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▪ Venezuelan opposition leader wins Nobel
▪ Letitia James indicted
▪ Fetterman in tough spot with Dems
▪ Colombian president quarrels with White House
President Trump has had his name emblazoned on skyscrapers, received multiple Person of the Year distinctions and been gifted everything from Olympic medals to gold-plated golf clubs from foreign leaders.
But one honor still eludes him: the Nobel Peace Prize.
This year's award has gone to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, the panel overseeing the prize announced Friday, despite a months-long and very public campaign by Trump for the prize.
Jørgen Watne Frydnes, the chair of the five-person Norwegian Nobel Committee, defended the decision when asked directly about Trump. He said the committee often sees campaigns and thousands of letters per year advocating for particular contenders, adding the panel's decisions are solely based on "the work and will of Alfred Nobel."
The Nobel chair called Machado "one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage" in Latin America recently who has "inspired millions" with her decision to stay in Venezuela despite threats to her life.
Frydnes said Machado won the award for her work fighting for democracy in her country and efforts to achieve a "just and peaceful transition" away from dictatorship.
Machado has been a key leader in opposing Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, who has increasingly cracked down on democratic norms like free and fair elections and freedom of the press.
She revealed last year that she had gone into hiding as she feared for her life. Machado was briefly detained when she made another public appearance in January, but was later released.
Frydnes said Machado has stood up for free and fair elections, spoken out for judicial independence and human rights and spent years working for the "freedom of the Venezuelan people."
"At a time when democracy is under threat, it is more important than ever to defend this common ground," he said.
Trump regularly spoke about why he believed he should get this year's prize. As recently as Thursday, he touted his push to broker a peace deal between Israel and Hamas to stop the two-year conflict in Gaza.
His announcement of an agreement on the first phase of a deal finished by declaring: "BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS." The White House labeled him "the peace president."
But he also argued earlier this year that his efforts would come up short in the eyes of the judging committee. “No, I won't get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do," he said in June.
Trump’s interest in winning the award goes back years, at least to 2018, during his first term. His comment that year came as he sought to make an agreement with North Korea.
“Everyone thinks so, but I would never say it,” Trump said in response to a reporter’s question about whether he deserved the award.
He also went after former President Obama’s 2009 win as unfair on multiple occasions. Some raised questions at the time about Obama winning the award after such a short time in office at that point.
Still, the frequency and seriousness of Trump’s discussions about winning the prize himself picked up significantly in his second term. He regularly brought it up both in public and in private, including during his address to the United Nations General Assembly last month when he spoke about ending "seven un-endable wars."
Demonstrating the award's importance to him, numerous allies spoke out on why they thought Trump should get it, including Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Despite his public lobbying, Trump faced hurdles to winning the award this year. Nominations were due in January, and the committee generally considers conduct over the previous year — before Trump returned to office.
There were 338 nominees for this year’s prize, including 244 individuals and 94 organizations. The shortlist, which the committee forms as it gets closer to making a selection, narrows the field, but a few dozen names could still remain.
The committee doesn’t publicly reveal the names of those nominated or on the short-list for 50 years after the award is given.
ISRAEL CEASEFIRE BEGINS: The Israeli military said Friday a ceasefire has begun in Gaza after the country's government formally approved the first phase of Trump's peace plan.
The first step of the deal will have Israel withdrawing from the majority of Gaza. Once that is complete, Hamas will have 72 hours to return the remaining living hostages.
Trump has said he expects the hostages to be released Monday or Tuesday. Hamas is also responsible for returning the bodies of those who have died, but it has said this will take more time.
Israel is set to release about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners as the hostages are freed.
The deal will also see additional aid flow into Gaza to assist the Palestinian people.
Trump is traveling to the Middle East this weekend and is set to address Israel's Knesset on Sunday.
A U.S. said Thursday that roughly 200 American military personnel will be in Israel helping oversee implementation of the ceasefire.
Israel and Hamas have both agreed to at least the first phase of Trump’s 20-point proposal to bring a permanent end to the war and provide for what comes next.
Trump’s moves have gotten praise from around the political spectrum, even from Democrats, though they have expressed caution as the deal is still in the early stages of being carried out.
“We’re at the earliest stages of a proposed peace plan. I want it to work. Let’s watch and see,” Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told CNN.
▪ The Hill: Did Trump really end 7 wars?
▪ The Hill: Five takeaways from the Gaza deal.
