Republicans in Congress are racing to pass a GOP stopgap funding bill by 11:59 p.m. Friday to avert a government shutdown.
The House on Tuesday passed the measure 217-213, sending it to the Senate for consideration.
Meanwhile, President Trump on Tuesday doubled down on his tariff threats, escalating the tit for tat with Canada on Tuesday when he said his administration would increase planned steel and aluminum tariffs in response to an electricity surcharge the Ontario government imposed on the U.S. Later that day, Ontario Premier Doug Ford backed off from the threat.
A day of talks in Saudi Arabia between U.S. diplomats and their Ukrainian counterparts yielded restoration of military and intelligence cooperation, as Ukraine indicated it was open to a 30-day ceasefire.
Follow along for these and other stories.
Lone Democrat to back House GOP spending bill explains decision
Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) defied House Democratic leadership on Tuesday when he voted for the GOP’s bill to avert a government shutdown — the only one in the caucus to support the stopgap.
Golden’s “yes” vote, to be sure, was not decisive, since Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) — with help from President Trump — rallied enough Republicans to pass the measure with or without the lone Democrat.
But the support from Golden — who represents a district Trump won in 2024 — dealt a minor blow to House Democratic leadership, which formally urged its members to vote against the measure and was hoping to showcase united opposition to the continuing resolution.
In a statement following the vote, Golden — a moderate Democrat from Maine who has a history of breaking from the party — argued that while the GOP’s legislation was not ideal, a shutdown would be more harmful.
“This CR is not perfect, but a shutdown would be worse,” Golden said. “Even a brief shutdown would introduce even more chaos and uncertainty at a time when our country can ill-afford it.”
Top House Democrats press Senate colleagues to sink GOP spending bill
The top House Democrats are pressing their fellow party members in the Senate to kill the Republicans’ spending bill when it reaches the upper chamber, saying the proposal will hurt Americans around the country.
“I wouldn’t expect senators to vote for this,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar (Calif.), the head of the House Democratic Caucus. “This is a bad bill. We did not negotiate this bill. They did not negotiate this bill. … In the interest of our national security, in the interest of American families, they need to vote no and beat back this bill.”
The push comes as Senate Democratic leaders have been tepid in their approach to the Republican bill and some moderates have suggested they’re open to supporting it.
Republican adjourns hearing after blowup over McBride introduction
A House Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing ended abruptly Tuesday after Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas) referred to Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.), the first transgender person elected to Congress, as “mister.”
Self, who chairs the subcommittee on Europe, introduced McBride as “the congressman from Delaware” during a hearing on arms control and U.S. assistance to Europe. McBride responded by calling Self “Madam Chair.”
As McBride delivered her remarks, ranking member Bill Keating (D-Mass.) interjected, asking Self to repeat his introduction.
“Mr. Chairman, you are out of order,” Keating said. “Mr. Chairman, have you no decency? I mean, I’ve come to know you a little bit, but this is not decent.”
House Republicans pass bill to avert government shutdown
The House on Tuesday passed a funding bill to avert an end-of-the-week government shutdown, teeing up the measure for consideration in the Senate.
The chamber cleared the continuing resolution (CR) in a largely party-line 217-213 vote, with just one Democrat — Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) — bucking his party’s leaders to back the measure. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) was the lone GOP “no” vote.
The legislation would fund the government through Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year, while boosting funds for defense programs and imposing cuts to nondefense funding. Current funding expires at 11:59 p.m. Friday.
The bill now heads to the Senate, where its future hangs in the balance.
House GOP blocks Democrats from forcing vote on repealing Trump tariffs
House Republicans on Tuesday approved a provision that would prevent Democrats from forcing votes for the remainder of the year on repealing recent tariffs implemented by President Trump.
It essentially means that any legislation to undo the national emergency declaration Trump used to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China would have to go through a process subject to approval by House GOP leadership, rather than under a fast-track process that Democrats were hoping to utilize.
Democrats are fuming at the legislation, with Reps. Don Beyer (D-Va.) and Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) – members of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade – issuing a joint statement slamming it.
“Every House Republican who votes for this measure is voting to give Trump expanded powers to raise taxes on American households through tariffs with full knowledge of how he is using those powers, and every Republican will own the economic consequences of that vote,” Beyer and DelBene said in the statement. “It speaks volumes that Republicans are sneaking this provision into a procedural measure hidden from the American people.”
