The Associated Press | ALXnow

Government shutdown could be the longest ever, Speaker Johnson warns

Published October 13, 2025 at 12:47PM | Updated October 13, 2025 at 1:42PM

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., praises President Donald Trump's peacemaking efforts leading to a ceasefire pausing two years of war in the Gaza Strip, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

By LISA MASCARO AP Congressional Correspondent

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Speaker Mike Johnson predicted Monday the federal government shutdown may become the longest in history, saying he “won’t negotiate” with Democrats until they hit pause on their health care demands and reopen.

News

Firings of federal workers begin as White House seeks to pressure Democrats in government shutdown

By The Associated Press

Published October 10, 2025 at 1:04PM | Updated October 11, 2025 at 6:20AM

The U.S. Capitol is silhouetted by the stark glare of the morning sun as a government shutdown begins its tenth day, in Washington, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

By SEUNG MIN KIM and STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House budget office said Friday that mass firings of federal workers have started, an attempt by President Donald Trump’s administration to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown dragged into a 10th day.

News

Speaker Johnson keeps the House away as he fights to end the government shutdown

By The Associated Press

Published October 10, 2025 at 8:46AM | Updated October 10, 2025 at 9:27AM

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks at a press conference on 8th day of the government shutdown at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

By LISA MASCARO AP Congressional Correspondent

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mike Johnson is the speaker of a House that is no longer in session.

News

Candidates in Virginia governor’s debate clash over shutdown and violent rhetoric

By The Associated Press

Published October 9, 2025 at 9:01PM | Updated October 9, 2025 at 9:19PM

This combo image shows Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears, left, and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger, right. (AP Photo)

By OLIVIA DIAZ, STEVE PEOPLES and THOMAS BEAUMONT Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia gubernatorial candidates Republican Winsome Earle-Sears and Democrat Abigail Spanberger faced off Thursday for the first and only time on the debate stage in a fiery affair that was combative from the very first answer.

News

New York Attorney General Letitia James indicted in the Eastern District of Virginia on fraud charge, AP source says

By The Associated Press

Published October 9, 2025 at 5:08PM

FILE - New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks, Feb. 16, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A grand jury has indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James on a fraud charge in the latest Justice Department case against a perceived enemy of President Donald Trump, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Thursday.

James was indicted in the Eastern District of Virginia on one count after a mortgage fraud investigation, said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter.

News

Comey pleads not guilty at Alexandria federal courthouse as lawyers signal intent to argue Trump foe’s case is politically motivated

By The Associated Press

Published October 8, 2025 at 10:09AM | Updated October 8, 2025 at 1:30PM

This courtroom sketch depicts former FBI Director James Comey, second from left, and his attorneys Jessica Carmichael, seated left, and Patrick J. Fitzgerald, standing right, during his arraignment at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Va., Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tyler Lemons, is seated right. (Dana Verkouteren via AP)

By ERIC TUCKER, ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — James Comey pleaded not guilty Wednesday in a criminal case that has highlighted the Justice Department’s efforts to target adversaries of President Donald Trump, with lawyers for the former FBI director saying they plan to argue the prosecution is politically motivated and should be dismissed.

News

Veteran defense lawyer turned judge oversees case against ex-FBI Director Comey

By The Associated Press

Published October 8, 2025 at 7:25AM | Updated October 8, 2025 at 12:16PM

FILE - The Albert Bryan United States Courthouse is photographed Sept. 26, 2025 in Alexandria. Va. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Michael Nachmanoff has built a quiet reputation in the federal courthouse in northern Virginia — a onetime public defender turned judge known for methodical preparation and a cool temperament. On Wednesday, he found himself at the center of a political storm: presiding over the Justice Department’s prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey.

News

Comey will make first court appearance in Justice Department case accusing him of lying to Congress

By The Associated Press

Published October 8, 2025 at 7:17AM | Updated October 8, 2025 at 8:30AM

FILE - Former FBI Director James Comey, arrivex to testify under subpoena behind closed doors before the House Judiciary and Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 7, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

By ERIC TUCKER, ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press737

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Former FBI Director James Comey is set to make his first court appearance Wednesday in a Justice Department criminal case accusing him of lying to Congress five years ago.

News

Rep. Beyer says federal workers guaranteed back pay despite Trump administration memo

By Ryan Belmore and The Associated Press

Published October 7, 2025 at 12:33PM | Updated October 7, 2025 at 1:10PM

The Capitol is illuminated at dawn in Washington, Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., whose district includes Alexandria and has one of the largest concentrations of federal employees in Congress, said Tuesday that federal workers are guaranteed back pay “without question or exception,” pushing back against Trump administration warnings that retroactive pay is not assured during the government shutdown.

Beyer, who sponsored the 2019 bipartisan legislation guaranteeing back pay, called the administration’s memo an attempt “to frighten federal employees and their families as a negotiating tactic, which is despicable.”

News

Speaker Johnson says it’s up to Democrats to ‘stop the madness’ on government shutdown’s sixth day

By The Associated Press

Published October 6, 2025 at 2:12PM

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., holds a news conference on the 6th day of the government shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. Johnson is keeping the House out of session for the second week in a row during the shutdown. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers provided few public signs of meaningful negotiations to break an impasse on reopening the federal government as the shutdown entered its sixth day on Monday, with House Speaker Mike Johnson saying it was Democrats who needed to “stop the madness.”

News

Government funding vote fails again in Senate as hopes fade for quick end to shutdown

By The Associated Press

Published October 3, 2025 at 3:50PM | Updated October 3, 2025 at 4:28PM

The Capitol is illuminated at sunrise to begin day three of a government shutdown, in Washington, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

By STEPHEN GROVES, MARY CLARE JALONICK and MATT BROWN Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hopes for a quick end to the government shutdown faded Friday as Democrats refused to budge in a Senate vote and President Donald Trump readied plans to unleash layoffs and cuts across the federal government.