One hallmark of Elon Musk’s 12 weeks in government has been his focus on Social Security. He has sent one of his closest advisers to work at the Social Security Administration. He has falsely insisted that the program is rife with fraud. And he has depicted the entitlement as a tool — a “giant magnet,”…
The Senate approved Republicans’ budget blueprint just after 2:30 a.m. on Saturday to clear the way for passing President Trump’s domestic agenda, after Democrats forced an overnight session to protest the G.O.P. push to deliver what the president has called “one big beautiful bill” of spending and tax cuts. The 51-to-48 vote, mostly along party…
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is facing the biggest revolt from Democrats in years, but in a conversation with The Interview after his crucial vote supporting a Republican federal spending bill this past week, he tried to brush off questions about whether he should step aside. Democratic officials appeared stunned when Schumer did an about-face…
When Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, announced that he would vote with Republicans to clear the way for passage of a stopgap spending bill, he argued that a government shutdown would further empower President Trump and Elon Musk to defund government programs and shrink federal agencies. “Under a shutdown,…
The stopgap spending bill that Republicans are pushing to avert a shutdown at the end of the week would effectively slash the District of Columbia’s budget by roughly $1 billion over the next six months, a change that local leaders warn would force dramatic cuts to essential services. The reductions are under consideration because of…
With time running short to avoid a government shutdown at the end of next week, President Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson are pitching Republicans on a stopgap bill that would keep federal dollars flowing at current levels through the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. The idea is something of a surrender by…
Speaker Mike Johnson toiled on Tuesday to find the votes to squeeze the G.O.P. budget resolution through the House, facing potential defections from centrist Republicans fearing the plan would tee up deep Medicaid cuts and conservatives who want to slash federal spending even more deeply. Mr. Johnson announced an evening vote on the budget outline,…
Even by Washington standards, the second Trump presidency has begun in frenetic fashion: mass firings at federal agencies, tariff threats against allies and foes alike, and haggling over how to get a Republican budget through a narrowly divided Congress. Business leaders and corporate investors are confident that things will turn out fine, at least for…
As the reality sets in that the United States is drastically diminishing its foreign assistance to developing countries, an urgent conversation is starting among governments, philanthropists, and global health and development organizations. It is centered on one crucial question: Who will fill this gap? Last year, the United States contributed about $12 billion to global…
A federal judge on Thursday moved to extend by one week a temporary restraining order preventing the Trump administration from carrying out plans that would all but dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development. The order, which Judge Carl Nichols of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said he would file later…