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The top Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee is requesting that Congress' investigative arm, the Government Accountability Office, review allegations detailed in a whistleblower complaint about potential DOGE activity at the National Labor Relations Board, according to a letter first shared with NBC News.

The letter, dated yesterday, was sent by Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va.

Scott wrote that in light of the allegations included in the whistleblower's document, "I write with urgency to request that you include the NLRB in the ongoing review and assessment that you initiated in response to my letter submitted on February 6, 2025, as well as other relevant letters submitted by other congressional requestors."

Scott had previously written to the GAO, urging it to review the security of IT systems at various agencies and DOGE's "interventions in those systems."

Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., faced pushback from constituents over Trump’s tariffs and the Department of Government Efficiency's efforts to slash the size of government during town halls he held in his congressional district yesterday.

One attendee at Mast’s town hall in Jupiter, Florida, said, “He’s like an inoperable, malignant tumor to this country,” apparently referring to Trump, according to NBC affiliate WPTV.

Mast represents Florida's 21st Congressional District, located in the southeastern part of the state, north of West Palm Beach. Constituents at his meetings yesterday also expressed concerns that Social Security and Medicare could receive cuts.

"No. 1, let’s say this about Social Security and Medicare: No ifs, ands or buts, it is not on the chopping block," Mast said.

At the Jupiter town hall, one person was escorted out, according to WPTV. Another attendee said while leaving the event that he didn’t get “many good answers,” adding the lawmaker was “just agreeing with President Trump’s initiatives.”

At Mast's town hall in Palm City, he defended DOGE after attendee Tina Dunchey expressed concerns about the Elon Musk-run effort.

“You’re letting people not even sworn into the government wreak havoc on things,” Dunchey said.

“You can count on my 100% support for DOGE to continue today, tomorrow, next week, next month, all throughout the year,” Mast said.

Mast also staunchly defended the tariffs implemented by Trump, despite an attendee saying they’re “wildly chaotic” and will not “stimulate manufacturing in the United States.”

Mast responded that other countries have been putting tariffs on the U.S., adding, “We are not at a point of free trade. We are going to fight to get to a point of free trade.”

A meeting between U.S. and Japanese officials on tariff negotiations is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. ET, according to a senior administration official. It is unclear if the meeting began on time.

Trump referred to the meeting earlier today in a postonTruth Social, saying he and some members of his Cabinet would attend.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Attorney General Rob Bonta said Wednesday they are suing the Trump administration in federal court over President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on U.S. trading partners.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, argues that Trump doesn’t have the presidential authority to unilaterally impose tariffs using the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, according to Newsom’s office.

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A group of 12 House Republicans, including several who represent swing districts, wrote a letter to GOP leadership drawing a red line against “any reduction in Medicaid coverage for vulnerable populations,” as the party considers significant Medicaid cuts to pay for a massive bill to pass Trump’s agenda.

The signatories are: Reps. David Valadao, R-Calif.; Don Bacon, R-Neb.; Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J.; Rob Bresnahan, R-Pa.; Young Kim, R-Calif.; Robert Wittman, R-Va.; Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y.; Nick LaLota, R-N.Y.; Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y.; and Jeff Hurd, R-Colo.

“We acknowledge that we must reform Medicaid so that it is a strong and long-lasting program for years to come,” they wrote. “We support targeted reforms to improve program integrity, reduce improper payments, and modernize delivery systems to fix flaws in the program that divert resources away from children, seniors, individuals with disabilities, and pregnant women — those who the program was intended to help. However, we cannot and will not support a final reconciliation bill that includes any reduction in Medicaid coverage for vulnerable populations.”

“We are committed to working with you to preserve Medicaid and identify responsible savings through deregulation, streamlining federal programs, and cutting administrative red tape,” they added. “Communities like ours won us the majority, and we have a responsibility to deliver on the promises we made.”

In the narrow House GOP majority, these members have the power to block any bill if they’re unsatisfied.

