Middleboro Review 2: MAGA GOP BUDGET

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Monday, May 5, 2025

This Weekend in Politics, Bulletin 123

May 4

… Trump was asked on Meet the Press if he agreed with Marco Rubio that every person in the US is entitled to due process as stated in the Constitution: “I don’t know. I’m not, I’m not a lawyer. I don’t know. It seems - it might say that, but if you’re talking about that, then we’d have to have a million or 2-3 million trials. I was elected to get them the hell out of here, and the courts are holding me from doing it.”

… Deportation hearings are not “trials” and immigration judges are not federal district judges - they work for DOJ. Most of these hearings can happen very quickly if you have enough judges and DOJ is prepared to move forward with cases. One of the main provisions of the bipartisan border bill that Trump had killed last year added hundreds of new immigration judges so a higher volume of cases could be handled quickly.

… Q - But even given those numbers that you’re talking about, don’t you need to uphold the Constitution of the United States as president? Trump: “I don’t know.”

… Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD): “It’s the only specific oath that’s actually detailed in it’s language. It says before the president undertakes the execution of the office he has to swear to say that he will preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution. The fact that doesn’t leap to mind for him is pretty shocking even for Donald Trump.”

… Cardinal Timothy Dolan was asked about Trump posting an AI picture of himself on Truth Social as the new Pope: “I hope he didn’t have anything to do with that. It wasn’t good - brutta figura.” (Italian for making a fool of yourself).

… NY State Catholic Conference, the official policy org of Catholic Bishops in NY: “There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President. We just buried our beloved Pope Francis and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to elect a new successor of St. Peter. Do not mock us.”

A reminder that we make these entire weekend Bulletins available for free subscribers with about the first 30% of each of the daily ones during the week viewable for free subscribers. You are also able to post comments to stories on these weekend ones. If you missed the last Bulletin, you can read it here.

I also posted a story today with a powerful statement from a great Ukrainian journalist summing up how far his country has come historically over the last 3 years since the brutal Russian invasion. I highly recommend you read what he had to say. You can find that here.

… Trump was hit with a Community Note fact check on X after falsely claiming in a speech at the Univ of AL that gas prices were now $1.88 a gallon in three states. The Note, citing US govt numbers, said that not one state has recorded average gas prices that low. The lowest statewide average was $2.66 in Mississippi, with the national average over $3.00 a gallon.

… Ryan Cummings, Chief of Staff for Stanford Institute on Economic Policy, on Trump claiming gas is $1.88 a gallon: “OMG. POTUS's team is showing him the cost of wholesale, unfinished gasoline, which does not include the cost of oxygenates (e.g., ethanol) and all the distribution and marketing costs, and telling him this is the price of gasoline you are paying at the pump!”

… Trump was told that the prices of things that working families need are going up because of tariffs: "When you say strollers are going up - I'm saying that gasoline is going down. Gasoline is thousands of times more important than a stroller. And you don't need to have 35 dolls. You can have 2, 3, 4 and save a lot of money.”

… CNN: “As of 12:01 am ET on Sat, most auto part imports will come with a 25% import tax. The previous auto tariffs left US-made cars untouched. Not anymore. Not a single one of the 10 million cars turned out by US plants last year was built without at least some imported parts. The tariffs on parts could now mean tens of billions of dollars in new cost to the industry – and eventually to American car buyers and owners. More than 50% of the content of cars assembled in American auto plants is imported.”

… Jonathan Smoke, chief economist at Cox Automotive: “Frankly, from my perspective, the parts tariffs looks worse for the broader economy than the tariffs on imported vehicles. The tariffs on parts will lead to higher inflation in repair and maintenance and insurance which impact every American and not just the people thinking about buying a new imported vehicle.”

… Trump was asked about the expensive military parade he’s planning for his birthday: "We're gonna have a big beautiful parade. We're gonna celebrate our military. We have the greatest military in the world. We have the greatest missiles in the world. We have the greatest submarines. We have the great army tanks in the world. We have the great weapons in the world, and we're gonna celebrate it."

… He was asked how much it was going to cost taxpayers: “Peanuts compared to the value of doing it.”

… Q - Is it ok in the short term to have a recession? Trump: “Yeah. Everything is ok.”

… Trump was asked if he would rule out using military force to take Canada: “I don’t think we’ll ever get to that point. It could happen with Greenland though.”

