Trump blindsides Senate GOP, backs House budget plan
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PRESIDENT TRUMP DOVE HEADLONG Wednesday into the budget battle that has split House and Senate Republicans, siding with the lower chamber’s strategy while blindsiding his allies in the Senate. Trump threw his support behind the House Republican strategy to pass “one big, beautiful bill” that combines all of his spending priorities and tax cuts, even as doubts grow that it can pass the House with the GOP’s slim majority. Senate Republicans have been moving faster on their two-bill plan, which breaks the spending and tax cuts into separate bills.
But Trump made clear that he does not agree with Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) strategy in the Senate.
“Unlike the Lindsey Graham version of the very important Legislation currently being discussed, the House Resolution implements my FULL America First Agenda, EVERYTHING, not just parts of it!” Trump posted on social media. “We need both Chambers to pass the House Budget to ‘kickstart’ the Reconciliation process, and move all of our priorities to the concept of, ‘ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL.’”
Graham has cast his two-track effort as a backup plan in case House Republicans are unable to coalesce behind a unified strategy ahead of a March 14 deadline to fund the government and avoid a shutdown.
“I’m pulling for the House to pull it together and get one big, beautiful bill, but it’s got to be consistent with President Trump’s tax agenda,” Graham said. "And right now, you know the tax agenda is to make the tax cuts permanent, and the House bill doesn’t do that." Trump’s remarks caught GOP senators off guard. He had previously been noncommittal, allowing the two GOP-led chambers to hash it out on their own and see who prevails. “Did not see that one coming,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), who did not hear from Trump ahead of time. Vice President Vance met Wednesday with Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill to discuss the White House strategy. The Senate has already begun debate on its budget resolution, which passed last week.
Senate Republicans plan to move ahead with a vote this week, with Thune noting that Trump likes to have "optionality." "We certainly wish them all the success in moving it," Thune said. "We will work closely with them. More power to them." The House is out this week but plans to move ahead with its budget resolution when lawmakers return next week. |
TRUMP KEEPS EXECUTIVE ACTIONS FLYING |
Trump is maintaining a swift pace with his executive actions and firings. The latest:
• Trump signed an executive order seeking to expand the White House’s authority over various independent regulatory agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission.
The executive order is certain to be challenged in the courts. In a Fox News interview Tuesday night, Elon Musk said he sees it as his job at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to ensure Trump’s executive orders are implemented.
“One of the biggest functions of the DOGE team is just making sure that the presidential executive orders are actually carried out,” Musk said.
• Trump said he directed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to fire all remaining U.S. attorneys appointed by former President Biden, claiming the department “has been politicized like never before.”
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TRUMP APPROVAL TICKS DOWN |
Trump has enjoyed a honeymoon period with the public during his first month in office.
However, the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll found Trump’s approval rating ticking down by 3 points since his inauguration, from 47 percent approval to 44 percent. Voters expressed concerns about the economy, with 53 percent saying it’s on the wrong track.
Trump acknowledged the latest government data showing a rise in inflation in January, which marked Biden's final weeks in office and Trump's first days.
“I had nothing to do with that,” Trump told Fox News Channel's Sean Hannity. Trump also said he’s considering new 25 percent tariffs on automobiles, chips and pharmaceuticals.
Gallup found the approval rating for Congress spiked by 16 points, led by enthusiasm from Republican voters for their majorities in the House and Senate. |
Senate Republicans seem to have tabled their concerns about Rep. Lori Chavez-Deremer (R-Ore.), whom Trump tapped to lead the Labor Department. Chavez-Deremer’s pro-labor views are unconventional for a Republican. She has support from the Teamsters, who traditionally back Democratic presidential candidates but stayed on the sidelines in 2024.
Chavez-Deremer appears to have eased concerns from likely dissenters, including Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), potentially setting her up for confirmation.
The Senate this week voted to confirm Kelly Loeffler to lead the Small Business Administration and Howard Lutnick to be Commerce secretary. The Senate advanced Kash Patel’s nomination to lead the FBI.
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💡Perspectives:
• The Hill: Trump is already surpassing his first-term’s progress.
