What we're covering
• DHS shutdown: With senators still at an impasse over a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security, President Donald Trump today said he will sign an order directing Secretary Markwayne Mullin to “immediately pay” TSA agents in hopes of alleviating long lines at airports.
• Cabinet meeting: Trump held the 11th Cabinet meeting of his second term today, speaking extensively about the war in Iran. Trump also addressed the ongoing DHS shutdown, the Kennedy Center renaming, his decision to cast a mail-in ballot and a new action to support farmers.
• Approval rating: Two new polls place Trump’s overall presidential approval rating in the high 30s, deeply underwater but little changed since February. There is also broad opposition to the Iran war, the polls show.
Funding for TSA workers likely to come from Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill, sources say
President Donald Trump plans to pay Transportation Security Administration workers who are going without paychecks by using funding from the sweeping legislation he signed last year known as the One Big Beautiful Bill, according to two people familiar with the plans.
President Donald Trump said that he is instructing the Department of Homeland Security to “immediately pay” Transportation Security Administration agents in a bid to reduce long lines at airports. CNN's Kristen Holmes reports.
The president announced today that he would take executive action to pay the workers, citing the stalemate on Capitol Hill to end the DHS shutdown. His senior aides are still working to finalize how to pay the TSA workers on the verge of missing their second full paycheck and things could change, one person cautioned.
How soon TSA employees will actually get checks will depend on how quickly the internal review to pay them using funds from the OBBB can work, one person told CNN.
The One Big, Beautiful Bill Act provided DHS with a $165 billion infusion, funneling $75 billion to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and $64 billion to Customs and Border Protection.
Paychecks for sworn law enforcement officers in ICE, CBP and the US Secret Service, as well as for US Coast Guard military personnel, are being funded by the president’s domestic policy package, according to a senior administration official. Other positions that work on the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement and border security priorities, such as technology specialists and attorneys, are also being paid through the legislation, the official said.
The package also provided DHS with $10 billion that can be used to support the agency’s mission to safeguard US borders, said Bobby Kogan, senior director of federal budget policy at the left-leaning Center for American Progress. He suspects the administration will tap into this pot of money to fund TSA employees’ pay – even though TSA is not mentioned anywhere in the legislation.
Kogan said he doesn’t think the maneuver is legal, but “that’s not going to stop them.”
He pointed out that the administration used Pentagon research and development funds to pay the military during the fall shutdown.
Unclear how Trump can order that TSA employees be paid, expert says
It’s unclear what authority President Donald Trump has to simply order the Department of Homeland Security to pay Transportation Security Administration officers, one expert told CNN.
“My question is if he can do it, why didn’t he do it before?” said Max Stier, CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, a nonpartisan group that focuses on improving the federal government. “This has been a problem for over a month now.”
More than 46,000 TSA officers are on the verge of missing their second full paycheck this weekend. They, along with other TSA employees, have been working without pay since DHS funding lapsed on February 14, prompting a partial government shutdown.
Nearly 500 TSA officers have quit during the shutdown and thousands of others are calling out, which has caused travelers to endure hourslong waits to go through security at multiple airports nationwide. Congress has not been able to come to an agreement to fund the agency.
Not all DHS staffers are working without pay. The agency is paying law enforcement personnel at its Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection and other divisions with funds it received from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Trump signed into law last July.
But those funds were appropriated for specific purposes, and the president can’t move money around without congressional authority, Stier said. Also, he is “very skeptical” that declaring an emergency situation would give Trump the power to pay TSA workers during a shutdown.
But, Stier noted, “this is a president that has walked right past the line or over the line many, many times.”
CNN has reached out to DHS and TSA about when TSA employees can expect to be paid and what funds the agency will use to pay the workers
Senate again fails to advance funding for DHS as shutdown drags on
The Senate failed to advance funding for the Department of Homeland Security once again, after holding a vote open for five hours in hopes that negotiations would ultimately be successful.
Sen. John Fetterman was the only Democrat to vote with Republicans to advance the package.
“We’ve had the vote open for five hours to give the Democrats an opportunity to come to the table. They have not, and now time is up,” Senate GOP Whip John Barrasso told reporters.
Democrats deny that they didn’t engage. “We’ve been in contact all day, all day,” insisted Sen. Brian Schatz, Democrats’ deputy whip.
