Morning Report — GOP lawmakers are playing legislative Jenga ...Middle East

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In today’s issue:  

Republicans in Congress are looking to regroup on President Trump's sweeping agenda, which one Senate GOP lawmaker called a “train wreck,” with just weeks to go before their self-imposed deadline. 

At this stage in the negotiations, consensus appears far out of reach.

Conservatives are threatening to oppose the measure because it doesn't do enough to cut the deficit — and moderates are upset because of potential cuts to Medicaid. 

A group of 32 House conservatives sent Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) a letter on Wednesday saying they would only support a GOP budget reconciliation bill if it does not add to the deficit, meaning that if Republicans fail to come up with enough spending cuts, they will also have to accept a smaller tax cut to compensate.

“The deficit reduction target must be met with real, enforceable spending cuts — not budget gimmicks,” House Ways and Means Committee Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.) wrote in a letter signed by conservatives.

The letter comes after Johnson on Tuesday ruled out steep cuts to Medicaid as part of the bill, which Senate GOP leaders criticized behind closed doors at their Wednesday conference meeting, faulting their House counterparts for not moving aggressively enough on deficit reduction. The Hill’s Alexander Bolton writes that some GOP lawmakers are privately mulling moving back to the Senate's two-bill track as tax reform has become the toughest issue to resolve and Republicans remain divided on several issues.

“We are keeping very close tabs on it,” said a Republican senator of the negotiations in the House, who said the two chambers are heading in separate directions, with little direct negotiation. “Sooner or later we have to pass the same thing and I’m worried that this is potentially a trainwreck. We can’t really get on the same page.”

▪ Politico: Republicans want to shift safety-net costs to states. It’s not going over well.

▪ The Hill: Proposed reductions in federal funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, are the latest flash point for Republicans as they work through sticking points on the “big beautiful bill” of Trump’s legislative priorities.

While Johnson continues to publicly insist lawmakers will nix the Medicaid cuts, The Hill’s Emily Brooks, Mychael Schnell and Nathaniel Weixel report that a controversial change to Medicaid may remain in the party’s sweeping bill. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) said the portion of the bill his committee is crafting may include “per capita caps” on people in the Medicaid expansion population.

That message is unlikely to go over well with the House GOP moderates telling Republican leaders they will not walk the plank and vote for Medicaid cuts only to see the Senate strip them out, writes The Hill’s Schnell. GOP leaders in the past have corralled the conference around more conservative pieces of legislation to gain leverage over the upper chamber, cajoling centrists to take politically painful votes, hoping for a more right-leaning final product.

Not this time. 

Moderates are balking, making clear they will not back a more conservative bill that includes poison pill measures — namely drastic changes to Medicaid — as a negotiating tactic.

“That’s the vote we’re trying to avoid,” Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) said of the intermediary step. “There is a specific appetite amongst 20 plus Republican members to vote only on something that is real and that could actually become law rather than this more conservative thing that can’t get the vote. … We feel like we’ve done that heavy lifting already, and members like me prefer to only vote on a bill that could actually become law.”

▪ The New York Times: Johnson has said he would hold a vote “quickly” to restore more than $1 billion in funding to Washington, D.C., but ultraconservatives are insisting on attaching limits on abortion and voting rights.

▪ The Hill: House Republicans have yet to strike a deal on how to address the state and local tax, or SALT, deduction cap, a lingering hang-up that has emerged as one of the biggest sticking points.

▪ The Hill: Trump’s recent cryptocurrency dealings are casting a shadow over efforts to pass legislation for the industry at a key moment, as the Senate gears up to vote on a stablecoin bill today.

▪ The Hill: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-N.Y.) decision to forgo a bid for the top Democratic seat on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee has quickly sparked a series of behind-the-scenes maneuvers to replace Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), the current ranking member, whenever the seat opens up.

SMART TAKE with NewsNation’s BLAKE BURMAN: 

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts made a rare public appearance in Buffalo, N.Y., where he participated in a fireside chat, reaffirming the importance of judicial independence. During that event, Roberts remained critical of President Trump’s call to impeach federal judges who rule against the administration.  

“In our Constitution, judges and the judiciary are a co-equal branch of government separate from the others with the authority to interpret the Constitution as law and strike down obviously acts of Congress or acts of the president and that innovation doesn’t work if the judiciary is not independent,” Roberts said, adding, “Impeachment is not how you register disagreement with decisions.” 

As a conservative justice appointed by former President George W. Bush, Roberts has shown a willingness to break with his party — a strong reminder of his independence from the Executive Branch. His Wednesday night appearance seemed like a very clear choice: Appear publicly and get before the cameras to take a stand. 

Burman hosts “The Hill” weeknights, 6p/5c on NewsNation.

3 THINGS TO KNOW TODAY:

▪ ​The U.S. and the U.K. reached a trade agreement, Trump will announce at the White House this morning, according to multiple news outlets and confirmation from British officials. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will make an announcement today about a deal to lower tariffs with the U.S.

