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Merkley nearly breaks Booker’s filibuster record, wins his praise for fighting ‘Trump’s authoritarian tactics’
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Democrats pulled out all the stops on Wednesday to delay the vote on a short-term spending bill to reopen the government — the 12th time the Senate has considered the measure since the government entered a shutdown on Oct. 1.
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., embarked on a nearly 24-hour speech at 6:23 p.m. on Tuesday, concluding his remarks at 5:00 p.m. the next day. Merkley, 68, warned viewers of the authoritarianism he said had become a facet of the Trump administration.
«Be aware and worried about the possibility of the use of an emergency in order to expand authoritarian power. That’s the position we’re in now in the United States of America. Authoritarianism with a rubber-stamp Congress, a court that’s delivering more and more power to the executive and an executive who has a well-planned strategy,» Merkley said in his remarks.
JOHNSON WARNS US ‘BARRELING TOWARD ONE OF THE LONGEST SHUTDOWNS’ IN HISTORY
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., speaks to reporters following a weekly Senate Democratic policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Feb. 19, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
«Republicans have shut down the government to continue the strategy of slashing Americans’ healthcare,» he said.
His speech comes as lawmakers remain gridlocked over federal funding for 2026. Whereas Republicans in the House of Representatives have passed a short-term funding bill to keep the government open through Nov. 21, Democrats in the Senate have voted a dozen times to defeat the package.
The Senate once again failed to advance the package on Wednesday. It failed in a 54-46 vote.
Democrats, led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., have demanded an extension of COVID-era supplemental funding for Obamacare healthcare subsidies that are set to sunset in 2025.
SCREAMING MATCH ERUPTS BETWEEN HAKEEM JEFFRIES, MIKE LAWLER AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CHAOS CONTINUES
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., right, update reporters following their face-to-face meeting with President Donald Trump and Republican leaders on the government funding crisis, at the Capitol in Washington, Sept. 29, 2025. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)
Republicans need the support of seven Democrats to overcome the 60-vote threshold to overcome a filibuster. The GOP holds 53 seats in the chamber.
Merkley, who came close to breaking Sen. Cory Booker’s 25-hour and 4-minute record that was set earlier this year, put the shutdown blame on Republicans throughout his discourse.
Booker praised Merkley’s stalling efforts online.
«Listening to Senator Jeff Merkley for over 22 hours, it is clear that we need to stand up for our democracy. We must continue to call out and counter Trump’s authoritarian tactics. Thank you, Jeff!» Booker said in a post on X.
BOOKER CONCLUDES RECORD 25-HOUR SPEECH AGAINST TRUMP, MUSK, MARKING THE LONGEST EVER ON THE SENATE FLOOR
On the issue of authoritarianism, which comprised the bulk of Merkley’s remarks, Merkley decried what he saw as the Trump administration’s attempts to push the limits on executive power — like its deployment of the National Guard to urban areas.
«If you remove a clear standard as to whether there is a rebellion and just say a president can deploy the military on a whim in places he doesn’t like against peaceful protesters to distract Americans or to exercise a suppression of dissent, then you have flung the doors open to tyranny. To a strongman state,» Merkley said.
National Guard members began patrolling Memphis in October as part of a federal task force established by President Donald Trump to combat what the administration says is violent crime in the city. (Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
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President Donald Trump has deployed the National Guard to Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Chicago, Memphis, and Portland, Oregon, citing a need to protect law enforcement and government operations in those cities.
politics,congress,senate
INTERNACIONAL
Obama-era greenhouse gas rules gone as EPA’s Zeldin signs ‘single largest deregulatory action’ in history
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FIRST ON FOX: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin on Thursday will eliminate the «2009 Obama EPA Endangerment Finding,» which set in motion most federal greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles, saving Americans billions.
The 2009 development was an EPA finding that carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and three other greenhouse gases «endanger the public health and welfare of current and future generations» under the Clean Air Act — leading to a slew of new restrictions and regulations.
An ensuing Supreme Court ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA found greenhouse gases qualify as air pollutants and that if the EPA determines they endanger public health or welfare it can regulate them.
«As I traveled across all 50 states this past year, I heard from countless Americans who not only dislike the (motor-vehicle) start-stop feature but passionately advocated for this mechanism to be a thing of the past,» Zeldin said of the major recission made Thursday.
TRUMP TAKES AXE TO FEDERAL RED TAPE, CUTS 600+ RULES IN ONE YEAR, TOUTS BILLIONS IN SAVINGS
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, House Speaker Mike Johnson and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin watch as President Donald Trump sign an executive order directing the military to purchase electricity from coal-fired power plants during a «Champion of Coal» event at the White House in Washington, Feb. 11, 2026. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
«Not only do many people find start-stop annoying, but it kills the battery of your car without any significant benefit to the environment. The Trump EPA is proudly fixing this stupid feature at Trump Speed.»
Zeldin said automakers shouldn’t be forced to adopt or be rewarded for using technologies that represent a «climate participation trophy» with no meaningful reduction in actual pollution.
The former New York lawmaker said consumer choice is a priority for his agency, and that his office will continue to advocate for «commonsense rules.»
