Trump-backed spending bill passes Senate as Democrats face accusations of caving to GOP: Live updates

Trump on Friday said he’s asked Russian president Vladimir Putin to order his troops not to commit a massacre of Ukrainian soldiers who they are attempting to dislodge from the Kursk region after months of occupation by Kyiv’s forces.

Trump continued his assault on the press in front of the nation’s top federal law enforcement officials on Friday while taking a victory lap against a justice system that failed to hold him to account.

He suggested that press coverage that criticized judges influenced their decisions in cases against him and should be “illegal.” Trump himself, however, continues to rage against judges that have blocked parts of his agenda, while his allies call for their impeachment and removal from the bench.

Newspapers “are really no different than a highly paid political operative,” Trump said.

“And it has to stop. It has to be illegal,” he said. “It’s influencing judges. It’s really changing law. And it just cannot be legal. I do not believe it is legal.”

K-9 bomb sniffer dog units have become the latest victims of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, just as the White House celebrated a national day honoring the heroic animals.

An appeals court lifted a block on President Donald Trump’s executive orders ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs throughout the government Friday, the Associated Press reports.

This means the orders can be enforced even while a lawsuit challenging them plays out.

Trump is “underwater on everything” when it comes to his approval ratings, a Fox News host declared Thursday.

Robert Weissman and Lisa Gilbert, co-presidents of the non-profit Public Citizen, condemned the Senate’s passage of the spending bill today.

“The CR is a harmful, partisan slush-fund bill for Trump and Musk,” the statement reads. “Public Citizen fought this bill tooth and nail, and we are incredibly disappointed at the refusal of Leader Schumer and Senate Democrats to hold the line and oppose the bill.“

“The GOP’s long-term CR is not the clean continuation of previous funding commitments that we need,” the statement continues. “Instead, it enables Trump and Musk to claim much greater authority to violate the separation of powers and refuse to spend appropriated funds. In fact, Vice President Vance has made clear that the administration intends to do this.”

“While no one wanted a shutdown, a temporary lapse in funding in fact would have been better than a devastating CR. This bill is a disgrace.”

Read the full story on the government spending bill from The Independent’s Eric Garcia:

Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California encouraged her colleagues and the public to fight back against President Donald Trump’s attempts to remake the government in his vision through nonviolence – believing the president is “on the edge of creating a civil war.”

Federal agencies were required to submit downsizing plans by Thursday night as part of the DOGE plan to carry out mass firings across the government — but it’s unclear what comes next.

Katie Hawkinson reports from Washington, D.C.: