ICE Talks Set to Heat Up
The Department of Homeland Security has funding — and steady pay for all of its agencies — through 11:59 p.m. next Friday, so the week ahead should bring an intense new phase of negotiations.
Mica Soellner reports that the Trump administration says it will engage with Democratic leaders “in the coming days” — a time frame that doesn’t shed any light on what to expect over the weekend.
Democrats have a list of 10 demands that include banning face coverings, requiring judicial warrants for home searches, and mandating the use of body cameras.
Republicans will conduct hearings next week that will show their skepticism or support for what top leaders have to say about the performance of immigration agents.
Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE; Rodney Scott, the Customs and Border Protection commissioner; and Joseph Edlow, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services director, are to appear at a House hearing Tuesday and a Senate hearing Thursday. In between, a House Appropriations subcommittee plans a Wednesday hearing on “potential DHS shutdown impacts.”
Separately, several US attorneys have warned the Fifth Circuit appeals court that a “flood” of litigation by migrants challenging their detention has created a “substantial drain on the resources” of their offices, in declarations filed with the court in December, Ben Penn, Celine Castronuovo, and Megan Crepeau report.
See Also:
- Border Patrol Shooting Victim Seeks Release of All Evidence
- DOJ Limits Immigrants’ Options to Fight Deportation Orders
Drug Prices
Members of a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee are preparing to grill drug makers and pharmaceutical middlemen as part of an examination of why Americans pay what they do for medicine.
Wednesday’s hearing is planned as a followup to the panel’s questioning of insurance companies.
Victoria Knight and Erin Durkin report that the invited witnesses include PhRMA Chief Operating Officer Lori Reilly and David Marin, president and CEO of the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association. Marin’s group represents pharmaceutical benefit managers, which implement drug benefits and negotiate rebates for insurers.
Circumventing pharmacy benefit managers is also the goal of the newly launched direct-to-consumer tool the administration christened TrumpRx. President Donald Trump said more than 40 medicines would be available.
Trump’s Discretion to Fire
For about 50,000 of the government’s professional staff, their continued employment is now 100% in Trump’s hands.
Chris Marr explains that the release of a final regulation from the Office of Personnel Management essentially provides the president with unlimited discretion to choose how many government employees lose their job security.
The new layer of civil service provides no appeals process for agency heads or employees who disagree with the reclassification of roles.
Before yesterday’s change, the president had the power to appoint only about about 4,000 positions. Now there’s no limit on how many positions Trump can change or how often he might issue follow-up orders reclassifying positions. Agency heads can revise job descriptions or duties however they like, whenever they like, to make any position they want into a work-at-our-will “policy” position.
NJ Race in Overtime
A progressive political organizer and a former congressman were locked in a tight Democratic House primary for an open seat in northern New Jersey that was too close to call last night, Greg Giroux reports.
Analilia Mejia, who served as a top official on Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign, led former Rep. Tom Malinowski, 29% to 28%, in an 11-candidate race for the nomination to fill the remainder of Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s term. Malinowski led in early returns, and the website Decision Desk HQ projected him as the winner, then retracted its projection after election-day voters put Mejia ahead.
NJ Spotlight News reported a final result could be more than a week away as mail-in and provisional ballots are counted. The Democratic nominee will head to an April 16 special election against Republican Joe Hathaway, the mayor of Randolph in Morris County. Read More
In the week ahead, Greg will be watching Louisiana, which is replacing its practice of holding all-candidate elections followed by runoffs with more traditional party primaries.
A key question: how many candidates get in or stay away from filing to run for the Senate seat of Bill Cassidy (R), who voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial in 2021. Rep. Julia Letlow (R) last month announced a Trump-endorsed bid to oust the two-term incumbent.
That means someone new will end up representing Letlow’s strongly Republican 5th District.
After next week’s filing period, the next date to know is May 16 — a primary election scheduled to allow time to redraw the congressional map depending on the outcome of a lawsuit. The Supreme Court is weighing the constitutionality of Louisiana intentionally creating majority-minority districts.
Remaps in Motion
The latest development in the tit-for-tat redistricting war could help Democrats gain as many four US House seats in Virginia, Andrew Oxford reports.