Republicans, though, argue that Democrats are misrepresenting the move.
Trump administration cancels disaster training for meteorologists amid staffing, travel cuts
The Trump administration has canceled a training that prepares meteorologists to forecast during disasters, The Hill has learned.
The incident meteorologist training for the National Weather Service was canceled amid “short staffing” and a severe reduction in how much employees are allowed to spend on travel, according to an email viewed by The Hill.
An agency source expressed concern that the cancellation of this session would delay new incident meteorologists from being certified — leaving the weather service less able to respond to disasters like fires and putting an even greater strain on the existing workforce.
The source said that employee purchase cards were reduced to $1, so people were unable to book travel and some who had already booked travel had to cancel their flights.
The weather service is far from the only federal agency seeing similar cuts while Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency seeks to downsize the government. The Hill reported the Interior Department, which manages national lands, parks and tribal affairs, also reduced employee purchase cards to $1.
The weather service is a particularly high-profile agency that has generally had bipartisan support.
Trump doubles down on tariffs threat amid market downturn
President Trump is doubling down on his widespread tariffs threats despite a stock market downturn that has helped fuel anxiety the nation could slide into a recession.
Trump escalated the tit-for-tat with Canada on Tuesday when he said his administration would increase planned steel and aluminum tariffs in response to an electricity surcharge the Ontario government imposed on the U.S.
Trump’s turning of the screws appeared to elicit a response – later that day, Ontario Premier Doug Ford to back off from the threat.
Ahead of Ford reversing himself, the White House touted the tariff strategy against Canada as “retaliatory,” arguing Trump is aiming for fair and balanced trade practices to protect American workers. It also blew off the stock market dives over the past two days as “a snapshot” in time.
“Our country had to do this. We had to go and do this,” Trump said, while looking at Tesla cars along with CEO Elon Musk. “Other countries have taken away our business, they’ve taken away our jobs.”
Thune says Trump’s tariffs should be ‘temporary’ amid market volatility
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said he supports President Trump using tariffs to stop the flow of fentanyl into the United States but said the tariffs should be temporary, citing the growing uncertainty that is roiling the financial markets.
“The president, I believe, is trying to accomplish a specific objective here and that is to halt the flow of fentanyl into this country, and the tariffs are a tool in order to make that happen. And I am supportive of using tariffs in a way to accomplish a specific objective, in this case, ending drug traffic,” Thune told reporters Tuesday when asked about the reverberations Trump’s tariff threats are having on the markets.
But Thune warned that the tariffs shouldn’t last for long, given their impact on the domestic economy.
“I hope these are temporary. I think the one thing that markets don’t like is uncertainty, and there’s obviously uncertainty around that tariff policy at the moment,” he said.
Ontario agrees to suspend electricity surcharge ahead of talks with US
The government of Ontario on Tuesday backed off its threat to impose a surcharge on electricity to three U.S. states amid broader trade talks.
In a joint statement from Ontario Premier Doug Ford and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, the two leaders said they had a “productive conversation about the economic relationship between the United States and Canada.”
The two said they would meet in person in Washington on Thursday to discuss a renewal of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement ahead of reciprocal tariffs set to go into effect on April 2.
“In response, Ontario agreed to suspend its 25 percent surcharge on exports of electricity to Michigan, New York and Minnesota,” Ford and Lutnick said.
President Trump earlier Tuesday had threatened to double planned steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada beginning Wednesday, citing Ontario’s decision to put a charge on electricity exports.
Rubio: Ball in Russia’s court after Ukraine backs ceasefire proposal
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it is dependent on Russia to accept a 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine for immediate negotiations toward an end of the war to begin.
Rubio made his remarks following a meeting with senior Ukrainian officials in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, that served to repair U.S. and Ukrainian relations, with the Trump administration restarting military and intelligence assistance that was paused in the aftermath of an Oval Office argument late last month.
The Ukrainians expressed a readiness to accept the ceasefire, Rubio said, adding the U.S. will deliver the offer to Russia through multiple diplomatic channels.
“Our hope is that the Russians will say yes, that they will also agree, so the shooting will stop, the killing will stop, the dying will stop, and the talks can begin about how to end this war permanently, in a way that’s acceptable and enduring for both sides.”
