Federal Contract Cuts Hurt Dems’ Districts Most: Starting Line

Exclusive: Where Contracting Axe Fell

Districts represented by Democrats have taken the brunt of federal contract terminations, BGOV analysts Paul Murphy and Maika Ito conclude in an analysis of the Trump administration’s spending cuts.

They found the cost of contracting cuts in Democratic congressional districts was almost four times what it was in Republican ones under the Trump administration — $17.5 billion versus $3.6 billion.

Affected projects include biomedical health studies conducted under HHS contracts. Read More

Trump’s Next Asia Stop

With the Malaysia portion of his trip concluded, President Donald Trump is now in Japan, where he’s scheduled to meet with the prime minister and make a state call on Emperor Naruhito while mainly focusing on Japanese investments in the US.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi just took office last week, so there are a lot of question marks about how they will establish a relationship and fill in the fine print on a promise to invest $500 billion in a way that benefits Japanese companies.

Trump has said he’ll personally direct how that money is spent, giving him power to bestow advantages that will affect the health of companies in Japan that do power plant, pipeline, antibiotics, and other work.

More Trade Moves

US and Chinese trade negotiators landed a preliminary trade agreement ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week. A Chinese official said they’re in sync on export controls, fentanyl and shipping levies.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CBS News Trump’s threat of 100% tariffs on Chinese goods “is effectively off the table” and he expected China to make “substantial” soybean purchases, as well as offer a deferral on sweeping rare earth controls. Read More

The Trump administration released details of a trade framework with Vietnam under which that country will “provide preferential market access for substantially all US industrial and agricultural exports to Vietnam,” while the US will offer zero tariffs on some products.

Malaysia’s Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim and Trump signed a trade agreement and critical minerals pact. Under the deal, Malaysia will provide “significant preferential market access” for US chemicals, machinery and electrical equipment, metals and passenger vehicles, as well as agricultural exports.

See Also:

• Carney Pushes Back on Provinces Spoiling for a Fight With Trump
• US Auto Plants Weeks Away From Shutdowns Without Chips From China
• Ex-Federal Judges Call on Supreme Court to Reject Trump Tariffs
• Trump Is Strong-Arming the World to Keep It Using Fossil Fuels

How Well Do You Know Washington — Paycheck Edition

Though it’s Day 27 of the federal shutdown, there’s no impact on the wallets of members of Congress because they’re still paid. Why?

A) Special House and Senate rules allow them, but not their staffs, to keep getting paychecks
B) Speaker Mike Johnson negotiated a deal with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to keep direct deposits open
C) They’re following a precedent set in a previous shutdown
D) There’s a constitutional requirement

Scroll down for the answer.

Virginia Begins Re-Redistricting

Later today, Virginia’s Democratic-led state legislature is to start a multi-stage process to amend the state constitution and redraw House districts more to their party’s advantage.

Democrats hold six of 11 districts and could try for two or three more to help their party counter similar Republican moves ahead of the 2026 midterms.

The tissue-thin GOP majority — now 219-213 — is at risk of flipping to Democratic control for the final two years of Trump’s presidency.

“They did not expect Democrats to be able to forcefully respond, but the stakes are too high, and we are not going to unilaterally disarm,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told reporters.

Greg Giroux outlines the state of play in other states with gerrymandering legislation, litigation, or both.

Did You Ace the Quiz?

Give yourself a star if you chose Option D — the US Constitution.

The 27th Amendment prevents the salaries of members of Congress from changing during their terms. Originally written by James Madison along with the amendments that became known as the Bill of Rights, the goal was to prevent lawmakers from voting themselves a pay raise without first facing voters. Turns out that works both ways — their pay can’t go up or down.

Catch up on the shutdown:

• In this morning’s Congress Tracker, Lillianna Byington and Maeve Sheehey report that Speaker Mike Johnson is giving the House another week away from Washington, and Democrats are planning to be here. The House hasn’t voted since Sept. 19.
  
  Johnson’s betting his refusal to bring the House back will pressure moderate Senate Democrats to accept the House-passed spending stopgap and drop their demands to negotiate before reopening the government.

• Skye Witley reports that recipients of the nation’s largest low-income food aid program could lose access to their benefits as soon as Saturday after the Trump administration said it lacks the legal authority to keep the program funded during a government shutdown.

See Also:

• Ongoing Shutdown Sparks Flight Delay Warnings, Food Stamp Pause
• Federal Workers Feel Brunt of Shutdown (New York Times)

VP Gambit ‘Too Cute’

In other Constitution news, Trump told reporters the idea of him running as a vice presidential candidate in 2028 is “too cute” and he will not pursue it, even as some of his supporters urge him to find ways to circumvent the ban on a president being elected to three terms.

Some backers floated the idea of a different candidate running for the top job with Trump as their running mate, then resigning the presidency. “I think the people wouldn’t like that — it wouldn’t be right,” Trump said. Read More

Before You Go

Ballroom Money Blitz: Picking up part of the tab for Trump’s East Wing replacement have been some of the largest tech companies in the world as well as major crypto firms, Emily Birnbaum and Bill Allison report. Read More

‘Everyone’s a Critic': Out of prison for a week and thinking about how to make a living, ex-Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) ruled out running for office in the near term, saying that in politics “everyone’s a critic.” He said he has opportunities in punditry and “I’m not saying no to reality TV.” Read More

Argentina Dividend: Trump hailed Javier Milei after the Argentine president’s party staged a comeback in midterm elections, vindicating extraordinary financial backing the US arranged. “That election made a lot of money for the United States,” Trump said. Read More

Fed Finalists: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the names of five finalists to succeed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell: current board members Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman; former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh; White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett; and BlackRock executive Rick Rieder. Read More

Pharma Drama: Health insurer Cigna will eliminate prescription drug rebates in many of its plans in 2027, upending an opaque, controversial practice that’s drawn Trump’s ire. Phasing out rebates more broadly portends a seismic shift in the flow of billions of dollars among drugmakers, insurers, and employers. Read More

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