Senate 'vote-a-rama' gets underway; judge sides with states over Trump on NIH funding

Police in Jupiter, Fla., said that they arrested a man today on charges of making written threats to kill Trump.

The department said in a Facebook post that the threats were made on social media, and that the person was interviewed and taken into custody “without incident.”

Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi thanked the police on X for their "swift response & partnership."

“Threats against @POTUS or any Secret Service protectee are taken very seriously. Our success often starts with tips from the public so please continue to report suspicious activity to police,” Gugliemi wrote.

Judges showed some frustration this week with how the Trump administration has been defending itself in court, with one saying it appeared to have used “bad faith” tactics, another accusing it of using “disingenuous” arguments and a third saying it was making “inaccurate” claims.

One of the judges, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, suggested he might hold contempt proceedings to hold the government to account for failing to comply with his orders.

In a separate but related case, a federal judge in Maryland on Friday ordered the government to return a deportee it acknowledged was accidentally sent to a notorious megajail in El Salvador.

Here’s a look at some of the biggest legal developments of the week.

Read the full story here.

A federal judge in Massachusetts tonight issued a final judgement and permanent injunction in a case involving the Trump administration cutting medical research funding in 22 states. 

In the order, the judge sided with the states that brought the suit. They had alleged that the funding cuts would “halt…cutting edge work” used to cure and treat human disease.

As a result of the ruling, the National Institutes of Health must continue to fund research grants at the full amount in accordance with original agreements.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said tonight he will support the Senate Republican budget resolution, despite his criticism of rising debt.

Cassidy displayed a chart on the Senate floor to show how much the debt would increase if Republicans permanently extend tax cuts from Trump's first term.

He said the country would be “in deep doo doo” if debt got that high before adding that he would ultimately support the GOP resolution.

Cassidy said that not passing the resolution would extend uncertainty caused by Trump’s tariffs. He also said that he has gotten assurances that Trump and Republican leaders in Congress will work to offset the cost of the budget bill.

The Senate tonight started what's known as vote-a-rama, when it votes on an unlimited number of amendments to the Republican budget resolution.

The first amendment, focused on Medicare and Medicaid, was introduced by Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the floor before voting began that Democratic amendments will focus on "hitting the kill switch on Donald Trump’s tariffs, on DOGE, on the attacks against Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid.”

At the end of vote-a-rama, which is expected to extend into tomorrow, the Senate will vote to pass the budget resolution. It only needs a simple majority.

A federal judge today ruled that the Trump administration disobeyed the court’s previous order that blocked the administration from withholding federal funds to states.

U.S. District Chief Judge John McConnell in Rhode Island found that the administration violated the court order by pausing the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disbursement of millions of dollars in grant funding to states.

The judge wrote, “States have presented evidence that strongly suggests that FEMA is implementing this manual review based, covertly, on the President’s January 20, 2025 executive order — ‘Protecting the American People Against Invasions,’” which is meant to withhold funds from “sanctuary” jurisdictions that don’t assist with administration’s immigration policies.

“FEMA received notice of the preliminary injunction order, the order is clear and unambiguous, and there is no impediments to FEMA’s compliance with the order. The record makes clear that FEMA’s manual review process imposes an indefinite pause on the disbursement of federal funds to states,” the judge added.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., shamed his Republican colleagues today during a floor speech over their backing of a budget resolution that would increase the U.S. debt ceiling by $5 trillion.

“You know, it’s kind of embarrassing, really, to talk about debt. It’s extremely embarrassing for Republicans who say they’re conservative to be adding 5 trillion in debt and voting for it,” Paul said.

"This will be a vote, and I think, an ignominious one, in which professed conservatives stand up, stand forward, and vote for more debt than Congress has ever voted for at one period of time. It just, it just disappoints me. I’m so disappointed," he added.

Paul suggested that Republican support for the budget bill is hypocritical given the party's often-touted support for ongoing efforts to reduce government spending and waste.

The White House said in a news release today that Trump unleashed “economic prosperity” this week — despite markets plunging for the second day in a row after the president announced sweeping tariffs.

"It was another highly successful week for the American people as President Donald J. Trump continues his relentless pursuit of strength, prosperity, and peace — and lays the foundation for America to be the global powerhouse for generations to come," the White House said.

The release made no mention of the market turmoil, which included the broad-based S&P 500 closing down 6%, while Nasdaq fell 5.8% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 2,200 points, roughly 5.5%.

While the markets are not a direct measure of the economy, many Wall Street economists this week said the new tariffs could lead to a recession.

CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin joins TODAY to break down how CEOs are reacting to Trump’s sweeping global tariffs, as they weigh how to lead through the uncertainty.

Rep. Don Bacon, a moderate Republican from Nebraska, said today that he plans to introduce a companion bill to a bipartisan Senate measure designed to rein in Trump’s power and reassert Congress’ authority over tariffs.

Bacon said his bill would be identical to one introduced this week by Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., that would require congressional approval for tariffs to extend beyond 60 days after their implementation. It would also require the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of announcing them.

“I want to submit Senator Grassley’s bill in the House. I think it is the right answer,” Bacon told NBC News today in a text message.

Former President Barack Obama said he is “deeply concerned” with some of the actions that Trump and his administration have taken and seemed to call out the Republican Party for not pushing back on them.

Obama rebuked Trump without explicitly naming him over the federal government’s threats against universities and students who exercise free speech, its targeting of law firms, and the new tariffs imposed on foreign countries.

“I don’t think what we just witnessed in terms of economic policy and tariffs is going to be good for America, but that’s a specific policy,” Obama said yesterday in his remarks at Hamilton College in New York. “I’m more deeply concerned with a federal government that threatens universities if they don’t give up students who are exercising their right to free speech,” he said.

Obama said he’s more troubled by a White House that takes aim at law firms that represent ideas or parties that its occupants disagree with, and that the administration has punished media outlets. Trump has signed executive orders penalizing major law firms and lawyers, prompting outrage within the legal community. The White House has also barred The Associated Press from coverage over its refusal to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

Read the full story here.

The Supreme Court today allowed the Trump administration to terminate Education Department grants for teacher training that officials deemed to violate their new policy opposing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

The 5-4 decision blocks a Massachusetts-based judge’s ruling that said the administration had failed to follow the correct legal process in terminating the grants. About $65 million in grant payments are outstanding.

The decision is the first win for Trump at the Supreme Court in his second term.

Read the full story here.

Trump says his goal for sweeping reciprocal tariffs is to realign the economy by bringing jobs back to the United States. To do that, he’s making products made overseas more expensive. But how much will it cost consumers and how long will it take? NBC News’ Tom Costello reports for "TODAY."

Trump spent roughly six hours at his Florida golf club today as the tariffs he implemented worldwide continued to rattle stock markets and spark economic uncertainty.

The White House called a lid at 3:42 p.m. ET, meaning Trump did not speak to reporters at all today.

Markets have continued to tumble in reaction to Trump's tariff announcement, with the Dow and S&P 500 dropping 6% and 5.5%, respectively.

On Thursday, the S&P had its worst day since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The standoff over proxy voting continues between Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla.

Johnson signaled in a post on X this morning that Trump backs him in the ongoing fight in the House over proxy voting for new parents, which the speaker believes is unconstitutional.  

"Thank you, @realDonaldTrump for your leadership: “Mike, you have my proxy on proxy voting.” America is grateful to have a President who appreciates and understands the complexity of legislative branch issues and governing with a razor-thin House majority," Johnson wrote on X.

A coalition of labor unions representing federal employees has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, arguing that Trump’s executive order directing broad swaths of government agencies to end collective bargaining with federal unions is unconstitutional. 

The lawsuit, filed late last night in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges Trump signed the order in retaliation against the labor unions that have become a major legal obstacle in his efforts to slash the size of the federal government and move its core functions under executive control. 

It also claims the order, which invoked a rare national security exemption to instruct 18 federal agencies to end collective bargaining with the unions representing their employees, was illegal because the primary functions of many of the named agencies are not related to national security. 