▪ A most sensitive subject in the White House: Where is Melania? 

▪ The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate in the same range it’s been since December amid an uncertain economic outlook. “We’re in the right place to wait and see how things evolve,” Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday.

LEADING THE DAY 

© Associated Press | Ben Curtis

?️ Personal federal data vs. DOGE: The Department of Government Efficiency is racing to build a single centralized federal database with vast troves of personal information about millions of U.S. citizens and residents, putting personal information at risk, according to security experts. DOGE has also removed protections around certain sensitive information — on Social Security numbers, birth dates, employment history, disability records, medical documentation and more. In one instance, a website for a new visa program wasn’t set up behind a protective virtual private network, sources say. White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said DOGE’s tools and processes follow law and are protected by “some of the brightest cybersecurity minds in the nation.”

✈️ Federal Aviation Administration & air safety: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), during a “Bloomberg Talks” podcast interview on Tuesday, described his concerns about the Trump administration’s handling of recent airport and aircraft safety incidents, continued FAA staffing challenges and disruptions that worry the traveling public.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy today plans to release a schedule for upgrading the nation’s aging air traffic control systems — a plan that was accelerated after a midair collision that killed 67 people near Washington in January. The CEOs of the five largest U.S. airlines are expected to back the government’s proposal to Congress during an event today, Reuters reported.

The FAA on Wednesday said it is taking immediate steps to address ongoing problems that have disrupted hundreds of flights at Newark Liberty International Airport, one of the nation’s busiest hubs for travelers. For 90 seconds last week, a power outage disrupted radar and radio communication used by air traffic controllers guiding planes bound for New Jersey’s largest airport. Following the incident, multiple employees were placed on trauma leave, according to reports.

⚖️ Justice Department: Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel on Wednesday announced the arrests of 205 people alleged to be child predators. Charges include online enticement, child sex trafficking and the production, distribution and possession of child sexual abuse material, according to the government. The investigation was a joint effort of 55 FBI field offices and more than 90 U.S. attorneys' offices across the country, officials stated. Arrests included several “people in places of public trust,” Patel said, including suspects who were “teachers, law enforcement personnel and other professionals that we look to safeguard our children.”

Note: Patel asked House appropriators Wednesday to ignore $545 million in proposed budget cuts for the FBI included in the president’s budget, The Hill reports. “We need more,” he told lawmakers.

State secrets: In a continuing showdown between the White House and the courts, the Justice Department in a sealed court filing Wednesday invoked the state secrets privilege it also used in March to avoid handing over documents in the legal battle over Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the immigrant mistakenly deported to El Salvador and now imprisoned there. The government is arguing to keep information secret on the basis of national security. 

A federal judge on Wednesday granted a temporary restraining order preventing migrants from being sent to Libya or any other third country, which reportedly was a plan ready to launch this week with military aircraft.

? Health and Human Services Department: Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is enforcing a new vaccine requirement for placebo testing. Manufacturers and physicians argue that such added tests are an unnecessary drain on time, money and ethics.

⚡AI chips: The administration plans to rescind Biden-era artificial intelligence (AI) chip curbs as part of a broader effort to revise semiconductor trade restrictions that have drawn strong opposition from major tech companies and foreign governments, Bloomberg News reports. The administration will not enforce the so-called AI diffusion rule when it takes effect on May 15. The repeal, which is not yet final, seeks to refashion a policy that created three broad tiers of countries for regulating the export of chips from Nvidia Corp. and others.

WHERE AND WHEN

ZOOM IN

© Associated Press | Rod Lamkey Jr.

Former President Biden, during his first post-presidency interview, told BBC he remains baffled by Trump’s handling of international affairs, including what he called his successor’s “modern-day appeasement” of Russian President Vladimir Putin amid Russia’s demand that Ukraine forfeit territory as part of any ceasefire agreement.

“I just don't understand how people think that if we allow a dictator, a thug, to decide he's going to take significant portions of land that aren't his, that that's going to satisfy him. I don't quite understand,” Biden said. 

The former president warned that Trump’s “America First" posture risks isolating Europe and splintering NATO, “which would change the modern history of the world.” Biden, who proudly assured European allies a month after his inauguration that “America is back,” added, "We are not the essential nation, but we are the only nation in position to have the capacity to bring people together to lead the world."  

Trump, speaking from the Oval Office on Wednesday, rejected Biden’s comments out of hand. “He didn’t know what the hell he was doing,” he said of his predecessor. “We went through four years of misery.” 

Biden has largely remained out of public view since Jan. 20, but he is easing back into the arena and tells Democratic allies he’d like to be helpful to candidates and his party where possible. Amid calls for younger candidates and a more energized and persuasive Democratic agenda to win back voters next year, it’s unclear there are many takers. 

