One week into DHS shutdown, dogs in costume parade through the Senate Forward momentum in the Senate came from a parade of dogs in Mardi Gras costumes as senators remain stuck on DHS funding.

On day 12 of the DHS shutdown, dogs in costume paraded through the Senate.

My piece today involves dogs, Mardi Gras, Sen. Thom Tillis, and 2 government shutdowns. It asks, can Congress have fun, and are silly things important?

Doggi Gras in the Senate: www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

One day of the ICE operation in Minneapolis — and the activists fighting it The saturation of federal immigration enforcement has reoriented public life in the Twin Cities, especially for non-White residents.

Three undocumented children missing from school because their family is terrified.

A parent dropping off his toddler at daycare & arriving to protesters.

A 22-year-old asylum-seeker asking for rides to work.

A day in Minneapolis under the ICE surge:

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Two congressmen watched an ICE shooting video. Only one is sure of what he saw. Two Congressmen had different perceptions of the same footage showing a deadly Minneapolis shooting.

The shooting of Renée Good in her car was documented from different angles.

I recorded two congressmen @ericswalwell.bsky.social (D-CA) and Rep. Mike Flood (R-NE) watching the exact same footage.

What they each saw reflects divides on what the video shows.

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Thousands of mail-in ballots could be discounted under new post office policy The Postal Service is no longer guaranteeing when it will postmark mail, which could jeopardize some ballots that arrive after Election Day.

Election news: USPS is no longer guaranteeing when it will postmark mail, which could jeopardize some ballots that arrive after Election Day.

Find out if your state will be affected ⬇️

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

As rumors swirl after political killings, this GOP lawmaker draws a line Minnesota state senator Julia Coleman knew both Charlie Kirk and Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman. She is fed up with the conspiracy theories around their deaths.

The assassinations of Charlie Kirk and Melissa Hortman shook the country.

Minnesota state senator Julia Coleman (R)
knew both personally.

Kirk was her first boss, Hortman her colleague.

She is fed up with the conspiracy theories around their deaths.

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Duty? Insanity? These former members of Congress want to come back. By The Washington Post’s latest tally, at least 18 former members — 11 Democrats and seven Republicans — are asking voters to send them back to D.C. next year.

Remember Madison Cawthorn? And Cori Bush?

These two are among the growing group of former lawmakers who want to return to Congress.

I asked them: why?!

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I asked Rep. Jasmine Crockett @jasmineforus.bsky.social about Speaker Mike Johnson saying he's "absolutely delighted" she's running for Senate, and comparing her to NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.

She hadn't seen the clip. Here's her response.

Inside the effort to force Trump’s hand on Epstein Reps. Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna’s months-long campaign to outmaneuver the White House on the Epstein files started with a text.

Inside the effort to force Trump's hand on Epstein:

Reps. Thomas Massie and @rokhanna.bsky.social months-long campaign to outmaneuver the White House on the Epstein files started with a text.

I sat down with both of them the evening before the vote.

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Spotted heading to Massie, Khanna, MTG news conference this morning ahead of Epstein House vote

Rep. Adelita Grijalva sworn in, setting up vote on release of Epstein files The ceremony ended a seven-week standoff with House Speaker Mike Johnson that left Grijalva unable to fully represent Arizona’s 7th Congressional District in Washington.

Mike Johnson has sworn in Adelita Grijalva, ending the 50 day standoff that left her unable to represent 800K Arizonans in DC amid the shutdown.

Standing ovations from Dems, empty GOP seats - what it was like in the chamber & what it means for Epstein files:

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Yet the 39-year-old congresswoman could face some of the most severe consequences of any elected official facing prosecution during Trump’s second term.

And if her case moves forward, it could set a precedent for Trump’s broader legal strategy - and how lawmakers are policed.

Unlike James Comey or Letitia James, also facing Trump prosecutions, McIver is neither a household name nor seen as a prominent Trump foe.

When speaking to reporters, President Trump did not refer to her by name: “That woman, I have no idea who she is — that woman was out of control.”

The first-term Democrat facing a Trump prosecution “I don’t want to be in jail.” Rep. LaMonica McIver is fighting Trump in court — and risks 17 years behind bars.

First-term congresswoman @replamonica.bsky.social is facing a Trump DOJ prosecution & risks 17 years in prison. I talked with her as a judge weighs whether her case should proceed.

“I’m a mom, I’m a wife, I have a family, and I don’t want to be in jail."

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

The shutdown is entering its second week. Federal workers are about to begin missing paychecks.

But lawmakers are not on the same page.

Bill Nye slammed Trump’s science agenda and Health Secretary RFK Jr.

I asked Bill Nye why you should care about proposed cuts to NASA.

I asked him what these NASA cuts would tangibly mean for our day to day lives

Nye is CEO of The Planetary Society, which held an advocacy day on the Hill on Monday to urge lawmakers to reject Trump’s proposed 47% cuts to NASA’s science budget.

I talked to Bill Nye — yes, former “science guy” — about President Trump’s proposed cuts to NASA funding and what they would mean.

Lawmakers will introduce bill to kill tariffs on coffee The bipartisan legislation would give coffee a carve-out from President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

We fought a revolution over a tax on tea. It's time for us to have an economic uprising over the tax on coffee!

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Hear from @rokhanna.bsky.social and @repdonbacon.bsky.social about why they want to exempt coffee and the bill’s path forward!

Lawmakers will introduce bill to kill tariffs on coffee The bipartisan legislation would give coffee a carve-out from President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

NEW: @repdonbacon.bsky.social and @rokhanna.bsky.social plan to introduce a bill to exclude coffee from President Donald Trump’s tariffs as soon as today.

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

At a Capitol Hill church, mourners gather at a vigil for Charlie Kirk More than 150 people gathered to remember the conservative political figure, who was fatally shot during a campus event.

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Rep. Dan Crenshaw and young conservatives gathered Sept. 10 at a Washington, D.C. church to remember Charlie Kirk. Full article linked in my bio.

At a Capitol Hill church, mourners gather at a vigil for Charlie Kirk More than 150 people gathered to remember the conservative political figure, who was fatally shot during a campus event.

Capitol Hill staffers, young conservatives and at least one lawmaker gathered to remember Charlie Kirk at a vigil Wednesday night, less than a mile from the Capitol.

My dispatch from St. Joseph’s.

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Live updates: RFK Jr. grilled on vaccine policy after firing of CDC director Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is testifying before a congressional committee about upheaval at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and U.S. vaccine policy.

Watch the hearing & see WaPo live updates here www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

Several people in line shouted “We love you Bobby!” as @seckennedy.govpeeps.us entered the hearing room to testify before senators.

After Minnesota shootings, young lawmakers ask: Is politics worth it? In an era where safety precautions and online abuse are often part of the job, young American lawmakers wonder if politics is just too dangerous as a career.

Is politics worth it?

Young people in office tell me they worry that for their generation, the answer, increasingly… is no.

Their accounts of terrifying threats and online abuse evoke questions about how political life can be made safer & more sustainable.

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Senators are divided on the effectiveness and legality of President Trump’s latest travel ban for 19 countries ⬇️