Earlier this week, Republicans had proposed funding the rest of the department, except for the enforcement and removal operations conducted by ICE. However, Democrats insisted they still wanted to see changes to the agency’s tactics and protocols and sent a counteroffer on Wednesday that Thune dismissed as “rehashing old ground,” arguing “there’s nothing new in there.”
Conversations continued last night and today as senators itch to leave town for their scheduled two-week recess set to begin at the end of this week. Senate GOP leadership has indicated they are prepared to stay in session if the two sides cannot reach a deal in time.
Trump’s signature will soon appear on US dollar bills, a first for a sitting president
US paper currency will soon feature President Donald Trump’s signature going forward, the US Treasury Department announced Thursday, the latest of the president’s efforts to leave his mark across the federal government.
It will be the first time a sitting US president’s signature has appeared on paper notes. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the move is in honor of the 250th anniversary of the United States.
Trump’s likeness is set to appear on a variety of other 250th anniversary materials issued by the government. Earlier this month, Trump’s handpicked Commission of Fine Arts approved a large commemorative gold coin featuring an image of the president standing with his hands balled into fists on a desk.
Education Department to leave longtime office as Trump admin moves to dismantle agency
The Department of Education announced today it will move out of its longtime headquarters building later this year — a downsizing move that comes nearly a year after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to begin dismantling the department.
“Thanks to the hard work of so many, we have made unprecedented progress in reducing the federal education footprint, and now we are pleased to give this building to an agency that will benefit far more from its space than the Department of Education,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a news release.
The Education Department will swap locations with the Department of Energy, which will assume the lease at the Lyndon B. Johnson building. The Department of Energy will move out of the James V. Forrestal building, which the Trump administration says will save taxpayers more than $350 million “in deferred maintenance costs.”
Education’s move is targeted for August 2026.
Remember: Trump’s moves to take apart the department and cut its workforce seek to fulfill decades of conservative ambition to get rid of the agency.
Last week, the Treasury Department announced it will begin to take over management of federal student loans in default, once a key function of the Education Department, and eventually take control of the entirety of Education’s nearly $1.7 trillion loan portfolio.
ICE agent at JFK airport saves 1-year-old child who wasn’t breathing, agency says
An Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agent who was assisting with TSA operations at John F. Kennedy International airport in New York helped save the life of a 1-year-old child experiencing a medical emergency on Wednesday, the agency said.
The child became unresponsive in his father’s arms and was not able to breathe for nearly two minutes before the ICE agent “jumped into action” as the father called for help, according to ICE.
The agent performed the Heimlich maneuver on the child, who then started breathing again, ICE said.
Video credit: DHS
The child was determined to be healthy enough to fly after being assessed by EMS, the agency said.
“If our agent had not been there and stepped up, this would have been a tragic outcome,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement.
Context: ICE agents this week arrived at 14 major US airports to assist TSA staffing shortages amid a partial government shutdown that has led to the longest security wait times on record. They have been helping with verifying travelers’ IDs at some airports, guarding entrances and exits, helping with logistics and crowd control, DHS said.
Trump says he will sign order instructing DHS to "immediately pay” TSA agents
President Donald Trump said today that he is instructing the Department of Homeland Security to “immediately pay” Transportation Security Administration agents in a bid to reduce long lines at airports.
“I am going to sign an Order instructing the Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, to immediately pay our TSA Agents in order to address this Emergency Situation, and to quickly stop the Democrat Chaos at the Airports,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
It is not immediately clear with what money the administration intends to pay the agents, who are due to miss another paycheck tomorrow as the DHS shutdown continues. Congress remains at an impasse over a funding deal.
What to know about negotiations to fund DHS as 2-week congressional break looms
Senators are still at an impasse over a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security and alleviate long lines at airports, with the White House now considering paying Transportation Security Administration agents while discussions play out.
Here’s the latest:
- Lawmakers in both parties are anxious as some signal the nearly 40-day stalemate could go on for much longer. Lawmakers are a day from their pre-scheduled two-week, Easter and Passover recess away from Washington.
- The White House is considering funding TSA if Congress cannot swiftly reach a deal, but “no preparations or plans are currently underway,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
- Democrats had not yet given an official response to Republicans’ counteroffer as of Thursday afternoon, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said, adding that “there are discussions going on.”
- Thune said earlier that his party had extended what he called their “last and final” offer to Democrats.
