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(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump has been briefed on updated options for potential military operations in Venezuela, including a strike on land, ABC News has confirmed. 

The briefing on Wednesday followed the arrival of the USS Gerald Ford — the world’s largest aircraft carrier — in the U.S. Southern Command area of operations north of the Caribbean Sea. The carrier is accompanied by some 60 aircraft, including F-18 fighter jets, that dramatically increases the military’s firepower in the region and boost the number of troops in Latin American to 15,000. 

Sources cautioned that the briefing itself was not an indication that an attack was imminent.

Trump has been weighing his options for weeks, which experts say could range from no action to air strikes on seaports, airports and military facilities. Another option, considered less likely, could be sending in a team of special operations forces to apprehend or kill Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and his senior advisers. 

The latest briefing at the White House was conducted by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was in Canada at a G7 summit of foreign ministers, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe were not present.

The White House and Pentagon declined to comment on the briefing, which was first reported by CBS News.

Any strike against Venezuela is seen as particularly risky. Trump has called for Maduro to step down, accusing him of encouraging drug trafficking and illegal migration to the United States. But the sudden departure of Maduro could also create a power vacuum that risks further instability. 

It’s also not clear whether the administration would be legally justified to force out Maduro. Late last month, senators were briefed on a secret list of targets inside Venezuela developed by the Pentagon. But lawmakers said they were told the administration’s current legal analysis only applied to the ongoing boat strikes and did not make the case for a direct strike against Venezuela.

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(NEW YORK) — Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s mayor-elect, has spoken with several Democratic governors — seeking their insight for how to navigate certain aspects of governing and best deal with President Donald Trump, several sources familiar with the conversations confirmed to ABC News.

Mamdani has spoken to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro recently, the sources said — with conversations happening as recently as this week. All of the governors has clashed with the president.

Mamdani and Pritzker discussed how to approach Trump, Pritzker’s experience with the president’s effort to send troops into Chicago and how to prepare should a similar incursion happen in New York City.

Trump has claimed Democratic-run cities, such as New York and Chicago, are in “bad shape,” and has threatened to “straighten them out, one by one.” On his social media platform Tuesday evening, Trump said his administration will “ramp up” efforts to crack down on crime in Chicago.

Trump has said that Pritzker, who has pushed back against Trump’s efforts, “should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers!” as he and Chicago Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson oppose Trump’s push to deploy the National Guard. 

“Come and get me,” Pritzker fired back on ABC’s This Week last month, responding to Trump.

Pritzker also played a major role in assisting Texas state Democrats in their attempt to blunt Republicans’ first crack at redrawing congressional maps mid-decade.

Mamdani and Pritzker also discussed their commitments to centering affordability, according to the sources familiar with the conversation.

In his conversation with Moore on election night, Mamdani applauded Moore’s work cutting red tape and discussed innovations in government. The two also discussed how to stand up to Trump, sources familiar with the discussion said.

Moore has previously praised Mamdani’s campaign narrative around affordability, saying it mirrors parts of his own agenda in Maryland. Prior to the government re-opening, Moore announced the release of $62 million to ensure full November SNAP benefits for Marylanders and singled Trump and his administration out for leaving his residents in the cold. 

“But no state can fill the enormous gap created by Donald Trump and his administration,” Moore said in a statement.

Trump has criticized Moore, saying in a post on his social media platform earlier this year that his “record on Crime is a very bad one.”

Axios was first to report the calls with Pritzker and Moore.

Mamdani’s call with Shapiro occurred before last week’s election.

Shapiro told Semafor that he had a “healthy dialogue” with Mamdani and cleared the air regarding their differences after Shapiro in July criticized Mamdani’s campaign, saying it left “far too much space for extremists.”

Campaign sources familiar with the discussion said Shapiro and Mamdani also talked about the importance of permitting reform and reconstructing Interstate 87, a major national thoroughfare that runs through New York.

Shapiro has been critical of the White House’s handling of the government shutdown, particularly on reimplementing SNAP benefits in his state. 

Trump called Shapiro “highly overrated” in a social media post.

Mamdani has said he plans to keep working the phones.

In an interview with NBC 4 New York, Mamdani said he’ll reach out the White House ahead of taking office “because this is a relationship that will be critical to the success of this city.” 

A day after the election, Trump, after calling Mamdani a “communist” — a label Mamdani, who identifies as a Democratic socialist, has rejected — said he is willing to help Mamdani “a little bit, maybe.” 

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(WASHINGTON) — After 43 days, the longest federal government shutdown in history is history after President Donald Trump late Wednesday night signed the funding bill passed in both chambers of Congress.

With the bill now signed, federal agencies and services are expected to immediately return to normal; however, some benefits, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, will take a little time to be doled out.

The spending bill reopens and funds the federal government until Jan. 30, 2026, with some agencies like the Department of Agriculture and Veterans Affairs funded through the end of the fiscal year.

Here’s what to know about the government reopening.

When will federal employees return to work?

At least 670,000 federal employees were furloughed during the shutdown, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.

