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Year: 2025

How Mike Johnson rescued Trump’s tax agenda from jaws of likely defeat

How Mike Johnson rescued Trump’s tax agenda from jaws of likely defeat

When lawmakers arrived on Capitol Hill last Monday, House GOP leaders’ plans to sync up with the Senate on sweeping legislation to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda seemed an all-but-impossible task. House fiscal hawks were furious with Senate Republicans for passing an amended version of the former’s budget framework, one that called for a significantly lower amount of mandatory spending cuts than the House’s initial plan. By late Thursday morning, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was celebrating victory in front of reporters after a narrow 216-to-214 vote. “I told you not to doubt us,” a triumphant Johnson told the media. “We’re really grateful to have had the big victory on the floor just now. It was a big one, a very important one.” HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS CHAIR URGES JOHNSON TO CHANGE COURSE ON SENATE VERSION OF TRUMP BUDGET BILL The hard-fought win came after long hours and late nights as House Republican leaders — and leaders in the Senate GOP as well — worked to persuade holdouts, while Trump and his aides worked those same critics from the sidelines. White House aides were at House Republicans’ weekly conference meeting on Tuesday, a rare sight but not unexpected, given the importance of the coming vote. But GOP lawmakers filed out of that meeting doubting whether Trump’s influence could help this time, after he played a key role in helping shepherd earlier critical bills across the finish line this year. “I don’t see it happening,” a House Republican told Fox News Digital when asked whether Trump would be enough to sway critics. Nevertheless, a select group of those holdouts were summoned to the White House alongside House GOP leaders on Wednesday afternoon, hours before the expected vote. MEET THE TRUMP-PICKED LAWMAKERS GIVING SPEAKER JOHNSON A FULL HOUSE GOP CONFERENCE Fox News Digital was told that Trump commanded the room for roughly 20 to 30 minutes, and told House conservatives he agreed with them on the need to significantly slash government spending. Trump also communicated to holdouts that Senate leaders felt the same, but, like the House, were working on their own tight margins, Fox News Digital was told. The president, meanwhile, has been concerned in particular with the looming debt limit deadline, Fox News Digital was told. It’s one of the issues that Republicans are looking to tackle via the budget reconciliation process. By lowering the Senate’s passage threshold from 60 votes to 51, it allows the party controlling the House, Senate and White House to enact broad policy changes via one or two broad pieces of legislation. In this case, Republicans are looking for some added funds for border security and defense and to raise the debt ceiling — while paring back spending on the former Biden administration’s green energy policies and in other sections of the federal government, likely including entitlement programs. GOP lawmakers are also looking to extend Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the provisions of which expire at the end of this year. They will also need new funding for Trump’s efforts to eliminate taxes on tipped and overtime wages. But first, Republicans wanted the House and Senate to pass identical frameworks setting the stage for filling those frameworks with actual legislative policy. Whereas the House version calls for at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts, the Senate mandated a floor of $4 billion — a wide gap to bridge. The Wednesday-afternoon White House meeting did sway some holdouts, but far from enough.  Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., also met with House GOP critics of the bill for more than an hour on Wednesday evening ahead of the planned vote. “He couldn’t have been more cordial and understanding in talking to us about what we needed to know. And honestly, he had some of the same concerns that we did,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., told Fox News Digital. “You know, he’s got to get it over the finish line, and he had to make certain commitments. But he committed to us to work with us.” Ultimately, however, plans to advance the measure that evening were hastily scrapped as an unrelated vote was held open for over an hour, leading to confusion and frustration on the House floor. “He looked like he was in no better spot than he was at the beginning,” one House Republican said of that night. Trump was not called to address the group during that huddle with holdouts, two sources in the room told Fox News Digital.  However, the president did have individual conversations with some holdouts on Wednesday and Thursday, one person said. The Wednesday night failure gave way to a late night of negotiations involving both holdouts and House GOP leaders. Two House GOP leadership aides told Fox News Digital that Johnson had huddled with Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and House GOP Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Mich., until late Wednesday to figure out a path forward. When they emerged shortly before midnight, they had settled on a plan — a televised promise by Johnson and Thune to put both leaders on the record committing to deep spending cuts. SENATE GOP PUSHES TRUMP BUDGET FRAMEWORK THROUGH AFTER MARATHON VOTE SERIES “I’m happy to tell you that this morning, I believe we have the votes to finally adopt the budget resolution so we can move forward on President Trump’s very important agenda for the American people,” Johnson said. Thune added, “We are aligned with the House in terms of what their budget resolution outlined in terms of savings. The speaker has talked about $1.5 trillion. We have a lot of United States senators who believe in that as a minimum.” A senior Senate GOP aide argued to Fox News Digital, “Absent Thune’s intervention, Mike Johnson would not have gotten this resolution through the House.” But the speaker was also putting in his own long hours with holdouts. The office of Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., who ultimately voted to advance the framework, told Fox News Digital that critics were sent

