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Rumors have swirled about “Squad” Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s political future since she joined Sen. Bernie Sanders’ high-profile “Fighting Oligarchy” tour earlier this year. 

The youngest woman ever elected to Congress has become a leading progressive voice in the Democratic Party, amassing millions of social media followers and sparking speculation about a potential U.S. Senate run or White House bid in 2028. Her rise to the national stage comes as Democrats look for fresh leadership after losing up and down the ballot last year. 

Ocasio-Cortez’s chief of staff and campaign manager are both alumni of the Sanders campaign. Mike Casca, her chief of staff, was formerly Sanders’ deputy chief of staff and a fixture of Sanders’ political operation, both on the presidential campaign trail and back on Capitol Hill. 

Her campaign manager, Oliver Hidalgo-Wohlleben, has worked in politics for over a decade. Prior to joining Ocasio-Cortez’s team in 2023, Hidalgo-Wohlleben was the political director of Sanders’ super PAC, Friends of Bernie Sanders, according to his LinkedIn. 

AOC STARS IN NEWSOM REDISTRICTING AD, URGING CALIFORNIANS TO ‘FIGHT’ TRUMP FOR DEMOCRACY

Hidalgo-Wohlleben also worked on Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign before joining former President Joe Biden’s campaign in Iowa, Hidalgo-Wohlleben’s LinkedIn profile revealed. 

AOC ALLEGEDLY EYEING 2028 RUN AS DNC VICE CHAIR RALLIES PARTY NEEDS MAMDANI TO OCASIO-CORTEZ AS LEADERS

“AOC is a pretty savvy politician with a strong operation,” Democratic strategist Mike Nellis told Fox News Digital. “No matter what she decides to do, they’re setting her up for the future.”

A Sanders alumnus himself, Nellis cautioned against placing too much weight on what it means for former Sanders staffers to lead Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign. 

“I think that’s just who she knows and who she trusts,” Nellis, a former adviser to Vice President Kamala Harris, said, adding that Ocasio-Cortez has a “really good team around her.”

“It’s strategic in the sense that they have a lot of relationships already,” Democratic strategist Kaivan Shroff said, while emphasizing that it can be a “mistake to keep the old guard” when you are trying to build something new. 

“I don’t know that somebody is going to inherit the legacy of Bernie Sanders,” Shroff added. 

Axios recently reported that, according to people familiar with Ocasio-Cortez’s political operation, her team is positioning her to run for president or the U.S. Senate in 2028. 

Schumer is up for re-election in 2028. By then, he will have served 47 years in Congress. 

“AOC doesn’t need the Senate,” Republican strategist Matt Gorman told Fox News Digital. “The Senate, at this point, is too small for her. I would expect her to run for president 2028.”

Whether she chooses to run for president or the Senate, Nellis said Ocasio-Cortez has the potential to attract voters who don’t typically engage in the political process, much like the coalition President Donald Trump has built. 

“When you are an unconventional candidate outside the mainstream, outside the establishment, you can get a lot of people who will tune in and engage that maybe otherwise wouldn’t because you’re giving voice to them in a meaningful way,” Nellis said. 

But Shroff said that Ocasio-Cortez isn’t ready for a presidential campaign. 

“She absolutely should not run for president,” Shroff said. “It would be way too soon. I don’t think she’s really achieved enough to justify that.”

“For the Senate, I see that as more realistic, especially in a state like New York, that’s obviously more liberal,” Shroff added, arguing that “some very loyal base Democrats have lost their patience” with Schumer, so his vulnerability could boost Ocasio-Cortez’s chances of securing the Senate seat. 

Shroff said Ocasio-Cortez’s “media profile and personality and charisma” aren’t enough to win the presidency, especially when running against figures like California Gov. Gavin Newsom, long considered to harbor presidential aspirations. 

The New Yorker sparked more campaign buzz this month for participating in an advertisement directly challenging Trump and advocating in favor of California redistricting. 

Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders have both endorsed and campaigned this year for New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, a self-described Democratic socialist. 

If Mamdani wins the mayoral election in November, Shroff said it could be a litmus test for the modern progressive branch of the Democratic Party. 

“It will be challenging for him because I don’t think he can do a lot of the things that he said, and so how soon will that leftist ideology be debunked on a national level? The sooner that happens, the worse it is for AOC,” Shroff said. 

In April, Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign account posted a video on X that drove rumors she could be mulling a presidential run as the four-term Democrat from New York City and the progressive leader proclaimed, “We are one.”

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When asked later that month if she was harboring any presidential ambitions, the young Democrat did not rule out 2028 presidential aspirations to Fox News Digital. 

“Bernie and AOC, one thing they understand is that Democrats need to be more than just anti-Trump,” Gorman said, before adding, “I certainly disagree with Bernie and AOC’s strategy of how to lead the party and where to take America, but at least they have one. That’s more than just, ‘I hate Trump.’”

The Republican strategist said the Democratic Party’s “establishment is not going to be able to stop a united, far-left wing of the party this time,” Gorman said. 

Ocasio-Cortez’s and Schumer’s campaigns did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

EXCLUSIVE: The White House responded to various reports that President Donald Trump’s administration is breaking federal law by including commentary that blames Senate Democrats for the government shutdown in out-of-office emails and letters furloughing federal employees.

A number of reports suggested that including partisan messaging in official emails and communication channels could be a violation of the Anti-Lobbying Act, which prevents federal funding from being used in lobbying efforts. 

