Trump tells 'Darth Vader' who is 'a fine man' to stand up in White House rose garden
Trump bizarrely compared White House official Russell Vought to Darth Vader, calling him “a fine man” and telling him to stand during a Rose Garden lunch as the government shutdown continues
U.S. President Donald Trump hosted a luncheon for Republican Senators at the White House Rose Garden today. Trump invited all 53 Republican senators to today's luncheon.
At one point during his Rose Garden address, Trump bizarrely compared a White House official sitting in the crowd to Darth Vader, a fictional Star Wars villain.
"We have Darth Vader. You know Darth Vader, right? Darth Vader is a man who is sitting -- is that Darth? Stand up please Darth. Does everybody know -- they call him Darth Vader, I call him a fine man. But he's cutting Democrat priorities and they're never gonna get them back." Trump was referring to Russell Vought, the White House Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
Vought is one of the architects of Project 2025, a 900 page conservative policy document which includes proposals for dramatic reductions in the size of federal government, expanded presidential authority, rigorous immigration enforcement, a nationwide abortion ban and other elements of an ultra-conservative social agenda, the BBC reports.
The government shutdown continues
Discussions centered on the ongoing government shutdown and unity amongst Republicans to end the freeze in federal funding.
Now entering its fourth week, the government shutdown, which began on October 1, has affected nearly a million federal workers, including those in the military. Nearly 750,000 federal workers have been furloughed and ordered not to report to work.
Other employees, including military personnel, are considered essential workers and are required to work without pay until a budget deal is reached. Troops are expected to receive back pay to make up for the lost earnings once the shutdown ends.
Since the start of the shutdown, Democrats and Republicans have been going back and forth in placing blame on who is the culprit. The two parties are locked in a stalemate as they can’t come to an agreement in passing legislation regarding government spending and healthcare.
Concerns have now been raised about funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
SNAP is administered by the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). It provides assistance to around 41 million Americans who meet the eligibility requirements.
Benefits will run out at the start of November for states across the country if the shutdown continues. Health services departments for various states, including Texas, Illinois, and Minnesota, have issued warnings on their websites to SNAP recipients that they will not receive their benefits come November 1.
Both parties have traded verbal blows with each other during the shutdown.
On day 6 of the shutdown, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the shutdown a “Democrat federal government shutdown.” She added that Democrats’ refusal to vote for the “clean” Republican-backed funding bill would continue to lead to consequences, including a lack of funding for food aid programs, a lack of payment for troops, and federal workers would continue to go without paychecks.
Meanwhile. U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer went on an expletive-laden rant calling out Republicans for the ongoing government shutdown on October 7. He posted a video to X, sharing his strong feelings.
At one point, Schumer lobbed an expletive to describe how Democrats felt.
“Democrats have three words for this, no f—--- way,” Schumer added.
"It's literally life or death, we will not let Republicans blow up our healthcare system," he said
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