Biden, 82, who praised former Vice President Kamala Harris, told the BBC he doubts it would have made a difference to the outcome of the 2024 presidential election if he had withdrawn earlier than he did. “It was hard to say, ‘Now I'm going to stop,’” he added, referring to his focus on his governing priorities and the international challenges in which the U.S. played a role. 

“Things moved so quickly that it made it difficult to walk away,” he continued. Exiting after a term was “the right decision,” he said, but it was “just a difficult decision.”

? Biden and former first lady Jill Biden will appear today during a joint interview, recorded last week and set to air at 11 a.m. ET on ABC’s “The View.”  

Pennsylvania: Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who has been candid about treatment for clinical depression and recovery after a stroke, denied suggestions in a New York Magazine article about alleged volatile behavior and health issues. “It’s a one-source hit piece, and it involved maybe two or three and anonymous disgruntled staffers saying just absolute false things,” he said. But an incident last week with Fetterman and members of a teachers' union from his home state underscored why his outbursts and behavior concern those around him, The Associated Press reports. The Pennsylvania Senate seat is in the GOP’s crosshairs; Fetterman’s term expires in 2029. 

ELSEWHERE

© Associated Press | Alberto Pezzali

INDIA-PAKISTAN: Tensions are rapidly escalating between nuclear powers India and Pakistan after India on Tuesday struck what it says were terrorist targets deep inside Pakistan, which says its military shot down five Indian fighter jets. India’s strikes mark the most significant attack in decades, coming two weeks after a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 tourists.

Pakistan has denied any involvement in the attack in Kashmir and has called Indian strikes in Pakistani territory “an act of war.” Officials in Pakistan have vowed to respond to the strikes. Trump on Wednesday encouraged de-escalation and said “I know both very well. I want to see them work it out.” 

“I want to see them stop,” he added. “If I can do anything to help, I will be there.”

The Hill’s Sarakshi Rai breaks down five things to know about the conflict.

▪ The New York Times: India and Pakistan may have an off-ramp after their clash. Will they take it?

▪ Reuters: India strikes alleged headquarters of militant groups in Pakistan's heartland.

▪ NPR: Tensions escalate as Pakistan calls India's operation “an act of war.”

GAZA: The U.S. and Israel have discussed the possibility of Washington leading a temporary post-war administration of Gaza, Reuters reports. The “high-level” discussions have centered on a transitional government headed by a U.S. official that would oversee Gaza until it has been demilitarized and stabilized, leading to a viable Palestinian administration.

Sources compared the proposal to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq that Washington established in 2003, shortly after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

▪ CNN: Israeli strikes kill 48 at Gaza shelters for displaced Palestinians, hospitals say, as military operation intensifies.

▪ The New York Times: Over the past few months, an Israeli military operation has displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians in West Bank cities. Some fear it may be laying the ground to annex the territory.

▪ BBC: The Houthis say the U.S. “backed down” when agreeing to a truce, and Israel is not covered by the ceasefire.

▪ The Hill: The Houthi ceasefire handed Trump a win ahead of his Middle East trip.

UKRAINE: Russia and Ukraine kept up airstrikes Wednesday despite engaging with the U.S. in an effort to end the three-year war. Airports shut down across Moscow while drones slammed into a building in Kyiv, killing two people ahead of Moscow’s World War II commemoration. At a Munich Security Conference meeting in Washington, Vice President Vance said Wednesday that the Trump administration thinks the Russians are asking for “too much” in peace talks and that the Kremlin was not interested in a U.S.-proposed 30-day ceasefire. But the vice president insisted that the U.S. can still bring the war to an end.

The U.S. envoy to Ukraine, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, said Tuesday on Fox News that “right now, probably, our impediment in progress is the president of Russia not agreeing to [a truce].”

BBC: Trump said the chance for Russia to play in the 2026 World Cup could be an "incentive" for the country to end the war in Ukraine.

OPINION

■ Trump’s worst idea since tariffs, by The Wall Street Journal editorial board.

■ Three Black women may vie for Sen. Dick Durbin’s (D-Ill.) seat. Will they split the vote? by Laura Washington, columnist, The Chicago Tribune. 

THE CLOSER

© Associated Press | Michael Dwyer 

Take Our Morning Report Quiz

And finally … ? It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for this week’s Morning Report Quiz! Inspired by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s White House visit, Canadian Kristina Karisch, Morning Report’s co-author, is eager for some smart guesses about our neighbor to the north.

Be sure to email your responses to [email protected] and [email protected] — please add “Quiz” to your subject line. Winners who submit correct answers will enjoy some richly deserved newsletter fame on Friday.

Who is the head of state of Canada?

Gander International Airport in Newfoundland handled diverted civilian flights in response to the Sept. 11 attacks. How many passengers and crew did the Canadian town, with a population of roughly 11,000, take in?

Canadian troops fought alongside U.S. troops in which wars?

The U.S. and Canada share the longest border between any two countries.

Stay Engaged 

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