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Capitol agenda: Trump’s big test

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President Donald Trump is ratcheting up pressure on House Republicans to get going on a budget vote, with dozens opposing the plan or undecided. But things are looking dicey.

After a White House meeting failed to seal the deal, Trump tried one more time at Tuesday evening’s NRCC dinner. It came as House GOP leaders pushed hard to set up Wednesday’s 8:45 a.m. Rules Committee meeting to start advancing the budget resolution.

“Close your eyes and get there,” Trump said Tuesday night. “Stop grandstanding.”

With Trump bearing down, Speaker Mike Johnson is facing one of the biggest internal revolts so far this year. He only has a couple days to turn things around before members leave town for a two-week recess and potentially rob Trump of a win as he faces a global backlash over his “Liberation Day” tariffs. While we’ve seen conservatives defy Johnson before, this time deficit hawks across the conference are digging in to get deeper cuts to federal spending.

Trump may have made things harder for Johnson Tuesday. After meeting with holdouts at the White House, Trump declared on Truth Social that he hoped for spending cuts “in excess of $1 Trillion Dollars” – a number that isn’t going to fly with House fiscal hawks looking for more.

“I’m right now a no unless I can be convinced that the Senate actually means that they would cut $1.5 or 2 trillion in spending,” Rep. Eric Burlison told Blue Light News.

What else we’re watching:

Amid the tariff turmoil: House Republicans will get their crack at U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer today when he heads before Ways and Means at 10 a.m. GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis said she’ll press for answers on the progress Trump is making toward cutting deals with other countries. But Trump said Tuesday night that “we don’t necessarily want to make a deal with them.”

Meta under fire: Sarah Wynn-Williams, the former director of global public policy at Facebook, will testify this morning that Meta company executives lied about their involvement with China and willingness to censor on their sites. Meta has pushed back on these claims. Senators are set to press her on Meta’s work to develop a presence in China.

Crypto coming up: House Financial Services and Agriculture are having separate hearings today on crypto legislation that would revamp regulation of digital asset trading. House Financial Services Chair French Hill says: “You’ll see us use the next few weeks as a way to listen to stakeholders, get feedback from the administration.”

Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.

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Congress

Senate GOP ready to move on elections bill

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Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso told reporters Monday the chamber will vote Tuesday to take up a House-passed elections bill known as the SAVE America Act.

The Wyoming Republican, whose job it is to help round up support, said he is “doing everything I can to make sure we get on this bill tomorrow.”

Republicans will need a simple majority to begin debate on the partisan legislation; they can lose three members and still let Vice President JD Vance break a tie.

So far, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) has said he’s a “no,” while Republicans are also watching GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

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Jesse Jackson’s family withdraws posthumous endorsement in Illinois Senate primary

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The family of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson walked back a posthumous endorsement of Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton’s Senate campaign on Monday, after the family said Jackson’s endorsements for Tuesday’s primaries were not completed before his death.

On Saturday, Stratton’s campaign touted an endorsement from Jackson, who died last month, and his son Yusef. The announcement came after Stratton saw Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the Jackson family’s organziation, passing out sample ballots — which were also obtained by Blue Light News — that recommended Stratton.

“[Jackson’s] example has been a north star for me, and I’m deeply honored to have received his trust, support, and endorsement before his passing,” Stratton said in a statement on Saturday.

But on Monday, Yusef Jackson, who is the organization’s COO, said the draft sample ballot was “released without authorization” and that the Jackson family and Rainbow PUSH Coalition are not making political endorsements this cycle.

His father “began the process of reviewing candidates and identifying those he intended to support in the upcoming primary election,” Yusef Jackson said in the statement. “However, given his passing just over a month ago, the process was never fully completed. Out of respect for my father, we decided not to publicly release his intended selections given the process had not been finalized.”

The Stratton campaign said on Monday that officials with Rainbow PUSH Coalition said she had been endorsed by Jackson.

“Juliana spoke on Saturday at Rainbow PUSH for a Women’s History Month event and officials told her she received the endorsements. Organizers shared the sample election ballot that was already being distributed and encouraged her to share the news,” the Stratton campaign said in a statement.

The endorsement mix-up draws further scrutiny on the split among Black Democrats in Illinois between Stratton and Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), who are both seeking to succeed retiring Sen. Dick Durbin. Some Democrats in the state have expressed concern that Stratton and Kelly could split the vote in Tuesday’s primary, creating a path for Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) to win the nomination.

Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.) told Blue Light News prior to the family’s statement that his father “never got in on Black-on-Black fights.”

Jonathan Jackson added that the races the late Jesse Jackson “was excited about” were himself and former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.’s comeback bid.

“He wouldn’t do that. He was always pushing the community forward,” Jackson said. “This smells of desperation.”

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Johnson on Trump’s Hormuz plan

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Speaker Mike Johnson said he supports President Donald Trump’s effort to build a global coalition ensure safe passage of commerce through the Strait of Hormuz — even if Trump “didn’t anticipate it” being necessary before launching airstrikes against Iran.

Speaking to reporters after attending a Washington event with Trump, Johnson said the president told him that “he anticipated the strait of Hormuz would be closed.”

“I don’t know that he didn’t anticipate it in the front end, but now it’s necessitated,” Johnson said. He added that the coalition is “a reasonable thing” for other countries to assist with and “it would be helpful.”

Asked about how much a potential supplemental package to fund the military action would cost, Johnson said, “We don’t know yet.” Estimates for the cost of the war have exceeding $1 billion per day.

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