Another Day, Another Budget Vote. Maybe.
Speaker Mike Johnson says he’ll try again to complete action on a budget resolution — a can’t-get-around-it step for majority Republicans so they don’t have to worry about getting Democrats on board for tax and spending votes to come.
Johnson (R-La.) said his goal is to finish and let everybody head off for the two-week recess, though “if we have to come back next week, then we’ll do that.”
He’s having a tough time dragging the budget blueprint across the finish line because opinions in his own conference are strongly held and far apart, with fiscal hawks unwilling to settle for the Senate budget’s much smaller spending-cut goals.
Ken Tran and Maeve Sheehey report that the speaker spent an hour-plus last night with more than a dozen GOP holdouts. Johnson needs their support on this step before Republicans can help President Donald Trump keep his campaign promises on spending cuts and renewing tax breaks. Today’s BGOV Budget Brief has more on Johnson’s options.
Scheduled for the House floor today: legislation that would require people to have their birth certificates, passports or some other citizenship document to register to vote. The bill (H.R. 22) would create a process for states to use government databases to check the eligibility of those who don’t have proof of citizenship. For a full rundown of what’s in store on Capitol Hill, check out BGOV’s Congress Tracker.
See also:
Whoosh
Hear that? It was the sound of a giant economic mood swing from President Donald Trump’s fast-changing positions on punitive tariffs.
He issued a 90-day reprieve on new levies for a lot of countries and imposed an extra layer of tariffs on China, which added fresh tariffs of its own.
Today begins with US companies and Americans with 401(k) retirement nest eggs able to relax a little. Stock traders responded to the tariff flip by sending prices upward. Nearly every stock in major gauges rose — the S&P 500 was up 9% and the Nasdaq rose 12% — in a dramatic reversal from days of stock selloffs.
See Also:
- What Just Happened? Making Sense of Trump’s Tariff Pause
- House Republicans Move to Block Vote on Ending Trump Tariffs
- US Tariffs Are Still at Historic High Even After Trump’s Pause
- Global Trump Trade Chill Begins as Companies Pause Orders
- EU Will Pause Metals Counter Tariffs Against US for 90 Days
They Want to Kill Daylight Saving Time
Where there’s a bill, there will be professionals arguing to kill it or enact it, and daylight saving time is one of today’s examples. Lillianna Byington reports on the wide array of interests that hired help as senators consider legislation (
Among those represented: golf courses, sleep doctors, broadcasters, and convenience stores. Senate Commerce Committee members will hear some of the arguments for and against permanent DST in a hearing today. Read More
You Handled the ‘My Pillow’ Guy Suit? You’re Next
The latest law firm targeted by an executive order won a blockbuster settlement over conspiracy theories in the 2020 election.
The firm, Susman Godfrey, represented Dominion Voting Systems in a defamation lawsuit against Fox in which the media company agreed to pay a $787.5 million settlement. The firm is also pursuing Dominion’s defamation case against Mike Lindell, a well-known Trump advocate and chief executive officer of MyPillow.
As Trump did with other law firms, he ordered agency heads to strip security clearances, restrict personnel from accessing federal buildings, and slash federal contracts held by clients. Trump also called for an investigation of Susman Godfrey’s employment practice for possible violations of federal employment discrimination law, John Hughes reports.
Susman Godfrey is known for taking major contingency fee cases, meaning it only gets paid when it wins. Picking winners has made the firm’s lawyers some of the highest paid in the country. Other litigation firms so far have been choosing to fight Trump’s orders, while other firms folded under pressure and promised hundreds of millions worth of free services. Read More
See also:
- Trump Directs DoJ to Probe Officials Who Opposed Him in First Term — Washington Post
- Trump reverses Biden rule restricting showerheads — Associated Press
Trump to Bureaucracy: Repeal Faster
Killing regulations that the president doesn’t like is taking too long, the White House says in a new memo instructing agencies to skip the standard rulemaking process in some instances.
It’s the latest move to reshape the government and unwind processes created over time to consider impact before making changes. The memo issued yesterday tells executive branch officials they can use the “good cause” exception in US administrative law to overturn some rules the administration sees as going against recent Supreme Court decisions.
“Unlawful, unnecessary, and onerous regulations impede these objectives and impose massive costs on American consumers and American businesses,” the memo says. Read More
Before You Go
A few more things to know as Washington’s workday begins:
- Though 80-year-old Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) hasn’t said he’s ready to retire, there’s already a long line of would-be successors, Greg Giroux reports. Read More
- Trump’s choice to run NASA told senators it will be possible to shoot for both the moon and Mars, but was light on specifics when Senate Commerce Committee members asked for details. Read More
- Bipartisan concerns are being raised about access to weather data amid Trump’s downsizing, Kellie Lunney and Skye Witley report. Read More
- FBI Director Kash Patel has been removed as interim ATF director and in an unusual move a civilian military leader is now in charge of a domestic law enforcement entity. — New York Times
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