Ron Johnson

'Will it be a Schumer Shutdown?'

“I prefer vehicles with internal combustion engines that burn fuels that we have in the United States," Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said.

WASHINGTON — Several Republican senators tell Raw Story that they're unwilling to support the House version of the continuing resolution (CR) that would raise the debt ceiling. The Republican-led Congress is facing another government shutdown, with a deadline of 11:59 p.m. Thursday, March 14. After passing the measure, the House left town for two weeks, leaving the U.S. Senate to navigate the rest. However, many Republican senators whose votes are crucial to passing the CR aren't happy with it. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) made it clear, "I would not vote for this CR."Semafor reported Wednesday morning that Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) were also likely "no" votes. ALSO READ: 'Hell no!': Republican senators unwilling to follow Trump's order to end debt ceilingWhen Raw Story and other reporters spoke with Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), she confessed she didn't know what was in the bill and found some things concerning. One of those was a massive cut in the budget for Washington, D.C. “That was not a provision that was in the Senate bill, or anything that we advocated for. It came as a surprise to me, and explains why the mayor has called me," Collins said. Her home state newspaper, the Bangor Daily News, reported late Tuesday that the House bill may result in huge state budget cuts to Maine. "U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King have led their Capitol Hill peers in obtaining earmarks worth hundreds of millions of dollars for Maine projects, but they would not be included in a bill that would avert a federal government shutdown," the report said. Collins faces reelection in 2026. Her House college, Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), was the only Democrat to support the CR, despite the cuts in funding to his state, the Bangor Daily News also reported. This comes at a time when WGME reported that President Donald Trump's budget cuts meant that civilian staff at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard were also laid off this week.The head of the union told WGME that the people making such decisions "are not educated about the business end of what we do."Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) agreed that the D.C. funding cuts made it harder for him to support. "It is a purely mean-spirited hit at the district and it's outrageous," he told Raw Story. When asked whether he'd vote for the CR, his fellow Virginia senator, Tim Kaine (D), said he's looking to attach amendments to the bill to try and save it. However, this would require the House to approve the bill again at a time when they've already skipped town. When it comes to the D.C. funding, Kaine said he was with Mayor Muriel Bowser Tuesday night, and both found the strings attached to the district "troubling.""It's one thing if you say, okay, we're going to reduce federal funding to the district. It's another thing to say we're going to control your budget so that you can't even use your own tax revenue to have a budget above X. That's like — where's the precedent for that? I mean, it's just like — I don't even know how that got in there like that. I don't know what they're trying to accomplish. It just seems like a gratuitous eye-poke." Raw Story asked if he'd propose an amendment, and Kaine said it should be removed entirely. Democrats entered their lunch meeting to discuss whether they should support the CR, and if they'll be blamed for the shutdown. Republicans hold all power in the House, Senate and White House, however.

Letter: We are fortunate to have these employees working for us. Kudos to them.

House Republicans are preparing to vote on a bill to avert a possible government shutdown.

It becomes a Schumer shutdown at this point

Republicans in Congress have long been intent on countering America’s rivals and spreading U.S. influence abroad. But when President Donald Trump spelled out a sharp turn from that approach in his recent address to Congress, lawmakers in his party couldn’t...

The new leaders of embattled Impact Charter School in Baker are accusing the school’s founder, Chakesha Scott, of denying them access to payroll and other records.

Republicans are using terms such as “money laundering” and “discrimination” to make their case.

Conservatives in Congress are urging GOP leadership in both chambers not to agree to limiting DOGE in a spending bill, as Democrats are asking for.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee began hashing out what to do on taxes in a closed-door meeting Monday evening. Why it matters: Don't expect the budget resolution that barely passed the House last week to stay as is. The two chambers passed very different budget resolutions.They will need to get on the same page to kick off the reconciliation process, which allows the Senate to get around its 60-vote filibuster."We're working to put it all together in a way that makes the tax cuts permanent, prevents an increase in taxes, and deals with the key components and promises of the administration," Senate GOP Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) told Axios.What to watch: Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) huddled separately right after the Senate meeting.Those two will be leading the tax debate for each chamber — a fight that could drag out for months.There's a lot less of an appetite for raising the SALT caps in the Senate than in the House.Zoom in: One of the biggest changes the Senate is looking at is how it counts the cost of extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts, with Senate leadership pushing to adopt a current policy baseline — which makes the cost $0."My understanding is that is a decision a parliamentarian is going to make," Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) told reporters after the meeting. Some conservatives like Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) won't like it, though Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) told Axios he is on board."One point I tried to make is, I don't think that changes one iota how much money we spend," Cornyn said, adding, "I think it just demonstrates how illusory all the scoring really is."

Eventually, the House and Senate must vote on a final package.

Now that House Republicans have passed an ambitious budget blueprint for President Donald Trump’s agenda, it is time for hard work. Congress has to turn plans for $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and $2 trillion in slashed spending into a...

The new policy would strip research groups of funding that covers so-called indirect expenses.

Welcome to At the Races! Each week we bring you news and analysis from the CQ Roll Call campaign team. Know someone who’d like to get this newsletter? They can subscribe here. After months of negotiations, Republicans took formal steps this week toward enacting President Donald Trump’s agenda. The House Budget Committee appears set to approve [...]The post At the Races: Talkin’ ’bout a Resolution appeared first on Roll Call.

Some Republicans are looking to the next fiscal year to try to codify President Trump’s orders to cut federal spending as a divided Congress barrels toward a shutdown deadline. Trump voiced optimism this week that cuts pursued by his “Department of Government Efficiency,” headed up by tech billionaire Elon Musk, would “get a very easy [...]

