploma means to people,” Gold said.

Any students in degree programs slated for elimination would still be guaranteed a chance to graduate, Gold said, adding: “Rest assured, we’ve got you and we’ll take care of you.”

Gold also took his address Thursday to explain how NU is already engaging in its “odyssey” to improve despite budget challenges, including major investments in health care, a groundbreaking clinical trial in a multiple sclerosis treatment, continued emphasis on digital and precision agriculture, growing collaborations in national defense and security, athletics achievements and a record-setting year in philanthropic support (though about 99% of the&nbsp;<a href="https://news.unl.edu/article/university-of-nebraska-receives-record-philanthropic-support" target="_blank">$416.6 million raised</a>&nbsp;is restricted and must be used for specific purposes, not for core budget functions).

“If I were to go to the major donors and say, ‘Listen, we’ve got a leaky roof down on city campus. Maybe you’d like to help us replace that roof.’ I can only tell you that it would never work,” Gold told reporters.

NU will also create a new center for excellence in artificial intelligence for “groundbreaking discovery” for every campus, college and NU faculty, staff or student. Gold said that for Nebraska to thrive in an increasingly complex and competitive world, it needs bold investment, particularly from state leaders.

“We must acknowledge the hard truths of our challenges … but never lose faith in our ability to emerge stronger,” Gold said. “Our ‘Odyssey to the Extraordinary’ requires nothing less.”

