Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates spar over abortion rights and influence of Elon Musk and George Soros
A pair of jurists vying to be Wisconsin’s next Supreme Court justice sparred tonight ahead of the first major statewide race in a battleground since the 2024 election.
The tense one-hour debate in Milwaukee between liberal judge Susan Crawford and conservative judge Brad Schimel focused in large part on reproductive rights and the millions of dollars being spent on the race by high-profile billionaires and outside groups in what’s technically a nonpartisan election scheduled for April 1.
The contest will determine the court’s ideological balance for the second time in two years — and possibly the future of several issues related to abortion rights, unions and congressional maps.
Crawford is a state judge in Madison who worked earlier in her career in the Democratic administration of then-Gov. Jim Doyle. Schimel, also a state judge, in Waukesha County, previously was the state’s Republican attorney general.
Trouble is brewing for local beer companies as Trump slaps tariffs on aluminum
Garrett Haake and Olympia Sonnier
The math is tight for Thom Cheston. Standing in the walk-in fridge that stores the beer to be shipped across the Washington, D.C., area, he runs through a few numbers.
He says his business, Right Proper Brewing, has to sell more than $6,000 of beer just to cover the taxes on his brewery. He’s hesitant to raise prices because his competitors, most notably the big breweries, might not. And so having to pay more for the aluminum cans that ship his brews is a scary proposition.
Trump’s 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum took effect today, and one of the places Americans touch aluminum most directly is in canned drinks. The increase in the price of canning material could dramatically hit the bottom lines of many businesses, such as craft breweries.
“We can’t raise our prices just because our costs have gone up,” Cheston said. “We may be on the shelf next to breweries that are much larger than us, that may be in a better position to absorb those costs, whereas we are not.”
Judge orders DOGE to quickly turn over documents in lawsuit brought by 14 states
U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan today ordered Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency to produce documents requested by more than a dozen state attorneys general in a lawsuit that alleges Trump gave him “virtually unchecked authority … without proper legal authorization from Congress and without meaningful supervision of his activities.”
Chutkan, who oversaw the criminal case against Trump in connection with his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, granted a motion for expedited discovery while she narrowed the scope of discovery and ordered the defendants to turn over the requested documents within 21 days.
“The court recognizes that discovery into the Executive, particularly the White House and Senior Advisors, imposes a heightened burden. Accordingly, the court does not authorize all the discovery that Plaintiffs request, imposes several additional restrictions on the scope, and extends Defendants’ time to respond,” she wrote.
Tim Walz to hold town hall in Iowa as Republicans avoid in-person events
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the 2024 Democratic nominee for vice president, said he plans to hold a town hall in neighboring Iowa this week.
“I’m going Friday. I think I’m headed [to] Iowa. I’ve been asked by these folks,” Walz told MSNBC’s Chris Hayes tonight. “I’m going to go use the platform that I have and hand them the megaphone to talk about this.”
Walz first teased plans to host events in red districts last week, after the chair of the campaign arm for House Republicans advised GOP lawmakers to nix in-person town halls over blowback to Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency.
“If your Republican representative won’t meet with you because their agenda is so unpopular, maybe a Democrat will. Hell, maybe I will,” Walz wrote on X. “If your congressman refuses to meet, I’ll come host an event in their district to help local Democrats beat ’em.”
Republican lawmakers have faced fierce backlash at town halls in recent weeks over the sweeping cuts enacted by DOGE.
“I wouldn’t do those town halls if I were them, either, because they have to defend cutting Medicare, cutting Medicaid, hurting the local public school, fighting a trade war with Canada,” Walz said tonight. “Just the nonsense and defending President Musk.”
Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif, said last week the party was preparing to host town halls in Republican districts, a strategy Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., expanded on today.
What the Education Department layoffs could mean for students with disabilities
Tyler Kingkade and Adam Edelman
Massive layoffs initiated this week at the Education Department could hamstring the federal government’s efforts to assist students with disabilities, former officials and education experts said, citing blows to the agency’s civil rights and research divisions.
Yesterday, the department began laying off around 1,300 employees, cutting nearly half the staff in its Office for Civil Rights and over 100 from the Institute of Education Sciences, according to information released by American Federation of Government Employees Local 252, the union for department staff.
The cuts in those two divisions mean there will be far fewer staff members to finish the 12,000 pending federal investigations into allegations of civil rights violations at schools — roughly half of which involve disability issues — and fewer employees to review and distribute government-funded research into effective ways to educate children with autism or severe intellectual disabilities.
The layoffs are the first step toward dismantling the department, a goal espoused by Trump and his education secretary, Linda McMahon. Experts say they raise concerns about what the future will look like for civil rights enforcement as the Trump administration continues chipping away at federal oversight.
Gavin Newsom defends decision to have Steve Bannon on his podcast
California Gov. Gavin Newsom today defended his decision to invite people he called “right-wingers” onto his podcast amid backlash from some Democrats.
In a letter emailed to his supporters, Newsom called the podcast interviews a “critically important” effort to “understand how the MAGA-right organized itself during the last election and what they are thinking about in the weeks, months and years ahead.”
Newsom, in an earlier episode of the “This is Gavin Newsom” podcast, interviewed right-wing provocateur Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA. Today he released an episode featuring former Trump White House strategist Steve Bannon.
“I also don’t think there’s anywhere else someone like Steve Bannon — a self-proclaimed populist — is going to be asked to defend the harmful impact of Trump’s tariffs,” Newsom wrote. “Bannon also talks a lot about the influence of oligarchs, yet Trump’s cabinet is filled from top-to-bottom with them. Do Trump supporters know that? Would Bannon defend that?”
Bannon told Newsom on the podcast that he does not think Elon Musk will be able to cut $1 trillion in government spending through his Department of Government Efficiency.
