President Donald Trump traveled through Asia this week, sitting down for a high-stakes meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, which he described as “truly great,” while Americans at home bore the brunt of the ongoing government shutdown, which is entering its second month.Democrats now find themselves in a bind as they have succeeded in framing health care as the issue at the heart of the stalemate but are grappling with the lapse of federal food assistance for millions of Americans set to begin Saturday.The shutdown is also likely to lead to more flight delays as the Federal Aviation Administration grapples with staffing shortages. At the same time, federal employees are working without pay, and food banks are bracing for a surge in demand.The president, though, seems to have his mind focused elsewhere as he instructed the Pentagon to immediately resume testing of nuclear weapons to ensure the U.S. keeps up with its rivals.“With others doing testing, I think it’s appropriate that we do also,” he told reporters after departing South Korea to return to the U.S.The Trump administration is continuing to add pressure on Venezuela, with the country’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, now accusing the U.S. of “fabricating a new eternal war.”See previous updates here, and read the latest below:And Now, A Remarkably Sane Take On The Shutdown From … Marjorie Taylor Greene?While most right-wing politicians jockey to blame Democrats for the GOP's government shutdown, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) appears to be trying something different: honesty.The far-right Georgia Republican — perhaps known best for spreading conspiracies about “Jewish space lasers” and a global elite that “can control the weather” — sat for a lengthy CNN interview Thursday where she plainly blamed Republicans for the shutdown.“I see the shutdown completely different from, maybe, my party leadership,” she said, reacting to a Washington Post poll that found 47% of Americans blame Trump and Republicans, while just 30% say Democrats are at fault.“I’m not putting the blame on the president,” she continued. “I’m actually putting the blame on the Speaker and Leader Thune in the Senate. This should not be happening.”CNN co-host Pamela Brown, taken aback, asked her to clarify: “So you’re putting the blame on the leadership of your party?”“Absolutely,” said MTG. “We control the House. We control the Senate. We have the White House.”Also during the interview, Greene reiterated her call for Congress to force the Justice Department to release its files on the late sex trafficker (and Trump friend) Jeffrey Epstein, noting it’s suspicious that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is keeping the House out of session to avoid swearing in a new Democrat that would provide a decisive vote to release the files.Marjorie Taylor Greene on polls showing Republicans are getting blamed for the shutdown: "I'm not putting the blame on the president. I'm actually putting the the blame on the Speaker and Leader Thune in the Senate. This should not be happening ... we control the House & Senate & have the WH."— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-10-09T14:45:28.587ZSee All UpdatesClose