Welcome to the second installment of Daily Kos' new series that tracks the ridiculous excuses Republicans make to defend Dear Leader Donald Trump and his lawless and cruel actions.This week, Trump imposed tariffs on the United States' biggest trading partners, unilaterally shuttered the U.S. Agency for International Development. He also said he wants to expel Palestinians from the Gaza strip so he can turn it into a resort. Additionally, Trump let co-President Elon Musk and his crew of racist and unqualified DOGE minions have access to the Treasury Department's payment system that disburses trillions of dollars and contains Americans' sensitive personal data.If you thought that any of those insane actions would draw criticism from Republicans, well, you'd be wrong.Republicans twisted themselves in knots to defend Trump and Musk.Here’s how Republicans reacted to Trump this week.On Elon Musk’s hostile takeover of the federal governmentRepublicans are notorious for railing against “unelected bureaucrats” in the federal government. But now that Trump made Musk into the most powerful unelected bureaucrat in government, allowing him to unilaterally shutter federal agencies, halt federal spending already approved by Congress, and have access to the Treasury Department payment system that doles out trillions in federal spending annually, Republicans are fine with it."I think the administration has every right to demand accountability and transparency in all these programs," Republican Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, told NPR about Musk’s role in shuttering USAID.Speaker Mike Johnson was asked specifically at a Feb. 5 news conference about the sudden change of heart Republicans have had with unelected bureaucrats.“Is there an inconsistency with Republicans railing against 'unelected bureaucrats' in charge and yet ceding Article 1 powers to the executive branch under Elon Musk?” Fox News’ Chad Pergram asked Johnson.“I think there's a gross overreaction in the media to what's happening,” Johnson said. “The executive branch of government in our system has the right to evaluate how executive branch agencies are operating to ensure that not only the intent of Congress in funding mechanisms, but also the stewardship of precious American tax dollars, is being handled well. That’s what they’re doing.”xREPORTER: Is there an inconsistency with Republicans railing against 'unelected bureaucrats' in charge and yet ceding Article 1 powers to the executive branch under Elon Musk?MIKE JOHNSON: No, look ... I think there's a gross overreaction in the media to what's happening— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-02-05T15:52:47.850ZRepublican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, also defended Musk, even as his actions to shutter USAID could have devastating impacts for farmers in her own state, as the agency purchased millions worth of corn, soybeans, wheat, sorghum, vegetable oil, and peas from Midwest farms.“It is going to be a very aggressive movement on the part of Republicans, President Trump, and Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, so the Democrats need to get used to this,” Ernst said. “We are going to find ways to focus our American taxpayer dollars on the things that they should be spent on, which is the American people and our interests.”xxYouTube VideoRepublican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana, made a similarly taunting statement.“To my friends who are upset, I would say with respect, ‘Call somebody who cares,’” Kennedy said. “You better get used to this. It’s USAID today, it’s going to be the Department of Education tomorrow.”House Republicans also blocked an effort by Democrats to subpoena Musk and force him to testify about DOGE’s actions. "I support what Elon Musk is doing. He's being very transparent with the American people. He's tweeting out multiple tweets per hour saying what his goals are,” Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, chair of the House Oversight Committee, said in an interview with Fox news.xComer: "I support what Elon Musk is doing. He's being very transparent with the American people. He's tweeting out multiple tweets per hour saying what his goals are."— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-02-06T17:16:39.918Z"Listen, I think what President Trump is doing by appointing Elon Musk is absolutely brilliant. And I say that from this perspective: We have a spending problem. ... . It is going to take some unconventional thought process, some unconventional wisdom, to get us out of the mess that we're in right now,” Republican Rep. Lisa McClain of Michigan, (R-MI) said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”xLisa McClain on Morning Joe: "Listen, I think what President Trump is doing by appointing Elon Musk is absolutely brilliant. We have a spending problem. It is going to take some unconventional thought process, some unconventional wisdom, to get us out of the mess we're in right now."— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-02-07T14:41:51.051ZThat should make us all feel better. On expelling Palestinians from GazaTrump shocked world leaders when he said the United States will forcibly remove Palestinians from Gaza to eventually “own” the land and turn it into the “riviera of the Middle East”—a proposal not even his own advisers knew he was going to make during a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.The proposal would likely bog the United States down in another costly foreign war—both financially and with the lives of U.S. troops—and defied Trump’s campaign promise to bring peace to the world.But again, Republicans defended Trump, saying his proposal was just innovative thinking from their Dear Leader."To what extent the president wants to move on this, we will see. But we have to be willing to think outside the box to bring peace and stability to Israel and the Palestinian people,” Republican Sen. John Curtis of Utah told the Deseret News.Meanwhile, Speaker Johnson called Trump’s proposal “a bold, decisive move, and I think you have to do something to eradicate the threat to Israel.”xREPORTER: Yes or no, do you believe the US should take control of Gaza?MIKE JOHNSON: We await further details on what exactly that looks like. This is a bold, decisive move, and I think you have to do something to eradicate the threat to Israel.— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-02-05T15:50:11.695ZSenate Majority Leader John Thune had a harder time defending it but didn’t criticize Trump, shrugging when asked if this was a good idea.Thune said that Trump “wants a more peaceful and secure Middle East and put some ideas out there."On imposing tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and ChinaThe most pushback Trump got this week was when he sought to impose 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada and 10% tariffs on China, which would undoubtedly raise prices for U.S. consumers."Tariffs are a tax. When you tax something, you get less of it, so we'll probably get fewer imports, but then with retaliation, fewer experts. Smoot-Hawley was not particularly successful and helped spark the Depression, so I share the markets' concern,” Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, said in an interview on Newsmax. Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, said that Trump’s tariffs are a “disaster for trade.” "What we have sent a message this week on is that we're not just going to enforce our southern border. We're going to put extra resources at that northern border, as well. So Canada needs to come to the table," Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told "Meet the Press."And Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said that the tariffs were ill-advised."It will drive the cost of everything up," he said. "In other words, it will be paid for by American consumers. I mean, why would you want to get in a fight with your allies over this?"Trump ultimately backed down off the Mexico and Canada tariffs, after the leaders of both countries offered him concessions around border security that had already been on the table.And that’s when the fawning comments came in, with Republicans praising Trump as a genius negotiator—even though the offers from both presidents were nothing new.“Thank you, President Trump! Our country finally has an advocate for American farmers, families, and businesses in the White House!” Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa, wrote on X after Trump announced a halt in the tariffs."The world is watching as the president shows, in no uncertain terms, his ability to bring our neighbors together to stop illegal activity and promote security in North America," Republican Rep. Adrian Smith of Nebraska wrote on X.Thank you to the Daily Kos community who continues to fight so hard with Daily Kos. Your reader support means everything. We will continue to have you covered and keep you informed, so please donate just $3 to help support the work we do.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies during his Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing on Jan. 29.

Aftershocks reverberated Wednesday from President Trump’s declaration the previous day that the United States should take “long-term ownership” of Gaza and that the Palestinians who live there should be moved. The position, outlined during the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, threatened to upend the framework of U.S. policy in the region, which has been [...]

Those frustrated by Trump’s actions shared similar stories of being unable to reach their lawmakers.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., issued subpoenas to 14 agencies from the outgoing Biden administration in his effort to continue investigating the origins of the COVID pandemic and taxpayer-funded gain-of-function research.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was pressed to clarify his views on vaccines, abortion and public health priorities in the first of two senate hearings as he tries to make the case to become President Donald Trump’s health secretary. Kennedy is...

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was pressed to clarify his views on vaccines, abortion and public health priorities in the first of two senate hearings as he tries to make the case to become President Donald Trump’s health secretary.

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content.

A DNC analysis notes that rolling back Medicare expansion alone could force millions off the program's rolls

The South Dakota governor will oversee a sprawling agency that is essential to national security and a clampdown on illegal immigration.

The vote came amid concerns about his qualifications to lead the Pentagon amid allegations of heavy drinking and abusive behavior toward women.

Two new senators were sworn in on Tuesday to replace new Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance.

The push to reform the American diet is being driven largely by conservatives who have taken up the cause that has long been a darling of the left.

The Democratic party’s trials will not end soon. As Trump takes office, he and his team will shine a spotlight on Democrats’ dishonest efforts to bar him from public office.

President Trump completed a monumental political comeback on Monday, taking the oath of office for a second time and vowing to turn around a nation he insisted was in decline. Trump became the first president in more than 125 years and the second in history to begin a second nonconsecutive term as president of the [...]

Trump tapped Waltz, a House lawmaker and former Green Beret, in the fall to serve as his national security adviser.

Noem was chosen by the president-elect to lead the department responsible for immigration and border-related actions that will be central to his plans for mass deportations and tightened border access.

Several state governors have ordered flags to be flown at full-staff on Inauguration Day, raising flags before the end of the mourning period for Jimmy Carter.

Several state governors have ordered flags to be flown at full-staff on Inauguration Day, raising flags before the end of the mourning period for Jimmy Carter.

Scott Bessent, tapped by Donald Trump to be treasury secretary, faced sharp questions from Democrats and Republicans on tax policy, tariffs, China, Russia sanctions and the IRS.

Several other governors will also raise flags on Jan. 20.

Gov. Ron DeSantis revealed on Thursday who will replace Marco Rubio in the Senate after he is likely confirmed to be Secretary of State.

President-elect Donald Trump is known to weaponize federal funding. Municipalities and agencies that rely on this money are preparing — to varying degrees — for his next term.

President-elect Donald Trump has expressed frustration that flags will be flying at half-staff when he takes office on Jan. 20.

