Happy Monday! It’s going to be a busy week on Capitol Hill as lawmakers race to extend federal funding ahead of a Friday night deadline. Also this week, some of President-elect Trump’s most scrutinized Cabinet picks will be meeting with senators and working to build support for their embattled nominations. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is reportedly scheduled to meet with more than two dozen Republican senators over the coming days. And the Democratic-led Senate is also expected to vote on the annual defense policy bill, which has already been cleared by the House, and to approve some more of President Joe Biden’s judicial appointments.
Here's your evening update.
Trump Talks Tariffs, Border Wall, Vaccines and Much, Much More
In his first press conference since winning a second term in the White House last month, President-elect Donald Trump took a freewheeling tour through a wide range of topics, touching on subjects including the polio vaccine, work rules for federal employees, the cost of building a border wall with Mexico, tariff policy and a new pledge from a foreign corporate leader to invest in U.S. businesses.
Standing at his club in Florida alongside SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick, Trump announced that Son has pledged to invest $100 billion in the U.S. over the next four years with a focus on artificial intelligence, creating at least 100,000 jobs in the process.
In 2016, Son pledged to invest $50 billion in the U.S. following Trump’s first win, and he said he wanted to do more the second time around. “My confidence level to the economy of the United States has tremendously increased with his victory,” Son said. “President Trump is a double-down president. I’m going to have to double down.”
As Bloomberg noted, it’s not clear if Son fulfilled his earlier pledge, with many of SoftBank’s eventual tech investments struggling, including a multi-billion dollar loss on the office space startup WeWork. But Son’s pledge was a clear sign nevertheless of how many global corporate leaders and investors are responding to Trump’s win.
Trump noted how different the days leading up to his new administration have been compared to his first administration. “Everybody was fighting me,” he said about his first term. “This term, everybody wants to be my friend. I don’t know – my personality changed or something.”
Here are some of the other topics Trump discussed:
Border wall: The president-elect vowed to resume building the border wall and reminisced about his efforts in his first term. “We spent a tremendous amount of money in building the wall,” he said. “It's very powerful steel. It's very hard steel, special type of steel, but very, very hard to cut inside the steel.”
Trump also complained that the Biden administration was selling off materials that had been purchased to build more segments of the wall, as required under the most recent National Defense Authorization Act. Saying he had spoken to the Texas attorney general and the state’s U.S. senators, Trump declared that “we are going to, you know, have a restraining order” on the Biden administration to halt further sales. “I’m asking Joe Biden to stop his people from giving it away,” he added. “It’s something that people can’t even believe is happening.”
Trump said the materials would cost more to purchase at current market prices, raising the cost of the wall.
Tariffs: Trump affirmed his faith in the use of tariffs as a primary tool in international trade. “They tax us, we tax them,” he said. “Tariffs will make our country rich.”
Lutnick indicated that tariff policy will depend on how Trump feels the country is being treated by trade partners. “Reciprocity is something that is going to be a key topic for us,” he said. “How you treat us is how you should expect to be treated.”
Vaccines: Although Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, has expressed hostility toward vaccines, the president-elect said he wouldn’t allow one of the most successful vaccines in history to be halted in his new administration. “You’re not going to lose the polio vaccine. That’s not going to happen,” he said.
On the other hand, he did show some sympathy for the critics of vaccines and suggested that he might support ending vaccine mandates in schools. “I don’t like mandates,” he said. “I’m not a big mandate person.”
Federal employees: Trump said he was in favor of firing federal workers who fail to return to work full time, echoing plans to end telework discussed by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the leaders of an as-yet-undefined “Department of Government Efficiency” tasked with cutting costs. “If people don't come back to work, come back into the office, they're going to be dismissed,” he said.
Trump referred to a recent agreement reached by Social Security Administration Commissioner Martin O'Malley and the American Federation of Government Employees that extended telework rights and protections until 2029. “It's ridiculous,” Trump said. “They just signed this thing. So, it was like a gift to a union, and we are going to obviously be in court to stop it.”
Following the press conference, the president of the federal employee union issued a statement pushing back against Trump’s characterization of remote work and declared that the union would defend the agreement. “Collective bargaining agreements entered into by the federal government are binding and enforceable under the law,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley wrote. “We trust the incoming administration will abide by their obligations to honor lawful union contracts. If they fail to do so, we will be prepared to enforce our rights."
Congress Struggles to Reach Deal on Year-End Spending Extension to Avert Government Shutdown
Christmas and Hanukkah are nine days away, but with federal funding set to run dry on Friday night, Congress must pass a short-term spending bill before lawmakers can head off to celebrate the holidays. And yet…to the astonishment of no one, congressional leaders failed to release the legislative text of their year-end package on Sunday as they reportedly continue to haggle over the details of the legislative package, including aid for farmers, which has proven to be a main stumbling block.
