The House locked in a big victory for President Trump on Tuesday, with nearly all Republicans voting to approve a spending bill that would free the president to prioritize his agenda.
The 217-213 vote fell along party lines, with one Republican, Thomas Massie (Ky.), breaking with the party. The continuing resolution (CR) funds the government at current spending levels until the end of the fiscal year on September 30.
The continuing resolution hikes defense spending by $6 billion, while reducing non-defense spending by $13 billion compared to 2024 levels. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will receive an additional $485 million to carry out Trump's deportations.
Contrary to Democratic messaging, the bill does not affect Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid.
“They either have an issue with reading comprehension,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said of Democrats, “or they are attempting to run one of the most shameful misinformation campaigns that we have seen in our lives.”
The continuing resolution enables Trump to postpone the appropriations process, which places more restrictions on how government money can be spent, until the next fiscal year begins in the fall. Republicans backed the continuing resolution for basically the same reason that Democrats opposed it: they fear the bill gives Trump and Elon Musk too much discretion on spending, enabling their slash-and-burn campaign against government bloat.
“It is not a simple stopgap that keeps the lights on and the doors open,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee. “This is Republican leadership handing over the keys of the government, and a blank check to Elon Musk and to President Trump.”
While budget hawks on the right are typically opposed to CRs, Republican holdouts were convinced after an intense lobbying effort from Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance.
The remarkable show of Republican unity behind Trump put a target on the lone GOP dissenter, Thomas Massie, whom Trump called a "grandstander."
"HE SHOULD BE PRIMARIED, and I will lead the charge against him,” Trump wrote.
While it's part of the standard Democratic playbook to blame conservative Republicans for government shutdowns, the usual roles have been reversed.
Some Democrats fear they will lose critical leverage if they agree to keep the government open. Only one House Democrat, Jared Golden (Me.), voted in favor of the CR.
"Here’s the bottom line,” Johnson said in a Tuesday press conference. “If Congressional Democrats refuse to support this clean CR, they will be responsible for every troop who misses a paycheck, for every flight delay from reduced staffing at TSA, and for every negative consequence that comes from shutting down the government.”
Senate Democrats must now decide whether to help pass the spending bill ahead of a deadline Friday - or take the blame for a shutdown.
Republican Rand Paul (Ky.) has already said he's voting no, so at least eight Senate Democrats would need to cross the aisle to get the bill on President Trump's desk.
The Trump administration's policy on Ukraine has triggered powerful emotions, with Vice President J.D. Vance facing an attack from his own cousin over his handling of the issue.
In an interview with a French newspaper, Nate Vance said he is "disappointed" in the vice president for his rhetoric during last month's historic Oval Office meeting, where President Trump and Vance jointly accused Ukraine's president of being disrespectful towards the United States.
With cameras rolling, Vance blasted Volodymyr Zelensky for attempting to "litigate" the Russia-Ukraine war in front of sympathetic liberal journalists as Zelensky dismissed the notion of seeking diplomacy with Russia.
As Vance and Zelensky went back and forth, President Trump leapt to his VP's defense and accused Ukraine's president of "gambling with World War III."
The shocking exchange quickly become a political inkblot test, with some claiming Vance and Trump "ambushed" Zelensky, while the administration's supporters slammed Zelensky as the instigator.
"When he criticized aid to Ukraine, I told myself that it was because he had to please a certain electorate, that it was the game of politics," Nate Vance told French newspaper Le Figaro.
“But what they did to Zelensky was an ambush of absolute bad faith.”
Nate Vance fought in Ukraine as a volunteer until January, and he accused his cousin of not knowing what he's talking about - while praising the vice president as a "good guy" and "intelligent."
"I was disappointed. When JD justifies his distrust of Zelensky by the 'reports' he has seen, I thought I was going to choke," he continued.
"His own cousin was on the front lines. I could have told him the truth, without pretense, without personal interest. He never tried to find out more."
In a diplomatic breakthrough, Ukraine agreed to a 30-day ceasefire on Tuesday as Zelensky traveled to Saudi Arabia for peace talks.
The breakthrough comes after Trump raised pressure on Zelensky by suspending military aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine. Trump has agreed to lift the pause in exchange for Zelensky's cooperation, as the White House urges Russia to take the deal.
Meanwhile, in a statement to Fox News Digital, Vance shrugged off his cousin's criticism.
