Closing summary
This concludes our live coverage of US politics in the second Trump administration for the day. We’ll be back on Friday. Here are the latest developments:
The Senate again failed to advance a bill to fund part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which has now been shut down for almost six weeks. By a vote of 53-47, mostly along party lines, the upper chamber fell short of the 60 votes needed to move the legislation forward – the seventh failed attempt. More here.
President Trump announced he would sign an executive order directing the secretary of homeland security (DHS) to grant immediate payments to 50,000 airport security officers amid the DHS shutdown. “I am using my authorities under the Law to protect our Great Country, as I always will do!,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “Therefore, I am going to sign an Order instructing the Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, to immediately pay our TSA Agents in order to address this Emergency Situation, and to quickly stop the Democrat Chaos at the Airports.” More here.
US markets saw their biggest slump since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran on Thursday as Donald Trump said the conflict’s impact on oil prices had not been as bad as he expected. The Dow closed 450 points down, while the S&P 500 dipped 1.7%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 2.3%, plunging into correction territory, which happens when an index falls at least 10% below its most recent peak. More here.
The department of treasury announced that US paper currency will soon feature President Donald Trump’s signature to commemorate the country’s 250th anniversary. The move marks the first time a sitting US president’s signature will appear on legal tender. To accommodate this change, the treasurer’s signature will be removed for the first time since 1861. More here.
The Senate failed to achieve 60 votes needed to pass an amendment to the Save America act that would require voters to present photo ID to cast a ballot. The chamber voted 52-47, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed for it to pass. No Democrats voted for it. Earlier today, Trump urged Republicans to terminate the Senate filibuster.
During a cabinet meeting today, Donald Trump said that Iran was letting 10 oil tankers through the strait of Hormuz as an apparent goodwill gesture in the supposed negotiations. He also repeated his earlier remarks that Iran is “begging to make a deal”.
Donald Trump wants to renovate the White House’s treaty room, traditionally a meeting space for diplomats and statesman, into a guest bedroom with an en suite bathroom, according to the New York Times.
Graham Platner, the Democratic frontrunner in Maine’s US Senate race, leads governor Janet Mills by 27 points, according to new polling from Emerson College.
The survey shows Platner — an oysterman and former marine now contending with several controversies from his past — at 55%, while Mills, the 78‑year‑old governor backed by the Senate’s top Democrat, sits at 28%.
The poll also finds both Democrats ahead of incumbent Republican senator Susan Collins in hypothetical general‑election matchups: Platner leads 48% to 41%, while Mills holds a narrower 46% to 43% edge.
Collins, a longtime GOP moderate who has represented Maine in the Senate since 1997, is expected to face a competitive race regardless of which Democrat emerges from the primary.
Last week, I reported that Elizabeth Warren became the fourth senator to endorse Platner, joining Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Democrats Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico in backing the populist candidate.
Platner and Mills will face off in the Democratic primary in June.
