| | | |  | | By Lisa Kashinsky and Mia McCarthy | | Presented by |  | | | 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. FIRST IN INSIDE CONGRESS — House Democrats’ campaign arm is out with its list of top incumbents to defend in 2026 — and it has some new additions that reflect shifts toward Donald Trump in some majority-Latino congressional districts, Nicholas Wu scoops. Among the newest Frontliners: Texas Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez, Nevada Rep. Dina Titus and New Jersey Rep. Nellie Pou. IN TODAY'S EDITION:
- Topline funding deal ‘imminent’ — and irrelevant?
- Trump’s stopgap pressure campaign
- Dems’ messaging struggle continues
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House fiscal hawks met with President Donald Trump at the White House Wednesday to talk government funding. | Evan Vucci/AP | The government-funding frenzy is in full swing on Capitol Hill with nine days to go before a potential shutdown, and the state of play is simple enough: It’s appropriators vs. GOP leaders. With the March 14 deadline bearing down, the heads of the two Appropriations panels are finalizing a bipartisan deal on government funding totals for fiscal 2025 — Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democratic appropriator in the House, said it’s “imminent.” But Speaker Mike Johnson and other GOP leaders aren’t much interested in what appropriators are cooking up. Leadership has its own plan — a continuing resolution, or CR, through September — and Johnson’s plowing ahead with putting it on the floor next week. One catch: There are a whole lot of House Republicans who have never voted for a CR before, and getting them to play along this time is crucial. Because of the anger over Trump’s slashing of the federal bureaucracy, Democrats who usually put those stopgaps over the finish line probably won’t be on board this time. So it fell to Trump himself to make the sale to the House’s fiscal hawks at the White House on Wednesday, and he seemed to make some progress. Rep. Eric Burlison told Nicholas he’s now open to supporting a CR. And two key Freedom Caucus members — Rep. Chip Roy and Chair Andy Harris — told reporters other holdouts will eventually get on board. Trump piled on the pressure with an evening social media post, saying “Conservatives will love this Bill” and urging Republicans to get it done. But there’s still work to do with some of the usual suspects: Rep. Thomas Massie already said he won’t vote for it, while Rep. Tim Burchett said he’s “open” to supporting it. Rep. Victoria Spartz didn’t commit to backing one, but told Lisa that “realistically we don’t have time to do appropriations,” so a spending patch through September “makes sense.” Rep. Tony Gonzales also said earlier in the week he was opposed to a patch. But we’ll just note the Texas Republican spent Wednesday on the southern border with Vice President JD Vance — who has been very persuasive in moving Trump’s priorities through Congress. GOOD THURSDAY MORNING. Our thoughts are with the family of Rep. Sylvester Turner, who passed away Wednesday at age 70. 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.
| | | | A message from BETTER MEDICARE ALLIANCE: More than 34 million Americans choose Medicare Advantage for better care at a lower cost than Fee-For-Service Medicare. But two straight years of Medicare Advantage cuts have left seniors feeling squeezed, with millions experiencing plan closures, higher costs, and reduced benefits. Seniors are already struggling with high prices for everyday necessities; they can't afford to pay more for health coverage and get less. Protect seniors' affordable health care. Protect Medicare Advantage. Learn more at SupportMedicareAdvantage.com | | | THE SKED The House is in session and will vote on overturning a Biden-era energy regulation and a censure of Rep. Al Green at 10 a.m. — Democratic leaders and members of the Steering and Policy Committee will hold a news conference on impacts of cutting Medicaid at 9 a.m. The Senate is in session and will vote on ending debate on Troy Edgar’s nomination as deputy secretary of Homeland Security at 11 a.m. The Senate will then vote to confirm Edgar and end debate on Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination as Labor secretary, as well as advance the HALT Fentanyl Act, at 1:45 p.m. — HELP will vote on Keith Sonderling’s nomination as deputy Labor secretary at 9:30 a.m., and then have a hearing on Martin Makary’s nomination as FDA commissioner at 10 a.m. — Armed Services will have a hearing on defense mobilization in the 21st century at 9:30 a.m. — Finance will have a hearing on Michael Faulkender’s nomination to be deputy Treasury secretary at 10 a.m. — Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs will vote on Stephen Miran’s nomination to be chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, Jeffrey Kessler’s nomination to be under secretary of Commerce for industry and security, William Pulte’s nomination to be Federal Housing Finance Agency director and Jonathan McKernan’s nomination to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The rest of the week: The House and Senate are both out of session on Friday. THE LEADERSHIP SUITE
