The House has passed a bill to end the partial government shutdown in a final vote Tuesday afternoon, cleared by a bipartisan vote under the insistence of President Donald Trump.
The measure funds most of the federal government through Sept. 30, while providing the Department of Homeland Security with short-term funding for two weeks. Lawmakers will return to negotiate potential changes for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as Democrats demand more restrictions on its operations.
Earlier in the afternoon, Speaker Mike Johnson managed to secure the near-unanimous GOP support needed to pass the bill through a procedural vote, despite some members of the party trying to tack unrelated priorities onto the funding package.
Trump called on Republicans to stay united in a social media post Monday, telling holdouts, “There can be NO CHANGES at this time.”
He has said he will sign the bill when it reaches his desk.
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White House press secretary assails celebrities who criticize ICE
Leavitt criticized Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny for using his Grammy acceptance speech to speak out against Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, saying celebrities don’t face the dangers as ordinary Americans.
“Look, I think it’s very ironic and frankly sad to see celebrities who live in gated communities with private security, millions of dollars to spend protecting themselves, trying to just demonize, again, law enforcement, public servants to work for the United States government to enforce our nation’s laws,” Leavitt said.
On Sunday, when the Puerto Rican artist accepted a Grammy for album of the year, he began his acceptance speech by saying “Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say ICE out.”
It marked the first time a Spanish-language album had garnered the honor.
House passes bill to end the partial government shutdown, sending the measure to Trump
The House on Tuesday passed a roughly $1.2 trillion spending package to end the partial government shutdown, sending the measure to President Donald Trump and setting the stage for a debate in Congress over Homeland Security funding.
The vote was 217-214, and wraps up congressional work on 11 of the 12 annual appropriations bills, funding the vast majority of the government for the budget year ending Sept. 30. The last bill still to be worked out covers the Department of Homeland Security where Democrats are demanding more restrictions on enforcement operations.
Trump has said he will sign the bill when it reaches his desk.
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Trump ‘unsurprised’ by Russia resuming assault on Ukraine energy grid
The president on Thursday said Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to cease strikes for a week on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities amid a bitter cold snap in the region.
But Russia carried out a major overnight attack on Ukraine in what President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday was a broken commitment to halt striking energy infrastructure even as the countries prepared for more talks on ending Moscow’s 4-year-old full-scale invasion.
Leavitt said Trump was “unfortunately unsurprised” by Moscow’s move.
She added that Witkoff and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner will take part in talks with Russian and Ukrainian officials in Abu Dhabi set for Wednesday that are aimed at making headway at ending the brutal war.
“Special envoy Witkoff and Jared Kushner and President Trump made the impossible possible with respect to peace in the Middle East,” Leavitt said. “And I know they’re looking to do the same with respect to the Russia-Ukraine war as well.”
Warner says intel chief should stay out of election case
The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee says Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s attendance at an FBI search of a Georgia election office is eroding longstanding barriers separating intelligence work from domestic law enforcement.
Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia on Tuesday rejected Gabbard’s argument that she participated in the search because President Donald Trump asked her to be there, saying she should be focused on international threats to the U.S. instead of amplifying Trump’s disproven conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.
“It raises serious legal and constitutional questions and politicizes an institution that must remain neutral,” Warner said at a press conference at the Capitol, speaking of the nation’s intelligence service. “She has no role in executing search warrants.”
Gabbard defended her role at the search in a letter to lawmakers, arguing that she regularly works with the FBI and is authorized to investigate any threat to election security.
White House still wants talks with Iran in Turkey even as tensions mount
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt in an exchange with reporters acknowledged that Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff has been planning to hold talks with Iranian officials in Turkey later this week.
It was the first direct acknowledgement of the talks by the White House.
“These talks, as of right now, are still scheduled,” Leavitt said in response to whether the latest developments with Iran could impact Witkoff’s planned talks with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
“President Trump is always wanting to pursue diplomacy first, but obviously it takes two to tango,” Leavitt said. “You need a willing partner to achieve diplomacy. and that’s something that special envoy Witkoff is intent on exploring and discussing.”
