Next Week Brings the 100th Day of Trump 2.0: BGOV Starting Line

100 Days Old and a Wish List

Next week will bring the 100th day of Donald Trump’s second administration, a milestone that’s been used to gauge the start of presidential administrations since Franklin Delano Roosevelt made it a big deal in his first term.

For Trump, the week will bring celebration — his press secretary announced a rally in Michigan on Tuesday — plus a long to-do list that will depend on the cooperation of Congress.

That includes two kinds of action on cutting federal spending.

First there’ll be a proposal to claw back about $9.3 billion in unspent funds and add the force of law to cuts initiated by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. That ax would largely fall on the US Agency for International Development and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a senior administration official said.

In addition to that “rescissions” request, there’ll be forward-looking spending-cut action next week. Congressional committees will start sitting down to make hard decisions about implementing fiscal 2026 expenditure caps and tax-cut goals. (More on that a little later.)

Trump also faces an encroaching — but still unclear — deadline to raise the debt limit. The deadline probably will hit in August or September, the Congressional Budget Office estimated. The Bipartisan Policy Center said it could be as early as mid-July — which isn’t a ton of time if you look at the legislative session calendars.

House Republicans initially planned a $4 trillion increase but have warmed up to the idea of a roughly $5 trillion borrowing cap. Everyone’s on standby now waiting to learn when that becomes urgent. — Jack Fitzpatrick

End of Recess

House Republicans have California on their minds as they get back in the groove after a two-week recess.

GOP leadership expects to bring to the floor next week a handful of measures that would use the Congressional Review Act to repeal Biden-era energy decisions. Among those are three resolutions — (H.J. Res. 87, H.J. Res. 88 and H.J. Res. 89) — that would nix the previous administration’s move allowing California to adopt stricter emissions standards for cars and trucks.

Rescinding the so-called California waivers, which permit the state to exceed federal emissions mandates on gas-powered vehicles to curb pollution, has been a priority for Republican lawmakers.

Here’s a twist: the Senate parliamentarian ruled the emissions waivers aren’t subject to the Congressional Review Act. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), who introduced similar CRA measures, said earlier this month that Republicans are “formulating a strategy” on how to cancel the waivers. — Kellie Lunney

Porno Bill

Also on tap for House action next week is legislation (S.146) that would criminalize the publication of non-consensual deepfake pornographic images, and give online sites 48 hours to take steps after they receive take-this-down requests involving that kind of imagery.

We’ll also be watching to see how many ambassadors the Senate confirms next week. First up will be David Perdue, nominated to represent the US as ambassador to China. There’s also the potential for votes on nominees to be ambassadors to the UK, Turkey, and Italy.

BGOV subscribers, there’s a lot more in this morning’s edition of Congress Tracker.

Congress’s Turn to Cut

A lot of difficult discussions begin next week as lawmakers try to lock down changes proposed in the FY26 budget resolution.

This is the process known as reconciliation, and if they stick to Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) timetable, Republicans will head off for the Memorial Day recess with a giant tax, border, defense and debt-limit package on the president’s desk.

The House Armed Services, Financial Services, Homeland Security, Judiciary, and Transportation and Infrastructure committees all have reconciliation markups planned for next week.

We don’t know yet when Ways and Means will act on the tax portion, but GOP tax negotiators from both the House and Senate are due to meet next week with White House officials, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said on Fox Business.

Another question mark is when the Energy and Commerce Committee will vote on its portion of reconciliation. That panel oversees health programs, and Medicaid cuts would be part of that debate when it happens.

Legislative analyst Karl Evers-Hillstrom explains more about reconciliation in this BGOV OnPoint. From our tax team, Chris Cioffi and Zach C. Cohen have more on the revenue side of the debate: Cracks Emerge in Support for Trump’s Tax-Free Tips

‘Dirty’ Internet

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing new allegations about lax security. The Associated Press reports he had a special internet connection that on his personal computer — known as in IT parlance as a “dirty” line since the user’s information and the websites accessed do not have the same security filters as the Pentagon’s secured connections — so that he could use the Signal messaging app on the machine.

And the New York Times reports that as recently as last month it was easy to find Hegseth’s personal phone number —- the one used in the Signal chat with the accidental extra participant — in a variety of places, including WhatsApp, Facebook and a fantasy sports site.

Eye on the Economy

Surveys that take the pulse of American consumers have been trending downward, so there’ll be a lot of attention next week when The Conference Board releases its update.

The numbers will show whether US households this month changed their expectations about inflation. Those perceptions matter because they drive decisions about buying everything from extra groceries to a new car.

Compare the numbers released Tuesday against last month’s level of 92.9.

On the trade front, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings are nearing their end and next week will bring more one-on-one discussions with nations hoping for relief from the new tariffs.

Philippines Trade Secretary Cristina Roquewill said she’ll meet with US commerce and trade officials next week, bringing an offer to purchase more American farm products. Read More

Also Read:

• US Seeks India Trade Deal on E-Commerce, Crops and Data Storage
• Bessent Sees US, South Korea Trade ‘Understanding’ by Next Week
• Trump Says He Expects to Reach Deal With Norway on Tariffs
• Europeans Saw Trump’s Trade War Coming and Gorged on US Booze
• China May Exempt Some US Goods From Tariffs as Costs Rise

Partisan Platform’s Punishment

Back in 2019, Republicans launched the WinRed campaign cash conduit and Trump said that offsetting ActBlue’s fundraising prowess had long been a priority for him. Now he’s putting the opposition platform under a legal microscope and forcing it to expend resources defending itself against a Justice Department investigation.

Trump signed a memorandum accusing ActBlue of violating federal election laws and calling on the US attorney general to take action.

A fact sheet provided by the White House doesn’t cite any evidence of wrongdoing, but references a congressional investigation led by Republican lawmakers that claimed to have discovered potential illegal schemes on ActBlue.

ActBlue has raised more than $16.8 billion for Democratic candidates and causes since its founding in 2004. Read More

Before You Go

A few quick updates as the Washington workday begins:

• What would Grandpa think? Descended from House Democrats, They’re in the Other Freshman Class
• US Aid Pullback Making Ukraine More Vulnerable to Russian Hacks
• Trump Order for Proof of Citizenship to Vote Blocked for Now
• Trump Blasts Harvard as ‘Liberal Mess’ and Attacks Its Lawyer
• FDA Leader Says He Has No Plan to Act on Abortion Pill Access

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