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Elon Musk met separately with House and Senate Republicans on Wednesday amid growing backlash to DOGE's cuts. | Andrew Harnik/Getty Images | Musk’s message to Republicans The president’s billionaire adviser told House Republicans in a closed-door meeting Wednesday that it would be up to lawmakers to decide what spending gets slashed, hours after Senate Republicans pressed him in a separate meeting to send the Department of Government Efficiency’s cuts through Congress in what’s known as a rescissions package. Musk defended DOGE’s slash-and-burn strategy to the House GOP but promised to work to correct mistakes his team was making in its haste. Johnson, meanwhile, is using the idea of codifying DOGE’s cuts in legislation for the next fiscal year to convince hard-liners to back his plan to keep the government open past next week. Dems’ messaging struggle After House Democrats’ shows of defiance during Trump’s joint address were roundly mocked, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries insisted in a Wednesday night organizing call with the Democratic National Committee that the party’s congressional leaders “have a plan” to stand up to Trump and win back the House in 2026. But voters don’t believe it — 40 percent of respondents to a survey conducted by liberal firm Blueprint said the party doesn’t have any strategy for responding to Trump. Another 24 percent said Democrats have a game plan, but it’s a bad one, Holly Otterbein, Brakkton Booker, Myah Ward and Lisa scooped. Meanwhile, Republicans are moving ahead with trying to censure Rep. Al Green after his outburst during Trump’s joint address. Johnson’s chief concern Johnson’s chief of staff, Hayden Haynes, was arrested for driving under the influence after Trump’s joint address on Tuesday night, Nicholas and Meredith Lee Hill report. Haynes backed into a parked vehicle about 45 minutes after Trump’s speech ended. John Thune’s tax challenge The Senate majority leader told our Jordain Carney on Wednesday that he doesn’t yet have enough support within his conference to use a controversial accounting tactic to make Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent. Some House conservatives are also against using what’s known as the current policy baseline to make it seem as if extending the tax cuts costs nothing.
| | | | A message from BETTER MEDICARE ALLIANCE:  
| | | POLICY RUNDOWN CHIPS FALLOUT — Senate Republicans were caught off guard by Trump’s comments Tuesday night that he wants to get rid of the “horrible, horrible” CHIPS and Science Act — bipartisan legislation aimed at improving U.S. competitiveness with China that has spurred major economic investments in red states, Christine Mui reports. Sen. Todd Young, one of the law’s biggest boosters, said he was asking the White House for clarification, while Thune called it “one of those statements I hadn’t heard before.” SANCTUARY CITY SHOWDOWN — Democratic mayors from four so-called sanctuary cities strongly defended their policies through a fiery six-hour House Oversight hearing Wednesday but struggled at times to combat Republicans’ accusations that their immigration policies were leaving their cities rife with crime, our Hailey Fuchs and Shia Kapos report. Republicans grilled the mayors of Boston, Chicago, Denver and New York City the day after Trump touted his immigration agenda in his joint address to Congress. But the mayors worked to turn the tables where they could, with Boston Mayor Michelle Wu notching a viral moment when she responded to a line of questioning from GOP Rep. Paul Gosar by calling on Republicans to pass a “comprehensive immigration law.” CBO WEIGHS IN ON MEDICAID — The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s reconciliation spending-cut goal of $880 billion isn’t attainable without touching Medicaid, Medicare or the Children’s Health Insurance Program, according to a new Congressional Budget Office report, Ben Leonard writes in. According to the scorekeeper’s report requested by Democrats, funding within the committee’s