WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: Before we get to the news, please fill out this survey and let us know what you think of the new Inside Congress. We’ll take your feedback and work to make this an even better read. Thank you. IN TODAY'S EDITION:
- Johnson’s budget and spending challenges
- House Rules meets on repealing energy rules
- Senate considers transgender bill
Speaker Mike Johnson has a new challenge as he works on the specifics of President Donald Trump’s agenda: navigating the competing assurances he made to various GOP factions. Our Meredith Lee Hill has a deep dive into the tough and sometimes contradictory promises Johnson has made to hold together GOP support for Trump’s priorities. Johnson has to placate tax writers who want a costly and permanent extension of Trump’s 2017 tax cuts; hard-liners who want steeper spending reductions if the tax provisions expand; and swing-district Republicans who don’t want to see cuts to safety-net programs. That’s to say nothing of Trump and his billionaire ally, Elon Musk, or Republicans in the Senate. The House’s fiscal hawks are already pushing Johnson to oppose the Senate GOP’s attempts to pull back some of the spending cuts House Republicans approved. “The House has spoken,” Rep. Chip Roy said. “And I think we need to defend that position.” But other House Republicans are counting on the Senate to soften the potential blowback of cuts to Medicaid and other safety-net programs. Remember, the House and Senate have to pass the same plan in order for Congress to pass a reconciliation bill to enact Trump’s domestic agenda. That’s not Johnson’s only major challenge right now. He also has to stop the government from shutting down in less than two weeks. The speaker said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday that he wants to keep the Department of Government Efficiency’s cuts out of the spending patch that GOP leaders are now pushing to keep the government funded through September. He’ll instead look to incorporate them in funding legislation for the next fiscal year. Johnson temporarily backing away from codifying DOGE cuts should ratchet down the chances of a shutdown after March 14, though Democrats were still noncommittal on Sunday. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the party is “committed to funding the government” — including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. A clean stopgap, also known as a continuing resolution or CR, would likely continue current funding levels for all three of those programs. Republicans will almost certainly need Democrats on this, even in the House. GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales, who voted against December’s stopgap bill, said Sunday he’ll again be a “NO on the CR.” More hard-liners are likely to join him. GOOD MONDAY MORNING. There are 13 days left until a potential government shutdown. Follow our live coverage at the Inside Congress blog at politico.com/congress and email your Inside Congress scribes at lkashinsky@politico.com and mmccarthy@politico.com. THE SKED The House is in session and voting at 6:30 p.m. on a resolution expressing condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of the victims of the recent plane crash over the Potomac, among other measures. — Rules will have a hearing at 4 p.m. on Congressional Review Act resolutions to overturn three Biden-era regulations: one requiring energy conservation for appliances, another mandating emissions standards for tire manufacturing and a third putting conditions on certain offshore drilling. — House Republican and Democratic leadership will hold separate private meetings shortly before evening votes. The Senate is in session and voting at 5:30 p.m. to confirm Linda McMahon as Education secretary and to advance a bill that would bar transgender athletes from women’s sports. — Senate Republican and Democratic leadership will hold separate private meetings shortly before evening votes. The rest of the week: The House will look to vote on reversing the three Biden-era regulations. The Senate will continue to move through confirming Trump’s nominations.
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