"As far as his criticisms, I have no interest in arguing with him in public, but I do feel the need to address one issue in particular: his failed effort to contact me. I am unsure why Nate felt the need to reach out to my Senate office, rather than to his mom, dad, or sister, all of whom I am in contact with regularly," Vance said.
The vice president said he "always considered Nate the toughest guy [he] knew" and that he was "always happy to talk to him."
President Trump is "tightening his grip" on the FBI and DOJ, fulfilling a campaign pledge to uproot the so-called Deep State and sparking backlash from critics in the media.
A new article about Trump's efforts in the Wall Street Journal, a newspaper skeptical of Trump, accuses the president of eroding the supposed "independence" of the FBI and DOJ by installing trusted allies to advance his priorities on crime and immigration.
Trump has pitched his overhaul of the FBI and DOJ as a campaign to end "weaponization," but Trump's critics have accused him of a hostile takeover that threatens the rule of law.
The president has given top DOJ jobs to his former defense lawyers like Emil Bove, now the second-highest ranking DOJ official. Bove sparked controversy last month when he ordered charges against New York mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, to be dropped, citing his cooperation on immigration enforcement.
The Journal's article is especially critical of Trump's choice in FBI director, Kash Patel. A longtime Trump loyalist, Patel has excited backlash over his alleged plans to seek retribution on Trump's behalf.
Patel is upholding his reputation as an outsider to the agency he now leads, requesting a secure line to contact the president directly, the Journal reported, noting the FBI chief usually reports to the deputy attorney general. The Journal painted Patel's closeness with Trump as a corrupt throwback to the era of J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI's first director, who dabbled heavily in politics during his 50 years at the helm.
Meanwhile, Patel has asked about hiring his own private security detail, making it clear he does not trust the FBI agents tasked with protecting him, the Journal reported.
"Director Patel is aggressively working to deliver on removing criminals from our streets, restoring law and order, and ensuring agents have the resources they need to perform their duties effectively," FBI spokesperson Ben Williamson said.
According to the center-right Wall Street Journal, the president's moves risk undermining the "traditionally independent ethos" of the FBI and DOJ.
Defenders of Trump's reforms would likely object that the FBI has been aligned with the left for years, regardless of the political affiliation of the president. Patel's predecessor Christopher Wray, a Republican appointed by Trump during his first term, oversaw an unprecedented raid of Trump's home in 2022.
The FBI has had a hostile relationship with Trump since his first presidential run in 2016, when the agency infamously spied on his campaign using opposition research funded by his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. Under President Biden, the FBI and DOJ intervened in electoral politics like never before, with Trump facing two federal prosecutions as he campaigned for re-election against Biden, and then vice president Kamala Harris.
With Trump back in office, the DOJ's focus is shifting away from "lawfare" and the hunt for so-called domestic extremism - a term the Biden administration often used loosely to target the MAGA movement - as Trump's deputies emphasize traditional law-and-order priorities like border security.
The Journal's sources said that Stephen Miller, the longtime Trump adviser known for his hardline immigration views, regularly talks to top DOJ officials.
President Donald Trump, like millions of others, isn't a huge fan of MSNBC and especially two of the network's hosts, Nicolle Wallace and Rachel Maddow.
According to The Hill, Trump recently made his feelings on the two MSNBC personalities very clear, saying that he believes both of them should be fired from their jobs.
Trump's blunt opinion on the two came just days after he addressed Congress and honored a young cancer survivor in the crowd, which quickly became fodder for the liberal, radical media.
The president told reporters in the Oval Office that he believes they lost credibility in the process -- or what little bit they might have had left
In his usual fashion, Trump held nothing back when speaking his mind to reporters regarding the two MSNBC hosts.
"Worse than CNN is ‘MS-DNC,’ which is the worst. And the good news is very few people watch them anymore," the president said.
He added, "They have lost such credibility; and, frankly, what Nicolle Wallace said — I’ve never been a fan of hers, and she’s not very talented — but I’ll tell you, what she said the other day about that young man is disgraceful. She should be forced to resign."
The president had similar feelings for Maddow, saying that he believes the network should find a way to get her off the air, citing her poor ratings compared to other cable news shows.
"And Rachel Maddow should be forced to resign. Nobody watches her anyway. I don’t know if — it’s not possible they pay her as much money as I hear — but certainly she’s lost all credibility," Trump said.
He added, "Both of them. But what they said the other day, they should be forced to resign, about that young person who is suffering."
