Republican lawmakers have spent the week sharpening their attacks on Saturday’s nationwide day of protests against President Donald Trump, which many GOP leaders dismissed as ‘Hate America’ rallies.

Cities across the country are expected to see hundreds of thousands of people come out for the ‘No Kings’ movement, and several congressional Democrats have even said they will attend.

Republicans have seized on the protests as a product of far-left activism, while at the same time arguing Democrats have held firm against the GOP’s plan to end the government shutdown in a bid to please that far-left base.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told Fox Business Network he hoped that Democratic leaders who attended would be more willing to accept the GOP’s plan after the demonstrations were over — but he did not sound overly optimistic.

‘It’ll be a collection of wild leftist policy priorities, and that’ll be on display for the whole country. After that’s over, I hope there’s a few Democrats over here who will come to their senses and return to governing the country,’ Johnson said.

‘Right now, I don’t think— it’s my assumption and all of ours that they would not make that concession before that rally’s over because they don’t want to face the angry mob. I mean it’s sad, but that’s where we are.’

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., dodged a question on whether he would attend one of the rallies on Friday, telling reporters, ‘I haven’t finalized my schedule for the weekend given, you know, the sensitivities around the government shutdown. I’m still very hopeful that Republicans will decide to show up for work so we can get the government back open.’

‘But I support the right of every single American to participate in the rallies that are going to take place this week and showing up to express dissent against an out-of-control administration,’ he said.

However, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he would attend one of the protests, as did House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Calif.

Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, predicted more top Democratic figures would go but, like Johnson, signaled hope that they would acquiesce to Republicans’ demands when it was over.

‘My guess is if they don’t want a primary from the left, they’ll probably find a way to sneak it into their schedule. The real question that’s going to be is, do they have the fortitude after Saturday to come back and open up the government?’ Nunn told Fox News Digital earlier this week.

‘They should be doing it today. But if they feel like they’ve got to appease their base, then they better come to Jesus on Sunday and figure out a way to help them get back to the business of taking care of the American people.’

House GOP leaders also criticized the rallies at nearly every one of their daily shutdown press conferences this week.

Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said Friday that Schumer was ‘more concerned’ with ‘impressing the ‘Hate America’ rally crowd that’s coming up here tomorrow than he is about not solving all of our problems tomorrow.’

And House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo on Tuesday of the rallies’ place in the shutdown fight, ‘The rumor is that they can’t end the shutdown beforehand, because a small but very violent and vocal group is the only one that’s happy about this.’

‘If they shut it down beforehand, then they’ve got to deal with that group beforehand. If they make it through that, then at least they’ve made it through their Hate America rally, and then they can get this thing done,’ Emmer said.

The House passed a bill to keep the federal government funded at current levels through Nov. 21, called a continuing resolution (CR), mostly along party lines last month.

It’s since failed 10 times in the Senate, with a majority of Democrats rejecting any spending deal that does not also include an extension of COVID-19 pandemic-era Obamacare subsidies that will expire at the end of this year without congressional action.

Several Democrat senators seemed ready to expand COVID-era Obamacare tax credits holding up spending legislation needed to reopen the government — but less willing to grapple with what that would mean for the country’s expenses.

‘I’ll disagree with the framing of deficit increase,’ Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said when asked about the program’s implications for the country’s bottom line.

Others, like Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., declined to respond.

The country plunged into a shutdown at the beginning of the month when lawmakers failed to agree on a short-term spending extension that would have funded the government through Nov. 21. But the disagreement wasn’t about the package itself. In 2021, Congress temporarily expanded eligibility for Obamacare’s enhanced premium tax credits subsidies, meant to help Americans pay for their health insurance plans amid the uncertainty of the pandemic. That increased eligibility sunsets at the end of 2025. Democrats have made the program’s continuation a key condition in support for any spending package.

Republicans need at least seven Democrats to advance spending legislation in the Senate, where Republicans must clear the 60-vote threshold to overcome a filibuster. The GOP holds 53 seats in the chamber.

According to the Committee of a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan fiscal policy think tank, continuing the expanded credits could cost upwards of $30 billion annually.

Where Republicans see the expiration as an opportunity to return government spending to pre-COVID levels and shrink the national deficit, Democrats have expressed alarm over recipients who could face an abrupt end to their federal assistance.

