President Donald Trump’s pick for a top post at the U.S. Export-Import Bank withdrew his nomination on Wednesday after facing scrutiny from Democrats over his ties to Russian companies.

Bryce McFerran, who was nominated to serve as first vice president and vice chair of the bank, reportedly worked for years as an executive at a Russian-owned steel company and has family ties through his wife’s relatives to the Kremlin.

The Russian connections, first reported Wednesday by the Washington Post, drew scrutiny in recent weeks from the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who pressed McFerran over potential conflicts of interest.

White House spokesperson Kush Desai defended McFerran in a statement, saying that “his prior business interests have been fully researched, vetted, and cleared by the nonpartisan Office of Government Ethics – a fact that should deter the Fake News from continuing to perpetuate the debunked Russia, Russia, Russia hoax.”

Desai added that McFerran withdrew from the nomination process on Oct. 27. He will remain in his current acting role as EXIM’s chief banking officer “until a permanent replacement is named in the coming weeks,” Desai said.

The Export-Import Bank declined to comment.

McFerran worked as an official at a Swiss subsidiary of the steel firm Evraz, which is co-owned by a Russian oligarch and was sanctioned by the British government in 2022. His father-in-law previously served in the Russian parliament and is now an aide to one of President Vladimir Putin’s advisers and an official at a Kremlin-backed investment fund, according to the Post.

McFerran, a major GOP donor, gave nearly $1 million to support Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, according to FEC records.

Warren wrote in a letter to McFerran on Wednesday that his work for the Russian firm “raises significant questions about [his] judgment and [his] commitment to U.S. national security.”

“Your history working at a key subsidiary of a UK-sanctioned Russian company in Switzerland raises questions about your ability to serve faithfully and effectively in these roles,” the Massachusetts Democrat wrote. The bank is the government’s official export credit agency and provides loans, loan guarantees and insurance in support of U.S. exporters.

Prior to withdrawing his nomination, which was first reported by POLITICO, McFerran was scheduled to appear for a confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday.

Senate Republicans aren’t standing down in their investigation into the tactics Biden-era special counsel Jack Smith deployed as part of his probe into President Donald Trump’s efforts to subvert the 2020 presidential election results.

Still smarting from recent revelations Smith obtained phone records for several GOP members of Congress around the time of the Jan. 6, 2021 attacks on the Capitol, Republican senators gathered Wednesday to announce the release of nearly 200 subpoenas Smith issued as part of his inquiry.

Smith’s team requested communications with media companies — including conservative stalwarts Fox News and Newsmax — and correspondences with senior White House advisers — like Stephen Miller and Dan Scavino. Investigators sought information regarding fundraising and financial data for conservatives and conservative groups.

Calling the Smith investigation worse than the 1970s political scandal that followed the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters and ultimately toppled Richard Nixon, GOP senators at their press conference demanded accountability for the former Biden administration.

“We should have Watergate style hearings on this for months,” said Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.). “If we’re ever going to root this out, we have to be serious about it, and consequences have to follow: resignations, firings, criminal prosecutions. You simply can’t in this country use the justice system to throw people in jail because they have a red jersey on or a blue jersey on.”

Trump has come under fire for politicizing the Justice Department and encouraging Attorney General Pam Bondi to go after his adversaries. In recent weeks, New York Attorney General Letitia James — who brought a civil fraud case against the president — was indicted for mortgage fraud; former FBI director James Comey was charged with lying to Congress; and former national security adviser John Bolton was accused of mishandling classified documents.

But Trump and allies are casting Smith’s investigation as an example of the political weaponization of President Joe Biden’s DOJ.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), the chair of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, argued that the massive trove of documents revealed a “Biden administration enemies list.” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) accused D.C. District Court Chief Judge James Boasberg of printing subpoenas at Smith’s behest “like the placemats at Denny’s, one after the other.”

Senators also suggested the House should consider impeaching Boasberg, renewing calls for the judge’s removal for ruling against the president in a deportation case earlier this year.

Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who is running point on the Smith investigation alongside Johnson, called the special counsel’s investigation “the vehicle by which FBI agents and DOJ prosecutors could improperly investigate the entire Republican political apparatus.”

In a statement, Lanny Breuer, a lawyer for Smith, reiterated that the former special counsel was open to sharing details of his investigation with Congress.

“As we informed congressional leaders last week, Jack is happy to discuss his work as Special Counsel and answer any questions at a public hearing just like every other Special Counsel investigating a president before him has done,” Breuer said. “We hope the House and Senate Judiciary Committees will agree so the American people can hear directly from him. Name the time and place. Jack will be there.”

