Kirk’s Killing Provokes Capitol Hill Anger
Flags are at half-staff until Sunday evening after the slaying of Charlie Kirk, a giant in conservative politics who ran the Turning Point USA advocacy group.
President Donald Trump praised his slain ally as “great and even legendary.” On Capitol Hill, Kirk’s friends expressed shock, grief, and anger, Maeve Sheehey and Mica Soellner report.
“I was supposed to go to medical school, and he convinced me that politics would be a better option and I’m going to continue the fight,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna told reporters. Earlier, the Florida Republican posted on social media, “EVERY DAMN ONE OF YOU WHO CALLED US FASCISTS DID THIS.”
Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) said Democrats had put out “politically violent statements,” and “they should be removed from every single one of their committees or more people are going to die.”
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) urged “everyone who has the platform to say this loudly and clearly: We can settle disagreements and disputes in a civil way.”
The search for Kirk’s killer continues this morning after a person of interest was taken into custody and later released, FBI Director Kash Patel said in a social media post. Surveillance video shows a person dressed in dark clothing believed to be the suspect, and the shot may have been fired from a rooftop, officials say. No other details have been released. Read More
Kirk was a political leader whose resonance among the burgeoning conservative youth movement proved essential to Trump’s return to the White House. As Kirk rose from a teenage political activist to a conservative influencer and standard bearer for MAGA youth, his surge in popularity intertwined with Trump’s political fortunes. Read More
In-Person Didn’t Make a Difference
A presidential endorsement just might prod some Republicans to vote in Virginia’s gubernatorial election. So far, though, that’s not something the GOP nominee can count on.
Mica Soellner reports that Lt. Gov Winsome Earle-Sears (R) has met with Trump in the Oval Office at least once, and her team has coordinated daily with the White House’s political operation for months. None of that has moved Trump to endorse her yet.
Though some polls show that her race against Abigail Spanberger is tightening, the Democrat has been consistently ahead in surveys. “The polls are not good, and the [Republican Governors’ Association] has not funded her either. My impression of the president is he doesn’t like to endorse candidates that are going to lose,” said Chris Saxman, a former GOP delegate who led Earle-Sears’s transition team after her 2021 victory with Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R). Read More
UK Ambassador Fired Over Epstein Letter
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer fired Peter Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to Washington following fresh revelations by Bloomberg about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
An investigation by Bloomberg revealed yesterday a trove of more than 100 previously unreported emails between Epstein and Mandelson that cast new light on the relationship between the two men. In one email, sent the day before Epstein reported to a Florida jail in June 2008 to begin serving time for soliciting sex from a minor, Mandelson wrote: “I think the world of you” and offered to discuss the financier’s case with his contacts. Read More
Also Read:
- Takeaways from Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s Emails
- How Bloomberg News Vetted the Epstein Emails
In Congress, more Epstein disclosures were narrowly blocked in the Senate yesterday. Senators voted 51-49 to table a motion from Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) that would have forced a procedural vote to direct the release of the the government’s files on its Epstein investigation with an amendment to major defense legislation (S. 2296). Read More
Shutdown Watch
Congressional Republicans say Democrats are spoiling for a shutdown. Democrats say Republicans are acting less than responsibly by refusing to work across the aisle. The calendar says 2.5 weeks until the next fiscal year.
Jack Fitzpatrick and Ken Tran report in today’s BGOV Budget that Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill don’t want a straightforward continuing resolution that would continue Trump’s policies.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Democrats are pushing to include an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the calendar year. Premiums on the ACA exchanges are set to spike by a median of 18% if the enhanced subsidies aren’t extended
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has said the stopgap must be clean and free from any policy add-ons.
And there could be a crack in Schumer’s strategy. ACA open enrollment starts Nov. 1 in most states and on Oct. 15 in Idaho, so there’s not a lot of time for insurers to prepare for either an expiration or an extension, Lauren Clason reports. The industry warns that kicking the can to November or December could be too late. Read More
See Also: House Republicans Advance Justice, Science Agency Budget Cuts
Grant Programs Canceled
Grant programs designed to help colleges with significant percentages of minority students will stop providing funds that the Education Department says aren’t required by law.
The department announced that it will disburse about $130 million in mandatory grant money but pull the plug on $350 million in discretionary funding including to the Strengthening Predominantly Black Institutions grant program. Also getting cut off: the Strengthening Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions grant program and the Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions grant program, among others.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a press release that the department will work with Congress to “reenvision” the programs. “Stereotyping an individual based on immutable characteristics diminishes the full picture of that person’s life and contributions, including their character, resiliency, and merit,” she said. — Olivia Gyapong
Eye on the Economy
Though inflation always matters, today’s fresh Consumer Price Index measurement matters extra because of the timing. It comes less than a week before the Fed makes its decision on whether — and how much — to lower interest rates.
In the latest Bloomberg economic indicators survey, economists say they expect another elevated monthly figure for the core measurement that excludes food and energy. The Fed keeps close tabs on price increases as it decides how to use interest rates to encourage or discourage borrowing. So far they seem to be on track to push rates lower when they make their decision Wednesday.
Comeback Bid
Former Rep. Melissa Bean has decided she wants her old job back. The Democrat announced another run in Illinois’s 8th District, in the western suburbs of Chicagoland. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D) is leaving that seat to run for the Senate.
Bean was elected to the House in 2004, unseating 35-year Republican incumbent Phil Crane, and lost in the 2010 Republican wave election. She has a background in business and served on the Financial Services and Small Business committees. —Greg Giroux
Before You Go
Just the Senate Now: The House wrapped up work on its $892.6 billion version of the National Defense Authorization Act (
Hyundai Deportations: After South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the readouts from the two sides differed sharply. The statement from Korean officials says Cho told Rubio the hundreds of arrested auto plant workers were not criminals, and they were in the US “to contribute to the Trump administration’s efforts to revitalize American manufacturing by sharing their skills and expertise.” The Washington Post reported Trump temporarily delayed the workers’ release to explore whether they could stay to educate and train US workers. The State Department’s own readout made no explicit mention of the workers or their situation, saying only that the US “welcomes” South Korean investment, a point the readout from Cho’s ministry also highlighted. The workers are to fly home today. Read More
About That Dominatrix: If you subscribe to BGOV or BTAX, you perhaps saw yesterday’s story explaining how the Trump administration’s guidance on implementing no-tax-on-tips extended to digital content creators, including those at sites like OnlyFans. By the end of the day, though, the administration issued a statement saying there’ll be further guidance to X out tips collected in connection with “illegal activity, prostitution or pornography.” Read More
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