Vice President JD Vance rebuked Pope Leo XIV yesterday over his criticisms of U.S. foreign policy and the war.
Ahead of today’s vote on the Iran War Powers Resolution in the Senate, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said that “more and more Republicans, privately and some publicly, are saying that they think they’re willing to reach a point where the American people finally can learn the reason for this war and whether to continue.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., acknowledged that “there may be little hope that it’s going to pass,” but reiterated the importance of “the principles of Congress declaring war.”
As the 60-day mark for the war approaches at the end of April, Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., said that threshold is “something that’s out there that I’m well aware of.”
Marshall stated that if the 60-day mark is crossed, “I do think there’s a responsibility of the Pentagon, and the Secretary of War and Secretary of State to come to Congress, probably in a SCIF setting, and give us a very thorough update.” SCIF refers to a secure, classified setting.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., echoed that sentiment, stating that if the conflict is ongoing past 60 days, Trump “does have to come back to Congress and either file a report and ask for additional time and unseat the reason as to why, or else, I think at that point we would need to vote to authorize.”
Asked about Vance’s comment that Pope Leo XIV should be “careful” when discussing “matters of theology,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said today, “When he talks about matters of theology? Isn’t that his job?”
Thune added, “I’d stay focused on the administration, on the economic issues, the pocketbook issues that I think most Americans care about, and let the church be the church.”
Speaking at a Turning Point USA event in Georgia yesterday, the vice president responded to the pope’s recent criticism of U.S. foreign policy by saying that “it’s very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology.”
“I think one of the issues here is that if you’re going to opine on matters of theology, you’ve got to be careful,” Vance said. “You’ve got to make sure it’s anchored in the truth, and that’s one of the things that I try to do, and it’s certainly something I would expect from the clergy, whether they’re Catholic or Protestant.”
The pontiff has criticized the war in Iran and Trump’s comments in particular.
He told reporters on Monday, “I have no fear of the Trump administration, or speaking out loudly of the message of the gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what the church is here to do.”
ANNABA, Algeria — Pope Leo XIV came to North Africa to honor his spiritual forefather, St. Augustine, who preached that war was only justified to protect the innocent.
So perhaps it’s fitting the visit has been overshadowed by his escalating feud with Trump over the first American pontiff’s criticism of the war in Iran.
Even when not mentioning Trump directly, Leo’s remarks during this 11-day African trip have been given a different meaning amid his public disagreement with the president.
Read the full story here.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., today encouraged the Justice Department to wrap up ots investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, saying, “I think at some point they’re going to have to deal with the committee, and they’ll have to deal with [North Carolina GOP Sen. Thom] Tillis and I think it’s in everybody’s best interest to wrap up the investigation. I’ve said that before, it’d be better if it winds down.”
His remarks come after several Justice Department officials made an unannounced visit to the Federal Reserve building yesterday to “check on progress” for the building’s renovation.
The DOJ probe into the building’s construction has been ongoing and in January the agency issued subpoenas to officials at the Fed. In an interview that aired this morning, Trump said the investigation is, “more than a criminal probe.”
“It’s a criminal probe, I guess, but it’s also probe on incompetence,” he added.
The Senate will vote at 2 p.m. on a war powers resolution related to the Iran war. The resolution is aimed at blocking U.S. military operations in Iran until Congress explicitly approves it.
The vote is expected to fail like previous attempts by Democrats, but it’s the first time the Senate will vote on the Iran war since they returned from a two-week recess where Trump threatened to eliminate the entire civilization of Iran if it refused to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The resolution will be subject to a simple majority, but in similar previous votes only Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., joined Democrats in supporting it. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., has been the only Democrat to oppose similar resolutions.
The resolution, which is attached, “directs the President to remove the United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against Iran, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or a specific authorization for use of military force.”
The House has postponed a vote that was expected today on extending Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA.
The chamber was planning to vote around 12:30 p.m. on a procedural rule for the FISA extension, but a whip notice sent to members late this morning said that debate and a vote on that rule has been postponed and that action on FISA “is still possible on the floor today.”