The Senate on Wednesday shot down legislation to stop a Biden-era plan encouraging the killing of one species of owl to save another.

The fight became bitter at times, pitting Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy against some of his colleagues and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who support the killings.

Kennedy forced a vote on a resolution under the Congressional Review Act to nix a Fish and Wildlife Service plan to save the native and critically endangered northern spotted owl in the Pacific Northwest by killing non-native barred owls. The legislation failed 25-72.

“I can’t think of a rule … that better demonstrates the arrogance, the hubris, of the federal administrative state,” Kennedy said from the Senate floor before the vote, flanked by posters of owls and the rifle-carrying cartoon character Elmer Fudd. “This regulation is stupid and we will live to regret it.”

The Congressional Review Act makes it easier for lawmakers to undo administration actions. Republicans have used it repeatedly against Biden rules.

Kennedy said Burgum called him last week urging the senator to withdraw his resolution. Kennedy refused, saying the secretary should “call somebody who cared what he thought.”

Kennedy in recent days repeatedly deployed his signature rhetorical barbs against Burgum and the Biden rule. He described the barred owl as having “very soulful eyes” and said Burgum was “mad as a mama wasp.” Kennedy also said the administration was using DEI for owls.

The Trump administration is supporting the Biden-era action under pressure from loggers, who say scrapping the owl-killing rule could affect existing land-use plans – and, in turn, jeopardize GOP efforts to increase logging.

Advocates have been split. Some animal rights advocates have sided with Kennedy, while other environmentalists have pointed to protecting the endangered spotted owl.

Similar divisions were evident among senators and went well beyond party lines.

“Killing a half-billion owls seems like a crazy thing for the government to be doing,” said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who voted for Kennedy’s resolution.

But Environment and Public Works Chair Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), who voted against it, observed, “The Trump administration agrees with the Biden administration on this — how rare is that on this strategy? We’ve heard a lot from timber and some other folks.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Wednesday he expects to engage “pretty soon” with a group of rank-and-file Senate Democrats about ending the 29-day-and-counting government shutdown.

If a meeting happens, it would be a rare bipartisan gathering involving a top party leader. So far this month, Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have not met to discuss an exit path to the shutdown, leaving it to a small group of dealmaking members who have engaged in informal, on-and-off talks.

Those conversations have heated up in recent days, members of both parties say, as major ramifications bear down including the possible lapse of federal food aid for 42 million Americans.

“They’re looking for an off-ramp,” Thune told reporters. No meeting between the GOP leader and Democrats is on the books at this point, according to two people granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive situation.

“What I told them all along is, as soon as they’re ready to open up the government, that we will ensure that they have a process whereby they can have the chance to get their legislation voted on, their policies voted on,” he added. “I think they’ve become more interested, and I hope that’s continues.”

Thune made his comments after participating in an angry floor exchange with Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico, who sought to pass a patch for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by unanimous consent.

The normally mild-mannered South Dakota Republican boiled over at points as he lambasted Democrats over what he called a “cynical” ploy to extend food assistance without fully reopening the government.

“You all have just figured out 29 days in that there might be some consequences,” he yelled.

Thune tried to offer the House-passed continuing resolution instead, but Luján objected, and Thune ultimately blocked the legislation.

“Sorry I channeled a little bit of anger there,” Thune told reporters leaving the floor, saying that allowing the SNAP patch to pass would extend the shutdown “another two or three weeks.”

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misidentified what group Thune plans to meet with and incorrectly suggested he had a planned meeting with Senate Democrats.

The ongoing federal shutdown could cost the U.S. economy between $7 billion and $14 billion, according to a new report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

The report, prepared in response to a request from House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), estimated the economic impact of the shutdown if it lasts four weeks — a mark hit Wednesday — six weeks, or two months.

Under all three scenarios, the CBO expects economic growth to be back on track after 2026, but some of the real gross domestic product loss resulting from furloughs of federal workers will not be recovered. That permanent loss could be anywhere from $7 billion, if the shutdown were to end now, and $14 billion, if it were to drag on for an additional month.

The Trump administration has placed about 750,000 federal workers on furlough, and many more are currently working without pay, although their ability to claim back pay after the government reopens — a standard precedent under previous government shutdowns — appears uncertain.

The CBO also anticipates that real GDP will be anywhere from 1 to 2 percentage points lower in the fourth quarter of 2025 than it would have been if the government remained open.