14 Democrats sign letter calling for Mahmoud Khalil’s release
A group of 14 Democrats signed a Tuesday letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem urging her to release Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate who has become a test case in President Trump’s pledge to deport immigrants who joined campus protests against the Gaza war.
“Mahmoud Khalil must be freed from DHS custody immediately. He is a political prisoner, wrongfully and unlawfully detained, who deserves to be at home in New York preparing for the birth of his first child,” the lawmakers wrote.
Khalil is a green card holder who had a prominent role in Columbia’s campus protests in support of Palestinians, and against Israel. He is currently being held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at a facility in Louisiana.
Trump checks out different Tesla models at the White House
President Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk speak to the press as they stand next to a Tesla Cybertruck on the South Portico of the White House on March 11, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Moskowitz reads back GOP ‘mean tweets’ ahead of CR vote
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) read back some of the “mean tweets” from Republican lawmakers about continuing resolutions (CR) ahead of Tuesday’s vote.
“It’s CR day on Capitol Hill, and what is going on with Republicans? I mean, President Trump puts out a tweet and says, please, and all of a sudden … just flip flops,” Moskowitz said on the House floor, referencing President Trump’s approval of the GOP-drafted bill.
“You know what? Let me do some mean tweets about how you feel about CRs when you’re in the minority only,” he continued.
Dem whip vows ‘unity’ in opposing GOP bill, but the push for unanimity continues
In the final hours heading into the 4 p.m vote, the Democratic whip said party leaders are still in the process of whipping rank-and-file lawmakers against the bill.
“Conversations are still ongoing, but I feel very good about the unity of this caucus,” Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) said less than two hours before the vote.
Democratic leaders have come out strongly against the Republicans’ spending bill, saying the billions of dollars of cuts below current 2024 levels will hurt low-income people benefiting from certain federal programs.
But a host of centrist “frontliner” Democrats — including almost 10 representing Trump-won districts — have declined to say how they’ll vote. If a number of Democrats cross the aisle to support the bill, it would undermine the party’s warnings that the proposal is a major threat to the well-being of Americans.
“We know what this moment is,” Clark said.
“There’s never been a shutdown in this party when one party controls the House and the Senate and the White House. So why are they putting us here? Because it’s all part of the same scam: To take away taxpayer dollars to pay for a tax cut for the very wealthiest, including the richest man on earth, while they’re taking a chainsaw to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid,” she continued. “If they put a bill on the floor today that protected Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, we’d run to vote for it. That’s not what this is.
“We’ll see unity.”
Two Republicans shift from ‘undecided’ to ‘leaning yes’ on funding bill
Reps. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) and Cory Mills (R-Fla.) told The Hill that they are “leaning yes” on the House GOP’s continuing resolution, after initially saying they were undecided on the measure.
The movement towards support is a good sign for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who will need near-unanimous support to clear the legislation with Democrats expected to oppose the bill in droves, and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) already a “no.”
The final vote is scheduled to begin at around 4 p.m.
House GOP tees up final vote on bill to avert shutdown
House Republicans on Tuesday advanced their bill to avert an end-of-the-week government shutdown, teeing up a final vote on the legislation later in the day.
The chamber voted 216-214 to adopt a rule — which governs debate on legislation — for Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) continuing resolution. The measure would keep the government funded through Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year, boost defense funding and impose cuts for nondefense programs.
The successful vote allows the House to debate the measure and hold a final vote, which is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
USDA halts more than $1B in funding for local food banks, schools
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says it has nixed more than $1 billion in funding for local food banks and schools by terminating two programs that aid state, tribal and territorial government food purchases.
The buy-local programs support the purchase and distribution of goods produced within the state or within 400 miles of the delivery destination.
The move comes amid broader efforts by the Trump administration to reduce the size and scope of the federal government, including some cuts to programs that critics say are mandated by law.
The Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program have been canceled because they “no longer effectuate the goals of the agency,” the USDA said in a statement to The Hill.
The first program was set to funnel about $660 million in 2025 to purchase produce from local farms for schools and child care facilities, while the latter program would have allocated $500 million this year to food banks.
House Dem wants Senate leaders to take stronger stand against GOP spending bill
Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) went after Senate Democratic leaders on Tuesday, saying they need to take a more forceful stand against the Republicans’ spending bill.