Furloughed employees are expected to return to work immediately and there is some indication that those orders have gone out to specific agencies.

Furloughed employees at Health and Human Services were told to “report for duty” on Thursday, according to a memo obtained by ABC News.

“If HHS employees do not have previously approved leave scheduled, or do not get leave approved, then they will be “considered absent without leave (AWOL),” the memo reads.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) also told agencies Thursday that they should consider “the disruption in the lives and routines of furloughed employees.”

Back pay and undoing Trump firings

Federal workers deemed essential, including Capitol Police officers, Transportation Security Administration workers and air traffic controllers, were forced to work without pay during the shutdown.

During the shutdown, the administration issued layoffs through Reduction in Force orders for federal workers in various agencies.

All federal workers are entitled to back pay under the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, signed into law by Trump during the now-second-longest shutdown in his first term in office.

The law covers both furloughed employees and those required to work without pay during a government shutdown.

The funding bill includes additional language to reverse Trump administration firings during the shutdown and ensures that furloughed workers receive back pay.

It also includes language to prevent any additional reductions in force until the next government funding deadline on Jan. 30, 2026.

When will SNAP benefits get doled out?

The bill includes a provision to fully fund SNAP benefits through the end of September 2026.

The money is expected to be doled out soon, but the timetable has not been revealed by officials.

Federal courts ordered the administration to pay SNAP benefits during the shutdown, however, the administration went to the Supreme Court to get the order paused as the appeals litigation continued.

On Thursday, the administration withdrew its case.

Solicitor General John Sauer said in a filing that the “underlying dispute here is now moot.”

When do D.C.’s museums open?

All of the Smithsonian museums have been closed since Oct. 12 after running out of funding.

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, the National Air and Space Museum and the Steven F. Udvar-Hazey Center will reopen on Nov. 14, according to a notice on its website.

“All other museums,  research centers, and the National Zoo will reopen on a rolling basis by Monday, Nov. 17,” the message read.

When will the air traffic system be fully staffed?

The shortage of air traffic controllers, who were not furloughed, was so dire during the shutdown that the Federal Aviation Administration was forced to reduce flights by 10% at 40 airports — leading to thousands of flights being canceled and delayed across the country.

As many as 15 to 20 controllers resigned during the shutdown, according to the Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

Duffy told reporters Tuesday that air traffic controllers will get 70% of their back pay within 24 to 48 hours of the reopening.

It could take up to a week for air travel to return to normal operations after the government shutdown ends, Airlines for America President and CEO Chris Sununu said at a press briefing Wednesday afternoon.

Sununu said he doesn’t see any impacts lasting into the holiday season.

“I don’t think any flights over the Thanksgiving week have actually been canceled yet. I think the airlines have been pretty tight working with the FAA looking a few days out to be sure,” he said.

Where do Obamacare subsidies stand?

Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies that Democrats held out for during the shutdown were not included in the Senate deal to reopen the government, which passed with the help of eight moderate Democrats.

The enhanced ACA tax credits don’t expire until Dec. 31, and if no deal is reached, health premiums will jump for more than 20 million Americans.

Sources told ABC News on Monday that Senate Republican leadership promised to allow a vote on a bill of Democrats’ choosing related to the ACA in December.

But House Speaker Mike Johnson has not committed to holding a vote in the House on the subsidies.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Wednesday filed a discharge petition to extend the Obamacare subsidies. He would need a few House Republicans to vote with Democrats for it to pass.

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(PITTSBURGH) — Sen. John Fetterman’s office said the Pennsylvania Democrat is under “routine observation” in a Pittsburgh hospital after he fell during an early morning walk Thursday near his home in Braddock, Pennsylvania.

“It was established he had a ventricular fibrillation flare-up that led to Senator Fetterman feeling light-headed, falling to the ground and hitting his face with minor injuries,” a statement from his office said.

“If you thought my face looked bad before, wait until you see it now!” Fetterman said, according to the statement.

Fetterman opted to stay in the hospital so doctors can “fine-tune his medication regimen,” the statement said.

Fetterman suffered a stroke in May 2022 during the Democratic primary for the state’s open Senate seat. Despite his condition limiting his campaigning, he won the Democratic nomination and later defeated Dr. Mehmet Oz, now President Donald Trump’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator, in the general election.

The following February, Fetterman was hospitalized for several days of observation after feeling lightheaded, though his aides said testing ruled out seizures or another stroke.

Weeks later, Fetterman checked himself into a Washington hospital for treatment of depression.

“While John has experienced depression off and on throughout his life, it only became severe in recent weeks,” Adam Jentleson, his chief of staff, said at the time.

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(NEWARK, N.J.) — Congresswoman LaMonica McIver must face at least two of three federal charges accusing her of assaulting and impeding immigration officers outside a New Jersey detention center after federal judge on Thursday rejected her attempt to dismiss the case.

The New Jersey Democrat was charged with three counts of assaulting, resisting, impeding and interfering with federal officials following her May 9 visit to Delaney Hall, a privately owned, 1,000-bed facility in Newark that ICE uses as a detention center. 

