DHS shutdown urgency grows as negotiators hold more funding talks
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Senate Majority Leader John Thune threatened to nix the chamber's two-week Easter recess unless negotiators can strike a deal on Department of Homeland Security funding.
What to know today
- DHS FUNDING: White House border czar Tom Homan met for a second day with a bipartisan group of senators to discuss funding the Department of Homeland Security, which has been shut down for more than a month as talks drag on. Republicans said after tonight's meeting that they had submitted a counterproposal to Democrats in the form of legislative language.
- AI FRAMEWORK: The White House released a framework for national AI legislation this morning, focusing on protections for children and boosting America's AI industry. The proposal also calls for sharp limits on legal liability for developers and state laws that it says would slow down the technology.
- BOAT STRIKE: The U.S. military conducted another strike on an alleged drug boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean near Costa Rica, but the two countries offered different accounts of the strike. U.S. Southern Command said there were three survivors, while Costa Rican authorities said they found two people dead and one critically injured.
AIPAC super PAC funded big-spending Illinois groups, as Democratic fights over Israel spread
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s super PAC seeded two anonymous groups that spent more than $14 million to surreptitiously influence pivotal House Democratic primaries in Illinois on Tuesday — marking a new salvo in the battle over policy on Israel within the Democratic Party.
United Democracy Project, a super PAC aligned with AIPAC that receives tens of millions of dollars from the group, openly spent another $5 million to boost Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin in her unsuccessful campaign for the state’s 7th Congressional District. But its involvement in the two other groups — Elect Chicago Women and Affordable Chicago Now! — had not been officially confirmed until Friday, when newly filed federal fundraising reports showed that UDP contributed $5.3 million of the $14.1 million the groups raised.
Donors who had previously contributed to UDP gave the groups millions more.
Altogether, the three super PACs accounted for 60% of all of the outside spending in Illinois House primaries this year. And while progressives had accused the pro-Israel group of being behind the spending, those direct ties were not confirmed until days after voters went to the polls.
Senate Republicans say they submitted a counterproposal to Democrats on DHS funding after bipartisan talks
Senate Republicans said after a bipartisan meeting tonight on DHS funding that they sent Democrats a legislative counterproposal on making changes to the department.
The meeting included White House border czar Tom Homan and other White House officials.
“We’ve offered body cams, more training, limiting arrests for sensitive areas like churches and hospitals and so forth, schools, it’s a long list,” Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., told reporters after the meeting. “I think the Democrats need to come back to us now and talk to us about what they’re willing to do.”
Democrats left the meeting after less than an hour and did not speak with reporters. The group included included Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, as well as Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, who caucuses with the Democrats, also attended the meeting.
Hoeven said the GOP counterproposal largely reflects the issues that the White House expressed a willingness to accept in past days, while Senate Appropriations Committee chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, told reporters it goes beyond that.
“I will clarify that the White House has added to its offer,” Collins said. “It’s a very fair, reasonable offer.”
Hoeven and Collins were joined in the meeting by Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala.
Britt said she hopes Democrats "would come back with an offer that shows that they're looking to find a pathway forward,” adding that Homan’s presence in the meeting was “tremendous.”
Judge sides with New York Times over policy that limited reporters’ access to Pentagon
A federal judge today agreed to block the Trump administration from enforcing a policy limiting news reporters’ access to the Pentagon, ruling that key portions of the new rules are unlawful.
U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman in Washington, D.C., sided with The New York Times and ruled that the Pentagon policy illegally restricts the press credentials of reporters who walked out of the building rather than agree to the new rules.
The New York Times sued the Pentagon and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in December, claiming the credentialing policy violates the journalists’ constitutional rights to free speech and due process.
The current Pentagon press corps is comprised mostly of conservative outlets that agreed to the policy. Reporters from outlets that refused to consent to the new rules, including from NBC News, The New York Times and The Associated Press, have continued reporting on the military.
Ex-FBI agents assigned to Trump cases sue Kash Patel over ‘unlawful’ firings
Two former FBI special agents who say they played minimal roles in the investigation that led to criminal charges against Trump have filed a lawsuit against FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi, alleging their “unlawful” firings violate the U.S. Constitution.