Maddow is always talking trash about Trump, but Wallace's comments regarding the situation with the young cancer survivor were way out of line, to say the least.
The Hill noted:
The “Deadline: White House” show host said she hopes Daniels "never has to defend the United States Capitol against Donald Trump’s supporters, and if he does, I hope he isn’t one of the six who loses his life to suicide."
Her disgusting take sparked mountains of backlash across social media, with many calling for her termination or at least her resignation.
Only time will tell if the pressure is enough to force her off the network, one way or another. Let's hope so.
Though most of the 2020 election hoopla is over with, President Donald Trump scored a major victory in the state of Georgia thanks to its Republican-controlled state Senate.
According to NTD News, the Georgia Senate just unanimously passed a bill that would allow defendants in criminal cases to recover their legal fees if the prosecuting attorney is disqualified "due to improper conduct."
That's exactly what happened in the state of Georgia with Fulton County DA Fani Willis' case against Trump and 18 co-defendants.
Trump and the co-defendants were indicted by Willis in 2023 on a dozen election-related charges, but Willis was later removed from the case after her relationship with prosecutor Nathan Wade was uncovered in court
The bill, known as Senate Bill 244, which passed easily in the Georgia Senate, would allow everyone prosecuted in the case to request reimbursement for legal fees.
Willis was removed from the case last year after relentlessly pursuing Trump and the co-defendants.
NTD noted:
Last December, a state appeals court declined to dismiss the case itself but removed Willis and her office from it, citing a “significant appearance of impropriety” on the part of the prosecution. The decision overturned an earlier ruling by the presiding judge that would have allowed Willis to stay on the case as long as Wade resigned.
Willis had immediately moved to appeal the decision, but the Georgia Supreme Court has still not decided whether or not it will take up the case.
Georgia Senate Minority Leader Harold Jones II weighed in on the bill, explaining that it could have broader implications if passed.
"If you have that young person, possession of marijuana, whatever it may be, and the prosecutor has done something wrong, and that case is dismissed because the prosecutor did something wrong, they’re entitled to have their attorney’s fees back,” said Jones.
He added, "That’s actually something that we probably would have pushed many years ago."
Trump has argued from the beginning that the case was just another political witch hunt and after Willis was disqualified, he experienced some level of vindication.
Recouping his legal fees from the ordeal would be that much sweeter.
Only time will tell if the Georgia House and the governor signs off on the bill, but it would certainly have major implications across the state if that happens.
Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett has fallen out of favor with the MAGA movement after casting a pivotal vote against President Trump's freeze on foreign aid spending.
Barrett's rise to the court in 2020 was seen as solidifying a conservative majority, but Barrett has since sided with the liberal wing in a number of key disputes impacting Trump and his agenda.
While Barrett's so-called independent streak has won praise in the liberal press, she's facing backlash from Trump's supporters over her perceived disloyalty to the president.
Trump nominated Barrett to replace liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died in the midst of the heated 2020 presidential campaign. Democrats condemned Barrett's rushed confirmation as an unscrupulous power grab and Barrett, at the time, was painted by liberal critics as a rubber stamp for a shadowy, extreme agenda.
But Barrett's mixed record on the bench has been a pleasant surprise to the left, while leaving many on the right disappointed.
Barrett provoked fresh outrage this week when she rejected Trump's request to freeze $2 billion in foreign aid.
Justice Samuel Alito, one of the court's most reliable conservatives, condemned the 5-4 ruling as a grave constitutional error that rewarded "judicial hubris" from the Biden-appointed district court judge who ordered Trump to pay up.
Barrett's role in the case led to furious reactions online, with pro-Trump activists, such as Jack Posobiec, calling her a DEI hire.
Barrett's role in thwarting Trump's agenda comes after she supported, to varying degrees, efforts to prosecute Trump and his supporters.
She objected to the scope of presidential immunity granted by her conservative colleagues in a landmark case brought by Trump last year. Barrett's comments provided a roadmap for prosecutor Jack Smith in his failed efforts to imprison Trump.
Barrett also dissented when the court narrowed the Justice Department's sweeping prosecution of January 6th defendants on obstruction charges. She accused her conservative colleagues of performing "textual backflips" to limit charges of obstruction of an official proceeding.
Along with Chief Justice John Roberts, Barrett also declined to block President Trump's criminal sentencing for "falsifying business records" just days before his inauguration in January.
