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By ROSS IBBETSON, US ASSISTANT EDITOR
Updated:
Donald Trump taunted Democrats with more memes about the government shutdown overnight, including an AI video which warned: 'Here comes the reaper'.
Democratic lawmakers were also portrayed as babies wearing sombreros as the left-wing party continues to demand healthcare funding for illegals.
The video depicted budget chief Russell Vought as the grim reaper and included a backing track of Blue Öyster Cult's 1976 hit Don't Fear the Reaper.
Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), is responsible for some three million federal jobs and has warned that there will be thousands of layoffs.
The shutdown began at midnight on Wednesday after the Republicans and Democrats failed to resolve a budget dispute, meaning many government services are temporarily suspended and workers are furloughed.
Senate Republicans, who are locked in negotiations with their Democratic counterparts to secure a stopgap funding bill, have warned that they cannot control Vought's actions.
Trump has been touting Vought's Project 2025 credentials and given his full support to his planned cuts to 'Democrat Agencies.'
As well as threatening layoffs, Vought has slashed federal funding for blue cities and states, including an $18billion freeze on New York City and $2.1billion Chicago. The frozen funds target infrastructure projects in the cities.
The Trump administration is also canceling $7.6billion in grants that supported hundreds of clean energy projects in 16 states, all of which voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in last year's presidential election.
Trump warns Dems of federal jobs bloodbath: 'Here comes the reaper'
Donald Trump continued taunting the Democrats overnight as he posted a meme depicting Russell Vought as the grim reaper.
CNN pundit says 'dementia-addled' Trump is not willing to negotiate deal
A popular progressive pundit has claimed that Donald Trump is suffering from dementia and is not interested in negotiating a deal to end the government shutdown.
Jack Cocchiarella, 23, made the remarks on CNN's Laura Coates Live on Thursday.
'The only thing that Donald Trump seems willing to give is his "Trump 2028" hat out to Chuck Schumer and of course Hakeem Jeffries, who it doesn't really seem if he knows who that is at this point,' Cocchiarella said.
'Trump to me is kind of this dementia-addled, really nursing home patient in the White House right now.
'He's leaning on [Russell] Vought, he's leaning on Stephen Miller because he doesn't want to get the job done.'
Senate to vote on ending shutdown at 1.30pm
The Senate is expected to vote again on ending the government shutdown as it stretched into its third day on Friday.
The House-passed Republican bill would fund the government until November 21 but the Democrats are demanding an extension to healthcare tax credits.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said it's 'unlikely' the upper chamber would work through weekend to end the shutdown if today's vote at 1.30pm fails.
Traders are currently betting that the shutdown will last for 15 days. Prices on the regulated exchange and prediction market site Kalshi implied the chances of a shutdown lasting more than 10 days are 70 percent.
Odds that the shutdown will extend more than 15 days imply a 48 percent chance.
Jeffries says 'Trump shutdown' is because Republicans refuse to provide healthcare 'to Americans'
Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on MSNBC on Friday morning to blame Donald Trump for the government shutdown.
Democrats are demanding healthcare funding that Republicans say will put 1.4million illegal immigrants back on Medicaid after they were removed by Trump's Big Beautiful Bill.
Trump's hatchet man freezes $2.1bn in funds for blue city Chicago
Donald Trump 's budget hawk has frozen $2.1billion in federal funds to the Democratic city of Chicago as Republicans seek to leverage the government shutdown.
Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Russell Vought — the architect of Project 2025 — has taken center stage since the shutdown began at midnight on Wednesday.
Vought is responsible for some three million federal jobs and has warned that thousands of workers are set to lose their livelihoods.
In addition, he has targeted Democratic strongholds across the country by freezing federal funds for infrastructure projects — including the New York districts of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
His latest target is Chicago, taking aim at the far-left mayor Brandon Johnson, as well as Illinois Democratic senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth.
Vought posted on X: '$2.1 billion in Chicago infrastructure projects — specifically the Red Line Extension and the Red and Purple Modernization Project — have been put on hold to ensure funding is not flowing via race-based contracting.'
Trump has also given his full support to the OMB director, stating that the 'Democrat agencies' in Washington DC are largely 'a political scam.'
Wall Street rockets despite shutdown risk
Wall Street nudged past yesterday's record highs in early trading Friday as investors continue to shrug off the U.S. government shutdown, now in its third day.
Futures for S&P 500, Nasdaq and the Dow Jones Industrial Average all added 0.2% before the bell. All three closed at record levels on Thursday, boosted by gains of chipmakers and artificial intelligence companies.
Markets have largely ignored the shutdown after Democrat and Republican lawmakers failed to reach agreement on funding.
Jobs data due this week has been delayed as federal agencies that publish the financial news are hit by the shutdown. An even more consequential report, the monthly tally of jobs gains and losses that usually comes out the first Friday of every month, will also not arrive as scheduled.
That increases uncertainty for Wall Street traders who are betting that the job market is slowing enough to convince the Federal Reserve to continue slashing rates.
Trump doubles down on memes as Dems cry 'racism'
Donald Trump doubled down in his meme war against top Democrats last night despite allegations of racism.
Trump posted an AI video on Thursday night, re-imagining his meeting with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries as Democrats sought to thrash out a deal with the president earlier this week.
In the video, Trump throws a MAGA hat onto Jeffries' head and then points and laughs at him.
It comes after Jeffries complained that Trump had shared a 'racist' meme of him wearing a sombrero.
JD Vance responded to Jeffries that the memes would stop if he supported a Republican funding stopgap.
'I'll tell Hakeem Jeffries right now, I make this solemn promise to you,that if you help us reopen the government, the sombrero memes will stop,' he told reporters at the White House on Wednesday.
Russell Vought hammers blue states
The Trump administration is cancelling $7.6 billion in grants that supported hundreds of clean energy projects in 16 states, all of which voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in last year's presidential election.
The move comes as President Donald Trump threatens deep cuts in his fight with congressional Democrats over the government shutdown.
The Energy Department said in a statement Thursday that 223 projects were terminated after a review determined they did not adequately advance the nation´s energy needs or were not economically viable. Officials did not provide details about which projects are being cut, but said funding came from the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and other DOE bureaus.
The cuts are likely to affect battery plants, hydrogen technology projects, upgrades to the electric grid and carbon-capture efforts, among many others, according to the environmental nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council.
Russell Vought, the White House budget director, highlighted the cutbacks in a social media post late Wednesday, saying money 'to fuel the Left's climate agenda is being cancelled.'
He said projects are on the chopping block in: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington state.
