Things Musk (and Trump) Did... Day 49 | Blog#42
Will any real Democrat please stand up?
News worth repeating
“Look, I mean, people know me, I’m pretty straightforward. I don’t think it’s a secret that Democrats have been on their heels since Trump won the election, right?” Slotkin said. “I don’t think that’s … something hidden.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Sen. Slotkin says Democrats and Republicans ‘need to do better and act like adults’
See my new opinion piece:
Romania far-right candidate Georgescu barred from presidential election
Note from Rima: Something we don’t do here…
Today’s news
Measles case confirmed in Maryland resident who recently travelled abroad
A Maryland resident with recent international travel has confirmed to be infected with a case of measles.
The Maryland Department of Health and Howard County health officials announced Sunday that a person who recently traveled internationally was confirmed to be infected.
The case was not associated with the current measles outbreak in Texas and New Mexico.
“Out of an abundance of caution, health officials are coordinating an effort to identify people who might have been exposed, including contracting potentially exposed passengers on specific flights,” the officials said.
Continue reading at The Hill
EU-US rift triggers call for made-in-Europe tech
Transatlantic tensions are fueling calls for the EU to wean itself off its U.S. tech addiction. It won’t be cheap.
BRUSSELS — The European Union is under pressure to step up its tech game and wean itself off a heavy reliance on United States digital infrastructure and services as transatlantic ties hit a new low.
That's going to come with a heavy price tag.
European data is primarily stored on U.S. cloud services, with companies like Amazon, Microsoft and Google owning over two-thirds of the European market. Europe accounts for just 10 percent of the global microchips market. U.S.-based companies like OpenAI and Anthropic are leading the artificial intelligence revolution.
Europe’s U.S. tech addiction has long been brushed aside as a fait accompli.
That's now in question as Germany's incoming chancellor warned that Europe needs to "achieve independence from the USA" as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens tariffs and withdraws support from Ukraine.
Efforts to make Europe more technologically “sovereign” have gone mainstream. The European Commission now has its first-ever “technology sovereignty” chief, Henna Virkkunen. Germany’s incoming ruling party, the center-right Christian Democratic Union, called for “sovereign” tech in its program for the February election.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
Mark Carney to Donald Trump: ‘Canada never, ever will be part of America’
Canada’s next prime minister uses leadership victory speech to warn Canadians that the U.S. president wants to “destroy our way of life.”
OTTAWA — Mark Carney, a political rookie but experienced banker with a history of helming state financial institutions during crises, won the race to replace Justin Trudeau on Sunday. The new Liberal Party leader arrives with a colossal task at the top of his to-do list: Defend Canada from Donald Trump.
“America is not Canada. And Canada never, ever, will be part of America in any way, shape or form,” Carney said in his victory speech. “We didn’t ask for this fight, but Canadians are always ready when someone else drops the gloves.”
Members of Canada’s governing Liberal Party elected Carney in a landslide on the first ballot Sunday at an Ottawa convention center, steps away from Parliament Hill. He will officially take over as Canada’s 24th prime minister during a swearing-in ceremony in the days ahead.
Continue reading at Politico
ECB resistance wavers as pressure mounts to seize Russian assets
ECB President Christine Lagarde has reiterated the central bank’s cautious stance, but opposition is growing at the Russian frontier.
The implicit withdrawal of American security guarantees from Europe last week following a heated Oval Office clash between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy has sent European leaders scrambling for ways to bolster defense spending quickly.
Largely strapped for cash and already groaning under heavy debt burdens, Europe’s politicians are now mulling whether to seize some €200 billion in Russian central bank reserves currently frozen in Belgium and being used as collateral for a €50 billion loan from the G7 to Ukraine.
Traditionally, the Frankfurt-based ECB has warned against any more aggressive action, saying it could damage the standing of the euro in global financial markets.
But on Friday, Mārtiņš Kazāks, governor of the Bank of Latvia, was the first member of the ECB’s Governing Council to endorse the move for outright seizure, telling POLITICO that it was a “viable option to help Ukraine in its fight for freedom and against aggression.”
Continue reading at Politico Europe
Von der Leyen’s first 100 days, graded
The Commission president promised to pull off seven political feats by March 10. Here’s how she did.
The pressure coming from Washington — which has threatened the EU with 25 percent tariffs and warned it may not defend countries that fail to spend enough on defense — has forced the Commission to speed up work on reforms designed to bolster the bloc's defenses and make it more competitive on the global stage.
"On all these issues, the direction of travel was always clear," von der Leyen told a press conference on Sunday. "What has changed is the sense of urgency. Something fundamental has shifted."
Indeed, among the key reforms von der Leyen's Commission is due to present this month is a so-called "White Paper" on defense that's meant to spell out options on how Europe can finance a major defense rampup.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
Canada’s next prime minister managed the financial crisis, then Brexit and now Trump’s trade war
TORONTO (AP) — Canada’s next prime minister has helped run two Group of Seven economies in crisis before and now will try to steer Canada through a looming trade war brought by U.S. President Donald Trump, a threat of annexation and an expected federal election.
Former central banker Mark Carney will become prime minister after the governing Liberal Party elected him its leader Sunday in a landside vote with 85.9% support.
Carney, 59, replaces Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who announced his resignation in January but remains prime minister until his successor is sworn in in the coming days. Carney is widely expected to trigger an election the coming days or weeks amid Trump’s sweeping tariff threats.
Continue reading at the Associated Press
Meet the federal worker who went rogue: ‘I hope that it lights a fire under people’
To billionaire Elon Musk and his cost-cutting team at the Department of Government Efficiency, Karen Ortiz may just be one of many faceless bureaucrats. But to some of her colleagues, she is giving a voice to those who feel they can’t speak out.
Ortiz is an administrative judge at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission -- the federal agency in charge of enforcing U.S. workplace anti-discrimination laws that has undergone tumultuous change since President Donald Trump took office. Like millions of other federal employees, Ortiz opened an ominous email on Jan. 28 titled “Fork in the Road” giving them the option to resign from their positions as part of the government’s cost-cutting measures directed by Trump and carried out by DOGE under Musk, an unelected official.
Her alarm grew when her supervisor directed administrative judges in her New York district office to pause all their current LGBTQ+ cases and send them to Washington for further review in order to comply with Trump’s executive order declaring that the government would recognize only two “immutable” sexes — male and female.
Continue reading at the Associated Press
Drawing huge crowds, Bernie Sanders steps into leadership of the anti-Trump resistance
WARREN, Mich. (AP) — Bernie Sanders is standing alone on the back of a pickup truck shouting into a bullhorn.
He’s facing several hundred ecstatic voters huddled outside a suburban Detroit high school — the group that did not fit inside the high school’s gym or two overflow rooms. The crowd screams in delight when he tells them that a combined total of 9,000 people had shown up for the rally.
“What all of this tells me, is not just in Michigan or in Vermont, the people of this country will not allow us to move toward oligarchy. They will not allow Trump to take us into authoritarianism,” Sanders yelled. “We’re prepared to fight. And we’re going to win.”
At 83 years old, Sanders is not running for president again. But the stooped and silver-haired democratic socialist has emerged as a leader of the resistance to Donald Trump’s second presidency.
Continue reading at the Associated Press
Republicans worry Trump’s tariffs could harm economy
GOP lawmakers say they’re hearing from business owners, exporters, farmers and local leaders that Trump’s threat of steep tariffs against Canada, Mexico and Europe are chilling business sentiment in the United States.
Companies feel less confident about expanding operations and hiring new workers, given their uncertainty about the costs of imported goods and the potential loss of foreign markets over the next year.
“The Canadian tariffs will definitely have a detrimental impact on the economy of Maine and on border communities in particular,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). “We have for example a major paper mill in Northern Maine right on the border that gets its pulp from Canada.”
“That mill alone, which is by far the biggest employer in the region, employs 510 people directly. I’ve talked to the owner of that mill, the imposition of a 25-percent tariff could be devastating,” she warned.
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump, Texas GOP’s deregulation push sparks hope and fear in the oil field
President Trump and Texas lawmakers are pushing to loosen the laws and liabilities governing the state’s oil and gas industry and give companies a freer hand to “drill, baby, drill,” drawing mixed reactions from the heart of oil country.
On his first day back in office, the president declared a “national energy emergency.” With demand for electricity rising, the U.S. would now be able to “do whatever you have to do to get out of that problem,” he said.
His administration has moved quickly to strip away a number of regulations and liabilities that impacted the oil and gas industry, lifting endangered species protections in the Permian Basin, instructing the Army Corps to fast-track pipeline construction under the Clean Water Act and laying the groundwork to overhaul a bedrock law that requires the government to consider environmental consequences before approving infrastructure projects.
Continue reading at The Hill
Wisconsin Democrats look to harness anger with Musk in court race
Wisconsin Democrats are launching a full-court press against Elon Musk as they look to use angry voter sentiment against him as a tool to turn out voters in the high-stakes Wisconsin Supreme Court election.
The state party this week launched The People v. Musk, a seven-figure campaign including digital advertising, organizing efforts and town hall events, among other aspects, geared toward Democrats as they look to tie Musk to conservative candidate Brad Schimel.
Democrats argue Schimel would be a “puppet” for Musk if he were to win the April 1 election, which will determine partisan control of the high court.
The effort underscores how vital it will be for both sides to turn out their respective bases in an off-year spring election and could potentially offer Democrats a playbook for how to galvanize anger around Musk in other elections later this year.
Continue reading at The Hill
Johnson looks to pass stopgap as government shutdown deadline looms
Johnson unveiled a continuing resolution on Saturday that would keep the government funded until Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year. The stopgap would boost defense funding and cut non-defense programs.
President Trump endorsed the measure shortly after its release, urging Republicans to “vote (Please!) YES” when it hits the floor. House Democratic leaders, meanwhile, slammed the measure as a “partisan” bill that “recklessly” cuts a number of benefits, announcing that they will vote against the bill.
With the majority of House Democrats likely to follow their leadership’s lead, Johnson will need near-unanimity to move the measure out of the lower chamber, a prospect that remains unclear as a number of hardline conservatives and moderates withhold their votes.
Continue reading at The Hill
Capitol agenda: Johnson’s shutdown dare for Schumer
The speaker is hoping to clear a spending patch through the House on Tuesday and then send House lawmakers home.
Mike Johnson to Chuck Schumer on government funding: Your move.
House Republicans are pushing a not-so-clean spending patch through September that would add billions of dollars for deportations, veterans’ health care and the military — and cut $13 billion in funding for non-defense programs. The speaker is planning to put the stopgap, known as a continuing resolution or a CR, on the floor Tuesday, and then send members home for recess before the Senate can send back any changes.
Johnson is hoping to get the CR through the House without relying on Democratic votes (House Democratic leaders reaffirmed Saturday that they’re a “no”). President Donald Trump is publicly pushing GOP lawmakers to fall in line, but Johnson’s still got a few Republican holdouts. Rep. Thomas Massie is a no. And we’re keeping an eye on Reps. Tony Gonzales, who said Sunday on CNN that he’ll make a “game-time decision;” Brian Fitzpatrick, who told CBS he’s undecided; and Cory Mills, who is also on the fence.
But the spending patch can’t get through the Senate without the help of at least eight Democrats, given expected opposition from GOP Sen. Rand Paul. And that’s putting Schumer in a bind.
Continue reading at Politico
House Republican support grows for keeping clean energy tax breaks
Lawmakers are expected to start the difficult task this week of determining which of the credits are on the chopping block to help pay for the GOP’s budget bill.
