Morning Brief: Govt Gridlock Persists, Dem ‘Shadow’ Health Alliance, & Louvre Heist Intrigue

President Donald Trump lambasts Democrats as the shutdown grinds on, blue state governors form a “shadow” public health alliance, and one of the boldest heists of the century leaves the Louvre missing priceless jewels.

It’s Wednesday, October 22, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.

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Brennan Referred And Shutdown Drags On

Topline: President Trump is applying more pressure on Democrats as the government shutdown stretches on. Meanwhile, a major political opponent of Trump is referred for charges.

Former CIA Director John Brennan has been referred for charges from the Justice Department. Similar to former FBI Director James Comey, he is in hot water over statements he made during the probe into Trump-Russia collusion.

House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) announced that his committee was recommending the charges on Tuesday. Jordan said that Brennan “knowingly made false statements” during sworn testimony last year. The Judiciary Committee says Brennan lied when he denied using the discredited Steele Dossier in drafting an intelligence assessment in 2017 – specifically, the Intelligence Community Assessment on Russian interference.

Rose Garden lunch: Trump – in typical Trump fashion – surprised lawmakers on Tuesday with a Rose Garden lunch. No one really knew what the lunch was about, not even Republicans.

A reporter asked Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana what the purpose of the lunch was, and he said, “I have no idea.” But Chuck Schumer and the Democrats saw things through a more sinister lens, calling the event a “Rose Garden pep rally” for the shutdown.

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There was a pep rally element to the lunch. The president had just redone the Rose Garden and spoke excitedly about how it looks. YMCA blared over the speaker system prior to the president’s remarks.

Despite the festive atmosphere, Trump and Senate Republicans were clear that they were there for business: the business of reopening the government.

“From the beginning, our message has been very simple: we will not be extorted on this crazy plot of theirs. They’ve never done this before. Nobody has!” said Trump. “Chuck Schumer and the Senate Democrats need to vote for the clean, bipartisan CR and reopen our government. It’s gotta be reopened, right now. We’re not doing that. They are the obstructionists. The reason they’re doing that is because we’re doing so well.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) spoke with the press after the lunch concluded. He stressed that Republicans are united on Trump’s team.

Senate Republicans are planning to hold a separate vote on paying troops and law enforcement agents for the remainder of the shutdown. It’s not clear if Democrats will join them. But there’s a chance that, if they manage to get those essential workers paid, it may empower both sides to dig in and keep the shutdown fight going even longer.

Democrats’ ‘Shadow Public-Health Alliance’

Topline: More than a dozen Democrat governors have signed on to a new health alliance, in a direct challenge to the Trump administration’s federal health agencies. 

The Governors’ Public Health Alliance is being pitched as “non-partisan” and “all about the science.” The claim is that the Trump administration, and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., in particular, is anti-science. Therefore, this organization is necessary to protect Americans. However, so far, the Governors’ Public Health Alliance is strictly partisan: only Democrat governors have signed on. 

The alliance will dole out medical guidance that will likely challenge federal agencies such as the CDC and FDA, or at least lobby the federal government on these matters. It will make public health guidelines or offer “best practices” on vaccines and other measures. The allied states will share medical statistics, data, and advice on preventive care, and buy vaccines and supplies in bulk. 

The Wall Street Journal called the alliance a “shadow public-health alliance” and said it’s the “largest move” so far “to create an alternative public-health universe outside the federal government.”

Governor JB Pritzker of Illinois, a Democrat, signed on to this association and claimed that Trump and Kennedy have turned the CDC “into a misinformation machine.”

California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom also signed on. He said “extremists” in the Trump administration are trying to “weaponize the CDC and spread misinformation.”

Other states include Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and the territory of Guam. The residents in these states make up about one-third of the U.S. population.

The Democrat health effort has to do mostly with vaccines. The governors who have signed on have highlighted vaccine “access” and attacked Kennedy for challenging orthodoxy. There was also mention of abortion “access.”

The association is primarily funded by a nonprofit called Governors Action Alliance, known as GovAct. The nonprofit claims to be nonpartisan, but supports Democrat causes and generally teams up with Democrats to expand Medicaid and bolster abortion and voting rights.

GovAct is behind the “Reproductive Freedom Alliance,” a coalition of 23 Democrat governors working to expand abortion. GovAct is also behind the “Governors Safeguarding Democracy” alliance that is like a Resist Trump 2.0 effort launched just days after Trump won the 2024 election.

Trump admin’s response: HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon called out Democrat governors for “destroy[ing] public trust in public health.” He noted that Democrat-led states “imposed unscientific school closures, toddler mask mandates, and vaccine passports during the COVID era.” He said the Trump administration is rebuilding trust by “grounding every policy in rigorous evidence and Gold Standard Science – not the failed politics of the pandemic.” 

Louvre Heist

Topline: Investigators are still scrambling for clues after priceless jewels were stolen from the world’s most famous museum during a daring, broad-daylight heist.

On Sunday morning, a half-hour after the Louvre Museum in Paris had opened its doors, four thieves arrived in a construction truck with an electric ladder mounted on top. Two men, posing as construction workers, then ascended to a second-floor facade, where they used special disc cutters to slice holes through the windows.

The thieves entered through the windows to the famed Galerie d’Apollon, home to some of France’s most priceless Crown Jewels. With stunned patrons watching, they smashed two display cases. They removed nine objects, including a large brooch, a pair of emerald earrings, a necklace, and other jewelry belonging to Empress Marie-Louise, the second wife of Napoleon Bonaparte.

The thieves then joined their accomplices on the street, where they escaped on motorbikes, fleeing along the banks of the Seine River. The operation lasted no more than seven minutes.

As the heist went on, museum visitors were ordered to evacuate immediately. Many said they thought the building was on fire or had been struck by terrorists.

French President Emmanuel Macron called the heist an “attack on a heritage that we cherish.” The biggest concern now is that the jewels may never be recovered. Experts say the thieves certainly know they’d likely get caught if they tried to sell them on the black market, so it’s a real possibility they could remove the stones and melt down the precious metals to sell piece by piece. One of the tiaras alone had more than 1,000 diamonds and dozens of sapphires.

One official said the heist wasn’t an art crime, but a “commodity theft.” The jewels they took are of “inestimable worth,” according to the museum.

The haul could have been even larger. In their haste to get away, the thieves abandoned efforts to take the crown of Empress Eugénie, which contained nearly 2,500 diamonds and more than 50 emeralds, though it was damaged during the robbery.

The investigation: Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the robbery was “a major, highly organized operation” carried out by a team that had clearly done scouting. But at the moment, if they have any leads, they aren’t letting the public know.

Speculation has been rampant. Many people wonder if this could’ve been part of an inside job – they want to know if someone on staff at the Louvre could have offered aid. The country’s foreign minister said they weren’t ruling out an inside job.

Others have questioned why these specific jewels were targeted. In the same room they hit lies a display case housing the famous Regent Diamond, a $60 million stone. Even some French officials have expressed confusion over why the thieves, who clearly had done their research, seemingly ignored such a prime target just a few feet away.

Heist hysteria: Just last week, a group of thieves stole a number of collectible clocks from the President Jacques Chirac Museum in the French town of Corrèze. Then last month, a separate heist saw thieves lift $700,000 worth of gold from the French Museum of Natural History. Weeks before that, $11 million worth of porcelain was stolen from yet another museum in the city of Limoges.

This is only the latest heist to hit the Louvre. A diamond-studded sword was stolen back in 1976. Most famous of all, the Mona Lisa was lifted back in 1911. Ultimately, the world-famous portrait painting was located two years later.