During his interview with Kirk last week, Newsom said transgender girls’ and women’s competing in female sports was “deeply unfair.”
He said he plans to interview Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the 2024 Democratic nominee for vice president, in his next episode.
‘It’s too late’: Republicans react to Democrats’ push for new funding bill
Frank Thorp V and Zoë Richards
Senate Republicans tonight indicated that was little to no time to pursue a Democratic alternative to the House-passed GOP funding bill before this week’s shutdown deadline.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who chairs the Appropriations Committee and had publicly advocated for a short-term alternative stopgap funding bill that would allow more time to finish individual spending bills, pointed to limited timing and the House’s departure.
“At this point, I think it’s too late,” Collins said, adding that Trump said he would veto a short-term funding bill like the one being offered by Democrats.
Sen John Cornyn, R-Texas, said he didn’t think there would be an amendment vote on a short-term funding bill, citing the looming shutdown.
“The problem is if it passes here, then the House is gone and we get a shutdown on Friday,” Cornyn said.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he’s open to having a conversation with Democrats about having an amendment vote on a short-term funding bill, but he said he was unaware of a request to do so.
“I don’t think they’ve made any kind of an offer like that yet,” Thune told reporters. “I think right now they’re still trying to figure out how they want to see this wrap up.”
Thune said that “in the end,” what’s available to the Senate is the continuing resolution passed by the House, which has already left for the week with no plans of returning until March 24.
All 100 senators would have to agree to move quickly if they want to vote on the funding bill before government funding expires at the end of the day Friday. That agreement would likely include votes on amendments that would be taken to let senators get on the record supporting an alternative, but it would fail and leave the underlying House-passed bill untouched.
If the Senate passes the House-passed bill without amending it, it would go to Trump’s desk for his signature. If the Senate amends the bill, it returns to the House.
EPA administrator announces huge rollback of environmental regulations
Promising to drive “a dagger through the heart of climate-change religion,” Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin today outlined plans for an aggressive rollback of environmental regulations.
In a Wall Street Journal opinion piece and an EPA news release, Zeldin announced that he intends to reconsider more than a dozen core EPA rules and regulations, including those pertaining to emissions standards for vehicles, pollution from power plants and the finding that provides the scientific basis for addressing climate change.
“Today marks the death of the Green New Scam,” Zeldin wrote in the Journal, arguing that his deregulation plan would create an environment in which “businesses can thrive and infrastructure can be built.” He added that he wants to reassess rules that, in his view, “throttled oil and gas production and unfairly targeted coal-fired power plants” and suggested that his proposed actions would roll back “trillions of dollars in regulatory costs.”
The EPA announced that it will revisit water pollution limits for coal plants, air quality standards for small particles and the mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas emissions by large emitters like oil and gas companies, among other rules.
USAID official defends document destruction
A top official at the U.S. Agency for International Development said in a court filing today there was nothing nefarious about her directive to staffers yesterday to shred and burn classified documents.
Erica Carr, USAID’s acting executive secretary, said she’d ordered the destruction of “outdated and no longer needed derivatively classified documents” as part of the decommissioning of the agency’s space in the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C.
“The vast majority of the removed documents were either (1) copies of classified documents that were originally classified by other government agencies, or (2) derivatively-classified documents that were created for the purposes of, but not limited to, high-level meetings, official government travel, and intelligence briefings, which USAID no longer has a need to retain,” Carr said in the court filing.
Groups challenging the administration’s plans to shut down the agency had filed an emergency motion to block the document destruction after word of Carr’s email became public. The email had asked employees for “assistance in clearing our classified safes and personnel documents.”
Irish prime minister praises Trump for ‘noble’ effort to end wars in Ukraine and Gaza
Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin praised Trump for the “unrelenting focus and energy” he has brought to securing peace deals to end the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
“In my view, there is nothing more noble … than the pursuit of peace, and this is what you are doing,” Martin said today at a St Patrick’s Day reception in the White House. “Ireland is ready to work with you and our international partners to end conflict and especially to bring just, lasting and sustainable peace to the people of Ukraine and the people of the Middle East.”
Martin outlined the human toll of the war, noting in particular the effects of battle on the “most vulnerable.”
“Many children, in particular, have died in Gaza, in Israel, in Sudan, and too many children have been abducted in Ukraine. Let us together never cease to strive for peace, prosperity and opportunity for all the world’s children,” he said.
Trump has repeatedly called himself the only person who can quickly end the war in Ukraine, and he has sidelined European leaders in trying to do so. His administration has held separate talks with Russian and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia but has not invited European officials to join either discussion.
After Trump’s Oval Office clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last month, the European Union’s foreign minister questioned the U.S. role on the world stage.
“Today it became clear that the free world needs a new leader. It’s up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge,” foreign minister Kaja Kallas said.
Judge rules Federal Labor Relations Authority chair must be reinstated
Gary Grumbach and Zoë Richards
A federal judge ruled today that Susan Tsui Grundmann, the chair of the Federal Labor Relations Authority, was unlawfully removed from her job by the Trump administration and must be allowed to serve unless she is removed “upon notice and hearing and only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.” Grundmann’s term does not end until July.
Defendants in the case are barred “from removing Ms. Grundmann from her office without cause or in any way treating Ms. Grundmann as having been removed, from impeding in any way her ability to fulfill her duties as a Member of the FLRA, and from denying or obstructing her authority or access to any benefits or resources of the office,” the judge wrote.
Grundmann sued the Trump administration over her termination last month.
The order is not preliminary or temporary relief. Rather, the judge has awarded Grundmann summary judgment, which is a final, appealable decision on the law and facts.
The FLRA is an independent administrative agency that handles labor disputes between federal employee labor groups and management. It consists of three Senate-confirmed members who are appointed by the president.
