- Republicans propose to cut spending on Biden priorities
- Sign up to receive First Thing – our daily briefing by email
Good morning, US politics blog readers. The White House apparently spent the evening at the whetstone, sharpening their rhetorical knives for use against the proposal released by the House Republicans to increase the debt ceiling while also cutting spending to a variety of Joe Biden’s priorities. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is out with a statement first thing this morning that says: “Maga House Republicans are holding the American economy hostage in order to take a hatchet to programs Americans rely on every day to make ends meet.”
With the US government expected to exhaust its cash on hand sometime in early June (a date that could change), we are surely going to be hearing a lot about this battle in the weeks to come.
The House will vote on GOP legislation to ban transgender athletes from women’s athletics at schools and colleges, with speaker Kevin McCarthy holding a press conference about the bill around 11.15am eastern time, after its expected passage.
A Republican senator has introduced a motion of no confidence in homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a frequent target of Republican ire over migrant arrivals at the southern border.
Donald Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn is scheduled to be interviewed today by Jack Smith, the special prosecutor looking into the former president’s possession of classified documents and involvement in trying to overturn the 2020 election.