▪ The Times of Israel: Nobel winner decided days ahead of Israel-Hamas deal
FIRST IN THE HILL: The Hill’s Amie Parnes and NBC News’s Jonathan Allen have struck a deal with William Morrow, a subsidiary of HarperCollins, to publish two books in the next few years.
The publisher told The Hill that the first book, set for release in 2027, will focus on Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and the battle over the future of the Democratic Party. The second book will be an inside account of the 2028 presidential election, in a similar style to Parnes and Allen’s previous books.
The pair, who are repeat #1 New York Times bestselling authors, have written several books together, including “Shattered,” about former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s ill-fated 2016 campaign, and “Lucky,” about former President Biden’s 2020 campaign.
Most recently, Parnes and Allen released “Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House,” about the 2024 election, including Biden’s decision to end his reelection bid, the July 2024 assassination attempt on Trump and former Vice President Kamala Harris’s historically short campaign.
A two-book deal is particularly notable as it is rare in the current climate. While political books centered on the Trump administration thrived during his first term in office, they’ve struggled during his second term so far.
Parnes and Allen’s “Fight” has been an exception, and it’s been optioned for film and television.
3 Things to Know Today
1. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) questioned Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) decision to send National Guard troops into Chicago, saying he believes it violates states’ rights.
2. Turning Point USA announced an alternative “All-American” halftime show in response to the news and conservative backlash over Bad Bunny’s selection as the Super Bowl LX halftime performer.
3. New Jersey GOP gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli said he plans to sue Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.), his opponent, for defamation after she made comments about him, his business and the opioid crisis.
Leading the Day
New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a news conference outside Manhattan federal court in New York, Feb. 14, 2025. (Yuki Iwamura, Associated Press)JAMES INDICTED: New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) on Thursday became the second high-profile Trump adversary to face criminal charges, weeks after the Department of Justice (DOJ) began prosecuting former FBI Director James Comey.
James was indicted on charges of mortgage fraud. The DOJ had been building a case against her for months after Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte made a criminal referral.
Pulte alleged that James claimed a home in Virginia as her primary residence while living and holding office in New York. James has repeatedly denied the allegations and argued the case is without merit.
The case was brought in the Eastern District of Virginia under interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, who also brought charges against Comey last month. Comey pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to the charges of making a false statement to Congress and obstructing an official proceeding.
Halligan, a former member of Trump’s legal defense team who served as a White House aide, was tapped for the role after former U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert resigned under pressure from the administration. Siebert reportedly did not feel there was sufficient evidence to bring charges against Comey or James, creating scrutiny from higher-level officials.
Democrats slammed James's indictment, viewing it as the latest example of the president pressuring the DOJ to go after his political enemies.
“This is what tyranny looks like. President Trump is using the Justice Department as his personal attack dog, targeting Attorney General Tish James for the ‘crime’ of prosecuting him for fraud—and winning," Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement.
James has been the subject of repeated attacks from Trump since she sued him, his adult children and the Trump Organization for fraud, winning a nearly $500 million judgement. An appeals court voided the penalty that Trump was required to pay but kept the ruling against him intact. Trump and James have both appealed that decision.
The charges against James come after Trump made a Truth Social post calling on Attorney General Pam Bondi to bring cases against her, Comey and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.). After Comey, who Trump fired in his first term, was indicted, Trump denied having a “list” of people he wants to see face charges but he said he expected additional cases would be coming.
Halligan maintained the case against James is about the law.
“No one is above the law. The charges as alleged in this case represent intentional, criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public’s trust,” she said in a statement. “The facts and the law in this case are clear, and we will continue following them to ensure that justice is served.”
But that won’t calm critics who argue Trump is doing what he had long accused his opponents of: politicizing the justice system and using his power to ensure his adversaries are prosecuted.
James called the charges a “continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system” and asserted the case was brought because she “did her job” as New York’s top prosecutor.
“These charges are baseless, and the president’s own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost,” James said.
▪ The Hill: Read Letitia James’s indictment.
▪ The Wall Street Journal: “Inside the Justice Department where the president calls the shots.”
VIRGINIA DEBATE: Former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) and Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears faced off in the only debate of the Virginia gubernatorial race on Thursday night.
Hosted by WAVY-10, an NBC affiliate owned by The Hill's parent company Nexstar Media Group, the debate featured frequent interruptions in which Earle-Sears regularly sought to put Spanberger on defense.
