Foreign aid freeze off and on; budget resolution off and on and maybe; flu shot meeting off

So much going on! After ignoring U.S. District Judge Amir Ali not once, but three times, when the Administration was ordered to release frozen funds for the US Agency for International Development, Ali issued a final ultimatum requiring payment by midnight Feb. 26. The Administration went to the Supreme Court for an emergency review and Chief Justice Roberts temporarily delayed the deadline until arguments could be heard on Feb. 28. Read the story in The Hill.

For more excitement, Speaker Mike Johnson abruptly canceled a scheduled vote on the comprehensive budget resolution he has been promoting because of lack of support from some hardline conservative Republicans. He then dramatically reversed course and rescheduled the vote after Trump intervened and convinced the recalcitrant members to change their votes. The bill passed by a single vote along party lines except for one Republican vote against. Now the Senate has to approve a budget resolution and so far theirs looks very different from the one the House just passed. The two chambers must agree on a single bill to enable them to get a budget passed by reconciliation, which would not be subject to fillibuster and would therefore only need a majority vote in the Senate. If they fail to reach agreement, they will need Senate Democrats to help them pass a budget. Read the story in the NY Times.

Most startling, an important vaccine advisory committee meeting of the FDA was abruptly cancelled via email yesterday with no reason given. This was a crucial meeting to help manufacturers decide which flu strains to pick for vaccine development. Since the process takes about 6 months and flu season starts around September, the meeting was timed to get information out just when it was needed. Member of the advisory committee mused whether the vaccine rollout will be delayed this year or whether manufacturers will have to rely on information from the World Health Organization . Suspicions about the role of RFK, Jr. ran high. Read the story in the NY Times.