Congress
Trump assures GOP budget holdouts on spending cuts
Speaker Mike Johnson is projecting confidence about finalizing a GOP budget plan after he and President Donald Trump went to work on a group of Republican holdouts at a White House meeting Tuesday — but they still haven’t locked up the votes.
“We had a lot of members whose questions were answered, and I think we’re moving, making great progress right now,” Johnson told reporters as he arrived back in the Capitol. He has about 10 members threatening to vote no, with dozens more undecided.
Trump assured meeting attendees that he would follow through with big spending cuts even though the newly finalized Senate instructions go nowhere near the minimum $1.5 trillion in reductions that the House is targeting. Trump made a similar pledge to some Senate Republicans last week.
“We have a deficit of trust sometimes between the two chambers, but I think when the White House and the president himself expresses his resolve for this, … we take it in good faith that we’re going to do this together in a collaborative effort and deliver this agenda,” Johnson said.
Trump did secure at least one vote: Rep. Ron Estes of Kansas, a Budget Committee deficit hawk, said “I’m a yes” after the meeting. But one key holdout who attended the meeting, Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, said he remained opposed.
“Why am I voting on a budget based on promises that I don’t believe are going to materialize?” Roy asked, referring to the Senate plan.
Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee, who didn’t attend the meeting, also said he wanted to see a plan for spending cuts before committing his support: “Details matter,” he said. Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee said much the same: “They got to make some cuts. That’s all they got to do, is make some cuts.”
Johnson has to decide soon whether to have the House Rules Committee meet and prep the budget for a floor vote Wednesday. Key panel member Ralph Norman — one of the three hard-liners who could block further progress — said he was undecided Tuesday afternoon.
Trump and Johnson will have another chance to make their case later Tuesday, before an NRCC gala dinner where the president is expected to lean on a different group of holdouts: “We all got to go put on our tuxedos, and I think we’ll be moving forward this week,” Johnson said.
Ben Jacobs and Katherine Tully-McManus contributed to this report.
Congress
Senate GOP ready to move on elections bill
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.
Congress
Jesse Jackson’s family withdraws posthumous endorsement in Illinois Senate primary
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.”
Congress
Johnson on Trump’s Hormuz plan
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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