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🇺🇸 Trump Sees Opportunity to Reduce Federal Government

🇺🇸 Trump Sees Opportunity to Reduce Federal Government

October 04, 2025

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Happy Friday, Patriots,

President Trump has officially declared war on the cartels—making it clear America will no longer treat these brutal syndicates as mere traffickers but as full-blown terrorist organizations.

In a stunning memo to Congress, the White House laid out its case for a “non-international armed conflict” against cartels across North and South America, citing their paramilitary power and the tens of thousands of American lives lost each year to their poison.

“We cannot stand by while terrorist cartels wage war on our people,” Trump vowed, directing the Pentagon and OMB to accelerate plans for strikes and interdictions.

With drone attacks already hitting cartel vessels, the move is being called historic—and controversial.

Don’t miss the rest of today’s top Trump news below!

—Nick

In today’s email:
🔔 Trump Sees Opportunity to Reduce Federal Government
⚔️ Trump Declares Armed Conflict With Drug Cartels
📢 White House Defends Shutdown Messaging
🏛️ Trump Presidential Library Approved in Miami
🎓 Trump Pushes Universities to Prioritize American Students

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✅TRACKING TRUMP✅

Curated by Mike Luso

As we close out the week with the government shutdown still underway, Trump has made it clear he views this moment as a chance to implement lasting spending cuts. He's meeting with the author of Project 2025 today to identify which programs and departments could face elimination - news that's likely music to the ears of libertarians and those who support small-government.

While Washington remains at a standstill, Trump hasn't slowed down his campaign against drug cartels, officially declaring conflict with them. His commitment to tackling crime in American cities is now reaching directly to the source of many problems plaguing our communities: illegal drug networks. With so many major changes on the horizon, Trump appears determined to use this time to make important moves aimed at protecting Americans.

Check out all the latest developments and more below!

⚔️ Trump Declares Armed Conflict With Drug Cartels
President Trump has determined that the United States is in an "armed conflict" with drug cartels his administration has designated as terrorist organizations, according to a Pentagon notice provided to Congress. The notice states that smugglers for the cartels are "unlawful combatants," legally authorizing the Defense Department to strike a boat in the Caribbean last month believed to be transporting members of a designated terrorist organization. The US military has carried out at least three such strikes over the last month, killing 17 people in total, with Trump stating the first strike in early September targeted suspected smugglers affiliated with the Venezuelan criminal organization Tren de Aragua. The notice explains that cartels have grown more armed, well organized, and violent, possessing the financial means, sophistication, and paramilitary capabilities to operate with impunity as transnational non-state armed groups conducting ongoing attacks throughout the Western Hemisphere. The legal justification marks a significant shift from treating cartel members and drug smugglers as criminals with due process rights to enemy combatants who can be lawfully killed without due process under both international and domestic law.

📢 White House Defends Shutdown Messaging
The White House responded to reports that President Trump's administration is breaking federal law by including commentary blaming Senate Democrats for the government shutdown in out-of-office emails and letters furloughing federal employees. White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson defended the messaging, stating that Democrats opposed the clean continuing resolution they supported just six months ago and 13 times under the Biden administration because they want free healthcare for illegal aliens. The Department of Justice website displays a red banner reading "Democrats have shut down the government," while the Department of Housing and Urban Development website features a pop-up stating "The Radical Left in Congress shut down the government." Legal experts stated that the Hatch Act does not apply to the President or Vice President and that Trump has an unquestionable constitutional right to speak directly to the American people about what is happening in their government and who is responsible for it. The Biden administration issued similar partisan messaging regarding the Right to IVF Act last June, and the Obama administration issued messaging in 2013 specifically blaming Republicans for a government shutdown threat, saying "House Republicans are pushing the Government toward shutdown."