“The Trump Administration is committed to sharing the truth with the American people, and it’s simply a fact that the Democrats shut down the government,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital. “Democrats opposed the clean CR that they supported just 6 months ago and 13 times under the Biden Administration because they want free health care for illegal aliens.”

WHITE HOUSE PREPARES FOR ‘IMMINENT’ FEDERAL LAYOFFS AFTER DEMOCRATS FORCE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

“And now, the Democrats are upset the Administration is sharing the truth — they are desperately trying to lie to the American people because they know their shutdown is hurting families and workers around the country,” Jackson added. “Unfortunately for the Democrats, facts are facts.”

Atop the Department of Justice website, a red banner reads: “Democrats have shut down the government. Department of Justice websites are not currently regularly updated.” 

Fox News Digital obtained a DOJ memo which was sent to all employees of the agency outlining the plan for furloughing federal employees in the event of a shutdown, stating DOJ “has contingency plans in place for executing an orderly shutdown of activities that would be affected by any lapse in appropriations forced by Congressional Democrats.”

JOHNSON SAYS SCHUMER HANDED TRUMP ‘KEYS TO THE KINGDOM’ WITH GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN DECISION

“Unfortunately, Democrats are blocking this Continuing Resolution in the U.S. Senate due to unrelated policy demands,” the memo continues. “A funding lapse will result in certain Department activities ceasing due to a lack of appropriated funding, and designated pre-notified employees will be furloughed subject to certain laws and regulations.”

On visiting the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) website, a pop-up appears on the center page reading that reads: “The Radical Left in Congress shut down the government. HUD will use available resources to help Americans in need.”

Reports also suggested that the administration may be in violation of the Hatch Act, a federal law that prevents tax dollars from being spent in a partisan or politically biased manner, as a result of the messaging.  

SHUTDOWN EXPLAINED: WHO WORKS, WHO DOESN’T AND HOW MUCH IT COSTS

Legal expert Andrew Cherkasy, co-founder of Golden Law, Inc. and former Air Force JAG, told Fox News Digital that “the Hatch Act does not apply to the President or Vice President. It does apply to most other federal employees.”

“The law is intended to prohibit government officials from using their official authority to interfere with, or affect elections,” Cherkasky explained. “The President of the United States and his agents under his authority have an unquestionable constitutional right to speak directly to the American people about what is happening in their government and who is responsible for it.” 

The Hatch Act, which was signed into law in 1939, is enforced by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC), and is also designed to keep federal employees from influencing or interfering with elections while working in any official capacity. 

BLAME GAME: GOP SPOTLIGHTS ‘SCHUMER SHUTDOWN’ WHILE DEMS LASH OUT AT REPUBLICANS AHEAD OF 2026 MIDTERMS

“For years, unelected bureaucrats and left-leaning agencies openly leaked, editorialized, and interfered in policy debates without consequence,” Cherkasky told Fox. “The Hatch Act does not prohibit the President from holding democrats accountable for shutting down the government.”

The Biden Administration also partook in messaging that pushed certain legislation. Biden’s Office of Management and Budget issued a statement regarding the Right to IVF Act last June, stating: “When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade nearly two years ago, it paved the way for Republican elected officials’ extreme, out-of-touch agenda, which has eroded access to reproductive health care for families across the country.”

The Obama Administration issued similar messaging in 2013 specifically blaming Republicans for a government shutdown threat, saying “House Republicans are pushing the Government toward shutdown.”

The federal government entered a partial shutdown at midnight Wednesday morning after a bill that would fund the government through Nov. 21 failed in the Senate. 

Senate Democrats pushed for Obamacare subsidies that were set to expire to be included in the legislation, and reportedly felt sidelined in negotiations surrounding government funding.

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Despite a Republican majority in both the House and the Senate, the spending bill requires 60 votes to pass in the Senate, meaning some Democrat senators will need to break ranks with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to prevent the bill from failing.

Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News Digital covering breaking news. Story tips can be sent to Preston.Mizell@fox.com and on X @MizellPreston

After a repeat offender was discovered on a college campus with a rifle, Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Colo., slammed Democratic leaders in Colorado for “devastating law enforcement morale” by what he described as siding with illegals and criminals above police and federal officials.

Ephraim Debisa, a 21-year-old reported refugee from Tanzania, was arrested again last week for unlawful possession of a weapon on school grounds and trespassing after being previously arrested for suspicion of attempting to commit second-degree murder, first-degree assault and engaging in a riot, according to the Weld County Sheriff’s Office.

The statement said that Debisa was also facing charges of felony menacing and first-degree burglary from earlier in the year.

Just a few weeks earlier, the sheriff’s office released a warning to the public that it was having to release Debisa, who the office called a “potential danger to the community,” because he did not meet the competency requirements to stand trial under a new Colorado law passed under Democratic leadership in 2024.

VENEZUELAN SUSPECT ‘SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN IN THE UNITED STATES,’ POLICE CHIEF SAYS AFTER DEADLY SHOOTING

In the statement, Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams criticized Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis and the Democrat-controlled state legislature, saying they “created a crisis” and “have continued to weaken the criminal justice system by handcuffing law enforcement, prosecutors and judges for the sake of criminals.”

“I pray this individual doesn’t hurt another innocent victim but the public deserves to know of his past violent actions so they can protect themselves accordingly,” said Reams. 

“God help this State,” he added.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Evans, whose district includes portions of Weld County, said that as a former police officer, he knows that cases like these take an “emotional and mental health toll on the cops.”

“This is just devastating to public safety in Colorado, and it’s devastating to law enforcement morale, because you go, and you arrest a repeat violent offender who then gets released, and then you got to go catch him again two weeks later when he’s armed with a gun, and you know that you’re going to put your life on the line to go get an unstable individual armed with the firearm again,” Evans said, adding, “And he’s probably just going to get released — this is devastating to law enforcement morale as well.”

ICE ARRESTS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT AFTER FAILED SANCTUARY ATTEMPT AT COLORADO PROBATION OFFICE

He explained that “one of the largest indicators of PTSD in law enforcement is: do they feel like they’re being backed by their agencies and by the government?”

“When the government of Colorado, the governor, is signing laws that re-releases violent individuals back into the community, cops don’t feel like anyone’s got their back,” he said.

“For the last five years plus, we have seen the left double down on their anti-law enforcement rhetoric, going back to the riots of 2020,” he went on. “They are at an ideological point where they struggle to be able to actually back law enforcement and condemn political violence when it’s against conservative figures.”

In response, Polis told Fox News Digital, “I’ll work with anyone to reduce crime and don’t just pay it lip service.” 

“We are getting real results: double-digit reductions in crime in auto theft, property crime, and violent crime. We are doing this by getting tough on crime, increasing criminal penalties for crimes like auto theft, and investing in our police,” he said. 

Polis also said that the Trump administration “is withholding a major amount of Colorado’s federal public safety funding, including funds for emergency management and response, which I hope draws outrage from Rep. Evans.” 

COLORADO DEPUTIES VIOLATED NEW STATE LAW WHEN SHARING INFORMATION WITH FEDERAL IMMIGRATION AGENTS

“Evans and Republicans are blocking public safety funding — and now he wants to distract people from issues he owns in Congress: kicking people off healthcare, increasing the federal deficit, the administration’s withholding of public safety money, and now, the … shutdown of the federal government,” he said.

In a letter that Polis’ office sent to Evans and other Colorado Republicans, Reps. Lauren Boebert and Jeff Crank, the governor noted that the new law passed with bipartisan, veto-proof majorities, but acknowledged it has had “unintended consequences.”

He wrote that he is “actively working with and supporting district attorneys, law enforcement, the Colorado Department of Human Services, and legislators” to find a solution, and that he is “always willing to look at making changes where necessary, such as fixing or repealing” the law.

“The reality is, Colorado has seen reductions in crime, including in auto theft, property crime, and violent crime,” Polis wrote, while adding, “But we need to do more.”

DEMS’ SANCTUARY POLICIES SHIELD ‘GANGBANGERS,’ HARM LATINO FAMILIES, BUSINESSES, SAYS HISPANIC GOP LAWMAKER

Yet, according to Evans, law enforcement in Colorado is feeling the effects of Democrats “soft on crime” policies and the community is reeling from the impacts.

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“Myself and some of the other members from Colorado weighed in on this, calling on the governor to fix a lot of these laws that he has personally signed over the last few years that have made Colorado the second most dangerous state in the country,” he explained. 

“Denver is a top ten most dangerous major city in the country, and it goes back to all of these laws,” said Evans. “There is, unfortunately, a lot of anti-law enforcement sentiment just nationally against law enforcement. In Colorado, the Democrats have doubled down on that.”

Three senators — Democrats Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, along with Independent Angus King of Maine — broke ranks Tuesday night to side with Republicans on a GOP spending bill that would have kept the government open. And now, they’re facing heat for it.

While Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and nine other Democratic senators voted to advance a similar GOP spending bill in March, they are not helping their Republican colleagues get their latest appropriations bill past the finish line this time around, citing several concerns, including that the package will increase healthcare costs for Americans because it fails to extend Obamacare subsidies.

“This administration doesn’t care about Nevadans, but I do. That’s why I cannot support a costly shutdown that would hurt Nevada families and hand even more power to this reckless administration,” Cortez Masto said after voting in favor of the Republican appropriations bill Tuesday night. “We need a bipartisan solution to address this impending health care crisis, but we should not be swapping the pain of one group of Americans for another.”

BLAME GAME: GOP SPOTLIGHTS ‘SCHUMER SHUTDOWN’ WHILE DEMS LASH OUT AT REPUBLICANS AHEAD OF 2026 MIDTERMS

“I voted AYE to extend ACA tax credits because I support them—but I won’t vote for the chaos of shuttering our government,” Fetterman said after his Tuesday night vote supporting the GOP appropriations package. “My vote was for our country over my party. Together, we must find a better way forward.”

King called his decision to support the bill “one of the most difficult votes” he has taken during his tenure, but, like Cortez Masto, expressed fear that a government shutdown could embolden Trump, who has already hinted at using the shutdown as leverage for more government cuts.

“The irony of this vote is many feel that this was an opportunity to stand up to Donald Trump,” King said in a video he posted to social media after voting to support the GOP’s appropriations package. “The irony, the paradox is, by shutting the government we are actually giving Donald Trump more power, and that was why I voted ‘yes.’ I did not want to hand Donald Trump and Russell Vought, and Stephen Miller additional power to decimate the federal government.”     

The senators’ decision to support the Republican appropriations bill has garnered public criticism from at least one of their Democrat colleagues in Congress. Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., said he was “very upset” to see his Democratic Party colleagues in the Senate “already caving” to Republicans. 

Meanwhile, Goldman said Democrats in the House are “very united” in opposing the Trump-backed GOP appropriations package. 

SHUTDOWN EXPLAINED: WHO WORKS, WHO DOESN’T AND HOW MUCH IT COSTS  

Fox News Digital reached out to Schumer for comment about the Democratic Party defections, but did not receive a response in time for publication.  

Republicans, meanwhile, have said that the defections represent Schumer’s dwindling political power within the Democratic Party. Ultimately, the GOP will need eight total Democrats to cross the aisle in order for their continuing resolution to pass.

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Cortez Masto added that she has been working the phones since her Tuesday night vote, urging both Republicans and Democrats “to come together.”

Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report

MADISON, N.J. – EXCLUSIVE – The nation’s capital isn’t the only battlefield in the blame game between Democrats and Republicans over the first federal government shutdown in seven years.

The verbal crossfire is also playing out on the campaign trail in New Jersey, which is home to one of only two elections for governor across the nation this year.

Republican gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli, in an exclusive national interview with Fox News Digital, pointed fingers at his Democratic rival, Rep. Mikie Sherrill.

After Sherrill, a four-term congresswoman, charged in a statement that “Washington Republicans have once again shown they’re willing to turn their backs on the American people in order to blindly follow Donald Trump’s demands,” Ciattarelli criticized his opponent in the combustible, competitive, and high-profile ballot box showdown.

FIVE RACES TO WATCH WITH FIVE WEEKS TO GO UNTIL ELECTION DAY 2025

“There’s nothing my opponent won’t blame on President Trump. As I like to say, if you get a flat [tire] today, it’s President Trump’s fault,” Ciattarelli argued, in a sitdown interview after taking part in a candidate forum hosted by Fairleigh Dickinson University.

With neither Trump and the Republican majority in Congress, nor congressional Democrats willing to lower the temperature, the government shutdown at midnight Tuesday.

BLAME GAME OVER SHUTDOWN INTENSIFIES 

Democrats insisted that any agreement to prevent a government shutdown, or now to end the shutdown, must extend tax credits for the popular Affordable Care Act (ACA) beyond the end of this year. Those credits, which millions of Americans rely on to reduce the costs of health care plans under the ACA, which was once known as Obamacare, are set to expire unless Congress acts.

But most Republicans oppose the extension of the credits and argue that the Democrats’ demands would lead to a huge increase in taxpayer-funded healthcare for immigrants who entered the country illegally.

Sherrill, along with every other House Democrat except Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, voted against a GOP stopgap measure that would have temporarily averted the shutdown.

Ciattarelli, pointing to his rival’s vote in Congress, said, “I do know that there’s a bipartisan group of congresspeople that are trying to keep the government open. My opponent has decided not to be part of that bipartisan group, and she voted no. And so here we are.”

Sherrill, who has repeatedly linked Ciattarrelli to Trump, placed the shutdown blame squarely on Trump’s shoulders, writing in a social media post, “This is precisely the extreme MAGA agenda that @Jack4NJ wants to bring to NJ.”

TRUMP LOOMS LARGE OVER THIS CRUCIAL RACE FOR GOVERNOR

And taking aim at congressional Republicans in a statement from her House office, Sherrill argued that “instead of working with Democrats to lower costs, protect health care, and support working people, Washington Republicans bent the knee to Donald Trump, shutting down the government in the process.”

With just over one month to go until Election Day in New Jersey — and early voting taking place Oct. 25-Nov. 2 — a new Fox News poll indicated Sherrill holding an upper single-digit lead over Ciattarelli.

But Ciattarelli, a former state lawmaker and a certified public accountant who started a medical publishing company before getting into politics, touted that “the energy is off the charts, and the fact that I’m being endorsed by Democratic mayors around the state says a whole lot about people wanting change here in the state of New Jersey.”

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The two candidates will face off next week in their second and final debate before voters head to the polls in the election to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.

Asked about his debate game plan, Ciattarelli said he would “be very, very specific with policy proposals that fix our problems here in New Jersey, and point out every single time she doesn’t answer the questions.”

Gubernatorial candidates in New Jersey run on a party ticket, and Democrats on Wednesday were spotlighting a comment by the GOP lieutenant governor nominee Jim Gannon, the Morris County Sheriff, in a debate earlier this week that “taxes are on the table.”

Asked about his running mate’s comment, Ciattarelli emphasized that “there will be no tax increases under Governor Ciattarelli. And I would put forth a very specific plan on how to decrease the income tax and the property tax here in New Jersey.”

The race was rocked last week after a New Jersey Globe report revealed that Sherrill’s military records indicated that the United States Naval Academy blocked her from taking part in her 1994 graduation amid the cheating scandal.

Sherrill claims that Ciattarelli is going on a “witch hunt” over her improperly released military records, which raised questions about her possible involvement in a cheating scandal that rocked the U.S. Naval Academy three decades ago.

“He has been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, if you will. He’s now trying to divert from that,” Sherrill told reporters on Tuesday following a campaign event in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey.

Ciattarelli and his campaign are calling on Sherrill, who went on to pilot helicopters during her military career after graduating from the Naval Academy, to release her military records to explain why she was prevented from attending her graduation ceremony.

But a separate report from CBS News revealed that the National Personnel Records Center, which is a branch of the National Archives and Records Administration, mistakenly released Sherrill’s improperly redacted military personnel files, which included private information like her Social Security number, to a Ciattarelli ally. 

“To have a guy I’m running against, it will stop at nothing, it will stop at nothing, who will illegally obtain records. It’s just beyond the pale,” Sherrill, who served as a federal prosecutor before winning election to Congress, charged last week.

The National Archives, in a letter last week, apologized to Sherrill, saying the improper release was due to a government worker’s error over a legal records request.

Following the breach of the records, Sherrill’s campaign sent cease-and-desist letters to the National Archives and to Ciattarelli’s campaign, as well as to Ciattarelli’s top strategist, Chris Russell and Nicholas De Gregorio, who is described by Sherrill’s team as “an agent of the campaign working at the direction of” Russell.

