Vance addresses criticism that Trump admin has not done enough to move anti-abortion rights agenda forward

(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration has committed to partially funding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program with a $4.65 billion payment — but using emergency funds to pay for reduced SNAP benefits could take “a few weeks to up to several months,” a top USDA official told a federal judge in a sworn court filing Monday.

The disclosure comes after a federal judge in Rhode Island ordered the Trump administration to use emergency funds to pay for SNAP amid an ongoing government shutdown by Wednesday. Following the court order on Friday, Trump said it would be his “honor” to fund the food assistance program.

In addition to the delay, the Trump administration also said it was $4 billion short of the expected $8 billion cost to fund SNAP for the month of November, in part because they are declining to tap an additional bucket of emergency funds held by the USDA.  

Trump says he has asked court to ‘clarify’ SNAP ruling with funding set to lapse
“Defendants have worked diligently to comply with the Court’s order on the short timeline provided by the Court and during a government shutdown,” DOJ lawyers wrote in a filing on Monday.

“I have instructed our lawyers to ask the Court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible,” Trump posted on social media late Friday. “If we are given the appropriate legal direction by the Court, it will BE MY HONOR to provide the funding.”

The $4.65 billion in funding will cover half of the households relying on the food assistance program, according to a declaration from Patrick Penn, Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services.

That payment will completely expend SNAP’s contingency funding, according to Penn.

“This means that no funds will remain for new SNAP applicants certified in November, disaster assistance, or as a cushion against the potential catastrophic consequences of shutting down SNAP entirely,” he said.

While the Trump administration could use additional funds from tariff revenue, known as Section 32, Penn said the government declined to do so to save the money for child nutrition programs.

“Amid this no-win quandary and upon further consideration following the Courts’ orders, USDA has determined that creating a shortfall in Child Nutrition Program funds to fund one month of SNAP benefits is an unacceptable risk, even considering the procedural difficulties with delivering a partial November SNAP payment, because shifting $4 billion dollars to America’s SNAP population merely shifts the problem to millions of America’s low income children that receive their meals at school,” Penn said.

Beyond the budget shortfall, Penn warned that distributing the reduced benefits could take weeks or months because of “procedural difficulties.”

“There are procedural difficulties that States will likely experience which would affect November SNAP benefits reaching households in a timely manner and in the correctly reduced amounts,” he wrote. “There are procedural difficulties that States will likely experience which would affect November SNAP benefits reaching households in a timely manner and in the correctly reduced amounts.”

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(WASHINGTON) — High-profile races are unfolding across the country on Tuesday, including New York City’s mayoral election and governor’s races in New Jersey and Virginia.

In California, voters will consider a ballot measure that puts forth a redrawn congressional map that could net Democrats five House seats.

The elections come with high-stakes for both Democrats and Republicans, and will provide a picture of how Americans feel about President Donald Trump’s first nine months in office.

Here’s how the news is developing.

Polls close in New Jersey

Polls are now closed in New Jersey, one of only two states holding gubernatorial races this November. The race tightened in the run-up to Election Day.

ABC News projects Spanberger will win Virginia governor’s race

ABC News projects Democrat Abigail Spanberger will win the Virginia governor’s race, based on an analysis of the vote.

Polls now closed in Virginia

Polls are now closed in Virginia, where there is a closely watched governor’s race.

New Jersey voters focused on taxes and economy: Exit polls

Taxes and the economy are the most important issues for New Jersey voters, according to a preliminary exit poll analysis by ABC News.

Most New Jersey voters said the economy in the state was doing “not so good” or “poor,” and that property taxes were “a major problem” where they live, according to the analysis.

Most New Jersey voters also said electricity costs where they live are “a major problem,” according to the analysis.

-ABC News’ Emily Guskin

Kentucky election official informs state voters there is no election this year following complaints

Election officials in Kentucky felt compelled to address a surprising complaint from some constituents on Tuesday: Why are polling places closed?

