As the federal government shutdown continues, a clip from the 2019 Democratic presidential primary went viral when the candidates were asked if they support providing healthcare to those in the country illegally.

«Is JD Vance a liar or just woefully ignorant when claiming that Democrats want to give health benefits to undocumented immigrants?» disgraced ex-Democratic Minnesota Sen. Al Franken posted to X on Wednesday, leading to the clip being posted in the comments by one user.

«Raise your hand if your government plan would provide coverage for undocumented immigrants,» NBC News anchor Savannah Guthrie asked while moderating the June 2019 debate followed by all ten Democrats on stage raising their hands.

JOHNSON SAYS DEMOCRATS LYING ABOUT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT HEALTHCARE PUSH

Franken’s post triggered a range of responses, including from conservatives.

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«You should stick to intimate photography,» GOP communicator Matt Whitlock posted on X, referring to the disgraced ex-senator’s scandal that included a photo of him smiling while posing and groping radio host Leeann Tweeden, who was sleeping in the photo.

DEMS IN THE HOT SEAT AFTER OBAMACARE’S SPIKING PREMIUM COSTS TORPEDO THEIR NARRATIVE

«Why don’t we let Democrats answer that?» Heritage Action said, posting the debate clip. 

Democratic presidential candidates debate each other on NBC News in June 2019 in Miami, Florida.  (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

The clip, which included multiple current members of Congress like Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., also garnered the attention of billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who posted «lol» in response to the debate video, which means «laugh out loud.»

Part of the ongoing government shutdown debate centers on subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, which would lead to a rise in premiums that opponents say prove that the program is unsustainable.

Illegal immigrants are unable to get insurance on the ACA marketplace, but Emergency Medicaid is covered as well as several states that use state taxpayer dollars for illegal immigrants to enroll in Medicaid.

SPEAKER JOHNSON, ABC’S STEPHANOPOULOS CLASH OVER GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS GETTING HEALTHCARE

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks as U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) looks on during a press conference on the first day of a partial government shutdown, at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., Oct. 1, 2025.  (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

However, California was once the subject of a federal audit where they were recommended to refund over $52.7 million in «improperly claimed» medical costs for those with «unsatisfactory immigration status.» 

«Democrats are now trying to run away from their RIDICULOUS $1.5 Trillion big government spending bill — now that Americans are learning what’s in it,» House Speaker Mike Johnson posted to X on Thursday. «Some Democrats now claim they don’t want illegal immigrants on Medicaid — but their previous votes, and the ACTUAL LANGUAGE of their current bill, say otherwise.»

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However, some Democrats have also criticized Republicans for bringing up state-based Medicaid programs that offer coverage to illegal immigrants.

«This isn’t funded by the Federal Government or ACA Tax credits.  [The Vice President] is lying again. However if he wants to tell the GOP to write a bill to exclude illegal immigrants from buying on the market and restore ACA tax credits to 24 million Americans, I would be game,» Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., said in response to a post from Vice President JD Vance, which included a screenshot showing New York’s public health insurance coverage for «undocumented immigrants over age 65.»

As of Thursday afternoon, it’s unclear when the shutdown will end.

En apenas seis minutos, la comunidad judía de Heaton Park, en el norte de Manchester, vivió una secuencia de violencia extrema durante la celebración de Yom Kippur, el día más sagrado del calendario hebreo.

Lo que comenzó como un servicio religioso matutino terminó en tragedia cuando un atacante embistió con su auto las puertas del templo y luego apuñaló a quienes encontró en su camino. Hacia las 9:31 de la mañana, el rabino Daniel Walker tenía su túnica blanca manchada de sangre y el caos se había apoderado de la zona.

En los instantes previos al atentado, testigos observaron cómo un vehículo negro circulaba erráticamente antes de chocar contra el portón de la sinagoga. Al principio, algunos pensaron que podría tratarse de un accidente o una emergencia médica, pero inmediatamente el conductor salió vestido de negro y comenzó a atacar a los presentes con un cuchillo. “Fue un frenesí”, relató un testigo. Un anciano quedó tendido sin moverse a la entrada y otra persona cayó junto al capó del automóvil.

El agresor intentó forzar la entrada, rompiendo ventanas y buscando acceder al salón principal, mientras fieles bloqueaban las puertas. Al mismo tiempo, dentro y fuera del templo, se vivían escenas de pánico y desesperación. “Vi sangre en la bata del rabino”, comentó Josh Aronson, periodista que se encontraba en las cercanías. Cuatro personas terminaron hospitalizadas en estado grave y otras dos murieron a raíz de las heridas.