Patel has routinely fired FBI special agents who were tied to investigations into Trump. The most recent round of firings happened last month, shortly after Patel appeared in viral locker room videos drinking beer and celebrating with the U.S. men’s hockey team following its victory over Canada during the Winter Olympics in Italy. Trump conveyed his displeasure with Patel, NBC News reported.
The FBI declined to comment on the pending litigation. Patel has broadly said that those who were fired were weaponizing law enforcement.
In a termination letter for one of the agents, the FBI said that the agent had “exercised poor judgment and a lack of impartiality in carrying out duties, leading to the political weaponization of the government,” according to the lawsuit.
Full-year DHS funding bill fails to advance again in the Senate
The Senate failed again to advance a full-year DHS funding bill this afternoon, with Democrats blocking the legislation in a procedural vote, 47-37, with 16 senators missing the vote.
The failed motion would have teed up a vote on whether to take up the bill for consideration, and required 60 votes for approval in the GOP-controlled Senate. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., was the only Democrat to vote in favor of advancing the bill.
The move this afternoon was considered part of yet another round of messaging votes aimed at allowing the parties to blame each other for the lapse in funding.
Democrats also plan to try to unanimously pass a bill later today that would just fund the Transportation Security Administration, an attempt that is also expected to be blocked.
Democrats and the White House discuss masks and warrants in DHS funding tasks
In addition to the five areas of immigration enforcement the White House said it is willing to codify into law, there are other asks from Democrats that are being considered, according to two Senate Republicans and an administration official.
Democrats have asked that ICE agents be required to remove their masks in the field, and while Republicans have pushed back over concerns of doxxing, the provision is being discussed.
“That’s the kind of discussion we’re having on, how do you do it?” said Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., who is part of the bipartisan talks with Homan. “A lot of times they’re not wearing masks, but they have to be able to do so when they need to do so to protect themselves in the same way any other law enforcement would. And so that’s the kind of discussion.”
Another key ask from Democrats is to require ICE to obtain judicial warrants before entering homes and businesses. Despite optimism from that side of the aisle when DHS nominee Markwayne Mullin said he would require the warrants during his confirmation hearing this week, a source involved in talks said it is not being considered right now.
“The administration is open to compromising on other asks from Democrats, in addition to the five areas the WH already identified,” an administration official tells NBC News.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said earlier on Friday: “There were a couple of areas yesterday that they had identified, in addition to some of the, you know, reforms the administration had recommended that, you know, to me, could find a path forward.”
Meanwhile, Democratic Sen Cortez Masto said, “My colleagues and I are not going to vote for any deal that doesn’t include real reforms on warrants, masks, training, and our other demands.”
ANALYSIS: U.S. intelligence chiefs’ testimony is out of sync with Trump’s talking points
For the first time since the U.S. launched a war on Iran, this week top intelligence officials spoke publicly about the conflict. But their testimony before Congress contradicted Trump’s statements about the potential consequences and goals of the operation, challenging the White House’s effort to shape perceptions about the war.
In hearings on Wednesday and yesterday, intelligence chiefs told lawmakers that the White House was briefed about how Iran would likely retaliate against its neighbors if it came under attack, that Tehran could drive up oil prices and disrupt global supply chains, that regime change was not a goal of the war and that Israel appeared to have different objectives than Washington in the campaign.
Their answers diverged from Trump’s public comments and failed to sync with some of the White House’s talking points about the widening conflict in the Middle East.
Trump says he’s not putting U.S. troops on the ground in Iran
With the Iran war set to enter its fourth week, Trump was pressed on whether he plans to send U.S. ground troops to Iran saying, “No, I'm not putting troops anywhere. If I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you, but I’m not putting troops.” His remarks come as the United States is deploying thousands of U.S. Marines to the region. NBC’s Peter Alexander reports and "Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welker joins the "TODAY" show with analysis.
Border czar to return to Capitol this evening for DHS funding talks
White House border czar Tom Homan will return to the Capitol today at 6 p.m. for a closed-door meeting with a bipartisan group of senators to discuss making changes to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and funding the Department of Homeland Security, two sources told NBC News.
News of the meeting comes after Homan met with a bipartisan group of senators yesterday. When she left that discussion, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said, “We are a long ways apart.”
Speaking to reporters this afternoon, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said, “Both sides have now had an opportunity to kind of sharpen their pencils and see. And we're going to find out. I think we’re know today whether we’re actually serious about it.”
Thune has threatened to cancel the two-week Easter recess the Senate is scheduled to start at the end of next week if DHS funding hasn’t been addressed.
The department has been shut down for more than a month as Democrats and Republicans have remained at odds over how to fund ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It has led to long security lines at TSA checkpoints at airports around the nation.
Earlier this week, Homan and White House legislative affairs director James Braid submitted a proposal to lawmakers outlining five areas in which the Trump administration is willing to negotiate with Democrats.
Georgia governor signs bill suspending gas taxes for 60 days
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill today that suspends the state's motor fuel tax for 60 days amid rising gas prices resulting from the war against Iran.
"Prices at the pump will begin to reflect this change in the coming days and weeks as retailers receive new shipments of motor fuel," his office said in a statement, adding that Georgia’s excise tax on gasoline is currently 33.3 cents per gallon and 37.3 cents per gallon of diesel.
Oil prices have been soaring since the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran began several weeks ago and the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked.
According to AAA, the national average for gas is $3.91 and Georgia's average is $3.79. A month ago, the average was $2.70 in the state. Diesel has increased from $3.54 a month ago to $5.25 now.
U.S. strikes alleged drug boat in eastern Pacific Ocean, leaving 3 survivors
The U.S. military conducted another strike on an alleged drug boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean, leaving three survivors, U.S. Southern Command said today.
In a post on X showing video of the attack yesterday, SOUTHCOM said, “Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a low-profile vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations.”
Judge warns revival of suit against Black Lives Matter organizer ‘imperils’ First Amendment
A federal appeals court judge is warning that her colleague’s decision to revive a lawsuit against a Black Lives Matter activist poses a threat to First Amendment rights.
In a 2-1 decision, a three-judge appeals panel in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that an officer’s lawsuit against DeRay Mckesson deserves a jury trial. Mckesson, who organized a protest at which the officer was injured, has been accused of negligence. The dissenting judge warned the decision “imperils First Amendment liberties,” while Mckesson called the lawsuit “ludicrous.”
Trump re-endorses Colorado Republican he had un-endorsed
President Trump's endorsement of Rep. Jeff Hurd, R-Colo., is back on, he announced on social media today.
Almost a month after he withdrew his endorsement over Hurd's vote against Canada tariffs, Trump wrote on his Truth Social account that he is giving Hurd's GOP primary challenger, Hope Scheppelman, and her husband spots in his administration as she has agreed to drop her bid to clear the way for Hurd.
"Together with them, we decided that Congressman Jeff Hurd, of Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, should in no way, shape, or form, be impeded from winning the District in that the Democrat alternative is a DISASTER for our Country," Trump wrote. "Therefore, I will be fully supporting Jeff’s Re-Election to the House of Representatives, giving him my Complete and Total Endorsement!"
Trump signs order enforcing exclusive Army-Navy football game time slot
Trump has signed an executive order protecting the annual Army-Navy game’s time slot from competing for TV air time with other college football games.
The president did the signing during a White House ceremony to honor the Navy football team with the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy.
“I’m going to sign an executive order to ensure that the second Saturday in December nobody is playing football — not Ohio state against Notre Dame, not LSU against Alabama — nobody is going to play football for four hours during that very special time of the year in December, the Army-Navy game,” Trump said, surrounded by members of the Navy football team, minutes before he signed the executive order.
“If you don’t want to watch football, you don’t have to," Trump said. "But if you want to watch football, you are only watching one game.”
Trump first announced his plan to sign the order earlier this year in a post on Truth Social.
“I will soon sign a Historic Executive Order securing an EXCLUSIVE 4 hour Broadcast window, so this National Event stands above Commercial Postseason Games," he wrote. "No other Game or Team can violate this Time Slot!!!”