FISA’s 702, which allows the U.S. government to collect and view electronic communications of foreign nationals outside of the U.S. without a warrant, is set to expire April 20 without action by Congress.
Many Republicans have concerns about a clean extension of the surveillance tool.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told reporters on Capitol Hill today “Most of us ran as the president did, on wanting further reforms on FISA. We saw the grand, you know, abuses that were carried out under FISA, and we want to see further reforms.”
“We understand and agree with the President that we need 702 authority to go after bad guys abroad. We’re fighting for greater protections, whether it’s this administration or future administrations, to ensure citizens have protections,” he added.
Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., predicted there would be “conflict” between the White House and GOP lawmakers over FISA this week.
“Look, he’s the executive, we’re the legislative, and we’re going to see a little bit of conflict between those two today,” Harris said, adding later, “We’ve provided a road map. They, you know, insist on proceeding with a clean reauthorization, and I don’t believe that’s going to do that.”
Vance will visit Iowa this month in his first trip as vice president to the state that has traditionally held the first Republican presidential caucuses.
The White House, a person familiar with the planning said, is sending Vance to campaign April 30 for Rep. Zach Nunn, a Republican facing re-election in a competitive district this fall. Nunn is expected to face Democratic state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott.
The vice president is also scheduled to appear at a Turning Point USA event at Iowa State University in Ames. Vance headlined a forum for the Charlie Kirk-founded organization yesterday at the University of Georgia.
“President Trump has a special bond with Iowans and will always look out for their interests,” White House deputy chief of staff James Blair said in a statement. “Congressman Nunn has been a critical partner in stopping inflation, delivering tax cuts for working Iowans and retirees, stopping the flow of illegal migrant criminals and drugs across the Southern Border and much more. Vice President Vance’s visit underscores that Iowans’ interests will always be top of mind as long as Republicans are leading the country.”
Axios first reported the Vance trip.
Vance has not confirmed plans to run for president in 2028, but Trump has identified him as a potential successor. Vance has said his more immediate political focus is on this year’s midterm elections.
Nunn’s 3rd Congressional District is a top target of Democrats this fall — and of potential White House aspirants in the meantime. While campaigning last week there with Trone Garriott, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., acknowledged she was open to running for president.
Democratic lawmakers will introduce a bill today to ban the president, vice president and their families from collecting lawsuit settlement payments from the government.
The bill, dubbed the “Ban Presidential Plunder of Taxpayer Funds Act,” comes after Trump sued the IRS and the Treasury Department for $10 billion over the leak of his tax records, and those of his sons and his company, to news outlets.
Trump said he would donate any money he received to charity, but the lawsuit enraged critics who argued that any money he might receive from a settlement would come from taxpayers.
Read the full story here.
Trump posted a picture to Truth Social this morning of him being embraced by Jesus — a move that comes after he prompted backlash from some of his most ardent supporters by posting an AI-generated image of himself as a Christ-like figure.
“The Radical Left Lunatics might not like this, but I think it is quite nice!!!” Trump wrote in this morning’s post.
After the blowback over his earlier post, the president claimed he thought the image portrayed him as a doctor and blamed the media for characterizing it otherwise. Trump ultimately deleted the post.
Historians suing the Trump administration over its moves not to comply with the Presidential Records Act said yesterday that the federal government won’t provide assurances that it will preserve official documents.
“The government categorically refused,” they wrote in a court filing.
They said that the government wouldn’t stipulate that Trump and staff covered by the law “will preserve their official records at all” or agree to not use the Signal messaging application on personal phones, encrypted communications that the Presidential Records Act prohibits.
“The government would not even provide a written commitment that the National Archives (NARA) will refrain from destroying Presidential records in its custody,” they wrote.
In the filing yesterday, the American Historical Association and the government watchdog group American Oversight called on a federal judge to step in and prevent those covered by the records law from destroying any presidential or vice presidential records in their custody.
