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In today’s issue:
- Trump agenda clears House
- U.S., China ramp up economic war
- GOP’s Texas AG challenging Sen. Cornyn
- U.S. poised for weekend nuclear talks with Iran
Global tumult intensified Thursday over President Trump’s tariffs and the possibility of deepening trade wars and a recession, but the president got an early win in the battle to advance his domestic agenda.
House GOP leaders managed to quell opposition in their ranks to deliver a vote on a budget bill that would enact sweeping parts of Trump’s proposals on tax cuts, energy, border funding and more — an early win ahead of a long, tough path toward approval of a final budget.
The House on Thursday adopted the Senate’s budget framework, voting 216-214 largely along party lines and pushing the blueprint over the finish line after a last-minute scramble to win over conservatives who had spent days railing against the measure.
The vote marked a big win for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who has pushed an aggressive timeline to advance Trump’s domestic policy priorities, and for Trump himself, who endorsed the legislation and lobbied those on the right flank to get on board.
Trump touted the bill’s passage while helming a Cabinet meeting at the White House, adding in a post online that it “sets the stage for one of the Greatest and Most Important Signings in the History of our Country.”
It was the fourth time Johnson pulled off a nail-biter — following his reelection as Speaker in January, the adoption of the House’s budget blueprint in February, and passage of a government funding bill in March — muscling the measure through his razor-thin majority with no votes to spare. The Hill’s Mychael Schnell, Mike Lillis and Emily Brooks break down how the Speaker made it happen.
The New York Times: Here’s what’s in the House GOP budget.
The under-the-wire victory came as Congress gears up for a two-week spring recess for Passover and Easter and put a bookend on the first phase of the budget reconciliation process — requiring both chambers to adopt a resolution that acts as instructions for the rest of the process.
“Time is of the essence,” Johnson said after the vote. “We know what’s going on around the world. We know that the debt limit cliff is approaching pretty quickly here. We know that markets have been a little unstable. They want to know that Congress is on the job, and I’m here to tell you that we are.”
After the recess, the even tougher work begins. The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports Republicans in both chambers must craft a package that is in line with the levels laid out in the budget resolution and make decisions on a number of hot-button issues like spending cuts, how long the tax cuts are extended for and the cap on the state and local tax deduction, among other details.
House conservatives are putting pressure on Senate Republicans to promise deeper spending cuts — at least $1.5 trillion over the next decade — ahead of the negotiations, but GOP senators themselves are deeply divided on what to axe. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) hasn’t been able to make any concrete promises given the positions his members have staked out on Medicaid, defense and other sacred cows.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said that it won’t be easy to get Senate GOP moderates and fiscal hawks on the same page.
“I think it’s going to be hard,” he said. “But we don’t have a choice, and we need to get to work on the reconciliation bills.”
▪ The Hill: The House passed a bill by a vote of 220-208 on Thursday to require proof of citizenship to vote. Four Democrats — Reps. Ed Case (Hawaii), Henry Cuellar (Texas), Jared Golden (Maine) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.) — voted with all Republicans to pass the measure.
▪ The Hill: The Senate early Friday morning voted to confirm Trump’s choice to be chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired Lt. Gen. Dan Caine.
▪ The Hill: At a CNN battleground member town hall, Rep, Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) said he agrees with Supreme Court order for Trump to facilitate the return of a mistakenly deported man
▪ The Hill: Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.) said at the CNN town hall that she regrets her vote in favor of the Laken Riley Act.
SMART TAKE with NewsNation’s BLAKE BURMAN:
Washington doesn’t coalesce around much these days, but one of the bigger bipartisan pairings has been both Democrats and Republicans believe there’s a need to take on China.
I spoke with Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), the top Democrat on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, and asked him if he believes the end goal should be a trade deal with China, or boxing them out on global trade.
“If we can actually get to a deal that can stick, that would be great,” Krishnamoorthi told me. “But to do that, Blake, you can’t engage in a trade war with Canada, Mexico, and your friends, partners and allies. It has to be an international coalition essentially, that puts down the international rules of the road on trade for China.”
President Trump says he believes a deal with China could come, but even if that occurs, it might not happen anytime soon. The last trade deal with China consumed all of 2018 and most of 2019, and it ultimately didn’t hold.
Burman hosts “The Hill” weeknights, 6p/5c on NewsNation.
3 THINGS TO KNOW TODAY:
▪ The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to lift a judge’s order requiring the Trump administration to “facilitate” the return of a Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador.
