Mentioned in this edition: Donald Trump, JD Vance, Scott Bessent, Elon Musk, Pam Bondi, Pete Hegseth, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Brian Kemp, Leo Terrell, and more.

Good morning. House Republicans are about to go on a bill-passing spree — we dive into what they’re looking to get done. Plus, President Trump’s antisemitism task force has made waves since being created in early February, holding immense power to defund the nation’s most powerful schools.

🔎 WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

✍️ Trump signed an executive order to restore meritocracy. President Trump signed an executive order titled “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy” to dismantle disparate impact liability — a civil rights doctrine that allows lawsuits over practices with discriminatory effects, even without intent. Calling it unconstitutional and “pernicious,” Trump argued the rule forces racial balancing and undermines merit-based hiring.

💥 Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent and Elon Musk aren’t getting along. The two reportedly had a shouting match just steps away from President Donald Trump in the White House. This blow-up was reportedly due to a disagreement over who should be the temporary IRS commissioner, but the two have had disagreements in the past. While disagreements happen in any White House, Musk’s vague role has reportedly unsettled agency heads unsure of his authority.

💸 Trump might bring reciprocal tariffs sooner than expected. While the president paused his reciprocal tariffs for 90 days (while keeping the 10 percent universal baseline), he indicated that he could bring them back within two to three weeks if other countries do not move quickly enough to make trade deals with the United States. The return of the tariffs would likely cause markets to crash again, but would make clear that Trump is serious about forcing changes to global trade practices.

🪖 House Republicans want to increase military spending by $150 billion. The massive increase would push the Pentagon’s budget to around the $1 trillion mark, a goal of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The increase would be included in the Republican reconciliation bill and will likely have no trouble meriting approval from Senate Republicans. The boost would set a record military budget but may require unpopular offsetting cuts to Medicaid.

THE EXECUTIVE

Mentioned behind the paywall: Pope Francis, an upcoming rally, Volodymyr Zelensky, and a peace deal.

CONGRESS

Mentioned behind the paywall: Marjorie Taylor Greene, Brian Kemp, Roy Cooper, and Brian Schatz.

DEPARTMENTS & AGENCIES

Mentioned behind the paywall: A new anti-gun law, Pam Bondi, the Education Department, and the State Department.

House Republicans prep a policy blitz

WHAT’S HAPPENING

House Republicans are currently outlining an ambitious four-week agenda packed with Trump administration priorities.

Over the next three weeks, Congress will debate California’s emissions policies, federal Medicaid funding, police reform, and the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico. They are also forging ahead with the first steps toward passing their sweeping reconciliation bill…

Inside the task force bankrupting Jew-hating campuses

WHAT’S HAPPENING

In early February, the Trump administration announced the formation of a task force to fight against campus antisemitism.

Since then, they have made waves by cancelling billions of dollars in federal grants, forcing one university to change its practices and another, Harvard, into court…

THE DAILY DEBATE

POLL RESULTS FROM YESTERDAY

📊 Do you think Crimea should be a red line in peace talks?

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 👍 Yes — Ukraine shouldn't concede any territory (28)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 👎 No — resolving the war is more important (288)

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🤝 Only if Russia offers meaningful concessions elsewhere (149)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🤔 Unsure (44)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 💬 Other (12)

POP QUIZ

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