“The Senate needs to speak up and show stronger leadership when it comes to the messaging on this bill,” Gomez told reporters in the Capitol. “If not, it’s just going to roll right on through.”
After House Republicans abandoned bipartisan spending talks in favor of a partisan bill, House Democratic leaders have bashed the proposal in no uncertain terms while urging their troops to vote against it.
But Democratic leaders have taken a different tack in the Senate, where Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has so far declined to adopt the hardline opposition of his House counterparts.
That’s a mistake, said Gomez, who’s warning that the House GOP bill is not designed just to fund the government through September, but also to grease the skids for Republicans to pass President Trump’s larger legislative wish-list, including tax cuts and Medicaid cuts. Gomez advised Senate Democrats to see the CR through that lens.
“They have to see this, the CR, as laying the groundwork for passing budget reconciliation and the trillions of dollars that they’re going to hand out in tax breaks. That’s what is has to be viewed as. If not — … if they view this as a one-off — I think they might have more people in the Senate vote for it, more Democrats,” he said.
“So Senate leadership has to kind of push back and try to show some leadership and try to whip some votes.”
Small business optimism sinks
Small business optimism is faltering as stock markets are dropping and a range of macroeconomic and policy uncertainties are weighing on the business outlook.
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) optimism index, which measures sentiment among small business owners, fell by 2.1 points in February. The group’s uncertainty index also registered its second-highest reading ever.
The 12 percent of business owners reporting that it’s a good time to invest and expand was down 5 percentage points from January — the largest monthly decrease in five years.
Pennsylvania Democrat seeks to censure Boebert over Al Green comments
Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) introduced a resolution Monday seeking to censure Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) for her comments about a fellow Democrat who disrupted President Trump’s joint address to Congress.
Boebert said Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) shook a “pimp cane” at the president while protesting Medicaid cuts last Tuesday. The outburst prompted the sergeant at arms to remove him from the House chambers and a censure for “a breach of proper conduct.”
“Al Green was given multiple opportunities to stand down, to sit down, to behave, to show decorum. And he did not,” the Colorado lawmaker said during a Friday appearance on Real America’s Voice.
Aguilar: Democrats still working to unite party against GOP spending bill
The head of the House Democratic Caucus said Tuesday that party leaders are still working to unite their troops against the Republicans’ spending bill.
Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) bashed the GOP proposal, warning that it will slash public services and vowing that “House Democrats are voting no.”
But a number of vulnerable “frontline” Democrats in battleground districts have not yet said how they’ll vote when the bill hits the floor on Tuesday afternoon. And Aguilar stopped short of saying that the Democrats will be in full attendance — or that their opposition will be unanimous.
“We’ll see. We’re working to make sure that every Democrat votes no and is here and present on the floor,” Aguilar told reporters in the Capitol.
Doug Ford on additional Trump tariffs: Canadians will ‘not back down’
Ontario Premier Doug Ford fired back at President Trump following his latest vow to double tariffs on steel and aluminum, saying during an interview that Canada will “not back down” and called on the commander-in-chief to shift his focus on China instead of the country’s northern neighbor.
“We will not back down. We will be relentless. I apologize to the American people that President Trump decided to have an unprovoked attack on our country, on families, on jobs, and it’s unacceptable. Let’s work together. Let’s get to the table if he has issues, and let’s sort this out,” Ford said during his Tuesday appearance on MSNBC.
Trump immigration crackdown enters new waters with arrest of Mahmoud Khalil
The arrest of a Columbia University graduate marks a significant escalation in President Trump’s immigration crackdown, with a lawful permanent resident who has not been charged with any crime now being held in U.S. custody.
The Trump administration is making clear that green card holder Mahmoud Khalil, who has a court appearance set for Wednesday, is being targeted over his participation in pro-Palestinian campus demonstrations.
Trump said Monday that Khalil would be the first of many foreign students deported as “terrorist sympathizers.”
Legal experts say the intention is obvious: to frighten other would-be activists and to chill political protests. They also say Khalil’s detention poses serious constitutional problems.
Schumer slams Musk’s Social Security claims
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) on Tuesday slammed tech billionaire Elon Musk for claiming that Social Security is plagued by widespread fraud and that as many as 20 million “dead” people are receiving Social Security benefits.
“Elon Musk confirmed what many of us had been warning about for a long time: Republicans are getting ready to gut Social Security and Medicare,” Schumer said on the Senate floor.