The Sherrill campaign on Monday launched a digital ad taking aim at Ciattarelli.

“They broke the law to attack a veteran,” the narrator in the spot charged.

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Asked about the ad, Ciattarelli charged in his Fox News Digital interview that Sherrill “did something at the Naval Academy that caused them to punish her. She wasn’t allowed to participate in the graduation. Her name is not listed in the commencement exercise program. She was, in fact, punished. She needs to come clean on what she did to be punished by the Naval Academy.”

And asked about the release of her military files and criticism from Democrats of possible dirty tricks, Ciattarelli said “somebody filed a Freedom of Information Act request, and it was fulfilled by the National Archives. And so it’s all a smokescreen. The information that came out of there is what the National Archives provided, but this is a smokescreen and spin on what really took place at the Naval Academy, and that’s her punishment.”

President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced the National Guard is now in place in Portland, Oregon, reiterating the administration’s commitment to restoring law and order in the city amid protests against immigration enforcement.

In a Truth Social post, Trump said that as he determined on Saturday, when he activated the Oregon National Guard, “conditions continue to deteriorate into lawless mayhem.”

“Our GREAT Federal Law Enforcement Officers have not been able to enforce the Laws in Oregon,” the president wrote. “ANTIFA and the Radical Left Anarchists have been viciously attacking our Federal Law Enforcement Officers, men and women who are simply doing their job, protecting Federal Property, and enforcing Federal Immigration Laws and the Rule of Law. 

“We will never allow MOBS to take over our streets, burn our Cities, or destroy America. The National Guard is now in place, and has been dedicated to restoring LAW AND ORDER, and ending the Chaos, Death, and Destruction! We are a Nation of LAW, and we will PREVAIL.”

PORTLAND SET TO SEE TRUMP CRIME CRACKDOWN RECKONING AFTER 2020’S HUMILIATING VIOLENCE SPREE

A memo Monday by the Oregon Military Department confirmed 200 service members will be mobilized under Title 10 federal authority for operations in the Portland area, following a request for support from the Department of War, according to a FOX 12 Oregon report.

The state National Guard called the mission straightforward: “protect federal facilities and the federal employees working in them.”

“I need everyone to understand the command relationship with this particular mission,” Brig. Gen. Alan R. Gronewold wrote in the memo. “I know some of you may have strong feelings about this mission. That’s okay. You are citizens first, but you’re also service members who took an oath to support and defend the Constitution and follow the orders of the President and the Governor. 

“That oath doesn’t come with an asterisk that says, ‘only when I agree with the mission.’ We don’t get to pick and choose.”

TRUMP VOWS ‘FULL FORCE’ AS HE PLANS TO SEND TROOPS TO PORTLAND AMID ANTI-ICE PROTESTS

Gronewold added he knows “some people in Oregon won’t understand or won’t support this mission.”

“Some might even be hostile about it. But we’ve been through tough situations before,” he wrote. “We are professionals who do our duties, regardless of how it’s received. … We don’t serve because it’s easy or popular. We serve because it’s our duty and because we took an oath.”

For those mobilizing, leaders said to take care of their families and “be smart” on social media. 

“Don’t post about unit movements, mobilization details, or operational information,” Gronewold wrote. “Please don’t get into political arguments online while wearing the uniform or identifying yourself as a member of the Oregon Guard. Understand you represent something bigger than yourself, and the public is watching.”

PORTLAND MAYOR WARNS CITY TO FIX HOMELESS PROBLEM BEFORE TRUMP ‘DEPLOYS BULLDOZERS’

The memo came days after Portland Mayor Keith Wilson fired back at the administration, claiming the president would “not find” lawlessness in the city, and alleging video footage showing violence in Portland was “recycled” from five years ago.

“If President Trump came to Portland today, what he would find is people riding their bikes, playing sports, enjoying the sunshine, buying groceries or produce from a farmers’ market,” Wilson said. “We’ve had hard conversations, and we’ve done important work in the years since that footage was taken, we reformed our public safety system.”

Since June, protests have erupted near an ICE facility in Portland, leading to the building being vandalized with anti-ICE graffiti and violent clashes between protesters and federal agents.

Video footage obtained by Fox News Digital showed protesters in August rolling out a guillotine, lighting fires and forcing law enforcement to disperse the crowd with munitions.

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Portland, a sanctuary city since 2017, has resisted federal immigration enforcement and ignored warnings from Attorney General Pam Bondi that the city’s sanctuary policies undermine U.S. interests.

The City of Portland did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The Democrats are taking a big gamble by going along with a government shutdown, one that they will probably lose.

The most important reason is that President Trump has a giant megaphone. Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer simply can’t compete in drawing media attention.

What’s more, while some Americans may blame both sides – can’t they act like adults and work out these budget fights? – the Republicans are blaming the “Democrat Party” for triggering the shutdown.

At yesterday’s White House briefing, itself a key advantage, JD Vance and Karoline Leavitt kept repeating, like a mantra, that the Democrats support “healthcare for illegal aliens.” That is bunk. They aren’t eligible. It’s already against the law, except in emergency situations. But Trump is pounding that message home through sheer repetition.

VANCE BLAMES SCHUMER’S FEAR OF AOC PRIMARY CHALLENGE AS SHUTDOWN CAUSE

A Washington Post editorial yesterday says “Democrats just marched into a shutdown trap … Progressives embraced the same disastrous mentality that led the House Freedom Caucus to believe it could come out ahead in previous government funding standoffs: They wrongly assumed their political leverage would withstand the ensuing fallout.”