A three-judge panel of the North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled Friday that more than 65,000 votes cast in the contested race for the state Supreme Court in 2024 must be recounted and verified — a win for the Republican candidate in the razor-thin, disputed contest and a decision that could potentially tip the election results in his favor.

In the ruling, the Republican majority involved in the decision ordered that a group of more than 65,000 voters, whose eligibility was challenged by Republican Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin and his lawyers, now have 15 business days to provide state elections officials with the necessary proof of identity that would verify their votes. The court ruled that any voters who don’t respond will not have their votes counted in the race between Griffin and Democrat Allison Riggs, which is still caught in legal battling five months after Election Day.

The arduous task of verifying those voter identities will fall on the North Carolina State Board of Elections. And the decision sets up an appeal to North Carolina’s highest court, the state Supreme Court — the body that the winner of this election will join.

Read the full story here.

More top vaccine regulators at the Food and Drug Administration have either left or been forced out following the resignation last week of Dr. Peter Marks, the agency’s top vaccine official, according to four former and current government officials familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

Experts say the exodus of top talent at the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research could hobble the agency’s ability to approve new vaccines and a wide range of other drugs — especially in the wake of the mass layoffs by the Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday.

Read the full story here.

President Donald Trump on Friday said he will extend the deadline for TikTok to find a U.S. buyer or face a ban, giving the China-based owner ByteDance an additional 75 days to reach a deal.

“My Administration has been working very hard on a Deal to SAVE TIKTOK, and we have made tremendous progress,” he wrote in a Truth Social post. “The Deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed, which is why I am signing an Executive Order to keep TikTok up and running for an additional 75 days.”

Trump previously delayed the app’s ban via executive order on his first day in office, effectively giving ByteDance until April 5 — Saturday — to comply with the law.

Read the full story here.

A group of 16 state attorneys general are suing the Trump administration over disruptions to grant funding for research from the National Institutes of Health. 

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts on Friday, says that the Trump administration has “engaged in a concerted, and multi-pronged effort to disrupt NIH’s grants” through “across-the-board delays” in reviewing pending grant approvals and “widespread terminations of already-issued grants.”

The slowdown in grant approvals has left researchers across the country uncertain if they would receive funding. It has prompted layoffs and furloughs and disrupted ongoing studies. 

Those effects have trickled down to students. The lawsuit says that UMass Amherst has had to reduce its graduate admissions by nearly 30% and rescind financial awards to graduate students as a result of the funding disruptions. 

Aside from climate change and pollution, penguins are now facing one more threat from humanity: Trump’s tariffs.

Trump on Wednesday announced expansive tariffs on more than 180 countries and regions to retaliate against what he characterized as unfair trade practices by other countries.

While Vladimir Putin’s Russia was left out of the long list, Trump slapped 10% tariffs on Heard Island and McDonald Islands, a mostly barren, tiny outpost largely populated by penguins.

Read the full story here.

The departments of Justice and Education are launching a special investigations team to enforce compliance with Trump's executive order aimed at banning transgender women from participating in women's and girls sports, the departments said in a news release.

The "specialized team of investigators" from both departments is tasked with investigating Title IX violations in schools, it said. Title IX is the federal civil rights law that bans sex-based discrimination in education programs that receive federal funding.

Trump has signed an executive order aimed at barring transgender athletes from competing in girls and women's sports and instructed his administration to define noncompliance as a Title IX violation.

"This collaborative effort with the Department of Education will enable our attorneys to take comprehensive action when women’s sports or spaces are threatened and use the full power of the law to remedy any violation of women’s civil rights," Attorney General Pam Bondi said in the release.

Senate Republicans managed to proceed to debate their massive budget plan last night, but not before an unexpected delay caused by some of their own who have concerns about their strategy on tax cuts and potential cuts to Medicaid.

The delay occurred as those Republicans met with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to talk through their concerns. Some more centrist senators are worried about a budget change the party is using to slap a zero-dollar price tag on extending Trump’s tax cuts, which are estimated by the official scorekeeper in Congress to cost $4.6 trillion over a decade.

Read the full story.

