It’s the House’s problem now

Today’s notice: Sleepy senators finally pass a bill. We’re all just doing our best at the first public House Ethics Committee hearing in quite a while. IVF legislation gets off the ground. Conflicting messages on wildlife protection from the administration. Plus: What do you think Eric Swalwell’s pitch deck looks like?

THE LATEST

The partial government shutdown is now in the House’s hands after the Senate essentially threw up their hands and passed a bill by voice vote that would fund most of the department. If signed into law, TSA workers would be officially back on the payroll, and the hours-long security lines at airports would ease up. But the most contentious issue — Immigration and Customs Enforcement — remains unfunded.

After much back-and-forth throughout the week, Republicans presented what they called their “last and final offer” yesterday afternoon. When Democrats didn’t bite — and instead came back with a bill with a lot of non-starters to Republicans — the majority pivoted to the bill that was passed without opposition around 2:30 a.m.

The bill would fund all of DHS except for parts of Customs and Border Protection, and, of course, ICE, which remains the sticking point. The bill doesn’t include changes to the way immigration agents operate — something Democrats have been demanding. Democrats have previously said they wouldn’t fund the agency without major reforms after the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good at the hands of immigration agents. There hasn’t been a lot of movement so far: Democratic Sen. Chris Coons called it “a real standoff” early Thursday.

But the Senate will get their Spring Break: they can depart for their two-week recess. As for ICE and CBP: Senate Majority Leader John Thune said there’s a “good possibility” they’ll get funded as part of a reconciliation bill in the coming months.

While the bill still needs to go through the House, President Donald Trump said last night DHS could pay TSA agents while Congress sorted itself out. Democrats claimed they could have done this all along: Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee said Friday’s bill out of the Senate “mirrored” legislation she’d introduced weeks ago and was repeatedly blocked by Republicans. So why didn’t POTUS do this sooner? A senior administration official shifted the blame, telling NOTUS that Republicans have been asking for Democratic votes to fund TSA, but believed Democrats “negotiated in bad faith.”

“The administration, after a lengthy review process, identified a pathway out of the Democrat-caused crisis.”

Open tabs: Trump Is Putting His Signature on U.S. Dollar Bills (NOTUS); Judge pauses Anthropic’s supply chain risk designation (Politico); Middle East Conflict Drags Nasdaq Into a Correction (WSJ); As Trump skips CPAC, MAGA’s rifts over Iran war are on display (WaPo)

From the Hill

After a nearly seven-hour Ethics Committee hearing yesterday, the panel adjourned without rendering a judgement against Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who stands accused of nearly 30 ethics violations stemming from allegations that she improperly funneled close to $5 million in COVID-19 relief funds to her 2021 congressional campaign. The committee said it would release its findings as soon as this morning, after which the House can decide if it wants to censure or expel her.

A master class in lawyering, it was not. At one point, Cherfilus-McCormick’s attorney, William Barzee, raised his voice, trying to convince the panel that its finding could taint the jury pool in the congresswoman’s upcoming criminal trial on federal corruption charges. The press, he said, exasperatedly, “is going to say, ‘Congresswoman guilty.’”

“Candidly, that’s the job of the defense counsel, to ensure that standards are met,” Republican committee member Brad Knott, a former prosecutor, said.

“I agree with you, sir,” Barzee responded, collecting himself. “I’m doing my best.”

First on NOTUS: Last year, Oriana revealed Republican Rep. Zach Nunn’s efforts to get White House support for a bill that would fulfill one of the president’s (so far) unkept campaign promises: requiring health insurers to cover the costs of IVF. That effort has now resulted in a bipartisan legislative proposal co-sponsored by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Oriana reports. In total, a group of 13 lawmakers have signed on.

Will the White House back them? A spox said the administration has not taken a position on the bill yet. Kaylen Silverberg of Americans for IVF helped draft the bill. He’s been in touch with the White House and is holding out hope for Trump’s support. “What they want us to do is to go and garner support for the legislation,” he said.

From the coastal waters

Do not protect whales from energy production: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has requested a federal panel to exempt oil and gas producers operating in the Gulf of Mexico from restrictions designed to protect the highly endangered Rice’s whale population. NOTUS’ Anna Kramer reports that the request is the first time national security has been cited as a reason for an Endangered Species Act exemption.

On the other hand, do protect whales from energy production: The Trump administration’s ongoing war on wind power has often cited protecting whales as a reason to ban offshore wind farms.

NOTUS INVESTIGATIONS

Swalwell’s pitch: “He’s peddling the shit out of that thing,” a Democratic operative told NOTUS’ Samuel Larreal of Rep. Eric Swalwell’s efforts to lure customers to his AI campaign app, Findraiser.

If you work in Democratic politics, you’ve probably heard about it. Being approached to check out the product is “surprisingly universal,” a Democratic consultant said. Swalwell co-founded the company with Yardena Wolf, his former chief of staff who left his office in December. The pair have sent Democratic lawmakers and staffers texts and emails about their company and talk about it IRL when they can.

Problem? House of Representatives rules prohibit using members’ public office to make money in a side hustle, and strongly discourage even the appearance of it. “He is a public official who should not be in the business of promoting a private interest of his own or other private interests, regardless of pay,” Meredith McGehee, a congressional ethics watchdog, said.

Swalwell’s team said the congressman and Wolf met with the House Ethics Committee recently and said Swalwell receives no income from Findraiser.

“Congressman Swalwell is working to help Democrats win up and down the ticket. Whether that’s through utilizing 21st Century technology or talking to voters directly about the issues that matter most — he will continue to use every tool he can to fight Donald Trump and his MAGA cronies,” a spox for Swalwell’s California gubernatorial campaign said.

Our previous reporting found that Findraiser’s customers include Swalwell’s personal friends and political allies, such as Sens. Ruben Gallego and Adam Schiff. The company has received $60,000 from more than a dozen campaigns and Swalwell values it at $200,000 to $500,000 in his congressional disclosures.

NEW ON NOTUS

Violating the STOCK Act while championing it: Sen. Susan Collins’ husband purchased a Pfizer corporate bond worth $15,001 to $50,000 on Feb. 3, but she didn’t disclose it until Wednesday, NOTUS’ Dave Levinthal reports. That’s too long a wait to be in compliance with the STOCK Act, which requires many financial transactions by lawmakers and their families to be reported within a 45-day window.

Collins is one of the few lawmakers who worked especially hard to pass that law. “Throughout her entire service in the Senate, Senator Collins has never bought, sold, or owned any individual shares of stock,” a spox told Dave.

More: Lawmakers Worry Small Businesses Will Get Left Behind in Trump’s Tariff Refund System, by Jade Lozada

NOT US

• ‘Things are going to get worse’: Swing-state mothers sour on government, by David Weigel for Semafor
• Bigotry among young conservatives has Republicans on edge, by Hannah Knowles for The Washington Post
• The Spanish Revolt: The European Leader Who Says No to Trump, by Drew Hinshaw, Marcus Walker and Gordon Fairclough for The Wall Street Journal