Leaders of Congress' Asian, Jewish, and Black Caucuses issued a joint statement this morning, October 7th, condemning Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's recent remarks about "no more beardos" in the military. The caucuses stated that Hegseth's comments are "an insult to the millions of Sikh, Jewish, Muslim, and Christian Americans who have answered the call to serve." The statement was released via social media platform X by reporter Andrew Solender. In economic news, artificial intelligence has significantly driven U.S. GDP growth and stock market gains so far this year. According to data cited by Morning Brew on X, AI accounted for 40% of U.S. GDP growth and AI companies represented 80% of U.S. stock gains. Meanwhile, a tweet from the House Judiciary Committee Democrats on X referenced Donald Trump's original choice for Attorney General. Separately, the GOP Oversight Committee on X released a declassified report, claiming it backs their investigation into the Biden family's foreign business dealings and alleging that Joe Biden ordered the report buried and pardoned Hunter Biden in his final weeks. Regarding the ongoing federal government shutdown, Speaker Mike Johnson's official website states that federal workers are guaranteed back pay "under federal law." This is in contrast to a previous statement that he was floating not giving furloughed federal workers backpay, as noted by a user on X. On the same topic, Representative Hakeem Jeffries displayed a tweet from Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene concerning the Affordable Care Act (ACA) at a press conference today, as reported by Eleanor Mueller on X. In other developments, LeBron James posted on X about a Hennessy advertisement, referencing "The Second Decision." The reporting window also captured an announcement from the White House on X detailing Democrats' to-do list for the week.
