On the seventh day of the federal government shutdown, a debate has emerged regarding back pay for furloughed federal workers, with conflicting statements from Republican lawmakers and a new memo from Russ Vought asserting they are not entitled to it. Speaker Mike Johnson's office, however, states that furloughed workers are entitled to back pay. Senator John Cornyn stated that President Trump is not yet ready to endorse him, despite ongoing conversations. Meanwhile, Senator Thune expressed confidence in Cornyn's position, suggesting an endorsement would be beneficial for the party. Separately, Senator Fetterman marked the two-year anniversary of October 7th by expressing pride in standing with Israel and urging Hamas to accept a peace plan and free hostages. In a targeted public safety operation, ICE and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol arrested 120 undocumented individuals, 91 of whom were driving commercial vehicles, according to DHS. Attorney General Pam Bondi was questioned by Senator Whitehouse regarding $50,000 in cash given to Mr. Homan by the FBI and whether it was recovered, to which Bondi responded non-responsively, suggesting Whitehouse speak to the FBI. A new poll shows Zohran Mamdani leading Andrew Cuomo among Latino voters in New York City. Comedian Jon Stewart delivered a critique of Senator Chuck Schumer, describing him as a "human flat tire." Previously, polling data from Oct. 4-6 by EkonUS/YouGov America indicated that 38% of registered voters approved of President Trump's handling of the federal government shutdown, with 53% disapproving. That same poll showed 44% blaming Trump and Republicans for the shutdown, compared to 35% blaming Democrats.
