With a push from President Donald Trump, House Republicans have sent to passage, a step toward delivering Trump鈥檚 鈥渂ig, beautiful bill.鈥� The bill includes $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and $2 trillion in spending cuts, despite a wall of and discomfort among Republicans.
Meanwhile, Trump鈥檚 effort to suspend the system for resettling refugees in the U.S. is on hold after a federal judge in Seattle blocked it.
Here's the latest:
The Trump administration announces a plan to combat surging egg prices
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins rolled out the five-part plan Wednesday but acknowledged it could take some time before consumers see an effect at the checkout counter.
The plan calls for $500 million investment to help farmers bolster biosecurity measures, $400 million in aid for farmers whose flocks have been impacted by avian flu, $100 million to research and potentially develop vaccines and therapeutics for U.S. chicken flocks and explore rolling back what the administration sees as restrictive animal welfare rules in some states.
The administration is also in talks to import about 70 million to 100 million eggs from other countries in the coming months, Rollins said.
Rollins said the administration is anticipating egg prices could still further climb heading toward the Easter holiday, a time when demand has been historically high.
Cabinet picks with hearings Wednesday would have influence over access to reproductive health care
Three of 鈥� Dean John Sauer, the nominee for Solicitor General; Harmeet Dhillon, nominee for the Justice Department鈥檚 assistant attorney general for civil rights; and Aaron Reitz, nominee for assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department鈥檚 legal policy office 鈥� face initial hearings Wednesday and, if confirmed, would have influence access nationwide.
All three also have long anti-abortion histories.
Sauer has been involved in several significant anti-abortion cases, including challenging a St. Louis reproductive equity fund and has argued against the of the abortion pill .
Dhillon has a 鈥渓awyer for the pro-life movement鈥� in 2022 and has represented anti-abortion groups. She that laws that protect abortion providers from prosecution for treating out-of-state patients are unconstitutional.
Reitz has repeatedly called himself pro-life and said life begins at conception. His legal career has included challenging medication abortion access, and he鈥檚 served as a fellow for the anti-abortion coalition Alliance Defending Freedom, which was behind attempts to undo FDA approval of mifepristone.
Elon Musk will attend President Trump鈥檚 first Cabinet meeting Wednesday
Musk鈥檚 attendance highlights his influence over the administration.
鈥淓lon is working with the Cabinet secretaries and their staff every single day to identify waste and fraud and abuse at these respective agencies,鈥� White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. 鈥淎ll of the Cabinet secretaries take the advice and direction of DOGE.鈥�
Leavitt said members of Trump鈥檚 Cabinet would provide updates on their work at the meeting, which is scheduled for 11 a.m. ET.
Emergency fundraisers offer a lifeline to groups who鈥檝e lost foreign aid
Though they know they can never replace all the money lost due to the Trump administration鈥檚 freeze on foreign assistance, nonprofits are fundraising to help .
Unlock Aid, which advocates for reforms, started the last week. It will take donations and make grants to groups around the world to try to avert some of the worst impacts of the policy change.
Other groups including Founders Pledge and The Life You Can Save have also launched . The Network for Empowered Aid Response, a coalition of civil society organizations from developing countries, has , though it鈥檚 not accepting donations from individuals. GlobalGiving, a nonprofit that fundraises for grassroots international organizations, was one of the first to to support impacted groups.
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What鈥檚 going on with the Kennedy Center under Trump?
Until a few weeks ago, the biggest news to come out of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., was its annual celebration of notable American artists.
That has changed since the return of .
In the first month of his second term, the president has ousted the arts institution鈥檚 leadership, filled the board of trustees with his supporters and announced he had been elected the board鈥檚 chair 鈥� unanimously. Some artists have responded by canceling appearances.
In a statement this month to The Wall Street Journal, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: 鈥淭he Kennedy Center learned the hard way that if you go woke, you will go broke. President Trump and the members of his newly-appointed board are devoted to rebuilding the Kennedy Center into a thriving and highly respected institution where all Americans, and visitors from around the world, can enjoy the arts with respect to America鈥檚 great history and traditions.鈥�
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House Democrat introduces bill to reinstate veterans fired from federal government under Trump
The bill from freshman Democratic congressman Derek Tran, an Army veteran and former employment lawyer, would require that any veterans terminated without reason from the federal government since the start of President Trump鈥檚 term be reinstated.
It would also require federal agencies to submit reports to Congress on the and provide justifications for their actions.