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1757077463574.jpeg" alt=" Dr. Jeffrey Gold, president of the University of Nebraska system, gives his first “State of the University” address in the Nebraska State Capitol. Sept. 4, 2025. (Photo by Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)" />
                        <figcaption> Dr. Jeffrey Gold, president of the University of Nebraska system, gives his first “State of the University” address in the Nebraska State Capitol. Sept. 4, 2025. (Photo by Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
                    </figure><h2>‘While the challenges are significant, I see this as a time of profound opportunity,’ says Dr. Jeffrey Gold</h2><p>By:<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/author/zachwendling/">Zach Wendling</a><br><a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/03/17/lincoln-senators-clash-over-nebraska-school-retirement-bill-as-school-leaders-weigh-in/">Nebraska Examiner</a></p><p>LINCOLN — University of Nebraska President Jeffrey Gold said Thursday that impending systemwide budget cuts of more than $40 million will be “incredibly painful” but “necessary” for NU’s survival.</p><p>Dr. Gold, speaking at his inaugural “<a href="https://nebraska.edu/president/speeches-communications/speeches/2025/09/2025-state-of-the-university-address" target="_blank">State of the University</a>” address, said NU will still embark on what he’s coined the “<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/09/05/odyssey-to-the-extraordinary-dr-gold-charts-new-path-as-university-of-nebraska-president/">Odyssey to the Extraordinary</a>.” He set out his vision one year ago during the formal ceremony celebrating him as NU’s ninth president. Gold returned Thursday to say he still seeks to make an “already good, already excellent” NU “something more.”</p><p>Gold didn’t shy away from NU’s challenges, such as slowing state support and uncertainty in federal research dollars or policies, in an event believed by NU officials to be the first NU presidential address of its kind, and which Gold hopes to make an annual tradition.</p><p>“While the challenges are significant, I see this as a time of profound opportunity,” Gold said Thursday. “An opportunity to actively reimagine our university. An opportunity to lead. An opportunity to help define what higher education in the next decades must look like.”</p><p>Thursday’s address and Gold’s 2024 investiture were both held in the Nebraska State Capitol, which Gold said was purposefully in the “people’s house.”</p><h2>Fiscal uncertainties</h2><p>Gold said Thursday that since 2016, NU&nbsp;has had an average annual net loss of $206 million across the NU system, when accounting for inflation and state funding growth. He said the university system is funded to about 74% of where it would be if available money had matched inflationary expectations.</p><p>Tuition increases have also been kept lower over the past six years than many of NU’s national peers, increasing tuition by 13.8% in that time frame, slightly more than half what many other universities increased tuition by during that period.&nbsp;</p><p>Combined, those pressures mean an NU budget that has annually been about $260 million leaner in recent years.</p><p>Under President Donald Trump, NU now also faces a tightening research environment in which competition is growing for more-limited funding. Universities also need to absorb the costs of more cutting-edge research, Gold said, which he said isn’t sustainable in the long term. He said federal research dollars often make discoveries possible.</p><p>“Fewer federal resources put this nationwide research enterprise at risk,” Gold said.</p><p>At NU, nearly three out of every four students are Pell Grant-eligible, stressing federal dollars, and Gold noted that student demographics are also shifting. Instead of 18-year-old high school graduates, NU is seeing more teenagers taking dual-credit courses to get a leg up or attending community college first. Many also prefer online courses or online-only degree programs.</p><p>Combined with inflation and a smaller-than-requested bump in state dollars this spring, NU faces a $20 million shortfall by the end of this year.&nbsp;That comes even as the NU Board of Regents&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/06/19/regents-approve-5-tuition-increase-20-million-in-cuts-for-university-of-nebraska/">raised tuition by 5%</a>&nbsp;ahead of this academic year.</p><h2>‘Cannot cut out way to excellence’</h2><p>NU’s four main campuses in Lincoln, Omaha and Kearney have already unveiled how much each campus will have to cut to&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/08/08/nu-will-offer-tenured-faculty-buyout-program-to-help-close-budget-gaps/">shore up that systemwide deficit</a>&nbsp;and campus-specific structural deficits, though specifics of most of these cuts have yet to be announced:</p><ul>
                        <li>University of Nebraska-Lincoln: $27.5 million.</li><li>University of Nebraska Medical Center: $9.1 million.</li><li>University of Nebraska at Kearney: $4.5 million.</li><li>University of Nebraska at Omaha: $1.9 million.&nbsp;</li>
                    </ul><p>At UNL, for example, costs have outpaced revenues. UNL Chancellor Rodney Bennett, the lone campus chancellor not to attend Gold’s address, is expected to announce UNL’s proposed cuts next week. UNL’s target of $27.5 million in cuts is greater than the combined budgets of the UNL College of Journalism and Mass Communications, UNL College of Architecture and Nebraska College of Law.</p><p>Gold said the Office of the NU President also would make cuts. He did not specify by how much, but said the combined efforts are required for a “sustainable, viable future” for an NU that still contributes to students, the state’s economy and communities.</p><p>“Make no mistake: We cannot cut our way to excellence, and certainly we cannot cut our way to our extraordinary destiny,” Gold said.</p><p>Gold told reporters that cuts would likely include eliminating whole degree programs and possibly departments, along wit combining some departments or degrees, while some new degrees might be established.</p><p>Any cuts of that nature would need the approval of the eight-member NU Board of Regents, likely by the board’s December meeting. Most campuses hope to finalize budget decisions by late October.</p><h2>Changing state dynamics</h2><p>Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen served as an NU regent for 10 years before becoming governor in 2023, a period that included confirming Gold as UNMC chancellor in 2013.</p><p>Pillen in January initially proposed cutting NU’s budget by 2% over the next two fiscal years. Gold and Pillen negotiated, landing at a staggered increase this fiscal year and a smaller bump next year.</p><p>Asked whether Pillen had indicated whether NU would not get its increase next year, a 0.625% increase, Gold said no. He said Pillen has also not asked NU to make deeper cuts.</p><p>Laura Strimple, a Pillen spokesperson, said Thursday that Nebraska provides more than $720 million to NU each year, equivalent to 13% of state tax spending and the largest&nbsp;spending area that comes&nbsp;out of the main state piggy bank. She said Nebraskans expect fiscal responsibility across state government.</p><p>“Governor Pillen applauds the university for recent steps to curb spending and notes that more can and should be done as a good steward of taxpayer dollars to meet the mission of educating students and ultimately making sure that the university’s focus is on improving graduate outcomes,” Strimple said.</p><p>A recent&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraska.edu/economic-impact" target="_blank">third-party analysis of NU’s annual economic impact</a>, done at NU’s direction, indicates an impact of $6.4 billion and a return on investment for every state dollar of $10. NU also educates one in seven working-age Nebraskans and represents 9% of Nebraska’s gross domestic product.</p><h2>Lawmaker reactions</h2><p>State Sen. Dave Murma of Glenvil, chair of the Legislature’s Education Committee, was one of about a dozen lawmakers to attend Gold’s event. He said NU is vital as an economic driver and for research and education that officials hope to build and grow, even in tight budget times.</p><p>“We will do what we can to fund the university,” Murman said. “Our goal is that the university will continue to be the premier university in Nebraska … and one of the best universities nationwide.”</p><p>State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln, also a member of the Education Committee and the Legislature’s most senior member at 11 years of service, said she is proud of NU’s accomplishments but placed the blame for NU’s challenges on Pillen and the Legislature.</p><p>Conrad said support for higher education, such as during her first two legislative terms in the 2000s and early 2010s under former Gov. Dave Heineman, wasn’t political. But now, NU and others are caught in the “crosshairs of ridiculous political battles” that she said have passed on the state’s “fiscal mismanagement” to NU students and families. She called it a “Pillen tax.”</p><p>“Being a supporter of the university means more than just waving a flag on game day,” Conrad said.</p><h2>‘Ability to emerge stronger’</h2><p>Gold said the 10:1 return is a good deal for state officials but that NU leaders will not waver from quality and growth, even if that means a deep cut in one area to help preserve NU’s ability in the others.</p><p>“I’d rather see programs disappear than do anything to dilute the quality of what that diploma means to people,” Gold said.</p><p>Any students in degree programs slated for elimination would still be guaranteed a chance to graduate, Gold said, adding: “Rest assured, we’ve got you and we’ll take care of you.”</p><p>Gold also took his address Thursday to explain how NU is already engaging in its “odyssey” to improve despite budget challenges, including major investments in health care, a groundbreaking clinical trial in a multiple sclerosis treatment, continued emphasis on digital and precision agriculture, growing collaborations in national defense and security, athletics achievements and a record-setting year in philanthropic support (though about 99% of the&nbsp;<a href="https://news.unl.edu/article/university-of-nebraska-receives-record-philanthropic-support" target="_blank">$416.6 million raised</a>&nbsp;is restricted and must be used for specific purposes, not for core budget functions).</p><p>“If I were to go to the major donors and say, ‘Listen, we’ve got a leaky roof down on city campus. Maybe you’d like to help us replace that roof.’ I can only tell you that it would never work,” Gold told reporters.</p><p>NU will also create a new center for excellence in artificial intelligence for “groundbreaking discovery” for every campus, college and NU faculty, staff or student. Gold said that for Nebraska to thrive in an increasingly complex and competitive world, it needs bold investment, particularly from state leaders.</p><p>“We must acknowledge the hard truths of our challenges … but never lose faith in our ability to emerge stronger,” Gold said. “Our ‘Odyssey to the Extraordinary’ requires nothing less.”</p>

