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Trump’s Senate closer: Republican freshman emerges as key White House ally
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FIRST ON FOX: Senate Republicans last month were able to advance President Donald Trump’s desire to clawback billions in federal spending, an effort carried to fruition for the first time in nearly three decades by a first-term senator.
While the effort to slash funding to NPR, PBS and foreign aid was born in the White House, it was executed thanks in large part to Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo.
Schmitt, who was first elected to the Senate in 2022, has become an envoy of sorts for Trump’s agenda in the upper chamber. He has a strong relationship with the president that dates back to his first campaign, which has developed into a regular invite to join Trump for rounds of golf.
‘LONG OVERDUE’: SENATE REPUBLICANS RAM THROUGH TRUMP’S CLAWBACK PACKAGE WITH CUTS TO FOREIGN AID, NPR
Senator Eric Schmitt, a Republican from Missouri, during a campaign event with former President Donald Trump, not pictured, at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on Nov. 1, 2024. (Jim Vondruska)
He’s launched probes against former President Joe Biden’s alleged mental decline, helped smooth over concerns during passage of Trump’s «big, beautiful bill» and contends that «intuitively» he understands the president’s America First message.
And his role in bridging the gap between the White House and the Senate, along with negotiating among his conference to get the $9 billion package across the line, has seen his stock rise immensely within the Senate GOP.
But, in an interview with Fox News Digital, he said his entire goal is to just be helpful.
«I think I approach it with that kind of humility,» Schmitt said. «But I also, I want to be successful, and I want the agenda to move forward. I think it’s really important. Being on the golf course with President Trump is a great honor, and we have a lot of fun. He’s a very good golfer.»
Schmitt, who previously served as Missouri’s attorney general before launching a bid for the Senate, regularly clashed with the Biden administration and said that his role of rebuking lockdowns, vaccine mandates, censorship and mass migration informed how he currently views legislating.
SENATE TO DEBATE TRUMP’S $9B CLAWBACK BILL AFTER DRAMATIC LATE-NIGHT VOTES
President Donald Trump tees off during the opening ceremony for the Trump International Golf Links golf course, near Aberdeen, Scotland, on July 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
«My job was to stand in the gap and fight back, with the hopes that President Trump would return,» he said.
Trump endorsed Schmitt in 2022, and in return the lawmaker became one of the first senators to back his reelection campaign the following year. That turned into Schmitt becoming a mainstay on the campaign trail, jetting across the country in Trump Force One where «Big Macs and double cheeseburgers and quarter pounders with cheese» flowed.
And when Trump won, Schmitt had the opportunity to leave the Senate and join the administration as attorney general, but he opted to stay in the upper chamber.
Had he jumped ship, Trump’s recissions package may not have been able to pass muster with the Senate GOP, where appropriators raised concerns about the impact that clawing back already agreed-upon spending would have on the government funding process and others raised issues with the funding that was targeted.
«This wouldn’t have happened without Eric Schmitt,» Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., told Fox News Digital.
Britt was part of the same 2022 class of freshman senators as Schmitt, which included other notable Republicans, like Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., and Vice President J.D. Vance.
She said Schmitt’s leadership on the rescissions package, like listening to lawmakers’ concerns and negotiations with Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, to take the lead on the package, led to a final product that could actually pass in the diverse Senate GOP.
‘SHOULD HAVE BEEN PREPARED’: GOP SENATORS FIGHT FOR UNIFIED MESSAGE ON TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’
Sen. Katie Britt talks to reporters following the weekly Senate Republican Caucus policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on January 14, 2025, in Washington. (Chip Somodevilla)
Indeed, Schmitt agreed to allow as many amendments to the bill as lawmakers wanted and included his own change to the clawback that would save funding for global AIDS and HIV prevention — a key change that helped bring more Republicans on board.
«When Eric speaks, people listen,» Britt said. «And he is thoughtful about when he uses his voice, and when he does it most definitely makes an impact.»
Schmitt, however, is more humble in how he views his part in the process.
«People can label,» Schmitt said. «I don’t get too hung up on any of that. Like for me, honestly, I feel fortunate to be in the position that I’m in. There’s really not a lot of daylight between the President’s agenda and the things that I support.»
Still, he was hopeful that another recissions package would come, describing it as «a good exercise for us,» but noted that the timing for the remaining fiscal year would be tricky given the GOP’s continued push to blast through Democrats’ blockade on nominees and the looming government funding deadline when lawmakers return after Labor Day.
But getting the first one done was key to opening the door for more.
«I think that was also part of what was on the line,» he said. «When we were, you know, in the middle of the night, trying to make sure we had the votes, was that we have to prove that we have the ability to do it. And once you do it, there’s muscle memory associated with that. There’s a cultural shift in how we view things.»
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However, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has demanded that Republicans commit to a bipartisan appropriations process and eschew further rescissions packages.
Should another come from the White House in the waning days of this fiscal year, it could spell trouble in Congress’ bid to avert a partial government shutdown by Sept. 30.
«I really think it would be a bad idea for Republicans to alter our course of action based on what Democrat threats are,» Schmitt said. «At the end of the day, they’re an obstructionist party without a message, without a messenger.»
politics,senate,donald trump,republicans
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El uso de biocombustibles ayuda a estabilizar los precios en Brasil pese al shock petrolero por Irán
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What would you say if one body of Congress didn’t take a formal roll call vote on a major piece of legislation – yet passed it at 2:19 on a Friday morning?
Would you try to outdo your colleagues across the Capitol Rotunda with some Congressional chicanery of your own? Perhaps by passing an equally important version of the same bill – while officially sidestepping a direct up/down vote on the measure – at 11:28 p.m. on that same Friday night.
That’s what happened late last week. The Senate scored approval from all 100 senators to pass a bill to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security for the rest of the fiscal year – but did it on a voice vote at 2:19 a.m. Friday with only five senators in the chamber.
House Republicans scoffed at this. So they passed their own bill – to fund all of DHS – just before the witching hour Friday. But technically, the House didn’t even vote directly on the legislation itself. The House voted to approve a «rule» (which manages debate for bills). With adoption of that rule, the House «deemed» the underlying DHS funding measure as passed.
GOP LEADERS ENDORSE TRUMP’S SHUTDOWN-PROOF MOVE TO END DHS FUNDING LAPSE
The Senate managed to net the approval of 100 senators to pass a bill to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security for the remainder of the fiscal year – but did it on a voice vote at 2:19 am Friday with only five senators in the chamber. (Emma Woodhead/Fox News Digital)
But despite all of this, the House and Senate weren’t aligned. They hadn’t approved the same bill. And despite the parliamentary antics, House Republicans then implored the Senate to pass the measure it approved Friday night on Monday morning – without a roll call vote and with just two senators in the chamber.
If you followed all of that, that is exactly what’s unfolded on Capitol Hill the past few days as lawmakers struggled to end the six-week Department of Homeland Security shutdown.
It was clear early Thursday evening that there wasn’t a path in the Sente to approve a partisan GOP bill to fund DHS after a lengthy roll call vote which started in the afternoon.
But something was afoot.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION MAKES MAJOR MOVE TO RELIEVE ‘UNFAIR BURDEN’ ON DHS WORKERS AS SHUTDOWN DRAGS ON
Congress was staring at a 15-day recess for Easter and Passover on Friday. Failure to address the crisis now meant that lawmakers would leave town until the middle of April – extending the shutdown until then as airport lines swelled.
So Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., got to work on something which could pass the Senate – and potentially pass the House – before everyone abandoned Washington for the break.
Thune suggested earlier in the week that the Senate usually has to get «to Thursday» before frozen positions may begin to thaw. He was right. There was a corridor for the Senate to approve a bipartisan bill to tackle most of the funding crisis at DHS. So Thune’s charge late Thursday night and into the wee hours of Friday morning was not necessarily to persuade bipartisan senators to support the bill he was putting on the floor. But instead, Thune’s goal was to coax skeptical senators not to object and blow the whole thing up.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., hatched a plan for something that could pass the Senate before Washington was abandoned for the Easter Recess. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
There’s something called a «hotline» in the Senate. Any time the leadership wants to set up a series of votes, make particular amendments in order and perhaps allocate wedges of time to debate, it sends around a «hotline» to all 100 senators. If any senator objects, they let the leadership know. This streamlines the process ahead of time. It also ensures that senators aren’t blindsided by something called a «unanimous consent» request. Unanimous consent requests, or «UC’s,» happen all the time in the Senate.
