“I think there are members of the Republican caucus who are growing increasingly uncomfortable with what’s going on.”

— Sen. Angus King (I-ME), quoted by the Washington Post.

“Here’s the main thing you’ve got to understand. Republicans are independently minded. Democrats are monolithic sheep that follow the Fuhrer Schumer’s orders.”

— Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH), quoted by Reuters.

Dr. Mehmet Oz was confirmed on Thursday to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on a 53-45 vote that split the U.S. Senate along party lines with Republicans in support and Democrats in opposition, USA Today reports.

“Democrats are going all-in against President Donald Trump’s new global tariffs, seeing a chance to keep driving a wedge in the Republican Party after four GOP senators defied Trump on his Canada tariffs,” Semafor reports.

“Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) said that he’s drafting a plan to force a vote on nixing the national emergency Trump declared Wednesday, which would effectively scrap the across-the-board tariffs set to kick in Saturday.”

Related for members: The Silver Lining in Trump’s Tariffs

“Sen. Chuck Grassley, a senior Republican lawmaker from the farm-heavy state of Iowa, is spearheading new legislation that would reassert Congress’ authority over tariffs amid President Donald Trump’s trade war escalation,” Politico reports.

“The measure, jointly introduced Thursday with Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), would limit the president’s power to impose tariffs. It would require the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of such an imposition and for Congress to explicitly approve any new tariffs within 60 days. The bill also would allow Congress to end any tariff at any time.”

“The Senate on Wednesday approved a measure that would block some of the tariffs President Trump has imposed on Canada, with a handful of Republicans joining Democrats to pass a resolution that would halt levies set to take effect this week,” the New York Times reports.

“The measure is all but certain to stall in the House, where G.O.P. leaders have moved preemptively to shut down any move to end Mr. Trump’s tariffs. But Senate passage of the measure on a vote of 51 to 48 — just hours after Mr. Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs on more than 100 trading partners, including the European Union, China, Britain and India — sent a signal of bipartisan congressional opposition to the president’s trade war.”

Punchbowl News: “Thune confirmed the plan to release text today and told us he plans to file the budget resolution text on the floor once it’s out, a sign a vote could come quickly. Thune told colleagues on Tuesday that he didn’t have 50 votes yet. The GOP leadership’s goal was to use today’s meetings to help assuage deficit hawks’ concerns in particular.”

“The timing remains fluid, but GOP leaders are aiming to hold the first procedural vote on Thursday, with a vote-a-rama expected to begin Friday evening. That timeline could get pushed back if Thune can’t lock up the requisite votes.”

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) privately indicated to Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) he would back the Virginia Democrat’s resolution to undo President Trump’s Canada tariffs, Politico reports.

McConnell’s support means Kaine’s resolution will likely have the votes it needs to advance in the Senate.

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) has placed an indefinite hold on the nomination of Ed Martin to be U.S. attorney in Washington, DC, CBS News reports.

Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) was on his way to an elevator when confronted by Mack Schroeder, a former employee of the Department of Health and Human Services:

SCHROEDER: Hi, I was a worker at HHS. I was fired illegally on Feb. 14. There are many people who are not getting social service programs, especially people with disabilities. Are you going to do anything to stop what’s happening?

BANKS: You probably deserved it.

SCHROEDER: I deserved it?

BANKS: You seem like a clown.

President Trump is pressuring former Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and other “disloyal” Republicans to vote against Democrats’ resolution to bar his emergency declaration to impose tariffs on Canada.

The message — targeted at McConnell, as well as Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Rand Paul — said they “are playing with the lives of the American people, and right into the hands of the Radical Left Democrats and Drug Cartels.”

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) has broken the record for the longest floor speech in modern Senate history, surpassing the late Sen. Strom Thurmond’s speech lasting 24 hour and 18 minutes in 1957.

Politico: “Booker did not indicate before beginning his marathon speech that he intended to set a new record. He suggested he hoped to be able to last as long as he did in 2016, when he and Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) held the floor for roughly 15 hours to discuss gun violence.”

“But as Tuesday crept on and Booker showed no sign of losing momentum, his colleagues began to openly discuss whether Thurmond’s 67-year-old record could fall.”

“The Senate Judiciary Committee rarely holds hearings on nominees for U.S. attorney, typically referring them to the full chamber for a vote,” the New York Times reports.

“But opponents of Ed Martin, President Trump’s pick for top federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C., say his behavior demands the greater scrutiny that a public hearing would provide.”

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) on Monday evening took to the Senate floor to speak as long as he is “physically able” in protest of actions taken by President Trump’s administration, The Hill reports.

Said Booker, on X: “I’ve taken the Senate floor and will speak for as long as I’m physically able to lift the voices of Americans who are being harmed and not being heard in this moment of crisis.”

“Senate GOP leaders will move as soon as Wednesday to begin advancing a budget plan — the next key step to unlock President Donald Trump’s massive agenda through a party-line bill,” Politico reports.

“Under the ambitious timeline being privately considered by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, the Senate would adopt its budget resolution before heading home for the weekend. A marathon vote-a-rama could kick off Thursday.”

“In order to make this work, the Senate parliamentarian will need to sign off on Republicans’ plans to use a tactic known as the current policy baseline, which will allow them to pursue trillions of dollars in tax cut extensions while claiming it doesn’t cost anything. Senators believe they could secure such a ruling from the parliamentarian as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday of this week, though the meeting has yet to be scheduled.”

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) “accused President Trump of illegally refusing to spend $2.9 billion approved by Congress, teaming with Democrats in an early salvo in the simmering struggle between Congress and the White House over which has the ultimate power over federal spending,” the New York Times reports.

Collins, the chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, “initiated a letter to the White House that was signed by Senator Patty Murray of Washington, the panel’s senior Democrat. The letter asserted that the administration had violated the six-month spending law approved by Congress earlier this month.”