Los minutos finales del ataque se precipitaron cuando policías armados respondieron con rapidez. El agresor, al ser interceptado, mostró objetos en su cintura que alarmaron a los oficiales y a quienes miraban desde el interior. “¡Tiene una bomba!”, gritó uno de los presentes. Temiendo más peligro, los agentes dispararon e inmovilizaron al atacante. Al comprobar que los objetos no eran explosivos, procedieron a asegurar la escena y declararon un incidente de terrorismo mayor a las 9:37. En paralelo, se activó el protocolo para ataques múltiples y arribaron equipos especiales y el escuadrón antibombas.

“Escuché un gran estruendo, luego disparos, y en minutos había policías armados y cordones de seguridad por todas partes”, relató Fran Barrie, una vecina que observó lo ocurrido desde una vivienda cercana. “Tuvimos que evacuar el edificio, nos pidieron que fuéramos hacia el fondo y luego salimos por una zona segura; pasamos cerca del robot antibombas, estoy todavía en shock”.

Las autoridades evacuaron la sinagoga y los edificios aledaños, mientras expertos en explosivos realizaron varias detonaciones controladas, incluida una en el vehículo usado por el agresor. La policía identificó al atacante como Jihad Al-Shamie, ciudadano británico de origen sirio, y detuvo a tres personas más bajo sospechas de terrorismo. Dos hombres y una mujer permanecen bajo investigación por supuesta colaboración o incitación de los hechos.

La comunidad judía de Crumpsall, escenario del ataque, ya había sufrido antecedentes recientes de amenazas y mensajes antisemitas. Según datos de la Community Security Trust, se han registrado alrededor de 200 incidentes similares en el área solo en la primera mitad del año. En las horas posteriores, la policía reforzó la vigilancia en sinagogas y hospitales y pidió calma ante el temor de nuevos episodios.

“Esto debe ser una llamada de atención sobre la necesidad de diálogo y la lucha contra el odio”, expresó el propio Aronson, aún conmovido. Mientras voluntarios asistían a quienes abandonaron el templo en medio del trauma, integrantes de la comunidad lamentaban que el ataque haya coincidido con la festividad sagrada del Yom Kippur.

Al cierre del día, la investigación policial seguía en marcha y los controles de seguridad se mantenían extendidos. Para los residentes y los fieles de Heaton Park, la mañana de terror dejó una huella imborrable que reabre el debate sobre la protección de las minorías religiosas y las consecuencias de la ola de intolerancia en la región.

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) chief Russell Vought and President Donald Trump are in the midst of mapping out cuts to the federal government after lawmakers on Capitol Hill failed to reach a funding bill agreement early Wednesday morning. 

Trump set the stage in the lead-up to the shutdown that the federal government is likely to see staffing and program cuts during the shutdown, adding in a message Thursday to Truth Social that many federal agencies are a «political SCAM.» 

«I have a meeting today with Russ Vought, he of PROJECT 2025 Fame, to determine which of the many Democrat Agencies, most of which are a political SCAM, he recommends to be cut, and whether or not those cuts will be temporary or permanent,» Trump posted. 

HERE’S WHAT TRUMP WANTS TO DO TO RESHAPE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DURING THE SHUTDOWN

«I can’t believe the Radical Left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity. They are not stupid people, so maybe this is their way of wanting to, quietly and quickly, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!»  

Fox News Digital spoke with Richard Stern, the Heritage Foundation’s director of the Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget, Thursday morning to discuss which agencies the OMB chief would likely target for staffing cuts and if such cuts would be permanent. 

How a shutdown enables cuts 

Stern explained to Fox Digital that there are a pair of overlapping issues that lead to the government’s staffing size. Agencies are required by various laws to provide certain services to citizens. And, separately, appropriation bills set funding floors on how much money an agency has available to spend on staff payroll. 

During a shutdown, however, there is a lapse in funding, meaning agencies do not have «payroll floors from the funding bill,» leaving the executive branch with discretion on how to continue providing required services to citizens, he explained.  

«Because the funding bills set effective floors per salary spending, that tends to dictate how many people work for the agencies. In the event of a shutdown, the only requirement on the administration is to ensure that the agencies provide the services and whatnot that are required by law. But those laws don’t say you need, you know, 100 staffers to write a grant or only one staffer,» Stern told Fox Digital in a phone interview. 