The government alleges McIver intervened as federal agents attempted to arrest Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.

U.S. District Judge Jamel Semper turned down McIver’s arguments that she is immune from prosecution under the Speech or Debate Clause.

“Impeding an arrest, whether lawful or unlawful, goes beyond any reasonable definition of oversight and, accordingly, exceeds the safe harbor of legislative immunity,” Semper wrote in an order published Thursday. 

McIver’s actions as described in count one, which alleged she placed her arms around the mayor in an attempt to thwart his arrest and then slammed her forearm into a federal agent, were “wholly disconnected from the oversight she and the Representatives later conducted when touring the facility, where they engaged in protected fact-finding related to federal immigration policy,” the judge continued. “Defendant’s presence at Delaney Hall does not grant constitutional protection for every act performed in connection to that visit.”

Semper said he is still considering whether the Speech and Debate Clause might apply to count two — which alleged she forcibly struck an ICE officer following the arrest — noting, “the factual record is still being developed.”

The judge also rejected McIver’s argument that her case amounted to selective and vindictive prosecution by a Republican administration that called her visit to Delaney Hall a “reckless stunt.”

“Defendant has not demonstrated that her prosecution is a result of personal animus harbored by the prosecution,” Semper said.

McIver has pleaded not guilty. The trial was supposed to start this week but had been delayed pending the judge’s ruling.

She has alleged the prosecution is politically motivated, and her office called the charges “baseless.”

“This is Trump weaponizing the DOJ for people who speak out against him, for members and elected leaders who do their jobs to hold this administration accountable,” she said at a press event following her arraignment in June. “We will not be intimidated.”

Tensions escalated at the facility when a federal officer ordered Baraka to leave a secured area of the facility or face arrest, and pushing and shoving allegedly occurred, according to prosecutors.

Baraka was arrested at the facility and charged with trespassing, which was later dropped.

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(WASHINGTON) — The longest government shutdown in U.S. history came to an end on Wednesday night, after six House Democrats joined Republicans to pass a funding package in a narrow 222-209 vote.

The Democrats’ defections helped push the bill over the finish line, as two Republicans opposed against the measure to reopen the government. President Donald Trump signed the bill in the Oval Office shortly after it was passed.

The moderate Democrats who voted yes were Jared Golden of Maine, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, Adam Gray of California, Don Davis of North Carolina, Henry Cuellar of Texas and Tom Suozzi of New York. 

They all cited the growing impacts of the shutdown on Americans as a reason why they moved to end the 43-day impasse, despite Democratic leadership opposing the funding package because it does not address their key demand of extending Affordable Care Act tax credits that are set to expire at the end of the year.

“Tonight, I voted to end this partisan car crash of a shutdown. Nobody likes paying even more money to insurance companies — and the fight to stop runaway health insurance premiums won’t be won by holding hungry Americans hostage,” Gluesenkamp Perez said in a statement. “Americans can’t afford for their Representatives to get so caught up in landing a partisan win that they abandon their obligation to come together to solve the urgent problems that our nation faces.”

Gray said it was not a “perfect deal,” but one “born of compromise,” and touted how the bill will extend funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and SNAP for a full fiscal year.

“Some critics have asked why I supported the bill when it did not include an immediate extension of the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits. Here’s why: Protecting families from hunger today does not prevent us from lowering health care costs tomorrow,” he said.

“People are hurting right now — they are in pain!” Davis said after the vote.

When asked by ABC News Senior Political Correspondent Rachel Scott if the impacts of the shutdown outweighed everything else, Davis said “absolutely.”

“And it is listening and hearing from constituents who are deeply, deeply concerned. They’ve been affected in ways that we don’t even understand,” he told ABC News’ Scott.

“Parents are telling their kids to eat more at school because they don’t know if they’re going to be able to eat when they get home,” Davis continued, adding “This is real.”

But Democrats are now dealing with infighting after eight Senate Democrats and the six House Democrats broke ranks to end the shutdown without a deal on ACA subsidies. The agreement to end the shutdown included a promise from Senate Republican leadership to hold a vote on health care subsidies in the coming weeks, but Speaker Mike Johnson has not committed to such a vote in the House.

Democrats who voted to reopen the government said the fight will continue on the ACA, as premiums are set to skyrocket for recipients next year.

“Now, with the shutdown ended, Congress should take immediate action to extend expiring ACA premium tax credits that keep health insurance plans affordable for millions of Americans. We still have a window to pass bipartisan legislation to extend these credits,” Golden said.

Suozzi echoed that sentiment.

“Everyone knows that I have been preaching bipartisanship for years. I am relying on the representations of some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, that they want to get something done to extend the Premium Tax Credits,” Suozzi said.

“If my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are willing to work together to address this health insurance affordability crisis by extending the premium tax credits, then we will have accomplished something meaningful,” the New York Democrat added. “If we are not successful, it will deal yet another blow to the already eroding trust in Washington, D.C., and it will be clear who failed to deliver.”

ABC News’ Arthur Jones II contributed to this report.

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