The answer? There aren’t any elections in Kentucky.

That didn’t keep some voters in the state from flocking to polling places, only to be disappointed to learn that they could not vote for high-profile races in Virginia and New York, according to Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams.

“We’re getting calls about polls being closed. They are closed because we do not have elections today,” he wrote on X. “Kentucky votes next year. You cannot vote today in Kentucky for the mayor of New York City or the Governor of Virginia. Sorry.”

-ABC News’ Lucien Bruggeman

NYC voters are concerned about the cost of living: Exit poll

More than half of voters in New York City said Tuesday that the cost of living was the most important issue facing the city, dwarfing the other issues measured in preliminary ABC News exit polling.

-ABC News’ Emily Guskin

Schumer refuses to say who he voted for in NYC mayoral election

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer dodged a question by a reporter who asked if he voted for Mamdani or Cuomo in the election.

“Look I voted, and I Iook forward to working with the next mayor to help New York City,” he said before taking another question.

Schumer has not publicly supported Mamdani since he won the Democratic primary in June.

-ABC News’ Lauren Peller

NYC 2025 vote surpasses 20-year high, with hours to go until polls close

As of 3 p.m. ET, roughly 1.4 million New York voters have cast a ballot in this year’s elections, with six hours before polls close marking the highest turnout for a city election in 20 years, the city’s Board of Elections said.

Roughly 1.1 million voters cast a ballot in the 2021 election, according to city BOE data.

The last time a city election vote exceeded 1.3 million was in 2005, when Michael Bloomberg was re-elected to a second term, according to BOE records.

Of the 1.4 million cast so far in 2025, 716,625 votes, about 49%, were cast on Tuesday, while the remaining were cast at early voting polling sites.

NYC 2025 vote surpasses 2021 total, halfway through the day

As of 3 p.m. ET, roughly 1.4 million New York voters have cast a ballot in this year’s elections, with six hours before polls close, the city’s Board of Elections said.

Roughly 1.1 million voters cast a ballot in the 2021 election, according to city BOE data.

Of the 1.4 million cast so far in 2025, 716,625 votes, about 49%, were cast on Tuesday, while the remaining were cast at early voting polling sites.

‘Another baseless claim,’ California officials dismiss Trump

The California secretary of state slammed President Donald Trump over his unfounded claims about the state’s election.

Secretary of State Shirley Weber said in a statement that Trump’s comments appeared to be “another baseless claim”– and urged voters to head to the polls.

“California voters will not be deceived by someone who consistently makes desperate, unsubstantiated attempts to dissuade Americans from participating in our democracy,” she said.

Additionally, a spokesperson for the state’s attorney general said that Trump is “continuing to spread lies,” adding that elections in California are “fair, safe, and secure.”

-ABC News’ Olivia Rubin

Trump says California redistricting vote is under ‘criminal review’

After President Donald Trump wrote in a social media post that California’s Proposition 50 should be under “very serious legal and criminal review,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the White House is “looking into” providing “executive action.”

“The White House is working on an executive order to strengthen our elections in this country, and to ensure that there cannot be blatant fraud, as we’ve seen in California with their universal mail-in voting system. It’s absolutely true that there’s fraud in California elections. It’s just a fact,” Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday.

Leavitt’s comments come after Trump laid into the proposal — where Californians are deciding if the state will adopt a new Democratic-friendly congressional map in response to mid-decade redistricting in Texas — calling it a “GIANT SCAM.”

“The Unconstitutional Redistricting Vote in California is a GIANT SCAM in that the entire process, in particular the Voting itself, is RIGGED. All ‘Mail-In’ Ballots, where the Republicans in that State are ‘Shut Out,’ is under very serious legal and criminal review. STAY TUNED!” Trump wrote in a social media post on Tuesday.

2 hours and 49 minutes ago

Trump has made his thoughts on NYC mayoral election ‘quite clear,’ White House says
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that President Donald Trump has made his thoughts on the New York City mayoral election “quite clear.”