If the map announced yesterday gets approved by Virginia voters on April 21, Republicans could be left representing only one of the state’s 11 congressional districts. Potentially imperiled: incumbent Reps. Rob Wittman, Jen Kiggans, John McGuire, and Ben Cline.
A challenge from the GOP is pending in front of the state Supreme Court. And another legal challenge was filed yesterday against Florida’s effort to change congressional lines before this year’s elections.
Alex Ebert reports that the new lawsuit contends that when Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) called a special session of the legslature to redo the congressional map. he violated the state constitution.
Republicans hold 20 of that state’s 28 districts, but following Texas’s mid-decade remap, DeSantis said Florida conservatives need to push for more safe seats.
Greg has more on the redistricting picture in this morning’s Congress Tracker.
Also Read: GOP Voter ID Measure Will Stifle Voting, State Officials Warn
Kelly v. Hegseth
The judge hearing Sen, Mark Kelly’s case against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he’ll aim to issue a decision by Wednesday.
The case stems from the Pentagon chief’s effort to cut military retirement benefits for the Arizona Democrat over a video in which Kelly, a Navy veteran, reminded service members that they can refuse illegal commands.
During a hearing this week, Judge Richard J. Leon, an appointee of President George W. Bush, appeared skeptical that the free speech restrictions imposed on active-duty service members should extend to retirees. “You’re asking me to do something the Supreme Court has never done,” Leon told Justice Department lawyer John Bailey. “That’s a bit of a stretch, is it not?”
Eye on Tariffs
Despite pushback from farm-state Republicans, American ranchers are about to get more competition. A trade deal signed yesterday will let Argentina export 100,000 tons of beef to the US with preferential access. That’s up from the current quota of 20,000 tons, Patrick Gillespie and Catherine Lucey report.
The quota increase amounts to an extra $800 million, officials estimated. The US also will eliminate over 1,600 reciprocal tariffs on Argentine goods.
Argentina is eliminating tariffs on US machinery, medical parts, chemical products and slashing levies to just 2% on certain auto parts. The agreement also touches on intellectual property rights and digital trade, among other topics, according to the Argentine government statement.
Iran Talks
Iran and the US held indirect talks on Friday to reduce tensions that have threatened to spiral into war, with Tehran saying the meetings will be the first stage of a longer diplomatic process.
Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi met separately with the Iranian delegation led by his counterpart Abbas Araghchi and with the US team including special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Iranian state TV said a second round of consultations was underway. The US hasn’t yet commented. Read More
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier that “for talks to actually lead to something meaningful,” they have to include Tehran’s ballistic-missile program, sponsorship of regional militant groups and the treatment of its people. Read More
Also Read:
- Trump Calls for Arms Treaty With Russia as New START Expires
- Cuba Signals Openness to US Talks as Fuel Begins to Run Out
Before You Go
GOP Senators Say Powell Probe ‘Waste of Time’ Amid Warsh Impasse
Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee are raising doubts over the Justice Department’s investigation into Federal Reserve Chair
Netflix Hires Antitrust Lobbyist on Warner Bros. Discovery Deal
Netflix Inc. is bolstering its lobbying bench as the tech and entertainment company seeks to smooth antitrust criticism over its deal with Warner Bros. Discovery.
Big Tech to Spend $650 Billion This Year as AI Race Intensifies
Four of the biggest US technology companies together have forecast capital expenditures that will reach about $650 billion in 2026 — a mind-boggling tide of cash earmarked for new data centers and the long list of equipment needed to make them tick, including artificial intelligence chips, networking cables and backup generators.
Virginia Foxx Sued by Suspended Columbia University Student
Rep.
Americans Turn to TikTok Tips, Mexico to Escape ACA Premium Pain
NY-NJ River Tunnel Project to Pause After Federal Funding Halt
Work on a $16 billion Hudson River rail-tunnel project that could ease congestion between New Jersey and Manhattan is set to come to a halt on Friday following the Trump administration’s decision last year to freeze its funding.
Bill Allowing Judges to Carry Firearms Endorsed by Judiciary
The US Judiciary’s policymaking arm has endorsed legislation that would allow judges and federal prosecutors to carry concealed firearms across state lines after completing law-enforcement training.
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