An early, dramatic moment came when moderators asked Spanberger about the texts state attorney general candidate Jay Jones (D) sent in 2022 hoping for violence against then-state House Speaker Todd Gilbert (R). Spanberger said Jones's messages were "absolutely abhorrent" but stopped short of calling on him to drop out, saying the decision is up to the voters.
Earle-Sears repeatedly urged Spanberger to call for him to drop out, but Spanberger refused to respond directly to her.
With polls showing her trailing Spanberger, Earle-Sears needed a big night to try to turn the race around, and she seemed to take every opportunity. She repeatedly called Spanberger a liar and interrupted her while she was speaking.
Spanberger also pushed back against her opponent, criticizing Earle-Sears's stance on abortion and LGBTQ rights.
But how much the debate will matter in the election remains to be seen.
The Hill's Julia Manchester has five takeaways from the night.
SHUTDOWN TENSIONS RISE: Members of Congress are growing increasingly frustrated as the government shutdown reaches its 10th day without a clear end in sight.
Two high-profile confrontations took place on a single day this week.
First, Arizona Sens. Mark Kelly (D) and Ruben Gallego (D) held an impromptu press conference outside House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) office on Wednesday, calling on him to swear in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who won a special election to fill her late father’s seat last month.
Johnson came out of his office midway through the press gaggle and got into a back-and-forth with the two senators.
“We’re going to do that as soon as we get back to work, but we need the lights turned back on, so we encourage both of you to go open the government,” the Speaker said.
Democrats pushed back, noting that once she's sworn in Grijalva is expected to sign a discharge petition on releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files, delivering the required signatures to force a vote on the House floor.
“This is an excuse so she doesn’t sign on to that,” Gallego responded.
Johnson rejected that as "absurd." The Speaker has said the Epstein files isn't the reason he’s delayed swearing her in, and he said he will do so once the government is reopened and the House returns to business.
A second confrontation took place later in the day between House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.). Lawler pressed Jeffries on why he would not back his proposal to extend the expiring Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies by one year. Jeffries has rejected Lawler’s proposal as a “nonstarter.”
“You’re making a show of this to make yourself relevant,” Jeffries told Lawler. “You’re embarrassing yourself right now.”
“It’s sad. It’s sad. You could easily sign on to this,” Lawler said. “The only embarrassment here is you.”
The Hill’s Al Weaver and Emily Brooks report on how both incidents are emblematic of a Capitol Hill that may blow its top if the shutdown doesn’t end soon.
Meanwhile, pressure is mounting on Johnson to bring the House back in session to hold a vote on providing military pay amid the shutdown. Unless Congress acts, military members are set to miss their first paycheck on Oct. 15, affecting more than 1.3 million active service members.
Johnson blamed Democrats for the possible gap in pay for service members.
But Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) broke with the rest of House Republican leadership in calling for a vote on a bill to pay military members during the shutdown.
"As a senior member of the Armed Services Committee and the longtime representative for Fort Drum and the 10th Mountain Division, I have cosponsored and am calling for a floor vote on the Pay Our Troops Act to ensure that our brave and dedicated servicemembers are paid," Stefanik said in a post on the social platform X.
The bill is also backed by Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), the chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.
Johnson was asked about military pay during an appearance on C-SPAN on Thursday during which he took calls from viewers, but he pointed the finger at Democrats for shutting down the government.
▪ The Hill: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy threatens to fire air traffic controllers who skip work during shutdown.
▪ The Atlantic: Americans are about to feel the government shutdown.
When and Where
The president will depart the White House for his physical at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center at 10 a.m. He will make an announcement at 5 p.m.
The Senate will meet at 11:30 a.m. for a pro forma session.
The House is out.
Zoom In
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) at the Capitol in Washington, July 24, 2025. (J. Scott Applewhite, Associated Press)FETTERMAN’S ISOLATION: The Pennsylvania senator was at one time seen as an emerging leader within the Democratic Party and a possible presidential contender, but he’s increasingly fallen out of favor with his party, The Hill’s Amie Parnes reports.
Fetterman has been one of only three Democrats or Democratic-leaning independents who have consistently voted in favor of the House GOP’s continuing resolution to reopen the government without extending ACA subsidies.
It’s not the first vote he’s defected from his party on; he voted to confirm Bondi as attorney general, and he’s generally been more cautious about criticizing Trump than many of his Democratic colleagues.
While Democrats have been largely supportive of the peace deal that Trump has sought to broker between Israel and Hamas, Fetterman went further in saying that Trump deserved the Nobel Peace Prize if the deal holds. That’s not necessarily a bold statement, but it’s much less hesitant than other Democrats have been.