Leavitt’s comments came soon after U.S. Central Command announced that a U.S. Navy fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone that was approaching the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea.
Leavitt added, “As always, though, of course, the president has a range of options on the table with respect to Iran.”
US shoots down Iranian drone that approached aircraft carrier, military says
U.S. Central Command says a U.S. Navy fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone that was approaching the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea.
In an emailed statement Tuesday, U.S. Central Command said the drone “aggressively approached” the aircraft carrier with “unclear intent” and it “continued to fly toward the ship despite de-escalatory measures taken by U.S. forces operating in international waters.” The U.S. military says the shootdown also occurred within hours of another incident in which Iranian forces harassed a U.S.-flagged and U.S. crewed merchant vessel that was sailing in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Shahed-139 drone was shot down by an F-35C fighter jet from the Lincoln, which, according to U.S. Central Command, was sailing about 500 miles (800 kilometers) from Iran’s southern coast. The military’s statement noted that no American troops were harmed and no equipment was damaged.
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Petro extradites drug lord hours before White House meeting
Shortly before the meeting between Petro and Trump, Colombia’s government offered a diplomatic olive branch to the United States by announcing the extradition of drug trafficker Andres Felipe Marin Silva.
Extraditions have become a contentious issue between both countries as Petro holds back some extradition requests involving members of rebel groups, whom he has argued need to stay in Colombia to facilitate peace negotiations with his government..
Some officials in Petro’s cabinet have also argued that extraditing drug traffickers to the United States hinders efforts to seek truth and reconciliation for their victims.
In today’s meeting Petro is attempting to improve relations between his government and the Trump administration as both sides look for ways to cooperate in the fight against drug trafficking.
In critical meeting with Trump, Colombian President goes with suits
In his meeting with Donald Trump, Colombian President Gustavo Petro sported a dark suit with a white shirt and a golden tie, attire that the left wing leader tends to reserve for special occasions like his own inauguration, or military parades.
The Colombian president tends to dismiss formal attire, and in national broadcasts he is often seen donning more professorial attire such as cardigans, sweaters or white linen shirts known as guayaberas, which he has also used at the UN General Assembly.
However, Petro also has used suits in regional economic forums and in meetings with heads of state like the President of Panama or the King of Spain.
The meeting takes place as both nations try to renew cooperation in the fight against the drug trade, following months of tensions that included threats by Trump to intervene in Colombia.
Colombia releases first photos of Petro with Trump
The Colombian presidency released the first images of President Gustavo Petro’s meeting with Donald Trump.
One photo captures the two leaders walking through the White House corridors alongside Ambassador Daniel García-Peña, who is seen carrying a copy of Trump’s book, “The Art of the Deal.”
Some states still scrambling to gerrymander in hopes of controlling US House
Trump hoped redistricting could help House Republicans hold on to their slim majority in November’s midterm elections. But the GOP so far has only a slight edge, and it’s unclear whether that will make any difference in determining control of Congress.
It began last summer when Trump urged Republicans in Texas to redraw the state’s congressional districts for political gain. Democrats countered with their own gerrymandering in California. More states soon followed.
The unconventional mid-decade redistricting contest has now shifted to the Democratic-led states of Maryland and Virginia, with Republican-led Florida set to undertake it this spring. Ongoing court challenges could affect boundaries in New York, Louisiana and elsewhere.
▶ See more about states that have adopted or considered new House districts.
Colombia’s president is at the White House to meet with Trump
Colombian President Gustavo Petro arrived just before their scheduled meeting. The Oval Office sit-down with Trump comes just weeks after Trump threatened military action against the South American country and accused Petro of pumping cocaine into the United States.
