Historic government shutdown continues with little end in sight<\/p>\n
A reminder that the record-breaking partial government shutdown just entered its eighth week, with little end in sight. Congress is on recess, and isn\u2019t set to return for until 13 April.<\/p>\n
Today, House lawmakers again took no action to pass a Senate bill to fund affected Department of Homeland Security (DHS) subagencies. This comes after Republican leadership in both chambers announced a compromise to fund the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the US Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (Cisa), but withhold funds from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and part of Customs and Border Protection (CBP).<\/p>\n
Their plan is to subsequently fund immigration enforcement through a reconciliation bill that would only require a simple majority in the Senate, and therefore skirt the filibuster.<\/p>\n
However, House speaker Mike Johnson is facing pushback from hardline GOP lawmakers over the Senate-passed legislation. They argue that Republicans<\/a> are ultimately conceding to Democrats\u2019 demands, after they refused to pass a wider DHS funding bill without guardrails on ICE and CBP after federal officers fatally shot two US citizens during the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a010.26 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Trump says Tuesday at 8pm ET is his final deadline for Iran to reopen strait of Hormuz<\/p>\n Asked by a reporter at the Easter Egg Roll whether tomorrow at 8pm ET was his final deadline for Iran to reopen the strait of Hormuz (as laid out in his expletive-laden Easter Sunday post<\/a>), Trump replied: \u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n The president has flip-flopped on his deadlines several times already, and is now hurtling towards another<\/a> self-imposed deadline<\/a> \u2013 this time, Tuesday evening \u2013 for Tehran to reopen the critical waterway.<\/p>\n The strait has effectively been shut since the US and Israel launched war in Iran in late February, sending oil prices around the world skyrocketing.<\/p>\n Tehran has refused to reopen the strait in exchange for temporary ceasefire. Instead it wants a permanent and comprehensive end to the war, along with other demands including compensation for war damages.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a012.21 EDT<\/p>\n Donald Trump also repeated his usual claims that the US military had already \u201cobliterated\u201d Iran.<\/p>\n A reporter then asked \u2013 if that was true, then why was the United States still at war?<\/p>\n The president responded:<\/p>\n double quotation markIt\u2019s a big country. They can\u2019t fight back. They have no capability. I mean, they have some missiles left, they have some drones left, but essentially they have no capability.<\/p>\n He also said he is not worried about concerns over targeting civilian infrastructure (which is illegal<\/a>) and called the shooting down of US aircraft<\/a> last week \u201ca lucky shot\u201d.<\/p>\n As my colleague Dan Sabbagh wrote yesterday: \u201cThe loss of the F-15 and other aircraft had come as a relative surprise, given the air superiority the US and Israel have established over Iran from the beginning of the five-week-long war. But it demonstrated that after thousands of bombing missions, Iran still has the capacity to inflict high-profile damage on the US.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a012.30 EDT<\/p>\n Trump says Iranian people ‘want to hear bombs because they want to be free’<\/p>\n The president said that military action is ultimately helping the people of Iran because \u201cthey want to hear bombs because they want to be free\u201d, in response to a question from PBS News\u2019 Liz Landers.<\/p>\n Trump added that the only reason that Iranians aren\u2019t in the street protesting is because \u201cthey will be shot immediately\u201d by the regime, as opposed to the ongoing strikes by the US and Israel across the country.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Iranian people will fight back as soon as they know they\u2019re not going to be shot, and as soon as they can get weapons,\u201d Trump added. \u201cIf they had weapons \u2026 Iran would give up in two seconds because they wouldn\u2019t be able to take it.\u201d<\/p>\n The president also added that the regime had a \u201clucky shot\u201d when it downed a US F-15 fighter jet on Friday, but said the rescue of the airman who sustained injuries was \u201cincredible\u201d.<\/p>\n Donald Trump makes remarks on the South Portico as he and first lady Melania Trump host the 2026 White House Easter egg roll, on Monday. Photograph: Aaron Schwartz\/EPAShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.51 EDT<\/p>\n Speaking to reporters at the White House during the Easter egg roll, Donald Trump<\/a> said that he only used profanities in a social media post threatening to strike bridges and energy facilities in Iran \u201cto make my point\u201d.<\/p>\n A reminder that the president demanded the regime, who he labelled \u201ccrazy bastards\u201d on Truth Social to reopen the \u201cfuckin\u2019\u201d strait of Hormuz or risk further repercussions.<\/p>\n Trump reiterated that Iran can\u2019t have a nuclear weapon, but the bombing campaign will continue because [the regime] \u201cthey just don\u2019t want to say \u2018uncle\u2019,\u201d and surrender.