A recent poll shows Fetterman seemingly out of step with members of his party in his home state. A Quinnipiac University poll showed 54 percent of Democrats said they disapprove of Fetterman’s job performance, while only a third approve.
Fetterman is much more popular among Republicans, with 62 percent of them saying they approve of the senator.
“Fetterman got elected on economic populism and turned into a MAGA apologist,” one top Democratic strategist told Parnes. “I see no way he avoids the primary in 2028.”
Despite speculation otherwise, Fetterman has consistently ruled out switching parties.
“No, I’m not going to switch,” he told Fox Business Network host Maria Bartiromo late last month.
Elsewhere
President of Colombia Gustavo Petro Urrego addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 23, 2025, at U.N. headquarters. (Pamela Smith, Associated Press)TRUMP BOAT STRIKES: Colombian President Gustavo Petro is clashing with the Trump administration over the series of strikes it has carried out on boats in the Caribbean, which Trump has claimed were attempting to smuggle drugs into the U.S.
Petro alleged on Wednesday that the most recent strike targeted a boat that included Colombian citizens, which the White House has denied. He said he hopes the families of those on board will come forward to report the incident.
A White House official pushed back on the allegation sharply, saying the U.S. looks forward to Petro “retracting his baseless and reprehensible statement so that we can return to a productive dialogue on building a strong, prosperous future” for both countries.
The official also noted that Colombia is an “essential strategic partner” and the U.S. is “committed to close cooperation.”
This exchange came weeks after the U.S. revoked Petro’s visa over comments he made at a pro-Palestinian rally urging the U.S. military to “not point their guns at people” and be willing to “disobey” Trump.
“Obey the orders of humanity,” Petro said, according to a translation from Reuters.
The U.S. has conducted four strikes against alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea, killing 21 people. Trump has blamed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro for smuggling drugs from his country into the U.S.
Trump declared to Congress that the U.S. is at war with the drug cartels, which the administration has designated as terrorist groups, giving legal justification for the strikes. But Democrats have slammed the strikes and forced a vote in the Senate to block them from continuing.
That vote failed mostly along party lines.
▪ The Intercept: Fetterman is sole Democrat to vote against attempt to block Trump’s Caribbean boat strikes.
▪ Associated Press: Trump hasn’t yet provided Congress evidence that targeted boats carried drugs.
▪ Fox News: How Trump’s boat strikes are reshaping the cartel battle.
Opinion
The Rosie O’Donnell shutdown, writes The Hill’s Chris Stirewalt
How congressional dysfunction paved the road to political violence, writes The Hill opinion contributor Sheril Kirshenbaum
The Closer
Presidential candidate Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), center, is shown with from left Stephen Smith; his sister, Pat Lawford; sister-in-law Jackie Onassis; and Jean Kennedy Smith on Dec. 12, 1979 at the hotel in Pierre in New York. (Richard Drew, Associated Press file)And finally … ??? Congrats to this week’s Morning Report quiz winners! They know their stuff about the Kennedys!
? Here’s who went 4/4: Stan Wasser, Chuck Schoenenberger, Tom Chabot, Harry Strulovici, Alan Johnson, Brian Gordon, Marcia Gatlin, Rick Schmidtke, Robert Sundin, Tim Burrack, John Stafford, Ned Sauthoff, Philip Kerstein, Mark Williamson, Jenessa Wagner, Linda Field, M. Whitehouse, Jay Rockey, Julie Barnes, Laura Rettaliata, Dick Baznik, Karen Mitchoff, Stanton Kirk, William Moore, Lori Benso, Robert Bradley, Don Lyster, Daniel McHargue, David Faunce, Brian Hogan, Jess Elger, John Trombetti, Janice Faggan, Luther Berg, Terry Pflaumer and Steve James.
Joan Kennedy devoted much of her life to mental health awareness, having been open about her own struggles with her mental health and depression in the 1970s.
Joseph and Rose Kennedy had a total of nine children. The age difference between the oldest and youngest was about 17 years.
Ted Kennedy unsuccessfully primaried Carter in 1980 despite winning more than a dozen states and challenging the nomination right up to the Democratic convention.
Joseph Kennedy Jr. was the oldest of the Kennedy siblings, having been born in 1915. His father hoped for Joseph Jr. to embark on a great political career before he tragically died in a plane explosion in 1944 while serving in World War II. After his death, John F. Kennedy ultimately pursued that path, leading him eventually to the White House.
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