Live updates: Senate works to avert partial government shutdown ahead of midnight deadline – The Associated Press

By KEVIN FREKING, LISA MASCARO

A spending bill to avert a partial government shutdown narrowly cleared a key procedural hurdle in the Senate, paving the way for passage as a midnight Friday deadline loomed.

Ten Democrats joined with Republicans to clear the 60-vote threshold needed to advance the measure. The vote was 62-38.

Trump called U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon “amazing” and “courageous” months after she dismissed the indictment accusing him of illegally retaining classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home.

Trump slammed what he described as unfair public criticism of Cannon, whom Trump also nominated to the federal bench. Trump accused Cannon’s critics of “playing the refs.”

Cannon sided with Trump’s lawyers in ruling that the special counsel who filed the charges against Trump was illegally appointed by the Justice Department.

Trump’s own administration have been critical of federal judges who have ruled against the White House in lawsuits brought over his sweeping executive orders. Some of his allies have called out judges by name on social media and suggested they should be impeached.

Among them:

• Walt Nauta, the Trump valet who was charged along with the president with obstructing an investigation into Trump’s hoarding of classified documents after he left office in 2021. That case was later dismissed.
• Michael Flynn, who served as national security adviser in Trump’s first term. Flynn was charged with lying to the FBI about his Russian contacts during the 2016 presidential period. He pleaded guilty and was later pardoned in Trump’s final weeks in office.
• Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general who last year agreed to pay nearly $300,000 in restitution under a deal to end criminal securities fraud charges that have shadowed the Republican for nearly a decade.

The president is vowing to seek “full and complete accountability” for what he alleges were wrongs carried out by the Justice Department that prosecuted him.

In his speech at Justice Department headquarters, Trump railed against the Biden administration officials he claims tried to do “everything within their power” to prevent him from becoming president.

There has been no evidence of wrongdoing by the officials who investigated and prosecuted Trump on allegations that he illegally retained classified documents and conspired to overturn his 2020 election loss. The Justice Department dismissed the cases after his election victory, citing longstanding policy against prosecuting sitting presidents.

During his speech at the Department of Justice, Trump said ceasefire negotiations were ongoing and praised his relationship with Putin.

Trump even said Putin “has respect for this country.”

Trump also seemed to suggest that Ukraine was to blame for Russia’s 2022 invasion, saying, “You don’t want to pick on somebody that’s a lot larger than you.”

Previously, Trump blamed Ukraine for the fighting, only to later concede that Russia invaded when those comments sparked an uproar.

The Senate is now taking a key vote that needs 60 votes to push the Republican-backed government funding bill forward in the chamber.

While it’s not a vote for final passage, which only requires a simple majority, this vote is a larger hurdle because it requires 60 votes to overcome the Senate’s filibuster rules. With Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, opposing the bill, eight Democrats would need to vote in favor for the bill to proceed.

Senators have also reached an agreement on debate time, which would allow them to beat the midnight deadline for a shutdown.

Democrats are erupting in anger, accusing Schumer of passing on a rare opportunity to regain leverage in Washington.

In defense, Schumer said “a shutdown would allow DOGE to shift into overdrive.”

Still, influential progressive groups are warning that Senate Democrats would face a fierce backlash if they vote with Republicans to avoid the shutdown.

“Clearing the way for Donald Trump and Elon Musk to gut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid is unacceptable. It’s past time for Democrats to fight and stop acting like it’s business as usual,” said Joel Payne, a spokesperson for MoveOn, which claims nearly 10 million members nationwide.

▶ Read more about division among Democrats

It was Wall Street’s best day since the election, but wasn’t enough to salvage a fourth straight losing week.

The S&P 500 rose 2.1% Friday, a day after closing more than 10% below its record for its first “correction” since 2023. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.7%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 2.6%.

Uncertainty about Trump’s oft-changing tariff announcements have increased public anxiety, feeding worries that U.S. consumers may cut back on their spending.

▶ Read more about the financial markets

Along with a ferocious stock market selloff and downgrades to growth estimates by Wall Street economists, the latest confidence numbers are evidence of possible blowback facing Trump.

Just months into his second term, the president said his threats of import taxes would cause “a little pain” while paying the way for American factory jobs.

Now even Trump’s base is slightly more pessimistic: Sentiment fell 3.2% among Republicans in the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index.

“People who are afraid the economy is headed into a ditch won’t buy new cars or houses, go out to eat, or go on vacations,” warned Bill Adams, chief economist at Comerica Bank. “If consumer sentiment continues to sour, spending will likely follow it lower and the economy could take a substantial hit.”