“The president is a New Yorker, and he loves New York. He has made his thoughts on this election quite clear,” Leavitt said.

Leavitt also addressed Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani’s comments accusing the Trump administration of attempting to “intimidate voters with baseless allegations of voter fraud,” saying his comments are “based on zero evidence.”

“I think this is just another example of how the Democratic Party unfortunately stands for nothing. All they stand against is President Donald Trump, and I think it’s quite sad to see that we have someone at the top of the ticket on election day today saying such things about the president, when he obviously had nothing to do with those threats,” Leavitt said on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Mamdani addressed reports of voter intimidation in New Jersey, saying these incident are “incredibly concerning.”

“I think that it is an illustration of the attacks we’re seeing in our democracy,” he continued, accusing the Trump administration of adopting a “general approach” of attempting to “intimidate voters with baseless allegations of voter fraud as a means of trying to repress the voice of Americans across this country,” Mamdani said.

Trump endorsed Cuomo on Monday in a social media post. “Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice. You must vote for him, and hope he does a fantastic job,” Trump wrote.

3 hours and 50 minutes ago

Trump and Newsom square off on Prop 50

President Donald Trump and California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom are sparring over the vote on Proposition 50, the ballot proposition where Californians are deciding if the state will adopt a new Democratic-friendly congressional map in response to mid-decade redistricting in Texas.

On social media, Trump laid into the proposal as a “GIANT SCAM” and that voting process itself is “rigged.”

“The Unconstitutional Redistricting Vote in California is a GIANT SCAM in that the entire process, in particular the Voting itself, is RIGGED. All ‘Mail-In’ Ballots, where the Republicans in that State are ‘Shut Out,’ is under very serious legal and criminal review. STAY TUNED!” Trump wrote.

Newsom hit back on X: “The ramblings of an old man that knows he’s about to LOSE.”

Democrats feel particularly bullish about their chances in California tonight.

-ABC News’ Brittany Shepherd

3 hours and 58 minutes ago

GOP groups attack Mamdani, attempt to link him to broader Democratic Party

As voters head to the polls, various Republican groups have released statements and memos attacking New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, as the Republican Party continues to tie the self-described democratic socialist to the broader Democratic Party as a way to paint Democrats as radical and out of touch.

The messaging, while not new, reflects how the Republican Party hopes to use Mamdani as an albatross against Democrats.

The National Republican Congressional Committee, in a memo released on Tuesday morning framing Republicans as having more momentum one year out to the 2026 midterms, claimed that Democrats are fully on board with “the socialist agenda.”

“Democrats are now fully embracing the socialist agenda, with Hakeem Jeffries endorsing radical socialist Zohran Mamdani just last week,” the committee wrote, calling this “electoral poison for Democrats” because Democrats view socialism more negatively than capitalism.

Additionally, the National Republican Senatorial Committee — the campaign arm of Senate Republicans — sent out a flurry of at least seven memos early Tuesday tying Democratic primary candidates in key Senate races to Mamdani.

In a press release on Monday, the Republican National Convention grouped Mamdani with the two Democratic gubernatorial candidates in New Jersey and Virginia, saying they “are all cut from the same far-left cloth.”

-ABC News’ Oren Oppenheim, Brittany Shepherd and Emily Chang

12:05 PM EST

Cuomo says Trump ‘does not support me’ but ‘opposes Zohran Mamdani’

While casting his vote for himself on Tuesday morning, independent candidate for mayor of New York City and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo said President Donald Trump does not support him but “opposes Zohran Mamdani.”

“The president does not support me. The president opposes Zohran Mamdani,” Cuomo said when asked if he accepts Trump’s recent endorsement.

Cuomo was also asked what’s at stake nationally in this election, to which he told reporters, “I think what you’re seeing is a civil war in the Democratic Party that has been growing for a while.”

The former governor said Trump believes Mamdani is an “existential threat” and that the “momentum is on our side.”

