China has formally invited U.S. President Donald Trump to Beijing for a summit with Xi Jinping, according to the Financial Times, with a potential meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum in South Korea on October 31 also noted. This invitation follows multiple high-level meetings between U.S. and Chinese officials, though progress on trade and fentanyl talks makes a Beijing summit less likely. Separately, Speaker Mike Johnson stated on September 14th, 2025, that "appropriate sanctions on Russia are far overdue" and expressed a "big appetite" in Congress to work with the White House and Senate colleagues to implement them, as reported by BulwarkOnline. In other congressional news, Representative Michael McCaul announced on This Week ABC that he will not seek reelection in 2026, citing a desire for a "new challenge" after over two decades in Congress, according to a post from House Foreign GOP on X. During the reporting window, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg commented on President Biden's decision to run for reelection, stating that "he should not have run" and that "If he made that decision sooner, we might have been better off," as reported by BulwarkOnline. Politico reported that California Governor Gavin Newsom is attempting to "neutralize one of his biggest liabilities in California." Previous reports from September 14th, 2025, indicated that Senator Lindsey Graham viewed recent events as an "attack on the movement" and that Brian Kilmeade apologized for a "callous" remark. Utah Governor Spencer Cox described current events as a "direct assault on America." Senator James Lankford reported 14,000 threats against members of Congress this calendar year.
