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▪ Vance says shooter 'politically motivated'
▪ White House prepares for shutdown
▪ Trump demands 'sabotage' investigation
▪ Zelensky presses for UN to take action
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The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. Sign up for the Morning Report newsletter SubscribeA shooting at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Dallas on Wednesday that killed one person and injured two others has renewed fears over violence in the country.
The shooting, which came two weeks after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated at a college campus in Utah, has added to fears of politically motivated attacks even as key details have yet to emerge.
Authorities have not yet revealed a particular motive behind the attack, but Trump administration officials broadly described the shooting as political in nature.
“There’s some evidence that we have that’s not yet public, but we know this person was politically motivated,” Vice President Vance said at a speech in North Carolina, without detailing evidence. “They were politically motivated to go after law enforcement. They were politically motivated to go after people who are enforcing our border."
All three victims who were shot were detainees at the facility, and no ICE agents were injured in the shooting, authorities said. The two injured individuals were taken to the hospital in critical condition.
FBI Director Kash Patel said officials found an unused bullet casing with the message “ANTI-ICE” written on it. The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Joshua Jahn, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, officials said.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the shooter “fired indiscriminately at the ICE building” and at a van in a sally port where victims were shot.
DHS said it will "immediately" increase security at ICE facilities across the country in light of the shooting. Department spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the shooting should serve as a "wake-up call to the far-left" about the consequences of its rhetoric about ICE.
Politicians and commentators were quick to assign blame for the shooting, even as few details were known earlier in the day. The Hill’s Emily Brooks reports the shooting is the latest incident to inflame debate over whether left-wing or right-wing ideology is more to blame for political violence.
President Trump brushed off the idea of right-wing violence as a major issue and pointed the finger at the “radical left” in the aftermath of Kirk’s assassination earlier this month, and did the same after the ICE shooting.
“This violence is the result of the Radical Left Democrats constantly demonizing Law Enforcement, calling for ICE to be demolished, and comparing ICE Officers to ‘Nazis,’” he said in a post on Truth Social. “The continuing violence from Radical Left Terrorists, in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, must be stopped.”
Still, studies have shown right-wing political violence is more widespread than that from the left wing. After Kirk’s shooting, the Justice Department quietly removed a study from its website that showed far-right extremists were responsible for the bulk of ideologically motivated killings.
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said in a statement that quelling political violence will require everyone to work together.
The ICE incident will likely add to the battle over immigration policies.
Vance got into a heated back-and-forth with Jon Favreau, a former Obama White House staffer and co-host of the “Pod Save America” podcast, over details of Wednesday's shooting.
“The obsessive attack on law enforcement, particularly ICE, must stop,” Vance posted on the social platform X.
After Favreau argued Vance isn’t a “reliable source of information,” pointing to past posts that had received community fact-checks, the vice president hit back.
“The gunman had anti-ICE messaging carved on the bullets he used. What, precisely, did I get wrong, dips---?” he wrote.
▪ KERA News: Dallas ICE shooting is latest in string of immigration-related violence.
The shooting comes amid broader tensions over the administration's push to crack down on left-leaning groups and Trump’s recent declaration of the antifa movement as a domestic terrorist organization.
Liberal-leaning organizations and individuals have expressed concern that Trump could use the terrorist designation as a way to go after a wide range of liberal groups.
How the administration plans to enforce the order and go after those considered to be members of antifa is unclear.
▪ PBS: Why Trump wants to declare antifa a terrorist organization.
▪ Fox News: “Senate lawmakers clash over Trump administration’s approach to free speech, censorship.”
Fears of rising political violence have rippled into pop culture as well.
In a possible sign of trying to avoid adding to the tensions, Apple TV+ announced this week it would postpone the release of the new series “The Savant,” in which Jessica Chastain plays an undercover investigator who infiltrates online hate groups to take down violent extremists.
Chastain said she disagrees with the decision and argued that the show is more relevant than ever.
Smart Take with Blake Burman
Just a few weeks ago, Trump attended the U.S. Open in New York City, side-by-side with Rolex CEO Jean-Frederic Dufour, shortly after the U.S. imposed 39 percent tariffs on Swiss imports. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) released a letter Wednesday questioning whether the Swiss watchmaker was seeking tariff exemptions for Rolex products.
“Other corporate executives have used these tactics to escape tariffs, and it would be deeply troubling if your efforts provided another example of the Trump Administration’s brazen corruption and capitulation to special interests,” Warren wrote. White House spokesperson Kush Desai pushed back, calling the letter’s claims “asinine conspiracy theories.”
