Closing summary
Here’s the key events in US politics news today, which produced a proposed Trump administration peace plan for Gaza with buy-in from Israel’s prime minister and a broad array of other governments, but no deal to avert the looming shutdown of the US federal government. “I think we’re headed to a shutdown,” JD Vance said.
In the background to all this news, the Trump administration was expected to send in national guard troops and other federal law enforcement to Portland, Oregon; Memphis, Tennessee; and, according to the state’s governor, Chicago, Illinois, in further escalation of the administration’s symbolic deployment of troops into politically progressive cities.
Donald Trump announced his proposed 20-point peace plan for Gaza, and held a public appearance with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said he approved the plan. Neither leader took questions on the plan from journalists.
Hamas negotiators reportedly received a copy of the plan today, but have not yet responded.
The plan calls for a transitional government of Gaza that would involve international figures, including Trump and former UK prime minister Tony Blair, whose inclusion sparked some immediate pushback, given his historic role in supporting the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, and the history of British colonization.
Meanwhile, the US federal government was headed for a shutdown on 1 October, as congressional leaders failed to reach an agreement on the US budget before the shutdown deadline.
Democrats are continuing to negotiate for extensions of healthcare subsidies for Americans that are due to expire soon. An end-of-day meeting with Trump and congressional leaders from both parties failed to produce a deal.
The pending shutdown may be more severe for Americans than in the past, as the Trump administration is threatening to permanently fire federal employees during the shutdown, rather than simply furlough them temporarily.
Airlines and other aviation groups warned that the federal government shutdown could immediately affect airline passengers, as well as slow the pipeline of air-traffic-controllers currently in training to fill a huge gap in these crucial jobs.
YouTube, following the footsteps of Facebook and Twitter/X, is caving to a lawsuit filed by Donald Trump in response to the platforms deactivating his profiles after the January 6 insurrection in Washington. YouTube will pay $24.5m to settle the lawsuit: more than $20m of that is reportedly expected to fund the construction of a Mar-a-Lago-style ballroom at the White House.
The Trump administration announced it was filing a lawsuit against Minnesota for the state’s immigration sanctuary policies, following similar lawsuits against Los Angeles and New York.
The US Treasury said on Monday that secretary Scott Bessent has chosen White House personnel official Michael Friedman as his new chief of staff, replacing Dan Katz, who is due to take the No 2 job at the International Monetary Fund, Reuters reports.
Friedman, who served as a special assistant for presidential personnel, played “a pivotal role” in staff selection for key positions across Donald Trump’s administration, Treasury said. Prior to joining the administration, Friedman held leadership roles at supply chain technology and e-commerce startups.
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