purview that doesn’t include those programs totals only $381 billion. TAX BILL TIMELINE — House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith said Wednesday that House Republicans are aiming to deliver a party-line budget bill with tax cuts to Trump’s desk by Memorial Day, Benjamin Guggenheim reports. He also encouraged the Senate to get moving on taking up the House’s budget resolution, which Thune indicated earlier this week would not happen until after senators return from their mid-March break. CFPB IN THE SPOTLIGHT — Senate Banking will vote at 11 a.m. on a slate of Trump’s economic policy nominees — including his Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director pick. Democrats have been ratcheting up their rhetoric around the Trump administration’s efforts to cripple the agency — some, including ranking member Elizabeth Warren, have suggested that McKernan, who previously served on the FDIC board, won’t truly be in charge of the agency given DOGE’s effort to defang the bureau. Trump’s picks are still expected to sail through, Jasper Goodman writes in. Best of POLITICO Pro and E&E:
| | | | CALIFORNIA DECODED: The technology industry and its key characters are driving the national political narrative right now, but it is also a uniquely California story. To understand how the Golden State is defining tech policy and politics within its borders and beyond, we’ve launched POLITICO Pro Technology: California Decoded. This new daily newsletter will track how industry players in Silicon Valley are trying to influence state and national lawmakers – and how government officials are encouraging or foiling those figures. Sign up now to get a limited, free trial of this newsletter delivered straight to your inbox. | | | | | THE BEST OF THE REST What Happens If Trump Comes for the Mail? from Russell Berman at The Atlantic Lucy McBath makes opening move in 2026 race for Georgia governor, from Greg Bluestein at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution A look inside Trump’s speech, through two Congress members’ cameras, from Dylan Wells at The Washington Post DOGE-Funded Stimulus Checks? House Republicans Say That’s Not Their Priority, from Calen Razor at NOTUS CAPITOL HILL INFLUENCE Nvidia is adding Sarah Weinstein to its corporate comms team in D.C. Weinstein previously was director of public affairs at the Commerce Department and is a Jeanne Shaheen and Pete Aguilar alum. Sierra Robinson is now director of external affairs and comms at the National Credit Union Administration. She previously was a director of federal government affairs at CitiGroup and is a Mike Crapo alum. Tara Burchmore is now a government affairs associate at Robinhood Markets. She was most recently a TechCongress fellow for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.
| | | | A message from BETTER MEDICARE ALLIANCE: Medicare Advantage is now the primary form of Medicare coverage in the United States. Over 55% of Medicare beneficiaries choose Medicare Advantage for comprehensive care, including wellness benefits that promote better health — such as transportation to medical appointments, nutrition support, and gym memberships. Only Medicare Advantage empowers seniors to choose the plan that works best for them.
But for two years in a row, Medicare Advantage has been cut even as medical costs continue to rise. Now millions of seniors who rely on Medicare Advantage are feeling squeezed, with widespread plan closures, higher costs, and reduced benefits.
President Trump and his Administration can keep their promise to protect Medicare for seniors by ensuring adequate funding for Medicare Advantage moving forward.
Seniors need affordable health care. That means protecting Medicare Advantage.
Learn more at SupportMedicareAdvantage.com | | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY
David Urban … Jim Bourg … Anthony Foti … Elias Law Group’s Jacqui Newman … Jonathan Day … Sandra Salstrom … Parker Brugge … Joe Perticone … NFL’s Brendon Plack … Emily Leviner … Anna Kopperud Jordan … Chris Leavitt … Co-Equal’s Karen Lightfoot … Katy Bayless … Tim Bergreen … NYT’s Eileen Murphy … Saul Anuzis … former Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) … Pablo Chavez … Ari Spinoza Albemarle’s Alex Stroman
TRIVIA WEDNESDAY’S ANSWER: Bob Koczera correctly answered that David Walsh of Massachusetts and Slade Gorton of Washington were the first and last senators to lose reelection twice. TODAY’S QUESTION, from Bob: Who is the only member of Congress to have voted against declaring war in both World War I and World War II? 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 | | | |
