Senate passes continuing resolution on budget with help of Schumer (and other stuff)
After House Republicans passed a budget bill that would increase the debt by over $3 trillion over 10 years, cut Medicaid by as much as $880 billion and give another $4.5 trillion in tax breaks to the rich, they were unable to get the Senate to sign on. Republicans in the Senate put out their own budget with two separate bills, even though Trump backed the House bill. Since the two chambers could not agree, they had to resort to a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government running past the deadline tonight, March 15. A budget bill could have been passed with only a majority, so the Republicans would not have needed any Democratic votes if they stuck together. But a CR requires 60 votes in the Senate to get past a filibuster. Nevertheless, the House GOP put together what they called a “clean” CR, but the Democrats noted that it increased defense spending while cutting back on the IRS, the NIH and other programs and agencies. The CR passed the House with only a single Democratic vote (and one Republican defection). Through last night, Sen. Schumer was dead set against buckling to Republicans and helping them pass the lopsided CR, but today he caved and voted to advance the bill to a floor vote, along with nine other Democrats. That was enough to bring the bill up for a vote and allow the Senate to pass the CR by a vote of 54-46 (two Democrats voted for the bill and one Republican voted against it). The CR will be in effect until Sept. 30.
Other exciting news includes a clash between Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Rubio didn’t like the way Musk was handling the State Department budget and told him to keep his hands off. Trump intervened and asked the two to work together, but Musk was reigned in and told that cabinet Secretaries were responsible for their departments and their budgets; he could make recommendations, but the Secretaries were to make final decisions.
And, of course, the trade wars go on, with tariffs being imposed, then doubled, then cancelled. Trump has maintained tariffs on Mexico and Canada but excluded goods included in a previous treaty. Europe, not unexpectedly, has been retaliating with its own tariffs The stock market has taken a plunge this week. What will happen to the economy otherwise is unclear.
Meanwhile, numerous lawsuits are winding their way through the courts and will most likely all end up with Supreme Court decisions. One judge has just deemed that Trump must reinstate most workers he fired because their dismissals were illegal.
Most alarming was the detention by Secretary Rubio of a legal resident (holding a green card) because he participated in a protest at Columbia University and promoted pro-Hamas ideology. Rubio used an obscure law to rationalize his detention and planned deportation. The detention is being contested in court as a violation of the First Amendment.