NU president: Budget cuts ‘incredibly painful’ but ‘necessary’ for university survival

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1756996593037.png" alt="Kennedy waved at protesters and supporters as he entered the hearing room on Thursday -image from CSPAN video" />
                        <figcaption>Kennedy waved at protesters and supporters as he entered the hearing room on Thursday -image from CSPAN video</figcaption>
                    </figure><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">As <a href="https://twitter.com/SecKennedy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecKennedy</a> enters Senate hearing, reporters ask if he will resign and supporters chant &quot;We love you Bobby&quot; <a href="https://t.co/XENgdhir7w">pic.twitter.com/XENgdhir7w</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1963606194104172801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Protesters interrupt <a href="https://twitter.com/SecKennedy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecKennedy</a> opening statement at Senate Finance hearing <a href="https://t.co/tj6HARi5oh">pic.twitter.com/tj6HARi5oh</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1963617929938845790?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/SecKennedy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecKennedy</a>: &quot;[CDC] changes were absolutely necessary adjustments to restore the agency to its role as the world&#39;s gold standard... The people at CDC who oversaw [COVID] — who put masks on our children, who closed our schools — are the people that will be leaving.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/HMI4FjXmx1">pic.twitter.com/HMI4FjXmx1</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1963611669306736643?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We became the sickest country in the world. <br><br>I need to make sure this doesn’t happen again. <a href="https://t.co/ihNBfyDWKd">pic.twitter.com/ihNBfyDWKd</a></p>&mdash; Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecKennedy/status/1963619420174975317?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/SecKennedy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecKennedy</a> scorches <a href="https://twitter.com/RonWyden?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RonWyden</a>: &quot;You&#39;ve sat in that chair for how long — 20, 25 years? — while the chronic disease in our children went up to 76%, and you said nothing. You never asked the question, &#39;Why is this happening?&#39;&quot; <a href="https://t.co/eSmXhlKhof">pic.twitter.com/eSmXhlKhof</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1963614447911510036?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/RonWyden?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RonWyden</a> asks <a href="https://twitter.com/SecKennedy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecKennedy</a> about former CDC Director Susan Monarez: &quot;So she&#39;s lying today to the American people in the Wall Street Journal?&quot;<br> <br>Kennedy: &quot;Yes sir.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/EseDIvN1fx">pic.twitter.com/EseDIvN1fx</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1963621199109390721?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/SecKennedy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecKennedy</a>: &quot;We are ending gain-of-function research, child mutilation, and reducing animal testing. We are addressing cellphone use in schools... sickle cell anemia, Hepatitis C, the East Palestine chemical spill, and many, many others.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/wEScTJ9RAJ">pic.twitter.com/wEScTJ9RAJ</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1963614971436163170?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We are reorganizing the entire organ procurement industry so that the sanctity of life can never be violated again. <a href="https://t.co/U2jgMbbtbj">pic.twitter.com/U2jgMbbtbj</a></p>&mdash; Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecKennedy/status/1963626909096436082?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Heated exchange between <a href="https://twitter.com/SenWarren?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenWarren</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/SecKennedy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecKennedy</a> on COVID vaccines and fired CDC Director. <a href="https://t.co/Djl7ulVNEJ">pic.twitter.com/Djl7ulVNEJ</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1963644083034841550?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I never promised that I was going to recommend products for which there is no indication. <a href="https://t.co/L1rcvbdlI0">pic.twitter.com/L1rcvbdlI0</a></p>&mdash; Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecKennedy/status/1963639455484371299?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="da" dir="ltr">Reminder <a href="https://twitter.com/SenSanders?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenSanders</a> <a href="https://t.co/YLiUfnZlQL">https://t.co/YLiUfnZlQL</a></p>&mdash; Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecKennedy/status/1963638668662300984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">RFK Jr. just went off for 2 minutes straight tearing into the politicization of COVID. <br><br>The entire room went silent. <br><br>Watch: <br><br>“The whole process was politicized. Senator, I mean, we were lied to about everything.”<br><br>“We were lied to about natural immunity. We were lied to… <a href="https://t.co/J4T5OjLEVE">pic.twitter.com/J4T5OjLEVE</a></p>&mdash; Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1963623144440090821?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">What <a href="https://twitter.com/SecKennedy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecKennedy</a> and I are fighting for is vaccine transparency — 76 jabs by 18 is excessive without clear justification. <br><br>The CDC needs to get transparent about every vaccine they recommend. <a href="https://t.co/UyPbv0iDAJ">pic.twitter.com/UyPbv0iDAJ</a></p>&mdash; Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/1963655720265814427?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I refuse to sign onto something unless I can stand behind it with scientific certainty. That doesn’t make me ‘anti-vax’ – it makes me pro-science. <a href="https://t.co/8IHLK7Jt76">pic.twitter.com/8IHLK7Jt76</a></p>&mdash; Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecKennedy/status/1963649578411901137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥RFK Jr. rejects criticism, health data in contentious hearing

<i>Nebraska State Legislature Office of&nbsp;Senator Margo Juarez</i>

Lincoln, Nebraska – [September 4th, 2025]- State Senator Margo Juarez of Omaha (District 5) is collecting Nebraska’s sentiment regarding passenger rail to inform Legislative Resolution 203 (LR203), a resolution to further conduct an interim study to evaluate the existing passenger rail infrastructure in Nebraska on behalf of the Legislature's Transportation and Telecommunication Committee. Senator Juarez is working with ProRail Nebraska to gather public opinion at a series of five town halls held across the state and is hosting an online survey on PollTheVote.com, a platform made by and for Nebraskans. 

“Transportation is a priority in our state, and I’m disappointed in the lack of progress we’ve made. The streetcar coming to Omaha is exciting, but it’s only the beginning. I want communities across Nebraska to see what a great asset passenger rail can be. I once got on a train from the airport to my destination for just $1.25. That kind of reliability and affordability should be available to everyone in Nebraska.” Senator Juarez said in a recent interview.

Senator Juarez is hosting a town hall for residents to attend either in person or remotely by zoom to promote dialogue and gather feedback:&nbsp;North Platte Town Hall - September 9th from 6:00 to 7:30 PM at the North Platte Library (120 W 4th St.)

Senator Juarez emphasizes that these meetings are meant to include voices from across the state, not just from urban centers. “This isn’t just about the big cities. I want residents from Grand Island, North Platte, Columbus, everyone, to feel seen and heard.” Nebraska residents that wish to participate remotely by zoom are to email Senator Juarez at mjuarez@leg.ne.gov, to obtain the zoom registration link at least 2 days in advance of their chosen town hall date.

Online Survey: https://tinyurl.com/PaRail203

The Senator urges Nebraskans to join the conversation about the future of passenger rail and public transit by taking her online survey hosted by the Omaha, Nebraska startup, Poll The Vote at; https://tinyurl.com/PaRail203. Participant’s sentiment will be anonymized and evaluated to&nbsp;help shape policy recommendations that will be submitted to the Nebraska Legislature at the conclusion of the LR203 study.