▶ Read more about how consumers view Trump’s actions on the economy

The president opened his speech by saying that under his administration, DOJ will begin a “new chapter in the chronicles of American justice.”

“We’re turning the page on four long years of corruption, weaponization,” he said.

Trump has long argued that he’s been unfairly treated by the department.

He also thanked some of the department’s top officials, all of whom are longtime loyalists, defenders and attorneys who represented him during his criminal trials.

Attorney General Pam Bondi was accompanying the president, who stopped by the portrait and commented about the “nice-looking” guy.

Bondi said she’s working on getting Vice President JD Vance’s portrait up, too.

Both Republicans and Democrats want to show they can take action on the deadly drug.

The bill passed the Senate on an 84-16 vote, with all the nay votes from Democrats. It had significant Democratic support in the House, where many in the party are eager to clamp down on fentanyl distribution following an election in which Republican Donald Trump harped on the problem.

When House Republicans passed a similar bill in 2023, it languished in the Democratic-held Senate.

Critics say the proposal repeats the mistakes of the “war on drugs,” which imprisoned millions of addicted people, particularly Black Americans.

▶ Read more about the fentanyl bill

Correction: A previous version erroneously reported that the Senate approval was final. It now goes to the House.

House Speaker Mike Johnson told GOP representatives last week to skip out on town halls that could be disrupted by “professional protesters.”

But Rep. Chuck Edwards said he didn’t want to shy away from his constituents in North Carolina.

Edwards endured constant jeers, expletives and searing questions on Trump administration policies in Asheville Thursday night. About 300 people crammed inside the auditorium. More than a thousand booed outside.

Asked about Trump’s “destructive and disastrous trade war,” the visibly exhausted congressman said: “Let me answer and then if you don’t like it, you can boo or hiss or whatever you’d like to do.”

“And you wonder why folks don’t want to do these town halls,” Edwards said over shouting.

▶ Read more about the GOP Town Hall protests

Washington, D.C., has often had a tenuous peace with the federal government when Republicans controlled Congress and the White House. Now it’s facing its most urgent threat since the Nixon administration.

The funding bill passed by the House this week calls for a drastic cut in current spending that city leaders say would result in calamitous harm to schools and public safety.

Christina Henderson, a city council member, calls it “reckless” and “uncharted territory.”

“Will the senators die on the field for the D.C. budget?” is the question now, according to John Capozzi Jr., a former shadow representative for the District.

▶ Read more about the cuts to the city’s budget

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and Republican Sens. Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul came together to lament brewing trade wars that could stagger the bourbon industry.

Bourbon distillers who have cultivated markets in Europe and Canada are now worried about becoming “collateral damage” in escalating tit-for-tat disputes. This situation intensified this week when Trump threatened a 200% tariff on European wine, champagne, and other spirits if the EU went forward with a planned tariff on American whiskey.

In solidly Republican Kentucky, the governor and senators have been in lockstep in their disapproval of the tariffs. Beshear, who is seen as a potential presidential contender in 2028, has been especially critical.

▶ Read more about Kentucky’s bourbon sector.

Democrats are reminding people it was Trump who led the nation in the longest shutdown in U.S. history during his first term, when Congress refused to fund his promised U.S.-Mexico border wall.

They say some values are worth fighting for.

“Check the history,” Jeffries said. “We are on the right side of the American people.”

In 2018, Trump’s demands from Congress sparked the 35-day shutdown, which shuttered much of government over the holiday season.

Standing alone in the Rose Garden in late January, Trump then said he would sign legislation to temporarily fund the government and try again to persuade lawmakers to finance his long-sought wall.

Moments before a key vote, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and his leadership team urged Democratic senators to block the bill and negotiate a better package.

“This is a fight worth having,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, the Democratic Caucus leader.

Democratic Whip Katherine Clark urged the two parties to “come back to the table” and avoid a shutdown.

Jeffries said senators still have time to stop the bill ahead of the procedural vote.

“We do not want to shutdown the government,” Jeffries said. “But we are not afraid of a government funding showdown. And we will win that showdown because we stand on the side of the American people.”

Sixty-six House Democrats from a diverse regional and ideological cross section of the party sent a letter to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to express “strong opposition” to any Senate Democrats backing the Republican continuing resolution.

Freshman Rep. Derek Tran of California spearheaded the letter, but sources close to the process say that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the ranking Democratic member of the House Appropriations Committee, blessed sending the letter to Schumer.