“The effects of the shutdown on the economy are uncertain. Those effects depend on decisions made by the Administration throughout the shutdown,” CBO Director Phillip Swagel wrote in the report.

The economic impacts of the shutdown will also be exacerbated when the federal government ceases disbursements of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits beginning Nov. 1, per the CBO.

The Department of Agriculture, which administers the program in partnership with states, has decided not to tap emergency funds to keep food aid flowing amid the shutdown — a move being challenged by Democratic leaders of more than two dozen states.

While a resolution to reopen the government remains elusive, Senate Majority Leader John Thune told POLITICO on Wednesday that talks to end the shutdown have “picked up.”

All employees of the House of Representatives were issued templates for letters Wednesday they can present to creditors before Friday, when they’re expected to miss their first paychecks — short of a sudden breakthrough in negotiations to end the government shutdown.

“Employees affected by the government shutdown may face temporary hardship in meeting their financial obligations. This lapse in appropriations is expected to be a temporary situation and one that is beyond our employees’ control,” according to the letter prepared by the Office of the House Chief Administrative Officer and reviewed by POLITICO.

“We appreciate your organization’s understanding and flexibility toward employees of the U.S. House of Representatives until this situation is resolved,” the letter continues.

Capitol Hill employees are eligible to join the Congressional Federal Credit Union or the Senate Federal Credit Union, which are both offering interest-free loans — in some cases, up to $10,000 — for those who won’t receive paychecks until the government reopens. Hundreds of workers, from lawyers to laborers, have already applied.

The Senate Federal Credit Union warns on its website that there is a “high volume” of applicants and they are processing the inquiries as quickly as possible.

Katherine Tully-McManus contributed to this report.

Nearly one month into the government shutdown, the vibes might finally be shifting.

A looming cliff of crucial deadlines, plus fresh outside pressure, is adding new urgency into bipartisan conversations that have been sputtering for weeks.

“I think they’ve picked up,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told POLITICO about the rank-and-file bipartisan talks. “Deadlines have a way of doing that.”

Several of Thune’s senators, plus Speaker Mike Johnson and other House GOP leaders, appear increasingly convinced that enough centrist Democrats are getting ready to fold — potentially by early next week.

The looming cutoff of food benefits, air travel delays and a new statement from the largest union of federal employees calling on lawmakers to end the shutdown are bearing down, they believe.

It’s worth noting: Democrats are not signaling publicly that they are ready to take an off-ramp. Asked what his plan was for ending the shutdown, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters Tuesday that he believes after Nov. 1 Republicans will face “increased pressure to negotiate with us.” But a growing number of Democrats, including liberal stalwarts like Sens. Dick Durbin (Ill.) and Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), have signaled support for stand-alone bills to ease shutdown impacts.

Republican leaders are quietly ramping up their own internal conversations about what their next steps should be. So far, they’re talking about a new stopgap, with dozens of iterations under discussion. Options include a funding punt to around Jan. 21 or later into March, according to five people familiar with the conversations.

White House officials want a funding punt as long as possible, potentially all the way through December 2026. GOP hard-liners like that idea but appropriators and defense hawks don’t.

“Every option is fraught with a ton of problems,” one Republican told POLITICO.

Thune told POLITICO that any stopgap expiring before the end of this year is a no-go.

“Yeah, there’s no way we can do that by December. I think that’s the assessment just based on what the calendar looks like,” Thune said.

Republicans have privately offered to Democrats that once the government is reopened, bipartisan spending bills will start moving — first a package of bills including Agriculture funding, and then a second package of bills that would include Defense and Labor-HHS. So far, though, this hasn’t been enough to get Democrats to bite.

And none of this addresses Democrats’ key shutdown concern: health care. But Thune dangled a fresh carrot Tuesday, telling reporters that President Donald Trump would be willing to meet with them as soon as next week to talk about expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies — if the government is reopened.

What else we’re watching:   

— New record in Congress: Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva has now waited to be sworn in longer than any other member in history. Wednesday marks day 36 since her special election victory on Sept. 23. The Arizona Democrat won’t be seated as long as Johnson keeps the House out of session — and Johnson insists his hands are tied due to the shutdown.

— Potential year-end health package: House Majority Leader Steve Scalise has been discussing health care policy with the chairs of three critical House committees: Ways and Means’ Jason Smith (R-Mo.), Education and Workforce’s Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) and Energy and Commerce’s Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.). According to a person familiar with the ongoing informal conversations, Scalise is soliciting legislative ideas that could be incorporated in a year-end health package.

Benjamin Guggenheim and Calen Razor contributed to this report.