… Q - What do you to people who say they voted for you to end foreign conflicts not start them? Trump: “I don’t see that as conflict. I think that’s good for our country.”

… Q- So you are willing to send US Troops to claim a sovereign territory? Trump: “It could happen. I doubt it will, but it certainly could happen with respect to Greenland.”

… Rasmus Jarlov, Danish Conservative MP: “Denmark was liberated from the Nazis this evening 80 years ago. Since then no other country has threatened to invade us. Until now when Trump does so again and again as if it is not insane at all.”

… Marge Greene is not happy with Trump: “I represent the base and when I’m frustrated and upset over the direction of things, you better be clear, the base is not happy. I campaigned for no more foreign wars. And now we are supposedly on the verge of going to war with Iran. I don’t think we should be bombing foreign countries on behalf of other foreign countries especially when they have their own nuclear weapons and massive military strength.”

… “And on top of that, now we are told that we have signed a deal for mineral rights in Ukraine. Why on earth would we go over and occupy Ukraine and spend an untold amount of future American taxpayer dollars defending and mining their minerals as well as potentially putting American lives at risk and future war? Why don’t we just mine our own rare earth minerals?”

… “I also campaigned on accountability for all the law fair that was waged against the American people in the past four years. What about all the people that were locked up in jail and the abuse that they went through? And when are those vicious attorneys and judges ever going to be held accountable for the lives they ruined?”

… “And I campaigned for an end to waste fraud and abuse of the American people’s harder tax dollars. I believe the DOGE mission is one of the most important things happening today in our government, and yet where are the rescissions that we should be voting on in Congress? When you are losing MTG, you are losing the base. And Trump isn’t on the ballot in the future, so do the math on that.”

… Tom Costello from MSNBC reported that an air traffic controller told him that it is not safe to fly into Newark Airport: “It is not safe. It is not a safe situation right now for the flying public. Don’t fly into Newark. Avoid Newark at all costs.”

… The FAA said there is a shortage of ATCs at the airport. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said over 20% of them have walked off the job since Trump took office: “Keep in mind, this particular air traffic control facility has been chronically understaffed for years and without these controllers, it‘s now clear—and the FAA tells us—that Newark airport cannot handle the number of planes that are scheduled to operate there in the weeks and months ahead.”

… Transportation Sec Sean Duffy: “You’re starting to see cracks in the system. It‘s our job to actually see over the horizon what the issues are and fix it before there is an incident that we will seriously regret.”

… Australian PM Anthony Albanese won reelection, following the pattern of left-leaning parties making big comebacks at the polls in response to Trump’s trade war. Albanese: “We do not need to beg or borrow or copy from anywhere else. We do not seek out our inspiration overseas. We find it right here in our values and in our people.”

… Sean Kelly, political columnist for the Sydney Morning Herald to WaPo: “Trump has absolutely dominated the trajectory of this election. Albanese’s boringness is now quite an appealing commodity.”

… Michael Fullilove, Exec Dir of the Lowy Institute: “Around the world, Trump’s unpopularity presents an opportunity to center-left political parties.“

… Liberal Senator James Paterson to Australian Broadcasting Corp: “One factor we can all acknowledge and recognize is the Trump factor. It was devastating in Canada for the Conservatives where the Canadian Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre lost 20 points over the course of a few months. And I think it has been a factor here.”

… Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum rejected Trump’s offer to send US troops across the border: “He said, ‘How can we help you fight drug trafficking? I propose that the US military come in and help you.’ And you know what I said to him? ‘No, President Trump. Sovereignty is not for sale. Sovereignty is loved and defended. We can work together, but you in your territory and us in ours.’”

… Trump was asked how much money he made off the cryptocurrency he launched the day before he was inaugurated: “I haven’t even looked.”

… Former Asst. Dir. of the FBI, Frank Figliuzzi said on MSNBC that Kash Patel spends more time in nightclubs than working at DOJ: “Reportedly, he's been visible at nightclubs far more than he has been on the 7th floor of the Hoover building. And there are reports that daily briefings to him have been changed from every day to maybe twice weekly.”

… Figliuzzi: “If he’s really trying to run things without his experience, without any experience level, things could be bad. If he’s not plugged in, things could be bad. But he’s allowing agents to run things so we don’t know where this is going.”