Senate Majority Leader throws cold water on Trump’s call to take over elections in states
“I’m not in favor of federalizing elections,” Sen. John Thune told reporters, pointing to Constitutional requirements that states conduct their own elections.
The president said in a Monday podcast interview that Republicans should “take over” elections in as many 15 states. Trump’s calls come amid a push among Republicans in Congress to tighten voting requirements nationwide.
“I’m a big believer in decentralizing and distributing power,” Thune added.
However, the South Dakota Republican said he is supporting legislation known as the SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. The House has already passed the bill, but Republicans have not been able to overcome the 60-vote threshold required by the Senate’s filibuster rules.
Wait, which election is this? Texas governor’s schedule led to overlapping votes
Because Abbott scheduled the vacancy elections so late in 2025 and 2026, they ended up colliding with the start of the 2026 midterm elections, for the next term that will start in 2027.
So not only were voters seeing campaign signs for the March 3 primary before the Saturday runoff, Harris County began sending out mail-in ballots for the new district primary two weeks before the runoff was finished.
“You literally had people who could vote in two different elections at the same time,” said Amanda Edwards, a former Houston city councilwoman. “These elections aren’t just back to back. They overlap.”
Menefee said he’s been trying to encourage people to stay engaged.
It has “definitely made people feel like they can be a pawn in a game,” he said. “I think it has demoralized some people.”
3 elections in 4 months and new US House map lead to confusion in heavily Democratic Houston
Rep. Christian Menefee started work Monday as the newest member of Congress, and has just four weeks to convince voters he deserves reelection.
The candidate Menefee defeated on Saturday, Amanda Edwards, is running again in next month’s Democratic primary. So is Rep. Al Green, whose longtime home was redrawn into the 18th District. The situation is spinning heads in heavily Democratic Houston.
The 18th went nearly a year without representation after the Rep. Sylvester Turner died in March 2025. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott set an all-party primary for eight months later. That gave Republican leader Mike Johnson more time to pass House legislation with a thin GOP majority. Then, the Texas Legislature redrew congressional maps, raising concerns about disenfranchising voters in the predominantly Black and Hispanic district.
“We’re not going to say they want to steal elections, but they make it very hard for the Black and brown communities to vote,” voter Shampu Sibley said.
GOP elections bill a last-minute obstacle to ending shutdown
Some House Republicans have demanded that the funding package include the SAVE Act, which among other things would require Americans to prove their citizenship before voting in elections. But Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., appeared to drop this demand late Monday, writing on social media that she had spoken with Trump about a “pathway forward” for the voting bill in the Senate that would keep the government open.
The Brennan Center for Justice, a think tank focused on democracy and voting rights issues, said at least 21 million voters lack ready access to their passport or birth certificate.
“The SAVE Act is not about securing our elections. It is about suppressing voters,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said. Including it in the bipartisan funding bill, he said, “will lead to another prolonged Trump government shutdown.”
Don Lemon describes his arrest by a dozen federal agents
The former CNN anchor said agents handcuffed him at the elevator of his Los Angeles hotel, ignoring his offer to turn himself in to face federal civil rights charges over covering an anti-immigration enforcement protest that disrupted a Minnesota church service.
ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel said his Monday night guest “was arrested for committing journalism.”
“I went there to be a journalist. I went there to chronicle and document and record what was happening. I was following that one group around, and so that’s what I did. I reported on them,” Lemon said.
Lemon said the arresting agents wouldn’t let him make a phone call or talk with his lawyer, but one did agree to take his diamond bracelet, which kept getting caught in his handcuffs, up to his husband in their hotel room. “And that’s how my husband found out. Otherwise, no one would have known where I was,” Lemon said.
What to expect when Trump and Colombia’s Petro meet
Trump is set to welcome Colombian President Gustavo Petro to the White House on Tuesday for talks only weeks after threatening military action against the South American country and accusing the leader of pumping cocaine into the United States.