A growing number of House Republicans are urging the party to preserve the clean energy tax credits in Democrats’ climate law — and warning they may oppose the party’s budget bill if those incentives get axed.
In a letter shared exclusively with POLITICO, 21 House Republicans — whose districts have drawn billions in new investments because of the Inflation Reduction Act incentives — said developing clean energy was critical for the U.S. to meet President Donald Trump’s goal of becoming “energy dominant.” And they threatened to resist their colleagues’ efforts to gut the law to help pay for a small fraction of the GOP’s multi-trillion-dollar tax-cut package.
“We have 20-plus members saying, ‘Don’t just think you can repeal these things and have our support,’” said Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.), who organized the letter.
The growing pushback against eliminating the IRA’s hundreds of billions of dollars in tax credits and other incentives — which have largely benefited GOP-controlled districts — will complicate efforts by House Republicans to slash federal outlays without shrinking Medicaid spending as they seek to offset the tax cuts in their budget bill.
Continue reading at Politico
How the Navy SEALs Became Trump’s Shock Troops in Congress
There’s a record number of ex-SEALs on Capitol Hill. Is politics at odds with the special forces’ ethos of working in the shadows?
When Ryan Zinke entered the House of Representatives in 2014 as the junior member from Montana, he was something of an anomaly. A three-decade veteran of the U.S. Navy SEALs, Zinke was the first member of the elite special force unit to serve in the House and only the second ever to serve in Congress. His arrival on Capitol Hill became the source of some intrigue among his colleagues, Zinke says: At the time, the SEALs were experiencing an intense period of public celebrity thanks to SEAL Team Six’s role in the 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden, which had cemented the public mythology of the SEALs as a lethal band of expert killers. Zinke, a former offensive lineman for the University of Oregon football team, seemed perfectly constructed to bring that mythology to life.
“You don’t have to be six-foot-three, 225 pounds and be able to bench 400 pounds,” Zinke joked, “but it helps.”
Since their founding in the early 1960s, the Navy SEALs have made their presence felt in every corner of the globe, executing some of the most dangerous and celebrated missions in U.S. military history. But now, a decade after Zinke came to Washington, the elite unit has infiltrated a different kind of hostile territory: Congress.
Continue reading at Politico Magazine
55 Things to Know About Canada’s Next Prime Minister, Mark Carney
The Liberal Party leader replaces Justin Trudeau. But how long will he last?
After less than two months in politics, Mark Carney on Sunday was elected leader of Canada’s Liberal Party. He will succeed Justin Trudeau as the country’s 24th prime minister.
Carney, 59, is a career banker and climate advocate with the globalist mindset of a true Davos man — credentials now out of favor in Washington. He’s a policy wonk who has dedicated much of his life to public service but not public office. He’s a lifelong ice hockey fan (and one-time collegiate player) who also pops up in the Royal Box at Wimbledon.
Carney has seemed less comfortable in his new profession — he admits he’s not a natural. That much has been obvious as Carney has come under fire from the Conservative Party war room, which has tagged him “sneaky carbon tax Carney.” Carney is positioning himself as a financial crisis manager well-suited to deal with the trade war Donald Trump has instigated. But Conservatives, including former PM Stephen Harper, have tried to discredit his credentials. Harper, who tapped Carney to lead the Bank of Canada in 2008, says it was his own finance minister who made the tough calls during the economic meltdown that followed.
“Communicate clearly, frequently and honestly,” Carney advised in his 2021 book Value(s): Building a Better World For All. “You can’t spin your way out of a crisis. The truth will come out.”
Continue reading at Politico
US dominates European weapons purchases: report
European NATO members have become even more dependent on U.S. weapons than before, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released Monday.
European arms imports shot up by 155 percent over 2020-2024 compared with 2015-2019 — a reaction to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago.
While the U.S. supplied 52 percent of European NATO members' military equipment between 2015 and 2019, the share rose to 64 percent in the subsequent five-year period.
Europeans are taking steps to boost their own industries, said Pieter Wezeman, a senior researcher with SIPRI, "but the transatlantic arms-supply relationship has deep roots. Imports from the USA have risen and European NATO states have almost 500 combat aircraft and many other weapons still on order from the USA."
Continue reading at Politico Europe
Putin boots out more British diplomats in spying row
Russia’s FSB accuses pair of “intelligence and subversive work” – as Britain brands the claims “baseless.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government expelled a British diplomat and the spouse of another Monday, after accusing them of spying. It’s the latest twist in a long-running, tit-for-tat row between London and Moscow.
The pair were accused of engaging in intelligence activity in connection with Britain’s embassy in Moscow. They have been ordered to leave the country within two weeks. The U.K. swiftly dismissed the claims as “baseless.”
“Russia has uncovered signs of intelligence and subversive work by these diplomats, threatening the security of the Russian Federation,” a statement by the FSB security agency said.
It added: “The Federal Security Service’s counter-intelligence operations exposed the unreported intelligence presence of the United Kingdom under the cover of the country’s embassy in Moscow.”
The Kremlin said a man, 34, and woman, 32, “will be stripped of their accreditation and must leave Russia within two weeks.”
Continue reading at Politico Europe
Trump and Putin gang up on European centrists in Romania’s election crisis
Elon Musk slams Romanian authorities for banning far-right frontrunner Călin Georgescu. It’s another win for the Kremlin.
On the eastern fringe of Europe, an existential struggle is underway over the true meaning of democracy. Donald Trump’s government is here to help.
Romania, a country of 19 million people bordering Ukraine, is now at the center of a transatlantic dispute between allies of the U.S. president and European centrists who fear a crucial election is being manipulated by Moscow.
At issue is the constitutional crisis that blew up in November when ultranationalist, pro-Russian candidate Călin Georgescu came from nowhere to win the first round of the presidential race.
Amid widespread shock in Bucharest and beyond, authorities began looking into Georgescu’s campaign. They uncovered alleged financial irregularities and links to unsavory characters. There were also reports Georgescu benefited from foreign interference, including a massive TikTok influence operation. The finger of suspicion pointed to Russia.
In December, days before a runoff between Georgescu — who has criticized NATO and expressed his admiration for Vladimir Putin — and a pro-EU candidate, Romania’s constitutional court ruled the entire election was compromised and must be canceled.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
NIH moves to centralize peer review operations for grants and research
The National Institutes of Health plans to centralize its peer review operations for the grants and research contracts it awards, reportedly eliminating certain jobs at the agency.
Why it matters: The agency said the change, announced Thursday, is aimed at removing bias from the grant awards process and making NIH more efficient. But it's fueling concerns about more layoffs and political influence over science.
State of play: NIH proposed to stop letting individual center study sections run their own first-round peer reviews and instead consolidate all initial review efforts under the agency's Center for Scientific Review.
Institutes and centers currently coordinate first-round reviews for about 22% of grants, according to the agency.
NIH claims the change will save more than $65 million per year. The memo does not specify where this cost savings will come from.
Continue reading at Axios
FTC sues to block medical device coatings deal
The Federal Trade Commission under President Trump is making its first move to challenge private equity in health care, by suing to block the $627 million acquisition of a maker of specialized coatings for catheters and other medical devices.
Why it matters: It's the first such FTC action around M&A since Trump was sworn in and could signal continued regulatory scrutiny as private equity buys more health care firms.
Driving the news: FTC commissioners voted 4-0 to seek a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to halt GTCR's acquisition of Surmodics, alleging that the deal would combine the two largest makers of specialized coatings and is anticompetitive.
The combined company would control more than 50% of the market for hydrophilic coatings, which are used on catheters, guidewires and other devices and help doctors maneuver within tight confines like blood vessels in the brain without damaging surrounding tissue.
Surmodics is the largest provider of outsourced coatings, and GTCR already owns a majority stake in Biocoat, the No. 2 provider, per the FTC.
What they're saying: The agency said the companies are locked in fierce competition and often target the same device-makers.
Continue reading at Axios
Exclusive: Senate appropriator pushes back on NOAA cuts
In another sign of congressional pushback on cuts to NOAA, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) asked the Commerce Department for detailed information on how the top federal weather, climate and oceans agency has been affected.
Why it matters: The letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick — provided first to Axios — puts pressure on the department to defend the layoffs' legality based on existing laws and recent court rulings.
Van Hollen is ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee panel with jurisdiction over NOAA.
NOAA also is currently preparing plans to lay off about 1,000 more employees as part of a "reduction in force" the White House called for from federal agencies, two people familiar with the matter told Axios.
These may affect multiple missions the agency has, from fisheries surveys to monitoring space weather.
Zoom in: Van Hollen's letter seeks detailed information on how the agency's missions have been affected by the cuts.
Continue reading at Axios
It's good to be an egg producer
The Justice Department is reportedly in the early stages of investigating egg producers for antitrust violations, but proving criminal activity won't be easy.
Why it matters: High egg prices alone don't suggest collusion is happening. To understand why, we need to turn to Microeconomics 101, and specifically the question of price elasticity.
The big picture: Price elasticity measures the degree to which consumers are willing, or unwilling, to pay higher prices for certain items.
Eggs, it turns out, have astonishingly low price elasticity: Demand barely falls as price rises. As a result, even modest reductions in supply are likely to result in huge price increases.
Follow the money: Berkeley economist Aaron Smith has run the numbers on egg price elasticity and found that it took a 228% increase in the price of eggs to reduce the number of eggs purchased by a mere 4%.
Continue reading at Axios
How the pandemic transformed the housing market in 5 years
Chart: Change in median home price, by state
The pandemic upended America's housing market, delivering wins for homeowners and roadblocks for those still dreaming.
Why it matters: Sky-high home prices, elevated mortgage rates and a shortage of houses for sale are pushing homeownership out of reach for many.
In the past five years, here are five ways the market transformed and what could come next.
1. Home prices skyrocketed
Cheap borrowing costs and remote work unleashed a homebuying frenzy early in the pandemic — and sent prices soaring.
By the numbers: The median U.S. home price in January was $418,000, up around 45% from $289,000 five years ago, according to Redfin.
See the map and continue reading at Axios
Dems' growing divide over trans rights, DEI
Some Democrats are starting to publicly second-guess the party's stances on transgender rights and DEI programs — positions they've long embraced on principle, but now see as potential political liabilities.
Why it matters: The issues are creating a divide among some of the most powerful people in the party, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and a few others widely seen as potential 2028 candidates for president.
Newsom sent ripples through the party last week during a podcast interview with MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk. Echoing a GOP talking point, Newsom said he believed transgender women and girls playing in women's sports was "deeply unfair."
The big picture: The remark by Newsom, a former San Francisco mayor and longtime supporter of LGBTQ causes, stung many progressives as a betrayal.
Whether it represented a true shift in belief or a move of political convenience, it reflected a growing argument between Democrats — whether they should be more pragmatic on some social issues, or stand on principle at a critical moment.
The backdrop for the debate is how Democrats — namely presidential nominee Kamala Harris — struggled last year to respond as Republicans spent tens of millions on ads bashing transgender women and girls in sports, and declaring that "Kamala is for they/them, Donald Trump is for you."
Some Democrats quietly agree with Newsom. Others say emphatically that the party should support transgender people and others now targeted by Trump administration policies.
Continue reading at Axios
Why food prices are still high, five years after COVID
Chart: Price of select food items since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic
Sticker shock at the grocery store became a fact of life during the pandemic as food prices skyrocketed.