… Trump appointed radio host Sid Rosenberg to the US Holocaust Memorial Council, an announcement that is drawing sharp criticism due to Rosenberg’s history of racist remarks. He said on Don Imus’ radio show in 2001 about Serena and Venus Williams: “I can’t even watch them play anymore. I find it disgusting. I find both of those, what do you wanna call them . . . They’re just too muscular. They’re boys.”

… In 2005, Rosenberg said that Australian pop star Kylie Minogue "won't look so pretty when she's bald" and has one breast, alluding to the impact of cancer treatments.

… Warren Buffet announced his retirement and took a parting shot at Trump in his speech to Berkshire Hathaway’s shareholders: “Trade should not be a weapon. I do think that the more prosperous the rest of the world becomes, it won’t be at our expense, the more prosperous we’ll become, and the safer we’ll feel, and your children will feel someday. Tariffs can be an act of war. And I think it’s led to bad things. Just the attitudes it’s brought out. In the US, we should be looking to trade with the rest of the world and we should do what we do best and they should do what they do best.”

… Trump said he is also going to continue making Mar-a-Lago style changes to the White House: “We are going to make and build a ballroom. It will be a world-class, beautiful ballroom.”

… Trump attacked Rep. Jasmine Crockett: “I look at the Democrats, they have a new person named Crockett. I watched her speak the other day and she's definitely a low IQ person.”

… Crockett responded: “For you to be in charge of the WHOLE country, you sure do have my name in your mouth a lot. Every time you say my name, you’re reminding the world that you’re terrified of smart, bold Black women telling the truth and holding you accountable. So keep talking.”

… Trump was asked about the peace negotiations with Russia and Ukraine: "We're closer with one party and maybe not as close with the other, but we'll have to see. I'd like to not say which one we're closer to."

… The official social media account for the Department of Defense posted this today:

… CNBC reported that Chinese bargain retailer Temu has abruptly shifted its website and app to only display listings for products shipped from US-based warehouses. Items shipped directly from China, which previously blanketed the site, are now labeled as out of stock.

… Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) was asked on CBS if she will vote to confirm Mike Waltz as UN Ambassador after he was fired as NSA Director: "I think everybody on that Signal chain needs to be fired. He's failing up. I'm not open to voting for him, no, because he's already demonstrated he's incapable of doing the most basic thing, which is handling classified information."

… Sen Mark Warner (D-VA) to CNN about Waltz’s nomination for UN Ambassador: “I think it will be a brutal confirmation hearing.”

… Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) was asked about reports that she may run for governor after Trump pulled her nomination for US Ambassador: “Absolutely, I’m taking at hard look at it and the outpouring of support has been tremendous. Kathy Hochul is the worst governor in America.”

… Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) was asked on Fox Business about Mike Johnson’s comment that they will pass Trump’s tax cuts by Memorial Day: “There's no way. Unfortunately, President Trump chose the one big beautiful bill. What he should've done is the multiple step process.”

… Johnson was then asked if it could get done by the end of 2025: “Not if we don't come down to pre-pandemic spending.” (They are never going to cut spending that much, so we will see if so-called deficit hawks like Johnson stick to their guns on this when Trump starts yelling at them).

… Johnson was asked on CNN about the CDC denying Milwaukee’s request for help in addressing a growing lead crisis in its schools: “I wouldn't think this is something that requires federal government involvement in it. Local and state officials ought to be able to handle this.”

… Johnson was asked about Trump’s tariffs: “President Trump has a negotiating strategy, a negotiating style. I think he's throwing the entire world out of balance. I think he understands that creates uncertainty and instability, which is not good for economic activity. But that's his negotiating strategy.”

… Fed Judge Beryl Howell struck down Trump’s executive order targeting the Perkins Coie law firm: “No American President has ever before issued executive orders like the one at issue in this lawsuit targeting a prominent law firm with adverse actions to be executed by all Executive branch agencies but, in purpose and effect, this action draws from a playbook as old as Shakespeare, who penned the phrase: ‘The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.’”

… Statement from Perkins Coie: “This decision affirms core constitutional freedoms all Americans hold dear, including free speech, due process, and the right to select counsel without the fear of retribution. We are pleased with this decision and are immensely grateful to those who spoke up in support of our positions.”