‘You have literally millions of Americans who will no longer be able to afford their health insurance or will be thrown off health insurance when the tax credits that make the Affordable Care Act affordable expire at the end of this year,’ Coons said, referring to the 2010 health care reforms that put Obamacare into law.

Other Democrats pointed to healthcare as the key consideration at play.

‘Republicans need to restore healthcare to the American people. That’s my position,’ Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said.

Findings by KFF, a healthcare policy think tank, indicate that over 90% of the 24 million Obamacare enrollees make use of the enhanced credits.

Democrats have voted against reopening the government 10 times since the start of the shutdown.

Lawmakers like Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, have pushed back on Democrat opposition, noting that the credits were always designed to be temporary — and that Democrats were the ones who included the sunset provision to begin with.

‘This is a pre-determined crisis by the Democrats,’ Curtis said. ‘They’re the ones who put the expiration date on these.’

That’s also the position of Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark.

‘My concern is that [the credit expansion] was done during the pandemic, because of the pandemic. The pandemic is over. As a result, you’ve got people making $300,000 on a subsidy.’

‘So, what we need to do is get the government open, not hold the American people hostage and start talking, because there will be some people that are hurt,’ Boozman added.

Boozman isn’t the only Republican concerned about both: ballooning government costs and the Americans who would have to adjust their payments to afford healthcare without the subsidies.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who has cautioned against sudden shifts to healthcare programs, said talks to advance both priorities haven’t made much progress. 

‘I’m trying to figure out a way that we can ensure that healthcare coverage for Americans remains, and we’re not making much headway this week,’ Murkowski said. 

Other Senators hinted that talks were advancing in some way but declined to describe them.

‘I’m not getting engaged right now, because I may or may not be involved in any negotiations on what the ultimate resolution of this will be. At this point, until the Democrats open the government, I’m not going to discuss details,’ Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said.

Both chambers of Congress left Washington, D.C., for the weekend. The Senate will return Monday.

A video shared on X shows Erika Kirk at the Turning Point USA office surrounded by staff members, proudly showing them the Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded to her late husband, Charlie Kirk.

In the clip posted by Mikey McCoy, Charlie Kirk’s former chief of staff, Erika speaks movingly to the assembled team.

In the clip, she can be heard saying, ‘I wanted you guys all to see the Medal of Freedom and be able to look at it and the back of it.’

‘You guys are all part of the legacy. Thank you,’ she says warmly.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award in the U.S. It was awarded posthumously to Charlie Kirk by President Donald Trump on Oct. 14, 2025, a date that would have been Kirk’s 32nd birthday. 

Erika accepted the award on her husband’s behalf at a ceremony in the Rose Garden at the White House. She also delivered remarks highlighting her husband’s beliefs and sacrifice.

Charlie Kirk was assassinated on September 10, 2025, while speaking at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley State University in Orem, Utah.

Following her husband’s death, Erika was unanimously appointed CEO and chair of Turning Point USA’s board.

A teenage street musician has been jailed and charged with leading a public gathering in which she led a crowd in singing an anti-Putin rock song in St. Petersburg, a rare act of defiance, according to local reports.

Diana Loginova faces a single administrative charge for organizing an unauthorized public gathering and has been jailed for 13 days, The Moscow Times reported.

After serving her sentence, Loginova will face an additional administrative offense of ‘discrediting’ the Russian military, Reuters reported.

Loginova, who performs under the name Naoko with the band Stoptime, was arrested Tuesday after being filmed earlier leading a crowd in singing the lyrics to exiled rapper Noize MC’s hit song ‘Swan Lake Cooperative.’

Noize MC, the musician who wrote ‘Swan Lake Cooperative,’ is openly critical of the Kremlin and left Russia for Lithuania after the start of the war in Ukraine.

For its part, Moscow has added him to its list of ‘foreign agents,’ which includes hundreds of individuals and entities accused of conducting subversive activities with support from abroad, Reuters reported.

The song doesn’t reference Russian President Vladimir Putin or mention the war in Ukraine. It is a reference to Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, which was played on television after the deaths of Soviet leaders and during the 1991 coup attempt against President Mikhail Gorbachev.

In May, a St. Petersburg court banned the song on grounds it ‘may contain signs of justification and excuse for hostile, hateful attitudes towards people, as well as statements promoting violent changes to the foundations of the constitutional order.’