“The American people sent Democrats to Congress to fight against Republican dysfunction and chaos,” the letter reads. “Instead of capitulating to their obstruction, we must fight for a regular (2025 fiscal year) appropriations measure that reflects our nation’s values to provide uninterrupted access to lifesaving government services.”

The vice president toured a plastics facility in Bay City, Michigan, and promised “a great American comeback” in manufacturing — even as he urged patience for it to fully materialize.

“The road ahead of us is long,” Vance told the crowd of about 100 people at Vantage Plastics.

The Trump administration’s tariffs on Canada has especially concerned some businesses in the border state, but Vance defended them as a way to increase domestic manufacturing.

“If you want to be penalized, build outside of America,” he said.

Immigration officials have arrested a second person who participated in Pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, and have revoked the visa of another student, they announced Friday.

Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian from the West Bank, was arrested by immigration officers for overstaying her student visa, the Department of Homeland Security said. Kordia’s visa was terminated in January 2022 for “lack of attendance,” the department said. Kordia was previously arrested for her involvement in protests at Columbia in April 2024, it added.

The Trump administration also revoked the visa of Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian citizen and doctoral student, on March 5 “for advocating for violence and terrorism.” On Tuesday, Srinivasan opted to “self-deport,” the department said.

The announcement comes after the recent arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist who helped lead student protests at the school and is facing deportation.

▶ Read more about the Trump administration’s arrest of pro-Palestinian protesters

Rubio was speaking to reporters Friday after talks in Moscow between a U.S. envoy and Putin ended with no word of an agreement on a ceasefire with Ukraine.

“We will get there,” Rubio said. “We’re certainly at least talking about peace for the first time in three years.”

Rubio says Trump’s repeated calls for Canada to become the 51st state began with a chat the president had with former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Rubio said Trudeau told Trump that Canada “couldn’t survive as a nation-state” if the U.S. went ahead with threatened tariffs on Canadian imports.

“At which point the president said, well, then you should become a state. And that’s where this began,” Rubio told reporters.

Trump “loves Canada,” Rubio insisted. He simply “made an argument for why Canada would be better off joining the United States from an economic perspective and the like. He’s made that argument repeatedly, and I think it stands for itself.”

▶ Read more about Canada’s response to Trump tariffs

Ringing cowbells and chanting, organizers, teachers, former employees and locals gathered in Washington to protest personnel cuts in the Department of Education on Friday morning. Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii joined teachers’ union representatives and advocacy organizations to speak at the event. Dozens of cars and trucks, along with tour buses and a Metro bus, honked in support of the line of protesters along Independence Avenue.

“This isn’t just about a department and a building, this is about federal streams of money that help students live into their full potential,” said Kim Anderson, National Education Association executive director. “This agenda is about cutting funding and shipping it to public schools.”

The Education Department plans to lay off more than 1,300 of its employees as part of an effort to halve the organization’s staff — a prelude to Trump’s plan to dismantle the agency.

It comes after the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a well-known Palestinian activist now detained in Louisiana over his role in protests at Columbia University against the war in Gaza. Khalil is a legal U.S. permanent resident with no criminal history and a pregnant American citizen wife.

Rubio said they’ll keep looking for people with student visas who wouldn’t have been let into the country by the Trump administration “had we known they were going to do what they’ve done.”

“But now that they’ve done it, we’re going to get rid of them,” Rubio said.

Rubio said Friday he’s “cautiously optimistic” about Russian President Vladimir Putin agreeing to a cease-fire with Ukraine after Putin’s meeting with a U.S. envoy on the war.

Trump administration officials plan to spend the weekend debriefing presidential envoy Steve Witkoff on his session with
Putin and on next steps, Rubio said. Rubio spoke to reporters at the end of a Group of Seven meeting in Canada.

The talks with Putin did not appear to secure the immediate agreement for a ceasefire that Rubio had said Americans would press Putin for. Still, he said “we certainly feel like we’re at least some steps closer to ending this war.”

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, NV: She said she’s “still weighing the impact” of her vote.

Sen. Maria Cantwell, WA: “It’s so important for my state to have infrastructure investment. They’re cutting 40% out of the Army Corps of Engineers. The lifeblood of my state is growing agriculture product and getting it to destinations all around the globe.” She said she’d vote no on the continuing resolution.

Sen. Tina Smith, MN: “I’m voting no on the CR. I believe that the CR would do terrible damage. It’s not even a CR. It’s a it’s a new bill written exclusively by Republicans that would do great damage to Minnesota.”

