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Savewith a NBCUniversal ProfileCreate your free profile or log in to save this articleOct. 12, 2025, 10:45 AM EDTBy Alexandra MarquezSen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Sunday that he was in favor of the Senate voting to reopen the federal government but that he would not negotiate with Senate Democrats on their plan to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies while the government was still shuttered.“I’m willing to vote to open the government up tomorrow,” Graham told NBC News’ “Meet the Press.” “To my Democratic friends: I am not going to vote to extend these subsidies.”“Let’s have a rational discussion, but not with the government shut down. It’s up to you. If you want to keep it shut down, fine. It’s not going to change how I approach health care,” the South Carolina senator added.Graham’s comments come on the 11th day of the government shutdown, as hundreds of thousands of federal workers remain furloughed and critical government services are operating with no staff or at lower-than-usual staffing numbers.The shutdown continues as the Senate is at an impasse over whether to pass a temporary government funding measure.https://dataviz.nbcnews.com/projects/20250922-shutdown-ticker/The chamber has voted multiple times over the last two weeks on a stopgap funding measure backed by GOP leadership that has already passed in the House and would keep the government funded at previous levels through Nov. 21. Not enough Democrats have voted with Republicans to overcome the 60-vote threshold to pass that bill.We’d like to hear from you about how you’re experiencing the government shutdown, whether you’re a federal employee who can’t work right now or someone who is feeling the effects of shuttered services in your everyday life. Please contact us at tips@nbcuni.com or reach out to us here.Meanwhile, Democrats have proposed a temporary funding measure that would keep the government open through Oct. 31. That continuing resolution would also reverse Medicaid cuts passed by Republicans earlier this year and would extend subsidies for the Affordable Care Act that are set to expire at the end of the year.Graham on Sunday said that negotiating a potential extension of subsidies while the government was shut down was a nonstarter for him, referencing the 2018-19 government shutdown, where Republicans and President Donald Trump tried to force Democrats to pass funding for a border wall.“You know, we shut the government down for 35 days, Republicans trying to force the Democrats to build the border wall,” Graham told “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker. “Well, we eventually got the wall built, but not because we shut down the government.”“The subsidies we’re talking about here,” Graham added, “if the Affordable Care Act is so affordable, why, every time I turn around, are we spending $350 billion to keep it afloat?”Mark Kelly calls for a ‘real negotiation’ with Republicans amid shutdown: Full interview09:02Meanwhile, Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., earlier in the program blasted Republicans for refusing to negotiate with Democrats, saying Trump had only spoken to Democratic leaders for an hour about the ACA subsidies.“I think it’s important for all Americans to know that this fight right now over this government shutdown is about one thing. It’s about the cost of their health care,” Kelly said. “Tens of millions of people — actually, about 19 million people get their health care off the Affordable Care Act, and their rates are going to go up dramatically, and it’s going to become unaffordable.”“The president has negotiated for one hour, as far as we can tell, and Republicans in the House, they’ve been gone for four weeks. And John Thune, the majority leader in the Senate, sent people home for four days,” Kelly added.He noted that the House passed the stopgap funding measure on Sept. 19 and has not returned to Washington since then. On Friday, Speaker Mike Johnson told House lawmakers that he was extending their district work period for at least another week, through mid-October.Asked whether Democrats would vote to reopen the government if Republicans promised to hold a vote on extending ACA subsidies once the government reopens, Kelly firmly said, “No.”“Not right now, no,” the Arizona senator said. “We need a real negotiation, and we need a fix. We need this corrected for the American people. This is for so many people — their health care is running towards a cliff, and if we don’t fix this, it’s going to go right over it.”Kelly added that in order for Democrats to reopen the government, they would need assurances that Republicans wouldn’t just hold a vote on extending subsidies, but that both sides could agree on what an extension would look like.“Having some vote without an assured outcome” wasn’t the solution, Kelly said.“All this is going to take is putting everybody in a room for an extended period of time and coming up to some reasonable conclusion,” he added.Alexandra MarquezAlexandra Marquez is a politics reporter for NBC News.