A few minutes after the briefing, Hakeem Jeffries stepped before the microphones to declare that Republicans don’t want to provide healthcare “to working-class Americans.”

The minority leader said the administration is trying to “jam their extreme right-wing agenda down the throats of the American people … The Republican healthcare crisis is immoral.”

Frankly, it just didn’t sound as forceful or have the same impact.

Whatever the immediate toll of the shutdown – military people and hundreds of thousands of civilians not getting paid, food stamps on hold – Vance and Leavitt blamed it on Democratic intransigence. (Those laid off will get back pay once the shutdown ends.)

The vice president said Schumer is moving left because he’s terrified of a primary challenge by AOC. She says her only goal is to “stop this madness.”

The president has been more candid, telling reporters: “We can do things during the shutdown that are irreversible, that are bad for them and irreversible by them. Like cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like.” Now that’s transparency.

The Dems don’t hold the moral high ground when it comes to kick-the-can votes to delay a shutdown, having frequently used the tactic when they were in charge. While Vance says they’d be happy to talk about healthcare during a seven-week delay, the other party feels they would lose whatever leverage they have, and it would be politically humiliating.

The Democrats are making a more complicated argument about healthcare, and that’s a tougher sell for the many millions who don’t follow the news closely.

KFF, which is Kaiser, says those on Obamacare would get socked if tax credits are allowed to expire at year’s end. Average premiums next year would be $888, but without the tax credits, would jump to $1,593 – a 114 percent increase.

That would really cripple the Affordable Care Act and knock millions off the rolls.

SOCIAL SECURITY, AIRPORTS, FOOD STAMPS: HOW ARE YOU AFFECTED DURING A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN?

The Dems’ other objection is to deep cuts in Medicaid, despite Trump’s promise to protect the program. But that’s why we have elections. Having lost the House, Senate and White House, the party can’t expect the GOP to make sweeping changes to its preferred budget.

It just so happens – a coincidence, I’m sure – that the administration yesterday halted $18 billion in funding for two major transportation projects in New York City, expansion of the Second Avenue subway and new train tunnels under the Hudson River.

A shot at Schumer’s hometown? Vance says this is a question of “triage,” saving money on such projects to preserve essential services.

But it’s really a case of Trump going after Democratic priorities, as he said he would, since he preserved funding for one of his pet projects, the mission of returning to the moon, which seems less than vital at the moment.

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What really got Jeffries mad after Monday’s unsuccessful White House meeting was a fake AI image posted by the president. It depicted him as having a handlebar mustache and wearing a huge sombrero, with mariachi music in the background.

Jeffries called the parody “racist” and demanded that the president “say it to my face.”

The bottom line, given the atmosphere of mutual distrust, is that this government closure could drag on for awhile. That would gradually boost the pain level, and the Democrats are already at a disadvantage.

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At this point the opposition party is trying to show the public that it can fight, and that, beyond the healthcare battle, may be its main message.

Bipartisan talks on reopening the government began to materialize less than a day into the shutdown, with Republicans and Democrats trying to find a middle ground on expiring Obamacare tax credits.

The federal government entered its first full day of a shutdown on Wednesday, and so far neither side of the aisle is willing to buckle as the hours ticked by.

Still, in the middle of Senate Republicans’ third attempt to pass the House GOP’s short-term funding extension, a group of nearly a dozen senators huddled on the floor in the first public display of negotiations so far.

“There are glimmers of hope, and I think they’re bipartisan,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who was in the huddle.

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The conversations on the floor came as Republicans demanded that Democrats yield and provide the votes to reopen the government, while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., doubled down on his position that Democrats wouldn’t budge without “serious” movement on Obamacare premium subsidies.

“Donald Trump and Republicans have barreled us into a shutdown because they refuse to protect Americans’ healthcare,” Schumer said. “It’s clear that the way out of this shutdown is to sit down and negotiate with Democrats to address the looming healthcare crisis that faces tens of millions of American families.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., appears willing to slowly chip away at Senate Democrats through a de facto war of attrition and plans to bring House Republicans’ bill to the floor for a vote again and again.

The Senate will be out on Thursday to observe Yom Kippur but is expected to return Friday and possibly vote into the weekend on the continuing resolution (CR) that would reopen the government until Nov. 21 to give lawmakers more time to finish work on the dozen spending bills needed to fund the government.

Thune told Fox News Digital that he expected to talk to Schumer “in the next day or two.”

GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CONTINUES AS SENATE DEMS BLOCK GOP FUNDING BILL FOR 3RD TIME

“He’s indicated that he’s interested in doing that,” Thune said. “I’m not sure what we’ll achieve by that, but I think there are, I mean, things seem to be moving on their side. We just keep telling them to ‘give us — open up the government, and we’ll get on with regular business.’”

Thune and Senate Republicans have argued that Senate Democrats’ rejection of the GOP’s CR is hypocritical, given that when former President Joe Biden was in office, Schumer and his caucus routinely voted for “clean” extensions — like the GOP’s current proposal.

But the issue for Democrats was multifaceted. 

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., was among the many lawmakers holding a confab on the Senate floor, and while he didn’t divulge full details of the private talks, he said a major issue for him was about ensuring that a “deal is a deal.”

GOVERNMENT SHUTS DOWN AFTER CONGRESS DEADLOCKS ON SPENDING DEAL

“Anything we agree to, because it’s not a clean CR if the president will tear it up tomorrow,” he said. “In the past, we voted for clean CRs, but the president has shown that he’ll take the money back.”