The move is a boost to CBS Sports, which has broadcast the Army-Navy game exclusively each year since 1996, and obtained exclusive rights in 2024 to continue doing so through 2038.
CBS Sports is owned by the Paramount Skydance Corp., a major media company led by David Ellison, the son of GOP megadonor Larry Ellison.
The younger Ellison has emerged in recent months as an ally to Trump and Republicans, even attending the president’s State of the Union address last month as a guest of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
Ellison earlier this year orchestrated a merger with Warner Bros. Discovery after a prolonged bidding war against Netflix.
The president attended the Army-Navy game in Baltimore last year, taking the field for a ceremonial coin toss. In January, he also attended the College Football National Championship in Miami, which featured a game between the Indiana Hoosiers and the Miami Hurricanes.
Trump administration sues Harvard over antisemitism allegations
The Justice Department filed a new lawsuit today against Harvard University, saying its leadership failed to address antisemitism on campus, creating grounds for the government to freeze existing grants and seek repayment for grants already paid.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Massachusetts, is another missive in a protracted battle between the administration of President Donald Trump and the elite university.
Former Epstein lawyer pushes back on lawmakers' criticism
A lawyer for former Jeffrey Epstein attorney Darren Indyke pushed back on lawmakers' criticism of his client, who was deposed by the House Oversight Committee yesterday.
"Mr. Indyke answered fully and honestly every question put to him over eight hours of questioning today by the House Oversight Committee," said his attorney, Daniel H. Weiner.
Reps. James Walkinshaw, D-Virginia, and Dave Min, D-Calif., told reporters they were skeptical about Indyke's testimony that he knew nothing about Epstein's illicit activities given his long association with Epstein as his lawyer.
Weiner called their comments "ill-informed and flatly mistaken," and said "they likely would have taken a far different view had they attended the entire session."
NBC News has reached out to the lawmakers for comment.
In his prepared remarks to the committee, Indyke said he first met Epstein in 1996, "when he was already a highly successful businessman. After he pled guilty in 2008 to procuring a person under the age of 18 for prostitution, Mr. Epstein appeared to me to be devastated and extremely contrite. He was adamant that he had no idea anyone involved was underage, and personally assured me he would never again let himself be in that position."
"I believed him, and I made the mistake of believing Mr. Epstein that he would not again commit a crime. I deeply regret doing so. Most importantly, I feel horrible for those women whom Mr. Epstein abused," the remarks said.
Student loans to go to Treasury Department as Trump continues to dismantle Education Department
The U.S. Education Department is handing off a portion of its student loan portfolio to the Treasury Department, a first step toward shedding management of all student loans as Trump administration officials dismantle the federal education agency.
Under an agreement announced yesterday, the Treasury Department will take over management of student loans whose borrowers are in default, meaning they are months behind on payments. Those loans add up to about $180 billion, or 11% of the government’s $1.7 trillion student loan portfolio.
A pedestrian walks by the Education Department on Wednesday in Washington. Allison Robbert / AP
White House releases AI legislation framework
The White House released a new framework for national AI legislation today, focusing on protections for children and boosting the industry while calling for sharp limits on legal liability for developers and state laws that it says would slow down the technology's development.
The legislative proposal emphasizes the need for Congress to establish a unifying federal approach rather than let states set individual rules that it says could hamper innovation, a position the White House has repeatedly signaled over the past months. Politicians and activists across the political spectrum have instead advocated for states’ ability to regulate AI in the absence of meaningful federal action while Congress debates how to regulate the fast-moving technology.
19-year-old is youngest person to die in ICE custody in Trump's second term
A 19-year-old Mexican migrant died in a Florida jail that has been holding immigrant detainees, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said.
Royer Perez-Jimenez was found “unconscious and unresponsive” around 2:34 a.m. Monday at the Glades County Detention Center in Moore Haven, the agency said in a statement, adding that staff started cardiopulmonary resuscitation while waiting for emergency medical services. It said he died of a “presumed suicide” but that the official cause of his death was still under investigation.
Perez-Jimenez was arrested Jan. 22 by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office in east-central Florida and charged with felony fraud for impersonation and misdemeanor resisting an officer, ICE said, after which he was transferred to ICE custody. The agency said Perez-Jimenez had re-entered the United States illegally some time after Feb. 19, 2022, when he was granted a voluntary return to Mexico by the U.S. Border Patrol after encountering them the same day he arrived in the country.
He is at least the 13th person to die in ICE custody since the start of this year, and the youngest to do so since Trump began a crackdown on immigration upon returning to office last January. More than 30 people died in ICE custody in all of 2025, a two-decade high.
Perez-Jimenez is the second person to die in the past week after Mohommad Nazeer Paktyawal, 41, a former Afghan special forces soldier and father of six who had been detained a day earlier by ICE agents at his apartment complex in a suburb of Dallas.
In 2022 under the Biden administration, ICE said it was limiting its use of the Glades County facility “in part due to persistent and ongoing concerns related to the provision of detainee medical care” and that “any future use of the facility will be dependent on fully addressing any conditions that do not meet detention standards.”
Last April, ICE reinstated its contract with Glades County, with acting Miami ICE Field Office Director Juan Agudelo saying it would “allow greater capacity to address our immigration enforcement mission.”
Trump's Pearl Harbor joke gets mixed reactions in Asia
A joke Trump made about Japan’s 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor has gotten mixed reactions in Asia, where commenters noted the awkwardness of the situation for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who was sitting beside Trump in the Oval Office.
Responding to a Japanese reporter’s question about why the U.S. attacked Iran without notifying Japan or other allies, Trump said he wanted to catch Iran off-guard.
“Who knows better about surprise than Japan? OK, why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor?” he laughed, adding, “You believe in surprise, I think, much more than us.”
Takaichi, who is visiting Washington with the aim of bolstering her country’s U.S. alliance, appeared visibly uncomfortable, her eyes widening as she shifted in her seat with pursed lips and appeared to sigh, saying nothing.
Commentators were split on how Takaichi handled what the Asahi Shimbun newspaper described as Trump’s “shallow understanding of historical context.” Other media outlets suggested that Takaichi’s restraint showed she did not want a joke, albeit a sensitive one, to blow up U.S.-Japan relations.
Polls show the Japanese public is deeply skeptical of the war in Iran, and the country’s pacifist constitution makes it illegal to involve Japan’s military in an international dispute.
Jeff Kingston, a professor at Temple University in Tokyo, said Takaichi’s only real leverage going to Washington was “to do something to make Trump feel better about his global image.”
Chinese social media feasted on the moment, with the hashtag #SanaeTakaichiMicroexpressions racking up nearly 8 million views as of this afternoon. Takaichi is widely unpopular here after comments she made last November about potential Japanese military support for Taiwan if it were attacked by China.
Some Chinese users even mused that Takaichi might have inspired Trump’s remarks because she was wearing pearls.
U.S. gold coin with image of Trump gets approved by president’s hand-picked panel
A federal commission consisting solely of Trump-appointed members voted yesterday to approve a 24-carat commemorative gold coin depicting the president in honor of the 250th anniversary of the United States.
The Commission of Fine Arts approved a design with an image of President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, with 1776 on one side and 2026 on the other.
James Comey subpoenaed in Trump-appointed prosecutor’s ‘grand conspiracy’ probe
Former FBI Director James Comey has been subpoenaed in connection with a wide-ranging investigation being run by a Trump-appointed federal prosecutor in Florida, two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News yesterday.
The probe, which focuses on an earlier investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and other prosecutions related to President Donald Trump, is being led by Jason A. Reding Quiñones, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida. The sprawling probe has been dubbed a “grand conspiracy” investigation by Trump allies.
An attorney for Comey did not have an immediate comment, while Quiñones’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bipartisan talks to end Homeland Security standoff get serious as shutdown drags on
Top Republicans and Democrats trying to end the monthlong Department of Homeland Security shutdown huddled with White House border czar Tom Homan in the Capitol yesterday.
The in-person talks come as Senate Majority Leader John Thune threatened to nix the upcoming two-week Easter recess unless negotiators can strike a deal.