As NBC News reported in February, Valadao, a top Democratic target for defeat in next year's midterm elections, represents the largest share of Medicaid recipients of any GOP-held district.

House Republicans mathematically cannot meet their own budget targets without making hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to Medicaid or Medicare, according to the official scorekeeper. Those targets were included on demands from conservative hardliners who want to tackle red ink in this package.

Democrats have their first candidate in the race to unseat Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, in what will be an uphill battle in an increasingly red state.

Nathan Sage hopes his background as a Marine and Army veteran, mechanic and local sports play-by-play announcer — as he touts in his launch video — will connect with working-class voters.

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Sen. Chris Van Hollen is flying to El Salvador today to push for the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia after the mistakenly deported man was not returned by midweek, one of the senator’s conditions for embarking on the trip.

Van Hollen said in a video post from the airport that he was about to board a flight to the country’s capital, adding that his goal was show the Trump administration and El Salvador’s government “that we are going to keep fighting to bring Abrego Garcia home until he returns to his family.”

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The AFL-CIO will launch nearly 400 events nationwide over the next two weeks in an effort to push back on the administration’s changes to the federal government.

The events are organized under the AFL-CIO’s Department of People Who Work for a Living campaign — a shot at Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

Some of the events, beginning during this two-week congressional recess and going until April 28, will be rallies outside federal agencies and protests outside lawmakers' offices.

But the centerpiece will be 19 "field hearings," according to Eddie Vale, who is consulting with the AFL-CIO. Workers from across different unions and sectors will be able to share their stories and solutions to the Trump administration's cuts.

The testimony will ultimately be collected and distributed as a report to the White House and Congress, "to show what actual working people and communities want and need from the government," Vale said.

Few Republican lawmakers are holding town halls during this recess, but some who have done so have already faced angry attendees.

Republicans are discussing an idea that has long been anathema within the party: a tax hike on the wealthy.

In a twist, members of the GOP are debating whether to allow tax rates to go up on top earners when major parts of the 2017 tax law expire at the end of this year as part of a massive bill to pass Trump’s agenda.

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Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said he is concerned about political violence in the wake of the arson attack on the governor’s residence, where Gov. Josh Shapiro resides.

Rendell said he felt safe when he lived in the residence, between 2003 and 2011, adding that even though there were demonstrations outside the home sometimes, it was “part of the business,” and there were troopers on-site around the clock.

“People are now taking violence into their hands as a way of resolving political divisions," Rendell told NBC's news station in Philadelphia. "It’s terrible. It’s going to tear the country apart unless we do something about it.”

Cody Balmer, who was charged in the arson attack at the historic governor’s residence, said he had hatred toward Shapiro and would have attacked him directly had they come face to face.

Rendell said he hopes stronger security measures will be put in place following the attack.

“I would hope that people who are more experienced in putting security around public officials would look at the house, look at the way it’s built, look at the outside, look at the television,” he said.

Trump announced this morning that he would meet today with Japanese officials to discuss trade and military cost issues, marking the latest public overture from another country in response to steep U.S. tariffs, which the president has temporarily reduced.

"Japan is coming in today to negotiate Tariffs, the cost of military support, and 'TRADE FAIRNESS,'" Trump said in a post to Truth Social "I will attend the meeting, along with Treasury & Commerce Secretaries. Hopefully something can be worked out which is good (GREAT!) for Japan and the USA!"

The White House previously hit Japanese imports to the U.S. with a 24% blanket tariff.

The U.S. and Japan had previously reached a trade agreement in 2019, during Trump's first term. Japan is one of the top five buyers of U.S. goods in 2022, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

Japan also hosts tens of thousands of U.S. troops.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen announced that he will travel to El Salvador today to push for the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man the Justice Department said it mistakenly deported.

“My hope is to visit Kilmar and check on his wellbeing and to hold constructive conversations with government officials around his release. We must urgently continue working to return Kilmar safely home to Maryland,” Van Hollen, D-Md., said in a statement last night, calling Abrego Garcia’s deportation “unlawful” and an “abduction.”

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