Senator Juarez’s efforts are supported by ProRail Nebraska (PRN), a statewide advocacy group affiliated with the Rail Passenger Association (RPA). PRN champions improved passenger rail and surface public transportation options for all Nebraskans. In collaboration with Poll the Vote, a civic and community engagement platform that seeks to revolutionize how individuals connect

with their elected officials beyond election night; Senator Juarez is partnering with the Nebraska startup to collect the public’s sentiment.

Senator Margo Juarez represents District 5 (South Omaha) in the Nebraska Legislature. A champion of sustainable development and public infrastructure, she introduced Legislative Resolution 203 (LR203) to study Nebraska’s passenger rail system and increase community involvement in shaping transportation policy. Senator Juarez is committed to improving access, mobility, and economic opportunity for all Nebraskans. For more information about LR203 or to reach Senator Juarez directly, contact her at mjuarez@leg.ne.gov, call her office at 402-471- 2710, or reach her cell at 402-916-0336.

About Legislative Resolution 203 (LR203):

Senator Juarez, the sponsor of Legislative Resolution 203 (LR203), has long been passionate about expanding mass transit in Nebraska, drawing from personal experiences in western U.S. cities where train systems were both reliable and affordable. She is joined by several other Senators who are committed to advancing transportation solutions across the state e.g: Senators Victor Roundtree (District 3), John Cavanaugh (District 9), Machaela Cavanaugh (District 6), Wendy DeBoer (District 10), Ashlei Spivey (District 13), George Dungan (District 26), and Jason Prokop (District 27).

ProRail Nebraska (PRN) is a statewide, member-based organization dedicated to improving passenger rail and all forms of surface public transportation serving Nebraska. PRN is an affiliate of the Rail Passenger Association (RPA), which advocates for passenger rail service on a national level. For more information visit http://www.trainweb.org/prorailnebraska/

