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Now that the White House and Hill negotiators have reached a deal on the final funding sticking point, legislative staff are racing to release the bill text as a weekend government shutdown looms.
First Things First
With less than 90 hours until a partial government shutdown, the White House and congressional negotiators have finally notched an agreement to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security—the last sticking point for a six-bill minibus covering over 70 percent of the federal budget, including programs for defense, health, education, labor, and more.
With a deal in place, legislative staff are furiously racing to draft, review and release bill text to start the 72-hour clock between its release and a final House floor vote.
As I wrote yesterday, when it hits the House floor, it will need several dozen Democratic votes to pass. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is expected to lose several votes from his far-right flank, 43 of whom signed a letter on Monday urging House Republican leadership to include the core elements of the Secure the Border Act, a measure that passed the House last year with no Democratic support and opposition from two Republicans. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) refused to bring the bill up for consideration and the White House has said President Joe Biden would veto any legislation including the border provisions. Remember: Congressional Republicans demanded the White House and Democrats to agree to a border crackdown in exchange for a vote on several of the president’s national security priorities, but reneged on the deal James Lankford of Oklahoma—the second-most conservative senator—negotiated after former President Donald Trump came out against the bill to prevent Biden from scoring a legislative win,
But it doesn’t help House conservatives’ cause that they virtually never vote to fund the government. With just a two-seat majority and a conference that’s almost always at odds with each other, they have little leverage here.
The chances of a weekend shutdown are a bit higher than they were yesterday simply because we don’t know how long the Senate, which may not receive the bill from the House until Friday, will take to clear it. The Senate will need unanimous consent to move the bill through its chamber, an outcome only possible with an agreement brokered by party leaders that provides rank-and-file senators with a number of amendment votes in exchange for their approval to skip several time-consuming procedural votes.
TikTok update: Senate Intelligence Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) will host a classified briefing with members of their committees tomorrow as the Senate debates the House-passed bill that would remove TikTok from US app stores if its Chinese-based owner refuses to fully divest of the app within 180 days
In related news, Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.)—the top Republican on the Senate Intel panel—wrote an 11-post thread on X to address “some of the misunderstandings being floated around” about forcing TikTok to cut ties with China.
👋🏾 Hi, hey, hello! Welcome back to Once Upon a Hill. I’m Michael Jones. Thanks for spending part of your morning with me. It’s Tuesday, March 19. I love hearing from readers. Send me a direct message below or email me with tips, questions or to say hi.
ICYMI: For my latest column for COURIER Newsroom, I wrote about the steps House Democrats are taking to respond to the relentless attacks on DEI from former President Trump and right-wing extremists.
In the Know
President Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the ongoing hostage negotiations in Qatar and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The two leaders agreed that their teams would meet soon in Washington to brainstorm alternative approaches to a major ground operation in Rafah, which Biden expressed deep concerns about during the call.
President Biden signed an executive order to expand and improve research on women’s health. During his State of the Union address earlier this month, he called on Congress to invest $12 billion in the first-ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research.
The Environmental Protection Agency announced a ban against the only known form of asbestos—a carcinogen that causes tens of thousands of deaths in the US each year and is linked to lung cancer, ovarian cancer, colorectal cancer, and more—still used or imported in the US. The action is the result of the first rule finalized under the nation’s updated chemical safety law and a step forward in the Biden administration’s work to protect public health, advance environmental justice, and end cancer as we know it.
The Biden campaign released two new ads across TV and digital platforms as part of its outreach to Black America across TV and digital platforms. The ads will run through April 21 in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, as well as across national Black-owned brands, including NewsOne, Blavity, and The Shade Room (😒). The ads will also run during NCAA March Madness via streaming platforms. During the NAACP Image Awards this past weekend, the campaign ran an additional spot on how the president’s agenda has lowered costs and increased economic opportunity for Black Americans.
President Biden taped two radio interviews on Monday: El Genio Lucas with Alex Lucas on Nueva Network and El Bueno, La Mala y El Feo with Raul Molinar on Univision Radio. Both will air this morning across the shows' affiliates and coincide with the launch of a national organizing program to engage and mobilize Latino voters, communities and leaders across the country.
Happenings
All times Eastern
8 a.m. President Biden will receive his daily intelligence briefing.
8:40 a.m. The president will leave the White House en route to Reno, Nev. from Joint Base Andrews.
12 p.m. The House will meet with first and last votes scheduled at 6:30 p.m. on a series of suspension bills.
12:15 p.m. Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff will speak at a campaign event at a coworking space in Omaha, Neb.
1 p.m. Emhoff will speak at a campaign event at the Nebraska Democratic Party in Omaha.
2 p.m. President Biden will arrive in Reno and participate in a campaign event at 2:15 p.m.
3 p.m. The Senate will meet and vote at 5:30 p.m. to confirm Nicole Berner to be US Circuit Judge for the Fourth Circuit.
3:45 p.m. The president will travel to Las Vegas from Reno, arriving at 4:55 p.m.
5:15 p.m. First Lady Dr. Jill Biden will speak at a campaign fundraiser in Norwich, Vermont.
6 p.m. President Biden will speak about lowering costs for American families.
7:15 p.m. The president will travel to Phoenix from Las Vegas.
7:35 p.m. President Biden will speak at a campaign fundraiser.
Vice President Harris will receive briefings and hold internal staff meetings.
Read All About It
“What Caitlin Clark fans are missing” by Jemele Hill: “A wider conversation about how many Black women athletes have been marginalized in [women’s college basketball], despite their invaluable contributions.”
“The terrifying global reach of the American anti-abortion movement” by Jodi Enda: “Conservatives have not limited their attack on reproductive rights to the United States. They’ve been busy imposing their will on other countries, too—with disastrous consequences for millions of poor women.”
“Why Biden’s pro-union stance isn’t working” by James Surowiecki: “The most pro-labor president in history could hardly do more for unions, but their members aren’t feeling it.”
“The GOP’s claim that we were better off in 2020 is so weird” by Ed Kilgore: “It takes a special kind of amnesia or insensitivity to look back fondly at the year COVID-19 struck and the economy imploded.”
“Health misinformation is evolving. Here’s how to spot it” by Dani Blum: “Experts offer tips for combatting false medical claims in your own circles.”
“One way to help a journalism industry in crisis: Make J-school free” by Graciela Mochkofsky: “We need mission-driven, imaginative news leaders who are not bound by the models of the past.”
“Once America’s hottest housing market, Austin is running in reverse” by Will Parker: “Home prices have fallen more than anywhere in the US.”
“American manufacturers seek perfection as quality issues mount.” by John Keilman: “Ford, Spirit, AeroSystems and other companies are using artificial intelligence and other tools in cvc of zero defects.”
“Our best efforts” by Haley Swenson: “The debate over domestic labor is political. But the reality, I found out, is personal.”
“It’s not you: Dating apps are getting worse” by Magdalene J. Taylor: “Hinge, Tinder, Bumble: They used to be free and maybe too good to be true. Now paid versions and fatigue are making dating apps worse—and expensive.”
“Why are parents on TikTok so angry?” by Kathryn Jezer-Morton: “How the online barrage of gentle child-rearing advice has many caregivers fed up.”
“The drama kings of tech” by Ross Andersen: “Their schoolyard feuding cuts an odd contrast with the earnestness that so often emanates from Silicon Valley.”
“Same old song: Private equity is destroying our music ecosystem” by Marc Hogan: “Private equity is cannibalizing the music industry by buying up old hits and pushing them back into our cultural consciousness.”
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