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Wednesday, March 12, 2025

House Passes CR Bill Funding Government for Six Months

NBC: The Republican-led House voted Tuesday to pass a six-month funding bill that would prevent a government shutdown at the end of the week, overcoming fierce Democratic objections. The vote was 217-213, with all Republicans but Thomas Massie, of Kentucky, supporting the legislation. One Democrat, Jared Golden, of Maine, voted for it. The measure now heads to the Senate, where its fate is uncertain. Republicans control 53 seats, and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has made clear he’s firmly against it. That means at least eight Democratic senators would have to support the bill to cross the Senate’s 60-vote threshold and send it to President Donald Trump’s desk (NBC). RSBN: Speaker Mike Jonson Gives Remarks after CR Bill Passes in the House (X).

Department of Education Staff to Be Reduced by Nearly Half

Axios: The Education Department is cutting its workforce of some 4,400 people by nearly 50%, the agency announced on Tuesday evening. “Reduction in Force” notices started to go out to impacted employees at 6pm ET Tuesday. Every part of the department is expected to be impacted (Axios). Thomas Sowell Quotes: Department of Education employees have reportedly been told to vacate their offices by 6pm (X).

Ukraine Accepts U.S. Proposal for a 30-Day Ceasefire with Russia

Axios: Ukraine “expressed readiness to accept” a U.S. proposal for an immediate 30-day ceasefire with Russia, the two countries said in a joint statement after a key meeting between U.S. and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia. A ceasefire, if implemented, would be a major diplomatic breakthrough in the three-year war between Russia and Ukraine. But the Kremlin has yet to weigh in on the U.S. proposal. “The ball is now in their court. We hope the Russians will reciprocate,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a press conference after the meeting (Axios). Clay Travis: Ukraine has agreed to a 30 day ceasefire. Incredible work by Trump team. Now if Russia agrees, Trump may have gotten cease fires in the Middle East and Europe in his first 60 days. Nobel Peace Prize worthy (X).

Ontario, Canada Agrees to Suspend Electricity Tariffs After Trump Threatens to Increase Tariffs Once Again

Townhall: Well, that didn’t take too long. The Canadian province of Ontario has backed down after threatening to levy a surcharge on electricity to three U.S. states as President Donald Trump threatened to double the tariff he has already placed on Canadian goods. Doug Ford, premier of Ontario, and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick released a statement on Tuesday indicating they had come to an understanding. The two leaders “had a productive conversation about the economic relationship between the United States and Canada,” according to the statement (Townhall). Visgrad 24: Ontario Premier Ford says he’s backing down from putting a 25% surcharge on electricity sold to Minnesota, Michigan & NY. Trump threatened hours ago to increase the tariffs on Canadian aluminum & steel from 25% to 50% if Ford didn’t back down (X). Charlie Kirk: Four hours after President Trump escalated US tariffs on Canada, Ontario has agreed to suspend its 25-percent tariff on electricity exports to the US pending negotiations on a renewed USMCA trade deal. Translation: Trump’s massive retaliation worked (X).

Washington State Sues Adams County for Assisting Federal Government with Immigration Enforcement

Seattle Times: Washington Attorney General Nick Brown sued Adams County on Monday, accusing it of breaking state law by aiding federal immigration enforcement. The small Eastern Washington county, Brown says, is illegally holding people based solely on their immigration status, helping federal immigration agents question people in custody and sharing confidential personal information of Washington residents… The Keep Washington Working Act, passed by state legislators in 2019, tells local law enforcement agencies to play little part in helping the federal government arrest or deport undocumented immigrants… Washington is one of 11 states with laws that restrict local law enforcement from aiding federal immigration authorities. Under the law, local police agencies can’t ask about someone’s immigration status unless it’s relevant to a criminal investigation, and they also can’t arrest or detain someone solely to determine their immigration status. (Being in the United States illegally is a civil offense, not a criminal one.) The law prohibits local law enforcement from disclosing private information that isn’t involved in a criminal case to federal immigration authorities. And it prohibits local law enforcement and jails from holding someone so they can be taken into federal custody, unless federal officers have a warrant or court order signed by a judge or magistrate (Seattle Times). National Review: Adams County is now working with conservative legal organization America First Legal to challenge the Keep Washington Working Act rather than complying with the law… Washington’s lawsuit argues the Keep Washington Working Act is necessary because it enhances civil rights protections for illegal immigrants and protects its non-citizen workforce, an important component of the state’s agricultural sector… Illegal alien workers make up nearly half the workforce of Washington state’s agricultural industry (National Review).