Ed Martin, interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, compared the use of an obstruction of an official proceeding charge against Jan. 6 defendants to the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, according to an email obtained by NBC News.

Martin, a “stop the steal” organizer and advocate for Jan. 6 defendants who lacked any prosecutorial experience when Trump named him D.C.’s chief federal prosecutor on an interim basis, has also been nominated to take over the position on a permanent basis. In an email this morning, he said the “special project” he launched into the use of an obstruction statute against Jan. 6 defendants was broadening.

“The 1512 Project is expanded [sic] in scope,” Martin wrote. “We continue to look at exactly how and why so many Jan 6th cases were charged using 1512 which led to the dramatic failure before the Supreme Court. We have contacted lawyers, staff and judges about this — and sought their feedback. One called the bi-partisan rejection of the 1512 charge the ‘greatest failure of legal judgement since FDR and his Attorney General put American citizens of Japanese descent in prison camps — and seized their property.’ I agree and that’s why we continue to look at who ordered the 1512 and why. A lot to do.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom is asking California's long-standing trading partners to exclude his state's products from their retaliatory measures they they react to Trump's sweeping new tariffs by hiking their own.

"California is not Washington, D.C.,” Newsom, a Democrat, said in an announcement on his request.

"California leads the nation as the #1 state for agriculture and manufacturing — and it’s our workers, families, and farmers who stand to lose the most from this Trump tax hike and trade war," Newsom said in the release. "To our international partners: As the fifth largest economy in the world, the Golden State will remain a steady, reliable partner for generations to come, no matter the turbulence coming out of Washington."

Newsom argued Trump's imposition of high tariffs will ultimately lead to higher priced products, meaning consumers will be forced to foot the bill.

The major U.S. stock indexes dropped sharply just minutes into trading today as Trump’s historic tariffs announcement — and fresh retaliatory duties imposed by China — sent further shock waves through the global economy.

The S&P 500 fell more than 3%, deepening a decline that began in February. The index, which tracks 500 of the leading U.S. companies, is now down almost 15% from its peak.

Read the full story.

Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin announced today the launch of the “People’s Cabinet,” a new initiative bringing together policy experts, lawmakers and other leaders to offer counterarguments to the Trump administration’s agenda.

The initiative plans to give briefings to the press and coalition partners, speak with Americans across the country at town halls, produce digital content and engage in rapid response “to counter the lies and disinformation from the Trump administration,” according to a news release.

“Trump has stacked his Cabinet with out-of-touch billionaires and know-nothing loyalists who are wreaking havoc on the lives of working people across this country,” Martin said in the release. “The People’s Cabinet is made up of experts, leaders, and everyday Americans from across the country who will equip communities with the reliable, accurate information they need to fight back against the worst of the Trump and Republican agenda.”

The DNC will announce additional members and programming for the People’s Cabinet in the coming weeks.

Denmark’s prime minister is wrapping up a three-day visit to Greenland today after telling the U.S. “you cannot annex another country,” even with the argument that international security is at stake.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen traveled to the strategically critical Arctic island as Trump seeks control of Greenland. He argues that Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory belonging to the Kingdom of Denmark, is critical to U.S. security.

Read the full story.

Some Republicans are expressing reservations about Trump’s sweeping reciprocal tariffs, including Sen. Ted Cruz, of Texas, who warned that keeping high tariffs in place for an extended period would not be good economic policy. NBC’s Peter Alexander reports for "TODAY."

The Senate is expected to hold an unlimited "vote-a-rama" on the Republican budget resolution, in which lawmakers from both parties spend hours offering amendments to the measure.

Democrats will use the opportunity to force votes on amendments aimed at attacking Trump's and the larger Republican agenda. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said last night that Democrats' speeches and amendments will focus on six themes: Medicaid cuts, "tax breaks for billionaires," tariffs, veterans, national security and "the unprecedented corruption Donald Trump has unleashed on our government."

Trump said he backs an effort to allow remote voting by House lawmakers who are new parents, directly inserting himself into a Republican dispute that brought legislative business to a halt this week.

The push for remote voting is being led in part by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., who has clashed with Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., over his opposition to the measure.

Read the full story.

