Jan 6, 2019 - Politics & Policy

Sanders: Trump "means what he says" about months-long shutdown

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told "Fox News Sunday" that President Trump "means what he says" regarding his threats to keep the government shut down for months or even years over his request for border wall funding.

The big picture: Sanders added that congressional Democrats "agree" with Trump on the need for more border security, but "they just are unwilling to let this president win." Trump echoed that sentiment during a press gaggle outside the White House on Sunday, telling reporters, "Schumer and Nancy Pelosi and myself could solve this in 20 minutes if they want to." Congressional Democrats have offered Trump $1.3 billion in additional border security funding — not the $5.7 billion the administration wants for a wall.

Go deeper: The force that could end the shutdown

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Axios
Updated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 8 p.m. ET: 33,832,124 — Total deaths: 1,010,642 — Total recoveries: 23,507,536 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 8 p.m. ET: 7,227,779 — Total deaths: 206,859 — Total recoveries: 2,840,688 — Total tests: 103,155,189 — Map.
  3. Education: School-aged children now make up 10% of all U.S COVID-19 cases.
  4. Health: The coronavirus' alarming impact on the body.
  5. Business: Real-time data show economy's rebound slowing but still going.
  6. Sports: Steelers-Titans NFL game delayed after coronavirus outbreak.
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Sara Fischer, author of Media Trends
3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Over 73 million people watched the first debate on TV

Data: Nielsen; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

More than 73.1 million people watched the first presidential debate on television on Tuesday night, according to Nielsen ratings.

Why it matters: While that's a sizable audience for any American TV program, it's down more than 13% from the record number of TV viewers who tuned in for the first debate of the 2016 election. The chaotic nature of the debate and the overall uncertainty around this year's election may have pushed some viewers away.

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Fadel Allassan
3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Senate passes bill funding government through December

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The Senate on Tuesday passed legislation to fund the federal government through Dec. 11, by a vote of 84-10.

Where it stands: The legislation will avert a government shutdown before funding expires Wednesday night and before the Nov. 3 election. The House passed the same measure last week by a vote of 359-57 after House Democrats and the Trump administration agreed on the resolution.

  • Both sides agreed early in negotiations that the bill should be a "clean" continuing resolution — meaning each party would only make small changes to existing funding levels so the measure would pass through both chambers quickly, Axios' Alayna Treene reported last week. The bill now goes to President Trump for his signature.