12:30 Report is The Hill’s midday newsletter. Subscribe here or using the box below:
In today’s issue:
• Trump set to depart for Asia
• East Wing demolition is complete
• Annual inflation picked up in September
• Trump cuts off trade negotiations with Canada
• SNAP nears November deadline
• Social Security’s 2026 increase
IN THE WHITE HOUSE
Let’s take this party to Asia:
President Trump is traveling to Asia this evening for his first visit since returning to the White House.
His schedule: Trump is flying to Malaysia tonight, arriving on Saturday night (Sunday morning in Malaysia). He will attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit.
He will then fly to Japan to meet with the country’s new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi. After his Japan stop, Trump will fly to South Korea to speak at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC).
Oh, and Trump will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping while in South Korea.
Why this trip matters so much — AP put it well: “At stake is nothing less than the future of the global economy, which could hinge on whether he’s able to calm trade tensions during an expected meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. A misstep could send shock waves through American industries that have already been rattled by Trump’s aggressive tariffs, government layoffs and political brinkmanship.”
➤ TIMING:
Trump said late Thursday that he’s cutting off trade negotiations with Canada, citing an ad campaign that used a 1987 radio address by former President Reagan.
He posted on Truth Social: “Tariffs are very important to the national security, and economy, of the U.S.A. Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED.”
➤ THE LATEST COVER OF TIME:
Time magazine spoke with President Trump, publishing a cover story titled, “How the Gaza Deal Got Done.”
What a cool photo from photographer Stephen Voss
^ The White House is loving this visual. Reminder that the president knocked a “super bad” Time cover from 10 days ago, where he said the magazine “disappeared” his hair.
The demolition is complete:
Demolition of the White House’s East Wing was completed on Thursday to make room for President Trump’s 90,000-square-foot ballroom.
What was in the East Wing?: First lady Melania Trump’s office, the movie theater and offices for the White House social secretary and calligrapher. The presidential bunker was also under the East Wing.
CNN reports that staff for those offices have been relocated to other areas within the White House complex. Read more: ‘Here’s what White House loses with East Wing’s demolition’
Check out this aerial photo of the demolition taken from a Reagan Washington National Airport flight. You can really see how expansive it is.
How did this happen so unexpectedly?: “When Mr. Trump first announced his plans for the ballroom, he pledged that the White House would not be touched by the construction. … Upon further evaluation, the White House determined it was cheaper and more structurally sound to demolish the East Wing than to build an addition, one of the administration officials said.” (The New York Times)
Did Trump break any rules in gutting the East Wing?: ABC News spoke with former officials who say the “rushed” process appears to have broken a “longstanding policy requiring a federal commission to oversee and approve construction projects.”
Read more: ‘5 takeaways from the demolition of the White House’s East Wing’
➤ EVERYONE HAS AN OPINION ABOUT THE DEMOLITION:
Hillary Clinton is selling merch: The hats and stickers read “NOT HIS HOUSE. OUR HOUSE.” Mock-up
A former Melania Trump aide is sad about it: Stephanie Grisham, a former aide to the first lady during President Trump’s first term, called the demolition “jarring.” “It breaks my heart,” she said on CNN’s “Out Front.”
The construction workers won’t talk about it: Journalists and camera crews tried talking to the construction workers, but CNN reports that one said they’re not allowed to answer questions. Some said they signed nondisclosure agreements (NDAs).
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) called it ‘kind of shocking’: She said she thinks people had hoped for more input before making such a structural change to the “People’s House,” according to HuffPost’s Igor Bobic.
The front page of The Washington Post
Chelsea Clinton described her years living in the White House: Clinton published an op-ed in USA Today, explaining memories and publishing photos about her time living there. She writes: “Although I spent many of my formative years living in the White House, I always knew it wasn’t my house. It was my home, absolutely, but not my house. The White House belongs to the American people.” Read more
From political commentator Charlie Sykes: “The East Wing is gone. Demolished. Razed and obliterated. There was no notice, no consultation, no debate, permits or approvals. It was simply erased to make room for Donald Trump’s Mighty Works, which, in this case is a colossal ballroom, an enduring metaphor for his vanity, arrogance, and what his presidency represents.” Read more
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
Taking a breather today:
The Senate is out of session, taking today to regroup before returning on Monday to sort out the shutdown mess.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is also mixing up his schedule today. He didn’t hold a 10 a.m. press conference today. The Hill’s Emily Brooks points out this is the first weekday since the shutdown began that Johnson hasn’t held one.