The Trump administration abruptly fired the top two officials at the National Security Agency yesterday. It comes after the White House also fired at least three National Security Council officials after a meeting between Trump and far-right activist Laura Loomer, who pushed for their firings, telling the president that the officials were disloyal. NBC’s Peter Alexander reports for "TODAY."

Investors plowed into government bonds in anticipation of global growth slowing dramatically in response to China slapping tariffs on imports from the U.S.

Yields on bonds fell to 3.90%, the lowest level since before election day. When traders anticipate reduced growth, they demand so-called safe-haven assets like bonds that pay fixed income. When demand for bonds increases, their prices rise and yields fall.

The lower yields also coincide with increased bets that the Federal Reserve will be forced to cut interest rates to soften the blow from reduced economic activity.

While Trump has sought both lower bond yields — which influence other borrowing rates in the economy, like mortgage rates — and lower interest rates from the Fed, it may end coming at a high cost.

China is “trying to replicate” USAID programs in Africa as the Trump administration dismantles the agency, the commander of the U.S. Africa Command told lawmakers.

Massive cuts to USAID, which administers civilian foreign aid, have jeopardized programs such as Pepfar, an anti-HIV/AIDS initiative that has been credited with saving more than 26 million lives globally — mostly in Africa, where Chinese influence has been growing.

“There’s a number of programs that we see that the Chinese Communist Party is trying to replicate,” Gen. Michael E. Langley told the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday.

Though Langley declined to comment on Trump administration policy, he said of the USAID programs, “Those capabilities are needed for the U.S. to maintain a strategic advantage over the Chinese Communist Party, because we do it best.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio today defended Trump's tariffs and said that the U.S. will know soon whether Russia is serious about reaching a peace deal with Ukraine.

“We need to get back to a time when we were a country that can make things. And to do that we have to reset the global order of trade,” Rubio told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels, where he was attending a meeting with foreign ministers. “We have to be able to make things to provide jobs for Americans."

The federal government will release the latest monthly jobs report today — but in the wake of Trump’s shock announcement Wednesday seeking to disrupt the global economy with broad tariffs on U.S. imports, the new labor market data for March will essentially end up reflecting a different era. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the survey at 8:30 a.m. ET. Estimates from Dow Jones showed forecasts for about 140,000 net new payrolls, compared with 151,000 previously, with the unemployment rate unchanged for the month at 4.1%. 

Read the full story.

Trump expressed public support for Marine Le Pen, a far-right French politician who was convicted of embezzlement earlier this week and sentenced to four years in prison.

The conviction also means a five-year ban from public office for Le Pen, who was seen as a front-runner in the 2027 French presidential election and whose anti-immigration and other policies have drawn comparisons to Trump.

“The Witch Hunt against Marine Le Pen is another example of European Leftists using Lawfare to silence Free Speech, and censor their Political Opponent, this time going so far as to put that Opponent in prison,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. “It is the same ‘playbook’ that was used against me.”

“FREE MARINE LE PEN!” he added.

Read the full story.

Economic fallout is growing after stocks plummeted yesterday in response to Trump’s sweeping new reciprocal tariff plan. JP Morgan is now predicting a 60% chance of a global recession if the tariffs continue. NBC’s Christine Romans reports for "TODAY."

HONG KONG — China announced a 34% tariff on all U.S. imports today, escalating the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.

The move came two days after Trump imposed the same tariff on all Chinese imports as part of what he called reciprocal tariffs on a long list of U.S. trade partners.

Read the full story.

The ripple effects of Trump’s new wave of sweeping tariffs announced this week will be felt the most by lower-income Americans, who are heavily reliant on products from countries hit the hardest by Trump’s tariffs and have less disposable income to absorb higher prices.

Trump is placing some of his highest tariffs on goods coming from countries making the low-cost products that line the shelves of discount retailers. Products from Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Cambodia, for instance, will have a more than 40% tariff — that is, now importers will need to pay 40% of the value of those goods to Customs and Border Protection at ports of entry to get them into the country. Goods from China will have a total of more than 70% worth of additional tariffs.

Read the full story.