▪ Chinese officials surprised U.S. counterparts in December by acknowledging Beijing’s role in cyberattacks on major U.S. infrastructure, The Wall Street Journal reported.
▪ Elon Musk’s DOGE team seeks to merge major federal databases that have long been intentionally siloed for security — including IRS, Social Security and medical information about millions of people living in the United States. Privacy advocates are alarmed.
LEADING THE DAY
The Associated Press | AP Photo
China overnight raised its retaliatory tariff on U.S. goods to 125 percent from 84 percent, which will take effect on Saturday. A trade war between the two most powerful producing nations shows no signs of easing and the effect will be widespread.
The White House said Thursday its levy on Chinese goods escalated to a steep 145 percent. The tit-for-tat activity, which Beijing has rejected as U.S. “blackmail,” has effectively choked off the affordability of the flow of most goods between the two market behemoths.
“Given that at the current tariff level, U.S. exports to China are no longer commercially viable, China will not respond to any further tariff hikes by the U.S. on Chinese goods,” the government said in a statement.
The Wall Street Journal: The U.S. and China are going to economic war — and everyone will suffer.
Trump attempted Thursday to place a positive gloss on his abrupt decision this week to temporarily pause tariffs on imported goods from non-retaliatory nations, which concentrated his punitive policy on China. The president predicted Beijing would eventually seek to negotiate.
“We’re trying to get the world to treat us fairly,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting while responding to reporters’ questions. “Again, there will be transition costs, transition problems, but in the end, it’s going to be a beautiful thing.”
Trump sought to create some breathing room on Wednesday when a cratering bond market tripped Wall Street and Washington alarm bells. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s reputation soared as a steady voice advising a president who believes U.S. tariff leverage can reorder a global playing field for trade.
The president said he has the option to renew his tariff pause again this summer or revert to the levies the administration assigned last week to a long list of trading partners. Citing his desire to be “flexible,” he nevertheless said he did not envision exempting any country or company from his tariff regime.
Financial markets, which rallied briefly after Trump announced a 90-day pause on U.S. “reciprocal” tariffs, on Thursday resumed a painful slide as investors lamented the likelihood of months of uncertainty as the administration seeks to reach deals with dozens of countries while in the grips of a dramatic standoff with China.
The three main financial indexes on Thursday fell by rates ranging from 2.5 percent to 4.31 percent, signaling investor pessimism, angst about inflation and worries that consumers will rein in their spending, dampening prospects for growth.
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), during a CNN interview, described the tension between Trump and President Xi Jinping as “a testosterone battle.” He predicted corporate leaders will hesitate in the current vulnerable economic environment to commit to new manufacturing plants and major investments, which are among Trump’s stated goals.
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee, previously an adviser to former President Obama and an economist, warned Thursday that Trump’s aggressive tariff policy posed a “stagflationary shock” for the nation’s central bank. Churning tariffs are expected to raise domestic prices, impact business decision making and consumers’ wallets.
The White House said on Wednesday that more than 75 nations are interested in negotiating with the United States. The U.S. tariff floor is now 10 percent. The administration has received “serious” trade deal offers from almost 20 nations, Trump economic adviser Kevin Hassett said Thursday. Two deals are “almost closed,” he added, but he did not name the countries, and Trump made no mention of imminent agreements.
“While Trump’s willingness to negotiate is a good sign for a potential future off-ramp, the reality is the recently announced shift does little to reduce the overall effective tariff rate,” Larry Adam, chief investment officer at Raymond James, said this week.
The Hill’s Niall Stanage in The Memo: Winners and losers from the Trump tariffs drama.
WHERE AND WHEN
- The House will meet for a pro forma session at 9 a.m. on Monday.
- The Senate will convene for a pro forma session at 8:45 a.m. on Monday.
- The president will travel at 10:50 a.m. to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for a physical exam. He will depart there before 4 p.m. and head to Mar-a-Lago.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be in Tampa, Fla., at 2:30 p.m. to visit U.S. Special Operations Command and U.S. Central Command.
- The White House daily press briefing is scheduled at 1 p.m.
ZOOM IN
The Associated Press | Tony Gutierrez
2026 ELECTIONS: Texas Republicans are bracing for an explosive Senate primary next year in the latest chapter of an ongoing civil war that has divided the state party. Members of the GOP raced quickly to endorse their respective candidates this week after Attorney General Ken Paxton, an ally of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, launched a primary challenge against Sen. John Cornyn (R). The primary is likely to pit more establishment-minded conservatives against Republicans like Paxton who align themselves with Trump’s MAGA wing, and questions are already swirling about what Trump will do about potential endorsements.