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they don\u2019t, they\u2019ll have no bridges, they\u2019ll have no power plants, no anything,\u201d he told the media ahead of his 1pm ET press conference.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.29 EDT<\/p>\n Supreme court sends Steve Bannon case back to appeals court, poised for dismissal<\/p>\n The supreme court has sent a case involving a key ally of Donald Trump<\/a> \u2013 one that holds him in contempt of Congress \u2013 back to an appeals court, where it is now likely to be dismissed.<\/p>\n Steve Bannon, who served as a White House adviser during the first seven months of Trump\u2019s first administration, was convicted of defying a subpoena from the House January 6 committee and served four months in prison in 2024. But today, the justices vacated a ruling by the US court of appeals for the DC circuit and sided with Bannon, who has since become a prominent rightwing podcaster.<\/p>\n Even though Bannon has already served a sentence, the Trump justice department is seeking to effectively throw out the case \u2013 a move that is largely symbolic.<\/p>\n Steve Bannon speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Grapevine, Texas, on 27 March 2026. Photograph: Callaghan O\u2019Hare\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.04 EDT<\/p>\n Historic government shutdown continues with little end in sight<\/p>\n A reminder that the record-breaking partial government shutdown just entered its eighth week, with little end in sight. Congress is on recess, and isn\u2019t set to return for until 13 April.<\/p>\n Today, House lawmakers again took no action to pass a Senate bill to fund affected Department of Homeland Security (DHS) subagencies. This comes after Republican leadership in both chambers announced a compromise to fund the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the US Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (Cisa), but withhold funds from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and part of Customs and Border Protection (CBP).<\/p>\n Their plan is to subsequently fund immigration enforcement through a reconciliation bill that would only require a simple majority in the Senate, and therefore skirt the filibuster.<\/p>\n However, House speaker Mike Johnson is facing pushback from hardline GOP lawmakers over the Senate-passed legislation. They argue that Republicans<\/a> are ultimately conceding to Democrats\u2019 demands, after they refused to pass a wider DHS funding bill without guardrails on ICE and CBP after federal officers fatally shot two US citizens during the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a010.26 EDT<\/p>\n Peter Stone<\/p>\n District court judges nationwide have been increasingly issuing strong rulings challenging the legality of many of Donald Trump\u2019s policies and executive power grabs, blocking key ones at least temporarily, and sparking angry responses from the president, former judges and prosecutors say.<\/p>\n Since the start of Trump\u2019s second term, lower court federal judges have written sharply critical opinions about his legally dubious policies on immigration, tariffs, Department of Justice (DoJ) prosecutions of political foes and more.<\/p>\n The impact of the court rulings by these judges has been sizable, slowing or halting some of the president\u2019s most extreme policies and prompting Trump and Maga allies to respond with vindictive attacks that have helped to fuel some threats against several judges<\/a>.<\/p>\n Legal experts say the spate of adverse court rulings has created an often toxic courtroom climate for administration lawyers who have been upbraided sharply by judges for making false or tenuous representations in defense of Trump policies.<\/p>\n Former DoJ lawyers credit many district court judges for acting as crucial buffers against Trump\u2019s power grabs and administration disdain for the rule of law.<\/p>\n \u201cDistrict court judges around the country, appointed by Republican and Democratic presidents alike, are serving as the strongest guardrail against the incursions on the rule of law,\u201d ex-DoJ inspector general Michael Bromwich said.<\/p>\n \u201cIn one year, DoJ lawyers have lost the presumptions of regularity, competence and reliability that it has taken decades to accumulate. The judges are calling out [the] DoJ for its lawless positions and hollow arguments in the strongest language I have ever seen.\u201d<\/p>\n Read the full report here: <\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Trump will be in Washington for the rest of the day. Aside from his afternoon press conference, he and the first lady, Melania Trump, will host the annual Easter egg roll at the White House at 10am ET.<\/p>\n After meetings, the president will welcome Jewish community leaders to the White House for a Passover greeting at 3.30pm ET. This will be closed to the press, but we\u2019ll keep an eye out in case anything else opens up.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Trump holds press conference on Iran war, following profanity-laden threats on social media<\/p>\n Donald Trump is set to hold a press conference in the White House briefing room today at 1pm ET on the US-Israel war on Iran. He\u2019s expected to provide an update on the weekend rescue mission to retrieve a crew member after a US F-15 jet was downed on Friday over Iran.<\/p>\n This also comes after the president issued a profanity-laden ultimatum to the Iranian regime on social media to reopen the strait of Hormuz, or face further strikes on energy sites and bridges across the country.<\/p>\n