The Senate voted 68 to 29 to confirm Scott Bessent, a billionaire hedge fund manager, as the next Treasury secretary.

Mr. Bessent, who formerly worked as the top investor for the liberal philanthropist George Soros, has been a major Republican donor and adviser to President Trump. As secretary of the Treasury, he will be tasked with fulfilling Mr. Trump’s economic agenda of cutting taxes, rolling back financial regulations and imposing tariffs as the president seeks to renegotiate trade deals.

How Every Member Voted

In about six weeks, there could be another scramble to avert a government shutdown.

One of the biggest untold stories in Washington right now is that bipartisan, bicameral Congressional leaders, plus top appropriators, have yet to forge an agreement on a “topline” spending number for the rest of fiscal year 2025 – which runs until October 1. The House tackled five of the 12 spending bills last year – but none so far this year. The Senate has spent its time burning through confirmations. Floor time is at a premium. Senate Democrats put zero appropriations bills on the floor when they ran the place. And none so far this year with the GOP in majority.

So the new day in Washington is the old day when it comes to Congressional spending.

The new deadline to avoid a government shutdown is March 14. Republicans control the House, the Senate and the White House. It’s unclear precisely what President Trump wants with the spending bills. Of course, it wasn’t clear what he wanted in December – until he made it clear at the last minute.

THE POLITICAL FIRESTORM THAT’S ABOUT TO SINGE CAPITOL HILL

In September, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., punted the spending battle until Christmas. And then Johnson released a massive, 1,500-page bill which the President, Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy and other conservatives excoriated.

At the last minute, President Trump demanded a debt ceiling increase. He also advocated for a government shutdown along the way.

Johnson had to yank that spending package off the floor just hours before a vote and start all over, finally passing a lean bill just before the December 20 deadline.

And so, here we go again.

“I think we’re looking at a CR,” lamented one veteran House Republican close to the spending process.

To the uninitiated, a “CR,” is Congress-speak for a “continuing resolution.” It is a stopgap bill to fund the government at present levels – without initiating any new programs or spending.

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., got into trouble with conservatives for approving a CR to avert a shutdown in September 2023. Johnson seized the gavel in the fall of 2023, promising to do individual spending bills. But Johnson’s struggled to do that, too.

SPEAKER JOHNSON INVITES TRUMP TO ADDRESS CONGRESS AMID BUSY FIRST 100-DAY SPRINT

Some members of the Freedom Caucus oppose voting for any interim spending bills like a CR. So what are House Republicans to do?

Multiple rank-and-file Republicans observed that the House could have tried to knock out a few bills since Congress returned to session in early January. But that hasn’t happened. This comes as House Republicans huddle at President Trump’s golf club in Doral, Fla. The focus of the meeting is to figure out concrete plans for the GOP’s “big, beautiful bill” to cut taxes and slash government spending. But because of so much attention on that measure, some Republicans fret the appropriations clashes have been all but forgotten.

Until they aren’t.

Whether President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” is dead on arrival in the way former President Biden’s “Build Back Better” plan was remains to be seen. It’s all a question of whether we’ll have a unified Republican caucus – and if we don’t, whether they can woo enough Democrats to get on board. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times/Pool via Getty Images)

And, as an aside, should the “big, beautiful bill” get a moniker? Should we call it the BBB? Of course, former President Biden’s initial try on a social spending and climate package was called “Build Back Better” in 2021. Official Washington sometimes referred to it as the BBB. That is until former Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.V., made the BBB DOA.

The 118th Congress – running from January 3, 2023, to January 3, 2025 – was stocked with drama. The House stumbled to elect a Speaker. Then ousted McCarthy a few months later. The House dithered for three weeks before electing Johnson. Former Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., found himself in legal trouble after he yanked a false fire alarm during a vote – ironically enough to avert a government shutdown. There was the expulsion of former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y. And yes, multiple flirtations with government shutdowns and even a debt ceiling crisis.

But amid all the pandemonium, the only thing that didn’t happen over the previous two years was a shutdown.

Can they keep the streak alive?

USER’S MANUAL: WHY SOME TRUMP NOMINEES COULD BE CONFIRMED WITH A VOICE VOTE – AND WHY SOME COULD NOT

The only reason the government never shuttered during the last Congress was because House Democrats – in the minority – were willing to bail out Republicans – who had the majority.

Democrats were willing to play ball and “do the right thing” in the last Congress to avert a fiscal calamity. But Democratic patience with Republicans has worn thin. It was one thing to help out when Democrats controlled the Senate and former President Biden occupied the White House. House Democrats may not be as charitable under the second administration of President Trump and GOP control of Congress.

Yours truly asked House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., about what pound of flesh they might request from Republicans if they help avoid a government shutdown – or prevent the nation from a collision with the debt ceiling. One possible request: re-upping Obamacare tax credits due to expire next year. A failure to do so would trigger major premium hikes for more than 20 million Americans.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has been asked about what his party may press Republicans for if they help avert a shutdown. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

But Jeffries played it cool.

“Republicans have not opened up any line of communication with us. And they’ve made clear to America that they have a big, massive, beautiful mandate, which presumably means to us that they intend to pass a spending agreement on their own to avoid a government shutdown on their own and to raise the debt ceiling on their own,” said Jeffries. “It’s not hard to find me. They know where I’m at. They know my number. I haven’t received a single call about a single one of these issues.”