▪ The Hill: A top elections handicapper says Democrats are on track to regain control of the House in the 2026 midterm cycle, as often has been the case at the midway point of a new presidential administration — but it won’t be an easy feat.
▪ Axios: House Democrats added half a dozen “safe” GOP seats to 2026 target list.
APPROVAL RATINGS: Trump’s approval rating has dropped from +5 to -29 points among voters under 30 since his inauguration, a 34-point tumble, according to a new poll from Economist/YouGov released Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the majority of Americans support Trump’s decision to pause some of his new tariffs, according to the same survey, where 64 percent of respondents said they strongly or somewhat approve of the president’s tariff delay,
▪ The Wall Street Journal: The Trump administration is planning to pursue a legal arrangement that would put Columbia University into a consent decree, which could significantly escalate the pressure on the school as it battles for federal funding.
ELSEWHERE
The Associated Press | Jacquelyn Martin
IRAN: Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that the U.S. will hold direct talks with Iran on Saturday. The talks between U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and a senior Iranian leader will take place in Oman.
“We hope that’ll lead to peace. We’ve been very clear what Iran is never going to have as a nuclear weapon, and I think that’s what led to this meeting,” Rubio said during a Cabinet meeting.
But years of distrust hang over the meeting, after Trump in 2018 pulled out of the original U.S.-Iran nuclear deal negotiated by former President Obama. Axios reports Iran is considering proposing that the two countries work on an interim nuclear agreement before pursuing negotiations over a comprehensive deal. Trump, meanwhile, has set a two-month deadline for negotiations on a new nuclear deal. In the interim, he has ordered a buildup of U.S. military forces in the Middle East.
The Wall Street Journal: As Trump squares off with Iran, the Middle East is on edge.
UKRAINE: While Trump spared Russia from the tariffs, that did not exempt the country from the ensuing economic havoc. The price of oil, the lifeline of Moscow’s economy and war machine, has fallen nearly 15 percent since April 2, setting off fears of a global recession. Despite the 90-day tariff pause, damage to the global economic outlook, which drives oil prices, is likely to be more lasting.
If the slump continues, analysts say the Kremlin is likely to begin cutting spending as soon as this summer — which could eventually hit the military and affect Russia’s strength in its war against Ukraine.
▪ The New York Times: Ahead of his visit to Oman, Witkoff is in Russia today to revive ceasefire talks to end the war in Ukraine. It’s unclear if Witkoff will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
▪ CBS News: U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink intends to resign from her post early. One senior U.S. official said her resignation stems from an unusual mix of personal and policy concerns.
OPINION
■ Does Trump have a China trade strategy? by The Wall Street Journal editorial board.
■ This is 10-thumbed, fumbling, overconfident governmental progressivism, by George F. Will, columnist, The Washington Post.
THE CLOSER
The Associated Press | Paul Clements
And finally … 👏👏👏 Congratulations to Morning Report Quiz readers who puzzled this week through headline-grabbing genetic advances involving animals.
👑 Here are the savvy WINNERS who went 4/4: Marion Klinger, Stan Wasser, Sari Wisch, Casey Teeters, Lynn Gardner, Carol Meteyer, Rick Schmidtke, Harry Strulovici, Jess Elger, John van Santen, William Chittam, Linda Field, Brian Hogan, Amanda Fisher, Susan Reeves, Michael McGinnis, Jenessa Wagner, Cheryl Haugh, Laura Rettaliata, Dara Erinashley, Tim Burrack, Chuck Schoenenberger, Lou Tisler, Todd Risk, Mark Roeddiger, Mark Williamson, Robert Bradley, Jaina Mehta Buck, Savannah Petracca, John Trombetti, Luther Berg, Steve James, Pam Manges and Jack Barshay.
A sheep named Dolly made history in 1996 as the first animal fully cloned from an adult cell.
Colossal Biosciences recently claimed three genetically altered wolf puppies with prehistoric ancestors. The company also aspires to de-extinct mammoths, dodos and Tasmanian tigers. The best answer: all of the above.
In an example of recent gene editing, scientists put woolly mammoth DNA into mice.
It’s true that some people pay five-figure fees to clone their pets.
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