Irish prime minister touts ‘mutually beneficial’ trade ties with U.S. as Trump threatens more EU tariffs
Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin lauded Ireland’s trading relationship with the United States in remarks today at a St. Patrick’s Day reception at the White House, hours after Trump threatened to increase tariffs on the European Union.
“Ireland likes to trade with United States, and the United States likes to do business with Ireland because we are strong and reliable partners. Mr. President, let’s do even more and better together,” Martin said.
He hailed the role he said Irish workers and companies have played in “making this country great,” in both the past and the present. The two economies, Martin said, are “deeply interconnected” and benefit from mutual investment.
“We’ve built prosperity through free and fair trade with partners all over the world, and particularly here in these United States. Let us continue to build on that foundation,” Martin said. “Let us continue to work together to make sure that we maintain that mutually beneficial two-way economic relationship that has allowed innovation and creativity and prosperity to thrive.”
Trump threatened earlier today to escalate tariffs on the European Union after it imposed tariffs on billions of dollars of U.S. goods in response to Trump’s placing a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports.
“We’re going to be doing reciprocal tariffs. So whatever they charge us, we’re charging them. Nobody can complain about that,” Trump said today in the Oval Office, seated next to Martin. “If they charge us 25 or 20% or 10% or 2% or 200%, then that’s what we’re charging them.”
Federal judge temporarily blocks parts of Trump administration’s Perkins Coie executive order
Gary Grumbach and Jesse Rodriguez
A federal judge just blocked parts of the Trump administration’s executive order called “Addressing Risks from Perkins Coie,” saying the law firm has “met its burden” for a temporary restraining order.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell is enjoining enforcement of Sections 1, 3 and 5 of Trump’s executive order, which sought to block Perkins Coie and its associates from entering government buildings and prevented government employees in their official capacity from “engaging with Perkins Coie employees to ensure consistency with the national security and other interests of the United States.”
“I am sure many in the profession are watching in horror at what Perkins Coie is going through here,” Howell said in announcing her decision.
During arguments, the plaintiffs explained the issue in stark terms. “It is an immense, already existing problem that is like a tsunami ready to hit the firm,” plaintiffs attorney Dane Butswinkas said. “It will spell the end of the law firm.”
Addressing the government, Howell: “It sends chills down my spine when you say that if the president in his view has the position that an individual or an entity or a company is operating a way that is not in the nation’s interest, he can issue an executive order like this. That’s a pretty extraordinary power for the president to exercise.”
A Perkins Coie spokesperson said in a statement that the judge’s ruling “is an important first step in ensuring this unconstitutional Executive Order is never enforced.”
“We will follow the court’s direction regarding next steps and will continue to challenge the Executive Order, which threatens our firm, our clients, and core constitutional protections important to all Americans,” the statement said.
Trump administration says it intends to deport Mahmoud Khalil, alleging ‘serious’ foreign policy consequences
Daniella Silva and Adam Reiss
The Trump administration has filed a document seeking to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder who played a major role in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, saying he is “subject to removal from the United States” in documents obtained by NBC News.
Federal immigration agents arrested Khalil, 30, in New York City on Saturday and briefly took him to a detention center in New Jersey before he was transferred to the facility in Jena, Louisiana. He is an Algerian citizen of Palestinian descent, married to a U.S. citizen and a legal permanent resident of the United States.
In the document, the Department of Homeland Security cited a provision in immigration law that gives the secretary of state the authority to deport someone from the United States if it is determined that the person “would have serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”
“The Secretary of State has determined that your presence or activities in the United States would have serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States,” it continued.
In rural Louisiana, Speaker Mike Johnson’s constituents fear potential Medicaid cuts
Melanie ZanonaMelanie Zanona is a Capitol Hill correspondent for NBC News.
Melanie Zanona and Susan Kroll
Reporting from Vinton, Louisiana
In House Speaker Mike Johnson’s backyard, many residents rely on anti-poverty programs to help make ends meet — and are pleading with Johnson, R-La., to protect those benefits as Congress weighs steep federal spending cuts.
Pastor Leroy McClelland, who lives in Johnson’s southwestern Louisiana district and volunteers at a local food bank, said he depends on Medicaid and food stamps after having suffered several medical issues and would be in a serious “bind” without government assistance. He added that he’s far from alone in those struggles.
“People can’t do without it,” McClelland told NBC News outside the food bank. “So I would tell them [Congress] to help us out. Help us. People are hurting out here. And you may be from Louisiana, but you’re the House speaker. Cross the aisle. Work together to do whatever you got to do. That’s my message.”
Summer Stinson, a mother of four who was picking up food for her family as well as an elderly woman who can’t drive, said the prospect of potential cuts to social safety net programs has been weighing heavily on her mind.
House Democrats to begin hosting town halls in Republican districts
Scott Wong and Syedah Asghar
House Democrats said today they will begin hosting town halls in GOP districts, “filling a void” after Republican leaders told rank-and-file members to stop holding the events following viral moments of attendees’ lashing out at lawmakers.
“I’m going to be doing a few of these, and I think part of the reason is we’re filling a void, right? We’re filling a void that’s left open by our Republican colleagues who are too scared to show up to town halls in their own districts because they’re doing things that are not popular,” said Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., one of the leaders of the House Democrats’ messaging operation.
“And it’s not just Democrats showing up; it’s Republicans showing up. I know you’ve all seen the videos — Republicans showing up, independents showing up, and now they’re being told stop doing it,” Frost continued.
“It’s too much of a political liability, and that’s not fair to their constituents. So it’s Democrats going above and beyond and saying, ‘Even though I don’t represent your district, I know you want to talk with a member of Congress, not just send a form online, not leave a voicemail … but you want to see someone face to face,’ and we, as Democrats, we’re going to fill these voids,” he added.
Frost made his comments at the start of House Democrats’ three-day annual policy retreat in Leesburg, Virginia.
