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Hello, friends. By the time you’re reading this, Capitol Hill will be nearly empty after lawmakers travel home for the two-week Easter recess — but not before drama involving the House, Senate and the White House played out in a very public way this week.
We’ll get more into that below, and how President Donald Trump continues to wield his influence on Capitol Hill. Also, I asked members how they keep themselves entertained on the House floor during long votes (like the one on Wednesday night that stayed open for nearly an hour and a half!). You’ll find their answers below.
Let’s get into the news of the week.
The Big Idea
The Trump factor: How the president is forcing his agenda through Congress
Republicans had an eventful week of arm-twisting, handshaking, and deal signing that ultimately resulted in a massive victory for GOP leaders and President Trump — who inserted himself directly into Capitol Hill negotiations to ensure success for his agenda.
It’s a saga we’ve seen play out several times over the last few months since Trump returned to the White House. Even on the toughest of bills with the slimmest of margins, the president has managed to use his position to convince even the most stubborn members to acquiesce to his plans.
We saw it during the speaker’s race in January when Trump had to call Reps. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., and Keith Self, R-Texas, from the House floor to get them to flip their votes and confirm Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.
We saw it during the first House reconciliation vote in February and again when Republicans had to rally together to avoid a government shutdown. During the latter, Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., made clear to me: “There is no way the (funding bill) would have passed had it not been for Trump and his team.”
Cut to the beginning of this week, when things were looking uncertain for GOP leadership to get this budget resolution across the finish line. Hardliners in the House were upset with some of the changes made by their Senate colleagues, and more than a dozen lawmakers said they’d vote against it.
Then those holdouts — well, some of them — were invited to the White House on Tuesday to speak directly with Trump as he sought to ease concerns. Those same holdouts then met with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Johnson on Wednesday.
This led to a standoff on the House floor Wednesday night when almost 20 House Republicans were pulled to a side room with Johnson to continue hashing out the tax package. Lawmakers also heard from Trump during that meeting.
After roughly 85 minutes of discussion, the group emerged with no deal — and leaders punted on the vote until the next morning when Johnson and Thune announced a deal for deeper spending cuts.
That assurance, plus some others from Trump himself, offered the golden ticket for hardliners to drop their opposition and vote for the bill.
“President Trump is a businessman. He looks at the final product (and) he says, ‘Get it done. Bring it to me,‘” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., an initial holdout who ultimately voted yes, told me after the vote.
When I asked how much credit he would give to Trump: “If he were standing here, I’d give him 150%. I mean, if he’d said no, we’d be here on Easter Sunday.”
Stories Driving the Week
- Return to Ranks: Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., is officially back in House GOP leadership after her nomination to become Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations was pulled last month. Stefanik will now serve as the chairwoman of House Republican Leadership, a position focused on strategy, communications, and executing the GOP agenda. Stefanik was also reinstated to her assignments on the Intelligence, Armed Services, and Education and Workforce committees.
- Judges on notice: The House passed a bill on Wednesday seeking to rein in so-called “activist judges” from blocking Trump’s executive orders. The proposal, which faces an uphill battle in the Senate, marks the first step from Republicans to limit the authority of district judges from issuing nationwide injunctions. Read more here from my friend Liz Elkind at Fox News.
- Tariffs and trade wars: Trump pulled back slightly on his tariff threats this week, issuing a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs and instead issuing a reduced 10% tariff on select countries. Still, Trump is going full steam against China, announcing on Thursday morning his tariff on Chinese imports would be at least 145% — sending the markets into a nosedive. Republicans are cautiously optimistic, telling reporters the tariffs have forced countries into negotiations and have been Trump’s strategy all along. Democrats, on the other hand, argue the reversal was a last-minute decision responding to the market turmoil.
How lawmakers pass the time when votes drag on for hours
For those who don’t make a habit of watching C-SPAN every evening, the process of voting can seem like a relatively quick event. After all, most people I talk to off the Hill say they are only aware of votes on major pieces of legislation — and only after they’ve already passed.
But sometimes this process can drag on. Take Wednesday night, for example. As I explained earlier, GOP leaders kept one vote open for nearly an hour and a half as they continued negotiations with roughly 20 holdouts.
Which got me thinking: What do the other 400-odd members do while those conversations take place that they aren’t privy to?
Rep. Celeste Maloy, R-Utah, tells me her extroverted tendencies come into play: “I usually entertain myself by wandering around talking to my colleagues. Sometimes I just sit still and take advantage of the break in my day, but I usually chat with friends.”
Rep. Mike Kennedy, R-Utah, similarly likes to chat with friends, but he also tends to “bring work from the office to work on (or) read The Wall Street Journal.”
During the vote on Wednesday, Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., was seen in the visitor’s balcony above the floor speaking with some guests. Rep. George Whitesides, D-Calif., told me he likes to “go out to the member balcony and get some fresh air.”
In many ways, the House floor is similar to a high school cafeteria and lawmakers like to take the opportunity to catch up with friends they don’t interact with as often.
“It gives me a chance to see people that I normally don’t since I’m only on Financial services and Space committees,” freshman Rep. Mike Haridoplos, R-Fla., told me during the 85-minute vote on Wednesday. “Actually got a lot of good business done on the floor.”
Some even had the courtesy to name drop their favorite conversationalists: “I like hanging out with Tom Cole when I can,” Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., told me, referring to the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.
Quick hits
From the Hill: GOP leaders struck a deal on voting remotely, here’s how. … Jamieson Greer faces ire from Democrats and Republicans as he defends tariff strategy. … House Republicans pass bill to ban noncitizens from voting. … John Curtis joins calls to preserve clean energy credits in tax package.
From the White House: White House threatens to veto bill limiting tariff powers. … Trump considering tariffs on pharmaceuticals. … Judge restores White House access for The Associated Press. … Trump signs executive order to unleash the coal industry.
From the courts: Supreme Court intervenes in controversial deportation case. … SCOTUS halts lower court order to rehire about 16,000 government employees.
What’s next
While you’re here, check out some great reporting from my colleague Brigham Tomco, who’s been in Canada this last week covering all things tariffs, trade wars, and more.
The House and Senate are out for the next two weeks as lawmakers return home for the Easter holiday. I’ll be keeping up with lawmakers from afar as they take a bit of a breather — and are likely to receive feedback from constituents on their job performance.
As always, feel free to reach out to me by email with story ideas or questions you have for lawmakers. And follow me on X for breaking news and timely developments from the Hill.