| | | | Government funding deadline hangs over Trump's 100th day | | CNN's Lauren Fox writes: "House Republicans return from spring recess to a jam-packed week, needing to keep the government's lights on before a Friday funding deadline and unsure if there will be time to make substantial progress on President Donald Trump's priority to repeal and replace Obamacare."
While you're at it, add a "down payment" to fund Trump's border wall to the list of elusive budget asks. In interviews today, both White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and budget director Mick Mulvaney said it was a reasonable request, but stopped short of pledging Trump wouldn't accept a funding bill that left out money for the wall. But Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly did say Trump would be "insistent" on the money, sending mixed signals as lawmakers approach what is expected to be a busy week.
In case anyone needs reminding, Trump promised repeatedly during his campaign that Mexico would pay for the wall, and he released a "Contract with America" that included a vow to fight for passage of legislation to fund the wall within his first 100 days.
But Trump's promises aside, the federal government only has until the end of Friday before it runs out of money, and Congress has got to pass something quickly -- likely with some Democratic support in both GOP-led houses of Congress -- to stave that off right before Trump's 100th day on Saturday.
| | "We're going to get it paid for one way or the other" -- Attorney General Jeff Sessions on the wall | | | | Protesters in Washington and other cities around the country took part in the March for Science on Saturday. Here's a roundup of the female scientists on the ground. | | Tensions with North Korea continute to mount | | The United States, after some communications issues, says it does have a supercarrier headed toward the Korean Peninsula, and the Japanese said they're beginning drills with that strike group.
Now, an editorial in North Korean state media suggests Pyongyang could blow up the aircraft carrier as a demonstration of strength. In response, the United States warned North Korea to avoid "provocative, destabilizing actions and rhetoric."
Additionally, the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang, which represents the United States in North Korea, confirmed North Korea had detained a US citizen as he was trying to fly out of the country.
The White House said President Donald Trump would speak with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday evening, and follow that up by talking to Chinese President Xi Jinping. | | | Meanwhile in France, the first-round votes for the presidential election are in, and estimates showed it looked like Emmanuel Macron, who has never held office, and Marine Le Pen, the far right nationalist, have advanced to the final round. Read more. | | Four things you might have missed | | True believers on TV for Trump, but not in W.H.: Several of the most prominent voices on TV supporting then-candidate Donald Trump haven't made their way into administration roles. Read more from CNN's Eugene Scott.
Majorities critical of Trump, Democrats and GOP: A pair of polls painted a relatively bad picture for the President as his 100th day nears, but one of them also showed strong majorities view the Democratic and Republican parties as "out of touch." Read more from me.
How the FBI chief made his calls: FBI Director James Comey has become perhaps the most consequential FBI chief since J. Edgar Hoover, and his decisions to speak out -- or remain silent -- during the 2016 campaign have grown only more controversial as time has worn on. If you haven't yet, read the deep dive from The New York Times' Matt Apuzzo, Michael S. Schmidt, Adam Goldman and Eric Lichtblau.
US nearing its limit for bringing in Afghans who helped US: A group of senators is trying to get more visas into the system, but as of now, Afghans who helped the US military and want to come to America are facing some serious challenges imposed by the US government. Read more from BuzzFeed's Emma Loop. | | | President Donald Trump scheduled a "big rally" for his 100th day. ... Rep. Mark Sanford details a threat Trump made to stir up a primary challenge against him. ... GOP ads compare vulnerable Senate Democrats to liberal Sen. Elizabeth Warren. | | Thanks for reading the CNN Politics Nightcap. Your bartender is Eli Watkins. The tip jar: nightcap@cnn.com. | | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Check out Five Things for Your New Day, CNN's morning newsletter. Give us five minutes, and we'll brief you on all the news and buzz people will be talking about. | | | Get the Nightcap, a comprehensive summary of the most important political news, delivered to your inbox daily. | | | | | |
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