Washington Update - February 2
The Senate passed a bipartisan spending package Friday that would complete appropriations for all of government save the Department of Homeland Security, which would be funded for two weeks while lawmakers and President Donald Trump negotiate restrictions on immigration enforcement by ICE. The House hopes to clear the legislation for President Trump’s signature Tuesday, ending a weekend-long lapse of funding for most of government.
A few months ago, Washington Republicans refused to negotiate with Democrats on government funding and appropriations lapsed for 43 days. The killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis by ICE officers caused President Trump to reverse course and enter negotiations with Democrats while replacing his immigration enforcement leadership in Minneapolis and Washington.
The tactical shift seems to acknowledge that Good and Pretti were becoming martyrs in American culture. Having mastered the political alchemy of heroism and victimhood, the President seems to have recognized the political danger and sought to diffuse it with executive and legislative action.
The negotiations over new restrictions on ICE enforcement and the tactical de-escalation in Minneapolis will help decide if Republicans can regain their advantage on immigration. Approval of the Trump Administration’s immigration policy had turned negative prior to Good and Pretti’s killing. Now, majorities in the 60 percent range say ICE is too aggressive or has gone too far.
More than a month past the December 19 deadline, the Justice Department released 3 million pages from investigations of child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, including uncorroborated allegations of misconduct with underage girls by President Trump. It does not include a list of 25 Epstein accomplices alleged in court filings by convicted Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell.
President Trump will nominate Kevin Warsh to chair the Federal Reserve. Warsh is a conservative intellectual whose work has emphasized reducing government intervention in markets.