- Newly installed DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin was on Capitol Hill today to meet with senators amid the ongoing negotiations, a source told CNN.
Plus, President Donald Trump held his Cabinet meeting of his second term today. Here are the top lines:
- During the meeting, Trump spoke extensively about the war with Iran. He cast doubt on the prospect of a peace deal and claimed the onus was on Iran to come to the table. You can read a full recap of what he said about the war here.
- Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said some in Venezuela are considering honoring Trump with a statue and view him as a “liberator.”
- Trump defended his decision to cast a mail-in ballot — which he has been critical of — in a special election this week in Florida, saying it is “because I’m president of the United States.”
- The administration will announce a “variety of actions” to support American farmers tomorrow, Trump said.
- Separately, layoffs across multiple departments at the Kennedy Center began today, CNN has learned, as the institution is set to close for two years in July.
CNN’s Ted Barrett, Annie Grayer, Maureen Chowdhury, Alejandra Jaramillo, Kaanita Iyer, Betsy Klein, Lauren Fox and Samantha Waldenberg contributed reporting to this post.
Thune has a hard job as lawmakers try to hammer out deal on DHS, Trump says
President Donald Trump acknowledged that Senate Majority Leader John Thune has a tough job right now, as lawmakers still don’t have a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security.
“I like John Thune and it’s not easy for him because he’s got three or four people in there that I’m not big fans of frankly and that don’t vote for us like they should,” Trump said during an interview on Fox News today.
Lawmakers are staring down a two-week Easter and Passover recess at the end of the week. Thune said earlier today that discussions are still ongoing, but he claimed Democrats don’t actually want a deal.
Speaking of Democrats, Trump said, “One thing they do is they stick together,” as he railed on some Republicans who have broken with the party on recent issues.
“It’s not an easy job for John,” the president said, adding that he would prefer to get rid of the filibuster to push through votes.
White House considering paying TSA as DHS talks continue on Capitol Hill
The White House is considering funding the Transportation Security Administration by itself as an option to alleviate long lines at airports if Congress can’t reach a deal to reopen the Department of Homeland Security.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune discussed the potential idea earlier Thursday during a Republican conference meeting behind closed doors, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The White House said that while the idea is under consideration, no plans to fund that portion of DHS are currently being implemented.
“It is true that the White House is having discussions about a number of ideas to blunt the impact of the Democrat shutdown crisis, but no preparations or plans are currently underway. The best and easiest way to pay TSA Agents is to fund DHS,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
The Washington Post first reported the White House was weighing the idea.
Layoffs begin at Kennedy Center ahead of two-year closure
Layoffs across multiple departments at the Kennedy Center began Thursday, CNN has learned, as the storied arts institution barrels toward a two-year closure set to begin in July.
“Staffing decisions will support the broader move toward a successful closure for renovations,” said a spokesperson for the center, which now bears President Donald Trump’s name after his handpicked board of trustees voted to add it to the building.
The layoffs, first reported by the Washington Post, impacted some employees in senior roles.
The layoffs, while expected, mark the first major task for Matt Floca, the center’s newly installed executive director, who until recently managed facilities and operations. Floca replaced longtime Trump ally Richard Grenell, whose tenure was marked with tumult, earlier this month.
The cuts are ultimately expected to have a significant impact on the center’s staff.
The closure “is anticipated to affect approximately 75 to 175 of the Center’s roughly 300 employees,” according to minutes from a March 2 Building and Grounds Committee meeting obtained by CNN. The minutes noted that “collective bargaining obligations will be observed” and “certain unionized roles may be retained” during the construction.
It comes as the center is facing a pair of lawsuits, one filed by ex-officio board member Rep. Joyce Beatty and one from a consortium of the nation’s top historic preservation groups. Both ask a federal judge to halt the construction until the planned renovation receives approval from Congress and other key commissions.
Democrats have not yet responded to GOP’s DHS counteroffer, Thune says
Democrats have not yet given an official response to Republicans’ counteroffer on Department of Homeland Security funding, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said this afternoon.
“There are discussions going on. They haven’t responded officially to the offer, no, obviously,” he said of Democrats. “But I think the question is, if there’s something that they think needs to tweak one way or the other, as long as that’s the final thing, then we’ll see if it can get done.”
The Republican leader said earlier that his party had extended what he called their “last and final” offer.
Democrats, he again claimed, don’t actually want a deal.
“This is a probably leadership issue on their side, that maybe they just don’t want to deal or if they do it’s going to let somebody else cut it, which is kind of what we’ve been trying to do here. But at some point, they got to take yes for an answer,” he said
Mullin on Capitol Hill as DHS negotiations continue
Newly installed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is on Capitol Hill today to meet with senators amid ongoing funding negotiations for the department, a source told CNN.
Earlier, Senate Majority Leader John Thune told CNN that Republicans had made what he called their “last and final” offer to fund the department and that Democrats had text of that counteroffer.
“The particulars of it I don’t want to talk that much about right now,” he said. “The Dems have the text in front of them. But it’s important that we try and close this down and get it done today.”
The top Republican said senators would “probably be around here” over the weekend if no deal was reached.
Thune declined to say whether the White House had signed off on the latest Republican offer but said “they’ve been involved in the back-and-forth overnight and all morning.” He also declined several times to discuss the make-up of the offer.
US announces resumption of funding to support return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia
The US State Department announced the resumption of funding to support the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia after cutting it last year.
“In coordination with Congress, the Department of State is providing $25 million in new assistance to support the identification, return, and rehabilitation of Ukrainian children and youth who have been forcibly transferred or otherwise held away from their families and communities,” a State Department media note said on Thursday.
The preeminent group which had collected more than three years of data on the abductions had its funding from the State Department pulled as part of Department of Government Efficiency cuts last year. The group — the Ukraine Conflict Observatory, an effort led by Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab — was launched in May 2022.
Now US finding will go back to two main lines of effort, the department said.
“First, it will assist reliable partners to identify and track children that have been forcibly transferred away from their home, an essential step in supporting diplomatic and other efforts to facilitate their return. Second, it will support the Ukrainian government and trusted local partners to provide returned children with the care and support they need to recover and rebuild their lives,” the media note said.
What Trump and top officials said about the Iran war in today’s Cabinet meeting
President Donald Trump and top officials discussed the war with Iran at length during today’s Cabinet meeting.
Trump cast doubt on the prospect of a peace deal with Tehran. The president claimed the onus was on Iran to come to the table and end the fighting. “In the meantime, we’ll just keep blowing them away unimpeded, unstopped,” he said.
He later added that he doesn’t care about reaching a deal with Iran as the US signals it is prepared to continue military operations.
Meanwhile, the president’s special envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed that the US has been negotiating with Iran through diplomatic channels with Pakistan.
Here’s what else was said about the war:
- Trump urged Iran to permanently abandon its nuclear ambitions, and said that they now have a chance to “chart a new path forward.”
- Trump declined to say whether the US would move to secure uranium in Iran, dismissing the question as “ridiculous” .
- Witkoff said Iranian officials insisted they had a right to enrich uranium during talks held before the war, leading US officials to conclude they were unwilling to abandon their nuclear ambitions.
- Trump criticized German leaders for not supporting the war in Iran and said comments that it was not their war were “inappropriate” given that the US has backed allies in the conflict in Ukraine.
- Trump said he wasn’t sure if he would hold Iran to a Friday deadline he set to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
- Trump suggested that taking over Iran’s oil supply is “an option.” He said a resolution in Iran could look like Venezuela.
- Trump downplayed rising gas prices and impacts to the stock market as a result of the war and said that it “hasn’t been nearly as severe as I thought.”
- Trump indicated he’s not yet ready to push for a suspension of the federal gas tax but that it remains an option as his administration tries to combat surging energy prices.
- Trump said the mystery “present” he told reporters earlier this week that Iran had given to the US as part of negotiations was 10 “boats of oil” that successfully crossed the Strait of Hormuz.
- Vice President JD Vance argued that the war has been a resounding success, contending that the offensive has opened up new pathways for ensuring the regime cannot obtain a nuclear weapon.
CNN’s Adam Cancryn, Alejandra Jaramillo, Betsy Klein and Christian Sierra contributed to this report.
US interior secretary says Venezuelans may erect Trump statue as “liberator”
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said today that some in Venezuela are considering honoring President Donald Trump with a statue, comparing him to independence leader Simón Bolívar.
“I literally think they’re going to put up a statue to President Trump,” Burgum said. “And that’s not a political statement.”