ZELDIN OVERHAULS BIDEN-ERA WATER RULE TO END ‘WEAPONIZATION’ THAT LED ‘PUDDLES’ TO TRIGGER PRICY PERMITS
US Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy added in a statement that resetting of mileage standards and removal of auto-starts and other greenhouse-gas-regulation-precipitated regulations are part of President Donald Trump’s vision to lower costs and revitalize manufacturing.
Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin visit an auto plant. (Dustin Franz/Getty Images)
All federal greenhouse gas emission standards for vehicles and engines subsequent to the 2009 declaration will be rescinded, a source familiar with the situation said.
When it comes to the start-stop off-cycle technology, a credit for it was created by the EPA in 2012 and quickly infuriated motorists who hear their engine click off then on again at a stoplight or in the teller line at the bank.
TEXAS CHALLENGES NEWSOM’S GAS CAR CRACKDOWN, WARNING CALIFORNIA CAN’T DICTATE US AUTO MARKET
The start-stop became a regulatory loophole allowing automakers to claim greenhouse gas credits without actually delivering empirical emission-reduction or human health benefits.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the move to rescind the 2009 finding will «be the largest deregulatory action in American history, and it will save the American people $1.3 trillion in crushing regulations,» according to multiple reports.
However, the climate change field appears eager to litigate the new rule, as the nonprofit green-focused law firm Earthjustice signaled as much to PBS.
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«The Trump administration is abandoning its core responsibility to keep us safe from extreme weather and accelerating climate change,» Earthjustic president Abigail Dillen told the outlet.
«There is no way to reconcile EPA’s decision with the law, the science and the reality of disasters that are hitting us harder every year. Earthjustice and our partners will see the Trump administration in court.»
Some states, however, were not supportive of the news including Colorado, where Gov. Jared Polis said he «stands by (the) science» of the former EPA guidance.
«Protecting people’s health and making our air cleaner should never be a partisan issue,» Polis said in a statement.
«The science is clear that pollution from cars and trucks harms our air quality and puts families — especially kids, seniors, and those with health conditions — at greater risk. Rolling back long-standing protections creates uncertainty for consumers and businesses at a time when we should be investing in cleaner air, innovation, and energy diversity.»
«These investments aren’t just the right thing for our climate, it’s good business,» the Democrat concluded. «Clear, science-based standards give companies the certainty they need to invest and create jobs. Colorado will continue to stand behind science and protect the health and well-being of Coloradans.»
climate change environment,white house,environment regulation,carbon emissions,environment
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South Korea’s espionage agency, the National Intelligence Service, informed lawmakers Thursday that it thinks North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s teenage daughter is near to being set apart as the regime’s future leader, The Associated Press reported.
Kim is the third generation of men in his family to rule North Korea.
In a closed-door briefing, NIS officials said they are closely monitoring whether Kim’s daughter — believed to be named Kim Ju Ae and around 13 years old — appears with him before thousands of delegates at the upcoming Workers’ Party Congress, said lawmaker Lee Seong Kweun, who attended the meeting.
NORTH KOREA EXECUTED TEENS FOR LISTENING TO K-POP, WATCHING ‘SQUID GAME’: REPORT
This picture taken on Jan. 27, 2026, and released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Jan. 28, 2026, shows Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae inspecting a test firing of a rocket launcher system, at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (KCNA via KNS/AFP via Getty Images)
«In the past, (NIS) described Kim Ju Ae as being in the midst of ‘successor training.’ What was notable today is that they used the term ‘successor-designate stage,’ a shift that’s quite significant,» Lee noted, according to the outlet.
In 2023, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service indicated to lawmakers that the North Korean leader and his wife probably had an older son as well as a younger, third child of unknown gender, according to The Associated Press.
PENTAGON PLANS TO GIVE SOUTH KOREA PRIMARY ROLE IN DETERRING NORTH KOREA THREATS UNDER NEW STRATEGY
This picture taken on Jan. 27, 2026, and released by KCNA on Jan. 28, 2026, shows Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae inspecting the test firing of a rocket launcher system. (KCNA via KNS/AFP via Getty Images)
North Korea is one of the world’s few nuclear-armed nations, making it a unique threat on the global stage.
A 2025 U.S. Intelligence Community Annual Threat Assessment stated, «Kim remains committed to increasing the number of North Korea’s nuclear warheads and improving its missile capabilities to threaten the Homeland and U.S. forces, citizens, and allies, and to weaken U.S. power in the AsiaPacific region, as evidenced by the pace of the North’s missile flight tests and the regime’s public touting of its uranium enrichment capabilities.»
THE WORLD’S TOP NUCLEAR POWERS HAVE NO ARSENAL LIMITS, HERE ARE THE COUNTRIES WITH NUKES
This picture taken on Dec. 20, 2025, and released by KCNA via KNS on Dec. 23, 2025, shows Kim Jong Un and Kim Ju Ae inspecting the Milyong Hotel, in the Samjiyon tourist district of Ryanggang Province. (KCNA via KNS/AFP via Getty Images)
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«Russia is increasingly supporting North Korea’s nuclear status in exchange for Pyongyang’s support to Moscow’s war against Ukraine,» the assessment noted.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
north korea,world,south korea,nuclear proliferation,asia
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