Why it matters: Higher prices have been unavoidable ever since — but five years since the start of COVID, new tariffs and retaliatory action could cause food prices to rise again.
The big picture: Food prices increased by 23.6% from 2020 to 2024, outpacing overall inflation of 21.2% during that period, according to the U.S. Economic Research Service.
It was a story of supply chain disruption and demand eruption, and their complex interplay.
Supply chains broke, costs rose for raw materials, energy and labor — and shoppers paid in the end.
Friction point: Consumer advocates accused grocers and food companies of raising prices to bolster the bottom line, but there's little "concrete evidence" of excessive prices, CFRA Research analyst Arun Sundaram tells Axios.
"Profit margins for retailers as well as packaged food companies have remained relatively stable over the years," he said. "They're not increasing prices past the amount costs have gone up."
Continue reading at Axios
Trump's secret power protection plan
Anyone who thinks President Trump's mesmerizing hold over the GOP will slip if his poll numbers slide is missing one of his biggest innovations in American politics:
The creation of a cash-flush political operation that has raked in around a half-billion dollars — about the same amount the GOP's House and Senate campaign arms spent during the entirety of the last midterm campaign.
Why it matters: It's unheard of for a president not running for reelection to raise that kind of money. But the cash is just one piece of a bigger power play that's arguably the most powerful, well-funded political apparatus ever.
The day after Election Day, Trump — at a time most presidents-elect are scrambling to get their transitions rolling — started calling major donors to start building an enforcement machine for his agenda.
"Right now, there's a huge price to pay by crossing Donald Trump," said Republican strategist Corry Bliss, who formerly led the Congressional Leadership Fund super PAC. "When you combine a 92% approval rating among Republican voters with unlimited money, that equals: 'Yes, sir.'"
Zoom in: Two Trump-aligned outside groups, MAGA Inc. and Securing American Greatness, are poised to play big in 2026, including by helping Republicans expand their congressional majorities. The groups also have another focus: Reward Republicans who support Trump — and punish those who don't.
Continue reading at Axios
Trump loves the Gilded Age and its tariffs. It was a great time for the rich but not for the many
WASHINGTON (AP) — In President Donald Trump’s idealized framing, the United States was at its zenith in the 1890s, when top hats and shirtwaists were fashionable and typhoid fever often killed more soldiers than combat.
It was the Gilded Age, a time of rapid population growth and transformation from an agricultural economy toward a sprawling industrial system, when poverty was widespread while barons of phenomenal wealth, like John D. Rockefeller and J.P. Morgan, held tremendous sway over politicians who often helped boost their financial empires.
“We were at our richest from 1870 to 1913. That’s when we were a tariff country. And then they went to an income tax concept,” Trump said days after taking office. “It’s fine. It’s OK. But it would have been very much better.”
The desire to recreate that era is fueled by Trump’s fondness for tariffs and his admiration for the nation’s 25th president, William McKinley, a Republican who was in office from 1897 until being assassinated in 1901.
Continue reading at the Associated Press
Playbook: Shutdown week is here
CARN BEFORE THE STORM: Former central bank chief Mark Carney was anointed the new PM of Canada last night as the Liberal Party closes the door on the Justin Trudeau era. Carney won the support of a whopping 85 percent of Liberal Party members following a two-month leadership contest, with Trudeau bidding a teary farewell after almost a decade in power. Carney, 59, is an experienced technocrat who as a central banker guided the Canadian economy through the 2008 global crash and then the U.K. economy through the turmoil of Brexit. Given the catastrophic state of U.S.-Canada relations and sense of impending economic doom north of the border, you can only assume he’s a glutton for punishment.
Inbox from hell: Carney should have his first call with President Donald Trump this week, possibly even as early as today. There’s certainly plenty to discuss — starting with the brutal tariffs Trump slapped on Canada last week; the tit-for-tat tariffs on U.S. electricity imports being imposed by Ontario Premier Doug Ford from today; the prospect of massive lumber and dairy tariffs coming down the track (per Trump last Friday); the looming removal of the tariff carveout for all manner of Canadian goods on April 2; not to mention that whole annexation business. Good luck!
Mark my words: “The Americans want our resources, our water, our land, our country,” Carney warned in a solemn victory speech last night, per POLITICO’s Mickey Djuric and Nick Taylor-Vaisey. “If they succeed, they will destroy our way of life.” (Imagine telling someone in, say, 2022, that the next Canadian PM would be making a speech like that.) “We didn’t ask for this fight,” Carney added, “but Canadians are always ready when someone else drops the gloves.”
You’re the Don: But maybe Carney should be grateful. Since Trump started waging economic and rhetorical war on America’s neighbor to the north, the Liberals’ disastrous poll ratings have recovered dramatically. With federal elections looming, voters appear to be rallying to the ruling party and turning their backs on the opposition Conservatives led by Elon Musk-endorsed Pierre Poilievre, who was once 20 points clear in the polls but now finds himself painted as too close ideologically to the widely despised Trump. (It’s not just Canada, btw: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum now has an astonishing approval rating of 85 percent.)
Continue reading at Politico Playbook newsletter
1 big thing: The weakening of America's public health system
COVID-19 put public health officials on the front lines against a once-in-a-lifetime threat. It's left them with less power and resources to respond to future emergencies.
Why it matters: Instead of strengthening America's public health infrastructure, the pandemic experience spawned hundreds of new laws in at least 24 states limiting public health orders or otherwise undercutting emergency responses.
Republicans in Congress have also called for funding cuts to the CDC, and the Trump administration and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy are pivoting to chronic diseases, nutrition and nontraditional cures.
What they're saying: Public health experts say it's all left the system weaker and less prepared for everyday threats — let alone the next big crisis.
"Imagine if we just had a major fire ripping through our city, and our first instinct once we finally put the flames out is to basically get rid of all of our fire departments," said Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University School of Public Health.
"That is essentially what we're seeing happen here."
Zoom in: A federal pullback in preparedness leaves states even more on the hook to respond to crises, according to an analysis published last week in JAMA Health Forum. But legislatures in mostly conservative states have been taking aim at public health powers for the past few years.
Continue reading at Axios Vitals
Whistleblower Alleges Meta Was Ready to Censor Content for Chinese Government
It's a pretty far cry from Zuck's claims of "free expression."
Meta and CEO Mark Zuckerberg have been in their “free speech” arc since Donald Trump took office again, but a new account offered by a whistleblower throws cold water on the idea that the company won’t comply with censorship regimes. According to a report from the Washington Post, a whistleblower complaint alleges that Facebook built a content censorship system that complied with the wishes of the Chinese Communist Party in a failed attempt to operate within China.
The 78-page complaint was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Sarah Wynn-Williams, a former global policy director who worked on a team handling China policy and left the company in 2017. According to Wynn-Williams’ account, which was obtained by WaPo, Facebook was started trying to crack the Chinese market back in 2014, and was willing to make major concessions to the country’s ruling party in order to gain access to the potentially massive userbase.
Throughout its courtship with China, Facebook and Zuckerberg reportedly agreed to play ball in a number of ways that undermined its standard operating procedure. That included, per Wynn-Williams, agreeing to host Chinese user data on servers in China, including users in Hong Kong, who had previously received stronger protections. According to the whistleblower, that concession would have made it easier for the Chinese government to access the personal information of its citizens.
Continue reading at Gizmodo
Aftershocks from a possible Harris run
THE BUZZ: KAMALA QUAKE — Kamala Harris’ latest indication that she may run for California governor threatens a complete makeover of the 2026 field.
Several 2026 hopefuls are expected to drop out if she enters the race and scramble for other statewide offices, triggering a domino effect down the ballot.
No candidate has publicly conceded they’d drop out or seek another statewide office. But the mere prospect of a Harris candidacy — she plans to make a decision by the end of the summer — brings to the fore such strong name recognition and fundraising firepower that prospective candidate Katie Porter predicted it would have a “near field-clearing effect on the Democratic side.”
The races for lieutenant governor, treasurer and other offices down the ballot are only becoming more tightly packed. Still, each could provide a landing spot for seasoned California officials who might struggle against Harris.
“Obviously, I think all of us will reassess if she makes the decision to run,” former Controller Betty Yee, who is running, told Playbook.
But how exactly would the candidates — prospective and declared — respond?
KATIE PORTER: Porter’s campaign was pointed in saying the former representative isn’t considering any other statewide office. “She’s 100 percent focused on a potential run for governor,” spokesperson Nathan Click told Playbook.
But there have long been rumors that Porter could be interested in other gigs, including state attorney general. She couldn’t run for that office right now because she isn’t registered with the state bar.
ELENI KOUNALAKIS: The lieutenant governor is a longtime friend and ally of Harris, and helped raise millions to boost her presidential campaign. It’s a given that Kounalakis would back her.
There have been loud rumblings in recent weeks that Kounalakis is considering running for state treasurer as a fall-back option. But her campaign declined to comment. If Kounalakis pivots to the treasurer’s race, it could complicate the path for the candidates already in that race: former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and Board of Equalization member Tony Vazquez.
ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA: The former LA mayor is running to the political right of where Harris likely would, and he has not yet shown public signs of backing out if the former vice president enters. He was also seen taking meetings in downtown Sacramento Wednesday and Thursday in a sign that he’s still actively campaigning. A spokesperson for him did not comment by deadline.
TONY THURMOND: State Superintendent Tony Thurmond told Playbook he has “only heard rumor and speculation about what she might do, and I’m not making any decisions based on rumor and speculation.”
He said only “we’ll see” about his own plans if Harris gets in the race, but made one thing clear.
“I’m not running for any other office,” Thurmond said. “I’m running for governor and nothing else.”
TONI ATKINS: Ex-Senate and Assembly leader Toni Atkins’ campaign did not entertain the possibility that she could drop out and move into another race, such as the one for lieutenant governor, as we’ve heard recently. If Atkins jumps into the LG race, it would upend a contest that already includes state Treasurer Fiona Ma, former Navy JAG officer Josh Fryday, former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs and former state Sen. Steven Bradford.
“Right now, Toni is focused on the race she’s running, not on other offices or other potential candidates,” Evan Westrup, a spokesperson for her campaign, said in a statement.
BETTY YEE: Yee also told Playbook last week she hasn’t decided what she would do if Harris got in, and that she is not considering gunning for another statewide office “at this time.”
XAVIER BECERRA: The former Health and Human Services secretary had been considering a run even before the November election, but a representative for him did not comment by deadline.
GOOD MORNING. Happy Monday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook.
Continue reading at Politico Playbook newsletter
Fired special counsel: ‘I don’t think we have watchdog agencies anymore’
Special counsel Hampton Dellinger, unaffiliated with the office that investigated Trump, spoke to CBS News after ending his legal battle to remain in his job.
“I don’t think we have watchdog agencies anymore. The inspector generals are gone. The head of the Office of Government Ethics is gone. I’m gone. The independent watchdogs who are working on behalf of the American taxpayers, on behalf of military veterans, they’ve been pushed out,” he said during an appearance on “60 Minutes,” noting Trump’s removal of 18 inspectors general.
“Independence, accountability, a safe place for federal government employee whistleblowers to come to and know that they’ll be respected and protected — that’s gone.”
Dellinger was fired by Trump last month in a two-sentence email citing the president’s executive authority.
Continue reading at The Hill
Read: House Republicans’ stopgap funding bill
House Republicans over the weekend rolled out a short-term government funding plan, kicking off a crucial stretch for GOP leadership to lock down support ahead of Friday’s shutdown deadline.