Among the options tossed around in the huddle were a 10-day funding extension once floated by Schumer, which he quickly shot down earlier this week, or passing the Republican plan to actually give lawmakers time to negotiate a solution to the expiring tax credits.

Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said there were no high-level discussions quite yet, but that any path forward had to be “enforceable.”

“The bottom line here is that I sense real concern among my Republican colleagues about what happens to the people they represent if we go off the cliff on the Affordable Care Act,” he said, referring to Obamacare.

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And Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., who helped facilitate the conversation, said it’d be “great” if lawmakers were able to get something figured out before the Nov. 21 deadline in the GOP’s bill, but that he and other Republicans were still pushing Democrats to support their legislation.

“It’s not like there’s anything that they should be objecting to with regard to what’s in the existing bill,” he said. “This is their hostage, and we’re just telling them, ‘Look, we’ve got support on the other side to fix the issues that you have a concern about, but it’s going to take time to negotiate those through.’” 

The federal government partially shut down early Wednesday after Democrats and Republicans failed to reach an agreement on a funding package. 

In the lead-up to the midnight deadline to pass a budget package, President Donald Trump warned the administration could make “irreversible” changes to the federal workforce, most notably through a new wave of fresh layoffs. The president has underscored that he and his allies did not want the government to shut down, but that it opened the door for some “good” that could come from it. 

Senate lawmakers failed to reach a spending agreement in time for the end of fiscal year 2025 Tuesday, after a short-term extension of fiscal year 2025 funding, aimed at keeping the government open through Nov. 21, passed the House mainly along party lines earlier in September. 

GOVERNMENT SHUTS DOWN AFTER CONGRESS DEADLOCKS ON SPENDING DEAL

Democrats expressed frustration at being shut out of spending negotiations and over the GOP bill’s exclusion of enhanced Obamacare subsidies that were first enacted in 2021 under President Joe Biden. Those subsidies, a COVID-19-era measure, are set to lapse at the end of 2025 unless Congress takes action, Fox News Digital has reported.

Republicans have since pinned the shutdown blame on Democrats, arguing they refused to fund the budget as an attempt to reinstate taxpayer-funded medical benefits for illegal immigrants through Democrat lawmakers’ continuing resolution, which would include extending the expiring Obamacare tax credits. 

Democrat leadership have balked at the claims, throwing their own jabs at Trump and Republican lawmakers as the culprits behind the shutdown and squashing claims they want to provide healthcare to illegal immigrants. 

TRUMP’S WHITE HOUSE DEMANDS AGENCIES MAP OUT MASS LAYOFFS AHEAD OF POTENTIAL SHUTDOWN

“They say that undocumented people are going to get these credits,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday. “That is absolutely false. That is one of the big lies that they tell.”

Trump warns layoffs on the horizon

Trump said during various public remarks Tuesday, as the countdown to the midnight deadline dwindled, that though he did not want a shutdown, it presents him with the opportunity for the administration to carry out layoffs as part of a continued mission to slim down the federal government and snuff out overspending and fraud. 

“We don’t want it to shut down because we have the greatest period of time ever,” Trump said from the Oval Office Tuesday. “I tell you, we have $17 trillion being invested. So the last person that wants it shut down is us.”

“Now, with that being said, we can do things during the shutdown that are irreversible, that are bad for them and irreversible by them, like cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like,” he continued. 

A shutdown does not hand a president new powers, but instead concentrates discretion to the White House and Office of Management and Budget over what the executive branch continues operating or ending. 

SPEAKER JOHNSON FLIPS SCRIPT ON DEM LEADERS WITH STAUNCH WARNING AGAINST GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

Under the Antideficiency Act, a federal law that guides the government through shutdowns, federal agencies are not permitted to spend funds, the Government Accountability Office outlines, except for a limited set of missions, such as performing constitutional duties. The executive branch is charged with interpreting those exceptions.

Office of Management and Budget Director “Russell Vought become very popular recently because he can trim the budget to a level that you couldn’t do any other way,” Trump continued Tuesday. “So they’re taking a risk by having a shutdown because, because of the shutdown, we can do things medically and other ways, including benefits. We can cut large numbers of people.” 

Later that day, Trump again said that he did not want a shutdown to unfold, but that “a lot of good” could come from it in order to weed out government overspending, noting “we’d be laying off a lot of people that are going to be very affected.”

“A lot of good can come down from shutdowns,” he said. “We can get rid of a lot of things that we didn’t want, and they’d be Democrat things. But they want open borders. They want men playing in women’s sports. They want transgender for everybody. They never stop. They don’t learn. We won an election in a landslide.” 

SHUTDOWN EXPLAINED: WHO WORKS, WHO DOESN’T AND HOW MUCH IT COSTS

Vought declared an imminent government shutdown Tuesday evening ahead of the deadline, pinning blame on “Democrats’ insane policy demands, which include $1 trillion in new spending.”

“It is unclear how long Democrats will maintain their untenable posture, making the duration of the shutdown difficult to predict,” he wrote in a memo Tuesday. “Regardless, employees should report to work for their next regularly scheduled tour of duty to undertake orderly shutdown activities.” 

Vice President JD Vance joined the White House press briefing Wednesday and predicted that it wasn’t “going to be that long of a shutdown,” but that people will need to be laid off. 

“We’re going to have to make things work,” he said. “And that means that we’re going to have to triage some certain things, that means certain people are going to have to get laid off. And we’re going to try to make sure that the American people suffer as little as possible from the shutdown.” 