NBC News reported this month that Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., the chair of House Republicans’ campaign arm, told GOP lawmakers at a private meeting not to hold any more town halls in person after videos that went viral showed members being berated by people who were furious over Department of Government Efficiency cuts and mass layoffs.
There is enormous demand for lawmaker town halls. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., head of the Democrats’ messaging arm, said she typically holds multiple town halls every weekend in her district. Recently, 11,000 people showed up at a town hall, she said. She immediately drove to another town hall right after, and 1,000 people attended.
“People were intense, and they had a lot of questions, but they respected me, and I did it with my state legislators, and we answered questions,” she said. “I’m accessible.”
Harvard doctors sue Trump administration after removal of patient safety research that refers to LGBTQ health
Two doctors from Harvard Medical School filed a lawsuit today against the Trump administration after the removal of at least two articles from the Patient Safety Network — a collection of the latest news and resources about patient safety and innovations.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Boston. It argues that the government violated the First Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act by removing the articles without a reasoned basis.
The lawsuit claims the papers were removed as part of the Trump administration’s decision to take down articles that “promote or otherwise inculcate gender ideology,” including works that include “transgender” or “LGBTQ” in their contents.
The Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic at Yale Law School, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Massachusetts are representing the doctors. The ACLU said in a release today that the removed articles include examples titled “Endometriosis: A Common and Commonly Missed and Delayed Diagnosis” and “Multiple Missed Opportunities for Suicide Risk Assessment in Emergency and Primary Care Settings.” Both pieces include references to transgender or gender-nonconforming people and the LGBTQ community.
“The takedown of these articles is nothing short of an assault on science,” Scarlet Kim, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU, said in a statement. “The First Amendment protects against the removal of our clients’ research solely because the government disagrees with its message. The government cannot suppress medical knowledge because it acknowledges the existence of transgender people. The Trump administration’s attempt to do so violates the First Amendment and flouts the very mandate of PSNet to improve patient safety.”
Regional Education Department offices shuttered in major cities
Kelly O’Donnell and Zoë Richards
Regional offices for the Education Department in San Francisco, New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas and Cleveland were closed today, and all employees in those offices were affected by Trump administration efforts to slash the federal workforce, according to three department officials.
The Education Department said in a news release yesterday that employees affected by efforts to halve the department’s staff would be placed on administrative leave beginning March 21.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement yesterday that the reduction in force efforts were “a significant step toward restoring the greatness of the United States education system.”
More than 1,300 career employees face termination, and about 600 more have accepted voluntary packages to end their government service.
South Carolina police respond to bomb threat at Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s sister’s home
Police in Charleston, South Carolina, responded to a bomb threat this week at the home of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s sister, according an an incident report dated Monday.
An officer said that when he arrived at the home, he spoke with the husband of Barrett’s sister, who said his wife, Amanda Williams, had received an email Saturday that detailed the construction of a “pipe bomb,” which the email said was “recently placed” in Barrett’s sister’s mailbox. The pipe bomb’s “detonation will be triggered as soon as the mailbox is next opened. Free Palestine!” the email said, according to the report.
Officials said the threat was a false alarm after they inspected the mailbox, according to the report.
The responding officer also said in the report that Williams recounted that an unidentified person “possibly related to the sender of the email” had delivered pizza to all residences related to Barrett on Saturday evening.
A police spokesperson said the investigation continues.
Barrett, a conservative justice whom Trump appointed to the high court during his first term, has been the target of criticism from Trump-allied figures in the wake of her rejecting an effort by the Trump administration not to pay contractors with the U.S. Agency for International Development in compliance with a federal judge’s order.
Chuck Schumer says Senate Democrats won’t provide votes to pass GOP funding bill as shutdown draws near
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Sahil Kapur, Ryan Nobles, Julie Tsirkin and Frank Thorp V
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said today that Democrats won’t provide enough support to pass a government funding bill that Republicans wrote and passed through the House, leaving it uncertain whether Congress can avert a shutdown before Friday night’s deadline.
The House yesterday narrowly approved a continuing resolution to keep the government funded through the end of September.
“Funding the government should be a bipartisan effort, but Republicans chose a partisan path, drafting their continuing resolution without any input — any input — from congressional Democrats. Because of that, Republicans do not have the votes in the Senate to invoke cloture on the House CR,” Schumer said on the floor, calling for a one-month funding bill that provides more time to negotiate a deal.
“Our caucus is unified on a clean April 11 CR that will keep the government open and give Congress time to negotiate bipartisan legislation that can pass,” he said. “I hope our Republican colleagues will join us to avoid a shutdown on Friday.”
Immigrant detention centers are at capacity, Trump officials say
The Department of Homeland Security says its immigrant detention centers are at capacity, housing about 47,600 individuals.
Speaking to reporters today on background, DHS officials said they are working with the Marshals Service, the Defense Department and the Federal Bureau of Prisons to increase bed space as they ask Congress for more funding.
Arrested people are also being released from detention case by case using Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Alternatives to Detention program based on medical or humanitarian concerns, they said.
The senior DHS and ICE officials also provided new arrest data cataloging Trump’s first 50 days back in office. According to DHS data, from Jan. 20 to March 10, ICE arrested 32,809 people.
Officials said 14,111 of them are convicted criminals, 9,980 have pending criminal charges and 8,718 have only immigration-related violations.
House Democratic leaders tell Senate Democrats to ‘vote no’ on GOP funding bill
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Scott Wong, Kyle Stewart and Syedah Asghar
House Democratic leaders today urged Senate Democrats to vote down what they called the “partisan” Republican funding bill, even though a potential government shutdown is right around the corner.
The six-month funding bill cleared the House yesterday on a largely party-line vote, with all but one Democrat voting against it.
