Senate advances Lori Chaves-DeRemer's nomination for labor secretary
The Senate voted 66-30 to advance Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination to be labor secretary. Fifteen Senate Democrats voted in favor of advancing Chavez-DeRemer, and one GOP senator, Rand Paul of Kentucky, voted against her.
Chavez-DeRemer was the first of Trump’s Cabinet nominees to rely on Democratic support when she was voted out of the HELP committee last week.
Her final confirmation vote will be next week.
Rep. Jim Himes explains why he sided with Republicans to censure Rep. Al Green
After voting with Republicans to censure fellow Democratic Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, for his disruption of Trump's joint address to Congress on Tuesday, Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., said he did it to prevent the government from developing into a "MAGA cesspool."
"Unlike Republicans, I believe that rules, accountability and civility should not be torched. And certainly not just because the other side does so. If we cannot act with the principle and seriousness our nation deserves, our government will continue to develop into a MAGA cesspool," Himes wrote in a statement posted to X shortly after the vote.
Himes noted he voted to censure Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., after he interrupted then-President Barack Obama's 2009 joint address to Congress by yelling, "You lie," and said Green's disruption on Tuesday was far larger.
Himes was one of 10 House Democrats who voted with Republicans to censure Green this morning.
Democratic senators demand answers from FEMA about firings, frozen funds
A group of Democratic senators are demanding answers from acting Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Cameron Hamilton about why hundreds of FEMA staffers were fired last month.
“Our constituents … have experienced first-hand the shortcomings of the federal approach to disaster resilience and recovery. Instead of addressing their needs and concerns, the Trump Administration has taken a sledgehammer to the foundation of FEMA,” Sens. Peter Welch of Vermont, Alex Padilla of California, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Ron Wyden of Oregon, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Adam Schiff of California, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Chris van Hollen of Maryland wrote in a letter shared first with NBC News.
The letter included specific questions, like asking Hamilton whether FEMA conducted performance evaluations before they laid off staff, whether FEMA evaluated the impact of the firings on the “overall performance of FEMA operations” and asking for a list of positions that were eliminated in the agency under the Trump administration.
The senators also asked for answers about why the administration has halted the disbursements of certain FEMA grants, including grants for improving emergency alert systems and grants for enhancing emergency health care preparedness in their states.
“The Administration’s destructive approach will not assist the disaster-impacted communities across the country hoping to rebuild and move forward. To the contrary, it will leave the nation more vulnerable to future disasters and less prepared to pick up the pieces when the dust settles,” they wrote, asking Hamilton to transmit his answers back to the Senate by March 31.
Hamilton has led FEMA since the start of the Trump administration, but the president has not yet selected a nominee to take over as the official FEMA administrator. Early in his term, while touring hurricane recovery efforts in North Carolina, the president floated eliminating the agency completely.
D.C. mayor to remove Black Lives Matter Plaza amid pressure from White House
A spokesperson for D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser confirmed to NBC Washington that Bowser will remove Black Lives Matter Plaza and its ground mural will be painted over. There’s no timeline yet for the changes, but the street art will be replaced with a design created by D.C. schoolchildren.
Bowser said she made the decision several days ago. When pressed about why, she said it was fair to say the White House didn’t like it.
In 2020, the two-block stretch of 16th Street NW north of the White House was designated as Black Lives Matter Plaza after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which sparked protests nationwide, including in the District.
Bowser unveiled the ground mural on June 5 of that year. It was paved over about a year later, but the mural was replaced, and Bowser announced the new mural would be a permanent installation in October 2021.
‘The impact has been real’: ICE raid fears keep students out of classrooms
The Trump administration’s policy allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement to make arrests in schools is bringing down attendance and driving up fear and anxiety among students and teachers, a group representing 78 large school districts across the country is arguing in court.
The group, the Council of Great City Schools, filed an amicus brief late last month supporting a lawsuit that the Denver public school system has filed against the Trump administration asking for relief from the policy.
In a press release about the amicus brief, the council said it conducted a survey about the policy among its 78 member school districts and found that “they have already seen increased absenteeism, higher anxiety among students, increased bullying, less parental involvement, and heightened fear as a result of the change in guidance.”
