| | | |  | | By Lisa Kashinsky and Mia McCarthy | | Presented by |  | | | IN TODAY'S EDITION:
- Musk’s influence collides with funding talks
- Thune prepares to vibe check senators on House budget
- Labor secretary nom poised to clear committee
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Democrats, led by Sen. Patty Murray (above) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, are in a difficult spot with government funding negotiations. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | The shutdown blame game is in full swing on Capitol Hill — a tried-and-true negative sign for stalled government funding talks. State of play: GOP leaders won’t put language in their funding bills to stop President Donald Trump and Elon Musk from clawing back money Congress previously approved — something Democrats have been demanding in exchange for backing a spending deal. That leaves Democrats with a choice: give in or force a shutdown after March 14. Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democratic appropriator in her chamber, said protecting Congress’ power of the purse is “the absolute bare minimum, and it’s frankly not asking a whole lot.” Still, critically, she insisted Democrats don’t want a shutdown. Her party colleagues aren't saying they want that outcome, either. Instead, they’re arguing that responsibility for funding the government rests squarely with the Republican trifecta. Republicans will need at least seven Democratic senators to join them to get any spending plan to Trump’s desk. And the GOP is all but guaranteed to require Democratic help in the House, too. Signs point to party leaders needing at least a short-term stopgap bill to avoid a funding lapse, and Speaker Mike Johnson suggested Wednesday on CNN that a funding patch through the end of the fiscal year could be in play. But House conservatives tend not to support stopgaps as a matter of principle. The GOP is more than ready to blame Democrats if they don’t help, meaning the minority party may have to decide whether it’s worth risking the blame for a shutdown if it means standing up to Musk and Trump. Perception is key here, particularly if there’s a prolonged shutdown. If voters blame Republicans for grinding the government to a halt, Democrats grow their limited leverage. But if the GOP succeeds in turning public opinion against Democrats, the minority party will likely have to move quickly to end the shutdown, with little or nothing to show for it. GOOD THURSDAY MORNING. If you left us another mini Jesus statue at our Capitol workspace, please email us: lkashinsky@politico.com and mmccarthy@politico.com. And follow our live coverage at the Inside Congress blog at politico.com/congress.
| | | | A message from ReMA: From critical infrastructure to everyday essential items, America's recycled materials industry is using the latest innovations to deliver for our supply chain, the economy and the nation. Learn more about how America is made with recycled materials. | | | THE SKED The House is in session and voting on repealing a Biden-era energy regulation under the Congressional Review Act at 10:20 a.m. — Judiciary will have a hearing on human trafficking and exploitation online at 9 a.m. — Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries will have a press conference at 11:30 a.m. The Senate is in session and voting on repealing a Biden-era energy regulation under the CRA at noon and to advance Linda McMahon’s nomination as Education secretary at 1:45 p.m. — Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will vote on Troy Edgar’s nomination to be deputy secretary of Homeland Security and Dan Bishop’s nomination to be deputy director of OMB at 9 a.m. — Judiciary will mark up the Senate version of the HALT Fentanyl Act and vote on Todd Blanche’s nomination to be deputy attorney general and Abigail Slater’s nomination as an assistant attorney general at 9 a.m. — HELP will vote on Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s Labor secretary nomination at 9:30 a.m., followed by a hearing to consider Keith Sonderling’s nomination as deputy Labor secretary at 10 a.m. — Armed Services will have a hearing to consider John Phelan’s nomination as Navy secretary at 9:30 a.m. — Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs will have a hearing on the nominations of Stephen Miran to chair the Council of Economic Advisers, Jeffrey Kessler to be an undersecretary of Commerce, William Pulte to be director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and Jonathan McKernan to be director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at 10 a.m. — Commerce will vote on Steven Bradbury’s nomination to be deputy secretary of Transportation at 10 a.m. — Armed Services will have a closed briefing on global nuclear and missile threats at 11:45 a.m. The rest of the week: Neither chamber is in session on Friday.
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Sen. Markwayne Mullin is serving as a critical liaison between House and Senate Republicans. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | What's next on budget for Johnson and John Thune The two GOP congressional leaders met with Trump at the White House Wednesday afternoon to discuss next steps for the reconciliation process, after the House adopted its budget resolution on Tuesday night. Following the meeting, Thune said leadership would hold meetings next week to vibe check the House budget and hear what changes Senate Republicans want to make, our Jordain Carney reports. But preventing the government shutdown is going to be a primary focus over the next two weeks, he added, given the deadline on March 14. Johnson, meanwhile, said in an interview with CNN Wednesday night that he doesn’t expect the Senate to make many changes to the budget resolution. He also ruled out the steepest Medicaid cut options, reiterating that Medicaid will not be touched in the $880 billion in cuts that have to come from the Energy and Commerce Committee — except for waste, fraud and abuse. The speaker is looking at other ways to pay for Trump’s agenda. Johnson said after the meeting with the president that a certain budget accounting method, which would make tax cut extensions appear to cost nothing, “makes good logical sense,” our Benjamin Guggenheim reports. That would make the speaker’s efforts to pass tax cuts much easier, but good luck convincing fiscal hard-liners, who have said they don’t agree with that argument. Republicans' Musk management The speaker met with Musk on Tuesday night, our Meredith Lee Hill reports, after members of his conference faced backlash in their districts over cuts made by Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (Johnson on CNN dismissed the critics as “paid protesters”). Over in the Senate, Thune has suggested the Cabinet secretaries he has helped confirm should have power over their personnel as Musk attempts mass firings, echoing the sentiment of some of his rank-and-file members. GOP senators questioned White House chief of staff Susie Wiles about DOGE in a closed-door lunch Wednesday. And Sen. Rick Scott is attempting to bring Musk in for a GOP lunch to “give people an opportunity to ask questions” about DOGE, though that has yet to be scheduled. All are signs Republicans are recognizing the growing pushback to the unelected billionaire — and are scrambling to manage it. Thune’s House whisperer Sen. Markwayne Mullin is playing a critical role as a liaison between Senate and House Republicans as the two chambers struggle to get on the same page, Jordain reports. Mullin, who spent a decade in the House, “plays a very constructive role,” Thune told Jordain, including by arranging a meeting between Thune and House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith, a longtime friend and D.C. housemate of Mullin’s. Thune added that the Oklahoman also serves as a “Senate whisperer” to Trump.