• The Hill: Who will stop Trump and Musk from dismantling the government?
• The Hill: Musk and Trump are blatantly violating the Constitution.
• USA Today: Trump is cleaning up a corrupt system.
• The Liberal Patriot: Liberalism in a populist era. |
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© AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson |
Trump lashes out at Zelensky
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President Trump is ramping up his attacks on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as the U.S. embarks on an effort to negotiate an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
In a blistering social media post, Trump called Zelensky a “modestly successful comedian” and a "dictator" and accused him of taking advantage of the U.S. “He refuses to have Elections, is very low in Ukrainian Polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing Biden ‘like a fiddle,'” Trump said. “A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left.”
Zelensky declared martial law during the Russian invasion, postponing a presidential election that was set for last year. “I love Ukraine, but Zelenskyy has done a terrible job, his Country is shattered, and MILLIONS have unnecessarily died – And so it continues,” Trump added. This comes a day after Trump alleged that Zelensky started the war with Russia.
“You should have never started it,” Trump said, scolding Zelensky. “You could have made a deal.”
Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 after demanding Ukraine be banned from ever joining NATO.
Trump’s remarks about Ukraine starting the war baffled, enraged and provided plenty of ammunition to critics who warn he’s preparing to sell Ukraine out to Russia.
“Mr. President, Ukraine did not ‘start’ this war,” former Vice President Pence posted on X. “Russia launched an unprovoked and brutal invasion claiming hundreds of thousands of lives. The Road to Peace must be built on the Truth.”
Zelensky fired back at Trump's remarks, saying Trump is living in a Russian-made “disinformation space.” Trump’s national security team, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, reestablished diplomatic relations with Russia this week and began discussing a framework for a potential end to the war with Ukraine. Ukrainian and European officials were frozen out of the U.S.-Russia meeting.
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Trump’s remarks “are not intended to be historically accurate but to shock Europeans into action.” Trump will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer when they visit Washington, D.C. next week. |
💡Perspectives:
• CNN: Trump delivers another blow to Ukraine and a new boost to Putin.
• The New York Times: A U.S. betrayal is surreal for Europeans.
• The Free Press: How the U.S. controls Ukrainian media.
• New York Post: Vance rightly excoriates Europe.
• The Atlantic: The Party of Reagan is selling out Ukraine. |
© Alex Brandon, Associated Press |
President Trump and Elon Musk gave an illuminating interview Tuesday night to Fox News, playing up their friendship and defending their efforts to gut the federal workforce.
The Hill’s Alex Gangitano has the takeaways from the interview here, in case you missed it.
Trump responded to a White House court filing claiming that Musk is not in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“You could call him an employee, you could call him a consultant, you could call him whatever you want,” Trump said.
Here’s the latest action around DOGE, which Musk claims has so far saved $55 billion.
• A federal judge temporarily barred two intelligence agencies from terminating employees who had been assigned to work on diversity efforts.
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture is trying to take back the termination notices sent over the weekend to several employees who aid in the federal response efforts to the bird flu.
• Senate Republicans say they’re open to DOGE accessing the IRS’s sensitive taxpayer information, as long as there are guardrails in place.
• The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is suing over the Trump administration’s moves to block funding for refugee resettlement programs.
• More than a billion dollars of government contracts at the Department of Education have been cut. • The head of the Food and Drug Administration’s food division resigned, citing the mass firings of agency staff.
• Union officials say nearly 170 employees at the National Science Foundation who were still on probation were fired by the Trump administration. |
💡Perspectives:
• The Hill: America is sick. Healthier food can help patients in recovery. • The Hill: CBS journalists advocate against free speech. • The American Prospect: Musk, Trump causing an imperial collapse. • After Babel: Psychological distress accelerated for youth during the pandemic. • BIG: Trump enforcers affirm Lina Khan's approach to antitrust. |
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Senate Republicans plowing ahead with their efforts to advance the first stage of their two-part package to pay for Trump's agenda despite Trump backing the House’s plan.
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“Did not see that one coming,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said.
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