- Latest News - October 12, 2025

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. said that he was in favor of the Senate voting to reopen the federal government but that he would not negotiate with Senate Democrats on their.

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Oct. 12, 2025, 8:55 AM EDTBy Megan LebowitzWASHINGTON — Vice President JD Vance indicated in an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that President Donald Trump was not opposed to invoking the Insurrection Act.Asked by moderator Kristen Welker whether the White House was seriously considering invoking the 1807 statute, Vance said, “The president is looking at all his options.””Right now he hasn’t felt he needed to,” he added.The Insurrection Act would allow the president to deploy the U.S. military domestically for law enforcement purposes. The military is typically not allowed to be deployed on U.S. soil for domestic law enforcement purposes without congressional authorization. NBC News previously reported that White House officials have had increasingly serious talks about whether Trump should invoke the Insurrection Act. If Trump were to invoke the law, it would be the first time since former President George H.W. Bush invoked the law during the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Vance’s comments come as the White House has federalized National Guard troops in an attempt to deploy them in Oregon and Illinois, aiming to target Portland and Chicago. Both moves have been temporarily blocked in court. The White House’s push to deploy troops to Democrat-run cities has alarmed critics, who argue the move is overreach and being done for political purposes.Responding to the question about the Insurrection Act, Vance pointed to attacks on law enforcement officers who are enforcing immigration laws.”The problem here is not the Insurrection Act or whether we actually invoke it or not. The problem is the fact that the entire media in this country, cheered on by a few far-left lunatics, have made it okay to tee off on American law enforcement,” Vance told “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker. “We cannot accept that in the United States of America.”Crime has dropped in both Chicago and Portland, according to statistics from the Chicago Police Department and the city of Portland. Pressed as to whether there was a “rebellion” in the cities to trigger the Insurrection Act, Vance accused the cities of not “keeping the statistics properly,” without offering proof. “The president just wants people to be kept safe, and we’re exploring everything that we can do to make sure that the American people are safe in their own country,” Vance said. Megan LebowitzMegan Lebowitz is a politics reporter for NBC News.

- Latest News - October 12, 2025

Vice President JD Vance said that President Donald Trump is “looking at all his options” in regards to invoking the Insurrection Act.

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Oct. 12, 2025, 8:34 AM EDTBy Alexandra MarquezVice President JD Vance on Sunday said that the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza could be released at “any moment now,” ahead of a Monday deadline, as part of the first phase of a peace plan between Israel and Hamas.”It really should be any moment now,” the vice president told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” when asked about the timing for the release of the hostages.”The president of the United States is planning to travel to the Middle East to greet the hostages Monday morning, Middle Eastern Time,” Vance added. “Which should be late, you know, Sunday night, or very early Monday morning here in the United States.”The vice president stressed that, “you can’t say exactly the moment they will be released, but we have every expectation — that’s why the president is going — that he will be greeting the hostages early next week.” Trump is expected to travel to the Middle East later Sunday for a whirlwind trip to Israel and Egypt to oversee the beginning of the first phase of a peace deal the Trump administration helped negotiate between Israel and Hamas.After a ceasefire began on Friday as part of the first phase of the peace deal, Israel began to prepare for the release of the hostages within the next 72 hours, a deadline that expires at noon local time on Monday, or 5 a.m. ET.There are 48 hostages remaining in Gaza, of which Israel believes 20 are alive.In an interview with Sky News on Sunday, Israel’s deputy foreign minister, Sharren Haskel, also predicted the release of Israeli hostages sooner than expected.”I think [Hamas] might start even releasing them tonight. So, earlier than expected,” Haskel said, adding later that, “We really hope to see them as quickly as possible.”Alexandra MarquezAlexandra Marquez is a politics reporter for NBC News.Patrick Smith contributed.

- Latest News - October 12, 2025

Vice President JD Vance on Sunday said that the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza could be released at “any moment now,” ahead of a Monday deadline, as part of the.

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