| | | | Donald Trump's unprecedented effort to reshape the federal government is consuming Washington. To track this seismic shift, we're relaunching one of our signature newsletters. Sign up to get West Wing Playbook: Remaking Government in your inbox. | | | | | POLICY RUNDOWN ON THE FAST TRACK — Trump’s Labor secretary pick is poised to move one step closer to confirmation when the Senate HELP Committee votes at 9:30 a.m. on whether to advance Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination. She’s already received a critical boost from Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan that could cancel out likely opposition from Sen. Rand Paul over the former representative’s past support for the PRO Act. But it’s unclear if any other Democrats will support her. Majority Whip John Barrasso told reporters the Senate would likely confirm Chavez-DeRemer next week. MTG ON FOREIGN AID — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said her Delivering on Government Efficiency Subcommittee will consider "criminal referrals" for people she believes are misusing American foreign aid, our colleague Hailey Fuchs reports. The hearing focused on foreign assistance sent during the Biden administration, and while Greene said she was not ready to name specific people for those criminal referrals, she mentioned Hunter Biden during the proceedings. JUDICIARY TAKES ON FENTANYL — Senate Judiciary is marking up legislation this morning that would make permanent tougher sentences for fentanyl traffickers. The House passed its version of the bill earlier this month with significant Democratic support, and it has a good chance of passing the GOP-led Senate. SOLICITOR GENERAL HEARING — Trump’s nominee for solicitor general, D. John Sauer, said that presidents can rightfully defy court orders in “extreme cases,” our Erica Orden reports. “Generally, if there’s a direct court order that binds a federal or state official, they should follow it,” Sauer said in front of Senate Judiciary, responding to a question from ranking member Dick Durbin during his nomination hearing. Best of POLITICO Pro and E&E:
THE BEST OF THE REST Chaotic Night Spotlights House Push for Proxy Voting Carveout from Maeve Sheehey at Bloomberg Government US senators call for new funding for air traffic control training, from David Shepardson at Reuters ‘Overwhelmed and underwater’: Congressional staffers feel the brunt of Trump 2.0, by Justin Papp at Roll Call
| | | | A message from ReMA: America's highways and bridges. The cars, phones and laptops we depend on every day. They're all made with Recycled Materials. From transportation to critical infrastructure to essential items, America's recycled materials industry is working hard to power the supply chain, strengthen the economy and get you where you need to go. Learn more about how America is made with recycled materials. | | | CAPITOL HILL INFLUENCE Former Rep. Patrick McHenry is joining Andreessen Horowitz as a senior adviser. Reed Craddock is now director at Ervin Graves Strategy Group in the critical infrastructure, technology and analytics practice group. He previously was deputy chief of staff for Rep. Trent Kelly. JOB BOARD Hillary Lassiter joins the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence under Chair Rick Crawford. She previously was deputy staff director at the Committee on House Administration and deputy chief of staff to former Rep. Greg Pence. Joe Tutino will be comms director for Sen. Ed Markey. He previously was comms director for Rep. Rick Larsen. Bradley Craigmyle will serve as deputy general counsel at the FCC. He was previously the associate general counsel for the House’s Office of General Counsel. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) … Reps. Nick Langworthy (R-N.Y.) and Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) … Greg Speed of America Votes … Robbie Aiken … David Merritt of Blue Cross Blue Shield Association … Dan Hull … Trevor Kolego … former Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and Luke Messer (R-Ind.) … Adrienne Morrell … Aria Austin of Sen. John Fetterman’s (D-Pa.) office … Julie Merz … Ava Bogart of Sen. Dan Sullivan’s (R-Alaska) office TRIVIA WEDNESDAY’S ANSWER: John Lin correctly answered that Anthony Delgado, Kathy Hochul and Tim Griffin were House members that went on to serve as lieutenant governors. TODAY’S QUESTION, from Kate: Which senator has taken over the Senate’s famed candy desk in this Congress? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Inside Congress. Send your answers to insidecongress@politico.com. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | |
