Trump administration faces shutdown threat

The US government is running out of funding in just a week, and House Republicans are proposing a bailout plan that faces opposition from Democrats.

Republican members of the US House of Representatives last weekend released a temporary budget for the government for the next six months, with the content of increasing financial resources for defense activities while cutting remaining programs, according to The Hill .

Government rescue plan

Yesterday (Vietnam time), US House Speaker Mike Johnson officially announced a temporary budget proposal to maintain government operations until September 30. This is a measure to prevent the risk of government shutdown on March 14 and allow President Donald Trump and Republican leaders in Congress more time to approve the president's work agenda this summer.

Trump himself has voiced support for the government funding bill, which includes some cuts to spending programs that Democrats are likely to oppose. Specifically, the draft proposes increasing defense spending by $6 billion, while reducing domestic spending by about $13 billion. The plan also includes some White House requests for more funding to step up the campaign to deport illegal immigrants conducted by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The US government has only one week left until its operating budget runs out.

However, Democratic leaders quickly voiced their opposition to the cuts to domestic programs, setting the stage for a heated confrontation in the coming days. "The bill fails to protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, while leaving Americans worse off in the current fiscal year. We will vote no," CNN quoted a joint statement from Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives yesterday.

However, Republican leaders are confident their plan will pass the House thanks to the support of President Trump, who is expected to convince the party's hard-line conservatives to vote in favor. Johnson plans to hold a vote on March 11, according to The Hill , citing sources familiar with the matter. Democrats, for their part, face a difficult choice: will they insist on shutting down the government, at the cost of more federal government workers being affected while the federal bureaucracy continues to be promoted?

President Trump: Cabinet Controls Layoffs, Not Musk

Developments at the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Justice

Over the weekend, all employees of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including about 80,000 people, received letters encouraging them to resign in exchange for $25,000 in compensation, NBC News reported. The deadline for responses is March 14. Previously, in an interview with Fox News in February, Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he already had a list of employees who needed to be fired.

HHS oversees Medicare and Medicaid, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Experts warn that streamlining the agency could impact Secretary Kennedy’s ability to deliver on his agenda, including efforts to change vaccine policies and keep bad food off the market.

Reuters reported yesterday that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche had fired Adam Cohen as director of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. Cohen’s surprise departure is one of the latest examples of the administration’s plans to reshuffle the Justice Department’s management ranks, positions that have remained stable throughout presidential terms.

Rift between Trump's two "favorite generals"?

US President Donald Trump yesterday insisted that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and close adviser Elon Musk still maintain a great relationship, after The New York Times reported that the two subordinates of Mr. Trump had a heated argument during a cabinet meeting on March 6. The content of the argument is said to have revolved around the issue of staff cuts.

At the meeting, billionaire Musk said the State Department had not yet fired enough. Secretary Rubio responded that 1,500 officials had agreed to retire early and questioned whether they should be hired again for a second round of layoffs. President Trump defended Mr. Rubio, praising the diplomat for doing a good job despite a busy travel schedule and participating in many negotiations in hot spots around the world.

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