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Historic DHS shutdown continues with little end in sight as House Republicans delay action to pass Senate funding bill – live | Trump administration
Historic government shutdown continues with little end in sight
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’t set to return for until 13 April.
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).
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.
However, House speaker Mike Johnson is facing pushback from hardline GOP lawmakers over the Senate-passed legislation. They argue that Republicans are ultimately conceding to Democrats’ 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.
Key events
Trump says Tuesday at 8pm ET is his final deadline for Iran to reopen strait of Hormuz
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), Trump replied: “Yeah.”
The president has flip-flopped on his deadlines several times already, and is now hurtling towards another self-imposed deadline – this time, Tuesday evening – for Tehran to reopen the critical waterway.
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.
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.
Donald Trump also repeated his usual claims that the US military had already “obliterated” Iran.
A reporter then asked – if that was true, then why was the United States still at war?
The president responded:
It’s a big country. They can’t fight back. They have no capability. I mean, they have some missiles left, they have some drones left, but essentially they have no capability.
He also called the shooting down of US aircraft last week “a lucky shot”.
As my colleague Dan Sabbagh wrote yesterday: “The 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.”
Trump says Iranian people ‘want to hear bombs because they want to be free’
The president said that military action is ultimately helping the people of Iran because “they want to hear bombs because they want to be free”, in response to a question from PBS News’ Liz Landers.
Trump added that the only reason that Iranians aren’t in the street protesting is because “they will be shot immediately” by the regime, as opposed to the ongoing strikes by the US and Israel across the country.
“The Iranian people will fight back as soon as they know they’re not going to be shot, and as soon as they can get weapons,” Trump added. “If they had weapons … Iran would give up in two seconds because they wouldn’t be able to take it.”
The president also added that the regime had a “lucky shot” when it downed a US F-15 fighter jet on Friday, but said the rescue of the airman who sustained injuries was “incredible”.
Speaking to reporters at the White House during the Easter egg roll, Donald Trump said that he only used profanities in a social media post threatening to strike bridges and energy facilities in Iran “to make my point”.
A reminder that the president demanded the regime, who he labelled “crazy bastards” on Truth Social to reopen the “fuckin’” strait of Hormuz or risk further repercussions.
Trump reiterated that Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon, but the bombing campaign will continue because [the regime] “they just don’t want to say ‘uncle’,” and surrender.
“If they don’t, they’ll have no bridges, they’ll have no power plants, no anything,” he told the media ahead of his 1pm ET press conference.
Supreme court sends Steve Bannon case back to appeals court, poised for dismissal
The supreme court has sent a case involving a key ally of Donald Trump – one that holds him in contempt of Congress – back to an appeals court, where it is now likely to be dismissed.
Steve Bannon, who served as a White House adviser during the first seven months of Trump’s 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.
Even though Bannon has already served a sentence, the Trump justice department is seeking to effectively throw out the case – a move that is largely symbolic.
Historic government shutdown continues with little end in sight
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’t set to return for until 13 April.
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).
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.
However, House speaker Mike Johnson is facing pushback from hardline GOP lawmakers over the Senate-passed legislation. They argue that Republicans are ultimately conceding to Democrats’ 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.
Peter Stone
District court judges nationwide have been increasingly issuing strong rulings challenging the legality of many of Donald Trump’s policies and executive power grabs, blocking key ones at least temporarily, and sparking angry responses from the president, former judges and prosecutors say.
Since the start of Trump’s 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.
The impact of the court rulings by these judges has been sizable, slowing or halting some of the president’s most extreme policies and prompting Trump and Maga allies to respond with vindictive attacks that have helped to fuel some threats against several judges.
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.
Former DoJ lawyers credit many district court judges for acting as crucial buffers against Trump’s power grabs and administration disdain for the rule of law.
“District 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,” ex-DoJ inspector general Michael Bromwich said.
“In 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.”
Read the full report here:
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.
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’ll keep an eye out in case anything else opens up.
Trump holds press conference on Iran war, following profanity-laden threats on social media
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’s 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.
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.
The president posted on Truth Social on Sunday: “Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell.”
We’ll bring you the latest lines as that gets under way.
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
A topless man can be seen driving erratically in Edinburgh before abandoning his car and attacking a black man and a delivery rider.
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