The plan released Saturday seeks to keep the government funded through September at mostly fiscal year 2024 levels, in lieu of a bipartisan agreement to pass full-year spending bills.
The strategy, which has been backed by President Trump, has drawn Democrats’ ire.
Read the temporary government funding bill below:
Continue reading at The Hill
Stephen Moore: Tariffs ‘are not a pick-me-up’ for economy
“I think that the president’s emphasis on tariffs right now is misguided,” Moore said in an interview on Fox News’s “Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy.”
“We have a very wobbly economy,” he continued. “We saw a not very good jobs report on Friday. The consumer confidence numbers are sinking, and other indicators are not positive.”
Moore instead suggested Trump ought to focus on passing tax cuts.
“The economy needs a pick-me-up, and tariffs are not a pick-me-up,” Moore said. “What is, is the Trump tax cut.”
“Congress has to get this passed as soon as possible, by Memorial Day. That will provide the stimulus the economy needs,” he added.
Continue reading at The Hill
DHS highlights self-deportation feature for migrants in new app
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has launched a new app where migrants can indicate they plan to “self-deport.”
The CBP Home app appears to replace the Biden-era CBP One app, where migrants could make appointments at a port of entry to seek asylum.
The CBP Home app instead has features for migrants to indicate they plan to leave the country, including a “submit intent to depart” option.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement that the Biden administration had “exploited” the CBP One app.
“With the launching of the CBP Home app, we are restoring integrity to our immigration system,” she said in the statement.
Continue reading at The Hill
X outage affects thousands of users
According to outage-tracking website Downdetector.com, more than 37,000 users reported problems with the platform shortly before 10 a.m. EDT on Monday. Some users reported being able to access the platform again by mid-morning, but outage reports spiked back up around 11 a.m.
Issues were first reported around 5:30 a.m., hitting a high of nearly 21,000 reports shortly before 6 a.m. Outage reports drastically dropped until about 9:30 a.m. ET, when reports spiked back up.
It is not immediately clear what has caused the three outages. The Hill has reached out to X for further comment.
Continue reading at The Hill
Greenland votes amid Trump invitation to join US: What to know
As Greenlanders prepare to head to the polls this week, the United States — and particularly President Trump’s stated interest in acquiring the territory — is looming large over their vote.
Greenland’s national election Tuesday is set to determine 31 members of the Inatsisartut, its parliament. The world’s largest island is a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, and while independence won’t be on the ballot this week, the results could ultimately set the stage for a later referendum on its future control.
Despite pushback from both Danish and European authorities, Trump has doubled down in his quest for the U.S. to take over the natural resources-rich Arctic land.
Continue reading at The Hill
Is the US headed toward a recession?
Stock market may want a wellness retreat:
Tuesday marks President Trump’s 50th day in office, which has been a whirlwind of economic changes — most notably his tariffs on the U.S.’s neighbors — that have wobbled the stock markets.
On the campaign trail: Trump promised an economic boom by stopping inflation, lowering prices and cutting taxes. He repeatedly slammed the Biden administration’s policies for stifling the U.S. economy.
But now, Trump is recalibrating expectations: Over the weekend, Trump wouldn’t rule out the possibility of an economic recession, telling Fox News on Sunday there would be a “period of transition” for the U.S. “I hate to predict things like that,” Trump told Fox’s Maria Bartiromo when asked if he expected a recession this year.
^ This sent a shockwave through the market this morning: U.S. stocks tumbled even further this morning after Trump’s weekend comments. The Dow opened down 1 percent, the S&P fell by 2 percent and Nasdaq dropped by 3.2 percent.
And Republicans are worried about the economy: The Hill’s Alexander Bolton spoke with a number of Republican senators who expressed concern about the impacts of Trump’s trade policies on the U.S. economy.
Continue reading at The Hill
Canada slaps electricity tariffs on New York, Minnesota, Michigan
The government of Ontario is applying a 25 percent surcharge starting Monday on electricity exports to three U.S. states in response to U.S. tariffs on Canada.
This surcharge will affect electricity sales for 1.5 million homes and businesses across Michigan, Minnesota and New York, the Ontario government said. In total, it could cost up to $400,000 per day.
New market rules are going into place requiring Canadian electricity sellers to add a $10 per megawatt-hour surcharge, equivalent to a quarter of the electricity’s average value, to the cost of power for sales to the U.S., according to a statement from Ontario’s Office of the Premier.
The additional charges are a response to 25 percent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports to the U.S. announced last week by the Trump administration.
Stock markets dropped again Monday as investors worried about the growing trade war. The Dow Jones average was down more than 550 points, or 1.3 percent, just after 12 p.m. EDT.
Continue reading at The Hill
Firefighters may face increased risk of brain cancer due to chemical exposure: Study
Firefighters may face a heightened risk of developing brain cancer due to their persistent exposure to certain chemicals, a new study has found.
In a set of patients who had gliomas — the most common type of malignant brain tumor — cancer-causing gene mutations linked to toxic exposures were more prevalent in firefighters than in individuals from other professions, according to the study, published on Monday in Cancer.
The compounds in question, called haloalkanes, are found in flame retardants, fire extinguishers, refrigerants and pesticides and have previously been associated with a specific gene mutation that causes gliomas, the researchers noted.
“Glioma is the most common malignant primary brain tumor and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality,” the authors warned.
Continue reading at The Hill
Witkoff says Zelensky apologized in letter to Trump
“Zelensky sent a letter to the president. He apologized for that whole incident that happened in the Oval Office,” Witkoff said Monday on Fox News. “I think that it was an important step and there’s been a lot of discussion between our teams and the Ukrainians and the Europeans who are relevant to this discussion as well.”
U.S. and Ukrainian officials are set to meet in Saudi Arabia this week to pick back up on peace negotiations to end the war with Russia.
Witkoff said he thought Zelensky sending Trump a letter to apologize for the fiery meeting was “progress.”
Continue reading at The Hill
21 House Republicans ask leadership to limit changes to energy tax credits in reconciliation
A group of 21 House Republicans is asking a key committee to limit changes to energy tax credits passed under Democrats as the GOP seeks to overhaul the U.S. tax code.
In a new letter dated Sunday, the group of mostly moderate Republicans asked that any changes to energy tax credits be “targeted and pragmatic.”
“We request that any proposed changes to the tax code be conducted in a targeted and pragmatic fashion that promotes conference priorities without undoing current and future private sector investments which will continue to increase domestic manufacturing, promote energy innovation, and keep utility costs down,” they wrote to Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.), who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee.
The letter, which was first reported by Politico, is indicative of a broader challenge House Republicans face as they seek to reform the tax code through a process called reconciliation that only requires a simple majority.
Continue reading at The Hill
Harvard freezes hiring amid financial ‘uncertainties’ driven by Trump policies
Harvard University says it is freezing hiring for faculty and staff amid financial “uncertainties” driven by the Trump administration.
“Universities throughout the nation face substantial financial uncertainties driven by rapidly shifting federal policies,” President Alan Garber said in a community message on Monday.
In preparation for the “wide range of financial circumstances,” he added, the school has decided to immediately “implement a temporary pause on staff and faculty hiring across the University.”
Garber stressed the pause is temporary but could last as long as to the end of the semester.
Continue reading at The Hill
Harvard pauses hiring amid ‘financial uncertainties’ under Trump
The university’s pause on faculty and staff hiring comes after the Trump administration pulled $400 million worth of grants and contracts at Columbia University on Friday.
The temporary freeze “is meant to preserve our financial flexibility until we better understand how changes in federal policy will take shape and can assess the scale of their impact,” wrote Harvard President Alan Garber, Provost John Manning, Executive Vice President Meredith Weenick and Vice President for Finance and CFO Ritu Kalra in a message to faculty and staff.
The university’s pause on faculty and staff hiring comes after the Trump administration pulled $400 million worth of grants and contracts at Columbia University on Friday for failing to address antisemitism. Harvard is also being probed by the administration over its handling of antisemitism following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas. Both schools faced a tremendous amount of attention from Republicans on Capitol Hill for their handling of antiwar and pro-Palestinian protests on their campuses.
Harvard and Columbia are among at least 10 college campuses that the federal antisemitism task force plans to visit.
The university plans to pause hiring for the current semester.
Continue reading at Politico
Michelle Obama launches podcast with brother Craig Robinson
Former first lady Michelle Obama will launch a podcast with her brother, Craig Robinson, the Obamas’ media company, Higher Ground, announced Monday.
Obama said the “IMO” podcast will be a space to have “thoughtful conversations about life,” according to Higher Ground.
“With everything going on in the world, we’re all looking for answers and people to turn to,” she said.
“My brother Craig and I launched the IMO podcast to create a space for people to come as they are, ask honest questions, give their opinions, and have thoughtful conversations about life.”
“IMO” will feature the former first lady and her brother sharing their “candid perspectives” and addressing “everyday questions shaping our lives, relationships, and the world around us.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump ‘not at all’ worried about joint Russia, China, Iran military exercises
President Trump said he is “not at all” worried that Russia, China and Iran are doing joint military exercises.
Trump was asked by a reporter on Sunday about the news that the three countries are launching annual joint naval drills and if he was concerned.
“No, not at all. Not at all,” he replied.
“Why not?” the reporter asked.
“Because we’re stronger than all of them. We have more power than all of them. I rebuilt the military, unfortunately, Biden did nothing with it, but I rebuilt the military,” Trump said.
The president then deflected the question, noting that “we don’t want to even talk about” it.
Continue reading at The Hill
Rubio thanks DOGE, says US is canceling most USAID programs
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the remaining programs from the now-shuttered government agency will operate under the State Department.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that the United States is canceling 83 percent of programs at the United States Agency for International Development, thanking Elon Musk’s DOGE team for its work amid reports of friction between the two men.
“The 5200 contracts that are now canceled spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve, (and in some cases even harmed), the core national interests of the United States,” Rubio said in a post to X, the social media platform owned by Musk. “Thank you to DOGE and our hardworking staff who worked very long hours to achieve this overdue and historic reform.”
Continue reading at Politico
Germany’s Greens vow to quash Merz’s spending revolution
The party said they would not support the conservative chancellor-in-waiting’s paradigm-changing plan to invest massively in defense and infrastructure.
BERLIN — Germany’s Greens are vowing to put an end to Friedrich Merz’s paradigm-changing plan to invest massively in defense and infrastructure.
Greens leaders on Monday said they would urge lawmakers in the party to reject a historic deal by Merz’s conservatives and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) to unleash hundreds of billions of euros of new spending to bolster the military and invest heavily in the economy. In order to pass the proposed bills as soon as next week, as Merz intends, he needs the support of the Greens.
“If the CDU and SPD think that, because of the security threat posed by Putin in the Kremlin — and, honestly, also Donald Trump in the White House — we will simply have to go along with this, then we reject that outright,” one of the party's leaders, Felix Banaszak, said on Monday in Berlin, referring to Merz's Christian Democratic Union and the center-left Social Democratic Party, who are set to hold coalition talks following the Feb. 23 election.
If the Greens follow through on their rejection of the plan, the decision would put Merz in a bind.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
11 times Nigel Farage had a blazing row with his colleagues
Reform UK leader’s falling-out with a fellow MP is the latest in a long list of quarrels with allies.
LONDON — Beefing with one colleague looks like an accident. Feuding with a stack of them looks like a habit.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has been engaged in a bitter war of words with fellow MP Rupert Lowe in recent days — marking open warfare in an insurgent party that has been threatening Britain’s Labour government in the polls.