One of the most powerful tools in the Senate is «unanimous consent.» If you obtain the «unanimous consent» of all 100 senators, you can make the sun rise in the west. But all it takes is one objection to block a UC – even if all other 99 senators agree.
The behind the scenes hotline takes care of this in advance. Any senator could object and block Thune’s proposal to fund most of DHS. But there shouldn’t be any problem if he cleared it with all 100 senators offstage in advance.
That’s why Thune went to the floor at 2:19 a.m. Friday. Not a single senator flagged his proposal. And so the South Dakota Republican went to the floor with a team of five senators – and passed the bill. Not by UC. But by something called a «voice vote. Those in favor shout yea. Those who oppose holler nay. The louder side wins. The Senate passed the bill. There was no roll call vote.
HOUSE GOP RAMS THROUGH NEW DHS FUNDING PLAN WITH SHUTDOWN FAR FROM OVER
So, this wasn’t something snuck by in the dead of night on the sly. If any senator had a reservation, they could have flagged it. Or better yet, come down to the floor at 2:19 a.m. and contested it. In short, there were 100 senators, 100 chiefs of staff, 100 legislative directors and 100 counsels who should have known about Thune’s plan. That’s a universe of at least 400 people – if not more. So, this wasn’t an episode of someone pulling a fast one.
By morning, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said he «opposed this bill.» Same with Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.
Well, that’s fine. But no one objected nor pushed back on the hotline. No one went down to the floor to demand a roll call vote – or even argued that the Senate couldn’t do anything because there wasn’t a quorum present to conduct business. So anything said by Republican senators upset about the bill were simply academic or rhetorical objections. If those senators truly opposed the bill, they missed their opportunity to do something about it.
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., even signaled support for the bill. (Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images)
It was thought that the House might take up the bill – reluctantly – the next day to end most of the shutdown and pay TSA workers. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., signaled support. So did Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee. Granted, liberal Democrats might oppose the bill because there weren’t changes at ICE. But the bill probably would have passed with some Republicans and lots of Democrats. In fact, there may have been more Democratic yeas than Republican yeas. That would have been toxic for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., lost his gavel over moving a bipartisan bill to avoid a shutdown in the fall of 2023.
So by Friday afternoon, Johnson strenuously lodged his opposition to the Senate bill.
«Republicans are not going to be any part of any effort to reopen our borders or to stop immigration enforcement,» said Johnson, noting that the Senate plan left out funding for ICE and the Border Patrol. «This gambit that was done last night is a joke. I’m quite convinced that it can’t be that every Senate Republican read the language of this bill.»
In other words, were they not dialed in on the hotline?
THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO WHAT TO EXPECT ON DHS FUNDING WHEN THE SENATE MEETS MONDAY
Yours truly questioned the Speaker, asking why he and Thune weren’t on the same page. Johnson accused Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. of being behind the bill. I pointed out that Thune «was the engineer behind this.»
«I wouldn’t call John Thune the engineer of this,» said Johnson.
«He didn’t have the accept it,» I countered.
«Let me answer the question, Chad,» sighed an exasperated Johnson.
So the House forged ahead and passed its own bill to fully fund DHS Friday night. Some House Republicans then expected the Senate to break custom and pass its bill – by unanimous consent – during a brief pro forma session Monday. In other words, House Republicans ripped the Senate for what it did early Friday morning. But those same House Republicans wanted senators to approve THEIR bill on Monday the same way they criticized the Senate for passing its bill on Friday.
Note that there was no hotline for the House bill at that point.
«We’d love to see them do that,» said Rep. Mike Haridopolos, R-Fla., on Friday.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., said he «wouldn’t call John Thune the engineer» behind the bill. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
But Democrats dispatched a watchdog to guard the floor against any possible GOP chicanery as the Senate met for 31 seconds with meager attendance.
