What's happening today
- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., indicated this evening that wouldn't stand in the way of a Republican bill to avoid a government shutdown ahead of tomorrow night's deadline. He said a shutdown would only empower President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and their Department of Government Efficiency.
- Trump is threatening to escalate his global trade war by imposing a 200% tariff on alcohol from Europe in response to the European Union's plan to place a tariff on U.S. whiskey. On another trade front, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick met with Canadian officials as the two countries escalate tariffs on each other's products.
- The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to narrow nationwide injunctions on his plan to end automatic birthright citizenship.
- Trump met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House as the administration seeks to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
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Republican lawmaker booed over Trump policies at tense town hall
Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., held a town hall in Asheville this evening that turned contentious after some people taunted him over his support of Trump's policies, including the use of tariffs as a negotiating tactic.
Edwards held the town hall despite advice from the head of the campaign arm for House Republicans that GOP lawmakers stay away from the events because of the recent backlash. He addressed that advice head on tonight.
"A lot of advice in Washington, D.C., from different folks saying, you know, Republicans shouldn’t be out there doing town halls. And I’m thinking, why not? I love the people in western North Carolina. I trust the people in western North Carolina," he said.
Minutes into his remarks, people booed Edwards for describing the event as an opportunity for him to tout what he's "proud of in this country."
"I happen to agree with a lot of the things that’s going on in Washington, D.C., right now," he said to boos.
Edwards faced jeers and taunts from the audience consistently throughout the event, including as he discussed the federal response to Hurricane Helene.
"Listen to us now!" a man could be heard shouting as Edwards spoke.
Edwards was also booed as he discussed the cuts to the federal government by Trump and Musk, the funding measure Republicans introduced this week and the futures of Medicare and Medicaid.
Judge orders thousands of probationary employees fired by Trump to be reinstated
A federal judge tonight ordered that thousands of federal workers fired by the Trump administration be temporarily reinstated.
U.S. District Judge James Bredar in Maryland issued a temporary restraining order against dozens of agencies, departments and their leaderships across the federal government that had terminated workers as part of reduction-in-workforce efforts.
“In this case, the government conducted massive layoffs, but it gave no advance notice. It claims it wasn’t required to because, it says, it dismissed each one of these thousands of probationary employees for ‘performance’ or other individualized reasons,” Bredar wrote in his ruling.
“On the record before the Court, this isn’t true. There were no individualized assessments of employees. They were all just fired. Collectively,” he added.
AOC calls Schumer's reversal 'a huge slap in the face' to House Democrats
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., told reporters this evening there is a “deep sense of outrage and betrayal” among House Democrats after Schumer indicated he wouldn't block a Republican bill that would fund the government through September and avert a shutdown this weekend.
“There are members of Congress who have won Trump-held districts in some of the most difficult territory in the United States, who walked the plank and took innumerable risks in order to defend the American people," Ocasio-Cortez said. "Just to see some Senate Democrats even consider acquiescing to Elon Musk, I think it is a huge slap in the face, and I think that there is a wide sense of betrayal if things proceed as currently planned."
She called on Senate Democratic leadership to "correct course" and vote against advancing the Republican funding measure. Only one Democrat in the House voted to pass the GOP bill this week.
Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a floor speech this evening that a shutdown would further empower Trump and Musk as they move to drastically downsize the federal government. He suggested that voting to advance the bill, known as a continuing resolution, was the better of two poor options.
Ocasio-Cortez disputed that point.
“I cannot underscore enough how incorrect that is,” she said. “What voting for this CR does is that it codifies the chaos and the reckless cuts that Elon Musk has been pursuing, the robbing of our federal government in order to finance tax cuts for billionaires is what is happening. And that is what Senate Democrats will be empowering if they vote for the CR.”
Ocasio-Cortez said cooperation among House and Senate Democrats will be "difficult" if Schumer follows through with his voting plan, describing the move as a "breach of trust."
"There will be a day where the Senate will need the House to move on something. And if there is an erosion of trust and a breach of trust, such as what is being considered right now, it will make cooperation difficult,” she said.
Social Security Administration's remote workers are abruptly told to return to office
Field office workers, phone-line operators and pay center staffers employed at the Social Security Administration were notified today that an agreement allowing them to work remotely has been suspended, according to an employee for the agency and a source familiar with the notice.
The workers were told to begin reporting to the office Monday.
The source familiar with the notice said many employees have little to no time to line up child care or other arrangements to end teleworking. The source also said it is being seen as “one more measure to hollow out the agency," including by firing employees who "provide direct service to the public.”
The notice says that “supervisors should be liberal with the approval of leave over the next 4 weeks to accommodate the changes.” It also says that “any episodic telework is granted on a case-by-case basis and only in situations where the requested telework will benefit the agency.”
Exceptions to the telework suspension order were made for certain agency staffers, including employees teleworking in the Office of Hearings Operations and the Office of Financial Policy and Program, as well as employees teleworking for medical reasons.
Employees who have accepted a voluntary buyout offer are also exempt and can continue teleworking.
Trump issued a directive in January ordering all federal workers to return to the office full time.