Kicking off a three-day policy retreat just up the Potomac River from Washington, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., urged Democratic senators to join their House colleagues in rejecting the GOP bill and instead take up a one-month stopgap bill to buy negotiators more time to cut a longer-term appropriations deal.
The two top Democratic appropriators in Congress — Rep. Rosa DeLauro, of Connecticut, and Sen. Patty Murray, of Washington — recently introduced the short-term bill.
“There is an alternative for the senators, Democrats and Republicans, to consider: It’s a four-week, clean continuing resolution that gives both the House and the Senate Democrats and Republicans the ability to try to reach an agreement that actually meets the needs of the country and does not hurt everyday Americans,” Jeffries said at the opening news conference in Leesburg, Virginia.
He said he’s having ongoing conservations with Senate Democrats, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, of New York, and other key members. “The House Democratic position is crystal clear,” Jeffries continued, “as evidenced by the strong vote of opposition that we took yesterday on the House floor, opposing the Trump-Musk-Johnson reckless Republican spending bill.”
Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., vice chair of the Democratic Caucus, offered stronger instructions to senators.
“House Democrats are very clear: We’re asking Senate Democrats to vote no on this continuing resolution, which is not clean, and it makes cuts across the board,” he said. “And it’s going to be one of those things where people are going to look at this vote and every bad thing that now happens with DOGE and Donald Trump, Elon Musk, you can go back to this vote.”
Where Senate Democrats stand on shutdown negotiations
Frank Thorp V and Julie Tsirkin
After nearly two hours, Senate Democrats have yet to reveal how they plan to vote on a House-passed Republican bill that would avoid a government shutdown starting this weekend.
Senators emerged from a lunch meeting and largely ignored questions from reporters, though some gave insight into the debate that unfolded behind closed doors. Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., said Democrats “are unified in not wanting to shut down the government, and what we need to do is vote on the short-term CR.”
The short-term CR Smith referred to is a 30-day continuing resolution put forward by the top Democratic appropriator in the Senate, Patty Murray, of Washington.
Sen. Mark Warner, of Virginia, endorsed the 30-day CR — as did a handful of others, including Sen. Amy Klobuchar, of Minnesota — but claimed no decisions were made in the room on the House-passed GOP bill that would fund the government through September.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters to “stay tuned.” Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, of Illinois, said Schumer would speak on the Senate floor after the current vote series.
Most Senate Democrats, in an attempt to stay on message, told reporters they would not comment or simply ignored questions.
But Sen. Chris Van Hollen, of Maryland, said: “At least for now, I don’t see the votes. Based on my reading of the end of the meeting, I don’t see the votes there right now for passing the House Republican CR.”
Judge appears likely to grant request to reinstate thousands of fired probationary workers
Gary Grumbach and Dareh Gregorian
A federal judge in Maryland suggested he might direct that thousands of fired federal workers get their jobs back, at least temporarily, after he heard arguments that their layoffs were unlawful.
“This case isn’t about whether or not the government can terminate people. It’s about if they decide to terminate people, how they must do it,” U.S. District Judge James Bredar said at the hearing today on the abrupt firings of thousands of probationary employees. The government has let go roughly 200,000 probationary employees — workers who are either recent hires or had taken new positions.
“Move fast and break things,” said Bredar, referring to a seminal quote from Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg that has been used to describe Elon Musk’s efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce. “Move fast, fine. Break things? If that involves breaking the law, then that becomes problematic.”
Trump says no one will expel Palestinians
Trump said in remarks in the Oval Office that Palestinians won’t be expelled from Gaza.
A reporter asked about Trump’s plan to expel Palestinians from Gaza.
“Nobody is expelling any Palestinians. Who are you with?” Trump asked the reporter. She said she was with Voice of America, an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government, and the president said, “Oh, no wonder.”
Last month, the president said that Palestinians wouldn’t be allowed to return to the Gaza Strip as part of his plan for the U.S. to take control of the territory.
Immigrant detention centers are at capacity, Homeland Security officials say
The Department of Homeland Security says its immigrant detention centers are at capacity, holding nearly 50,000 people, and it has reached out to other agencies to find more space.
The department is working with the Marshals Service, the Department of Defense and the Federal Bureau of Prisons to increase the number of beds as they seek more congressional funding, senior DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials told reporters.
Some detainees are being released using an alternative ICE tracking program on a case-by-case basis while they make their way through immigration proceedings, the officials said.
In the first 50 days of the new Trump administration, immigration enforcement officials have arrested nearly 33,000 people, the official said. More than 14,000 of those arrested were convicted criminals, nearly 10,000 have pending criminal charges, and nearly 9,000 have immigration-related violations. The arrests include 1,155 suspected gang members and 39 known or suspected terrorists, they said.
The Department of Homeland Security did not provide a figure on how many undocumented immigrants have been deported.
Trump tells Ireland’s prime minister he’s ‘better off’ not knowing Rosie O’Donnell
Trump said during remarks in the Oval Office that Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin is “better off” not knowing actor Rosie O’Donnell.
A reporter asked Martin why he would let her move to his country.
“Did you know you have Rosie O’Donnell? Do you know who she is?” said Trump, who’s feuded with the actor and comedian for years.
Martin didn’t respond and Trump said, “You’re better off not knowing.”
O’Donnell announced on TikTok yesterday that she moved to Ireland and is trying to become a citizen there because of Trump’s presidency.
Trump admin aims to get undocumented immigrants to self-deport with new messaging campaign
Trump says he’ll impose more retaliatory tariffs on the European Union
Trump threatened to impose more retaliatory tariffs on the European Union after the bloc said it would implement tariffs on the U.S. next month in response to tariffs on steel and aluminum by the Trump administration.