Of course, Barrett has her defenders on the right, who point to her role in helping to overturn Roe v. Wade. Still, her overall record has made it clear that she cannot be counted on to support Trump and his MAGA initiatives.
Hunter Biden has asked a court to drop a costly legal battle that he can no longer afford, citing "significant" debt to the tune of millions.
The extent of Biden's financial problems was shared in a court document asking to end a lawsuit against Garrett Ziegler. Biden sued Ziegler, a former Trump White House aide, for publishing the contents of Biden's infamous laptop online.
Dwindling book and art sales, along with fire damage to his Los Angeles rental home, have left Biden in "significant" debt, leaving him unable to litigate the case further, his attorneys said.
“[Hunter] has suffered a significant downturn in his income and has significant debt in the millions of dollars range,” Biden's motion said.
It's a dramatic change in circumstances for the former president's son, who was scrutinized for years over his extravagant lifestyle and lucrative foreign business dealings that eventually led to criminal charges for tax evasion.
Biden received the lucky break of a lifetime when his father, former president Joe Biden, granted a blanket pardon in December, extending retroactively to 2014, the year Hunter Biden started working for the Ukrainian energy firm Burisma Holdings.
While he may be clear of legal jeopardy, Biden's financial situation has taken a downturn with the end of his father's political career, on which Hunter had long been reliant for employment.
As Biden explained to the court, profits from his memoir, Beautiful Things, and sketchy art career have dried up.
“In the 2 to 3 years prior to December 2023, I sold 27 pieces for art at an average price of $54,481.48, but since then I have only sold 1 piece of art for $36,000,” Biden said.
Additionally, Biden said he expected paid speaking engagements to be forthcoming based on "positive reviews" of his book and art, but "that has not happened."
While changed political fortunes appear to have hurt his financial situation, Hunter Biden was also impacted by the wildfires in Los Angeles, which left his rental home in Malibu "unlivable."
As a result, Biden "has had difficulty in finding a new permanent place to live as well as finding it difficult to earn a living." With his financial means significantly reduced, Biden is focused on finding a new home and helping his family manage their expenses.
"So, Plaintiff must focus his time and resources dealing with his relocation, the damage he has incurred due to the fires, and paying for his family’s living expenses as opposed to this litigation," his lawyers said.
Hunter Biden previously claimed he was poor during his child support battle with a former stripper, Lunden Roberts, who used Ziegler as an expert witness.
Biden eventually settled that dispute in 2023, agreeing to pay an undisclosed amount and leave his daughter with some of his paintings - although, according to Biden, his artwork has since lost much of its value.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem touted new arrests of criminal aliens following a recent ICE operation in northern Virginia.
Sporting a tactical vest, Noem highlighted the arrests of gang members and sex offenders in a video shared on her X account.
We will not be deterred by leaks. If you come to this country and break our laws, we will hunt you down.
Successful enforcement operation this morning—getting MS-13 members, 18th Street gang members and perpetrators of sexual crimes off our streets. pic.twitter.com/67iqcFJw6x
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) March 4, 2025
Noem also warned of "consequences" in an interview with ABC News, which tagged along for the operation in Virginia.
ABC reported that the raids led to the arrest of at least two men, an 18th Street gang member and another man who was convicted of sexual battery, although the exact scale of the roundup is uncertain.
"By policy and due to officer safety, we don’t comment on ongoing operations,” an ICE spokesman told the Washington Post. “The number of arrests is ongoing."
President Trump has asked Congress to provide more funding to help ramp up his deportation efforts, which have so far fallen short of expectations.
Border crossings have plummeted since President Trump returned to the White House, but interior enforcement has lagged, reportedly leaving Trump frustrated.
ICE's efforts have been plagued by internal leaks, which have provided advance warning to illegal aliens in cities like Los Angeles and Aurora, a suburb of Denver.
Noem last week said that she fired some individuals within DHS responsible for leaking information, but the problem has persisted, with pro-immigration groups publicizing the raids in Virginia beforehand.
"Starting Monday 3/March, ICE activity expected in Northern VA (Arlington, Alexandria, Annandale, Fairfax, Prince William, Loudoun) & surrounding areas that could result in several arrests. Please be aware of your surroundings, tell your friends/family too," Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid wrote on X.
While deportations remain a challenge, illegal border crossings hit their lowest point in decades during Trump's first full month back in office.
