SENATE UPDATE: Fighting China, Foreign Aid, and the Deep State

Last Week

The Senate confirmed nine of President Trump’s nominees:

• Elbridge Colby to be Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (54-45)

• George Glass to be Ambassador to Japan (66-32)

• Mike Huckabee to be Ambassador to Israel (53-46)

• Pete Hoekstra to be Ambassador to Canada (60-37)

• Ronald Johnson to be Ambassador to Mexico (49-46)

• Kevin Cabrera to be Ambassador to Panama (51-45)

• Paul Atkins to serve on the Securities and Exchange Commission (51-45)

• Mark Meador to serve on the Federal Trade Commission (50-46)

• Air Force Lt. Gen. John D. Caine to be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (60-25)

The Senate also passed a resolution to rescind a Biden Administration rule regulating water heaters.

Conservative Spotlight

With the Senate now on a two-week recess for Easter, here is a brief update on the top Senate Conservatives:

MIKE LEE: As usual, Sen. Mike Lee’s (R-UT) office has been a factory of legislation this year. His latest bill — the Aid Accountability Act of 2025 — would permanently ban future federal funding for any organization ever found to have inappropriately used taxpayer money to promote abortion.

TED CRUZ: Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) resolution rescinding Joe Biden’s cryptocurrency regulations became law this week. Cruz called President Trump’s signature on his bill “a victory for innovation, privacy, and economic freedom” that would keep the U.S. ahead of China in global crypto leadership.

RON JOHNSON — Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), Chairman of the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, called on the Department of Justice to release all its records pertaining to the FBI’s infamous targeting of President Trump beginning in 2022. Newly released FBI emails suggest “Operation Arctic Frost” was even shadier than previously thought. Johnson urged Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel to make all relevant documents public as soon as possible. Stay tuned for more on this explosive investigation.

RAND PAUL — During the Senate’s debate on President Trump’s budget framework, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) forced a vote on his amendment to slow down federal borrowing to give Congress a chance to pass President Trump’s DOGE spending cuts into law. The amendment failed, but Paul signaled that fiscal responsibility is Congress’s job, too, not just the president’s.

JOSH HAWLEY — Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) chaired an explosive hearing last week. A former Facebook employee testified that she saw Meta executives, including Mark Zuckerberg, lie to Congress and undermine U.S. national security to appease China. The whistleblower accused Facebook of trying to gain access to China’s market by helping Chinese firms outcompete American companies. Hawley is now calling for Zuckerberg to testify to answer these allegations.

RICK SCOTT — Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) is also helping President Trump and America stand up to communist China. Last week, Scott introduced five separate bills to increase disclosure requirements for Chinese firms, monitor Chinese infiltration of America’s economy, and close loopholes in current sanctions. Scott is a big part of why Washington is finally getting serious about fighting back against China’s economic and security threats against America.

ERIC SCHMITT — China’s manipulation of global trade is one of the reasons Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) so enthusiastically supports President Trump’s tariff strategy. “They don’t abide by the same rules,” Schmitt said. “They steal intellectual property. They create trade barriers. They’ve got tariffs. They subsidize and dump products to undercut American industry and other industries around the world.” He praised Trump’s tariffs for isolating China and the White House’s plan to cut separate trade deals with other partners. “When we’re talking about leveling the playing field, there’s China, and then there’s everybody else.”

TOMMY TUBERVILLE — Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) introduced a bill last week to follow up on President Trump’s cuts to the corrupt and wasteful USAID program. The Veterans First Act would repurpose $2 billion in former USAID money to help build housing and healthcare facilities for America’s veterans.

Video Spotlight

This Week

The Senate will be in recess for the next two weeks. The next Senate votes will be Monday, April 28.

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