-ABC News’ Halle Troadec

11:27 AM EST

Vance urges support for New Jersey GOP gubernatorial candidate Ciattarelli as race tightens

Vice President JD Vance urged voters in New Jersey to cast their vote for Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli, as the race tightens between Ciattarelli and the Democrats’ pick, former Navy helicopter pilot Mikie Sherrill.

“Get out there and vote for Jack if you live in NJ. New Jersey is such a great state but it’s suffered too long under crap leadership,” Vance wrote on Tuesday.

According to a Quinnipiac poll, Ciattarelli is lagging Sherill only by single digits in the race, with Sherill leading Ciatttarelli by 8 points in the full ballot matchup.

Former President Barack Obama has previously endorsed Sherill, saying her “integrity, grit and commitment to service are what we need right now in our leaders.”

In addition to being backed by Vance, Ciattarelli also boasts the support of President Donald Trump.

-ABC News’ Hannah Demissie

11:10 AM EST

Implications of NYC’s mayoral race stretch beyond the Big Apple

While New Yorkers are focused on solving key issues of affordability and public safety, the implications of the mayoral race could stretch beyond the five boroughs.

This local off-year election has garnered national attention and is considered representative of political headwinds ahead of the 2026 midterms. Candidates are zeroed in on navigating the impacts of President Donald Trump’s second term, and Zohran Mamdani’s candidacy has shed light on how the Democratic Party has struggled to balance its progressive and moderate sides.

-ABC News’ Emily Chang

10:49 AM EST

Cuomo votes, calls Trump ‘pragmatic’ for encouraging Republicans to back him

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who appeared to cast his ballot at a polling place on the East Side of Manhattan on Tuesday morning, called President Donald Trump “pragmatic” for encouraging Republican voters to support him in the New York City mayoral election, instead of the GOP nominee, Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, to blunt a victory for Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani.

“President Trump is pragmatic. He is telling them the reality of the situation, which is, if you do not vote, Mamdani is going to win. Who is Mamdani? I don’t know, but he’s a Democratic socialist that brings socialism to New York City. New York City will not thrive with a socialist economy,” Cuomo, who is running as an independent, said on Fox News on Tuesday. “So Republicans, you have to get up and come out and vote. Even if you’re not voting for a Republican, you’re voting to save New York City.”

Cuomo went on to say that Mamdani’s campaign promises to lower costs and expand government resources — by freezing the rent temporarily on rent stabilized units, providing government-run grocery stores and free city busses — is “all BS.”

“It’s not up to the mayor. It’s up to the state. State said they’re not going to do it. It’s all BS, it’s all campaign rhetoric. None of it will change anybody’s life,” Cuomo argued.

-ABC News’ Brittany Shepherd

10:37 AM EST

Mikie Sherrill says there’s ‘no credible’ threats to New Jersey voting

Accompanied by her husband and children, New Jersey’s Democratic nominee for governor Mikie Sherrill appeared at a Montclair voting center to cast her ballot and address the press.

Sherrill sought to assure voters that it is currently safe to cast ballots throughout the state, after multiple polling places temporarily closed in northern New Jersey after precincts fielded emailed bomb threats later deemed to be not credible, prompting election officials to direct some voters to other polling places.

“We’ve checked out all the bomb threats. There are no credible ones yet. Law enforcement is working overtime to keep our elections safe, so I don’t see any threat to voting,” Sherrill said. She called the scare an “attempt to suppress the vote.”

-ABC News’ Emily Chang and Lucien Bruggeman

10:24 AM EST

Mamdani casts his ballot: ‘We are on the brink of making history’

Just moments after casting his ballot on the morning of Election Day, New York City mayoral Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani proudly branded an “I voted” sticker and emphasized his vision to “usher in a new era in this city.”

“Today is Election Day. It is a day that we have been dreaming of for more than a year,” he began. “We are on the brink of making history in our city, on the brink of saying goodbye to a politics of the past.”