As Trump goes after Education Department, staff cuts leave student loan borrowers in the dark
Federal student loan borrowers experiencing difficulties with their loans could find they have no recourse as Trump’s cuts to staff at the Department of Education are carried out, employees at the agency said.
Staffers at the Education Department tasked with fielding complaints from federal student loan holders and resolving their issues were let go in the recent job cuts, one employee told CNBC. At least eight of the fired staffers were working on a total of nearly 800 student loan borrower complaint cases, an employee said.
The remaining staff will likely have to take over these accounts. But, the employee said, “I have no idea when they’ll get reassigned.”
As a result, those borrowers “just have to continue to wait, and maybe they go into delinquency,” the staffer said.
Trump raids will now target migrant families who entered the U.S. with their children
U.S. immigration agents are planning a new operation to arrest migrant families with children as part of a nationwide crackdown, according to three sources familiar with the planning.
The operation will target adults and minor children who entered the country together and have orders of deportation, the source said. After the families are arrested, agents will place them into detention before they are removed.
A separate operation to find children who entered the United States unaccompanied and were released without court dates is also underway, the sources added.
The sources said lawyers at Immigration and Customs Enforcement are now working to secure warrants to enter homes and conduct the arrests.
Sen. Thom Tillis slams MAGA-aligned operative who called for new North Carolina Senate candidate
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., harshly responded to a conservative political consultant with ties to Trump world who questioned whether he could win re-election next year.
The consultant, Arthur Schwartz, said on X that Republicans will “need a new senate candidate in NC” in 2026, pointing to a poll from the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling that showed Tillis trailing former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper in a hypothetical general election matchup.
“Well, actually, if you look, I think it’s a PPP poll, you ought to keep in mind the only poll I ever was up on was the Election Day poll, I was 2 points down in both of my Senate races,” Tillis said in response to a question from NBC News. “Arthur Schwartz is a political hack that should probably just keep on being a smart guy and a billionaire because he’s a s----- political consultant. Any other questions?”
Tillis won his previous two Senate races in battleground North Carolina by less than 2 percentage points.
Notably, Schwartz helped shepherd Pete Hegseth’s defense secretary nomination through the Senate, a process where Tillis became the key vote to confirm him. It’s not clear what Tillis is referring to regarding Schwartz being a billionaire.
Schwartz responded to NBC News’ social media post of Tillis’ quote by saying on X: “Every Republican senator I know wants Tillis to drop out so we can run a serious candidate who will beat away misfits like Mark Robinson that will get crushed in a general. Maybe Thom should be planning his post senate future instead of reading his mentions on X.”
Robinson was Republicans’ scandal-plagued candidate for governor in North Carolina last year who lost to Democrat Josh Stein by 15 points.
“I have nothing against Tillis; I barely know him,” Schwartz also posted on X. “He’s a mediocre candidate with no connection to the Republican base in a critical swing state. If Rs are serious about defending our senate majority we need to start looking for a replacement for Tillis — and we need to start NOW.”
Andrew Surabian, a Republican strategist affiliated with Vice President JD Vance, also responded to Tillis’ comments, posting on X: “What kind of s----- campaign is @ThomTillis running that he attacks someone who no one in NC has ever heard of over a tweet? While Arthur isn’t a billionaire, he is indeed a smart guy. We have worked together for years overseeing all of Don [Trump] Jr.’s political activities. Not smart!”
‘Hamilton’ pulls out of plans to perform at Kennedy Center
“Hamilton” is pulling out of plans to perform at the Kennedy Center. The show’s producers cite Trump’s shake-up of the art institution’s leadership.
Mexican president says she and Trump had a 'respectful' call
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said today that she had a "respectful" call with Trump after he announced that Mexico won't have to pay tariffs covered under the USMCA agreement until April 2.
"Many thanks to President Donald Trump. We had an excellent and respectful call in which we agreed that our work and collaboration have yielded unprecedented results, within the framework of respect for our sovereignties," she wrote.