The Senate gaveled in. The Senate gaveled out. Nothing happened.
«I was there to object,» said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del. «I was here just in case there were some shenanigans.»
Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., called it «insane» that Senate Republicans «didn’t even try» to pass the House bill. But the lone Senate Republican on duty said the presence of Coons doomed that to failure.
«We don’t have consent yet,» said Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., who presided over the session. «They declined. Obviously Sen. Coons was there to do that.»
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But by Wednesday, the bill which Johnson trashed Friday afternoon was on its way to passage. Despite a sea of opposition from conservative Republicans, the House would accept the Senate bill and end most of the DHS shutdown. The Earth shifted. President Trump was fine with this. Suddenly, Johnson and Thune were on the same page.
So the Republican House would eat what the Senate originally cooked up early Friday morning. And the House would likely approve it with lots of Republicans spread around the country. But like Senate Republicans early Friday morning, no one would likely return to block it.
And by now, this wasn’t something engineered in the dead of night that only 400 people knew about. The entire country was more than aware what happened.
congress, homeland security, senate, house of representatives politics
El ejército estadounidense intensifica sus esfuerzos para obtener un mayor acceso a Groenlandia, una clara señal de que el interés del presidente Donald Trump por la enorme isla ártica no ha disminuido.
Estados Unidos está negociando con Dinamarca el acceso a tres bases adicionales en Groenlandia –incluidas dos previamente abandonadas por los estadounidenses–, lo que supondría la primera expansión estadounidense allí en décadas, según un alto mando del Pentágono, el general Gregory Guillot.
Leé también: Lo que Donald Trump no dice sobre Groenlandia: historia, riquezas y el sueño de construir una Cúpula Dorada
Guillot, jefe del Comando Norte de Estados Unidos, declaró ante los legisladores en una audiencia del Congreso a mediados de marzo que el ejército quería “un mayor acceso a diferentes bases en toda Groenlandia, dada la creciente amenaza y la importancia estratégica de Groenlandia”.
“Estoy trabajando con nuestro departamento y con otros para intentar desarrollar más puertos y más aeródromos, lo que proporcionará más opciones a nuestro secretario y al presidente, en caso de que los necesitemos en el Ártico”, añadió Guillot.
La solicitud coloca a Dinamarca en una situación delicada. Groenlandia es un territorio semiautónomo que forma parte del reino danés desde hace más de 300 años. Trump, por su parte, se ha obsesionado con adquirir Groenlandia y, durante meses, amenazó con usar la fuerza antes de ceder en enero.
El Gobierno danés ha invocado un pacto de defensa danés-estadounidense de 1951 para hacer frente a las amenazas de Trump y ha señalado que Estados Unidos ya tiene un amplio acceso militar.
Los funcionarios estadounidenses ahora utilizan ese mismo acuerdo para trazar planes de expansión. Los expertos afirman que Dinamarca puede hacer poco para frenarlos, aunque la confianza entre Estados Unidos y Dinamarca se haya visto sacudida, si no es que rota.
La capitana de corbeta Teresa Meadows, portavoz del Comando Norte de Estados Unidos, afirmó que los planificadores militares tenían en el punto de mira las localidades de Narsarsuaq, en el sur de Groenlandia, que cuenta con un puerto de aguas profundas, y Kangerlussuaq, en el suroeste de Groenlandia, que ya dispone de una larga pista capaz de recibir aviones de gran tamaño.
Ambos lugares habían sido bases estadounidenses durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial y la Guerra Fría, pero fueron cedidos a las autoridades danesas y groenlandesas después de que los estadounidenses abandonaran Narsarsuaq en la década de 1950 y Kangerlussuaq en la de 1990. Gran parte de su infraestructura militar ha sido desmantelada, aunque ambos emplazamientos aún cuentan con pequeños aeropuertos en funcionamiento.
Los funcionarios del Pentágono no especificaron cuántas tropas se enviarían a la isla. Guillot indicó que el ejército necesita bases para soldados de operaciones especiales y “capacidades marítimas”.
Durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, cuando Dinamarca fue ocupada por los nazis, Estados Unidos ayudó a defender Groenlandia. Envió miles de soldados y abrió más de una decena de bases. Mantuvo muchas de ellas operativas durante la Guerra Fría. En la actualidad, solo queda una base activa: una remota instalación de defensa antimisiles con unos pocos cientos de soldados.
Trump parece decidido a cambiar eso. Sus amenazas del año pasado de “conseguir” Groenlandia, “de un modo u otro”, desencadenaron una crisis en Europa. Esa crisis se ha calmado, por ahora, ya que el presidente se ha visto absorbido por la guerra en Irán. Pero muchos europeos, incluida la líder de Dinamarca, Mette Frederiksen, temen que Trump no haya renunciado a adquirir la gigantesca isla cubierta de hielo, lo que podría dejar a Dinamarca acorralada de nuevo.
Hasta ahora, las conversaciones sobre la ampliación de la base parecen ir sobre ruedas. Guillot citó el acuerdo de 1951 durante su testimonio ante el Congreso, y cuando los legisladores demócratas le preguntaron si Dinamarca o Groenlandia habían puesto algún obstáculo, respondió que no.
“Han sido socios muy, muy comprensivos”, dijo el general.
A diferencia de lo que ha sugerido Trump, Guillot dijo: “En realidad no necesitamos un nuevo tratado. Es muy completo y, francamente, muy favorable para nuestras operaciones o posibles operaciones en Groenlandia”.
Leé también: Detrás del vértigo que generó Trump con su reclamo de Groenlandia, hay una estrategia que empezó a fallar
El plan de expansión sigue envuelto en el secreto. El Departamento de Estado se negó a emitir comentarios, al igual que el Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores de Dinamarca y la oficina del primer ministro de Groenlandia. Jens-Frederik Nielsen, primer ministro de Groenlandia, junto a la premier danesa Mette Frederiksen en una conferencia de prensa en Copenhague el 13 de enero de 2026. (Foto: Tom Little/REUTERS)
No está claro cómo reaccionarán los groenlandeses, la mayoría de los cuales son indígenas inuits. El sentimiento antiestadounidense ha ido en aumento en la isla, que cuenta con menos de 60.000 habitantes. A principios de este año estallaron protestas contra Trump y varios groenlandeses entrevistados expresaron su preocupación por la llegada de más tropas estadounidenses.
“Mucha gente no quiere más militares en Groenlandia, pero si eso es lo que deciden, no hay nada que podamos hacer”, dijo Anso Lauritzen, que dirige un centro de trineos tirados por perros en el oeste de Groenlandia.
Agnetha Mikka Petersen, una residente jubilada de Nuuk, la capital, dijo que la perspectiva de una mayor presencia estadounidense la hace sentir “inquieta”.
“No me gusta nada”, afirmó.
El acuerdo de defensa de 1951 y su actualización de 2004 otorgan a los estadounidenses una posición de fuerza. Antes de realizar cualquier cambio importante en su presencia militar, se supone que Estados Unidos debe “consultar e informar” a las autoridades de Dinamarca y Groenlandia. Los expertos afirman que eso significa que Estados Unidos puede hacer prácticamente lo que quiera y comunicárselo a los daneses y groenlandeses más tarde.
“Dinamarca y Groenlandia pueden, en principio, decir que no a Estados Unidos, pero en la práctica nunca se hace”, afirmó Ulrik Pram Gad, investigador sénior del Instituto Danés de Estudios Internacionales. “Porque si lo hacen, Estados Unidos puede presentar el control de Dinamarca y Groenlandia sobre la isla como un riesgo para la seguridad y argumentar que él mismo debería asumir el control”.
*Por Jeffrey Gettleman, corresponsal internacional radicado en Londres y que cubre sucesos mundiales. Ha trabajado para el Times por más de 20 años.
Eric Schmitt es corresponsal de seguridad nacional para el Times. Ha informado sobre asuntos militares y de antiterrorismo de Estados Unidos durante más de tres décadas.
The New York Times, groenlandia
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