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, RI: “The real danger here is this Trump-Musk cabal that is out to break government, destroy agencies, fire off thousands of people, ruined government services. Also they can give data probably and tax breaks to billionaires.” He said he’d vote no on the resolution.

Sen. Ben Lujan, NM: “Colleagues are having to make those decisions. If you’re ask if I support Chuck Schumer, I support Chuck Schumer. And, I announced I’ll be voting no. And I’m, right now, that’s where I’m standing.”

Marco Rubio says the Trump administration’s tariffs are about making trade fair.

He told reporters Friday after the Group of Seven foreign ministers meeting in Canada that Trump wants to “charge other countries what they charge us.”

Rubio acknowledged that those benefiting from previous arrangements likely do “feel it is hostile to change the status quo.”

But he said “This is not meant as a hostile move against Japan or Germany or anybody else. This is about balancing and fairness and trade.”

Tariffs and other Trump policies overshadowed the meeting of G7 allies, but they were able to find consensus on peace in Ukraine and other topics.

In a scathing rebuke to Senate leadership, the House Speaker Emerita said Trump and Musk are offering a false choice between the bill and a shutdown.

Instead Rep. Nancy Pelosi is imploring Senate Democrats to “listen to the women” — top Democratic appropriators Sen. Patty Murry and Sen. Rosa DeLauro — and fight in favor of their 30-day stopgap plan. “We must fight back for a better way,” she said.

Notably, Pelosi’s statement mentions Trump’s first-term shutdown, which was the longest in history when Democrats refused to provide funding for his promised U.S-Mexico border wall.

“America has experienced a Trump shutdown before — but this damaging legislation only makes matters worse,” Pelosi said.

“There’s always going to be an election cycle. This is not about politics. This is about what is best for the American people. We made that vote with that interest in mind,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, the Democratic caucus chair.

Aguilar reiterated that House Democrats feel that supporting the bill makes lawmakers “complicit” in Trump’s agenda. But he said “we have all the respect in the world for our Senate colleagues” — a message they’re sharing while lobbying them on the phone.

“This has really been about what are our tactics and strategies to defending Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, from what Donald Trump and Elon Musk are seeking to do each every day,” he said.

Carney, a former Goldman Sachs executive with no experience in politics, becomes Canada’s 24th prime minister, and will now try to steer his country through Trump’s trade war.

Carney has said he’s ready to meet with Trump if he shows “respect for Canadian sovereignty″ and is willing to take ”a common approach, a much more comprehensive approach for trade.″

Trump put 25% tariffs on Canada’s steel and aluminum and is threatening sweeping tariffs on all Canadian products April 2. He has threatened economic coercion in his annexation threats and suggested the border is a fictional line.

▶ Read more about Canada’s new prime minister

The billionaire’s meeting with the leader of the National Security Agency suggests his push to slash spending and personnel may soon focus on the nation’s intelligence community.

The agency said Friday that Musk met Wednesday with Gen. Timothy Haugh, who directs the NSA as well as U.S. Cyber Command, which coordinates the Pentagon’s cybersecurity work.

An NSA statement said the meeting was intended to ensure both organizations are “aligned” with the new administration’s priorities.

Like the CIA, the NSA has offered buyouts to personnel as Trump and Musk push deep cuts to the federal workforce.

Tesla warned a top Trump trade official that retaliatory tariffs could add to the costs of its cars sold abroad.

“U.S. exporters are inherently exposed to disproportionate impacts when other countries respond to U.S. trade actions,” Tesla wrote this week in a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, first reported by the Financial Times.

The carefully worded letter expresses support for Trump’s “fair trade” efforts while also aligning with most economists who say tariffs do more harm than good. The retaliation by China, Canada and Europe comes as Tesla’s sales plunge overseas amid competition by foreign EV makers and calls for boycotts.

Tesla’s stock rocketed after Trump’s election, but it has plummeted 50% since its mid-December high, wiping out hundreds of billions of dollars of wealth.

Their federal lawsuit filed in Rhode Island argues that Trump’s “Unleashing American Energy” executive order freezing billions of dollars already approved by Congress is arbitrary and capricious, lacks statutory authority and violates the Administrative Procedure Act.

Americans are being harmed, they say, by the freeze on weatherization programs, programs aimed at reducing food waste and work to protect giant sequoias and other large trees.

The suit by the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, National Council of Nonprofits, Eastern Rhode Island Conservation District and Green Infrastructure Center demands the resumption of funding from the Inflation Reduction Act as well as Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Addressing reporters outside the White House, Karoline Leavitt said Trump’s afternoon speech at the Department of Justice also will focus “on restoring law and order to our country.”