🏛️ Trump Presidential Library Approved in Miami
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet voted to gift a 2.63-acre parcel on Biscayne Boulevard in downtown Miami to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation, with the condition that construction must begin within five years, approximately one year after President Trump completes his second term. The waterfront site, currently used as an employee parking lot for Miami Dade College's Wolfson Campus, is located adjacent to the historic Freedom Tower and was appraised at more than $66 million, though it could sell for at least $360 million according to real estate consultants cited by The New York Times. Eric Trump, who serves as president and one of three trustees at the foundation, stated the library "will be one of the most beautiful buildings ever built, an icon on the Miami skyline" and will not resemble President Obama's "prison-like structure," referring to the Obama Center's 235-foot-tall concrete museum. The site is surrounded by luxury high-rise apartment buildings with waterfront views facing the Kaseya Center, home to the NBA's Miami Heat, and Dodge Island where many of the world's largest cruise liners dock. The site selection comes just months after Trump carried Miami-Dade County by 13 points, the first Republican to do so since 1988.

🎓 Trump Pushes Universities to Prioritize American Students
President Trump is pressuring elite universities to open their classrooms to more Americans by sharply reducing their enrollment of job-seeking foreign students and their enforcement of diversity ideology through a reform plan titled "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education" delivered to top universities. Many top colleges currently grant roughly 25 percent of their slots to foreign students, most of whom seek work permits via the federal "Optional Practical Training" program, with up to 400,000 foreign graduates and students receiving work permits in 2024 under the Biden administration. The compact proposes capping the recruitment of foreign students at 15 percent and ensuring that no foreign countries get more than 5 percent of college slots, while also requiring abandonment of diversity rules in hiring and admissions, SAT or ACT testing requirements, recognition of single-sex spaces, cheaper tuition for hard sciences, disclosure of foreign funding, and ending identity politics promotion in classrooms. Letters were sent to nine universities with White House officia stating the colsmpact could ultimately extend to all colleges and universities. The University of Pennsylvania agreed to alter policies related to transgender athletes, Columbia University agreed to pay more than $200 million to settle complaints around discriminatory hiring and antisemitism, and Brown University committed $50 million over the next decade to fund local workforce development programs.

🔔 Trump Sees Opportunity to Reduce Government 🔔

President Trump announced Thursday he would meet with Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, to determine which federal agencies should face cuts as the government shutdown continues. Trump posted on Truth Social that he wanted Vought to recommend which agencies "are a political SCAM" and whether those cuts should be temporary or permanent. The federal government entered a partial shutdown Wednesday after the midnight funding deadline passed, with Democrats and Republicans failing to agree on a funding bill.

Trump called the situation an "unprecedented opportunity" in his social media post, adding that perhaps Democrats were quietly trying to "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN" by creating this opening. The president has warned the administration could make "irreversible" changes to the federal workforce during the funding lapse, including cutting vast numbers of people and programs Democrats favor. Vice President JD Vance accused Democrats of forcing the shutdown over providing illegal immigrants with taxpayer-funded emergency healthcare and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer fearing a primary challenge from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

During a shutdown, agencies lose their payroll floors from funding bills, leaving the executive branch with discretion on how to continue providing legally required services to citizens. The administration can send reduction in force notices, known as RIFs, to staffers if it determines an agency can fulfill its legally required services with fewer people, though RIFs cannot take effect until after 60 days. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday that "thousands" of federal employees could be laid off during the shutdown.

The Department of Education has been identified as a likely target, with officials indicating the agency needs only 10 percent of its current staff to fulfill legal requirements. The Environmental Protection Agency, Department of the Interior, and Department of Labor could also face cuts due to what critics call mission creep into regulatory affairs beyond their statutory authority. Agencies such as the National Science Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities, and aspects of the Department of Housing and Urban Development that distribute grants are also under consideration for reductions.