Lowe lost the party whip and was referred to the police in early March after he was accused of “threats of physical violence” and “inappropriate behavior.” He has strongly denied the allegations — threatening to sue the party — and is standing by strident criticism of the way Farage is running Reform, which he has aired publicly in recent days.
For longtime followers of Farage — a veteran of UKIP and the Brexit Paty — it’s Groundhog Day all over again. POLITICO runs through 11 times Farage feuded with colleagues who were all (supposedly) on his side.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
Trump team not engaging to avert tariff war, says EU trade chief
“One hand cannot clap,” says Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič.
BRUSSELS — Although the European Union’s “doors are open,” the United States “does not seem to be engaging to make a deal” to avoid a tariff war ahead of the imminent reimposition of U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said on Monday.
When Šefčovič visited Washington last month, he spoke to President Donald Trump’s trade team.
“We jointly identified the few areas that would allow us to move forward by fostering a mutual benefit. But in the end, one hand cannot clap,” Šefčovič told reporters in Brussels.
The U.S. is due to impose tariffs of 25 percent on its global steel and aluminum imports by this Wednesday. This would reactivate, and escalate, a dispute dating back to Trump’s first term. The EU has made clear it is ready to hit back with retaliatory measures.
Šefčovič, who was announcing a new digital trade deal with Korea, also stressed that “the EU would protect its businesses, workers and consumers. I think we’ve been very clear about it and I know they expect no less from us.”
Continue reading at Politico Europe
House Democrats whip "NO" on GOP plan to avoid government shutdown
House Democratic leaders are urging their members to oppose the stopgap spending bill Republicans plan to bring to the floor on Tuesday, according to aides and lawmakers. This raises the likelihood that the government could shut down on March 14.
Why it matters: Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y) is trying to impose party unity ahead of a showdown with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), even if it opens Democrats to charges they played a role in shutting down the government.
Jeffries' moves also put him on a potential collision course with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who has counseled his members not to entertain the prospect of a government shutdown.
Zoom in: Jeffries wants to show his members and his base that he's willing to confront Republicans in defense of a federal bureaucracy that they say is under assault from President Trump and Elon Musk.
Both Jeffries and Johnson know that their strength derives from the unity they can achieve in their party.
Continue reading at Axios
The real "stagflation" risk: No help from Washington
Wall Street is talking about stagflation, a combination of stagnant growth and elevated inflation. The real risk is not just that stagflation could arrive, but that the usual policy tools to fight it won't be in play.
The big picture: The president and his advisers have been blasé about the risk of a growth slump or new inflation spike, believing that it's necessary to jolt the economy into a better long-term condition.
The Fed will be constrained in responding to any economic weakening with rate cuts because inflation has already been well above its target for four straight years.
That all means the usual Washington cavalry may not arrive at the first sign of economic trouble.
State of play: Global investors are becoming wary of the possibility that President Trump will eventually follow through on his pledge of large, across-the-board tariffs on many of the largest U.S. trading partners. That has fueled an 8% drop in the S&P 500 since Feb. 19.
Trade wars amount to a negative supply shock, simultaneously reducing growth prospects and increasing price pressures.
Continue reading at Axios
Exclusive: Washington Post to overhaul newsroom structure
The Washington Post is making major changes to its newsroom that are meant to broaden the outlet's coverage and reach a wider audience, according to a staff memo from executive editor Matt Murray obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: The shifts follow months of high-profile staff departures and blowback to recent opinion coverage changes by owner Jeff Bezos.
Longtime Post opinion editor and columnist Ruth Marcus resigned from the Post Monday after CEO Will Lewis killed her column expressing concerns about Bezos' opinion section changes.
Former Washington Post executive editor Marty Baron penned a scathing piece about the changes last week.
Zoom in: As part of the newsroom overhaul, the Post will divide its national desk into two sections that focus on national reporting, and politics and government coverage, respectively.
The politics and government desk "will encompass most of our reporters and editors covering the political scene and the government, which remain a central pillar for The Post," Murray wrote. "The Economics and Economic Policy team from Business will move to this department."
Continue reading at Axios
Supreme Court will hear challenge to Colorado conversion therapy ban
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a challenge to Colorado's law banning conversion therapy aimed at young people.
The big picture: The high court's eventual decision could deal a major setback to the LGBTQ+ community, which the executive branch has already targeted with an executive order blitz that undermines protections and quality of life for transgender people.
Conversion therapy attempts to change people's sexual orientations or gender identities. LGBTQ+ advocates, major medical and mental health organizations have condemned the practice as harmful, discriminatory and ineffective.
Catch up quick: The high court agreed to take up a challenge from Kaley Chiles, a Christian counselor, who argued Colorado's restriction against licensed mental health professionals engaging in conversion therapy for minors violates her free speech rights.
"To be crystal clear: this challenge has nothing to do with free speech, and everything to do with pushing dangerous, debunked practices that have only been proven to cause irreparable harm to LGBTQ+ young people all across the country," said Casey Pick, The Trevor Project's director of law and policy, in a statement provided to Axios.
State of play: More than 20 states have bans on subjecting minors to conversion therapy. But some 13% of LGBTQ+ young people in the Trevor Project's 2024 report on the mental health of LGBTQ+ youth reported being threatened with or subjected to conversion therapy.
Continue reading at Axios
Government suspends free COVID test distribution program
The federal government's free at-home COVID test distribution program has been suspended and is no longer accepting orders.
Why it matters: The program's suspension comes at the five-year mark of the coronavirus pandemic.
The big picture: The at-home testing distribution program launched in January 2022. Since then, it has been significantly expanded but also had been suspended a few times over the years.
The program last returned on Sept. 26 and took orders through Sunday night.
It was not immediately known if the program could return in the future.
Zoom in: "The free at-home COVID-19 test distribution program is not currently accepting orders," the COVIDTests.gov website said Monday.
"Tests ordered before 8:00 PM EDT, Sunday, March 9, 2025, will be shipped," the site states.
Continue reading at Axios
GOP turns the gears on spending plan
TODAY’S ACTION ON THE HILL: The House Ways and Means Republicans are meeting today to start drafting the tax portion of the GOP’s party-line bill. The session is expected to last all day and will be followed by a second meeting on Wednesday. And at 4 p.m., the Rules Committee will have a hearing on advancing the stopgap funding bill and other legislation. It’s expected to clear the panel, setting up a vote on the spending bill on Tuesday.
RECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES: A group of House Republicans are urging their party to preserve the clean energy tax credits in Democrats’ climate law — issuing a fresh warning that they may oppose the party’s budget bill if those incentives get axed, POLITICO’s Josh Siegel and James Bikales scooped.
The 21 House Republicans — whose districts have drawn billions in new investments because of the Inflation Reduction Act incentives — said in a letter shared exclusively with POLITICO that developing clean energy was critical for the U.S. to meet Trump’s goal of becoming “energy dominant.”
“We have 20-plus members saying, ‘Don’t just think you can repeal these things and have our support,’” said Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.), who organized the letter.
Hitting home: The spending bill released this weekend could have major side effects for D.C., officials in the District say, “potentially leading to about $1 billion in overnight cuts impacting everything from the city’s law enforcement to schools,” per WaPo’s Meagan Flynn. “If it passes, the city, whose local budget is overseen by Congress, would be treated as a federal agency and be forced to revert to its 2024 budget spending levels for the remaining six months of this fiscal year, until Oct. 1.”
MAJOR SHAKEUPS AT WAPO: Matt Murray, the executive editor at the Washington Post, issued a new staff-wide memo today outlining a variety of major changes “meant to broaden the outlet’s coverage and reach a wider audience,” Axios’ Sara Fischer reports.
Continue reading the Politico Playbook newsletter
Trump turns screws on Zelensky heading into Jeddah talks
President Trump is inflicting mounting pain on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of planned talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, as U.S. officials look to secure concessions Trump can bring to Russian leader Vladimir Putin for a peace deal.
The summit of top U.S. and Ukrainian envoys in Jeddah this week follows Zelensky’s explosive visit to the White House on Feb. 28, when Trump and Vice President Vance called the war-time leader ungrateful and unwilling to move toward a ceasefire.
In the 10 days since, Trump has suspended U.S. military aid to Ukraine, halted intelligence support for strikes on Russia, and talked about potentially deporting tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees who fled from the war.
Continue reading at The Hill
Border czar on Columbia arrest: ‘Absolutely we can’ deport a legal immigrant
Tom Homan, President Trump’s border czar, said Monday that federal authorities “absolutely can” deport a legal immigrant after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested a Columbia University graduate with a green card.
“Absolutely, we can,” Homan told Stuart Varney on Fox Business Network’s “Varney & Co.” after the host asked about the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a leading pro-Palestinian activist, and if ICE can deport someone who is in the country legally.
“I mean, did he violate the terms of his visa? Did he violate the terms of his residency here, you know, committing crimes, attacking Israeli students, locking down buildings, destroying property? Absolutely, any resident alien who commits a crime is eligible for deportation,” Homan added.
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump’s business acumen has long been his armor. It’s being put to the test.
The normally bullish Trump over the weekend declined to rule out the possibility of a full-blown recession as his tariff policies threaten to spark a massive global trade war.
The normally bullish Trump over the weekend declined to rule out the possibility of a full-blown recession as his tariff policies threaten to spark a massive global trade war that could drive up prices and further pinch Americans’ already tight pocketbooks. His remarks sent already tetchy markets into a nosedive Monday morning — with the Dow dropping over 400 points and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq tumbling to their lowest levels since September — just days after they spooked and then calmed over his tariffs on Canada and Mexico.
Further complicating matters, congressional Republicans are playing a game of chicken with Democrats that could end in a government shutdown by Friday.
Together, these forces could create the biggest economic storm since the Covid-19 pandemic that rocked the economy and helped put former President Joe Biden into office.
Trump is indicating “at least the possibility that he’s not going to be deterred by market volatility, he’s not going to be deterred by falling stock prices, and that he might not even be deterred by an economic downturn,” said Michael Strain, director of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. “That is new for him.”
Continue reading at Politico
Who are Johnson's remaining GOP holdouts on the spending bill?
Rep. Thomas Massie is the only House Republican to definitively say he will vote against the bill to avert a shutdown, but several others are still undecided.
Speaker Mike Johnson is trying to muscle through a stopgap spending bill to avert a government shutdown, but he doesn't have the votes locked down yet.
President Donald Trump is pressing the small group of GOP holdouts to fall in line ahead of the Friday shutdown deadline, and House Democratic leaders are whipping all their members to vote against the bill that would fund the government through September. If only Republicans vote for it and there's full attendance, Johnson can't afford to lose more than one GOP lawmaker.
The hard no: Rep. Thomas Massie is the only House Republican who has definitively said he will not vote to pass the stopgap spending bill — and stuck to it.
The undecideds: Reps. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) and Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) have said they're on the fence. The speaker and Trump are pushing fiscal hawks who normally oppose stopgap spending bills to get behind this one, with the promise of funding cuts later on this year.
Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) have also indicated they're undecided, but that they're likely open to supporting the measure.
The flips: Rep. Michael Cloud (R-Texas), who GOP leaders were watching as a possible holdout, came out this weekend in favor of the plan, after Trump called for Republicans to support it. Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) has also indicated that she'll back it. And the House Freedom Caucus, which usually opposes stopgap funding bills on principle, have supported this plan.