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

«They simply say, you know, ‘There’s a grant program that has to go out the door under XYZ parameters.’ So, in the event of a lapse in funding, it means that the administration … can lay out a plan saying, ‘Hey, look, you know, we think the Department of Education, for example, could do everything it is legally required to do, but do it with 10% of the workforce,’» he continued. 

If the administration determines that an agency can fulfill its legally required services to citizens with fewer people, it will subsequently send reduction in force notices, known as RIFs, to staffers.   (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

If the administration determines that an agency can fulfill its legally required services to citizens with fewer people, it will subsequently send reduction in force notices, known as RIFs, to staffers. 

«If the funding was there, and if the funding law required those staff levels, then you wouldn’t be able to RIF,» he said. «But in the lapse of funding, it gives the White House that opportunity.» 

Permanent changes to the government are in a gray zone, however, because RIFs would not be able to take effect until after 60 days. 

«Once the RIF notices go out, you … legally need to wait 60 days before the RIF notices can be enacted,» Stern continued. «Really the shutdown would have to last 60 days, beyond that, to actually act on the RIFs.» 

The Heritage Foundation expert, who also serves as the conservative think tank’s acting director of the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies, stressed that any staffing cuts are not an example of government «downsizing.» 

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

«It’s not downsizing the activities of agencies,» he said. «It’s not reducing what they make available, what services they provide. It’s simply reducing the workforce that’s providing the same level and the same amount of services.» 

Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in Washington, D.C. (Getty)

What agencies could be targeted for cuts? 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told a gaggle of reporters Thursday that «thousands» of federal employees could be laid off during the shutdown. 

«Look, it’s likely going to be in the thousands. It’s a very good question. And that’s something that the Office of Management and Budget and the entire team at the White House here, again, is unfortunately having to work on today,» Leavitt said.

Stern pointed to a handful of agencies that will likely be targeted for layoffs, citing agencies that have «mission creeped» their original purview into regulatory issues, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as other agencies, like the National Science Foundation, that handle grant writing for programs. 

«Probably the Department of Ed is, is kind of the poster child on this one,» he said. «They’ve been talking about, they quite literally only need 10% or so on the staff.» 

He also noted the EPA, Department of the Interior and the Department of Labor could face cuts due to the various agencies’ «mission creep into a lot of regulations that are quite harmful to the economy, that are quite harmful to just American families.»

WHITE HOUSE TELLS FEDERAL AGENCIES TO PREPARE LAYOFF PLANS AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN LOOMS

«EPA over … a decade or so, has mission creeped its jurisdiction into more and more regulatory affairs, that just simply the EPA doesn’t have under a statutory capacity,» he said. «They’re regulating outside of the confines, the charge they were given by law, by Congress. So, EPA is another one of those where that makes a lot of sense to cut a lot of the workforce there. Then, at HUD and Department of Labor you have similar things.» 

Stern said the administration likely is also eyeing agencies such as the National Science Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities and certain aspects of the Department of Housing and Urban Development that are charged with «running programs that write grants where there’s an enormous amount of legal discretion on who gets the grant money.»

President Donald Trump said the shutdown presented the opportunity for the administration to carry out layoffs as part of a continued mission to slim down the federal government.  (Alex Brandon/The Associated Press )

«These grants are not serving some critical, or frankly, constitutional role,» he said, adding the grants often land in the hands of universities and promote «left-wing» ideology on topics, such as transgenderism and climate change. 

What has Trump said on federal cuts?

Trump said during various public remarks Tuesday, as the deadline clock began to run dry, the shutdown presented 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. Trump, however, repeatedly has stressed he does not support the shutdown, pinning blame on Democrats. 

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

«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. 

Republicans have 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. Democrats have countered that claim as a «lie» and cast blame for the shutdown on Republicans. 

«A lot of good can come down from shutdowns,» Trump added Tuesday. «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.» 

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Trump’s second administration has spotlighted the size of the federal government as bloated since Inauguration Day, including the president launching the Department of Government Efficiency to weed out potential fraud, overspending and corruption and offering federal employees voluntary buyouts in January to leave their posts before rolling out other RIF initiatives across various agencies. 

Fox News Digital reached out to OMB’s office for comment on the anticipated cuts but did not immediately receive a reply. 

Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.