The group filed a lawsuit last month over an Office of Legal Counsel opinion that found Trump does not have to turn over his presidential records to the National Archives at the end of his administration.
The National Archives, which manages presidential records, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
WILLIAMSTOWN, Ky. — Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., had a friendly crowd, a keynote time slot and the praise of a local state lawmaker who introduced him as the “archetype of conservatism.”
It wasn’t until 18 minutes into his remarks — which meandered from his days in local government to the drudgery of legislating in Washington, D.C. — that Massie nonchalantly pivoted to Trump, the man trying to end his career in Congress.
“By the way,” Massie told the roughly 75 people who turned out here last week for the Grant County Republican Party’s Lincoln-Reagan Day dinner, “I vote with the GOP, regardless of what you see on TV, 91% of the time. But in the 9% of the time, if they’re covering up for pedophiles, bankrupting the country or starting another war, I don’t vote that way.”
Read the full story here.
In an interview with Fox Business, Trump misstated the timeline of the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died Sept. 18, 2020.
“They had a Democrat who could have appointed a liberal justice,” the president said. “And the liberals do stick together. There’s one thing about those justices, they stick together like glue, not like the Republicans. But she decided that she was going to live forever, and about two minutes after the election, she went out and I got to appoint somebody.”
Ginsburg died shortly before the 2020 election. The late justice’s dying wish was reportedly to not be replaced until a new president took the Oval Office.
Trump was president when she died, and he quickly nominated her replacement. In October, the Republican-controlled Senate confirmed now-Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military launched a strike on another boat accused of carrying drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean yesterday, killing four people in the fourth such attack announced in the past few days.
The operation is the latest in a series of strikes on vessels that the Trump administration says were trafficking drugs in Latin American waters, a campaign that began more than seven months ago and continues even as the military has been preoccupied with the Iran war.
Read the full story here.
Trump said in a Fox Business interview that aired this morning that the Justice Department’s probe into the Federal Reserve is also about “incompetence.”
“It’s more than a criminal probe,” Trump said in a Fox Business interview. “It’s a criminal probe, I guess, but it’s also probe on incompetence.”
In January, the DOJ subpoenaed the Federal Reserve related to Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony before the Senate last year regarding renovations to Fed office buildings, which have gone over budget.
“It is probably corrupt, but what it really is is incompetent, and we have to show the incompetence of that,” Trump said in the interview.
Trump has been pressuring Powell to lower interest rates and routinely criticizes the chairman for not doing so. Trump also said in the interview that he would “have to fire” Powell if he does not step down — something the president cannot do except “for cause,” meaning for some form of wrongdoing.
Powell said last month that he would not step down until the DOJ investigation was completed. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court appeared skeptical of Trump’s efforts to fire Federal Reserve Board member Lisa Cook.
The Trump administration moved yesterday to clear some of the last remaining convictions related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, as some still stood following Trump’s mass pardons last year.
The filing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit was submitted by the office of U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro, asking the court to “vacate” the convictions of four members of the Proud Boys: Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola.
The four were all convicted in 2023 of multiple felony charges, and all but Pezzola were convicted of seditious conspiracy.
Read the full story here.
Vice President JD Vance said yesterday that Pope Leo XIV should “be careful” when he talks about theology, rebuking the pontiff over his criticisms of U.S. foreign policy.
Vance argued that the pope, who has said Jesus “is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs,” was failing to take into account conflicts such as World War II.
Read the full story here.
Democrats are expected to force a vote on a resolution today that would constrain Trump’s ability to launch future military action against Iran without congressional approval.
Prior attempts to pass war powers resolutions have failed.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., an Iraq War veteran, announced yesterday that she would force the vote, calling the Iran war a “dangerous, costly quagmire.”
“No more broken promises,” she said in a statement. “No more foreign wars. It’s time for Republicans to remember their oaths, grow a spine and act on behalf of the American people instead of their own cowardly self-interest.”
NBC News