After the Tariff Snub
Though the House voted to end President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada, don’t expect trade and tourism to return to former levels any time soon.
The Senate has cast votes against the new tariff policy, but adopting the House-approved resolution would just send the measure to the Oval Office to die. The six Republican defections aren’t enough to overcome a veto, so last night’s action may end up being more of a “we care” message to hurting constituents than the start of a policy shift.
As Alicia Diaz and Erik Wasson report, the vote shows growing anxiety over the White House’s economic agenda ahead of a midterm election focused heavily on the cost of living. It also comes as Trump privately weighs quitting the US-Mexico-Canada trade pact he signed during his first term, a move that would worsen trade tensions in North America.
The Senate Finance Committee will examine that trade deal at a hearing this morning, and Jonathan Tamari examines the political battle lines ahead.
ICE Boss Back on the Hill
For the second time this week, the acting head of ICE will be on the Hill today, this time being before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
On Tuesday, acting chief Todd Lyons told House members he wouldn’t discuss the specifics of the killings of two US citizens in Minnesota by federal officers because of “standard investigative practices” around active investigations.
Also due to appear is Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who sued federal officials over those investigations. The deaths were a tipping point for congressional Democrats, who are demanding changes to immigration enforcement before they will fund the Department of Homeland Security beyond Friday, when temporary appropriations run out.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has been appealing to Democrats to agree to another stopgap. In a social media post, however, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats will not “extend the status quo.” Our team has more in this morning’s BGOV Budget.
Also Read:
- Immigration Raids To Continue as Shutdown Threatens Cyber, FEMA
- House GOP Passes Voter ID Bill as Pressure on Senate Amps Up
- IRS Mistakenly Shares Data on Thousands of Immigrants With ICE
Invited After All
Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, chairman of the National Governors Association, appeared to take a hit on behalf of bipartisanship.
After he talked to Trump about the White House trying to keep Democrats out of the annual meeting with governors, Stitt announced that it was “always” Trump’s intent to invite all governors and described the initial problem as a “misunderstanding in scheduling,” Skylar Woodhouse reports.
Trump attacked Stitt as a “RINO” — short for a Republican in Name Only — and said it was “false” that he sought to limit invitations to the events to just his fellow Republicans.
Though the meeting on Feb. 20 will probably go on as usual, a separate dinner may be smaller. Trump said that he still planned to block Wes Moore and Jared Polis, the Democratic governors of Maryland and Colorado, from attending. Earlier this week, 18 Democratic governors said they would boycott the dinner with Trump if all were not welcome. Read More
Eye on the Economy
Today’s number to know will come from the National Association of Realtors, which is updating data on the housing market.
The report will show whether the sale of existing homes (measured separately from new builds) continued to be robust in January.
The most recent reports had shown monthly gains in both November and December. Economists will be watching whether that trend continues, suggesting more recovery this year for the home resale market. On an annual basis, sales in the three years through 2025 were the weakest since 1995.
Before You Go
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The
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