Greg Nash

Senators are planning to work through Sunday during a rare weekend session to debate President Trump’s strict voter identification bill and other conservative priorities.

On Friday: Lawmakers will vote on funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The measure is expected to fail.

On Saturday: The Senate will likely vote on Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-Ala.) amendment to ban transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports.

On Sunday: The Senate will vote to advance Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s (R-Okla.) nomination to serve as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Sunday’s vote would set up a final confirmation vote on Monday.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk. He doesn’t think Senate GOP Leader John Thune (S.D.) is working hard enough to push this bill through the Senate. However, The New York Times points out that Musk hasn’t publicly spent money to advocate for the legislation.

Read more: ‘The World’s Richest Man Unleashes on the Senate’s Top Republican’

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One year ago today, President Trump instructed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to abolish the Education Department.

On Thursday, the department took one of its biggest steps yet in doing that. The department announced it would seek to move its $1.7 trillion student loan portfolio to the Treasury Department, shifting it away from the Education Department, reports The Hill’s Lexi Lonas Cochran.

Read more on where the effort stands: ‘Trump’s push to abolish the Education Department reaches student loan portfolio’

HAPPENING TODAY AT THE WHITE HOUSE:

Trump hosted the winners of the Commander-in-Chief trophy at the White House this morning.

“A tide of political danger is rising around President Trump as criticism grows that he may be losing control of the war in Iran,” writes The Hill’s Niall Stanage in his column today.

The gist: Oil prices are surging, the stock market is volatile and the conflict appears to be escalating. There are also worries of a spike in inflation driven by fuel costs. Trump downplayed the price increases on Thursday, but some see political peril looming.

Keep in mind: An overwhelming majority of Americans expect oil and gas prices to keep rising, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Read Stanage’s column — it’s The Hill’s most-read story today: ‘Frustrated Trump struggles against perception that he’s losing control of Iran war’

NEW POLL ON THE IRAN WAR:

Nearly two-thirds of Americans think Trump will send U.S. ground troops to Iran, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.

For what it’s worth, Trump denied on Thursday that he would send additional troops. “No, I’m not putting troops anywhere,” he said.

OMG, THE PEARL HARBOR JOKE:

President Trump made a joke about Pearl Harbor while sitting next to the prime minister of Japan. The president was asked why he didn’t alert allies before he attacked Iran and he used that question to invoke the 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor.

“You don’t want to signal too much. … We didn’t tell anybody about it because we wanted surprise,” Trump said. “Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor?”

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi had quite the facial expression when Trump said that. 🎥 Watch the clip

TRUMP MAY BE RETHINKING HIS IMMIGRATION POLICIES:

The Wall Street Journal reports that President Trump has been telling those close to him that he may have gone too far in his mass deportation policies.

White House chief of staff Susie Wiles reportedly thinks there should be an immigration reset in the Trump administration because immigration went from one of Trump’s biggest strengths to a midterm weakness.

Read more: ‘Trump Told Inner Circle Some Mass Deportation Policies Went Too Far’

CBS News is laying off 60-70 staffers today, according to Variety, due to cost-cutting measures from Paramount Skydance.

Plus: CBS News Radio is being terminated.

Timing: “The staff reductions … come after Bari Weiss, editor in chief of CBS News, articulated a plan to make CBS News more relevant to younger, digitally savvy generations, which may entail recalibrating the traditional deference given to the bread and butter operations of the business — linear TV programming.”

— Actor and martial artist Chuck Norris has died at the age of 86.

— The Supreme Court unanimously ruled today to revive a Mississippi evangelist’s challenge to a city protest ordinance. This was the only ruling today.

— The Atlantic’s McKay Coppins posted, “Last year, I met a Mexican athlete who told me an incredible story—that he’d been kidnapped in 2023 and forced to compete for his life in a secret tournament of cartels. Once I started reporting, the story only got more surreal.” The story is worth reading: ‘The Incredible Story of the Cartel Olympics’

— Investigators are taking a closer look at Nancy Guthrie’s security gate at her front door.

The Washington Post: Thousands have swooned over this MAGA dream girl. She’s made with AI.

The Wall Street Journal: In Nearly 90 Truth Social Posts, Trump Narrates the War in Iran

NBC News: Father of service member killed in Iran war said he never told Pete Hegseth to 'finish' the job

The New York Times: Can Jonah Peretti Save BuzzFeed From Extinction?: Facing financial straits, the founder is betting on a skunkworks for A.I. experiments.