President Donald Trump on Friday congratulated Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for “doing the right thing” by backing the Republican-led bill to avert a government shutdown, a choice that’s put the New York Democrat at odds with many in his party.

“A non pass would be a Country destroyer, approval will lead us to new heights,” wrote the president Friday morning on Truth Social. “Again, really good and smart move by Senator Schumer,” wrote the president on Truth Social.

“Took ‘guts’ and courage!” Trump added.

Schumer is facing an onslaught of criticism from his left flank, with some progressive activists now referring to the lawmaker’s decision to vote for the House GOP-passed, seven-month funding measure as the “Schumer surrender.”

Trump, in that social media post, also said he wants to address demand for California wildfire aid in a separate Republican bill encompassing his top policy priorities.

More than 100 House Democrats on Friday sent a letter to top Trump officials, decrying the arrest of a former Columbia graduate student as an attack on the First Amendment and questioning the murky legal authority invoked by the administration.

The lawmakers, including authors Reps. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Mary Gay Scanlon of Pennsylvania, addressed the letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The letter, first obtained by Blue Light News, slams the use of a Cold War-era section of the Immigration and Nationality Act to deport Mahmoud Khalil as the “playbook of authoritarians.” The law was aimed at protecting national interests against potential foreign intervention.

The letter also calls on the administration to answer questions about its actions, including what “evidentiary grounds” Rubio has relied upon to conclude that Khalil’s presence in the United States threatens “serious adverse foreign policy consequences” — and what those foreign policy consequences might be.

The letter asks the administration to respond by March 27 with answers, as well as documents, including legal memoranda, that explain the administration’s findings.

“The deployment of a dusty old statutory section to punish speech is a dangerous attack on both the First Amendment and on all, including lawful permanent residents, who enjoy its protection,” the letter states. “This maneuver evokes the Alien and Sedition Acts and McCarthyism. It is the playbook of authoritarians, not of elected officials in a democratic society who claim to be the champions of free speech.”

Khalil, a Palestinian graduate student who played a central role in campus protests at Columbia University over the Israel-Hamas war, was arrested over the weekend — marking a significant shift in the U.S. government’s use of its immigration enforcement powers. Khalil is a permanent resident with a green card, but was taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody as President Donald Trump promised more such arrests are coming.

The administration has argued that the protests are antisemitic, and some Jewish students have reported feeling threatened by the demonstrations on college campuses against Israel’s attacks on Gaza. The administration has accused Khalil of leading “activities aligned to Hamas,” but has not provided specific evidence — nor has he been charged or convicted of any crimes.

The administration is relying on a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 — a rarely invoked authority that allows Rubio to expel foreigners. The provision, which is set to be tested in the courts, says that any “alien whose presence or activities in the United States the secretary of state has reasonable ground to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States is deportable.”

Khalil’s detainment sparked outrage from activists, free speech groups and several Democrats. A judge has halted his deportation, but his fate remains uncertain as the arrest raises a number of legal questions, including significant constitutional ones.

“Weaponizing the immigration system to crush and chill protected free speech puts our nation on the side of authoritarian leaders like Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping,” the Democrats wrote. “We urge you to turn back before you suffer another stinging loss in court and visit terrible damage on the country.”

Chuck Schumer has given Senate Democrats an out — drastically lowering the chances of a government shutdown Saturday.

The Senate minority leader, both privately to his caucus Thursday and in a floor speech shortly after, said he would vote to advance a GOP-written stopgap to fund the government through September. He said Republicans’ spending bill is “very bad.” But he argued the “potential for a shutdown has consequences for America that are much, much worse” and would empower President Donald Trump and Elon Musk to further gut federal agencies.

It’s a remarkable shift. Just 24 hours before, Schumer had said Senate Republicans didn’t have enough Democratic support to clear the 60-vote threshold to advance House Republicans’ continuing resolution, or CR.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune has now teed up that procedural vote for 1:15 p.m. — and indicated he’d be willing to give Democrats a poised-to-fail vote on a four-week stopgap as part of a deal to speed up passage for Republicans’ CR. All 100 senators would have to green-light that, and as of Thursday evening, Schumer said there was no time agreement.

Republicans need eight Democrats to join them to advance the CR. There are at least two on board: Schumer and Sen. John Fetterman, who has for days been saying he wouldn’t vote for a shutdown.

But even as Schumer gave Democrats cover, a handful announced or reiterated their “no” votes after his speech. Several have yet to publicly weigh in.

The backlash to Schumer’s call was swift. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries didn’t criticize Schumer directly in private comments to his caucus but said House Democrats “stood on the side of the American people.” And Rep. Jim McGovern said he was “extremely disappointed.”

“It gives them the ability, Elon Musk the ability, to go through and continue to do the shit he’s doing,” McGovern added.

What else we’re watching:

• Trump backs John Thune’s tax plan: Trump indicated to GOP senators during a private meeting Thursday that he supports the Senate majority leader’s plan to use a controversial accounting method that would make trillions of dollars in tax cuts appear to cost nothing — a move that would make it easier to advance the president’s other tax priorities. But House hard-liners remain skeptical of the idea, even as Speaker Mike Johnson has increasingly indicated he’s open to it.
• Crypto bill advances: Senate Banking on Thursday approved digital assets legislation that would create a regulatory structure for stablecoins, marking the first time a Senate panel has ever advanced major crypto legislation. It was one of Congress’ most significant steps yet toward giving the crypto sector a long-sought stamp of legitimacy that could turbocharge its growth. Five Democrats voted for the GOP-led legislation, despite strong opposition from the top Democrat on the Banking panel, Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
• Ted Cruz pushes NIL regulations: The Senate Commerce chair plans to hold hearings and markups on regulating college athletes’ ability to profit off their personal brand — what’s commonly referred to as name, image and likeness issues — and said he’s building bipartisan support on it. Lawmakers are showing increased interest in the topic: House Judiciary is planning a roundtable on it next month.

Meredith Lee Hill, Benjamin Guggenheim, Jordain Carney, Jasper Goodman and Ben Leonard contributed to this report.