What to know today
- President Donald Trump said this afternoon that he was not tracking a fall in the stock market as he met with his Cabinet secretaries amid worsening trade tensions with China. Markets declined, with the S&P 500 down more than 3%.
- At the same time, Trump acknowledged that his tariffs will pose "transition problems" but maintained that he thinks his policies will ultimately help the United States.
- The Supreme Court tonight ruled that the Trump administration must "facilitate" the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who was wrongly deported to a prison in El Salvador.
- House Republicans this morning adopted a budget blueprint aimed at advancing Trump's policy agenda after concerns from some conservatives over the level of cuts delayed a vote on the measure yesterday.
Pennsylvania Republican accuses illegal immigrants of bringing diseases into U.S. when asked about measles outbreak
Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa., said tonight that illegal immigrants are "bringing these diseases into our country" when asked about a measles outbreak in Texas.
"Many of these instances that are coming into our country are from illegal immigrants who have crossed the border with no checks, no actual health records, and they are bringing these diseases into our country," Mackenzie said during a CNN town hall.
“There is a reason why measles has sparked a threat in our country after decades of being almost eradicated, as I pointed out. And so I think we need recognize that,” he added.
CNN's Jake Tapper, who co-moderated the event, had asked Mackenzie about the outbreak and whether he has concerns about Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Kennedy, who has been criticized for fanning the flames of vaccine hesitancy, recently suggested that there are two readily available medications that can be used effectively as first-line treatment for measles.
Mackenzie noted that he was vaccinating his son against measles, and said the vaccine was "something that's been long established, and I think we have a fairly good track record of evidence to prove that that is safe and effective."
Republican Rep. Ryan Mackenzie backs Musk while acknowledging disagreements with DOGE
Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa., largely defended Elon Musk tonight while adding that he did not agree with all of the actions of the tech billionaire's Department of Government Efficiency.
Asked by an audience member at a CNN town hall what he is doing to control Musk, Mackenzie accused Democrats of trying to "demonize" Musk. He said Musk's detractors are "fighting against cutting waste, fraud and abuse in our government."
At the same time, Mackenzie said he does not agree with all the moves Musk and DOGE have made.
"There are things that have gone too fast, too quickly, and hopefully we can rein them in on certain things," Mackenzie said, pointing to changes at the Social Security Administration that limited people's access to certain services.
GOP Rep. Mike Lawler says he agrees with Supreme Court ruling on man wrongly deported
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., said he agrees with tonight's Supreme Court ruling that requires the Trump administration to "facilitate" the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who was wrongly deported to an El Salvador jail.
"Yes, and he should be returned, and obviously they should follow the law there," Lawler said at a CNN town hall.
A voter had asked Lawler whether he agreed with the ruling.
Vice President JD Vance and other Trump officials have repeatedly accused Garcia, a legal resident, of being a member of the gang MS-13. The Trump administration has said his deportation was an “administrative error.”
U.S. cyber defenders shaken by Trump’s attack on their former boss
The people tasked with keeping the country safe from foreign government hackers and cybercriminal gangs say they feel like they’re under attack, not from their usual adversaries but from the administration they work under.
Trump’s order yesterday calling for a Justice Department investigation into Christopher Krebs, the former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, has sent fresh shock waves through the agency’s hallways, according to five employees who spoke with NBC News. Each spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
The White House is downsizing the agency for at least the third time in three months.
“It’s a really tough time for all of us right now,” an employee said. “Every day feels somehow more bizarre than the last. It is incredibly difficult to focus on our mission.”
Tensions arise over Speaker Mike Johnson’s efforts to bring Rep. Elise Stefanik back into the fold
When Trump withdrew Rep. Elise Stefanik’s nomination to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, she was given private assurances that she would not only rejoin the House GOP leadership team, but also reclaim her coveted spot on the House Intelligence Committee, according to two Republican sources with knowledge of the deliberations.
Two weeks later, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is still scrambling to figure out how to deliver on the promise to place her back on the committee, even after the move was announced publicly.
The conundrum for Johnson is that he has to either remove a Republican who currently sits on the high-profile Intelligence Committee, which could cause strife among existing members, or be forced to change House rules to add a member. House rules dictate that the committee may be made up of no more than 25 members with a maximum of 14 from one party, which is how many Republicans are currently on the panel.
Trump nominates former North Carolina congressman for religious freedom post
Trump announced a pair of nominations on social media tonight, that of an official focused on religious freedom and another tasked with monitoring antisemitism.
In a Truth Social post, Trump nominated former Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., who is also a former pastor, as U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.