Vance added that the administration was “not targeting federal agencies based on politics” for layoffs. 

“We’re in a shutdown, that causes some problems,” he said. “The troops aren’t getting paid. There’s nothing that we can do about that while the government is shut down. But there are essential services that we want to make sure as, as much as possible, they still continue to function. That is the principle that’s driving us forward during the shutdown.” 

DOGE and vows to slim government 

Anticipated layoffs and program cuts amid the shutdown follow Trump’s ongoing mission to gut the federal government of fraud, corruption and overspending, which first hit the nation’s radar in the early days of the administration when Trump launched the Department of Government Efficiency, as well as previous mass layoffs initiatives. 

Back in January, the administration offered federal employees voluntary buyouts to leave their posts before rolling out reduction in force initiatives across various agencies to slim down the government. 

“We have hundreds of thousands of federal workers who have not been showing up to work,” Trump said during his joint address to Congress in March. “My administration will reclaim power from this unaccountable bureaucracy, and we will restore true democracy to America again.” 

SHUTDOWN FIGHT CASTS A SHADOW OVER JOBS AS TRUMP PREPARES FOR LARGEST FEDERAL RESIGNATION IN US HISTORY

“And any federal bureaucrat who resists this change will be removed from office immediately, because we are draining the swamp,” he added. “It’s very simple. And the days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over.” 

Simultaneous to reduction in force efforts and buyouts, tech billionaire Elon Musk was charged with leading DOGE as investigators scrutinized federal agencies in an effort to curb government overspending and stamp out fraud. DOGE’s work became a lightning rod for criticism among Democratic lawmakers and government employees, who filed a number of lawsuits attempting to end the investigations and audits. 

Trump repeatedly has celebrated DOGE’s work during his first few months in office, including frequently listing off the various “flagrant scams” that the government was funding before DOGE‘s investigations. 

“Twenty-five million dollars to promote biodiversity conservation and socially responsible behavior in Colombia. This is Colombia, South America, not Columbia University. Of course, that might be worse,” Trump said in February during CPAC, rattling off different examples. “Forty million to improve the social and economic inclusion of sedentary migrants.” 

“Forty-two million for social and behavior change in Uganda,” Trump continued. “Ten million for Mozambique medical male circumcisions. Why are we going to Mozambique to do circumcisions?” 

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Fox News Digital reached out to the White House Wednesday morning for additional comment on the shutdown and Trump’s plans but did not immediately receive a reply. 

Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind, Alex Miller and Deirdre Heavey contributed to this report. 

EXCLUSIVE: Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is accusing Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., of refusing to vote to end the government shutdown to kowtow to his left-wing base.

Johnson told Fox News Digital in a sit-down interview that Democrats’ refusal to budge on their current position came up in an hour-long call with President Donald Trump Wednesday afternoon.

“[Trump is] very bothered by that, that Chuck Schumer would do this, Democrats would do this, because we haven’t,” the top House Republican said.

He noted that Democrats had voted on a similar measure to what Republicans are offering on 13 different occasions under former President Joe Biden.

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“And even when the Republicans were in the minority, we did the right thing to keep the government open. And we fully expected that Schumer would do that again, as he always has, but not this time,” Johnson said.

“This is a selfish political calculation he’s made, that he’s got to prove to the far left that he’s going to fight Trump or something. So, we talked about our frustration with that.”

He said Trump appeared “happy” that Republicans remain unified in their federal funding stance but was concerned about the effects of a prolonged shutdown on everyday Americans.

REPUBLICANS ERUPT OVER SHUTDOWN CHAOS, ACCUSE DEMS OF HOLDING GOVERNMENT ‘HOSTAGE’

“But the reason we’re happy about that is because we know we’re doing the right thing for the American people,” Johnson said. “And Chuck Schumer and the Democrats are demonstrating that they are willing to inflict this pain upon the people for their own political purposes. And I think that is a tough thing for them to get over.”

He said of a meeting between congressional leaders and Trump that occurred Monday: “I tried my best in the White House, and he just is in no mood to have a real discussion about these issues. So, we are where we are.”

Senate Democrats have now rejected a GOP-led plan to fund federal agencies through Nov. 21 three times.

The measure is called a continuing resolution (CR) and is aimed at buying House and Senate negotiators more time to reach a deal on fiscal year 2026 federal funding priorities.

The CR would keep current federal funding levels roughly flat while adding an extra $88 million in security spending for lawmakers, the White House and the judicial branch.

Democrats, furious at being largely sidelined in funding discussions, have signaled they would not accept any bill that does not also extend Obamacare tax subsidies that were enhanced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those enhanced subsidies are due to expire at the end of this year.

But Johnson, who called the Obamacare subsidies an “end-of-year issue,” argued that the bill was a simple extension of federal funding, leaving Republicans with no realistic path for concessions.

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“If it was not clean and simple, if I had loaded it up with a bunch of Republican partisan priorities, then there would be something for us to negotiate. I could take those things off and offer it again. I sent it over with nothing attached at all,” he said.

“It quite literally is just buying us time to finish the appropriations process, which was being done in a bipartisan manner. So, I don’t have anything to give, there’s nothing I can give. And Chuck Schumer has made such outrageous counter-demands and proposals that he’s the one that has to come to his senses.”

He was referring to Democrats’ counter-proposal for a CR, which would have repealed the Medicaid reforms made in Republicans’ One Big, Beautiful Bill, while restoring funding for NPR and PBS that was cut by the Trump administration earlier this year.

Fox News Digital reached out to Schumer’s office for a response but did not hear back by press time.