“The European Union treats us very badly. They have for years,” Trump said in remarks to reporters while sitting in the Oval Office with Taoiseach of Ireland Micheál Martin. “I had it out with them in my first term. … The European Union has been very tough, and it’s our turn, too. You know, we get a turn at that also, but they have not been fair. They sue our companies and win massive amounts of money.”
Trump said that it creates “ill will” and said: “We’re going to be doing reciprocal tariffs. So whatever they charge us, we’re charging them. Nobody can complain about that. Whatever it is, it doesn’t even matter what it is — if they charge us, if they charge us 25 or 20%, or 10%, or 2%, or 200%, then that’s what we’re charging them. And so I don’t know why people get upset about that because there’s nothing more fair than that.”
The E.U. said today that it would impose tariffs on more than $28 billion worth of U.S. goods in response to the 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports from the E.U.
Trump said that the E.U. was “set up in order to take advantage of the United States,” which he said Ireland has done because U.S. pharmaceutical companies have moved to the European country.
From troublemakers to team players: House Freedom Caucus softens as Trump transforms GOP
Melanie Zanona and Sahil Kapur
WASHINGTON — In the span of two weeks, the House Freedom Caucus made two moves long seen as unimaginable for a band of far-right rebels formed to pressure Republican leaders to shrink the federal government.
First, they all unanimously supported a budget blueprint for President Donald Trump’s agenda that contained a $4 trillion debt limit increase.
Then, they unified to support a six-month government funding bill that largely continued the spending status quo established under President Joe Biden, with modest changes to expand military spending and reduce domestic funding.
The shift was illustrated by the chairman of the Freedom Caucus, Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., appearing alongside Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and his leadership team at a news conference Tuesday before the government funding vote to show solidarity. He drew smiles as he made a joke about how unusual it is to be a Freedom Caucus leader in that setting.
“We want to be Trump’s greatest asset, because we’re so aligned,” Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., a Freedom Caucus member, told NBC News. “We want to be the engine that helps his team. We actually agree with Trump and the things that he campaigned on almost universally.”
Steve Bannon says he doesn’t think DOGE can cut $1 trillion in spending
Trump ally Steve Bannon said on California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new podcast that he doesn’t think Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency will be able to cut $1 trillion in government spending.
“I hope it gets to $1 trillion. I’m his biggest supporter of that,” Bannon said, referring to Musk. “I don’t think we’re going to get there.”
Bannon, a MAGA populist, has staunchly criticized Musk in the past, including over visa programs that the billionaire tech mogul supported.
Bannon acknowledged his criticisms of Musk during his podcast appearance with the Democratic governor without going into details.
Former education secretary says gutting the department will hurt vulnerable students the most
Rebecca Shabad and Jesse Rodriguez
Former Education Secretary Miguel Cardona warned in a letter today of the consequences of the Trump administration’s move to drastically slash staffing at the Department of Education.
The letter addressed to the department’s career employees and other public servants said the administration’s effort is “just one of the strategies aimed at disrupting public education and privatizing a public good.”
“The significant reductions in force at the Department will affect the distribution of Title I funding for students from disadvantaged backgrounds and reduce much-needed resources for our students with disabilities,” Cardona said. “Accountability for predatory institutions in higher education will be diminished. Our most vulnerable students in our country will feel the impacts the greatest. It will also affect the distribution of federal PELL grants which help millions of students have access to college.”
The former secretary, who served under Joe Biden, said that these actions will “undoubtedly hurt students” and said that it’s up to people in his profession to protect public education.
Zelenskyy says a 30-day ceasefire with Russia could be used to draft peace plan
Daryna Mayer and Rebecca Shabad
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said today that the ball is in Russia’s court to agree to a 30-day ceasefire and reiterated that he wants an end to the war.
“For me, it is important to end the war,” said Zelenskyy at a news conference, after Trump recently criticized him and asserted that Zelenskyy doesn’t want to end the war. “And I want the president of the United States of America to see this, for the Americans to see and feel this. And for Europe to all be in alliance, namely in alliance with the fact that everything must be done to force Russia to end this war.”
If Russia agrees to the short-term ceasefire that Ukraine agreed to yesterday, Zelenskyy said the next step would be “cessation of the war.”
Zelenskyy didn’t specify exactly when that could happen when asked for a time frame but indicated that allies need to agree to “certain security guarantees that will be in Ukraine after the end of this war.”
“Today, it all depends on whether Russia wants a ceasefire and silence or whether it wants to continue killing people,” he said. “Today, it depends on this country … because America has demonstrated its steps and its position. Ukraine has demonstrated, responded without any different interpretations, its position very directly. And today, Russia will have to respond to this.”
Zelenskyy said that Ukraine is still ready to sign a framework agreement as a first step that would allow the U.S. access to the country’s rare minerals.
What’s next for the government funding bill
The House has passed the Republican bill to fund the government through Sept. 30, but it’s not clear exactly when the Senate will vote on it.
The Senate will not hold any votes today related to the bill, barring an agreement among all 100 senators.
That’s simply because procedurally they are not able to consider the bill until the day after it is passed in the House, and the first step in that procedure would be Senate Majority Leader John Thune filing cloture on the motion to proceed to the bill, which would happen later today.
Without an agreement of all 100 Senators, consideration of the bill would slide days past the deadline at the end of Friday.
Price growth cooled more than expected in February, before Trump ramped up tariffs nd
Price growth cooled more than expected in February, a welcome sign for markets that have become spooked by the specter of persistent inflation, though evolving U.S. trade policies complicate the outlook.
The consumer price index rose 2.8% in February from the year before, less than forecast and slower than the 3% annual rate in January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
USDA suspends Maine university funding after Trump row over transgender athletes
Reuters
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has suspended funding for research and programs at the University of Maine, the school said yesterday, after Trump clashed with Gov. Janet Mills over the state’s refusal to ban transgender athletes from girls’ sports.
