Donald Trump is testing congressional power and Republican fealty on three major fronts this week as he steers the country into a backyard trade war, grants Elon Musk unprecedented access to critical government operations and forces senators to take their most difficult votes yet on his nominees.
There are early signals of trouble ahead. Here’s the state of play:
Tariffs: Agricultural states will bear the brunt of Trump’s weekend tariff barrage aimed at Canada, Mexico and China. The American Farm Bureau, which is influential among Republican lawmakers, is warning that farmers will bear the brunt of retaliatory trade measures. Maine Sen. Susan Collins is speaking out about the impact on her state, and Sen. Mitch McConnell said in a “60 Minutes” interview that tariffs will hit consumers. Some Republicans, including House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith, are backing Trump’s trade moves.
Watch out for how the trade battle hangs over Jamieson Greer’s USTR confirmation hearing before Senate Finance on Thursday.
Musk: Democrats are raising alarms that the Trump administration is again attempting to seize Congress’ power of the purse by giving officials affiliated with Musk access to the Treasury Department’s payment system. Most Republicans have been publicly silent about the move and its potential to circumvent Congress. Top Senate Democrats will put the issue front and center at a news conference Monday afternoon.
As Musk rattles Washington — his latest target is USAID — he’s using his social media platform X to target Republicans. Musk over the weekend said GOP Sen. Todd Young was a “deep state puppet” in a post before deleting it and then calling Young a “great ally.” What happened in between? A phone call where the two discussed Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
Nominees: Musk notably did not ask Young, a key vote on Senate Intelligence, to back Tulsi Gabbard for national intelligence director, even as her confirmation prospects remain shaky.
Senators are moving to advance HHS nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with Senate Finance teeing him up for a committee vote Tuesday. It’s unclear whether Sen. Bill Cassidy will deliver the critical vote to approve him. (Republicans shouldn’t count on any Democratic support there, either).
What else we’re watching:
- Budget resolutions: Mike Johnson’s plan to get budget resolutions through committee this week isn’t going as planned. House Republicans leaders are pushing panels for deeper spending cuts to address the requests of key conservatives on the Budget Committee. Meanwhile, GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham has been working with House Freedom Caucus members behind the scenes on a two-bill approach to the party-line legislation — which runs contrary to Johnson’s plans.
- Democrats tariff tactics: House Democrats’ messaging arm is pushing talking points about rising costs of consumer goods and housing, per guidance we reviewed Sunday, as Trump’s tariffs give Democrats a new opening to reclaim some ground on kitchen-table issues. Chuck Schumer gave us the latest taste of that with a post on X on the prices of Super Bowl snacks.
- Brooke Rollins on the Hill: The Senate Agriculture Committee is expected to advance Agriculture Secretary nominee Brooke Rollins this evening. In her confirmation hearing, Rollins responded to senator questions over how she would handle the president’s tariff agenda by saying she was “prepared to execute something similar” to the farm aid package passed during Trump’s first administration.
Meredith Lee Hill, Jordain Carney and Grace Yarrow contributed to this report.