Continue reading at Politico
This California Republican thinks he has an in with China policy
FIRST IN DECODED: CHINA IN THE CROSSHAIRS — One of the California Legislature’s most outspoken conservatives is looking to crack down on businesses sharing personal information overseas amid national concern over China’s access to American data.
New legislation from Republican Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, first shared with California Decoded, would require businesses to obtain consent from California-based users before sharing or storing their data in foreign countries.
DeMaio said his legislation is aimed squarely at China — and it comes as Congress and President Donald Trump are grappling with how to address bipartisan fears that the Chinese Communist Party is weaponizing data held by TikTok and other China-based platforms to spy on Americans. (TikTok has refuted claims it shares data with CCP officials.)
“This is a national security threat,” DeMaio told Decoded in an exclusive interview. “Their tech companies are heavily dominated and controlled by the Chinese government.”
China hawkism is set to dominate the tech conversation in Washington this week. Trump yesterday said there are four potential buyers interested in purchasing TikTok’s U.S. operations after Congress forced the company to divest its American holdings or face a nationwide ban. And on Tuesday, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will hold an investigative hearing on China’s quest for dominance in the semiconductor industry.
But whether that talk will spur further action in Congress to protect Americans’ data from Chinese-owned companies is yet to be seen. Republicans already have their hands full trying to unite their razor-thin House majority behind a budget resolution, meaning second-order issues like data privacy are stuck on the backburner.
“Even if something should be easy in Congress, it never is, and that’s particularly true on privacy and AI legislation,” Jon Leibowitz, former chair of the Federal Trade Commission under the Obama administration, told Decoded.
And even if Congress advances a bill clamping down on overseas data sharing, there’s no guarantee Trump will sign it. The president has backtracked on the TikTok ban — despite kickstarting the idea during his first term — after conservative creators and Trump’s campaign used the platform to reach young voters during the 2024 election.
DeMaio said California needs to step up to fill the void with Washington in gridlock.
“California is the biggest player in technology,” he told us. “If we adopt this standard, it really does then have a cascade effect that would probably create a national standard.”
Continue reading at Politico California Playbook
Democrats unveil bill to reinstate veterans fired in Trump workforce cuts
Senate Democrats are pushing a measure to reinstate veterans who were recently fired from the federal government without cause as part of President Trump’s sweeping moves to drastically reduce the federal workforce.
The mass firings, spearheaded by tech billionaire and White House adviser Elon Musk, have affected an estimated 6,000 veterans. In total, veterans make up about 30 percent of the federal workforce, according to the office of Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.).
“These veterans not only stepped up to serve our country in uniform but chose to continue their public service in our federal workforce,” Kim said in a statement on the Democrats’ proposal in the Senate. “How dare anyone bring this chaos onto them and endanger them and their families’ livelihoods in such a way.”
A similar bill has been proposed in the House.
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump economic adviser: ‘First quarter is going to squeak into the positive category’
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said Monday the “first quarter is going to squeak into the positive category,” even as anxieties around the economy rise nationwide.
Stocks were down sharply Monday, partly in reaction to a widening trade war triggered by the Trump administration, but Hassett said he wasn’t worried about a recession.
“[I’d] just be very wary, Joe, of conversations about recession or not, given that we had two negative quarters, that used to be a recession under Biden, and then that wasn’t a recession,” Hassett told CNBC’s Joe Kernen on “Squawk Box.”
“I think that what’s going to happen is the first quarter is going to squeak into the positive category, and then the second quarter is going to take off as everybody sees the reality of the tax cuts,” he added.
Continue reading at The Hill
Dow plunges 1,000 points as recession fears, tariffs scare Wall Street
The stock market kicked off the week with steep losses Monday amid growing concern about the state of the U.S. economy and the impact of President Trump’s trade policy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down more than 1000 points shortly before 3 p.m. EDT Monday, falling 2.5 percent. The Nasdaq composite was down 4.6 percent and the S&P 500 index was down 3.2 percent.
Stocks have fallen steadily since the start of March in response to a string of underwhelming economic data and whipsaw tariff announcements from the Trump administration.
All three major indexes are now below their levels on Nov. 5, 2024, — the day of Trump’s reelection, which set off a major stock market rally.
Continue reading at The Hill
GOP’s Bacon: Trump repeating Taliban mistake in Ukraine talks
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said President Trump is repeating mistakes he made in Afghanistan by not including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in talks to end his country’s war with Russia.
“It’s a terrible mistake not to have the Ukrainian leader in the talks,” Bacon said in an interview with CNN’s Pamela Brown on Monday.
“We’ve seen a history of this. I remember when the Trump administration was negotiating with the Taliban without the Afghan government. That really weakened the Afghan government thereafter,” he added.
Continue reading at The Hill
Former USAID employees on cuts: ‘We are going to put lives in jeopardy’
Two former employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), who were fired last month, told CNN the 83 percent spending cuts Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Monday would “put lives in jeopardy.”
“I think that when we’re talking about lifesaving aid programs, saying we’re going to cut 83 percent of USAID’s program, we are going to put lives in jeopardy,” Linden Yee, a former employee of the agency, told CNN on Monday.
“There’s no way that is not going to harm millions of people’s lives,” she added.
Rubio announced the scale of the expected cuts to USAID earlier in the morning.
Continue reading at The Hill
Hamas offering 5-to-10-year truce with Israel: US official says
Hamas offered to hand over governance of the Gaza Strip in exchange for a five-to-10-year truce in its war with Israel, President Trump’s special envoy for hostage negotiations said on Sunday.
Adam Boehler told Israel Public Broadcasting the U.S.-designated terrorist group offered the truce during direct talks with the U.S. over efforts to free remaining American and Israeli hostages.
Boehler described the conversations as “baby steps” but said Hamas proposed some “reasonable” and “workable” actions.
Boehler said the conversations were “not a bad first offer.”
“They suggested a five-year to 10-year truce, where Hamas would lay down all … weapons, and where the United States would help, as well as other countries, ensure that there’s no tunnels, there’s nothing taken on the military side, and that Hamas is not involved in politics going forward,” Boehler said.
Continue reading at The Hill
Ex-Social Security official describes ‘significant’ risk of sensitive data going to wrong hands under DOGE
Tiffany Flick, a former Social Security official, detailed what she sees as a “significant” risk of sensitive government data heading into the wrong hands under Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Flick, who worked at the Social Security Administration (SSA) for almost 30 years, outlined her concern in part of a federal lawsuit about the fraught takeover of the agency as DOGE officials seek to reduce federal spending.
She became acting chief of staff to the SSA’s acting commissioner in January before retiring a month later as DOGE officials new to the agency took on greater and greater roles and influence, pushing out the previous leader of the administration.
Her 13-page legal brief is the first in-depth public account from a government executive about how DOGE has gained access to sensitive information on its mission to decrease the workforce. Flick’s retelling was first reported by The Washington Post.
Continue reading at The Hill
Musk blames ‘massive cyberattack’ for X outage
Elon Musk said his social media platform X was targeted in a “massive cyberattack” on Monday, prompting outages for thousands of users.
“There was (still is) a massive cyberattack against X,” Musk wrote on the platform Monday afternoon. “We get attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources. Either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved. Tracing…”
Musk did not provide any further information, and X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The remark came hours after users first reported issues with the platform early Monday morning.
Continue reading at The Hill
Elon Musk claims X falls to cyberattack
The purported cyberattack comes amid a groundswell of unrest over his crusade to slash the federal government.
Elon Musk is asserting his social media site X has been deluged by a “massive cyberattack” Monday following weeks of upheaval about his cost-cutting crusade across the federal government.
The purported cyberattack, which has impacted users since at least Monday morning, has destabilized many features on his website like viewing posts and user profiles. “We get attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources,” Musk wrote on X. “Either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved.”
It comes days after people across the country took to the storefronts of his car company Tesla to protest Musk’s allegiance with the Trump administration. Some fired shots at an Oregon dealership last week, while others in Manhattan stormed a showroom.
The tech billionaire’s quasi-government agency, called the Department of Government Efficiency, has orchestrated cuts to thousands of federal government workers and has roiled many Americans impacted by the reductions. Now, scientific research at universities, cleanup services at national parks and efforts to curb bird flu have been diminished as the federal government looks to readjust after Musk’s hack-and-slash directive.
Continue reading at Politico
US added to human rights watchlist over Trump moves
The United States has been added to CIVICUS’s monitor list of potential human rights threats, a move the global nonprofit says is directly linked to President Trump’s actions since his return to the White House in January.
“Restrictive executive orders, unjustifiable institutional cutbacks, and intimidation tactics through threatening pronouncements by senior officials in the administration are creating an atmosphere to chill democratic dissent, a cherished American ideal,” CIVICUS interim co-Secretary General Mandeep Tiwana said in a statement. “The Trump administration seems hellbent on dismantling the system of checks and balances which are the pillars of a democratic society.”
The U.S. joins Congo, Italy, Pakistan and Serbia in CIVICUS’s first watch updates for 2025.
Continue reading at The Hill
NOAA set to fire 1,029 more employees
Staffing levels at the nation’s already hobbled weather, climate and oceans agency could take a further nosedive in the days ahead.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will cut 1,029 more staffers as part of its Trump-mandated reduction in force, said JoAnn Becker, national president of the union that represents national weather service employees.
Another source confirmed the 1,029 cuts to The Hill. They come after hundreds of other employees were recently fired. The agency had a total of about 13,000 staffers prior to the firings, meaning the total cuts could be about 15 percent of its staff.
That source said that offices within NOAA have been asked to cut entire agency functions rather than slash a portion of the people who do similar work. Managers will have until midday Tuesday to propose the cuts, which will later be reviewed by NOAA leadership and the Department of Commerce.
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump lauds ICE detainment of Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia University protests
“This is the first arrest of many to come,” Trump said.
President Donald Trump touted the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate student and Palestinian activist detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement over the weekend — signaling a larger campaign to punish anti-Israel protesters on college campuses.
“This is the first arrest of many to come,” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Monday, linking Khalil’s detainment to his previously signed executive orders to combat antisemitism on college campuses.
He added: “We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity, and the Trump Administration will not tolerate it. … We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country — never to return again.”
Continue reading at Politico
EU social media law isn’t censorship, tech chief tells US critic
Henna Virkkunen tells U.S. member of Congress that the EU is ‘deeply committed’ to protecting free speech.
The European Union's social media law "does not regulate speech," EU tech boss Henna Virkkunen told a key U.S. lawmaker who had criticized the bloc's tech rules as censorship.
A regulation that largely targets U.S. Big Tech firms, the Digital Services Act is now in the eye of a transatlantic trade row, with President Donald Trump threatening tariffs and U.S. officials blasting EU censorship, echoing earlier comments from Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg.
"The EU is deeply committed to protecting and promoting free speech online and offline," Virkkunen said in a letter to United States House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan dated Feb. 18 and seen by POLITICO. "Many Europeans have living memories of censorship and persecution during the Cold War under communist regimes."
Virkkunen said the Digital Services Act (DSA) is "content-agnostic" and that Brussels and national regulators "have no power to moderate content or to impose any specific approach to moderation." Rules defining unlawful speech or illegal content, such as child abuse material, are outlined in separate EU or national legislation.
She argued, on the contrary, that the law "guarantees" free speech since platforms must be transparent about how they handle content.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
Starmer presses Trump to reverse Ukraine intelligence cut-off
The U.K. prime minister hopes for a “positive outcome” of U.S.-Ukraine talks — and is readying a Saturday meeting of allies willing to police a cease-fire deal.