Poll the Vote is a Civic + Community engagement platform designed to capture public sentiment and drive data-informed decision-making. It is powered by Ideologix Insights, an Omaha, Nebraska data analytics startup that connects individuals to their elected officials, candidates for office and community leaders. For more information, visit https://pollthevote.com or contact Heather Nelson, founder &amp; CEO at heather.nelson@pollthevote.com or 402-690-0957.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1757015102432.jpeg" alt="<br>" />
                        <figcaption><br></figcaption>
                    </figure><p><i>For Immediate Release</i></p><p><i>Nebraska State Legislature Office of&nbsp;Senator Margo Juarez</i></p><p>Lincoln, Nebraska – [September 4th, 2025]- State Senator Margo Juarez of Omaha (District 5) is collecting Nebraska’s sentiment regarding passenger rail to inform Legislative Resolution 203 (LR203), a resolution to further conduct an interim study to evaluate the existing passenger rail infrastructure in Nebraska on behalf of the Legislature's Transportation and Telecommunication Committee. Senator Juarez is working with ProRail Nebraska to gather public opinion at a series of five town halls held across the state and is hosting an online survey on PollTheVote.com, a platform made by and for Nebraskans. </p><p>“Transportation is a priority in our state, and I’m disappointed in the lack of progress we’ve made. The streetcar coming to Omaha is exciting, but it’s only the beginning. I want communities across Nebraska to see what a great asset passenger rail can be. I once got on a train from the airport to my destination for just $1.25. That kind of reliability and affordability should be available to everyone in Nebraska.” Senator Juarez said in a recent interview.</p><p>Senator Juarez is hosting a town hall for residents to attend either in person or remotely by zoom to promote dialogue and gather feedback:&nbsp;North Platte Town Hall - September 9th from 6:00 to 7:30 PM at the North Platte Library (120 W 4th St.)</p><p>Senator Juarez emphasizes that these meetings are meant to include voices from across the state, not just from urban centers. “This isn’t just about the big cities. I want residents from Grand Island, North Platte, Columbus, everyone, to feel seen and heard.” Nebraska residents that wish to participate remotely by zoom are to email Senator Juarez at mjuarez@leg.ne.gov, to obtain the zoom registration link at least 2 days in advance of their chosen town hall date.</p><p>Online Survey: https://tinyurl.com/PaRail203</p><p>The Senator urges Nebraskans to join the conversation about the future of passenger rail and public transit by taking her online survey hosted by the Omaha, Nebraska startup, Poll The Vote at; https://tinyurl.com/PaRail203. Participant’s sentiment will be anonymized and evaluated to&nbsp;help shape policy recommendations that will be submitted to the Nebraska Legislature at the conclusion of the LR203 study.</p><p>Partners:</p><p>Senator Juarez’s efforts are supported by ProRail Nebraska (PRN), a statewide advocacy group affiliated with the Rail Passenger Association (RPA). PRN champions improved passenger rail and surface public transportation options for all Nebraskans. In collaboration with Poll the Vote, a civic and community engagement platform that seeks to revolutionize how individuals connect</p><p>with their elected officials beyond election night; Senator Juarez is partnering with the Nebraska startup to collect the public’s sentiment.</p><h2>BACKGROUND</h2><p>About Senator Margo Juarez:</p><p>Senator Margo Juarez represents District 5 (South Omaha) in the Nebraska Legislature. A champion of sustainable development and public infrastructure, she introduced Legislative Resolution 203 (LR203) to study Nebraska’s passenger rail system and increase community involvement in shaping transportation policy. Senator Juarez is committed to improving access, mobility, and economic opportunity for all Nebraskans. For more information about LR203 or to reach Senator Juarez directly, contact her at mjuarez@leg.ne.gov, call her office at 402-471- 2710, or reach her cell at 402-916-0336.</p><p>About Legislative Resolution 203 (LR203):</p><p>Senator Juarez, the sponsor of Legislative Resolution 203 (LR203), has long been passionate about expanding mass transit in Nebraska, drawing from personal experiences in western U.S. cities where train systems were both reliable and affordable. She is joined by several other Senators who are committed to advancing transportation solutions across the state e.g: Senators Victor Roundtree (District 3), John Cavanaugh (District 9), Machaela Cavanaugh (District 6), Wendy DeBoer (District 10), Ashlei Spivey (District 13), George Dungan (District 26), and Jason Prokop (District 27).</p><p>About ProRail Nebraska (PRN):</p><p>ProRail Nebraska (PRN) is a statewide, member-based organization dedicated to improving passenger rail and all forms of surface public transportation serving Nebraska. PRN is an affiliate of the Rail Passenger Association (RPA), which advocates for passenger rail service on a national level. For more information visit http://www.trainweb.org/prorailnebraska/</p><p>About Poll the Vote (PollTheVote.com):</p><p>Poll the Vote is a Civic + Community engagement platform designed to capture public sentiment and drive data-informed decision-making. It is powered by Ideologix Insights, an Omaha, Nebraska data analytics startup that connects individuals to their elected officials, candidates for office and community leaders. For more information, visit https://pollthevote.com or contact Heather Nelson, founder &amp; CEO at heather.nelson@pollthevote.com or 402-690-0957.</p>

Senator Margo Juarez Collects Nebraskans' Sentiment on Passenger Rail Expansion: North Platte Town Hall Sept. 9th

By:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">Jennifer Shutt</a>

WASHINGTON — Congress returned to Washington, D.C., this week following an uneventful August recess where little to no progress was made on government funding, even though lawmakers have just weeks left until their shutdown deadline.

Republican leaders will need the support of several Democratic senators to approve a stopgap spending bill before Oct. 1, since lawmakers have once again failed to complete the dozen full-year bills on time.&nbsp;

But what was once a routine bipartisan exercise has taken on heightened stakes, with Democrats and some Republicans increasingly frustrated by the Trump administration’s unilateral spending decisions.

The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office has issued&nbsp; &nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-illegally-withheld-head-start-payments-government-watchdog-says" target="_blank">several</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-illegally-froze-1800-nih-medical-research-grants-congress-watchdog-says" target="_blank">reports</a>&nbsp;faulting the Trump administration for impounding, or refusing to spend funds approved by Congress, in violation of the law. And dozens of lawsuits&nbsp;<a href="https://www.justsecurity.org/107087/tracker-litigation-legal-challenges-trump-administration/" target="_blank">have been filed</a>, alleging the administration has acted to supersede Congress’ power of the purse.&nbsp;

The ongoing tension, combined with party leaders’ increasing focus on next year’s midterm elections, makes the possibility of a shutdown higher than it has been for years.&nbsp;

President Donald Trump said in mid-August he was open to meeting with Democratic leaders once they were back in town to negotiate a government funding deal but minimized the importance of talks.&nbsp;

“Well, I will, I guess, but it’s almost a waste of time to meet because they never approve anything,” Trump said.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries&nbsp;<a href="https://www.democrats.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/schumer_jeffries_letter_re_government_funding.pdf" target="_blank">released a letter</a>&nbsp;last week urging Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune to quickly begin negotiating a bipartisan stopgap bill.&nbsp;

“The government funding issue must be resolved in a bipartisan way,” they wrote. “That is the only viable path forward.”

Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, said last week that she wants to keep advancing the full-year spending bills, but that a short-term stopgap would be necessary to give lawmakers enough time.&nbsp;

“We need to avoid a government shutdown, which would be horrendous if that were to occur on October 1,” Collins said, according to remarks provided by her office. “And we also need to avoid having a continuing resolution, by that I mean a stopgap bill that just puts government on automatic pilot for the whole year.&nbsp;

“We’re going to have to have a short-term continuing resolution, but we’re making really good progress with overwhelming bipartisan support, and I hope that will continue.”

Congress is supposed to complete work on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/crs-appropriations-status-table" target="_blank">the dozen annual appropriations bills</a>&nbsp;before the start of the new fiscal year but has failed to do so for decades. This year is no different.&nbsp;

The House and Senate are nowhere near finishing their work on the bills, which provide funding for dozens of departments, including Agriculture, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Justice, State, Transportation and Veterans Affairs.

The bills, which make up about one-third of federal spending, also fund smaller agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Science Foundation and the National Weather Service.

The House has approved two of the dozen bills — Defense and Military Construction-VA. The Senate has passed its Agriculture, Legislative Branch and Military Construction-VA bills.

The House bills have only been supported by GOP lawmakers, while the Senate’s bills are broadly bipartisan, giving that chamber an upper hand if the two chambers begin conferencing full-year bills later this year.&nbsp;