… Marco Rubio, Vance, and Musk condemned Germany labeling the AfD party an extremist organization. Rubio: “Germany just gave its spy agency new powers to surveil the opposition. That’s not democracy—it’s tyranny in disguise. What is truly extremist is not the popular AfD—which took second in the recent election—but rather the establishment’s deadly open border immigration policies that the AfD opposes. Germany should reverse course.”

… Vance: “The AfD is the most popular party in Germany, and by far the most representative of East Germany. Now the bureaucrats try to destroy it. The West tore down the Berlin Wall together. And it has been rebuilt—not by the Soviets or the Russians, but by the German establishment.”

… The German Foreign Office responded: “This is democracy. This decision is the result of a thorough and independent investigation to protect our Constitution and the rule of law. It is independent courts that will have the final say. We have learnt from our history that rightwing extremism needs to be stopped.”

… Kviv Independent: “The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution finalized the designation after compiling a report exceeding 1,100 pages, which outlined extensive evidence of extremist activity within the party.”

… Former CIA agent Marc Polymeropoulos: “This is the depths to which the US has sunk, globally. We are now defending a ‘Nazi-light’ party - in Germany of all places. FFS. It will take a generation, if ever, before the world looks at the US again as the bright shining city on a hill. It is infuriating- and embarrassing.”

… President Zelensky warned the heads of state attending Moscow’s ‘Victory Day’ Parade on May 9 that they are not necessarily going to be safe: “Our position is very simple for all countries traveling to Russia on May 9: We cannot be held responsible for what happens on the territory of the Russian Federation. They provide you with security; therefore, we won’t give you any guarantees. Because we don’t know what Russia will do these days.”

… Zelensky also said if there is a terrorist attack of any kind, Russia will blame Ukraine even if they aren’t responsible.

… Kyle Whitmire, Pulitzer Prize winning columnist for AL.com: “This week, I challenged Sen. Tommy Tuberville to clear his residency questions once and for all by doing something that most Alabamians would be able to do without any problem — by showing whether he paid state income taxes for each of the last 7 years. To run for the Senate, he had to live in AL only for a day before the 2020 election, but to run for governor in AL, residency requirements say a candidate has to live in the state for 7 years.

(He is reportedly about to announce his run for governor soon)

… “If he truly was an AL resident, his income taxes should show it. But so far he hasn’t. Instead, Tuberville has fallen back on a different argument — that his wife’s homestead exemption in Auburn is enough to prove his residency going back to 2018. A homestead exemption is a property tax break homeowners can take on their primary residence. If he was living in AL in 2018, why was he still voting in FL in 2018?

… In 2018, Tuberville’s wife, Suzanne, claimed a homestead exemption on a house in Auburn. However, later that same year, Tuberville and his wife continued to vote in FL. Tuberville put his name on two AL deeds last year — one in Auburn and another in Madison — each with their own homestead exemptions. If a homestead exemption means residency, then which is it?”

… “Speaking to AL Daily News this week, Tuberville may have tipped his hand. He claimed that the law requires him to live a total of 7 years in AL, not all 7 years leading up to the election: ‘I was at Auburn 10 years and so I lived there for 10 years in a row. So it’s not your last 7 years.’ But the AL Constitution says candidates must be residents for 7 years ‘next before’ the date of the election.” (That language has been interpreted to mean immediately before).

… Whitmire: ”If he wants to show where he’s lived, he needs to show us his taxes. And while he’s at it, it wouldn’t hurt to show his utility bills, too. Where he flushes his toilet probably tells us more than his homestead exemption.”

… Asst. AG for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon posted: “I was just heckled at the DMV. White middle aged woman interrupted my knitting on her way out and loudly stated, ‘Miss Dhillon!’ When I looked up she said ‘you and your boss are making a mockery of the Justice Department!’ I said thanks and went back to my knitting. BOLO angry white woman, (‘healthy’ weight in Punjabi terms) and looked exactly like Katie Porter, down to the hairstyle and the Karen hectoring.”

… Sen. Cory Booker said that the WH Counsel’s office told him last week that Alina Habba’s controversial appointment as interim US Attorney for NJ is only temporary and Trump is going to find someone more qualified to replace her soon. To NJ Globe: “The counsel’s office has pledged to us that they want to work cooperatively to find somebody for that position. I was told that she is temporarily there, and I feel like I’ve gotten assurances that we’re going to work to find a different person for permanency. That’s the good faith I’m working in right now.”

… Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to the story: “Fake News. No such assurances were ever given to Senator Booker from the WH Counsel’s Office. President Trump proudly appointed Alina Habba to serve, and he believes she is doing a tremendous job cleaning up NJ.”

… Pardoned Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio posted this after his trip to Mar-a-Lago this weekend: “Yesterday, I had the honor of meeting the POTUS, a moment I never could have imagined in my darkest days. I’ve been given a second chance to start anew, and I know this is no accident. God made this possible. Through Jesus, all things are possible. My deepest gratitude goes to my family, my brotherhood, my friends, and every person who fought for justice and helped elect the greatest president since George Washington.”

… Tarrio was serving a 22 year prison sentence for seditious conspiracy and several other charges when Trump pardoned him.

We had a great time visiting the Berkshires the past two days, visiting several farms and small museums. The Norman Rockwell Museum was amazing. I had no idea how much he did and got to see many works that have never gotten much notice publicly - especially the social commentary ones he did on civil rights later in life. The Baby Animals Festival at the Shaker Village was pretty cool too!

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Friday, April 11, 2025

POLITICO Nightly: The Canadian leader who can’t escape Trump’s shadow

By Catherine Kim

Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre delivers a speech to supporters during a campaign stop on March 27, 2025 in Surrey, Canada. | Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images

NO FRIEND OF MINE — As Canada’s April 28 election draws ever closer, Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre bounded onto stage in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, on Wednesday night, sounding familiar notes.

“Who’s ready to stop the crime, for a change?” he asked the cheering crowd. “And who’s ready to put Canada first for a change?”

Those lines have come to define both his stump speech and his broader political ideology of a new Canadian nationalism: cut red tape, build homes, talk regularly about ‘the everyday Canadian.’ It’s the kind of messaging behind his party’s rise in the polls and that helped boot out former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last year.

But the election landscape has shifted dramatically in a relatively short period of time, and it’s no longer enough. Poilievre suddenly finds himself forced to drive a secondary message: Donald Trump is no friend of mine.

Up until January, Poilievre had praised the U.S. president as a “successful businessman” and assured that the two neighboring countries had the same geopolitical enemies. He wasn’t exactly MAGA, but Poilievre drew from the same playbook enough to draw comparisons to Trump — which worked for him until it didn’t.

Trump’s onslaught of tariffs against Canada and taunts to make Canada a 51st state proved ruinous to Poilievre, whose popularity tanked after being seen as a man who aligned himself, both ideologically and style-wise, too closely with Trump. It’s been a boon to the Liberal Party, and especially for Liberal leader Mark Carney, a banker whose level-headed nature is seen as the best antidote to Trump’s volatility.

Poilievre and his party know that he needs to distance himself from Trump to have any hope of winning, which has led the Conservative leader to finally begin criticizing Trump during his stump speeches. In a Monday news conference, Poilievre made his strongest attack yet: Not only did he single out Trump as the sole reason behind the stock market chaos, he criticized the close relationship between Canada and the U.S.

“We have to acknowledge that this chaos is the direct result of wrong-headed, unnecessary, chaotic policies coming from President Trump,” Poilievre said. “These tariffs are a massive distraction, and it reminds us why it was such a mistake for the Liberals to make us so dependent on the Americans.”

That pivot on Trump — and the assignment of blame to Liberals for Canada’s dependency on the U.S. — is part of the case Poilievre is now making to convince voters that he can stand up to the American president. Last Thursday, when the automobile tariffs kicked in, Poilievere said that Trump had “chosen to betray America’s best friend and closest ally” and called him “unreliable to deal with.”

The week before, he addressed Trump directly: “My message to President Trump is, ‘Knock it off,’” Poilievre said. “Stop attacking America’s friends.”

The attacks, however, haven't entirely been convincing because Poilievre still sounds like Trump — his firebrand rhetoric closely resembles the messaging that propelled Trump to the White House. And it’s making it hard for Canadian voters to not see Trump’s shadow as Poilievre speaks.

His use of the “Canada First” slogan is reminiscent of “America First,” the signature Trump phrase that serves as a rallying cry for his MAGA movement. His strongman posturing also bears a stylistic resemblance to Trump. “I will protect Canada. And I will always put our country first,” Poilievre said during his campaign launch speech.