LONDON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer raised Washington’s suspension of intelligence-sharing and military aid with Kyiv in a call with U.S. President Donald Trump Monday.
According to a readout of the call provided by Starmer’s office, the British leader said he hoped U.S.-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia this week — aimed at ending the war between Ukraine and Russia — would lead the U.S. to reverse course.
It came as No. 10 Downing Street announced Starmer would host a fresh meeting of countries considering shoring up a peace agreement under a “coalition of the willing” Saturday.
A Downing Street spokesperson said of the Trump-Starmer call: “The prime minister said he hoped there would be a positive outcome to the talks that would enable U.S. aid and intelligence sharing to be restarted.”
Continue reading at Politico Europe
NASA eliminates chief scientist role, other offices
NASA has cut its office of the chief scientist and its Office of Science, Policy, and Strategy, among other entities, the agency said in an internal email that Axios has viewed.
Why it matters: Eliminating these offices comes ahead of potentially deep cuts to the agency's science programs.
Katherine Calvin, a climate scientist, had the role of chief scientist. Questions have arisen about the fate of NASA science programs, particularly its Earth science work studying human-caused climate change.
Calvin has also held the dual title of NASA's senior climate adviser.
Zoom in: In the email, Acting NASA Administrator Janet Petro said the cuts were part of a "phased" reduction in force, or RIF.
The reduction came in response to instructions from President Trump's executive orders and in conjunction with the Office of Personnel Management and Office of Management and Budget.
Continue reading at Axios
Comedian who mocked Puerto Rico at Trump rally gets Netflix deal
Tony Hinchcliffe’s YouTube channel boasts over 2 million subscribers.
Tony Hinchcliffe, the comedian whose -appearance at a New York rally for then-candidate Donald Trump drew bipartisan backlash after he made disparaging comments about Puerto Rico, has inked a deal with Netflix, the company announced Monday.
Continue reading at Politico
Judge says Trump Jan. 6 pardon doesn’t apply to man who conspired to kill investigators
The ruling is the first to confront the Trump administration’s vacillating views about how far Trump intended to go with his blanket pardon.
President Donald Trump’s blanket pardon for the rioters who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, does not cover a conspiracy by one defendant to kill the law enforcement officials who investigated him, a federal judge ruled Monday.
Edward Kelley, who was convicted of the conspiracy last year by a federal jury in Tennessee, had argued that Trump’s sweeping clemency for rioters should also cover his conviction since the agents and officers he targeted were connected to the Jan. 6 investigation.
Continue reading at Politico
Senate Dems demand Kennedy disclose details of Mar-a-Lago meetings with drug execs
Three Democratic senators want answers from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about his private meetings with drugmakers alongside President Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club.
In a letter to Kennedy sent Monday, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said he “owes the public an explanation” for what happened during the meetings, why he took part, “and whether they will affect your commitment to ensuring that Americans receive the relief they deserve from high drug prices.”
Kennedy is a longtime critic of drug companies and their perceived influence in setting government policy. He has promised to root out conflicts of interest at agencies, and last week launched a website for the public to see conflicts of interest from members of a Food and Drug Administration vaccine advisory committee.
Continue reading at The Hill
Mark Kelly fires back at Musk over ‘traitor’ accusation
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) clapped back at tech billionaire Elon Musk after he called Kelly a “traitor” for visiting Ukraine and demanding that the United States stand with Ukrainians in their ongoing war with Russia.
“Elon, if you don’t understand that defending freedom is a basic tenet of what makes America great and keeps us safe, maybe you should leave it to those of us who do,” he wrote on the social platform X on Monday in response to Musk’s accusation.
“You are a traitor,” Musk had written under a previous X post from Kelly in which the lawmaker had reflected on his trip to Ukraine over the weekend.
“What I saw proved to me we can’t give up on the Ukrainian people,” Kelly wrote in the post.
Continue reading at The Hill
Transportation secretary rescinds Biden memos prioritizing infrastructure resilience to climate change
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy rescinded memos from the Biden administration prioritizing infrastructure resilience to climate change, according to a Monday press release.
According to the press release from the department, the announcement about the rescinding came from Duffy on Monday. The department said the memos “displaced the long-standing authorities granted to States by law, added meritless and costly burdens related to greenhouse gas emissions and equity initiatives.”
The Trump Transportation Department also put forth a memo of its own dated last Friday in which it called the memos “controversial” and asked for their rescinding.
Webpages for the memos on the Federal Highway Administration’s (FWHA) website are both currently displaying “Page Not Found.”
Continue reading at The Hill
GOP lawmaker on Ontario electricity surcharge: ‘It’s only going to help Trump’
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) said Monday that Ontario’s 25-percent surcharge on electricity exports to his state — announced in response to President Trump’s tariffs on Canada — will only help the U.S. president win support from his base.
The Minnesota Republican told NewsNation’s Joe Khalil on Monday that the additional charges are a “mistake,” noting Trump ran on tariffs and is following through on a campaign promise.
“The more they try to make it painful on Americans, the more it’s going to strengthen Donald Trump,” Emmer said about the Canadians. “He told everyone when he campaigned that this is what he was going to do, and he was going to work for Americans.”
“What the Canadians are doing is a mistake in my mind,” he continued. “It’s only going to help Donald Trump in his argument that they don’t care about you, I’m the only one who does.”
Continue reading at The Hill
CFPB official details DOGE ‘chaos’ in overtaking agency
Adam Martinez, chief operating officer of the CFPB, took the stand Monday in a lawsuit challenging his agency’s apparent dismantling as a Justice Department witness, testifying to the changes at the agency amid competing accounts from staff and leadership.
The account, which painted a less dire picture of the current state of affairs within the agency, marks the most detailed explanation of DOGE’s efforts to cut back costs within the agency yet after several declarations cast into question the scope of changes.
“DOGE came in with a very hard fist, so to speak,” Martinez said, adding, “When the [Office of Management and Budget] director’s team came in, I felt the adults were around the table at that point.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Education Department says 60 universities under investigation for antisemitism
The Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) is investigating 60 universities for antisemitism, according to letters sent on Monday.
The department said the 60 institutions are receiving warnings due to allegedly not complying with Title IX obligations to protect Jewish students.
“The Department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite U.S. campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year. University leaders must do better,” said Education Secretary Linda McMahon.
Continue reading at The Hill
House Republicans stew over Senate budget delays
It could be weeks before senators take the next step on the GOP agenda due to thorny tax debates.
House GOP leaders in a private meeting Monday expressed alarm at the Senate’s delay in advancing the House budget plan approved last month. They urged senior Republicans in the room to step up their public pressure on the Senate to act, according to three people granted anonymity to describe the private conversation.
During the meeting with committee chairs, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise relayed that the Senate might not act on a budget resolution for another month, despite the House passing its plan nearly two weeks ago. He shared his desire for senior Republicans in the room to publicly voice their criticism of the timeline, according to the three people.
Senate Republicans aren't expected to bring the House budget resolution to the floor for several weeks as they try to iron out what it will take to get 51 votes on the tax provisions. Some are flirting with reviving their two-bill approach, delaying a tax cut package, if the House can't show progress of its own on resolving those thorny tax issues.
Senate GOP leadership staff recently told rank-and-file Republican staffers that the chamber needs to have a smaller, border-focused bill ready, should President Donald Trump decide to pivot to that strategy.
Continue reading at Politico
DC officials protest House stopgap, claiming billion-dollar impact on city
The GOP-written funding patch does not include language featured in prior bills.
Top D.C. officials protested a House Republican-written funding patch outside the Capitol on Monday, saying the omission of routine language included in prior continuing resolutions could mean a de facto $1 billion budget cut for the city government.
Mayor Muriel Bowser — flanked by Democratic Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, members of the D.C. Council and other local officials — said the measure would force cuts to police, public schools, sanitation and other key city services if passed later this week.
Prior congressional stopgaps have included language allowing the city to continue raising and spending local funds under its most recent budget — in this case, for fiscal 2025 — while the federal government operates under the prior year’s levels. With the provision omitted this time, the city would be forced to revert to fiscal 2024 spending levels, requiring drastic cutbacks given the year-to-year rise in labor and other expenses. The city raises the majority of its revenue from local taxes and fees, not federal government subsidies.
“These are not savings for the federal government,” Bowser said. “This is simply damage to the District.” She added that it was a “$1.1 billion mistake.”
Continue reading at Politico
House Democrats set to hear from governors, pollsters and more at issues conference
The House Democrats' annual retreat is threatened by a looming government shutdown deadline.
House Democrats are set to hear from pollsters, governors and a former ambassador to the United Nations at their issues conference later this week, according to a schedule obtained by POLITICO.
Party faithful are set to head to the Lansdowne Resort in Leesburg, Virginia, from Wednesday evening through Friday morning this week for their annual party retreat.
Some of the schedule highlights from the largely closed-door affair:
A Thursday evening keynote conversation with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Democratic Govs. Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan.
Former U.N. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield as part of a discussion on global threats.
Lawmakers will hear from pollsters Sarah Longwell and John Anzalone, and data experts like Karthick Ramakrishnan, for a session on the "Evolving Democratic Coalition."
Continue reading at Politico
Trump admin formally revokes a raft of Biden officials’ security clearances
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has officially pulled the clearances in keeping with orders from President Donald Trump.
U.S. spy chief Tulsi Gabbard announced Monday she formally revoked clearances for a number of top Biden administration officials, following through on directives issued by President Donald Trump upon taking office.
Gabbard, who serves as director of national intelligence and oversees the gamut of U.S. intelligence agencies, wrote in an X post that she revoked the clearances of former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, former national security adviser Jake Sullivan and former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. Monaco oversaw the prosecution of Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Trump had announced that those, and others, would be losing their security clearances in executive orders and posts on social media since he returned to the White House in January.
Those include New York Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who led probes into Trump’s alleged criminal and business wrongdoing (and in Bragg’s case indicted Trump on felony charges). Other legal foes, including pundit and former Ambassador to the Czech Republic Norm Eisen and former FBI general counsel and liberal commentator Andrew Weissmann, also saw their clearances revoked in line with previous Trump pledges.
Continue reading at Politico
Trump vowed to pursue undocumented immigrants. Now legal immigrants are targets, too.
Removing the anti-Israel negotiator at Columbia fulfills a crackdown vow.
The arrest of a Palestinian graduate student who represented anti-Israel protests at Columbia University marks a significant shift for the U.S. government, even from an administration that has prioritized cracking down on both immigration and campus anti-war protests.
Mahmoud Khalil, who enraged conservatives with his central role in campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war, both entered the U.S. legally as a student and had legal permanent status as a green card holder — making his arrest over the weekend by immigration agents a radical departure in enforcement that is already facing legal challenges and causing widespread outrage.
President Donald Trump vowed during the campaign to deport foreign students who participated in the protests over the war in Gaza. But his immigration rhetoric over the last year focused more on removing undocumented immigrants from the country — particularly those who have committed crimes — than those immigrants living here with legal status. The administration’s announcement that it will revoke the protesters’ visas and green cards and deport them marked a rhetorical turn and a major escalation.
Continue reading at Politico
House GOP conservatives make plea to 'hesistant' moderates on Medicaid changes
House Freedom Caucus Republicans want colleagues not to fear making the most aggressive cuts to finance their party-line bill.
Three prominent members of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus are appealing to fellow Republicans not to get in the way of making massive cuts to Medicaid — likely necessary for financing the party-line bill to enact broad swaths of President Donald Trump's domestic agenda.