In an email received by the University of Maine, the USDA’s chief financial officer ordered all payments paused while the department “evaluates if it should take any follow-on actions” related to possible civil rights violations at the school.
The school said in a press release that it had received $30 million in USDA funding in fiscal year 2024. The USDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment late yesterday.
A Trump critic just won Greenland’s election. But that could benefit the White House.
Canadian officials to visit D.C. tomorrow
Two Canadian ministers and Ontario Premier Doug Ford will travel to D.C. tomorrow to discuss tariffs with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, the ministers announced today at a press conference.
Canadian Ministers Dominic LeBlanc and François-Philippe Champagne and Ontario Premier Doug Ford would convey a message about the tariffs “as forcefully as Canadians can do,” Champagne said.
LeBlanc said that tomorrow’s conversation would be about “what can we do to deal with this completely unjustified application of tariffs to steel and aluminum from Canada that came into effect today,” as well as other tariffs on Canada.
“The conversation tomorrow will be around lowering the temperature and focusing on the process that President Trump set up where Secretary Lutnick has up to April 2 to determine a series of global tariff decisions,” LeBlanc added, referring to Trump’s promise for reciprocal tariffs.
Canadian foreign affairs minister: Sovereignty is ‘nonnegotiable’
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly criticized Trump’s comments about wanting Canada to become the U.S.’s 51st state during a press conference announcing new tariffs on the U.S.
“This is much more than about our economy. It is about the future of our country. Canadian sovereignty and identity are nonnegotiable. Canadians have had enough, and we are a strong country.”
Trump referred to the U.S.-Canada border yesterday as an “artificial line of separation.”
“The only thing that makes sense is for Canada to become our cherished Fifty First State,” he said in a Truth Social post.
Jeanne Shaheen won’t run for re-election, opening another Democratic Senate seat in 2026
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., announced today that she will not seek re-election in 2026, kicking off a competitive race to fill her seat.
In a video, Shaheen told her constituents, “Today, I am announcing that I have made the difficult decision not to seek re-election to the Senate in 2026.”
“It’s just time,” she added.
While she plans not to run in two years, Shaheen, 78, added that she would not be leaving her seat early and that, “Believe me, I am not retiring. I am determined to work every day over the next two years and beyond to continue to try to make a difference for the people of New Hampshire and this country.”
It’s the third Democratic Senate retirement in a potentially competitive midterm race so far this election cycle.
Canada to impose 25% tariffs on about $21 billion USD worth of goods
Canada will be imposing 25% reciprocal tariffs on about $21 billion worth of U.S. goods, including steel and aluminum products, Canada’s minister of finance and intergovernmental affairs, Dominic LeBlanc, announced today.
“In addition, we learned yesterday that the United States’ tariffs would also be imposed on steel and aluminum content in certain derivative products,” LeBlanc said. “The government is currently assessing this aspect and may impose, of course, further tariffs in response to this measure as well.”
The Trump administration raised blanket tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to 25% today. The move comes after Trump escalated his tariff threats against Canada yesterday, but then backed away.
Rep. Jayapal says market uncertainty is a ‘huge opening’ for Democrats to go after Trump
Ali Vitali
Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal said that tumult in the markets and spending slashes in the federal government by the Trump administration might provide an opportunity for Democrats on the economy.
“There is a huge opening,” she said during an interview on MSNBC’s “Way Too Early. “Right now two-thirds of the American people are really upset that Trump has done absolutely nothing to lower their costs.”
More than that, Jayapal added: “The things that Trump has done on tariffs — sending the markets into volatility, the increased prices that people are already seeing on groceries, cars. et cetera — combined with eliminating bureaus like the independent agencies, like the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau, which put money back in people’s pockets, he’s doing nothing to lower costs, and people are seeing that.”
Democrats have struggled with a cohesive response to the early weeks of the second Trump administration— even the progressive Jayapal allowing that there have been highs and lows. A focus on the economic harm to Americans, though, has been a regular focus for these lawmakers, hoping to use the issue as an early motivator for the 2026 midterms.
Rubio says the U.S. will ‘have contact with’ Russia today
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Abigail Williams, Alexandra Bacallao and Megan Lebowitz
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters this morning that the U.S. would be in touch with Russia today about the push for a ceasefire with Ukraine.
“We’ll have contact with them today,” Rubio said. “There’s already been contacts at different levels with counterparts, different members of the administration, and that’ll continue.”
The U.S. and Ukrainian governments said in a joint statement yesterday that Ukraine “expressed readiness to accept the U.S. proposal to enact an immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire.”
Russia has not said yet whether the country would accept a ceasefire proposal.
U.S. resumes providing commercial satellite imagery to Ukraine
The Trump administration is once again providing commercial satellite imagery to Ukraine after it lifted a suspension in intelligence assistance to Kyiv, a White House National Security Council spokesperson said.
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency had suspended access to the service that provides commercial satellite imagery purchased by the United States as part of a pause in intelligence and military assistance to Ukraine imposed by Trump last week following a tense public exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The suspension was rescinded yesterday after Ukraine agreed to a proposed ceasefire with Russia in talks with U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia.
The satellite imagery is a crucial tool for Ukraine to fend off Russian attacks and target Russian forces.
A Munich-based satellite company, European Space Imaging, said Monday that it continued to provide similar commercial imagery to Ukraine, ensuring Kyiv still had access to vital satellite coverage.
That company said it “remains 100% committed to providing satellite imagery intelligence to commercial and government partners in Ukraine, as well as EU intelligence agencies and other security and humanitarian users.”
The company also said its satellite network ensured “seamless access to imagery over Ukraine” and added, “In fact, users may even experience increased capacity in the region”
Judiciary Committee Democrat warns Trump officials about violating court orders
House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., warned in a letter to Trump this morning that his administration officials could face criminal and civil penalties if they violate court orders.
