Axios Hill Leaders

April 08, 2025
We've got news. 852 words, 3 minutes.
- 🥵 Scoop: New donor plea
- ⚡️ Johnson vs. Freedom Caucus
- 🔥 300+ nominees blocked
1 big thing: 🥵 Scoop: New donor plea

Republicans admit President Trump's tariffs are spiking their blood pressure. Their Wall Street donors are feeling it too, with some giving top GOP lawmakers an earful this weekend.
Why it matters: Trump is making it clear he won't tolerate any limits on his ability to impose tariffs, we scooped today. But rattled GOP donors wanted lawmakers to help convince the president that tariffs are crushing the economy, sources told us.
- Trump was rankled by the introduction of such a bill by Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). His veto threat sent a message to any Republican senators thinking about signing onto it: Don't even think about it.
- "I don't think that has a future," Senate GOP leader John Thune said of the bill.
- Lawmakers declined to cite specific donor conversations, but their level of concern is high after three days of stock market chaos.
Zoom in: Some Republican senators, notably Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), are openly critical of Trump's tariffs, insisting they are a tax on American consumers.
- "Every country is freaking out. The American stock market is in decline. Now, we're in the second week. Where do we go from here?" Cruz said on his podcast today.
Between the lines: House Appropriations Committee chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.), an old-school Republican whose farm-heavy district is poised to be hit hard, told reporters his reaction to the tariffs is "mixed."
- "It makes everybody uneasy," Cole said about the market fallout.
The bottom line: Despite the Senate version of Rep. Don Bacon's (R-Neb.) bill — imposing limits on the president's ability to unilaterally impose tariffs — garnering more than a half dozen GOP cosponsors, support may be more limited in the House.
- Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) the House GOP campaign chief, said the bill "doesn't have the votes in the House, so that's not going to happen."
- "Do you really think a bill like that is going to be signed by the president? I kind of doubt it," said Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), "so why waste the time?"
- Simpson said he expects "some members will" raise concerns directly to the administration, telling us, "When I've done that, they've listened."
— Hans Nichols, Stef Kight and Andrew Solender
2. ⚡️ Johnson vs. Freedom Caucus

After a weekend of GOP defections, House Speaker Mike Johnson is taking his case directly to the budget holdouts.
Why it matters: Johnson doesn't have the votes and is under massive pressure to get to the next stage of reconciliation before the Easter recess.
- He'll have his customary help from Trump, who is pushing House Republicans to hop on board. Trump will hold a "pep rally" for the entire GOP conference at a fundraiser tomorrow night.
- But there's clearly a revolt underfoot. House conservatives are bristling at the Senate bill's spending cut targets, and they'd prefer to work through the actual cuts before another vote.
"At this point, I would vote against it," House Freedom Caucus chair Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) told Fox News today.
- The speaker met with the Freedom Caucus tonight, The Hill's Mychael Schnell reports.
Zoom in: GOP leaders are privately telling members that weekend work — over the start of Passover and on Palm Sunday — is on the table if the budget doesn't pass, CNN's Sarah Ferris reports.
- "There is no better time than now to get this Deal DONE!" Trump said on Truth Social.
- Remember: Johnson sent members home early last week during his floor dispute with Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.).
The bottom line: The deadlines can only slip so far. The debt limit's "x-date" will come this summer.
- That's a powerful tool for leaders to twist arms ahead of a final vote, as we scooped last month. But it's also a powerful motivator for leaders to get this thing moving with enough time to spare.
— Justin Green and Hans Nichols
3. 🔥 Dems blocking 300+ nominees

Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's Senate Democrats have stacked up quite a blockade against Trump nominees.
Why it matters: The growing backlog could present long-term difficulties for GOP leadership, who will eventually want to fill Trump's administration.
- We scooped today that Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) is placing holds on over 50 Trump nominees. He has also placed holds on all nominations at the State Department, bringing his total to over 300 positions.
- Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told us today he plans to place holds on all Trump nominees going forward. Blumenthal sits on four committees — Judiciary, Homeland Security, Armed Services and Veterans' Affairs — which oversee a wide range of administration officials.
The big picture: Midlevel administration nominees can usually be approved quickly via unanimous consent.
- Senate Republicans will need to hold individual votes for each nominee, cutting into floor time that leadership would like to use for other priorities.
- "Their lawlessness is escalating and they are intentionally destroying the economy, and so I don't think we should make anything easy going forward," Schatz told Axios.
— Stephen Neukam
This newsletter was edited by Justin Green and copy edited by Kathie Bozanich.
Sign up for Axios Hill Leaders