Welcome to At the Races! Each week we bring you news and analysis from the CQ Roll Call campaign team. Know someone who’d like to get this newsletter? They can subscribe here. Congress’ first bill of the year could foreshadow how much political reality may affect the thinking of Senate Democrats. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, [...]The post Immigration politics hit the Hill appeared first on Roll Call.

House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris (R-Md.) has taken the famously confrontational group in a slightly more agreeable direction as it prepares for a Trump-controlled Washington, where the goal will be to support the incoming president’s policy agenda rather than exert maximum pressure on a Democratic administration. But even as Harris and other members of [...]

President-elect Trump is leaving the rest of his GOP trifecta hanging on their reconciliation stalemate.Why it matters: Republican leaders on both sides of the Capitol have no interest in going against Trump. He has the power to quickly end this debate, but that's no closer after Wednesday's meeting with the Senate GOP.Trump pitched the idea of a single "beautiful bill," Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) told reporters after the meeting. That's where the momentum is headed, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said."[H]e heard from us that and from our leader that a two bill strategy is very much still very interested in," Sen. Shelley Capito Moore (R-W.V.) told reporters.But Trump keeps making it clear: He really doesn't care about the process.That apparent indifference on this key question will force the House and Senate to attempt to resolve their differences among themselves.Inside the room: Trump went over his Day 1 executive orders, a source in the room told us.Stephen Miller walked through the immigration ones in detail, three sources told Axios.About a dozen senators spoke during the meeting, with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) giving the most passionate defense of the two-bill strategy, two sources told Axios.Trump invited the senators and their spouses to Mar-a-Lago, but didn't name a date, two sources told us. Axios scooped his plans for a Senate bash last night.The bottom line: If the one bill versus two question is hard, agreeing to a topline number should be a real treat.P.S. Top Trump campaign staffer Alex Latcham will be executive director of the Senate Leadership Fund, with former Sen. Cory Gardner serving as CEO and chairman of the board, Axios scooped on Wednesday.

President-elect Donald Trump and wife Melania, followed by Senate Majority Leader John Thune and wife Kimberly, walk through the Ohio Clock Corridor on Wednesday.

Speaker Mike Johnson vowed that an ambitious bill addressing a range of President-elect Donald Trump’s priorities will be voted out of the U.S. House in April, a tight schedule for his narrowly divided chamber.