EPA Cancels Over 400 Grants Saving Taxpayers $1.7 Billion

EPA: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin, with the assistance of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), identified and cancelled more than 400 additional grants across nine unnecessary programs totaling $1.7 billion in savings for the American people. This marks the fourth round of EPA-DOGE partnered cancellations as the Administrator oversees a line-by-line review of spending, bringing the total taxpayer dollars saved to more than $2 billion since being sworn in (EPA). Daily Wire: The agency is working to claw back $20 billion in funds that the Biden administration doled out under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. The funds were turned over to Citibank in the months leading up to the election and held under the names of eight nonprofits. Those nonprofits intended to disperse the funds to other groups and programs. Citibank has frozen the funds while the Department of Justice probes the issue (Daily Wire).

Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) Claims Americans Voted for Trump Because Their Brains Have Not Been “Fully Formed”

Daily Mail: A top Democrat has declared Americans only voted for Trump because the US is going through its ‘angry teenage years’ – and that their brains hadn’t been ‘fully formed’ enough to vote for Kamala Harris. Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin made the remarks on The View Tuesday, during talks surrounding her party’s response to the president’s agenda. She insulted some 77,284,118 citizens in the process – days after delivering the Democratic response to Trump’s speech to Congress last week. Slotkin, 48, did so just two months into her tenure in the US Senate (Daily Mail). Greg Price: Sen. Elissa Slotkin says that Americans elected President Trump because they are going through their “angry teenage years” and their brains haven’t fully formed yet (X).

U.S. Special Envoy Arrives in Qatar to Negotiate Between Israel, Hamas

Times of Israel: US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff landed in Qatar on Tuesday to join indirect talks between Israel and Hamas aimed at extending the current, fragile ceasefire in Gaza. Wiktoff will meet with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Witkoff on Monday praised Qatar for its “outstanding” mediation efforts, adding that Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have also been helpful. Israel is hoping that the US can advance a proposal for a roughly two-month extension of the ceasefire, during which Hamas would release about half of the living hostages up front. Hamas has thus far rejected the proposal, insisting that the sides stick to the framework that was agreed upon in January (Times of Israel). Townhall: Hamas has reportedly offered a long-term truce with Israel as the war in Gaza continues. Adam Boehler, President Donald Trump’s hostage affairs envoy, said on Sunday that the terrorist group has offered to cease hostilities and agreed that it would no longer seek to govern the Gaza Strip…Hamas’ offer of a truce might seem to be a welcome sign, given the number of people who have lost their lives on both sides of the conflict. But the terrorist group has shown over and over again that it cannot be trusted. Let’s say Israel agrees to a five- or ten-year truce. Hamas will simply use this time to rebuild its infrastructure and forces so that it can once again carry out violent attacks against Israel, killing even more civilians. The hard truth is that Hamas is dedicated to eliminating Israel and won’t stop until it no longer exists (Townhall).

Trump Increases LNG Exports With New $18 Billion Investment from Venture Global

Townhall: The Trump administration is wasting no time reversing President Joe Biden’s disastrous energy policies and is already opening up new lanes of production less than two months after being sworn into office. Last week Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright traveled to Louisiana to announce new liquified natural gas exports are back in business. Bergum and Wright were hosted by Venture Global, which committed to $18 billion in new energy investments…In February, President Trump established the National Energy Dominance Council to lower prices and advise “on strategies to achieve energy dominance by improving the processes for permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation, and transportation across all forms of American energy” (Townhall). Business Report: The pair criticized former Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm’s warning that “unfettered exports” of LNG could drive up domestic wholesale prices and increase planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions—a statement reflecting the findings of a Department of Energy report released in December. Granholm served under Biden (Business Report).

10.

Indiana Judge Rules Prison Inmates Allowed to Undergo Taxpayer-Funded Gender Transition Surgery

HotAir: Is gender reassignment surgery medically necessary? Is failure to provide it to a convicted murderer a violation of the 8th Amendment prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment? According to a judge in Indiana the answer is yes. Judge Richard Young ruled last September that an Indiana law preventing the spending of taxpayer money on gender-surgery for inmates was stayed. That meant that convicted murderer serving 55 years in prison for strangling an infant could get the surgery on the taxpayer’s dime. The ACLU argued denying the prisoner a sex change was illegal discrimination (HotAir).

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