During the previous government shutdown, President Trump reveled in the chance to fire federal workers, expand his executive authority, and steer taxpayer dollars toward his allies and away from his perceived political enemies. After a record-setting 43 days of gridlock—during which Trump pursued those goals with varying degrees of success—several Democrats abandoned their quest to force Republicans to negotiate a health-care deal, and voted to end the shutdown.

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With nine months to go until the midterm elections, President Trump’s campaign to subvert them is escalating.

Alas, the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts! We barely knew ye!
The president announced on Truth Social that the recently renamed center will close on July 4 for two full years of renovations.

Updated with new questions at 5:15 p.m. ET on February 3, 2026.
Every year since 2003, the umbrella organization for quizzing outfits around the globe has put on the granddaddy of knowledge competitions. Nothing in the tiny, nerdy world of trivia confers more authority than winning the World Quizzing Championships.

Republicans have had a tough stretch. They were defeated in elections in the fall and find themselves at risk of losing control of one or maybe both chambers of Congress later this year. Their standard-bearer, President Trump, has tumbled in the polls and finds himself underwater on his two signature issues, the economy and immigration. There has been unrest in a major American city, and blood shed by Trump’s federal agents.