➤ THE PRESSURE IS RISING FOR LAWMAKERS:
The battle over food stamps is becoming a major pressure point for Republicans and Democrats. If the shutdown continues into November, food benefits will be impacted. People may either receive a smaller payment — or even nothing in the worst-case scenario, reports The Hill’s Mike Lillis. Yes, during the same month as Thanksgiving.
What Republicans are saying: “Republicans in Congress are increasingly highlighting the imminent shortfall facing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in a bid to pressure Democrats to help end the ongoing shutdown. They say Democrats, by opposing the GOP’s stopgap spending bill, are threatening undue harm to some of the nation’s poorest people.”
What Democrats are saying: “Democrats have countered with charges of hypocrisy, noting the Republicans’ long history of seeking to dismantle federal programs benefiting low-income people, including SNAP. They’re pointing, as recent evidence, to the steep cuts to SNAP adopted this year as part of President Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill.’”
Read Lillis’s reporting: ‘SNAP emerges as flash point in shutdown fight’
➤ GOP SENATORS ARE FEELING UNCOMFY ABOUT TRUMP’S PAYOUT DEMAND:
“Reports this week that President Trump is demanding the Justice Department pay him $230 million in compensation for wrongful prosecution is making Republican senators uncomfortable amid the 24-day government shutdown,” reports The Hill’s Alexander Bolton.
Read more on what senators told Bolton: ‘GOP senators disconcerted by possible $230M Justice Department payout to Trump’
OTHER NEWS
Letitia James pleads not guilty:
“New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) pleaded not guilty in a mortgage fraud case brought weeks after President Trump pressured his Justice Department to prosecute his most prominent political foes,” reports The Hill’s Ella Lee.
“This is not about me,” James told a crowd of supporters outside the courthouse Friday. “This is about all of us and a justice system which has been weaponized, a justice system which has been abused as a tool of revenge.”
Watch James walk out of the courtroom, met with cheers
Back story on the case: “The allegations against James originated with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), whose director, Bill Pulte, filed a criminal referral against her in April. He has filed similar complaints against Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Federal Reserve Board of Governors member Lisa Cook.”
Trump has beef with James: “James made an enemy of Trump by taking on his business empire for civil fraud. She won a nearly half-billion-dollar judgment against the president and his companies last year after a New York judge found Trump and other defendants inflated his net worth for tax and insurance benefits.”
Social Security checks are getting a bump:
Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits will increase by 2.8 percent next year to accommodate for the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).
This is timed with a related announcement — inflation is on the rise: Annual inflation jumped to 3 percent in September amid rising energy prices.
The numbers: “The consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.3 percent last month and 3 percent over the 12-month span ending in September, according to data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (BLS).”
Keep in mind: “The September inflation report, which was delayed by the ongoing government shutdown, is the first federal economic data released since funding lapsed on Oct. 1.”
➤ QUICK HITS:
— Former special counsel Jack Smith told Congress that he wants to testify publicly.
— The Athletic and Amazon are launching a new sports journalism show on Amazon devices.
➤ MORE READS:
The Washington Post: Republicans who once opposed Trump’s military impulses now lower their guard
The Bulwark: The CDC Diaspora Fights Back: How America’s scientific army is trying to stand up for public health—and stand up for itself.
The Wall Street Journal: China’s New Strategy for Trump: Punch Hard, Concede Little
The New York Times: A Quick Route to Rebuild Half of Gaza, or Another U.S. Pipe Dream?
COMING UP
The House and Senate are out. President Trump is at the White House, leaving for his Asia trip tonight. (All times EDT)
10:40 p.m. Trump leaves for Malaysia.
10:05 p.m. Saturday: Trump arrives in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
2:30 a.m. Sunday: Trump meets with the prime minister of Malaysia.
3:45 a.m. Sunday: Trump participates in a signing ceremony with the prime ministers of Cambodia and Thailand.
7:45 a.m. Sunday: Trump attends a working dinner with U.S.-ASEAN leaders.
3 p.m. Monday: The Senate returns. Monday’s agenda
INTERNET BUZZ
Celebrate: Today is National Bologna Day.
Everyone loves a swag bag: Some GOP senators were seen leaving the White House the other day with swag bags.
AND FINALLY
To get your weekend started on the right foot, enjoy watching this absolutely majestic creature: the corgi.