In an op-ed for Fox News on Monday, Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris and members Chip Roy and Eric Burlison argued they aren't calling for massive cuts to the safety-net health insurance program, but rather reforms that would "reverse its explosive expansion" that has left Medicaid "unsustainable."
And while they acknowledged some colleagues may be “hesitant" about making changes to Medicaid, they insisted many of those changes could be phased in to avoid cuts to benefits and help Republicans achieve necessary savings targets.
“For lawmakers who claim to be on board with cutting the waste, fraud and abuse — and delivering on Trump’s historic mandate — this is it,” the members wrote. “Nothing you do in the next two years will come close to the importance of implementing the $880 billion required in savings to programs under the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s jurisdiction.”
Continue reading at Politico
Tesla plunges, X suffers outages, on Elon Musk's bad day
Tesla shares cratered Monday on mounting fears of a sales slowdown, pushing the stock firmly below the starting level of its "Trump bump."
The big picture: It was a bad day for Elon Musk, whose messaging platform X was also disrupted by a "massive" cyberattack.
While Tesla is facing plenty of challenges of its own, Musk's divisive role as President Trump's head of DOGE seems to increasingly be taking a toll on his business interests.
By the numbers: Tesla shares fell more than 15% Monday. They're now down more than 53% since their high on December 23, a loss of $700 billion in market value.
The company is now more than 11% below where it closed the day Trump was elected.
Context: While stocks overall have taken a beating in recent weeks amid tariff threats, renewed inflation fears and concerns of slowing growth, Tesla's fall has been especially steep. It's suffered the biggest decline of any stock in the S&P 500 year-to-date, per FactSet.
Continue reading at Axios
Stocks suffer worst day of 2025 as recession fears rise
U.S. stock markets cratered on Monday, with investors fearful that the economy could be headed into a recession.
Why it matters: This could put new pressures on consumer confidence and the Trump administration, all just days ahead of a possible government shutdown.
By the numbers: The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 4%, or 728 points, keeping it firmly in correction territory. It was the index's third-worst point loss ever, with the only two worse coming in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 890 points, or 2.1%.
The S&P 500 was down 2.7%, and the Russell 2000 was off nearly 5%.
The intrigue: Trump-related stocks took their lumps, with big losses for both Tesla (-15.4%) and Trump Media & Technology Group (-11.5%).
Continue reading at Axios
Centrist House Dems say Mike Johnson is ghosting them
Why it matters: This isn't a new problem, some Democratic moderates say. "There's been no outreach all year," Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) told Axios.
Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.) said it is "very telling" that GOP leadership is trying to get members of the right-wing Freedom Caucus to back the spending measure rather than Democrats.
"I think that puts some of the moderates — my moderate friends — in a really tough position," she told Axios.
Driving the news: The House is poised to vote Tuesday on what is known as a continuing resolution — a stopgap spending measure to keep the government funded at 2024 levels until September.
The measure lacks language Democrats had pushed for that would stop the Trump administration from unilaterally cutting congressionally appropriated funding, leading Democratic leadership to whip against it.
A senior House Democrat told Axios that leadership is "working hard" to ensure no Democrats vote for the measure, "just like" last month's budget vote.
What they're saying: Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) declined to say how he will vote, but said of funding the government, "I think if [Republicans] have the votes to do so without talking to Democrats, then it's their responsibility."
Continue reading at Axios
See my opinion piece:
Musk plans to double DOGE staff amid federal government cuts
Elon Musk said Monday DOGE's staff are "pretty much" in every government department and he's looking to roughly double the number on the cost-cutting team he's the face of.
Why it matters: The Trump administration's DOGE-driven mass firings of federal workers have faced multiple legal challenges and resistance from some Republican lawmakers who are facing the impacts the department's cuts will have on their constituents and states.
Driving the news: Musk said on Fox Business Network's "Kudlow" Monday DOGE is "trying to act broadly across all departments, so it's not just one department at a time" and the department is "pretty much" in all of them now.
Musk told host Larry Kudlow the DOGE team currently comprises "a little over 100" staff and "we're going to get to 200."
Kudlow asked the world's richest person and senior adviser to the president where he's recruiting from.
Continue reading at Axios.
Note from Rima: the interview video is immediately below
Full interview: Elon Musk with Larry Kudlow
Trump proposes cutting ACA enrollment period, ending ‘Dreamer’ coverage
The Trump administration is proposing to shorten ObamaCare’s annual open enrollment period by a month, a move the administration said is aimed at helping consumers pick the right plan.
According to a proposed rule released Monday, open enrollment would run from Nov. 1 through Dec. 15, instead of through Jan. 15.
“This proposal aims to reduce consumer confusion, streamline the enrollment process, align more closely with open enrollment dates for many employer-based health plans, encourage continuous coverage, and reduce the risk of adverse selection from consumers who otherwise may wait to enroll until they need health care services,” the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said in a fact sheet.
The sweeping rule gives a glimpse of how the Trump administration will handle the signature health law.
Continue reading at The Hill
Amazon to begin streaming Trump reality show ‘The Apprentice’
Amazon announced on Monday that it will begin streaming President Trump’s reality TV show “The Apprentice.”
In a release, Prime Video said seasons one through seven of Trump’s Emmy Award-nominated series “The Apprentice” will be available to stream.
The show’s seasons will roll out weekly, with season one available to view on Monday, March 10.
“The series quickly became the number one show on television after its January 2004 premiere, with an average of 20 million viewers tuning in each week and 28 million watching the Season One finale,” the company said in its release.
Producer Mark Burnett, who also produced “The Voice,” “Survivor,” and “Shark Tank,” highlighted Trump’s reality TV shows as one of the best he’s ever produced.
Continue reading at The Hill
Wait, so are we really headed for a recession?
CNN —
President Donald Trump says his administration is making “very big” moves and has acknowledged there’s likely a “period of transition” or “disturbance” that could result.
When asked during an interview that aired this weekend on Fox News about the likelihood of a recession being one of those outcomes, Trump told Maria Bartiromo: “I hate to predict things like that.”
Fears of a severe economic downturn have escalated in recent weeks, and stocks plunged Monday on Trump’s comments, continuing a steep selloff driven by concerns about the impact of tariffs on US economic growth.
But are recession fears justified? Here’s what history and the current economic picture can tell us about the potential for a recession:
What is a recession?
The traditional (and official) definition of a US recession is “a significant decline in economic activity that is spread across the economy and that lasts more than a few months.”
That’s according to the National Bureau of Economic Research, a private nonprofit organization has a very important role, when it comes to these downturns: Its Business Cycle Dating Committee is the official designator of peaks, troughs, expansions, contractions — and yes, recessions — in the business cycle.
Continue reading at CNN
Climate change could be threatening satellites as they orbit in space: Study
The ongoing surge of greenhouse gas emissions in the near-Earth environment could cause dramatic declines in the number of satellites orbiting the planet by the end of the century, a new study has found.
By the year 2100, the “satellite carrying capacity” of the most popular low-orbit regions could decline by 50 to 66 percent due to the impacts of these emissions, according to the study, published on Monday in Nature Sustainability.
“Our behavior with greenhouse gases here on Earth over the past 100 years is having an effect on how we operate satellites over the next 100 years,” senior author Richard Linares, an associate professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), said in a statement.
Linares and his colleagues determined that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases can cause the upper atmosphere to shrink.
Continue reading at The Hill
McConnell criticizes and votes no on Trump Labor pick
“The American people demand and deserve change after four years of economic heartache under the ‘most pro-union administration in American history.’ Unfortunately, Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s record pushing policies that force hardworking Americans into union membership suggests more of the same,” McConnell said in a statement.
He argued that most Americans believe that joining a union should be a personal choice, not a mandate, and he noted that Kentucky has adopted a “right-to-work” law.
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump considers easing safety screenings for chemicals
The administration announced Monday that it was weighing a rewrite of the rules that govern safety screenings for these substances, which decide whether they should be restricted.
If implemented, such changes are ultimately expected to prevent further regulations on chemicals.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin described the potential changes as allowing the agency to balance safety with speed.
“Today’s announcement will allow EPA to develop a path forward to ensure a timely review of chemicals while bolstering our commitment to safeguard public health and the environment,” Zeldin said in a statement.
However, opponents of the potential moves said they could allow for fewer restrictions on toxic chemicals.
Continue reading at The Hill
Ontario premier says he needs ‘to sit down as quickly as possible’ with Trump on tariffs
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Monday that he needs “to sit down as quickly as possible” with President Trump regarding tariffs.
‘We’re seeing inflation happening already, and it’s unnecessary. We don’t need to do this. We can have the two most prosperous countries in the world. We need to sit down as quickly as possible,” Ford told NewsNation’s Nichole Berlie.
The stock market dealt with intense losses Monday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed with a loss of 890 points, dropping by 2.1 percent. The Nasdaq composite also closed with a loss of 4 percent.
Continue reading at The Hill
Computer owners duped in antivirus scam to get over $25M: What to know about payments
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced Monday that the payments are part of a an order against with Restoro Cyprus Limited and Reimage Cyprus Limited, both based in Cyprus.
The payments follow a settlement that both companies agreed to last year.
Continue reading at The Hill
Ann Coulter questions arrest of Columbia protester on free speech grounds
Conservative media pundit Ann Coulter on Monday questioned the arrest of a pro-Palestinian advocate on free speech grounds.
“There’s almost no one I don’t want to deport, but unless they’ve committed a crime, isn’t this a violation of the First Amendment?” Coulter said on the social platform X in response to a report from The New York Post.
The Post reported that the names of visa-reliant international students who had participated in pro-Palestinian protests were being gathered by a pro-Israel organization, Betar, which wants to make them return home under President Trump.
Continue reading at The Hill
Rubio suggests Ukraine won’t return to pre-2014 borders
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Monday that Ukraine was unlikely to win back all of the territory captured by Russia since 2014, as U.S. and Ukrainian officials are set to meet for talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
Rubio said that Russia and Ukraine would both have to do “difficult things” to end the conflict.
“The most important thing that we have to leave here with is a strong sense that Ukraine is prepared to do difficult things, like the Russians are going to have to do difficult things to end this conflict, or at least pause it in some way, shape or form,” he told reporters, according to the New York Times.
Continue reading at The Hill
GOP Doctors Caucus chair: Johnson, Scalise ‘agree’ to address doctor pay in party-line bill
House Republicans had originally promised the issue would be dealt with in a government funding bill.
Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise have pledged to address pay cuts for doctors treating Medicare patients in Republicans’ party-line package to enact broad swaths of President Donald Trump’s agenda, a key lawmaker said Monday
It comes after leaders decided not to include it in a government funding bill as initially planned.
In a social media post, Rep. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.), who co-chairs the GOP Doctors Caucus, said that GOP leadership would include a fix to the payment cuts, mandated by a formula that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle say doesn’t reflect rising costs, in that bill to be passed through the budget reconciliation process.
Spokespeople for Johnson and Scalise didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Continue reading at Politico
From 'hell no' to hmm
On Sunday, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) posted on X that the House Republican spending patch was a "Hell no" in his eyes. But on Monday, he would not rule out voting for it if it were the only way to avoid a government shutdown at midnight Friday.
"I hope the House realizes this is not a good product," Kaine said in a brief interview Monday. But if it's the only option on the table come later this week? "Ask me after they vote," he said.
Virginia is home to about 145,000 federal jobs, according to the Congressional Research Service, and Kaine has argued strenuously against prior shutdown threats.
Continue reading at Politico
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