Good Thursday evening. In this edition: House approves bill to reopen most of the Homeland Security Department, ending record shutdown.
Plus, FISA, farm bill, King Charles, surgeon general, Mills, Iran war and Warsh.
Homeland Security Funding
The House approved legislation to reopen the bulk of the Homeland Security Department, clearing the way for an end to the record-long shutdown that began in February over disagreements on immigration enforcement.
The chamber approved the Senate-passed bill by voice vote, sending the measure to President Trump, who plans to sign it into law, ending the 75-day partial shutdown.
The legislation will provide funding through September for all of the department's agencies except Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which Republicans plan to fund through a party-line reconciliation bill.
The bill will restore funding to the Coast Guard, TSA, Secret Service, FEMA and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, among other agencies in the sprawling department.
President Trump had ordered Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to continue paying employees throughout the funding lapse, but the department warned that its ability to keep paychecks flowing would run out in early May.
The record-long shutdown began Feb. 14 in the wake of the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, which led Democrats to demand changes to immigration enforcement operations in exchange for their votes on funding.
Lawmakers were ultimately unable to reach an agreement on reforms, leading GOP leadership to pursue a two-track plan to reopen the government: fund ICE and CBP through reconciliation and the rest of the department through a standard appropriations bill.
Senate Republicans struck the deal on April 1 and had twice unanimously approved a bill to reopen most of the department, but infighting among House Republicans caused the measure to languish in the lower chamber.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) initially rejected the Senate plan as a "joke" before reluctantly agreeing to it. But he still refused to bring it to a vote for nearly a month and on Monday called the measure "problematic."
His waffling infuriated Senate Republicans and drew the ire of the White House, leading him to eventually accept the Senate-passed bill before the chamber leaves for a two-week recess.
Speaker Johnson told reporters the delay was needed to ensure sufficient progress on the reconciliation bill for ICE and CBP before funding the rest of the department.
"You heard me trash the bill when it came over the first time because it literally was drafted in the middle of the night. It was about 2 o'clock in the morning when they came up with the final language, and it was haphazardly drafted," he told reporters, bemoaning that it would "orphan" the immigration agencies.
"That's absurd, and we threw a fit," he said. "We had to ensure that they could not isolate and eliminate those two critical agencies … we are getting those done now."
Republicans can now turn their attention to the budget reconciliation process, which they intend to use to fund the immigration agencies through the end of President Trump's term.
To that end, the House late Wednesday night approved the Senate-passed budget resolution, unlocking the powers needed to craft a filibuster-proof reconciliation bill that can pass with a simple majority.
The measurepassed215–211 along party lines after the vote was held open for more than five hours, as Republican holdouts sought concessions from Speaker Johnson on the unrelated farm bill, using the budget resolution as leverage.
President Trump has set a June 1 deadline for Republicans to get him the reconciliation bill. The first step in that process is now complete with the approval of a budget resolution.
Now both chambers will need to approve a reconciliation bill that's expected to include $70 billion for the two agencies, giving them three years' worth of funding and taking the threat of another shutdown over immigration off the table.
Both chambers of Congressapproved a 45-day reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a key intelligence authority that allows the U.S. government to surveil foreigners abroad. It's the second short-term extension and comes amid a rift among Republicans over potential reforms to the program, which can incidentally sweep up Americans' data if they are in contact with a foreign target. The Senate moved first, adopting the measure by unanimous consent. The House then approved it under suspension of the rules, requiring a two-thirds majority vote. The stopgap measure will buy more time for lawmakers to reach an agreement on a longer-term reauthorization.
The Housevoted224–200 to approve a farm bill, reauthorizing agricultural and food programs for the next five years. Fourteen Democrats and independent Rep. Kevin Kiley (CA) voted in favor, while three Republicans and 197 Democrats voted against. As part of a compromise to pass the measure, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) agreed to hold a vote allowing year-round sales of gasoline with E15 ethanol content. Sales of E15 have typically been restricted during parts of the year due to smog concerns, but they are a major priority for corn-state Republicans. Oil- and farm-state Republicans, however, object to year-round sales, creating a standoff. As part of the agreement, the House will vote in mid-May to decouple the E15 measure from the farm bill and hold an up-or-down vote on a standalone E15 bill.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla are on their way back to the United Kingdom after wrapping up their four-day state visit in recognition of America's 250th anniversary. President Trump and first lady Melania Trump welcomed the monarchs back to the White House for a farewell ceremony before they visited Arlington National Cemetery, where they laid wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The king and queen then visited Shenandoah National Park and attended a parade and "block party" in Front Royal, Virginia, before beginning their journey back across the Atlantic.
President Trumpwithdrew his nomination of Dr. Casey Means to be surgeon general and instead nominated radiologist Dr. Nicole Saphier to the post. Dr. Means, a prominent member of the "Make America Healthy Again" movement, had seen her nomination stall in committee as some Republicans soured on her confirmation due to her ties to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s vaccine policies. Though she said "vaccines save lives" in her confirmation hearing, Dr. Means declined to recommend flu or measles shots, saying those choices were for parents and doctors. President Trump and Dr. Means' brother, Calley Means, a top adviser to Secretary Kennedy, have both blamed Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) for her failed nomination. Dr. Saphier's nomination now moves to the Senate Health Committee, chaired by Sen. Cassidy.
Maine Gov. Janet Millsdropped out of her state's Democratic Senate primary, effectively conceding the race to oyster farmer and populist candidate Graham Platner. Despite endorsements from Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (NY) and other national figures, Gov. Mills failed to close the gap with Mr. Platner in primary polls and struggled to raise funds. While Mr. Platner has faced backlash over past online comments and a controversial tattoo, Gov. Mills' campaign was dogged by claims that she was too old, at 78, to run for a first Senate term and lacked energy. Mr. Platner will face longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterreswarned of a global recession if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed amid the Iran war, choking off global trade and driving up energy prices. "The Middle East crisis is lumbering into its third month. Despite a fragile ceasefire, the consequences grow dramatically worse with each passing hour," he said at U.N. headquarters in New York. The ongoing blockade of the strait is preventing the flow of oil, gas, fertilizer and other critical commodities, which he said is "strangling the global economy," particularly impacting developing nations. "The longer this vital artery's choked, the harder it would be to reverse the damage, and the higher the costs to humanity," the secretary-general said.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) filed cloture on the nomination of Kevin Warsh to be the next chairman of the Federal Reserve, teeing up floor votes when the chamber returns in mid-May. His nomination was approved by the Banking Committee on Wednesday in a 13–11 party-line vote, becoming the first partisan vote on a Fed chair nominee in the committee's history. The vote came after the Justice Department dropped its criminal probe into current Fed Chair Jerome Powell, allowing Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) to lift his blockade of Mr. Warsh's nomination.
For your radar…
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) delivers a commencement address Friday at Michigan State University. Watch LIVE on C-SPAN at 12:30pm ET.