Vance downplays Musk-Rubio tensions after Cabinet clash
Vance today disputed that there is a strained relationship between DOGE Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
"There’s certainly disagreement from time to time. We’re not going to agree on every single issue within the administration," Vance said in an interview on Fox News. "The fact that you have a disagreement at a meeting, that does not mean that you have misalignment. It just means that you’ve got to talk about this stuff."
At a Cabinet meeting this month, Rubio and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy clashed with Musk over his firing of employees at their departments. Trump then publicly curtailed Musk's authority, making it clear that Cabinet members like Rubio have the final say about department staffing.
Vance today expressed frustration that elements of the Cabinet meeting found their way into news reports.
"We’re going to talk about issues, and it does annoy me that leaked," he said. "We need to be able to talk to one another and solve this stuff without some random staffer leaking it. I suspect that’s what happened."
Vance defends Trump's tariffs but doesn't rule out a recession
Vice President JD Vance defended Trump's tariffs on Canada, Europe and Mexico despite concerns from some business leaders and economists that a global trade war could drive up costs and contribute to a possible recession.
"He wants to impose tariffs on foreign importers because he wants to bring investment and jobs back to the United States of America," Vance said in an interview today with Fox News' Laura Ingraham.
Asked whether he would rule out a recession, Vance said, "You never can predict the future."
"I think the economy, the fundamentals of the economy, are actually quite strong right now, and we’ll see how this unfolds," he added.
Vance said the tariffs are an attempt by Trump to "fight back economically" against years of "unfairness" by some U.S. allies, focusing his ire particularly on the European Union.
"The European Union has in some ways been the worst on American workers and American industries of anybody. They’re imposing ridiculous tariffs," Vance said. "They say that they’re our most important ally, and, of course, we care about European security, Laura, but they don’t treat us like an ally when it comes to economics."
Schumer says a government shutdown would further empower Trump and Musk
Schumer said a government shutdown would further empower Trump and Musk as he explained his decision to back a Republican-led effort to fund the government through September with a continuing resolution and stave off a government shutdown this weekend.
"While the CR bill is very bad, the potential for a shutdown has consequences for America that are much, much worse," Schumer said tonight on the Senate floor. "It doesn’t address far too many of this country’s needs, but I believe allowing Donald Trump to take even more, even much more power via a government shutdown is a far worse option.”
Schumer said a government shutdown would give Trump and Musk "carte blanche to destroy vital government services at a significantly faster rate."
"Under a shutdown, the Trump administration would have full authority to deem whole agencies, programs and personnel nonessential, furloughing staff with no promise they would ever be rehired," he said. "The decision on what is essential would be solely left to the executive branch, with nobody left at the agencies to check them."
Schumer also said a shutdown would distract the public from Trump’s agenda and could stall ongoing federal court cases against the administration.
"In short, a shutdown would give Donald Trump, Elon Musk and DOGE the keys to the city, state and country," he said.
"I believe it is my job to make the best choice for the country to minimize the harms to the American people," he added. "Therefore, I will vote to keep the government open and not shut it down."
Schumer opens the door to avoiding a government shutdown
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, of New York, informed his Democratic colleagues in a closed-door meeting this afternoon that he would vote to advance the House-passed Republican funding bill, according to a source familiar with his remarks.
If the bill gets at least 60 votes, it would go to the floor for a final up-or-down vote under a simple majority. Democrats would still have the opportunity to vote against final passage. Under that scenario, the bill is likely to pass, avoiding a government shutdown this weekend.
Schumer said yesterday that Democrats would oppose the House-passed government funding bill, adding that Republicans had chosen a "partisan path" and therefore "do not have the votes in the Senate to invoke cloture" on the continuing resolution.
The New York Times first reported Schumer’s plans to vote in favor of advancing the GOP spending bill.
Democratic Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona dies at 77
Longtime Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., died today from “complications of his cancer treatment,” his office announced in a statement. He was 77.
Grijalva, who served in the House for more than 20 years, was elected to Congress in 2002. He was chair of the Natural Resources Committee, and most recently he was the top Democrat on the committee. He also was one of the leading progressive voices on Capitol Hill and was a co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus from 2009 to 2019.
“He was steadfast in his commitment to produce lasting change through environmental policies — as he would say, ‘It’s for the babies.’ He led the Natural Resources Committee without fear of repercussion, but with an urgency of the consequences of inaction,” his staff said in a statement.
Grijalva is the second House Democrat to die in office this month. First-term Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Texas, suddenly died March 5 after he attended Trump’s joint address to Congress the night before.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer calls her meeting with Trump today 'productive'
In a statement following a meeting with Trump at the White House, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is widely seen as a potential contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, said she and Trump talked jobs, tariffs and the Great Lakes in what she called a "productive" discussion.
“I had a productive meeting at the White House today with President Trump where we discussed bringing good paying jobs to Michigan," Whitmer said. "We also discussed tariffs, the importance of keeping our great lakes clean and safe, and additional defense investments in the state."
Whitmer, who won re-election just two years before Trump carried her state last year, added that she was "grateful" for Trump's time today. "I’ll always work as hard as I can with anyone for the state of Michigan and its people,” she said.
Two fellow governors and fellow potential 2028 presidential contenders — Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Andy Beshear of Kentucky — are also in the Washington area to speak with House Democrats at their policy retreat in Virginia tonight.