Another problem is that Poilievre’s messaging still focuses on the country’s ills at a time when the nation is becoming more patriotic — 44 percent of Canadians now say they are “very proud” of their country , a 10-point jump from December to February. Like Trump, Poilievre bemoans a nation riddled with crime and drugs, ruined by open borders and disastrous economic policies led by the opposition party. It was an effective attack against Trudeau, a man who led the country for 10 years, but less so against Carney, a relative political newbie who has tapped into Canada’s rising nationalism by emphasizing that “Canada is strong .”

“When you have a wave of patriotism to fight against Trump, who’s saying that Canada should not exist as a country, and you spend your time criticizing the country, it creates a cognitive dissonance. And so many people reject the design, the style to negative. There’s a sense of solidarity,” says Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Quebec.

There are signs that Poilievre’s party is growing increasingly frustrated with Carney’s resemblance to Trump. Last month, top Conservative strategist Kory Teneycke told CBC News that Poilievre sounds too Trump-y for a lot of voters and warns that change must come, fast. “I think we're just on the wrong track. And I think we need to adjust, refocus the campaign on the one big issue and soften the tone," Teneycke says.

For a candidate who has been defined by his anger, though, change might be hard to come by: “He’s trying, but it’s hard for him to do this,” Béland says. “It is his personality, right?”

Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com . Or contact tonight’s author at ckim@politico.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @ck_525 .

REALITY CHECK — Want a quick, thorough and to-the-point read about the tariff situation, and what it means for the economy, the world and for Trump? Sudeep Reddy breaks it all down in POLITICO Magazine .

What'd I Miss?

****TARIFFS HAVE BEEN IMPOSED ON COUNTRIES THAT DO NOT EXPORT OR HAVE TRADE DEFICITS WITH, AS WELL AS TO PENQUINS...MAYBE THESE INCOMPETENT BOOBS SHOULD SCRUTINIZE THEIR LUNACY....MAYBE THEY SHOULD RESEARCH THE CATASTROPHIC CONSEQUENCES OF SMOOT-HAWLEY!****

— Trump’s 10 percent baseline tariffs are here to stay, Hassett says: National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett made clear on Thursday that President Donald Trump’s 10 percent baseline tariff on imports is not going anywhere , despite ongoing negotiations with foreign nations to roll back the steeper tariffs Trump put in place last week. “Everybody expects that the 10 percent baseline tariff is going to be the baseline and it’s gonna take some kind of extraordinary deal for the president to go below there,” Hassett said during an appearance on CNBC. Hassett defended the administration’s tariff strategy during the interview, describing the recent 90-day tariff pause on the heftier import taxes rolled out last week as a “systematic, well-planned move” rather than a response to market turmoil.

****TAX CUTS FOR THE WEALTHY & DEFICITS INTO THE FUTURE AFTER GUTTING & SLASHING AGENCIES & CLOSING OFFICES SO GOVERNMENT NO LONGER FUNCTIONS! MAGA GOP CONTINUES TO PROVE THEIR INABILITY TO GOVERN BEYOND GENUFLECTING TO TRUMP/NAZI MUSK/DOGEsh*t! Trump's 1st REIGN OF ECONOMIC TERROR CAUSED THE DEFICIT....REPEAT AS REQUIRED! SEN. BERNIE SANDERS GOT IT RIGHT!****

— House GOP adopts budget framework : The House finally approved a budget Thursday , uncorking the filibuster-skirting power Republicans need to build and enact President Donald Trump’s dream bill along party lines this year. The final vote was 216-214, with two Republicans — Reps. Victoria Spartz of Indiana and Thomas Massie of Kentucky — joining all Democrats in voting “no.” Now Republicans on both sides of the Capitol can begin the even-heavier lift of writing — and then whipping support for — the behemoth package of tax cuts, military spending, energy policy, border security investments and more. That process will pit fiscal hawks against moderate Republicans as GOP leaders try to square their conflicting demands to protect safety-net programs like Medicaid while cutting trillions of dollars from that slice of the federal budget.

— Johnson makes dramatic promise to budget holdouts : Speaker Mike Johnson told Republican holdouts on the party’s crucial budget plan in a private meeting Wednesday night that they could oust him from the speakership if he doesn’t follow through with his fiscal promises, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter who were granted anonymity to discuss it. Johnson pledged to abide by the House budget instructions, including a minimum of $1.5 trillion in spending cuts, for the domestic policy megabill that Republicans are now able to pursue on party lines after Thursday’s successful vote.