The GOP is trained on the BBB and not on government funding. Even some GOP members suggested Republicans should have remained in session in Washington rather than heading to southern Florida for their retreat and a meeting with President Trump.

JOHNSON REVEALS TRUMP’S WISHES ON DELIVERING HUGE POLICY OVERHAUL IN CLOSED-DOOR MEETING

Republicans have blamed Democrats when they’ve had issues advancing spending bills when they’ve controlled the Senate. That’s because it takes 60 votes to overcome a filibuster. Senate Democrats won’t be keen to help on any spending or debt ceiling bill unless they secure major wins.

But when it comes to the blame game, Republicans cannot cast aspersions at Democrats for not helping out this round. The GOP has crowed about its majority and its “mandate” to govern in the House. It’s the responsibility of Republicans to get the votes to fund the government and avoid a debt ceiling crisis. The Republican track record of getting unanimity on their side is virtually unheard of.

That means the GOP likely needs help from Democrats to govern.

And Democrats could request a king’s ransom.

If they’re ever asked.

WASHINGTON —  President Trump’s tariff threats to pressure Colombian President Gustavo Petro to accept U.S. deportation flights served as a warning to the entire region.

But while Petro attempted to stand up to Trump — with only mixed results — Mexico, the country most affected by U.S. policy on migration, appears to be playing it safer.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Monday said her government is continuing to receive U.S. flights full of deportees, and is accepting a small number from third countries.

“The relationship with the United States is special,” Sheinbaum told reporters. “We are obliged to have a good relationship.”

Administration officials trumpeted their success so far in pressing other nations to accept deportees. But leaders from Latin American countries point out that they have been allowing hundreds of such flights to land for many years.

The stakes vary country to country. Colombia is a minor trade partner with the U.S., and not a major supplier of migrants.

The impasse between the United States and Colombia over deportation flights ended after a day of threats and counter-threats.

Petro early Sunday turned back two U.S. military flights carrying deportees as part of Trump’s plan to expel millions of migrants. Petro said he would receive deportees but only under “dignified conditions.”

In response, Trump said he was ordering a 25% tariff on all Colombian exports to the U.S., rising to 50% in a week if flights were not resumed. Trump also threatened a raft of visa restrictions and other financial punishment.

The two sides rushed into late-night negotiations. Late Sunday, they agreed to a series of conditions and said the flights would resume. The White House said Petro had accepted all of Trump’s terms. Colombia said it had received assurances of the “dignified conditions” that Petro had demanded.

For Trump, the episode gave him a chance to show the rest of Latin America the risks they face if they do not fall in line with his deportation plan.

The stakes are higher for Mexico, the United States’ largest trade partner and the largest single source country for migrants who cross the U.S. border without legal authorization.

Sheinbaum has studiously avoided conflict with Trump. Unlike Petro or her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Sheinbaum has been matter-of-fact about Mexico’s willingness to cooperate with the U.S. on issues of migration.

It’s a stance, she points out, that is not new.

At her daily news conference, Sheinbaum said Mexico had received some 4,000 migrants deported from the United States in the days since Trump’s inauguration, a number of deportations that she said was about average.

Sheinbaum opted to stay out of the fray in Colombia’s conflict with the U.S., despite her clear ideological affinity with Petro, a fellow leftist.

Instead, Sheinbaum insisted on the importance for Mexico of maintaining good relations with the U.S.

She lauded the fact that Mexico and Colombia had come to an agreement.

“The important thing, I said from Day 1, is to always act with a cool head, defending the sovereignty of each country and respect between nations and peoples,” Sheinbaum said.

Significantly, she suggested some of those deportees were not Mexican.

The issue of whether Mexico should accept migrants from “third countries” has been a major point of negotiation between the U.S. and its neighbor to the south. During Trump’s first term, asylum-seekers from a variety of countries who had crossed the U.S. border were forced to return to Mexico until they were allowed entry to the U.S. for their hearings.

Sheinbaum suggested that Mexico might repatriate some of the non-Mexican migrants to their native countries.

“We would seek mechanisms through migration policy and foreign policy for returning people to their countries of origin,” she said. She said that Mexico would negotiate with the United States over who would foot the bill for those repatriations.

Taking in third-country deportees is particularly controversial.

Stephanie Brewer, the director for Mexico at the Washington Office on Latin America, a human rights advocacy group, said Mexico’s decision to receive deportees from other countries was disappointing.

“It’s unfortunate, because policies are being normalized that are absolutely abnormal,” Brewer said. “A big priority driving the recent actions is the public relations and the public messaging part of it and broadcasting this message of, ‘Look at all the people we’re deporting on military planes.’”

The brief drama with Colombia was a reminder, she said, that Trump “will very quickly resort to threats when it comes to forcing other countries to cooperate.” Yet meanwhile, she said, real lives hang in the balance.

“These Mexican non-nationals have become bargaining chips in the bilateral relationship, where both sides negotiate how many people Mexico accepts, which nationalities, and the format of returns,” she said. “That comes at a cost of human families and individuals who are seeking protection.”