Politics

E&E News reporter Jean Chemnick joins LiveNOW's Austin Westfall to break down the Trump administration's decision to repeal an Obama-era key greenhouse gas finding. 

LiveNOW’s Austin Westfall is speaking with Christian Datoc, a White House reporter for the Washington Examiner, as funding for the Department of Homeland Security failed to advance in the Senate on Thursday. This largely paves the way for a partial government shutdown this upcoming weekend. Lawmakers must now reach a deal by the end of the day Friday in order to avoid another shutdown. This comes after earlier this month when the House passed a roughly $1.2 trillion spending package to end the partial government shutdown that ran from Jan. 31 to Feb. 3. 

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson is currently providing more details on the successful passage of the SAVE America Act. The bill aims to prevent noncitizens from voting in elections. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Whip Tom Emmer, Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain, Committee on House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil, and Rep. Chip Roy also joined Speaker Johnson in support of the legislation. The legislation will now have to pass the Senate, where current rules dictate that at least a few Democrats are needed to meet the 60-vote threshold to overcome a filibuster. 

We are getting the latest reports this Monday after GOP Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California took time to visit the Department of Justice to view unredacted documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case. This comes after the bipartisan duo spearheaded the push to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act last year. The pair spoke during a press conference after they reportedly just viewed the unredacted documents earlier in the day. 

We are now hearing from Minority Leader of the U.S House of Representatives Hakeem Jeffries as a number of lawmakers say they expect the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to shut down over a partisan funding feud. This comes as lawmakers remain deadlocked on key reforms. President Donald Trump has also been pushing for tougher voter ID laws. Jeffries has previously insisted that states like New York have voter identification requirements and claimed the SAVE Act was an attempt by the Republican Party to rig elections. 

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth visited the General Dynamic Bath Iron Works shipyard in Bath, Maine on Monday, as part of his "Arsenal of Freedom" tour. The goal of this tour is to highlight defense manufacturing. 

We are hearing more this week after President Donald Trump called for Republicans to "nationalize" voting. Trump made the comments during a signing ceremony in the Oval Office on Tuesday. White House officials have said Trump is primarily interested in defending election integrity. "I want to see elections be honest, and if a state can’t run an election, I think the people behind me should do something about it," Trump told reporters this week, referencing GOP lawmakers. LiveNOW’s Austin Westfall is speaking with David Becker, the Executive Director at the Center for Election Innovation & Research as questions swirl as the 2026 midterm elections take place in months time. 

LiveNOW’s Austin Westfall is speaking with Prof. Alon Burstein from the @Israel-Palestine-Report as leaders from the U.S. and Iran are set to meet on Friday with tensions remaining high between the two nations. FOX's Rebekah Castor reports that the White House wants to end Iran's nuclear program, but Iranian officials are making several last-minute demands. 

The first statewide California gubernatorial debate gave voters an early look at the candidates who are currently thought to be competing in a wide-open race. A total of seven candidates faced off on hot-button issues like crime, immigration, health care, and homelessness. We are also learning that former Vice President Kamala Harris just reactivated her 2024 campaign account and teased an announcement for tomorrow. LiveNOW’s Austin Westfall is learning more about which candidates have the best chance of succeeding Gavin Newsom months before California’s open primary with political analyst, Brian Sobel.