Tensions boil over at Trump-Zelensky meeting

12:30 REPORT

Happy Friday! Tomorrow is officially March 🍀🌸 Today's forecast in DC: ⛅ 56° (Find your weather here)

In today's edition:

Tensions erupt at Trump-Zelensky meeting
Trump’s English language designation
Epstein file release was a dud
How DOGE is increasing shutdown odds
Today’s “economic blackout” protest

Happening now — Zelensky at the White House:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is in Washington, D.C. He’s at the White House this afternoon to meet with President Trump and then will speak at the Hudson Institute.

Yikes, this got pretty heated: Trump, Vice President Vance and Zelensky got into a heated argument in the Oval Office.

Vance said it was “disrespectful” for Zelensky to come into the Oval Office and “litigate” in front of the American media.

Trump raised his voice and said to Zelensky: “You’re not really in a good position right now” and that he is “gambling with WWIII.”

Stick with TheHill.com for more updates on the meeting this afternoon.

Oh, and: NewsNation reports that an unapproved reporter from the Russian state media agency TASS snuck into the Oval Office meeting with Zelensky.

For your radar: They’re expected to have a joint 1 p.m. press conference. It may be worth watching. 💻 Livestream

Press 1 for a Boston accent, press 2 for a Southern accent:

President Trump is expected to sign an executive order to designate English as the official language of the United States.

What this means in practice: Federal agencies will no longer have to provide language assistance to non-English speakers.

The situation now: More than 30 states have made English the official language, per the Wall Street Journal, but this was never a federal order.

➤ FEDERAL WORKERS, EXPECT ANOTHER ‘5 THINGS’ EMAIL:

Why this is notable: Tech billionaire Elon Musk received a lot of pushback from agencies when he first emailed this request last week. But the practice appears to be sticking.

Soo, what was in the Jeffrey Epstein files?:

The Department of Justice (DOJ) released a Thursday packet with a flight log and names of people tied to the deceased convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein.

🔎 Read the DOJ files

What’s in the files: Not much new information. The files mostly contained information that had already been leaked but not formally released.

Bondi got some pushback for the lack of new info: Attorney General Pam Bondi was criticized after the highly teased files lacked hardly any new information.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) have pressured Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel to release more details of the scandal.

From Luna: “THIS IS NOT WHAT WE OR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ASKED FOR and a complete disappointment. GET US THE INFORMATION WE ASKED FOR!”

MAGA influencers in the White House:

The White House invited a group of right-wing influencers to the White House on Thursday to meet with President Trump’s team. They were handed binders with “The Epstein Files: Phase 1” plastered on the cover.

Who met with them?: Trump, Vice President Vance, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and border czar Tom Homan, per Axios.

Which MAGA influencers were there?:

Rogan O'Handley, who is also known as DC Draino 📸 Photo
Chaya Raichik, who is behind @libsoftiktok 📸 Mike Lee’s selfie
Liz Wheeler, a conservative political commentator 📸 She posted a photo
Scott Presler, @ThePersistence 📹 Pressler’s video
Chad Prather, @WatchChad 📸 Prather’s photo

A total of 15 influencers attended, per CBS News.

💡 Timing: There has been tension brewing among legacy journalists and the White House. The White House kicked out HuffPost from its day in the rotation this week and barred The Associated Press from access to Trump for not recognizing the name the "Gulf of America." Earlier this week, the Trump administration also seized control over which news outlets can cover the president as part of its collective pool. The White House Correspondents’ Association has always handled the logistics, but the White House wants more control to allow influencers and nontraditional media to have access.

➤ LANDSCAPING TIME:

Trump told The Spectator that he is planning to add a ballroom to the White House and pave part of the Rose Garden.

➤ MORE READS:

The New York Times: How Elon Musk Executed His Takeover of the Federal Bureaucracy
The Wall Street Journal: Trump’s Tariff Onslaught Is Coming Faster Than His Team Can Carry It Out
Susan Glasser in The New Yorker: Why Aren’t We in the Streets?

🛑 On Capitol Hill

The govt is basically operating on a month-to-month lease:

Congressional negotiators have until March 14 to fund the government, or else the federal government will shut down.

What’s different this time: Republicans have trifecta control, with a majority in the House and Senate in addition to the White House.

What is most likely to happen?: If negotiators want to avoid a shutdown, they will have to pass yet another short-term bill to buy more time. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (Fla.) told reporters that lawmakers have run out of time to negotiate.

A sticking point: Democrats are fuming at the White House for refusing to back programs that have already been funded by Congress, arguing it’s unconstitutional. Republicans, however, argue the president has flexibility on deciding what to fund.

Read Aris Folley and Mike Lillis’s reporting: ‘Fight over Trump’s spending powers boosts shutdown odds’

DOGE has entered the funding chat:

“Growing calls among hard line House conservatives to incorporate cuts made by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) into a developing government funding bill are complicating efforts to avert a shutdown two weeks ahead of the looming deadline,” reports The Hill’s Mychael Schnell and Emily Brooks.

Mike Johnson must ❤️ his job: “The pleas are poised to pin Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) into the tricky — yet familiar — position of managing his right flank while keeping the lights on in Washington, which will require some support from congressional Democrats.”

Read their reporting: ‘GOP push for DOGE cuts inflames talks to prevent shutdown’

➤ TIDBIT — ELON MUSK IS TAKING ON EVERYONE:

Tech billionaire Elon Musk slammed the House’s budget resolution, which is backed by President Trump *and* was passed earlier this week. “All government spending is taxation,” he posted. “This point really needs to be hammered home.” 🔎 Read Musk’s full post

💰 Other News

People are boycotting purchases:

A grassroots group has organized an “economic blackout” today, calling on Americans to abstain from spending money today to boycott the current political and economic climate.

If you want to participate: Avoid making purchases from big box stores today. Only buy from small businesses and only purchase essential needs.

What is being boycotted?: Rising housing prices and inflation driving up the cost of groceries. People are also joining for many other reasons.

Read CNN’s reporting on how this started: ‘Today’s ‘economic blackout’ began from an unlikely source. But it’s tapped into Americans’ anger’

🐝 Internet Buzz

🍫 Celebrate: Today is National Chocolate Souffle Day.

📱 Will “Skyping” still be a generic verb?: Microsoft is shutting down the once-popular video messaging app Skype in May.

📆 On The Agenda

The House and Senate are o-u-t, out. President Trump is in Washington. (all times Eastern)

1 p.m.: Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hold a joint press conference. 💻 Livestream
4 p.m.: Zelensky speaks at the Hudson Institute. 💻 Livestream
5 p.m.: Trump leaves for his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla.

👋 And Finally…

Let’s manifest some good vibes for this weekend and try to be like this dog.

Stay Engaged

Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com. A friend forward this to you? Subscribe here.

View past issues of 12:30 Report here and check out other newsletters from The Hill here. See you next time!

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