Crossings fell to 8,300 in February as Trump toughened immigration policy and the government's messaging to foreigners.
Trump touted the decrease during his speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, with Trump blasting his predecessor, Joe Biden, for letting a historic influx of people into the nation's interior.
"The media and our friends in the Democrat Party kept saying we needed new legislation, we must have legislation to secure the border. But it turned out that all we really needed was a new president," Trump said.
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is off to a successful start, but he isn't without his fair share of bumps in the road.
One of those happened this week, as it was reported by Politico that a top HHS spokesperson resigned over disagreements with RFK Jr. over the measles outbreak.
Two people familiar with the matter reportedly told Politico that the spokesperson disagreed with Kennedy and several aides over the direction of the agency amid the ongoing outbreak.
Thomas Corry, the former spokesperson, announced his resignation this week, emphasizing that it was "effective immediately."
The abrupt resignation sent shockwaves through Washington D.C., as Corry, the assistant secretary for public affairs, had come on board Kennedy's team just two weeks ago.
Corry announced his resignation from HHS in a LinkedIn post, wishing his colleagues success down the road.
"I want to announce to my friends and colleagues that last Friday I announced my resignation effective immediately," he wrote in the post. "To my colleagues at HHS, I wish you the best and great success."
Thomas Corry announced on Monday that he had resigned "effective immediately," just two weeks after joining the department as its assistant secretary for public affairs.
“I want to announce to my friends and colleagues that last Friday I announced my resignation effective… pic.twitter.com/CSHS2QU3bn— Weaponized News (@WeaponizedNews) March 4, 2025
Politico noted:
The sudden departure was prompted by growing disagreement with Kennedy and his principal deputy chief of staff, Stefanie Spear, over their management of the health department, said the two people, who were granted anonymity to speak candidly.
Corry was also reportedly disturbed by Kennedy's response -- in his perception, the lacktherof -- regarding the measles outbreak in Texas.
The HHS secretary wrote in an op-ed for Fox News recently that he believes the measles vaccines is good for children and the broader community, but only when parents confer with their doctors regarding the shot.
Parents play a pivotal role in safeguarding their children’s health," he wrote. "All parents should consult with their healthcare providers to understand their options to get the [measles, mumps, rubella] vaccine. The decision to vaccinate is a personal one," Kennedy added.
Stefanie Spear, his principal deputy chief of staff, released a statement on the actions taken for the Texas outbreak.
"The CDC is actively supporting Texas state health officials and will be on the ground Tuesday working with the frontline health care providers," she said.
Vice President J.D. Vance was right alongside President Donald Trump in letting Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy know that his free ride from the United States government is over.
As a result, radical, pro-Ukraine leftists were furious that America would be cutting its support to fund the war in Ukraine, and Vance was rudely interrupted by those people on what would have otherwise been a wonderful, Vermont ski vacation with his family.
According to the Daily Mail, "hundreds" of angry, pro-Ukraine protesters lined the streets at the Vermont ski resort where Vance took his family over the weekend, shouting obscenities and insulting the vice president.
Fox News described the scene at the resort in Warren, Vermont as being a "mile long" line of protesters.
The angry blue-and-yellow flag waving liberals held up signs insulting the vice president, with some of the signs reading "Nazi scum," among other choice phrases.
The Trump Derangement Syndrome-stricken protesters also held up signs that demanded Vance "go ski in Russia."
The vice president's trip to the Vermont ski resort had been announced earlier in the week, giving the presumably unemployed, purple-haired Karens the opportunity to organize and call the vice president mean names.
The Vice President Vance protesters in Vermont were literally praising Palestinian terrorism. These people are morons and do not represent what true Vermonters are. pic.twitter.com/VxLDImfYXk
— Vermonster 🇺🇸 (@pnshdvermonster) March 2, 2025
Some reports from the scene even suggested that members of the protest group were pro-Palestinian protesters.
Vance and his family had to be moved to an u"closed location as a result of the debacle, as the Daily mail noted:
Fox News report that Vance and his family had planned to stay at a 4-star inn near the Sugarbush Resort but moved to an undisclosed location after seeing the protest.
Users across social media reacted to the protesters at the ski resort.
"How much ya wanna bet the majority of them aren't from Vermont," one X user wrote.
Another X user wrote, "I am sorry that more Americans did not come out to counter the weakest of our country with the strength of our flag."
At the end of the day, the protesters made zero impact and their words and yelling meant absolutely nothing.