“I hope so, that would be a great honor” Trump interrupted.
“Because they view President Trump like Simón Bolívar, he’s the liberator of a country,” Burgum added. There is a statue of Bolívar near the Department of Interior in Washington, DC.
Burgum made the remarks during the president’s 11th Cabinet meeting, discussing recent developments in US-Venezuela relations following the US military operation that resulted in the capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, before Trump interjected again.
“Forget that, when are they going to do the statue,” Trump asked.
Trump again attacks Newsom's dyslexia: "He took himself out of the running"
President Donald Trump again claimed that California Gov. Gavin Newsom could not be president because he has a “mental disability.” Newsom has said he has dyslexia.
Newsom is viewed as a likely Democratic presidential candidate in 2028. Dyslexia is a learning disorder that affects reading, writing, spelling and speaking, according to the Mayo Clinic.
“Gavin Newsom said he can’t read a speech, he can’t do almost anything,” Trump claimed, adding that “Democrats are a party of insanity.”
The common lifelong condition, which affects roughly 20% of the population, has no connection to a person’s overall intelligence, according to the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity.
Trump has criticized Newsom’s dyslexia several times before, including suggesting it was disqualifying for a presidential run. Newsom’s office has previously responded to Trump’s comments by saying “Grandpa’s talking about himself again” and encouraging him to “seek mental treatment.”
CNN’s Donald Judd contributed reporting to this post.
Trump on why he voted using a mail-in ballot: "Because I'm president"
President Donald Trump, when asked today why he chose to cast a mail-in ballot in a special election this week in Florida, said it was “because I’m president of the United States.”
A reporter pressed President Donald Trump about voting by mail-in ballot in Florida. Trump has claimed without evidence that it’s a significant source of election fraud.
Trump has repeatedly questioned the veracity of voting by mail, claiming without evidence that it’s a significant source of election fraud.
On Monday, Trump said at a roundtable on crime in Memphis, “Mail-in voting means mail-in cheating.”
However, in his response to the question today, the president listed “exceptions” for voting by mail — including illness and travel — and stressed that he “was away, mostly in Washington, DC.”
CNN’s Molly English and Randi Kaye contributed to this report.
Trump says Kennedy Center renaming showed bipartisanship, even as a Democrat sues over it
President Donald Trump claimed today that his handpicked board of trustees’ vote to rename the Kennedy Center in his honor was a signal of bipartisanship, even as he faces a lawsuit alleging the board’s Democratic members were improperly excluded from the renaming vote.
“We’re fixing up the, what was the Kennedy Center. I was honored when the board changed the name a little bit. Actually, it shows that the Republicans and the Democrats, they work together. It’s really something – we work together,” Trump said at a Cabinet meeting.
Trump gutted the Kennedy Center’s board last year and installed loyalists, including his chief of staff Susie Wiles, Attorney General Pamela Bondi, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s wife, Allison Lutnick, among others. The board also includes multiple Democrats, who serve in an ex-officio capacity designated by an act of Congress.
The vote to rename it the “Trump Kennedy Center” took place at a board meeting in December that is now at the center of a lawsuit from one of those ex-officio members, Rep. Joyce Beatty, a Democrat from Ohio.
Beatty has contended that she was prohibited from participating in the vote and that her line was muted when she attempted to express her opposition. She is now asking a federal judge to reject the renaming, arguing, “Congress established the Kennedy Center by law, and only Congress can change its name.”
In a statement, Beatty said, “The idea that the renaming was an independent, bipartisan decision is fundamentally insane.”
“Trump packed the board with his cronies to appease his whims regarding the naming, the partisan direction of the programming at the Center, and its closure,” Beatty said. “Trump has never been interested in working with Democrats to advance the Kennedy Center. Instead, he’s trampled all over the laws and processes in place to protect arts independence and uplift our nation’s artists.”
This post has been updated with additional reporting.
Trump says administration will announce new actions to support farmers tomorrow
President Donald Trump said his administration will announce tomorrow a “variety of actions” to support American farmers.
Trump also criticized a Supreme Court ruling that found he violated federal law when he unilaterally imposed sweeping tariffs worldwide.
He called the ruling “foolish,” adding, “It’s one of those things. It’s a terrible, terrible, horrible mistake they made, but it’s okay, because we have another method that’s just as good. We’ll use the other method.”
