Happy Friday! In today's edition, we report on how some House Republicans are beginning to receive pushback on the administration's slash-and-burn approach. Plus, "Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welker breaks down Trump's standing in the polls one month into his term. — Adam Wollner Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here to receive it weekdays. |
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Republicans start to feel the heat on budget cuts |
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After the Senate pulled an all-nighter to adopt a budget blueprint, the pressure next week will be squarely on the House as it plans to take up a competing version to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda. For some Republican lawmakers, it will come after they spent the past week getting an earful back home. At town halls across the country, House Republicans faced sometimes-hostile crowds furious about the sweeping budget cuts and mass firings of federal workers that Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency are carrying out, Scott Wong, Syedah Asghar, Sahil Kapur and Ben Kamisar report. With the House on recess, public events this week marked the first opportunity for many lawmakers to hear directly from constituents since Trump’s inauguration. |
| Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., was pressed on DOGE’s “sloppy approach” to cuts to the National Nuclear Security Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Reps. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., and Kevin Hern, R-Okla., were accused of not doing enough to stand up to the executive branch amid Trump and Musk’s flurry of actions. And a man confronted Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ore., about not being responsive to his concerns about Musk. |
The raucous town halls conjured memories of those in 2009 — the start of the tea party movement — when constituents protested lawmakers over Democrats’ massive health care bill, which became the Affordable Care Act. One Republican lawmaker said it appeared that constituents who've been "quiet" since Joe Biden's 2020 victory are back out in force. "Too much too fast seems to be a common refrain," the lawmaker continued. Warning signs: Also adding to the pressure as House Republicans return to Washington next week: the fate of certain anti-poverty programs. As Melanie Zanona, Sahil Kapur and Ben Kamisar report, the House’s budget plan could result in steep cuts to Medicaid and food stamps. That could put a handful of Republicans who represent parts of the country where sizable shares of the populations receive government assistance from Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in a politically difficult position. The lawmakers from the 10 GOP-held districts with the highest percentages of Medicaid or SNAP beneficiaries span the ideological and geographical spectrum, according to an NBC News analysis of the most recently available Census Bureau data. They include members from deep-red districts, such as Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana and veteran Rep. Hal Rogers of Kentucky, as well as those in competitive battlegrounds, such as Reps. David Valadao of California, Rob Bresnahan of Pennsylvania and Monica De La Cruz of Texas. “There’s a little bit of frustration among those of us who do have large Medicaid populations that we have not been engaged [by leadership] as much as some of the members of the Freedom Caucus in this process,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., told NBC News. “And therefore, we are undecided on how we’re going to be voting,” she continued, referencing the GOP holdouts with concerns about Medicaid. |
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| Taking stock of Trump's first month in office |
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The first month of the Trump administration is in the books — 32 days of an all-out sprint to fundamentally reshape government, grapple with the most pressing foreign policy questions and push almost all of the congressional Republican stragglers into line. And a rough consensus is starting to emerge about how Americans are viewing it all. There are some flashing warning signs, as well as opportunities, for President Donald Trump and his allies. Trump’s approval rating has started to settle between 45% and 47% in four recent, high-quality polls. That’s hardly the kind of honeymoon that previous presidents came into office with. But on the flip side, he’s a bit better off than he was at any point during his first stint in the White House by most measures. A majority of adults across multiple polls believe Trump has overstepped as president. Majorities also disapprove of actions like shuttering the U.S. Agency for International Development and widespread firings of federal workers. And for a president who told me just a few months ago that “I won on the border, and I won on groceries,” Americans seem mixed on his approach to both. There’s been early support for parts of Trump’s approach to immigration, mainly deporting those with criminal records (both violent and nonviolent). But Americans aren’t sold on other aspects, like deporting Dreamers or those who have been here for a decade or longer. And there are some alarm bells about Trump’s priorities. A majority of Americans in a CNN poll said Trump hasn’t paid enough attention to the country’s most important problems. And the Washington Post/Ipsos poll found majorites of people having negative feelings about the unemployment rate, energy prices, food prices and the incomes of average Americans. Some pressure is clearly mounting. Congressional town halls are starting to fill with frustration, one of Trump’s top allies in the media asked him to be “less callous” with cutting federal employees, and the administration is racing to rehire some of the employees it just fired. But it’s unclear how much that pressure matters to a president who won’t have to face the voters again. While many of Trump’s actions are sparking legal challenges, the administration has worked quickly to bend the government to its designs, and congressional Republicans have so far signaled that there’s little room in their party for those who want to break with him. We’ll examine all this, and more, on Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” where I’ll be joined by NBC News national political correspondent Steve Kornacki to break down these latest numbers. I’ll also speak with Sens. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., to get their perspectives. |
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What to know from the Trump presidency today |
| The Trump administration has removed Caleb Vitello, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, from his position. The move comes after Trump and “border czar” Tom Homan have expressed anger that the number of people being deported is not higher. The administration also rescinded a stop-work order affecting federally funded legal services for unaccompanied migrant children. And it canceled an extension of temporary protected status for Haitians, the latest move targeting the form of immigration relief for people coming from countries facing political upheaval and natural disasters. Trump said he's “sick” of how Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has handled the war with Russia, saying, “He has no cards.”The Associated Press sued three Trump administration officials over access to presidential events. Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills told Trump, “We’ll see you in court,” over his push to deny federal funding to the state over transgender athletes. |
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Trump's week in the courts: A mix of big legal wins and notable hurdles |
The Trump administration's efforts to swiftly remake the federal government notched some major wins in court this week, but a number of the president's other initiatives are facing significant roadblocks. Dareh Gregorian and Daniel Barnes have a wrap-up of Trump’s week in the courts: The most notable victories: |
| A federal judge in Washington, D.C., paved the way for Trump’s firing spree to continue, denying a request from labor unions for a temporary restraining order barring mass layoffs of probationary workers and other federal employees. A federal judge also gave the go-ahead for the administration to move forward with plans to remove thousands of U.S. Agency for International Development workers from their jobs. The Department of Government Efficiency also prevailed in two cases seeking to curtail its powers, with judges denying restraining orders in a pair of cases brought against the Elon Musk-led office. |
| The most notable setbacks: |
| The Supreme Court for now prevented Trump from firing the head of a watchdog agency in the first legal showdown to reach the justices over the administration’s efforts to dramatically remake the federal government. An appeals court denied Trump's bid for an emergency order allowing him to implement his planned restrictions on birthright citizenship — and the court won't hear arguments on the case until June. A judge in Washington found the administration had not fully complied with his court order pausing the freezing of foreign assistance grants and contracts. |
Plus, the administration was hit with several new lawsuits, including another challenge to its bid to shed tens of thousands of probationary workers. Read more → |
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🗞️ Today's other top stories |
⭐️ Star power: Elon Musk’s first — and surprise — appearance at CPAC underscored his role in the new center of gravity in the conservative universe, despite skepticism and some feuding from various conservative factions — including the populist corner occupied by Steve Bannon and his allies. Read more → 🚫 More from CPAC: French far-right leader Jordan Bardella on Friday canceled his planned remarks at the conference after Bannon made a hand gesture that some said appeared to be a Nazi salute. Read more → 🍎 Big Apple latest: A federal judge indefinitely adjourned New York City Mayor Eric Adams' criminal trial, but did not yet dismiss the federal corruption charges. Read more → ➡️ At the border: Gabe Gutierrez and Erika Angulo take a look inside Mexico’s border troop deployment efforts following Trump’s tariff threats and whether the mobilization will make a difference. Read more → 🌲 Into the wild: Following Trump’s job cuts, national park rangers say fewer employees could mean long entry lines, dirty bathrooms and potentially unsafe conditions for hikers and campers during the busy tourist season. Read more → ☑️ First order of business: In his first meeting with staff this week, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he intends to address the possible overmedication of children and the risks of antidepressants. Read more →
☀️ Sunshine State shuffle: Trump threw his support behind Rep. Byron Donalds’ likely bid for Florida governor. Casey DeSantis, the first lady of Florida, earlier this month signaled she was considering a run. Read more →
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That’s all from the Politics Desk for now. Thanks to Faith Wardwell for helping compile today's newsletter.
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