Gretchen Whitmer ribbed online for seeming to hide face in Oval Office

Gretchen Whitmer ribbed online for seeming to hide face in Oval Office

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, was ribbed online for seeming to hide her face during a meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office.  Whitmer was seen temporarily shielding her face from cameras in the Oval Office by holding up a folder, according to a photo by the New York Times.  She later lowered the folder, as the president spoke to the press and encouraged Whitmer to comment as well. The Democratic governor, who clashed with Trump during his first term regarding her COVID-19 lockdown policies, met with the president to discuss recovery from an ice storm that impacted thousands of Michiganders, funding for the Selfridge Air National Guard base near Detroit, protections for the Great Lakes and the automobile industry.  WHITMER DITCHES DEM PLAYBOOK ON TRUMP’S TARIFFS AMID 2028 SPECULATION Whitmer, joined by Michigan State House Speaker Matt Hall and several Cabinet secretaries, stood steps away from the Resolute Desk while Trump signed executive orders Wednesday.  “We’re honored to have Gretchen Whitmer from Michigan, great state of Michigan. And, she’s been she’s really done an excellent job. And a very good person,” Trump said.  Whitmer told reporters afterward that she thought she was coming into the Oval Office for a one-on-one meeting with the president and was taken by surprise by the press conference.  Her face-shielding was derided online.  “Whitmer covering her face is the perfect metaphor for the Democratic Party,” one user wrote.  Another X user said, “Gretchen Whitmer hiding behind her files in the White House is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. This is what my 2 year old does.” DEM GOVERNORS REVOLT AGAINST TRUMP’S ‘LIBERATION DAY’ TARIFFS “Was this the nail in the coffin of Gretchen Whitmer’s political aspirations?” a third user wrote. Some users joked that Whitmer was “embarrassed” to be photographed with Trump but had no shame in placing a Dorito in the mouth of a podcaster in a 2024 social media post that critics said mocked a Christian sacrament.  Whitmer was in Washington to deliver a “Build, America, Build” address in which she called for bipartisan cooperation to strengthen American manufacturing. She was at the White House for her second meeting with Trump in less than a month, this time to talk about tariffs that were expected to disproportionately affect Michigan, whose economy is closely tied to an auto industry reliant on trade with Canada, Mexico and other countries. In her speech Wednesday, which came before Trump announced he was pausing tariffs in most nations except for China, Whitmer highlighted areas of agreement with Trump on tariffs but criticized how they had been implemented. “I understand the motivation behind the tariffs, and I can tell you, here’s where President Trump and I do agree. We do need to make more stuff in America,” said Whitmer, before adding, “I’m not against tariffs outright, but it is a blunt tool. You can’t just pull out the tariff hammer to swing at every problem without a clear defined end-goal.” Whitmer’s approach stands in stark contrast to that of other high-profile Democratic governors, many of whom are also seen as potential contenders for the party’s 2028 presidential nomination. But Whitmer faces a more challenging political landscape than leaders such as Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker or California Gov. Gavin Newsom as she represents a state with a divided state legislature and that went for Trump in two of the last three elections. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