“The richest man on earth repeated again a bevy of lies that entitlement programs, [which] tens of millions of people rely on, are riddled with fraud and abuse. That’s a pretext to slashing them. But it’s false,” Schumer said.
Schumer noted that Musk said “most of the federal spending is entitlements,” which the head of the Department of Government Efficiency called “the big one to eliminate.”
The Democratic leader said that’s a clear signal that Musk wants to cut Social Security.
House cancels Wednesday votes
House Republicans have canceled votes Wednesday, intending to send their members home after passing the stopgap funding bill
The House GOP whip’s office made the announcement Tuesday morning.
If the continuing resolution passes the House on Tuesday, sending lawmakers home will put additional pressure on Senate Democrats to pass the GOP funding bill as-is with a looming shutdown deadline.
Vance gives House GOP closing pitch on Trump-backed funding bill ahead of vote
Vice President Vance delivered a closing pitch in favor of Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) government funding bill during the House GOP’s private conference meeting on Tuesday, hours before the lower chamber is scheduled to vote on the measure.
Members said that Vance argued that the six-month funding measure would allow the Trump administration and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to continue slashing federal programs and pausing spending.
“That’s his number one goal,” Rep. Tim Burchett (Tenn.), a GOP holdout, said of Vance urging Republicans to support the measure.
And Vance warned the GOP lawmakers that if the stopgap fails in the House, Republicans will be blamed for the shutdown, a source in the room told The Hill. But, if the bill clears the House and is blocked in the upper chamber, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) will bear the burden of letting the lights turn off in Washington, Vance argued.
“If it passes and is signed into law, America will benefit!” the vice president added, according to the source.
The message came amid uncertainty about the continuing resolution’s (CR) fate in the House. A number of Republicans are still undecided on the measure, at least one GOP lawmaker is promising to vote “no,” and Democrats are expected to oppose the legislation in droves.
Trump to increase steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada in response to electricity surcharge
President Trump on Tuesday said his administration will increase planned steel and aluminum tariffs against Canada in response to an electricity surcharge the Ontario government imposed in the latest escalation of a growing trade war.
The Trump administration is set to impose across the board 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum on Wednesday, but Trump said he was directing Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to increase the tariffs on Canadian imports of the metals from 25 percent to 50 percent.
The president threatened additional tariffs against Canada in the coming weeks, pointing to plans for his administration to impose reciprocal tariffs beginning April 2 on all countries with duties on U.S. products. Those included tariffs on cars, which Trump claimed would “essentially, permanently shut down the automobile manufacturing business in Canada.”
The government of Ontario announced Monday it would apply a 25 percent surcharge starting Monday on electricity exports to three U.S. states in response to American tariffs on Canada.
Johnson stands by Massie after Trump calls for primary challenge
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is standing with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) — who recently led an effort to oust Johnson from the Speakership — after President Trump called for a primary challenge to the Kentucky congressman over his opposition to the six-month funding patch.
“Look, I’m in the incumbent protection program here. That’s what I do,” Johnson said when asked about Trump’s opposition.
“I bless those who persecute me, right? So, Thomas and I have had disagreements, but I consider Thomas Massie a friend,” Johnson said. “He’s a thoughtful guy. I guess he’ll tell you he’s doing what he thinks is right on this. I just vehemently disagree with his position. But I’ll leave it at that.”
Freedom Caucus chair makes surprise appearance at GOP leadership press conference
House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris (R-Md.) is making an unusual — and not previously announced — appearance at the weekly House GOP leadership press conference.
Harris joked that reporters were probably wondering what the Freedom Caucus chair is doing at a leadership press conference about a continuing resolution.
The hardline conservative Freedom Caucus has traditionally been a thorn in the side of leadership, and many of its members normally oppose stopgap funding bills. But the group formally endorsed the current, six-month stopgap on Monday night.
“This is not your grandfather’s continuing resolution,” Harris said.
Emmer confident GOP will have votes to pass CR: ‘Hell yeah’
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) signaled confidence that Republicans will be able to pass their spending bill today.
“Hell yeah,” he told The Hill when asked if he’ll have the votes. As GOP whip, Emmer is responsible for counting the votes.
But at least one Republican is a hard no on the bill, and at least four are still undecided. Assuming full attendance and unanimous Democratic opposition, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) can only afford to lose one vote.