Government shutdown enters eighth week as Johnson faces GOP revolt over DHS funding deal – US politics live | US news
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Rachel Leingang
Meanwhile, Wisconsin voters on Tuesday will elect a state supreme court judge to replace an outgoing conservative in a race that could further solidify the liberal majority on the bench ahead of midterm elections in which Trump and his allies may again try to overturn the election results.
Conservative judge Rebecca Bradley is retiring, giving liberals a chance to further solidify their grip on the high court ahead of the next presidential election, where the swing state is sure to face challenges in the election results.
Chris Taylor, a liberal judge on the state appeals court who previously served as a Democratic lawmaker, is running against conservative Maria Lazar, a former deputy state attorney general who also sits on the appeals court.
Taylor’s win would give the Liberals a 5-2 block on the bench. Taylor is seen as friendly to voting rights, while Lazar’s views appear more aligned with Republicans who advocate policies that could hinder voting access and influence. owned by Lazarus continued to defend Maps in Wisconsin were gerrymandered to make way for more Republican victories and have since been overturned.
Bradley wrote the court’s opinion banning drop boxes, which are often the target of false claims of election fraud regarding mail-in ballots, but overturned that decision after liberals gained control of the court. He has served on the state supreme court since 2015.
Although this year’s court elections may not receive as much attention as the previous two elections, voting rights advocates say voters should continue to be interested in the court’s makeup.
Voters in northwest Georgia will head to the polls Tuesday in a congressional race between a moderate Democrat and a Republican backed by President Donald Trump in a bid to test Trump’s influence with his base and a possible barometer for the November midterm elections.
The two-way race is being held to fill the U.S. House seat vacated in January when conservative Republican firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene resigned after a clear break with Trump, Reuters reported.
The contest pits Trump-backed former district attorney and U.S. Air National Guard veteran Clay Fuller against moderate Democrat Shawn Harris, who is trying to win over disaffected Trump voters in one of the state’s most conservative districts.
Fuller is preferred. The runoff vote was triggered after no candidate won an outright majority in the March 10 special election, with Harris winning 37.3% of the vote and Fuller leading a crowded Republican field of a dozen challengers with 34.9%.
Record-breaking partial government shutdown continues as Mullin considers pulling ICE from sanctuary city airports
Hello, welcome to the live blog of US politics.
The record-breaking partial government shutdown is now in its eighth week with little end in sight.
Congress is on recess and won’t return until April 13. Yesterday, House lawmakers once again took no action during a scheduled procedural session to pass a Senate bill to fund affected Department of Homeland Security (DHS) subdivisions.
This comes after Republican leadership in both chambers announced a compromise to fund the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the U.S. Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (Cisa), but cut funding from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and parts of Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Their plan is to then fund immigration enforcement through a reconciliation bill that requires only a simple majority in the Senate, thus preventing filibustering.
But House speaker Mike Johnson is facing pushback from hard-line GOP lawmakers over the Senate-passing legislation. They argue that Republicans, who refused to pass a broader DHS funding bill without guardrails for ICE and CBP after federal officers fatally shot two U.S. citizens during an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, ultimately conceded to Democrats’ demands.
Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said he was considering withdrawing U.S. customs officials from airports in sanctuary cities; It’s a move that could disrupt international travel to and from some of the country’s busiest airports.
Mullin said he is considering the change because “I believe sanctuary cities are not legal.”
In other developments:
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Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that allows the state to designate terrorist groups and then punish those who support them. Critics say the law would threaten free speech, especially on school campuses. Details of the bill prohibit state courts from enforcing foreign religious laws, particularly Sharia Law. However, Florida courts apply secular laws adopted in the state.
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Rep. Yassamin Ansari, an Arizona Democrat, will introduce articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth next week. “The power to declare war rests solely with Congress, not a rogue president or his lackeys,” Ansari said in a statement. he said.
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Donald Trump reiterated his threat to bomb Iran’s energy and civilian infrastructure if the White House does not agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 20:00 ET today. “The entire country could be taken out in one night, and that night could be tomorrow night,” Trump said during a 90-minute news conference Monday afternoon.
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District court judges are issuing increasingly strong rulings that question the legality of many of Trump’s policies and power grabs, at least temporarily blocking important ones.Former judges and prosecutors say this prompted angry reactions from the president.
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Trump threatened to jail a journalist — or journalists — who reported the disappearance of a second U.S. airman shot down by Iran on Friday in an attempt to identify his source. The seriously injured airman hid in a crevice in the mountain to avoid capture before being rescued by the US rescue team, which was exposed to heavy fire.