Without a bipartisan, bicameral agreement on how much to spend on all of the bills, it’s highly unlikely Congress will be able to complete its work before the Oct. 1 deadline.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691086285875.jpeg" alt="U.S. Capitol (Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)" />
                        <figcaption>U.S. Capitol (Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">Jennifer Shutt</a></p><p>WASHINGTON — Congress returned to Washington, D.C., this week following an uneventful August recess where little to no progress was made on government funding, even though lawmakers have just weeks left until their shutdown deadline.</p><p>Republican leaders will need the support of several Democratic senators to approve a stopgap spending bill before Oct. 1, since lawmakers have once again failed to complete the dozen full-year bills on time.&nbsp;</p><p>But what was once a routine bipartisan exercise has taken on heightened stakes, with Democrats and some Republicans increasingly frustrated by the Trump administration’s unilateral spending decisions.</p><p>The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office has issued&nbsp; &nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-illegally-withheld-head-start-payments-government-watchdog-says" target="_blank">several</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-illegally-froze-1800-nih-medical-research-grants-congress-watchdog-says" target="_blank">reports</a>&nbsp;faulting the Trump administration for impounding, or refusing to spend funds approved by Congress, in violation of the law. And dozens of lawsuits&nbsp;<a href="https://www.justsecurity.org/107087/tracker-litigation-legal-challenges-trump-administration/" target="_blank">have been filed</a>, alleging the administration has acted to supersede Congress’ power of the purse.&nbsp;</p><p>The ongoing tension, combined with party leaders’ increasing focus on next year’s midterm elections, makes the possibility of a shutdown higher than it has been for years.&nbsp;</p><p>President Donald Trump said in mid-August he was open to meeting with Democratic leaders once they were back in town to negotiate a government funding deal but minimized the importance of talks.&nbsp;</p><p>“Well, I will, I guess, but it’s almost a waste of time to meet because they never approve anything,” Trump said.</p><p>Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries&nbsp;<a href="https://www.democrats.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/schumer_jeffries_letter_re_government_funding.pdf" target="_blank">released a letter</a>&nbsp;last week urging Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune to quickly begin negotiating a bipartisan stopgap bill.&nbsp;</p><p>“The government funding issue must be resolved in a bipartisan way,” they wrote. “That is the only viable path forward.”</p><p>Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, said last week that she wants to keep advancing the full-year spending bills, but that a short-term stopgap would be necessary to give lawmakers enough time.&nbsp;</p><p>“We need to avoid a government shutdown, which would be horrendous if that were to occur on October 1,” Collins said, according to remarks provided by her office. “And we also need to avoid having a continuing resolution, by that I mean a stopgap bill that just puts government on automatic pilot for the whole year.&nbsp;</p><p>“We’re going to have to have a short-term continuing resolution, but we’re making really good progress with overwhelming bipartisan support, and I hope that will continue.”</p><h2>Another failure</h2><p>Congress is supposed to complete work on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/crs-appropriations-status-table" target="_blank">the dozen annual appropriations bills</a>&nbsp;before the start of the new fiscal year but has failed to do so for decades. This year is no different.&nbsp;</p><p>The House and Senate are nowhere near finishing their work on the bills, which provide funding for dozens of departments, including Agriculture, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Justice, State, Transportation and Veterans Affairs.</p><p>The bills, which make up about one-third of federal spending, also fund smaller agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Science Foundation and the National Weather Service.</p><p>The House has approved two of the dozen bills — Defense and Military Construction-VA. The Senate has passed its Agriculture, Legislative Branch and Military Construction-VA bills.</p><p>The House bills have only been supported by GOP lawmakers, while the Senate’s bills are broadly bipartisan, giving that chamber an upper hand if the two chambers begin conferencing full-year bills later this year.&nbsp;</p><p>Without a bipartisan, bicameral agreement on how much to spend on all of the bills, it’s highly unlikely Congress will be able to complete its work before the Oct. 1 deadline.</p><p>Leaders will instead need to reach agreement on a stopgap spending bill that essentially keeps government funding on autopilot until lawmakers can work out a final deal on the full-year bills.&nbsp;</p><p>The calendar doesn’t give Speaker Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader Thune, R-S.D., much time to find compromise with their Democratic counterparts.&nbsp;</p><p>Both chambers are in session for three weeks at the beginning of September before breaking for Rosh Hashanah. They’ll return to Capitol Hill on Sept. 29 with less than two days to fund the government or begin a partial shutdown.</p><p>Thune said in mid-August at the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce Inside Washington luncheon&nbsp;<a href="https://southdakotasearchlight.com/2025/08/12/thune-anticipates-big-fight-in-september-over-potential-government-shutdown/" target="_blank">that he expects lawmakers</a>&nbsp;will “have a big fight at the end of September.”</p><h2>Last shutdown stretched 35 days</h2><p>It’s been almost seven years since some federal departments and agencies had to navigate a shutdown, when Congress and the first Trump administration were unable to broker a funding deal before a deadline.</p><p>A shutdown this year would have substantially more impact than that 35-day debacle since, when that funding lapse began, Congress had approved the Defense, Energy-Water, Labor-HHS-Education, Legislative Branch and Military Construction-VA spending bills.</p><p>The departments and agencies funded by those laws, including Congress, weren’t affected by the shutdown.</p><p>Lawmakers have failed to send any of the full-year bills to Trump so far this year, so every department and agency would need to implement a shutdown plan if Congress doesn’t approve a stopgap spending bill before Oct. 1.</p><p>Federal employees who deal with the preservation of life and property as well as national security will likely be deemed exempt and work without pay until the shutdown ends.</p><p>Workers who are not considered essential to the federal government’s operations would be furloughed until Congress and the president broker some sort of funding deal.</p><p>Both categories of employees receive back pay once the lapse ends, though that doesn’t extend to federal contractors.</p><h2>On to the stopgap</h2><p>Congress regularly approves a stopgap spending bill in September to gain more time to complete negotiations on the full-year appropriations bills.</p><p>That continuing resolution, as it’s sometimes called, usually lasts until the last Friday in December when both chambers of Congress are scheduled to be in Washington, D.C.</p><p>So a September stopgap would likely last until Friday, Dec. 19, assuming the House and Senate can reach an agreement and hold floor votes in the weeks ahead.</p><p>Last year, in the lead-up to the presidential election,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/congress-poised-race-out-dc-after-dodging-shutdown" target="_blank">lawmakers approved a stopgap bill&nbsp;</a>in September that funded the government through mid-December.</p><p>Following the Republican sweep of the November elections, GOP leaders opted not to negotiate the full-year bills and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/congress-clears-bill-avert-government-shutdown-extend-farm-bill" target="_blank">used a second stopgap bill</a>&nbsp;to fund the government until March after a raucous 48 hours on Capitol Hill.</p><p>Speaker Johnson took a go-it-alone approach on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-signs-stopgap-spending-bill-law-following-us-senate-passage" target="_blank">a third stopgap spending bill</a>, leaving Democrats completely out of the negotiations and jamming the Senate with the legislation.</p><p>Schumer and several Democrats ultimately helped Republicans get past the 60-vote legislative filibuster, but most voted against actually passing the stopgap.</p><p>The dilemma over forcing a shutdown or helping Republicans pass a stopgap bill will resurface for Schumer in the weeks ahead as he tries to navigate another shutdown deadline amid unified GOP control of Washington.</p>