White House plans ‘extraordinary’ Holy Week as Trump honors Easter with ‘the observance it deserves’

White House plans ‘extraordinary’ Holy Week as Trump honors Easter with ‘the observance it deserves’

EXCLUSIVE: The White House is gearing up for an “extraordinary” celebration for Holy Week ahead of Easter, with President Donald Trump participating in a number of events to celebrate and honor the holiday “with the observance it deserves.”  The new White House Faith Office organized the Holy Week schedule. “The newly created White House Faith Office is grateful to share that President Trump will honor and celebrate Holy Week and Easter with the observance it deserves,” Jennifer Korn, faith director of the White House Faith Office, told Fox News Digital.  “Throughout the week, we will distribute a Holy Week proclamation, a special presidential video message (and) host a pre-Easter dinner and White House staff Easter service.” FLASHBACK: BIDEN SLAMMED ON SOCIAL MEDIA AFTER ANNOUNCING TRANSGENDER DAY OF VISIBILITY ON EASTER SUNDAY Korn said it “will be a special time of prayer and worship at the White House to be shared with Americans celebrating the week leading up to Resurrection Sunday.”  On Palm Sunday, the president is expected to issue a presidential Easter proclamation that will speak directly to Christians as Holy Week begins and maintain his commitment to defend the Christian faith in schools, in the military, in workplaces, hospitals, in government and beyond.  On Monday, the president is expected to release a Holy Week video and will host an Easter dinner Wednesday evening.  The dinner will feature hymns from the Marine Corps Band, Christian opera by singer Charles Billingsley, prayers and remarks from President Trump.  TRUMP DEMANDS BIDEN ISSUE APOLOGY OVER ‘BLASPHEMOUS’ TRANS VISIBILITY DAY ON EASTER SUNDAY: ‘APPALLING’ Christian pastors, priests and faith leaders are expected to attend the dinner along with the president, Korn, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Pastor Paula White, the senior advisor to the White House Faith Office.  On Holy Thursday, the president is expected to host a staff worship service at the White House, where White, the Rev. Franklin Graham, Pastor Greg Laurie and Pastor Jentezen Franklin will participate in prayer, scripture, service and communion.  During the service, an ensemble from Liberty University will perform worship music.  “President Trump promised millions of Christians across the country that he would create a White House Faith Office, and he delivered on that promise,” Leavitt said. “The White House Faith Office has put together an extraordinary weeklong celebration for Holy Week ahead of Easter Sunday.”  Leavitt stressed that this “is another sharp contrast from the previous administration.”  Leavitt noted that, last year, the Biden White House marked Easter Sunday, which fell on March 31, 2024, the most solemn Christian holiday, as Transgender Day of Visibility. RELIGIOUS-THEMED DESIGNS BANNED FROM WHITE HOUSE EASTER EGG ART CONTEST “On Transgender Day of Visibility, we honor the extraordinary courage and contributions of transgender Americans and reaffirm our Nation’s commitment to forming a more perfect Union — where all people are created equal and treated equally throughout their lives,” a statement released by the Biden White House stated.  “Today, we send a message to all transgender Americans: You are loved. You are heard. You are understood. You belong. You are America, and my entire Administration, and I have your back,” it added. “NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 31, 2024, as Transgender Day of Visibility.” Biden’s defenders were quick to say he didn’t choose March 31 as the date for Transgender Day of Visibility, and that, since 2021, when Biden took office, the White House had issued the same proclamation every year on March 31. At the time, Leavitt, who was serving as the Trump campaign’s national press secretary, blasted Biden’s proclamation as “appalling and insulting,” calling it an example of the Biden administration’s “yearslong assault on the Christian faith.” “We call on Joe Biden’s failing campaign and the White House to issue an apology to the millions of Catholics and Christians across America who believe tomorrow is for one celebration only — the resurrection of Jesus Christ,” she said last year.