****TARGETING UNIVERSITIES!*****

— GOP lawmakers probe Ivy League schools for alleged tuition collusion: Congressional Republicans are probing Ivy League schools’ tuition pricing , pressing ahead with their scrutiny of elite institutions in the wake of the Trump administration’s decisions to pause some of their federal funding. House Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan, Senate Judiciary chair Chuck Grassley, Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee chair Mike Lee and the House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee chair Scott Fitzgerald launched a new investigation Thursday, requesting a host of documents — including communication between the institutions around tuition rates and admissions practices.

*****DEREGULATION SECRECY! TRUMP'S AFRAID OF OPPOSITION!****

— Trump directs agencies to quietly repeal regulations — without public notice: President Donald Trump has instructed federal agencies and their assigned DOGE teams to repeal any existing regulations that are inconsistent with his priorities without providing advance notice or going through the traditional public input process. The move accelerates the White House’s sprawling efforts to dismantle the federal regulatory machine, although Trump’s directive to skip the notice-and-comment process will likely face legal challenges. It also may squeeze out contrarian voices — such as civil rights advocates, labor unions and environmentalist groups — from weighing in on the administration’s deregulatory campaign.

— Michael Bennet to launch bid for Colorado governor : Sen. Michael Bennet is expected to launch his bid for Colorado governor on Friday , according to two people familiar with the Democrat’s plans, granted anonymity to discuss private decisions. Bennet, the former Denver Public Schools superintendent who was first appointed to the Senate in 2009, immediately becomes the de facto frontrunner to succeed Democratic Gov. Jared Polis in a solidly blue state.

Bennet joins a wave of Democratic senators who are leaving Washington, D.C., including Sens. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who all announced their retirements earlier this year.

AROUND THE WORLD

Empty aluminum cans for beer sit at the old Irving Brewing Co. in Chicago on March 13, 2025. | Nam Y. Huh/AP

EU PAUSE — The European Union will suspend for 90 days its countermeasures against the U.S. in response to President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs, to buy time to negotiate a trade deal, Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday.

The European Commission president announced the concession after Trump pulled a U-turn on Wednesday on the punishing “reciprocal” tariffs he announced on “Liberation Day” just over a week ago. “We want to give negotiations a chance,” von der Leyen said in a social media post. “While finalising the adoption of the EU countermeasures that saw strong support from our Member States, we will put them on hold for 90 days.”

TOUGH TALK — Bashing European laws used to be a favored pastime of right-wing British lawmakers. It’s now going mainstream .

Months after inheriting responsibility for Britain’s borders, the U.K.’s center-left Prime Minister Keir Starmer is taking aim at the application of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which he says is being wrongly used to circumvent Britain’s own immigration rules.

Starmer, a former human rights lawyer, attracted fire from Britain’s top judge earlier this year after publicly criticizing a court decision allowing a Palestinian family to come to the U.K. under a Ukrainian resettlement scheme — in part down to an ECHR provision called Article 8 that protects a right to a family life.

HISTORIC SHIFT — France is making plans to recognize a Palestinian state and could do so as early as June , French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview with a French broadcaster on Wednesday.

Macron said he hoped that by recognizing Palestinian statehood at a conference in June that France is co-hosting with Saudi Arabia pushing for a two-state solution, attendees who do not formally recognize Israel would in turn do so.

“We must move toward recognition, and we will do so in the coming months,” said the French president. “I’m not doing it for unity, or to please this or that person. I’m doing it because at some point it will be fair,” he said.

Nightly Number

2.4 percent

The increase in the Consumer Price Index year over year , softer than the consensus estimates and well below the 2.8 percent notched in February, the Labor Department said Thursday. On a monthly basis, prices fell due to a sharp decline in the cost of gasoline. And core inflation — which excludes volatile food and energy prices — also came in below expectations at 2.8 percent.

RADAR SWEEP

AGRI-THERAPY — Studies have shown that the grief and depression attached to the loss of one’s farm — or even the threat of such loss — “is equal to the loss of a child.” That explains why farmers have one of the highest suicide rates out of any occupation. But one social worker has come up with some innovative therapy techniques designed to treat depression, anxiety and more in farmers. Kaila Anderson believes that by reorienting therapy around concepts like land and farmwork — rather than more traditional therapeutic models — it can better address the emotional stress unique to farmers. Dean Kuipers reports for The Guardian.

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