"As Chairman of the Republican Study Committee, Mark helped us secure many Victories," Trump wrote. "In his new role, Mark will work incredibly hard to expose Human Rights Violations, champion Faith, and help us secure Life Saving Results."
Walker was first elected to Congress in 2015 and served until 2021. Trump had endorsed his opponent, Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., in the GOP Senate primary in 2022. Trump’s campaign selected Walker last year as director of outreach for faith and minority communities.
In another Truth Social post, Trump said he would nominate Yehuda Kaploun to he U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, ambassador-at-large.
“Yehuda is a successful businessman, and staunch advocate for the Jewish Faith and the Rights of his people to live and worship free from persecution,” Trump wrote. “With Anti-Semitism dangerously on the rise, Yehuda will be the strongest Representative for Americans and Jews across the Globe, and promote PEACE.”
Feds request release of imprisoned FBI informant tied to Biden disinformation
Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to release former FBI confidential source Alexander Smirnov, court documents say. Smirnov was charged with and pleaded guilty to conduct related to false statements to his FBI handler and tax-related misconduct after he gave disinformation about the Biden family’s involvement in Ukraine and a Ukrainian business, according to court documents.
Smirnov is appealing the case, and prosecutors have asked that he be allowed out of custody pending his appeal. He was sentenced to six years in prison in January under his plea agreement.
Prosecutors, who took over the case publicly today, according to filings, wrote that “the United States intends to review the government’s theory of the case underlying Defendant’s criminal conviction.”
The case was brought by the office of special counsel David Weiss, who was looking into allegations of illegal conduct by Hunter Biden — the former president's son — and any other matters that came up as a result.
The filing, which both prosecutors and Smirnov’s lawyers agreed to, says that “this Court should order Defendant’s travel to be restricted to the State of Nevada, except that he shall be permitted to travel to San Francisco, California, so his personal physician, Dr. George Tanaka may treat his ongoing eye conditions.”
Smirnov was charged in February 2024 with lying to the FBI about President Biden and Hunter Biden in statements that were at the “heart” of House Republicans’ ongoing impeachment inquiry.
Officials said that Smirnov admitted that some information about Hunter Biden came from “officials associated with Russian intelligence” and that Smirnov had claimed to have met with Russian intelligence officials just months ago. They said Smirnov “is actively peddling new lies that could impact U.S. elections after meeting with Russian intelligence officials in November.”
Hunter Biden was scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 12 for his conviction on federal gun charges and on Dec. 16 in a separate criminal case in which he pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion charges in September, but he was pardoned beforehand.
Supreme Court says Trump admin must ‘facilitate’ release of man wrongly deported to El Salvador prison
The Supreme Court said today that the Trump administration is required to “facilitate” the release of a Maryland man who was wrongly deported to an El Salvador prison.
The court partly granted and partly rejected an emergency request filed by the Justice Department contesting a judge’s order that Kilmar Abrego Garcia be retrieved from a prison in El Salvador where he was sent on March 15 along with men alleged to be Venezuelan gang members.
The decision means the administration does not immediately have to try to return Abrego Garcia to the United States because a judge-imposed deadline has already expired, but it “should be prepared to share what it can concerning the steps it has taken and the prospect of further steps,” the unsigned decision said.
Plurality of voters feel wary of CEOs’ support for Trump, while a similar share say media is too critical
Last month’s national NBC News poll found a near-majority of voters see CEOs of large corporations as being too supportive of Trump, while about the same share of voters also said they think the news media is too critical of him.
The poll, conducted March 7-11 (before the latest announcements and then partial pullback of global tariffs, which sparked alarm among business leaders), found 49% of registered voters saying CEOs of large corporations are too supportive of Trump, with another 29% saying the executives are dealing with him “in the right way.” A plurality of voters (46%) also say they think the media is too critical of him, while another 24% say the media is dealing with him in the right way and 25% say outlets are too supportive of him.
Trump has surrounded himself with billionaires and tech tycoons since the beginning of his second term, starting with lining the Capitol rotunda with some of the world’s wealthiest men during his inauguration ceremony. Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos both got prominent seats at the event alongside Elon Musk, whom Trump has described as the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency.
Meanwhile, Trump’s team has ramped up its trademark anti-media rhetoric compared to his first term — banning The Associated Press from the White House and Air Force One for refusing to adopt the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, accusing outlets of corruption and rolling out a series of lawsuits against news organizations.
Exporters at Yiwu International Trade Market were concerned about the effect of Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods, and they also seemed doubtful the tactic could work for either country in the long term.