In the letter obtained by NBC News, Raskin told Trump he has “taken several illegal and unconstitutional actions to freeze congressionally appropriated funds, hobble the workforce of congressionally established agencies, remove the heads of federal agencies, and access sensitive government data systems.”
As a result of court challenges, federal judges have issued orders in more than 40 cases to block or limit the administration’s actions, Raskin said. The lawmaker referred to a case brought by states that resulted in a temporary restraining order blocking the administration from freezing congressionally appropriated funds. Raskin said that after states proved the administration had disobeyed the order and failed to disburse the funds, the federal judge required the government to “immediately restore frozen funding.”
“It may therefore behoove you to remind members of your Administration that violating court orders personally exposes them to potential criminal and civil penalties,” Raskin wrote.
“Through civil or criminal contempt proceedings, judges can impose monetary fines on government officials who violate court orders and can ensure that the fines are to be paid by the individual government official, rather than allowing such an individual to be indemnified by his or her employing federal agency,” Raskin wrote. “Judges can even impose terms of imprisonment or confinement.”
The letter notes that Trump may be unable to pardon a federal employee if found in contempt because such an offense may not qualify as an “offense against the United States.” The pardon authority also doesn’t apply to civil sanctions.
The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump officials to meet with advocates for Hong Kong activist Jimmy Lai, his son says
Advocates for the detained Hong Kong media tycoon and democracy activist Jimmy Lai are set to meet with Trump administration officials, his son said, in a case that has caused tension between the U.S. and China.
Sebastien Lai said that with Trump in office he was “a lot more hopeful” for the release of his father, 77, who has spent more than 1,500 days in solitary confinement in the Chinese territory amid a landmark national security trial.
“President Trump was the first president of the United States that mentioned my father by name,” Lai told reporters in Washington, Reuters reported.
He said advocates for his father would meet with officials from the White House National Security Council after meeting earlier this week with officials from the State Department.
Trump said in October that he would “100%” get Lai out of China, prompting Hong Kong’s leader to warn Trump not to interfere in the city’s internal affairs.
Lai, founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily, faces possible life in prison on charges of colluding with foreign forces and sedition, to which he has pleaded not guilty. He finished 52 days of testimony last week, with closing arguments set for July.
U.S. Capitol Police chief, who steered agency after Jan. 6, to retire
Frank Thorp V and Megan Lebowitz
U.S. Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger announced he plans to retire on May 2, capping off his time as the head of the agency in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
Manger took the reins of the department after the Jan. 6 attack.
“I am honored to have served with a team that is dedicated to this critical mission,” Manger said in a statement. “It is time for a new leader to continue the success that we started together.”
The Washington Post first reported Manger’s retirement.
The key Project 2025 authors now staffing the Trump administration
Trump disavowed the Project 2025 policy blueprint during his campaign last year as Democrats attacked the document and its contents. Since then, Trump has invited some of the most prominent contributors to the conservative playbook into his administration.
The document, which outlined a vision for a future Republican presidency, generally foreshadowed Trump’s sweeping moves to slash government agencies and cut federal funding in his first weeks in office, though there are also areas of departure.
As the dust settles after a whirlwind of Cabinet nominations, confirmation hearings and early administration actions, here’s where some prominent authors and contributors involved in Project 2025 have landed in the Trump administration.
Ukraine-U.S. ceasefire talks took 7 hours. The hard part will be getting Russia to agree.
Trump to meet with Irish prime minister
Trump will have a bilateral meeting today with Micheál Martin, the Taoiseach of Ireland.
They will then attend a “Friends of Ireland” luncheon at the Capitol.
In the evening, Trump and Martin will participate in a St. Patrick’s Day celebration in the East Room of the White House.
Senate Democrats to huddle and discuss the House-passed GOP funding bill
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Frank Thorp V, Brennan Leach and Zoë Richards
Senate Democrats will meet at lunch today to discuss how they will proceed on the House-passed funding bill, with many still unable to decide whether to vote for the measure that keeps the government funded through Sept. 30 or risk a shutdown starting Saturday.
“We’re never convinced that the House is gonna do anything until they do it, so meeting tomorrow to assess the path forward,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., last night.
Murphy said he would support a “clean” bill for 30 days “to keep negotiating,” but said the existing measure was “a Republican budget.”
While some Democrats have advocated for voting against the legislation, many are saying they disagree with the bill but are unable to say yet how they will vote, including Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., who said “Stay tuned,” and Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., who said she’s “undecided.”
The legislation needs 60 votes to advance in the Senate, and Sen Rand Paul, R-Ky., has said he will vote against it. That means eight Democrats would have to vote in favor of the measure if the remaining 52 Republicans support it.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has said she will support the bill.
“I just don’t want us to go through the costs and problems that are created by a government shutdown. And for that reason I’m going to be a ‘yes’ vote,” she said.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said the bill “shouldn’t fail.”
“I think we have a chance now the House has passed it if the Democrats will cooperate to fund the government through the end of the fiscal year and avoid a government shutdown,” Thune told reporters. “To me, it’s a pretty simple proposition.”
U.S. imposes 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports
U.S. tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports hit 25% today as President Donald Trump and his administration dig in on trade policies that are roiling financial markets.
The new tariffs were briefly expected to go even higher for Canada. Trump said Tuesday they would jump to 50% in response to Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s threat to impose a 25% surcharge on electricity imports into the United States to match the initial U.S. hike.
Ford backed off his threat after he spoke with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, while Trump indicated a doubling of U.S. tariffs for Canada was no longer likely.
In a statement issued with Lutnick and posted on X, Ford said he and Lutnick would meet Thursday alongside the U.S. trade representative to discuss renewing the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade act before Trump’s self-imposed April 2 “reciprocal tariff deadline.”