This serves as a possible preview of what 2027 and 2028 could look like if Democrats are able to retake control of part of Congress. Whether it’s tennis treatment or anything else, letters like this show how Democrats are itching to wage a bigger fight if they’re able to secure enough power.
Burman hosts "The Hill" weeknights, 6p/5c on NewsNation.
3 Things to Know Today
1. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he's seeking the death penalty for the shooter convicted of killing 13 people and injuring dozens more at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009. If approved, it would be the first military execution in more than 60 years.
2. Vance said pregnant women should follow their doctor’s advice following the Trump administration's controversial recommendation against using Tylenol. Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. alleged without presenting evidence that the pain reliever could cause autism in children.
3. The family of a passenger killed in a midair collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is suing American Airlines and the federal government, alleging wrongful death and negligence.
Leading the Day
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) points to a sign with a quote he attributed to President Donald Trump, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)SHUTDOWN INEVITABLE? A government shutdown, which would pause many services, is now less than a week away and seems more likely by the day.
Congressional leaders and their aides are now bracing for a shutdown starting Oct. 1, The Hill's Alexander Bolton reports.
Trump’s announcement earlier in the week that he canceled a meeting scheduled for today with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has seemed to snuff out the best chance left to avoid a shutdown.
“I look forward to meeting with them if they get serious about the future of our Nation,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “We must keep the Government open, and legislate like true Patriots rather than hold American Citizens hostage, knowing that they want our now thriving Country closed.”
The administration already appears to be making plans for a shutdown as a memo from the Office of Management and Budget indicates that widespread firings could occur across federal agencies. The memo urges federal agencies to "use this opportunity to consider reduction-in-force (RIF) notices" for all employees if three conditions are met.
The conditions are the lapse of discretionary funding starting mid-next week, if other sources of funding aren't available and if the employee's activities aren't "consistent with the president's priorities."
Some Democrats have expressed concern that a shutdown would give Trump even more power than he currently has.
Both sides have already taken to blaming each other in the event a shutdown occurs at the end of next Tuesday.
Trump and congressional Republicans have called for a “clean” continuing resolution (CR) that keeps government funding at its current levels, adds greater security funding for officials’ protection following Kirk’s shooting and keeps the government open through Nov. 21.
But Democrats have rejected that, centering their opposition on the CR’s lack of continued health care subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which are set to expire. The party is hoping the potential for a shutdown presents a win-win situation, in which they’ll either secure the subsidies extension or Republicans will receive blame for a shutdown.
"They can kind of have their cake and eat it too," one source familiar with the thinking of Democratic leaders told The Hill’s Nathaniel Weixel. "They can work to appease the base right now and get a meaningful policy win for their constituents from ACA, but still turn around and continue getting health care to be a main topic of conversation ... and try to get persuadable swing voters in the midterms."
Republicans will argue that Democrats are the ones to blame, as they’re the ones talking about voting against the measure to keep the government open. Both the House-passed clean CR and a Democratic alternative that includes the health care subsidies have failed in the Senate.
If the government shuts down, it would be the first one since the shutdown from December 2018 to January 2019 during Trump’s first term in office. Lasting more than a month, it was the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
It arose from Trump’s demand of billions of dollars in funding to construct a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump eventually agreed to a deal to reopen the government and weeks later declared a national emergency to allow him to direct funds toward a wall.
When the government is shut down, all services deemed non-essential are closed. National parks may be closed, and many federal employees across different agencies like the Internal Revenue Service, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration would be furloughed.
A backlog can also happen at airports as Transportation Security Administration employees are required to continue working without pay.
▪ ABC: What you need to know ahead of a possible shutdown.
▪ Reuters: As shutdown nears, Trump administration quiet on contingency plans.
OVERSIGHT: Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) indicated that the public should expect "explosive" hearings in the body on the Trump administration's use of executive power in office.
He said the hearings with top Cabinet officials could be similar to the one that took place weeks ago between senators of both parties and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Thune said GOP senators have a responsibility to "make sure we're doing appropriate oversight" of the executive branch's decisions as an "independent, co-equal branch of government."
Thune's comment came during an interview on CNN in which host Dana Bash asked him about various controversial administration decisions, like calling for the revocation of broadcast licenses from networks that criticize the president and firing members of independent agency boards.
“I’ve been around several administrations, several presidents. Every one of them tries to assert as much executive power as they possibly can. And sometimes that gets tested in courts and obviously sometimes there’s oversight that happens through the Congress, through the power of the purse,” he said.
EPSTEIN FILES VOTE: A long-awaited vote on the release of the files the federal government has related to Jeffrey Epstein seems all but certain with the election of another Democrat to the House on Tuesday.
Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who easily won a special election to fill the remainder of the term of her late father, former Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D), has vowed to support the release of the Epstein files. Once she is sworn in and signs the discharge petition organized by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), she will be the 218th House member to sign it, reaching the threshold to force a vote.
Grijalva is expected to be sworn in when the House returns to business next month, and a vote could follow soon after.
Massie has already declared victory, as both Grijalva and her Republican opponent said they would support a vote to release the files. The Kentucky Republican has made releasing the files a central focus for weeks amid the scrutiny the administration has received for its handling of the case.
He’s at times been a thorn in the side of House Republican leadership as he’s voted against GOP-backed spending measures in the past, including Trump’s “big beautiful bill.” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has sought to avoid a vote on the Epstein files so far.
But House rules allow a discharge petition that receives 218 signatures, a majority of the chamber, to receive a vote on the floor. All Democrats and four Republicans — Reps. Nancy Mace (S.C.), Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) and Massie — have signed the petition.
The vote seems likely to create another round of headaches for the president and his administration as he’s sought to move the country on from the files and as critics argue he’s repeatedly attempted to distract attention away from them.
▪ The Hill: Epstein-Trump statue taken down in D.C. despite permit.
COMEY CASE: Former FBI Director James Comey may soon face charges as federal prosecutors prepare to ask a grand jury for an indictment against him, multiple outlets reported Wednesday.
The case concerns allegations that Comey made false statements during testimony before Congress in September 2020 regarding his handling of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, people familiar with the matter told CNN.
Timing is critical as the five-year statute of limitations is set to expire at the end of the month, requiring any indictment to come before then.
The reports come days after Erik Siebert, a Trump-appointed U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, resigned following pressure from the president. Trump expressed frustration that prosecutors felt they didn’t have enough evidence to charge Comey or New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), whom officials are investigating over allegations of mortgage fraud, which she denies.
Following Siebert’s resignation, Trump appointed Lindsey Halligan, a top aide, to serve as U.S. attorney and continue with the investigations.
Comey has denied lying under oath during his testimony.
If an indictment against Comey is handed up, or at least requested, it would raise further questions about the independence of the Justice Department as Trump has openly pushed for investigations into several of his political enemies.
He made a post on Truth Social on Saturday urging Attorney General Pam Bondi to take legal action against Comey, James and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).
▪ NPR: “Unease grows at the Justice Department as Trump’s threats get even more blunt.”
▪ The New York Times: Despite Trump pressure, some Justice Department safeguards remain beyond his reach.
When and Where
The president will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at 11 a.m. and sign executive orders at 3:30 p.m. He's also set to meet with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at 4:30.
The House will not convene on Thursday.
The Senate will meet at noon for a pro forma session.
Zoom In
This image released by Disney shows Jimmy Kimmel hosting his late night show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. (Randy Holmes/Disney via AP)KIMMEL REACTION: The reactions to late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s return to his show after a nearly weeklong involuntary hiatus were mixed as the country appears divided over the comments he made about Kirk and the role of possible government interference in free speech.
Preliminary Nielsen ratings show Tuesday’s episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” averaged 6.2 million viewers, almost four times larger than his normal audience despite 20 percent of ABC affiliates not airing it.
His opening monologue has garnered millions of views online, the highest number for any clip of his show in months. The monologue has more than 15 million views on YouTube and 500,000 likes on Instagram.
But the response to his return and comments addressing what he said about Kirk’s shooting has been mixed. Kimmel accused conservatives last week of trying to use Kirk’s shooting to “score political points” and compared Trump’s mourning of his political ally to how a “4-year-old mourns a goldfish.”
In his monologue Tuesday evening, Kimmel thanked those who showed their support for him and said he wanted to make clear that he didn’t mean to “make light” of Kirk’s killing or blame any group for it.
“And I understand that to some that seemed either ill-timed or unclear or both … and I get why you’re upset,” Kimmel said.
Actor Mark Ruffalo praised the comedian in a comment on Instagram, calling him a “true patriot and man of the people.” Former CNN anchor Don Lemon said Kimmel hit the “right tone” and called him a “true professional.”
But some conservatives expressed dissatisfaction with how Kimmel addressed his past comments.
A spokesperson for Kirk’s Turning Point USA said Kimmel’s comments were “not good enough” and should have included an apology for saying the shooter was a member of the “Make America Great Again” movement.
Trump claimed that ABC told White House officials that Kimmel’s show had been canceled. He also hinted at possibly going after ABC.
“I think we’re going to test ABC out on this. Let’s see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative. A true bunch of losers! Let Jimmy Kimmel rot in his bad Ratings,” he said on Truth Social, alluding to the settlement ABC reached in the defamation case Trump filed against the network.
With Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr indicating he plans to continue to push back where he sees left-wing bias, the battle between Trump and talk show hosts like Kimmel seems far from over.
▪ New York Magazine: How did Trump, others react to Kimmel’s return?
▪ Associated Press: “What to know about Nexstar and Sinclair, the ABC affiliate owners preempting Jimmy Kimmel.”
TRUMP 'SABOTAGE' INVESTIGATION: Trump is demanding the United Nations investigate what he called "triple sabotage," pointing to three separate incidents of technological issues while he was at the U.N. General Assembly in New York this week.
He noted in a post on Truth Social that an escalator he and first lady Melania Trump were about to get on abruptly stopped, forcing them to walk up instead. He also mentioned a teleprompter malfunction when he first began his speech and the sound in the room being "completely off."
“This wasn’t a coincidence, this was triple sabotage at the UN. They ought to be ashamed of themselves,” Trump said. “I’m sending a copy of this letter to the Secretary General, and I demand an immediate investigation."
The U.N. has suggested in a statement that members of Trump's own team may be at fault for the issues, as a videographer from Trump's delegation "may have inadvertently triggered the safety function" on the escalator and a White House staffer was operating the teleprompter when it malfunctioned.
BIDEN AUTOPEN: The White House has called attention back to former President Biden’s use of the autopen with the unveiling of its “Presidential Walk of Fame” on Wednesday.
The display includes portraits of former U.S. presidents except for Biden, with a photo of an “autopen” writing Biden’s signature in his place.
Trump and his allies have zeroed in on Biden’s use of the autopen to sign documents instead of a manual signature as evidence of Biden’s cognitive decline and inability to carry out the duties of his office as his term came to an end.
Presidents of both parties have used the autopen in the past to sign documents, and Biden and his former aides have rejected the idea that he wasn’t making the decisions while he was in the White House.
Trump previously hinted that he would use an autopen in place of Biden’s portrait during an interview with The Daily Caller earlier this month.
The display is just the latest instance of Trump needling his predecessor and escalating his break with the general practice by most presidents to avoid directly criticizing others who have held the office.
Trump bucked that practice to regularly slam former President George W. Bush and former President Obama both as a candidate and as president, though he has at times appeared cordial with his predecessors, such as with Obama during former President Carter’s funeral.
Biden and Obama have both pushed back at times against Trump's criticisms, including over the autopen attacks and treason allegations.
▪ The Guardian: “Obama says Trump deepened US divide in rush to ‘identify enemy’ after Charlie Kirk shooting.”
Elsewhere
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a Security Council meeting at the United Nations headquarters, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)ZELENSKY AT THE PODIUM: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had sharp words for the United Nations when he addressed the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, calling it a “weak” institution that hasn’t been able to stop Russia’s full-scale invasion of his country after three and half years.
“Because international institutions are too weak, this madness continues,” he said.
Zelensky has pushed for more pressure from the international community on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war, but Russia’s status as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council has allowed it to block resolutions instituting sanctions or calling for military action, The Hill’s Laura Kelly reports.
Zelensky did receive a win following his meeting with Trump on Tuesday as the U.S. president departed from his past position in saying that Ukraine could win back all the territory that Russia has taken over. He previously suggested Ukraine should be willing to give up territory in exchange for peace.
Trump said during his speech to the assembly that Europe should join U.S. actions in placing economic pressure on Russia. He has pushed the country’s European allies to end their purchasing of Russian energy, allowing him to place more effective tariffs on Russia.
▪ The Hill: “Trump’s abrupt Ukraine shift exposes fresh frustrations with Putin.”
▪ BBC: Zelensky says war must end or it will expand.
Opinion
Why does a Palestinian state get recognition but not Taiwan? opinion contributors Michael Mazza and Shay Khatiri write in The Hill
Trump should fix the U.N., not just grandstand, writes former White House national security adviser John Bolton in The Washington Post
The Closer
And finally … It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for this week’s Morning Report Quiz! Autumn officially began this week, so this quiz will test your knowledge about fall-related trivia.
Be sure to email your responses to jgans@thehill.com — please add “Quiz” to your subject line. Winners who submit correct answers will receive deserved newsletter fame on Friday.
What is the first full moon of autumn called?
1. Autumn Moon
2. Harvest Moon
3. Full Sturgeon Moon
4. Full Beaver Moon
What is the name of the pigment in leaves that wanes in fall, causing them to lose their green color?
1. Stomata
2. Mesophyll
3. Chlorophyll
4. Chloroplast
Which were the first ancient people known to use scarecrows?
1. Egyptians
2. Persians
3. Romans
4. Greeks
Which state has apple cider as its official state drink?
1. New Hampshire
2. Vermont
3. Michigan
4. Oregon
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