Gregory Korte

Elon Musk returned to the White House Tuesday in a sign that tensions between President Donald Trump and the world’s richest man have thawed since a fierce split over deficit spending earlier this year fractured their once-cozy relationship.

The White House is ordering federal employees back to work Thursday, as the government reopens following a historic shutdown that furloughed about 600,000 federal employees, shuttered offices and froze billions in salaries and payments.

The US president’s power to pardon is both one of the most absolute and misunderstood provisions of the Constitution. Rooted in the “prerogative of mercy” of English kings dating back to the seventh century, America’s founders wanted a robust pardon power to allow “easy access to exceptions in favor of unfortunate guilt” by the justice system, as Alexander Hamilton wrote.

Democrats registered their biggest political victories since their stinging loss to Donald Trump a year ago with a series of wins Tuesday night in Virginia, New Jersey, New York and California, as the party coalesced around a message of economic affordability and voters delivered a repudiation of the president.

Both parties look to redrawing political maps for partisan advantage.

The US government has reached a major milestone of dysfunction as Congress has allowed a federal shutdown to drag into its 36th day — the longest in history — amid a stalemate over health-care and spending priorities.

Contests will give parties a gauge of voter sentiment before midterms.

The US Army Corps of Engineers will pause $11 billion in infrastructure projects in 12 states that voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in 2024 as the White House continues to exert leverage in talks to end a government shutdown now in its 17th day.

The first week of a government shutdown is usually the easy one. It only gets harder after that.

I’m Gregory Korte, White House and domestic policy reporter in Washington. Today we’re looking at how the US government shutdown is affecting the economy. Send us feedback and tips to ecodaily@bloomberg.net. And if you aren’t yet signed up to receive this newsletter, you can do so here.