Elon Musk and the federal spending debate
Happy Monday! It’s Rebecca Morin, senior national news reporter at Paste BN. It’s been a couple of weeks since we’ve switched up the send time. How are you feeling about it? Share your thoughts here.
Elon Musk, rich and unelected, takes center stage in federal spending talks
For the first several weeks of President Donald Trump’s presidency, billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency took a chainsaw to the federal government – firing tens of thousands of workers, recommending programs to cut and how money should be spent. Now, as Congress faces a deadline to fund the government by March 14 or risk a partial shutdown, Musk is again at the heart of the debate. Lawmakers are grappling with how to lock in savings from Musk’s contentious cuts. How Musk has played a role in Trump’s presidency.
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GOP lawmakers are still pushing forward to avoid a potential government shutdown. House Republicans on Saturday unveiled their six-month stopgap government funding bill that would fund the government through September, the end of the 2025 fiscal year. The House is expected to vote on the funding bill on Tuesday. What the bill lays out.
- Progressive activists have an agenda for resisting Trump. Will Democrats follow it?
A politics pit stop
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Meet Canada’s new prime minister
Say hello to Mark Carney, who will succeed Justin Trudeau as prime minister of Canada after winning the race to lead the country’s governing Liberal Party. Carney also has a special message to the U.S. (and to President Trump): Canada “never, ever, will be part of America in any way, shape, or form.” What Carney said in his first speech.
- 'Feels like a betrayal:' Canadians near Detroit react to Trump tariffs
No drama between Musk and Rubio, Trump says
You never like to see your friends fighting. Especially when they’re top advisors and members of a White House cabinet. President Donald Trump on Saturday said that billionaire Elon Musk, his senior advisor who is categorized as a "special government employee,” and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have “a great relationship” following reports of an explosive cabinet throwdown between the two. The president, in fact, had dinner with the duo on Saturday evening, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed. How Trump tried to tamp down reports of tension.
- Even though Trump tried to quell fallout from the reports of his Cabinet meeting, the drama was on full display in the latest cold open for “Saturday Night Live.”
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