Vought revealed earlier this week the cancellation of nearly $8 billion in federal green energy projects, targeting initiatives in blue and blue-leaning states such as California, Colorado, Illinois, and New York. The administration also confirmed that $18 billion in infrastructure projects in New York City, including the Hudson Tunnel Project and the Second Avenue Subway, would be placed on hold pending review of contracting practices. Vought has played a central role in reshaping federal operations, including overseeing the closeout of the U.S. Agency for International Development following Congress's approval of a $9 billion rescissions package.

More than 154,000 bureaucrats who accepted buyouts officially left the payroll this week, part of a broader plan expected to reduce the federal workforce by more than 300,000 positions by year's end. Trump has emphasized that essential services such as the military, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Social Security, Medicare, and veterans' health care will not be affected.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt alleged Democrats engineered the shutdown to force taxpayers to fund healthcare for undocumented immigrants despite a $37 trillion debt. The president has warned that Democrats are taking a risk by forcing the government closure, noting that reductions enacted during the funding lapse may become permanent. The shutdown has given Trump a window to pursue cuts to programs Democrats favor while advancing the America First agenda.

President Trump says he will meet with Russell Vought, one of the authors of Project 2025, to discuss potential government cuts following the government’s shutdown.

🍟 Quick Bite News 🍟

🛣️ Florida's Lake County Commission unanimously approved the designation of a section of Wellness Way as "Charlie Kirk Memorial Highway," making it the first county in the nation to honor the late Turning Point USA founder with a road naming following his assassination during a speaking event last month. Lake County Commissioner Anthony Sabatini introduced the measure, which passed 5–0 after a heated public debate where many speakers objected and some argued such honors should be reserved for fallen law enforcement officers. Governor Ron DeSantis announced the approval, while other Florida communities pursue similar tributes.

A New York Times poll of 1,313 registered voters conducted September 22-27 shows that 52% support Trump's policy of deporting immigrants living in the United States illegally back to their home countries, with strong opposition at just 24%. The policy receives 95% support among Trump's 2024 voters and 62% support among white Americans, while strong opposition is highest among women (29%), Hispanics (45%), and non-white college graduates (36%). Despite the support for deportation policies, 51% of respondents said Trump's policies "have gone too far," and a slim majority thought the administration's deportation process had mostly been unfair.

🏛️ Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi snapped at a reporter who asked if Republicans should negotiate with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to end the Democrat shutdown, responding "Why are you saying such a ridiculous thing?" Pelosi insisted that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is leading the negotiations with Republicans, dismissing suggestions that Ocasio-Cortez is directing the shutdown despite Ocasio-Cortez saying her office is "open" and she is willing to negotiate directly. Pelosi added that Ocasio-Cortez is "wonderful" and "a real team player," but said negotiations require "a lot of experience" and "a lot of unity from the caucus."

🚶 A group of roughly 1,200 migrants consisting of Cubans, Hondurans, Guatemalans, Salvadorans, Venezuelans, and Haitians departed from Guatemala on Wednesday, heading for Mexico City to seek asylum status and employment opportunities rather than attempting to reach the United States. The migrants are protesting Mexican government officials who have failed to grant them legal status, with one Venezuelan member saying she has been in Mexico for over seven months without documents needed to work legally or access social security benefits. Trump's border policies, including discontinuing the CBP-One program and the CHNV parole program, have dropped illegal border crossings to record low levels not seen since 1970.

📺 White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized CNN after Situation Room anchor Pamela Brown cut away from House Speaker Mike Johnson's press conference. Brown said Johnson "falsely claimed that Democrats want to give healthcare, extend healthcare to illegal immigrants," despite Rep. Maxine Waters confirming Democrats were seeking healthcare for illegal immigrants as part of their demands to keep the government open. Leavitt stated that Democrats shut down the federal government to give taxpayer-funded benefits to illegal aliens, claiming the Democratic funding proposal would result in nearly $200 billion in spending on illegal aliens and other non-citizens over the next decade by repealing provisions from Trump's Working Families Tax Cuts that block illegals from receiving healthcare benefits.

God bless,

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