U.S. administration officials say the meeting will focus on regional security cooperation and counternarcotics efforts. And Trump suggested Monday that Petro — who has criticized Trump and the U.S. operation to capture Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro — has “changed his attitude.”
“Somehow after the Venezuelan raid, he became very nice,” Trump told reporters.
Yet, bad blood between the leaders overshadows the sit-down. The conservative Trump and leftist Petro are ideologically far apart, but both leaders share a tendency for verbal bombast and unpredictability, setting the stage for a White House visit with an anything-could-happen vibe.
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Trump threatens Harvard again, saying he wants $1 billion
The president overnight accused Harvard University of not meeting his administration’s demands and said he wants a $1 billion settlement from the school rather than the previous $500 million he sought.
On Truth Social, the president said, “Harvard has been, for a long time, behaving very badly!”
He repeated his assertions that Harvard is “Strongly Antisemitic” and said university President Alan Garber has done “a terrible job.” Garber is Jewish and talks openly about his faith.
“He was hired AFTER the antisemitism charges were brought - I wonder why???” Trump wrote of the Ph.D. economist, physician and researcher who had been Harvard provost for 13 years before becoming president.
Trump’s outburst came followed a New York Times report saying the president had dropped his demands that the nation’s oldest and wealthiest university pay a federal fine as other elite institutions have done. Trump called the Times’ reporting “a lot of nonsense.”
Trump says he won’t tear down the Kennedy Center arts venue, just fully expose its steel
Trump said Monday that he’s “not ripping down” the Kennedy Center but insisted the performing arts venue needs to shut down for about two years for construction and other work without patrons coming and going and getting in the way.
The comments strongly suggested that he intends to gut the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as part of the process.
Such a project would mark the Republican president’s latest effort to put his stamp on a cultural institution that Congress designated as a living memorial to President Kennedy, a Democrat. It would also be in addition to attempts to leave a permanent mark on Washington through other projects, the most prominent of which is adding a ballroom to the White House.
Trump announced Sunday on social media that he intends to temporarily close the performing arts venue on July 4 for about two years “for Construction, Revitalization, and Complete Rebuilding,” subject to board approval.
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Seeking shelter from Trump’s fury, U.S. trade partners reach deals with each other
Bullied and buffeted by Trump’s tariffs for the past year, America’s longstanding allies are desperately seeking ways to shield themselves from the president’s impulsive wrath.
U.S. trade partners are cutting deals among themselves — sometimes discarding old differences to do so — in a push to diversify their economies away from a newly protectionist United States. Central banks and global investors are dumping dollars and buying gold. Together, their actions could diminish U.S. influence and mean higher interest rates and prices for Americans already angry about the high cost of living.
Last summer and fall, Trump used the threat of punishing taxes on imports to strong-arm the European Union, Japan, South Korea and other trading partners into accepting lopsided trade deals and promising to make massive investments in the United States.
But a deal with Trump, they’ve discovered, is no deal at all.
The mercurial president repeatedly finds reasons to conjure new tariffs to impose on trading partners that thought they had already made enough concessions to satisfy him.
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Clintons agree to testify in House Epstein investigation ahead of contempt of Congress vote
Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton agreed late Monday to testify in a House investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but the Republican leading the probe said an agreement had not yet been finalized.
Rep. James Comer, the chair of the House Oversight Committee, continued to press for criminal contempt of Congress charges against both Clintons Monday evening for defying a congressional subpoena when attorneys for the Clintons emailed staff for the Oversight panel, saying the pair would accept Comer’s demands and “will appear for depositions on mutually agreeable dates.”
The attorneys requested that Comer, a Kentucky Republican, agree not to move forward with the contempt proceedings. Comer, however, said he was not immediately dropping the charges, which would carry the threat of a substantial fine and even incarceration if passed by the House and successfully prosecuted by the Department of Justice.
“We don’t have anything in writing,” Comer told reporters, adding that he was open to accepting the Clintons’ offer but “it depends on what they say.”
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