Weekly Newsletter, 9.29.25
We have less than 72 hours before government funding runs out and we face a shutdown at midnight on October 1st. Thousands of federal workers who took DOGE’s offer of deferred resignation will come off payroll on September 30th. Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought threatened more mass federal employee layoffs if the government shuts down. On again/off again talks between the President and Democratic leadership are now scheduled for this afternoon. Stay tuned whether this is just for show…
Rather than passing a bipartisan budget that meets the needs of the American people and solves the health care crisis Republicans created, President Trump seems more interested in upstaging Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s unusual convening of top U.S. military leaders and weaponizing the Department of Justice for his personal vendettas, as evidenced by the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey.
Trump has publicly insulted and attacked Comey for years, making clear his personal dislike for the man. In a shocking violation of Justice Department independence, Trump personally engineered the conditions leading up to Comey’s indictment, despite a glaring lack of evidence of Comey’s wrongdoing. This began with the ousting of Erik Siebert, the U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, who apparently recommended against charging Comey. Trump claims this is not revenge, but has already made clear that this is just the beginning.
I am appalled by this blatant abuse of presidential authority. Time will tell how far this Administration is willing to go to punish those who stand in its way or dare to speak up against its actions.
Read on for what you may have missed last week.
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN ALL BUT INEVITABLE THANKS TO INACTION FROM CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS
With a government shutdown looking more and more likely with each passing day, it begs the question: if Republicans control both chambers of Congress and the White House, why aren’t they doing anything to stop this?
On September 19th, House Republican leadership jammed a hyper-partisan funding bill through the House before canceling votes for the rest of the month, even though the Senate rejected that bill 44-48. After failing to get enough of their members to support the Trump-backed House bill, Senate Republicans also rejected a Democratic alternative that would have addressed the health care crisis Republicans created with passage of the Big Ugly Law.
Republicans are not even trying to prevent a shutdown, and their blatant lack of regard for the American people, who would be affected by an overnight loss of access to critical federal resources, is telling. That’s not even factoring in the federal employees who would be left without jobs or paychecks, all in the midst of an intensifying affordability crisis. Millions of Americans will feel the effects of a government shutdown in their wallets and their communities.
The Trump Administration seems to want a shutdown. In a leaked memo, OMB Director Vought ordered federal agencies to identify programs that would be affected by the shutdown. Furthermore, the OMB instructed these agencies to begin plans to permanently lay off federal workers in those areas, rather than the standard furlough and temporary leave that typically occurs during a shutdown.
Vought wants to use this shutdown as an excuse to continue his assault on the federal workforce. From the beginning, he has not been shy about his intention to shrink the federal government as much as he possibly can — with no consideration for the lives and livelihoods he would put at risk of financial hardship or ruin. In Virginia, as the state with the second highest number of federal employees, we will feel those effects particularly strongly on our economy and in our communities.
As I shared with Protect Our Care last week, if we enter a shutdown, it’s because Trump and Congressional Republicans wanted this to happen.
I have consistently stood with House and Senate Democrats in our commitment to pass a funding bill that addresses the pending Republican-initiated health care crisis that will see millions of Americans lose their health insurance thanks to draconian Medicaid cuts and the failure to extend ACA enhanced premium tax credits that expire this year.
In the event of a shutdown, be sure to follow me on social media and monitor my newsletter and website for help, resources and FAQs.
BREAKING DOWN SILOS: ADDRESSING CLIMATE ACTION AND AGRICULTURE/FOOD PRODUCTION
Last week, business and tech leaders, policymakers, academics, and civil society organizations convened in New York City for the 16th annual Climate Week NYC. This year’s theme, Power On, celebrated the progress already made across clean energy, climate finance, technology, green jobs and climate justice while acknowledging challenges still to come. As a member of the Energy & Commerce Committee and the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC), I was excited to join other members of Congress to participate in Climate Week activities.
Each year during Climate Week, Food Tank hosts a summit focused on breaking down silos and building sustainable agriculture and food systems. One session entitled “A Roadmap to a Delicious, Nutritious, and Regenerative Food Future for All” provided an opportunity to explore the intersection between climate action and food production. Without healthy land, clean water and clean air, agricultural production will inevitably stall — and people will continue to go hungry.
During the summit, we heard from local farmers and other organizers with boots on the ground about how cross-sector collaboration could accelerate progress and drive change within the global food system. I joined Food Tank to discuss the devastating impacts of Republicans’ action on food insecurity, specifically through SNAP cuts, and how to keep the faith and renew optimism even in trying times.
In my capacity as a member of Congress and SEEC, I’ve worked alongside both Democrats and Republicans to put people over polluters and advance environmental justice. Whether standing against Congressional Republicans’ efforts to gut life-saving pollution reduction programs through the Big Ugly Law or joining groups like the Virginia League of Conservation Voters and Climate Action Virginia to demand affordable solar for all, I encourage innovation that could radically transform the way we imagine sustainable practices in the public and private sectors.
One example of this comes from earlier this year. In June, I joined Henricopolis Soil & Water Conservation District, state legislators and Henrico farmers for a roundtable discussion on how we can partner to help our farmers and agricultural sector thrive. During this discussion, we visited Creamfield Farms in Mechanicsville and learned about how farmers in our Commonwealth have implemented new techniques to further enrich their soil.
Virginia is the birthplace of American agriculture, and agriculture remains the top industry in our state. Sustainable farming practices like cover crops or soil carbon sequestration can pave the way to protect our agricultural communities and mitigate against the worst effects of the climate crisis on our lands. My bipartisan bill with Rep. Lawler (NY-17) to coordinate federal soil carbon sequestration efforts would expand these efforts and drastically improve soil resiliency.
If we hope to protect and improve crop yields, revenue and stewardship in the agricultural sector, the answer lies in promoting new and bold ideas. I look forward to continued collaboration on this front.
MY BRIGHT SPOT: SITTING DOWN WITH REP. WALKINSHAW FOR MOMENTS WITH MCCLELLAN
The latest episode of Moments with McClellan drops today! This month’s guest is Rep. James Walkinshaw (VA-11), the newest member of Congress and the successor to our friend, the late Gerry Connolly. We discussed serving in Congress with young kids; favorite go-to spots in VA-11; and what it’s been like for Rep. Walkinshaw to go from a Congressional staffer to a local elected official to a member of Congress. Tune in for the full episode on Instagram or YouTube to get to know him better!
REMINDERS
Friday, October 24th is the deadline for nominations for my 2025 Veteran of the Year Program!
Thursday, October 30th is the deadline to apply for the Congressional App Challenge and for a Service Academy Nomination.
Keep the faith, friends! Please reach out to my office for any shutdown-related or other concerns.