鈥淭hey sacrificed so much to protect our country, to defend our freedom,鈥� said Tran, who represents parts of Orange County, California. 鈥淣ow they鈥檝e been kicked to the curb.鈥�
The bill is unlikely to advance in the Republican-controlled House, but it serves as the latest example of how Democrats are trying to harness public backlash to Trump鈥檚 efforts to upend the federal government through the , which is led by billionaire adviser .
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Apple is fixing an iPhone dictation glitch that suggests replacing the word 鈥榬acist鈥� with 鈥楾rump鈥�
The bug within the dictation feature on some iPhones briefly suggests the word 鈥淭rump鈥� when a word with an R consonant is spoken.
The company is responding to the controversy after some iPhone owners posted videos on social media this week to detail how the glitch works.
When users activated the dictation feature and said the word 鈥渞acist,鈥� the word 鈥淭rump鈥� appears in the text window before quickly being replaced by the correct word, according to various videos posted online.
鈥淲e are aware of an issue with the speech recognition model that powers Dictation and we are rolling out a fix today,鈥� Apple said in a statement sent to The Associated Press on Wednesday.
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Trump directs government to consider possible tariffs on copper
Trump on Tuesday directed the government to consider possible tariffs on , the latest move by the White House to tax a wide array of imports and reshape global trade.
鈥淚t will have a big impact,鈥� said Trump before signing the executive order to study copper imports.
On a call with reporters, White House trade adviser portrayed the move as an effort to stop China鈥檚 build out of its copper sector and to address a broader national security vulnerability. There is also a desire to restore the domestic mining, smelting and refining of copper given potential military and technological needs.
Trump has long said his are to ensure that imports are equal in size to exports, so that the United States doesn鈥檛 run trade deficits. But America runs a surplus with copper and the administration sees a national security risk from the forecasts of supply and demand.
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Federal employees may get more demands to justify their work at Elon Musk鈥檚 direction
The turmoil that enveloped the federal workforce over the last few days is unlikely to cease anytime soon as the U.S. government鈥檚 human resources agency considers how to fulfill 鈥檚 demands.
The Office of Personnel Management told agency leaders Monday that their employees did not have to comply with for workers to report their recent accomplishments or risk getting fired. But later that evening, OPM sent out another memo suggesting that there could be similar requests going forward 鈥� and workers might be sanctioned for noncompliance.
OPM originally sent employees an email over the weekend with the subject line 鈥渨hat did you do last week?鈥� Recipients were asked to respond with 鈥渁pprox. 5 bullets of what you accomplished.鈥�
President did little to clear up the situation while talking to reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday.
鈥淚t鈥檚 somewhat voluntary,鈥� he said, but added that 鈥渋f you don鈥檛 answer, I guess you get fired.鈥�
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House GOP鈥檚 passage of Trump鈥檚 鈥榖ig鈥� budget resolution is a crucial step toward delivering his agenda
House Republicans Tuesday night sent to passage, a step toward delivering his 鈥渂ig, beautiful bill鈥� with $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and $2 trillion in spending cuts despite a wall of and discomfort among Republicans.
House Speaker had almost no votes to spare in his and fought on all fronts 鈥� against Democrats, uneasy rank-and-file Republicans and skeptical GOP senators 鈥� to advance the party鈥檚 signature legislative package. Trump made calls to wayward GOP lawmakers and invited Republicans to the White House.
The vote was 217-215, with a single Republican and all Democrats opposed, and the outcome was in jeopardy until the gavel.
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Trump says he will offer 鈥榞old cards鈥� for $5 million path to citizenship, replacing investor visas
Trump said Tuesday that he plans to offer a 鈥済old card鈥� visa with a path to citizenship for $5 million, replacing a 35-year-old visa for investors.
Commerce Secretary said the 鈥淭rump Gold Card鈥� would replace EB-5 visas in two weeks. EB-5s were created by Congress in 1990 to generate foreign investment and are available to people who spend about $1 million on a company that employs at least 10 people.
Lutnick said the gold card 鈥� actually a green card, or permanent legal residency 鈥� would raise the price of admission for investors and do away with fraud and 鈥渘onsense鈥� that he said characterize the EB-5 program. Like other green cards, it would include a path to citizenship.
Trump made no mention of the requirements for job creation. And, while the number of EB-5 visas is capped, Trump mused that the federal government could sell 10 million 鈥済old cards鈥� to reduce the deficit. He said it 鈥渃ould be great, maybe it will be fantastic.鈥�
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The Associated Press
