The Senate is in session this week and will continue to confirm President Donald Trump’s Cabinet-level nominees quickly. The House is in recess, with House Republicans holding their annual retreat in Miami, Florida through Wednesday, with budget reconciliation as one of the major topics of discussion.
President Trump began the first week of his second term by signing more than 55 executive actions, including Executive Orders, Presidential Memorandums, Administrative Orders, Presidential Proclamations, and many pardons/commutations. Many of the presidential actions focused on climate and energy, the economy, immigration, and the workforce.
As House Republican lawmakers began their annual retreat today in Miami, Florida, President Trump addressed the Conference this evening. Leaders hope to end the retreat with a path forward on reconciliation and will be sure to discuss the 2026 midterm elections. The bulk of the meetings will focus on reconciliation, including Tuesday’s individual committee discussions, followed by reports on each committee's plans for the bill over the coming weeks and months. The progress from these meetings will likely serve as a blueprint for the House Republican leadership team to follow as they approach Senate GOP leadership to pass a package. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) indicated earlier this month that he wants both chambers to have passed an identical FY 2025 budget resolution by February 27, in addition to House passage of a reconciliation package by April 10 and final passage through both chambers by May 23. Additionally, Speaker Johnson formally invited Trump to deliver an address to Congress on Tuesday, March 4.
The Senate this week will focus primarily on confirming more of President Trump’s Cabinet-level nominees. In week one, the Senate confirmed Marco Rubio as Secretary of State, who received unanimous confirmation (by a vote of 99-0), John Ratcliffe as CIA Director (by a vote of 74-25), Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense (by a vote of 51-50), and Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security (by a vote of 59-34). Notably, Hegseth's Defense Secretary confirmation ended in a 50-50 tie and needed a tie-breaking vote from Vice President JD Vance; GOP Senators Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Susan Collins (R-Maine) voted with all 47 Senate Democrats against his nomination. On Monday evening, the Senate voted to confirm on Scott Bessent as Secretary of the Treasury easily on a vote of 68-29. Sean Duffy’s vote for Secretary of Transportation will take place on Tuesday. Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) will file cloture on more Cabinet nominees later this week, including Interior Secretary nominee Doug Burgum, EPA nominee Lee Zeldin, HUD Secretary nominee Scott Turner, VA Secretary pick Doug Collins, and Energy Department nominee Chris Wright. Committee hearings will continue for other nominees, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Secretary of Health and Human Services, Howard Lutnick as Commerce Secretary, Kelly Loeffler as Small Business Administrator, Daniel Driscoll to be Secretary of the Army, Kash Patel to be Director of the FBI, and Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence. The Senate on Tuesday will also take a cloture vote on the House-passed Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act (H.R. 23), which would impose sanctions on officials at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
On Tuesday, Florida will host two special House primaries to replace members who recently departed the House of Representatives. Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) of the 1st District vacated his seat in mid-November after withdrawing his nomination for attorney general, and former Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL) of the 6th District, who resigned on January 20 to serve as Trump’s National Security Advisor. President Trump has weighed in support of Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis for the 1st District and state Sen. Randy Fine in the 6th District; both candidates expect to win their primaries easily and are set to win the April 1 special general elections as both seats are in heavily Republican-leaning districts.
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