She accused the Biden administration of creating a DOJ that she said “was weaponized against Americans for their political ideologies.”

She said Trump will be joined by relatives of people who died due to fentanyl overdoses and by “angel moms,” whose children were killed in violence involving people in the country illegally.

The license allowed U.S. firms to do business with Russian energy companies through sanctioned Russian banks.

A Treasury Department representative confirmed the expiration. The official wasn’t authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, telling The Associated Press that the Trump administration is focused on fostering negotiations to end the war.

The expiration of the license, which was issued during Joe Biden’s presidency, adds pressure on Russia to accept a ceasefire deal crafted by the U.S., which Ukraine has accepted.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently said the Trump administration would go “all in” on Russia sanctions in order to end the war raging since February 2022.

For the second day, Sen. Markwayne Mullin is presiding over the Senate chamber in a tan cowboy hat, pushing the limits of rules for attire in the Senate chamber.

“Nothing in the rules says I can’t wear my hat to preside on the floor,” Mullin said Thursday.

Exactly what senators can and cannot wear when they enter the chamber has evolved over the years, and it has recently come up as some lawmakers go casual:

• Sen. Jim Banks, an Indiana Republican, was prevented from standing on the Senate floor this week when he walked up in sneakers.
• Sen. John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat who almost always sports gym shorts and a hoodie, does not fully enter the chamber, but casts his vote by signaling from the doorway.

Facing a groundswell of Democratic dissent, Schumer insists that voting for the Republican funding bill is better than a federal shutdown, which he says would give Trump and Musk free rein to gut the government.

“A shutdown would allow DOGE to shift into overdrive,” Schumer warned as the Senate opened.

Schumer said Democrats are not backing down and vowed a long-term fight against the Trump agenda.

▶ Read more about how layoffs are impacting the Department of Education

A Senate Finance Committee hearing has begun for Trump’s pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The 64-year-old Oz was a respected heart surgeon who became a popular TV pitchman. Now Trump wants him to oversee health insurance for about 150 million Americans.

Republicans likely will ask Oz how he’ll trim fraud from Medicare and Medicaid. Democrats will probably focus on cuts he would make to insurance coverage and his televised comments supporting privatized Medicare.

▶ Read more about Oz’s confirmation hearing

John Thune says the chamber is ready to vote later in the day, and he’s “hopeful that enough Democrats will reject their party’s threat of shutting down the government to get this bill passed today.”

With a 53-47 majority, and some dissent within his won Republican ranks, the GOP leader still needs at least eight Democrats to cross party lines to clear the 60-vote threshold.

The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment measure has fallen for three straight months and is down 22% from December 2024.

Declining confidence showed up “consistently across all groups by age, education, income, wealth, political affiliations, and geographic regions,” survey director Joanne Hsu said.

“Many consumers cited the high level of uncertainty around policy and other economic factors; frequent gyrations in economic policies make it very difficult for consumers to plan for the future, regardless of one’s policy preference,” Hsu’s statement said.

Sentiment collapsed by more than a third among Democrats since December, nearly 20% among independents, and only slightly among Republicans. But a measure of Republicans’ economic outlook dropped by 10% just this month.

The Education Department announced the new investigations Friday, one month after issuing a memo warning America’s schools and colleges that they could lose federal money over “race-based preferences” in admissions, scholarships or any aspect of student life.

“Students must be assessed according to merit and accomplishment, not prejudged by the color of their skin,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. “We will not yield on this commitment.”

Most of the new inquiries are focused on colleges’ partnerships with the PhD Project, a nonprofit that helps students from underrepresented groups get degrees in business with the goal of diversifying the business world.

Department officials said that the group limits eligibility based on race and that colleges that partner with it are “engaging in race-exclusionary practices in their graduate programs.”

The group of 45 colleges facing scrutiny over ties to the PhD Project include major public universities such as Arizona State, Ohio State and Rutgers, along with prestigious private schools like Yale, Cornell, Duke and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

▶ Read more about the new investigations into colleges’ DEI practices

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries reiterated that House Democrats would not be “complicit” in the GOP spending plan.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York expressed frustration that Democratic senators aren’t aligning with the members “who have won Trump-held districts in some of the most difficult territories in the United States, who walked the plank and took innumerable risks in order to defend the American people.”

“There’s still time,” said Rep. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico at a press conference of the Democratic Women’s Caucus. “The American people are shouting: Please do not hand the keys over to Elon Musk.”