Mamdani emphasized his platform centered on affordability, touting his plan to “transform the most expensive city of the United States of America into one that’s affordable for each and every person that calls it home.”

Asked by ABC News’ Aaron Katersky on what he would say to New Yorkers concerned that President Donald Trump will follow through on his threats, Mamdani reiterated his resolve to stand up to Trump and argued that the president’s words sometimes hold no weight.

“I look forward to representing those New Yorkers, and look forward to fighting for every single dollar this city is owed. What we see in the language of Donald Trump is a premise, as if it is his decision on whether or not to fund the city the very money that this city is owed … That means using the courts, that means using the bully pulpit, that means ensuring that we actually follow the letter of the law,” he said.

Mamdani is facing off against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat who is running as an independent, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, along with some other independent and third-party candidates.

-ABC News’ Emily Chang

10:13 AM EST

Voters head to polls in 1st major elections of Trump 2.0

It’s Election Day in America, and voters across the country are heading to the polls in statewide and local elections.

It’s the first major election cycle since President Donald Trump’s return to the White House. The results from Tuesday’s races will give voters an opportunity to weigh in on the state of the country and their communities.

Trump joined election eve tele-rallies supporting Republican candidates in Virginia and New Jersey, where he focused on energy costs and crime. He also threw out an eleventh-hour endorsement in New York City’s mayoral election, urging voters to support Andrew Cuomo over Zohran Mamdani.

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(NEW YORK) — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer addressed on Sunday the stunning U.S. strike on Venezuela, saying the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was unlawful.

“Maduro is a horrible, horrible person, but you don’t treat lawlessness with other lawlessness, and that’s what’s happened here,” Schumer told “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos. “There is no authority … they did not just do ships off the water. They went inside Venezuela, bombed civilian as well as military places, and it’s a violation of the law to do what they did without getting the authorization of Congress.”

Despite President Donald Trump’s claims on Saturday that the United States was “going to run” Venezuela “until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” the Democratic senator told Stephanopoulos that “nobody knows” who is actually running Venezuela right now.

“The American people this morning, George, are scratching their heads in wonderment and in fear of what the president has proposed,” Schumer said. “We have learned through the years when America tries to do regime change and nation building in this way, the American people pay the price in both blood and in dollars.”

Schumer expressed skepticism that U.S. oil companies could fix Venezuela’s oil infrastructure, a claim Trump made after the strike.

“It seems sort of a back-of-the envelope operation, at least by what they’ve told people,” Schumer said. “These oil fields have been in disrepair for years. We have no idea how long it’s going to take, how much it’s going to cost, and whether we need military troops guarding the oil fields while we do it.”

Schumer also criticized Trump’s involvement in Venezuela after his frequent campaign promise to avoid overseas conflicts.

“The American people are worried that this is creating an endless war. The very thing that Donald Trump campaigned against over and over and over again was no more endless wars. And right now, we’re headed right into one, with no barriers, with no discussion,” he argued.

Trump’s declaration follows the overnight mission in which a U.S. military extraction team, supported by over 150 military aircraft, made their way into Venezuela’s capital of Caracas and reached the compound where Maduro and his wife were staying. The team then brought the pair to the USS Iwo Jima warship before bringing them to New York City where Maduro is facing charges of narcoterrorism and drug trafficking.

Here are more highlights from Schumer’s interview.

The expired Obamacare insurance premiums

“We passed legislation to renew them for three years, and the Republicans blocked it in every single way. They’re a mess. They’re a mess. [Senate Majority Leader] John Thune has said he will not renew them. [House Speaker Mike] Johnson has said they will not … so it’s the Republicans [who] have screwed this up. If they can find a way out of the mess, we want to work with anybody to lower the prices.”

If there will be another government shutdown

“No. There are two separate tracks here. Democrats want to fund the appropriations, the spending bills all the way through 2026. We want to work with a bicameral, bipartisan way to do it. And the good news is our Republican appropriators are working with us, and we’re making good progress in that regard.”

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