President-elect Donald Trump has promised to increase the pace of U.S. military shipbuilding. But his pledge to also clamp down on immigration could make it hard for shipyards already facing workforce shortages.By Nicole Foy for ProPublicaEarly last year, President-elect Donald Trump promised that when he got back into the Oval Office, he’d authorize the U.S. Navy to build more ships. “It’s very important,” he said, “because it’s jobs, great jobs.”However, the companies that build ships for the government are already having trouble finding enough workers to fill those jobs. And Trump may make it even harder if he follows through on another pledge he’s made: to clamp down on immigration.The president-elect has told his supporters he would impose new limits on the numbers of immigrants allowed into the country and stage the largest mass deportation campaign in history. Meanwhile the shipbuilding industry, which he also says he supports and which has given significant financial support to Republican causes, is struggling to overcome an acute worker shortage. Immigrants have been critical to helping fill the gaps.According to a Navy report from last year, several major shipbuilding programs are years behind schedule, owing largely to a lack of workers. The shortfall is so severe that warship production is down to its lowest level in a quarter century.Shipbuilders and the government have poured millions of dollars into training and recruiting American workers, and, as part of a bipartisan bill just introduced in the Senate, they have proposed to spend even more. Last year the Navy awarded nearly $1 billion in a no-bid contract to a Texas nonprofit to modernize the industry with more advanced technology in a way that will make it more attractive to workers. The nonprofit has already produced splashy TV ads for submarine jobs. One of its goals is to help the submarine industry hire 140,000 new workers in the next 10 years. “We build giants,” one of its ads beckons. “It takes one to build one.”Still, experts say that these robust efforts have so far resulted in nowhere near enough workers for current needs, let alone a workforce large enough to handle expanded production. “We’re trying to get blood from a turnip,” said Shelby Oakley, an analyst at the Government Accountability Office. “The domestic workforce is just not there.”In the meantime, the industry is relying on immigrants for a range of shipyard duties, with many working jobs similar to those on a construction site, including on cleanup crews and as welders, painters and pipefitters. And executives worry that any future immigration crackdown or restrictions on legal immigration, including limits on asylum or temporary protected status programs, could cause disruptions that would further harm their capacity for production.Ron Wille, the president and chief operating officer of All American Marine in Washington state, said that his company was “clawing” for workers. And Peter Duclos, the president of Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding in Somerset, Massachusetts, said the current immigration system is “so broken” that he was already having trouble holding onto valuable workers and finding more.There is no publicly available data that shows how much the shipbuilding industry relies on immigrant labor, particularly undocumented immigrant labor. Both Wille and Duclos said that they do not employ undocumented workers, and industry experts say undocumented workers are unlikely to be working on projects requiring security clearances. However, reporting by ProPublica last year found that some shipbuilders with government contracts have used such workers. That reporting focused on a major Louisiana shipyard run by a company called Thoma-Sea, where undocumented immigrants have often been hired through third-party subcontractors.The story reported on a young undocumented Guatemalan immigrant who was helping build an $89 million U.S. government ship for tracking hurricanes. When he died on the job after working at Thoma-Sea for two years, neither the company nor the subcontractor paid death benefits to his partner and young son.ProPublica also reported that executives at Thoma-Sea, which declined to comment, had made tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to Republican candidates. However, if Trump’s last time in office is any guide, the shipbuilding industry wouldn’t be exempted from any future crackdown. One of the final workplace raids under Trump’s first administration was conducted at an even larger shipbuilder in Louisiana called Bollinger.In July 2020, federal immigration agents arrested 19 “unlawfully present foreign nationals” at Bollinger’s Lockport shipyard, according to a story in the Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate. Immigration and Customs Enforcement refused to provide information on the raid. According to Bollinger’s website, that yard produces U.S. Coast Guard and Navy patrol boats. Five of the workers arrested were sent to an ICE detention center and 14 were released with pending deportation cases, according to the news report.Bollinger denied any wrongdoing following the raid. Four years later, there’s no evidence in publicly available federal court records that Bollinger executives faced any charges in connection to it. Meanwhile, federal electoral records show that the company’s executives donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Republican elected officials last year, including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, both Republicans from Louisiana. The company did not respond to ProPublica’s requests for comment.President Joe Biden’s administration ended workplace raids like the one at Bollinger, saying that it would instead focus on “unscrupulous employers.” Department of Homeland Security officials did not answer questions or provide data on how many employers had been prosecuted since then. However, Trump’s designated “border czar,” Tom Homan, has signaled that the incoming administration will return to carrying out the raids. When asked how the second Trump administration will increase shipbuilding while limiting immigration, a spokesperson for Trump’s transition team only doubled down on the president-elect’s deportation promises, saying they would focus enforcement on “illegal criminals, drug dealers, and human traffickers.”A few days after Trump won the election, a group of undocumented shipyard welders leaving a Hispanic grocery store near the port in Houma, Louisiana, expressed a dim view when asked what they thought lay ahead. One man, who declined to provide his name, broke into a nervous laugh and blurted, “Well, we could be deported.” Another man, a welder from the Mexican state of Coahuila who’d been working in the U.S. for about two years, also declined to give his name but said he worried about losing the life he’d managed to build in this country.“When they grab you,” he said, “they’ll take you, and you’ll have to leave everything behind.”This story was originally published by ProPublica.

Elon Musk renewed criticisms of the 158 Democrats who voted against a bill in September to deport illegal immigrants convicted of sexual offenses, demanding they be voted out.

Famous figures such as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Tesla and X owner Elon Musk pop up there.