12:30 Report is The Hill’s midday newsletter. Subscribe here.
It’s Thursday. I’m in the mood to bake some Halloween-themed snacks. Do you have any suggestions?
In today’s issue:
• Trump speaks with Putin
• GOP throws Dems a curveball in shutdown fight
• Vance on GOP texts: ‘That’s what kids do’
• Pelosi tells right-wing reporter to ‘shut up’
• Tonight’s two big debates
☎️ IN THE WHITE HOUSE
Who has Trump’s ear today?:
President Trump is speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin today, a source confirmed to The Hill’s Brett Samuels, to discuss the war in Ukraine.
Timing: Trump is hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Friday to discuss what weapons the U.S. will give Ukraine. Specifically: Tomahawk missiles.
Keep in mind: Russia targeted Ukrainian energy facilities today ahead of Friday’s meeting.
For context: “Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with Putin in recent weeks following their meeting in Alaska in August. That meeting yielded no concrete progress toward ending the war, and a proposed meeting between Putin and Zelensky has yet to materialize. Trump criticized Putin’s ongoing war in Ukraine, saying Tuesday it was making Russia look bad.” (The Hill)
Vance brushes off Young Republicans’ group texts:
The racist, hateful and violent messages exposed from Young Republican leaders’ group chats are continuing to rattle the political world.
Vice President Vance on Wednesday further dismissed the leaked texts as “stupid” jokes made by “kids.” In extended remarks on “The Charlie Kirk Show,” the vice president doubled down on his viral tweet dismissing backlash to the leaked messages, while arguing that the messages shouldn’t “ruin” the individuals’ lives.
In Vance’s words: “But the reality is that kids do stupid things. Especially young boys, they tell edgy, offensive jokes. Like, that’s what kids do. And I really don’t want us to grow up in a country where a kid telling a stupid joke — telling a very offensive, stupid joke — is cause to ruin their lives.”
The context: Politico reported that the texts included references to Black people as “monkeys” and discussions about putting political rivals in gas chambers. One referred to rape as “epic.” There were references to Hitler, several variations of the N-word and praise for Republicans who they believed support slavery.
➤ PENTAGON REPORTERS WALKED OUT TOGETHER:
Nearly every news outlet’s Pentagon correspondent turned in their badges and walked out together on Wednesday after refusing to sign Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s new press restrictions. Just one news organization, the right-wing One America News Network, agreed to the new rules. 📹 Watch the journalists walk out
➤ TRUMP’S WASHINGTON MAKEOVER:
President Trump announced plans for an arch to be built near the Lincoln Memorial as a formal entrance to Washington. It would be along the Arlington Memorial Bridge. More on that from The Hill’s Brett Samuels.
⛔ GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
I double-dog dare you:
It’s Day 16 of the government shutdown, and Republicans have a new strategy: put Democrats in a bind on an unrelated bill.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is planning to force a vote today to fund the Pentagon for a full year.
Why this is tricky: This is a bipartisan bill that most Democrats would likely support. It passed the committee on a 26-3 vote earlier this year, and it would continue to fund the military’s paychecks through the extended shutdown. However, Democrats have been united in their opposition to Republicans’ funding extensions during the shutdown.
^ And to further complicate Democrats’ calculus: “The Senate is also set to consider a measure to allow lawmakers to conference with the House on a three-bill ‘minibus’ that was greenlighted earlier in the year. Thune and Senate Republicans are also eyeing attaching a number of other spending bills to the Pentagon legislation.”
Read Al Weaver’s reporting: ‘Senate GOP, Thune throw curveball into shutdown fight’
OK, let’s say it passes — then, what?: The House could pass it, though Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) suggested he wouldn’t bring House lawmakers back to Washington for it — unless Senate Democrats first agree to end the shutdown.
➤ HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE THE ADMINISTRATION LAYING OFF?:
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought said more than 10,000 people could ultimately be laid off by the Trump administration during the shutdown.
➤ TIDBIT:
Former Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) urged Trump to put leaders of both parties in a room and tell them not to leave until they reach a deal to end the shutdown.
“If he can sit down with Hamas and the Israelis but won’t sit down with Democrats and Republicans, we got a problem. … Bring us together, I think people are dying for that,” Manchin said at the upNEXT LeaderForce Forum.
➤ PELOSI TOLD A RIGHT-WING REPORTER TO ‘SHUT UP’:
A reporter for LindellTV (founded by Trump ally Mike Lindell) followed Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) out of the Capitol, asking questions about a debunked claim that Pelosi denied requests to send the National Guard in during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. Pelosi told her to “shut up.”
Pelosi’s spokesperson, Ian Krager, told The Hill: “Numerous independent fact-checkers have confirmed again and again that Speaker Pelosi did not plan her own assassination on January 6th. The ongoing attempts to whitewash the deadly insurrection are shameful, unpatriotic and pathetic.”
📰 OTHER NEWS
Happening tonight:
Two of the most important state-level debates are happening tonight.
The first: Democratic Virginia attorney general nominee Jay Jones will debate incumbent state Attorney General Jason Miyares (R). Jones’s campaign has been derailed by leaked text messages he sent in 2022 in which he discussed wishing violence against a Republican politician and his family. He has apologized for sending those texts but is still facing Republican backlash to bow out of the race. The debate is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
The second: New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani will face off against former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who’s running as an independent, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa. It will begin at 7 p.m. 💻 Livestream
➤ QUICK HITS:
— There will be another round of “No Kings” demonstrations across the country on Saturday to protest the Trump administration. What to know
— The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded in its new report that the Titan submersible did not meet manufacturing safety standards.
— Former Sen. John E. Sununu (R-N.H.) is expected to launch a Senate bid soon, according to NOTUS.
➤ MORE READS:
The New York Times: How FEMA Is Pushing Communities to Fend for Themselves
The Wall Street Journal: Trump Team Plans IRS Overhaul to Enable Pursuit of Left-Leaning Groups
The Atlantic: Why So Many People Are Seduced by ChatGPT
COMING UP
The House is out. The Senate is in. President Trump at the White House. (All times EST)
1:30 p.m. The Senate will vote on a Pentagon spending bill. 📆 Today’s agenda
3 p.m. Trump makes an announcement from the Oval Office. 💻 Livestream
INTERNET BUZZ
🥃 Celebrate: Today is National Liqueur Day.
🪰 Can these lanternflies just … not?: Spotted lanternflies have been infesting parts of the East Coast. Well, they could reach California by 2033 and could hurt wine production.
👟 Sued over a squeaky sneaker: There are complaints that On’s CloudTec sneaker design is too squeaky. There’s now a class action lawsuit over it.
AND FINALLY…
Because you made it this far, enjoy watching what it takes to keep this border collie entertained.
