Donald Trump threatened to use emergency powers to deploy more troops into Democrat-led cities, as his attempts to mobilise the military faced legal challenges.
The president openly mulled use of the Insurrection Act after a federal judge in Oregon temporarily halted a National Guard deployment in Portland.
“We have an insurrection act for a reason. If I had to enact it I would do that,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, adding, “if people were being killed and courts were holding us up or governors or mayors were holding us up, sure I would do that.”
Judge refuses to block Trump’s troop deployment to Illinois
A federal judge will not immediately block national guard troops from being deployed in Illinois after a lawsuit from the state against the president on Monday.
Troops from Texas could be deployed to Chicago later this week and Trump is also seeking to federalize Illinois’ national guard. A similar effort to deploy troops to Portland, Oregon, was blocked by a judge in that state.
US government shutdown enters second week
The US government shutdown entered its second week on Monday, with Democratic and Republican lawmakers making no apparent progress towards reaching a deal to restart funding, while the Trump administration warned it was moving forward with plans to slash the federal workforce.
Many agencies and departments closed their doors and told employees to stay home last Wednesday, after Congress failed to approve legislation to continue the government’s authority to spend money.
Federal prosecutor resists pressure from Trump to charge Letitia James
A career federal prosecutor in Virginia has told colleagues she does not believe there is probable cause to file criminal mortgage fraud charges against New York attorney general Letitia James, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The prosecutor, Elizabeth Yusi, oversees major criminal cases in the Norfolk office for the US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia and plans to soon present her conclusion to Lindsey Halligan, a Trump ally, who was installed as the US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia last month.
Ghislaine Maxwell’s appeal of conviction denied
The US supreme court has declined to hear an appeal from Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell of her sex trafficking conviction. Maxwell in 2022 was sentenced to 20 years in prison for sex trafficking and related crimes.
Bari Weiss named editor-in-chief of CBS News
The CBS News owner Paramount will acquire the Free Press, a media startup founded by Bari Weiss, and has appointed her editor-in-chief of the storied US news network. Weiss, 41, has no experience working in broadcast television, though she has carved out a reputation as a heterodox opinion writer and burgeoning media operator.
What else happened today:
The Trump administration said that funds from a US government program that subsidizes commercial air service to rural airports are set to expire as soon as Sunday because of the government shutdown.
Jimmy Kimmel emerged as more popular than Donald Trump after a spat with the president’s administration temporarily left the talkshow host off the air in September, according to a recent poll.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has urged Donald Trump to scrap tariffs on his country’s imports and sanctions against its officials, as the two men held what the Brazilian presidency called a “friendly” video call.
Catching up? Here’s what happened 5 October 2025.