Congress failed to approve a five-year renewal of the farm bill and was instead looking to include a one-year extension with the government funding measure. Republicans are also pushing to tack on billions of dollars in additional financial assistance for farmers, but House Speaker Mike Johnson reportedly rejected one proposed idea to get such a deal done. Democrats — knowing that their votes will be needed to pass the bill — reportedly responded by pressing for some of their other priorities.
Punchbowl News this morning detailed some of the ideas floated by Democrats:
* The federal government would cover the entire cost of rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, which could total $2 billion or more.
* “A trade deal that would allow duty-free access for Haitian apparel and textile imports.”
* Reauthorization of legislation allowing duty-free imports for many products from sub-Saharan African nations.
* Money to build museums honoring women and Hispanics on the National Mall.
* The Second Chance Act, meant to help convicted criminals rejoin communities.
“America’s farmers are facing an economic crisis that will devastate farm families and rural communities,” Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee posted on X yesterday. “D.C. Democrats are holding critical aid hostage for a litany of liberal priorities. They couldn’t be more out of touch.”
Veteran congressional reporter Jamie Dupree noted at his Substack that “Republicans seem ready to ask for billions in emergency aid for farmers - but the GOP is also talking nonstop about deep spending cuts next year. Those two things don't seem to go together.”
Politico’s Jordain Carney and Meredith Lee Hill pointed out that Johnson has a lot riding on the outcome here: “Failing to reach a deal would spark a larger revolt … from farm-district Republicans, costing him needed votes and political backing for a government funding bill. But an agreement would also force him to make concessions to Democrats, which could spark a rebellion on his right.”
The bottom line: Negotiators were reportedly closing in on a deal as of Monday afternoon, meaning that legislative text could be released before long. The delay likely means the House won’t vote on the bill until Thursday at the earliest, or Friday if the text isn’t unveiled until Tuesday. No one expects a government shutdown at the end of the week, given that lawmakers will be eager to get home for the holidays — but the process, like so much else in the 118th Congress, won’t be quick or easy.
Fiscal News Roundup
- Bipartisan Bill to Avert Government Shutdown Appears to Hit Snags – Washington Post
- Lawmakers Signal Movement Toward Government Funding Deal – The Hill
- Endgame Not Yet Clear as Lawmakers Await CR – Roll Call
- Johnson Faces Brewing GOP Rebellion After Farm Aid Deal Collapses – Politico
- Democratic Senators Seek to Ax Transgender Care Ban From Defense Bill – NBC News
- Tax Cuts Take Lead Over Deficit Worries in GOP’s Internal Fight – Wall Street Journal
- Trump Vows to Fire Federal Employees Who Don’t Return to Office – Bloomberg
- Japan’s SoftBank Makes Big Investment Pledge Ahead of Trump’s Inauguration. Again – New York Times
- Outgoing CDC Director Girds Against an Overhaul, and Tries to Calm Staff Nerves – STAT News
- Finance Minister Shocks Canada by Quitting Amid Rift Over Fiscal Policy and Trump – Bloomberg
- Trump’s Executive Action Strategy: Go Ahead, Sue Me – Washington Post
- Most Americans Say They Have Good Health Insurance, Polls Show – New York Times
- The Median Renter in America Has a Net Worth of $10,400. The Median Homeowner’s Net Worth Is $400,000 – CNN
- Massive Interest Burden Haunts $29 Trillion of Emerging Debt – Bloomberg
- At a Manhattan Gala, Imagining an Unconstitutional Third Trump Term – Washington Post
Views and Analysis
- From the Middle Out and Bottom Up – President Joe Biden, American Prospect
- Fact Check: Trump Makes False Claims About Immigration, Tariffs and Global Conflicts – Daniel Dale, CNN
- 5 Takeaways From Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Press Conference – Alex Gangitano and Brett Samuels, The Hill
- Funding Meltdown Foreshadows Johnson’s Tough Year Ahead – Meredith Lee Hill, Jordain Carney and Olivia Beavers, Politico
- Seven Reasons Why Americans Pay More for Health Care Than Any Other Nation – Ken Alltucker, USA Today
- The Price of American Retreat – Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Foreign Affairs
- Powell’s Fed Appears Headed for Another Collision With Trump – Jeanna Smialek, New York Times
- Why the US Economy Is Trouncing Europe’s – Edward Conard, Wall Street Journal
- How the Debt Could Topple Trump’s Growth Agenda – Sam Sutton, Politico
- Deny and Delay: The Practices Fueling Anger at US Health Insurers – Peter Whoriskey, Washington Post
- What Can Secretary Kennedy Actually Do in Office? – Matt Stieb, New York
- Bank Speculation! Polio! And Other Hot Items on Trump’s Agenda! – Harold Meyerson, American Prospect
- Open-Government Nonprofits Are Dying Off Just When They’re Needed Most – Daniel Schuman, The Bulwark
- What Puts Republicans in the Mood to Shop – Joe Pinsker, Wall Street Journal