Senate Republicans are preparing to move forward with a package to fund the Department of Homeland Security's immigration agencies as soon as Wednesday.
Senate Republicans removed $1 billion in Secret Service security funding for the White House and President Donald Trump’s yet-to-be-built East Wing ballroom from the party’s immigration enforcement bill, according to new legislative text released Wednesday. The move was in response to Republican opposition over the optics of taxpayers footing the $220 million bill for ballroom […]
While appearing before the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent struggled and failed to justify a recent assertion by his boss, President Donald Trump, leading to a tense back and forth. The exchange began when Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) asked Bessent about Trump’s recent assertion that he doesn’t “think about Americans’ financial situation” when considering his conduct regarding the war with Iran. The president made this statement in mid-May — which he later defended as “perfect” — prompting outrage from Americans struggling with rising prices. When asked about the comments on Wednesday, Bessent attempted to dodge, saying, “I believe his remarks were taken out of context.”But Hassan would not be dissuaded so easily, saying, “Here's what he said. He said, quote, ‘I don't think about Americans' financial situation. I don't think about anybody.’ So I'm asking you… Do you think about how the American people are paying more for gas, groceries, and utilities since the president clearly said he didn't? And you speak with the president regularly. Are you trying to tell him the truth about how much costs have increased for the American people?”“Well, senator,” Bessent argued, “I'm going to have to disagree with you on some of that, because I have groceries are going down. Since President Trump took office, food prices — or as many people like to call them, ‘groceries’ — food at home in the statistical data is up 2.5 percent.”“When's the last time you were in a grocery store?” Hassan asked. “Because my husband and I were just in one, and look: the average Granite Stater has paid $3,000 more since Donald Trump took office for basic goods and services. Meanwhile, the country lost 100,000 manufacturing jobs in 2025. So do you tell the president this information or not?”“Again, senator,” Bessent stammered, “The… except for inflation, which is, I believe, going to be a short-term blip, the economic data is very strong. The jobs data has been very strong. The manufacturing has been very strong.”“No, actually that's incorrect,” asserted Hassan. “So let's move on, because what is very clear to me is that neither you nor the president nor this administration are willing to acknowledge how much more people are paying at the gas pump, at the grocery store, in utilities, for health care, for all aspects of American life.”Try as he might, Bessent could not squirm past hard numbers. Hassan is right. When Trump made the controversial statement, the war had been going on for over two months, over the course of which the price of gas rose by roughly 50 percent. The latest numbers show that Americans have spent an extra $500 per household on gas alone since the war began, with Fortune reporting that the war has put a $100 billion burden on taxpayers overall, and prices are not expected to ease for months to come. What’s more, since Trump returned to office, the U.S. has lost between 80,000 and 110,000 manufacturing jobs, while healthcare premiums and other costs have increased precipitously.
Senate Republicans removed funding for security upgrades to President Trump's White House ballroom from their immigration package after the provision threatened the entire legislative effort, according to revised text released WednesdayThe Senate parliamentarian had determined the ballroom language violated specific budgetary requirements, which would have allowed Democrats to filibuster the bill and block $70 billion in ICE and border patrol funding, and Senate GOP leaders acknowledged the provision was procedurally problematic and politically risky, reported CNN.Some Republican senators also expressed concern that allocating funds for the ballroom while Americans faced cost-of-living pressures ahead of midterm elections would project an out-of-touch image.The original Senate GOP text included nearly $1 billion for "security adjustments and upgrades" to the White House ballroom and related security measures following the spring assassination attempt against Trump.Administration officials attempted to clarify that approximately $200 million would fund the East Wing project, with remaining funds directed toward other security initiatives.The revised bill now proceeds without the controversial ballroom security provision.
Washington Examiner chief political correspondent Byron York argued the new face for the director of national intelligence, Bill Pulte, lacks qualifications for the position. “It seems like a pretty poor choice here,” York said on Fox News’s Special Report Tuesday. President Donald Trump tapped Pulte for the position after the previous director, Tulsi Gabbard, resigned […]
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed reporting of a highly publicized clash between himself and Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte last year, although he said that such confrontations happen when working on a team. During a Wednesday hearing before the Senate Finance Committee to testify on President Donald Trump’s proposed budget, Bessent faced questions […]
The “Anti-Weaponization Fund” is not dead, according to the president.Donald Trump told the New York Post podcast Pod Force One that his administration had not dropped the $1.8 billion slush fund, putting him at odds with what his officials told Congress.“No. A court ruled against it. But just so you understand, these are people that’ve been decimated. These are people who have lost their lives over nonsense,” Trump said in an interview published Wednesday morning. “These were many great people, and I gave them pardons, and I’m very proud to have given them pardons. And I think they should be reimbursed for a crooked government.”The honeypot payments were pitched as reparations, paid for by U.S. taxpayers through the Department of Justice, to virtually any right-winger who felt targeted by the previous presidential administration.Hundreds of Trump’s MAGA-aligned allies have already lined up for their slice of the pie. They include MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and Republican lawmakers. A slew of pardoned January 6ers are also in the queue, including former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, a sex offender who bear-sprayed cops, and a convicted child molester who told his victims he would give them money from a Trump payout in exchange for their silence.But Trump’s ongoing affinity for the payouts defies his administration’s latest position on the DOJ slush fund. As Trump’s interview was being published, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told the Senate Finance Committee Wednesday that the federal financial hub intended to comply with a DOJ directive to shutter the fund.The evening before, during a House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said that the fund was dead in the water and that his agency would not “ever” move forward with the payments.The fund was the result of an unprecedented deal that Trump made with himself after he dropped his waning $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS. The arrangement included a curious addendum from Blanche, immunizing Trump from further federal prosecution. The government of the United States, Blanche wrote, would be “forever barred and precluded” from pursuing “any and all claims” against Trump, his family, or his business.The idea of the fund fell apart following weeks of backlash, numerous lawsuits, and opposition from Republican lawmakers who felt the issue had gummed up party efforts to pass a reconciliation bill.
On Tuesday, it was announced that President Donald Trump had appointed current Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Bill Pulte to the role of acting Director of National Intelligence. Backlash against the move was swift, as critics from across the political spectrum slammed Pulte’s total lack of intelligence experience. By Wednesday morning, senators from both sides of the aisle had made their opposition to Trump’s pick clear, and threats to derail key legislation over the matter now pose a “real risk” to the Republican agenda. This is according to Punchbowl News, which reports that Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) has warned Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) that if Pulte remains in the position, Democrats will withhold the votes Republicans need for a FISA extension they’ve been trying and failing to pass for months. It expires in just 9 days, so with yet another legislative deadline looming, the GOP is grappling with the latest in a string of recent frustrations.“Warner,” explains Punchbowl News, “who’s been critical in building Democratic support for a bipartisan deal to extend FISA Section 702, made clear to Thune that all options are on the table to reverse what Democrats see as a dangerous Trump pick to lead ODNI. Pulte, who currently leads the Federal Housing Finance Agency, has no national security experience and has used his existing role to exact revenge on Trump’s political foes.”According to Warner, Democrats will never back the reauthorization of FISA Section 702 with Pulte overseeing the program, as opponents of the provision — which is technically used for gathering the communications of foreign targets — argue that it can be used as a “backdoor” for spying on Americans. This potential for misuse has drawn skepticism from privacy hawks on both sides of the aisle, and though Thune has repeatedly claimed that the absence of 702 would cause U.S. national security to “go dark,” its proponents have had to make concessions to gain the support of conservative Republicans, like a three year ban on a central banking digital currency and a prohibition on the use of 702 information by the FBI against Americans. But now Democrats worry that 702 could be weaponized by Pulte to attack Trump’s political enemies. As Punchbowl explains, “Democrats have leverage here. Republicans can’t pass a FISA reauthorization on their own. With a handful of GOP senators expected to oppose any FISA agreement, Thune would likely need at least a dozen Democrats to support the bill. Without a big vote in the Senate, it’ll be difficult for the House to pass it via a fast-track process ahead of the June 12 deadline. It’s safe to say that Pulte’s appointment kills any chance of the House passing FISA using the fast-track suspension process.”What’s more, should Pulte’s appointment be pulled, “Democrats believe they’d be doing Republicans a favor because they also see Pulte as unqualified for the job, even if few openly say it.” On Tuesday, “the White House had indicated to top Republicans that Aaron Lukas, whom Trump announced as the acting DNI 12 days ago, would remain in the role for an extended period. Republicans felt blindsided,” therefore, by the Pulte announcement. By Tuesday, a number of top Republicans were expressing their outrage at the situation. “Whoever told the president to go ahead and commit to this publicly before vetting it should lose their jobs, because they should know that the math just works against Pulte being confirmed,” Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) told CNBC. “I don’t think he has a prayer.”
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin will testify before the House Homeland Security Committee Wednesday morning on President Trump’s fiscal 2027 budget request for DHS. The White House is asking for $63 billion in budget authority for the department in 2027, a $2.2 billion decrease from 2026 enacted levels — just over a…