On Thursday, the House passed two bills to fund the shuttered Departments of Agriculture, Transportation, and House and Urban Development (HUD) for the rest of the fiscal year, once again providing no funding for President Trump's border wall. Twelve Republicans joined the Democrats in voting for the Transportation-HUD bill, which passed 244-180, while 10 bucked the White House to reopen the Agriculture Department and ensure funding for food stamps. On Wednesday, eight Republicans voted for a clean bill to reopen the Treasury Department and IRS, and the week before, measures to reopen all departments but Homeland Security (DHS) got seven GOP votes and a wall-less DHS funding bill drew five GOP votes.
The steady uptick in Republicans breaking with Trump suggests "that pressure is mounting on the GOP to do something to end the 20-day stalemate," Axios says. But pressure only goes so far. Earlier Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) blocked Senate votes on last week's House bills to reopen the government, calling the Democratic maneuver "absolutely pointless show votes." Democrats pointed out that the Senate overwhelmingly passed nearly identical bills in December, before Trump said he'd veto any bill without wall funding.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Judge blocks key part of Trump's elections overhaulSpeed Read Colleen Kollar-Kotelly's decision temporarily bars federal officials from requiring Americans to prove they are citizens to register to vote
-
Hegseth's chief of staff joins Pentagon exodusSpeed Read Joe Kasper has stepped down, leaving the Defense Secretary 'increasingly isolated'
-
A dozen states sue Trump to halt tariffsSpeed Read The states sued in the US Court of International Trade, seeking to stop tariffs they say will damage their economies
-
Trump blames Zelenskyy for peace deal setbacksSpeed Read Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected the US proposal, which includes Russia's takeover of Crimea
-
Musk vows DOGE pullback as Tesla profits plungeSpeed Read The Tesla SEO says he will soon step back from government matters to devote more time to the company
-
IMF sees slump from tariffs, Trump tries to calm marketsSpeed Read The International Monetary Fund predicts the U.S. and global economies will slow significantly due to the president's trade war
-
DHS chief Kristi Noem's purse stolen from eaterySpeed Read Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's purse was stolen while she dined with family at a restaurant in Washington, D.C.
-
Trump stands by Hegseth amid ouster reportsSpeed Read The president dismissed reports that he was on the verge of firing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over a second national security breach
