PSW Weekly Round-Up - 2/23

Legislative Update

Senate. The Senate is scheduled to vote Tuesday on whether to limit debate on the motion to proceed to the Homeland Security funding bill, but Democrats will not provide the votes needed to clear the 60-vote threshold until there is an agreement with the White House on reforms to practices employed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The two sides have traded offers, and President Trump is sure to highlight the impasse in tomorrow night’s State of the Union message. The speech, which the President said today will be “long,” is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET. Trump’s speech in 2025, which was not technically a State of the Union address, ran one hour, thirty-nine minutes, and thirty-two seconds.

On Thursday, the atrium in the Hart Senate Office Building will be the site of the Bipawtisan Doggi Gras Pawrade from 4 to 6 p.m., as authorized by a Senate resolution noting that “dogs have a unique ability to bring people of the United States with different backgrounds and beliefs together.”

House. The House will vote on legislation that would repeal grant programs to help low- and moderate-income households purchase qualifying energy efficient appliances, assist states and localities adopt updated energy efficient building codes, and train contractors to install energy efficiency improvements. Under suspension of the rules, requiring a two-thirds majority, the House will take up the Senate-passed ROTOR Act that was crafted after the 2025 collision between an airliner and an Army helicopter near Reagan National Airport. The bill requires all aircraft to broadcast their location using an advanced location-tracking technology.

Committee Action of Note

Monday, February 23

• House Agriculture Committee markup to consider H.R. 7567, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, has been postponed from today until the week of March 1.
• House Rules Committee meeting to formulate a rule on:
  • H.R. 4758, Homeowner Energy Freedom Act
  • H.R. 4626, Home Appliance Protection and Affordability Act

Tuesday, February 24

• House Appropriations Subcommittee on National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs hearing: “Oversight Hearing – National Endowment for Democracy.”
• House Judiciary Committee markup on H.R. ___, the Shut Down Sanctuary Policies Act.
• House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health hearing: “Advancing the Next Generation of America's Health Care Workforce.”
• House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight hearing: “Powering America's AI Future: Assessing Policy Options to Increase Data Center Infrastructure.”
• House Armed Services Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces hearing: “Modernization of the Organic Industrial Base.”
• Senate Budget Committee hearing: “Sanctuary Cities: The Cost of Undermining Law and Order.”

Wednesday, February 25

• Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing on the nomination of Casey Means to be Medical Director in the Regular Corps of the Public Health Service and Surgeon General of the Public Health Service.

Thursday, February 26

• Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing: “Update from the Prudential Regulators: Rightsizing Regulation to Promote American Opportunity.”
• Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee markup to consider legislation, including S.3315, to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to coordinate to improve cybersecurity in the health care and public health sectors

Tariff Update

IEEPA Out, Section 122 In. Following the Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling on Feb. 20 that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) cannot be used to impose tariffs, President Trump signed a proclamation to impose tariffs of 10 percent under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. The order provides that the tariffs are effective from Feb. 24 to July 24, the maximum 150 days allowed by Section 122 without Congressional approval. On Feb. 21, the President said he would increase the tariffs to 15 percent, but he has not yet issued an updated proclamation.

A fact sheet issued by the White House lists goods that will not be subject to the new tariffs, including passenger vehicles, pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients, certain critical minerals and metals used in energy products, certain electronics, and goods from Canada and Mexico that are compliant with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Section 122, which has never been invoked to impose trade restrictions, may be used if a president determines action is necessary to address a “large and serious” U.S. balance-of-payments deficit or to prevent depreciation of the dollar in foreign exchange markets. Various economists and legal experts have weighed in to opine that there is no balance-of-payments deficit, raising the prospect of legal challenges to this latest round of tariffs.

EU Trade Deal. The European Parliament today halted the ratification process of the European Union’s trade deal with the United States that would have capped tariffs on imports from the EU and eliminated trade barriers in a variety of sectors for U.S. exporters. European officials say they need more clarity on the President’s tariffs before they sign off on the deal.

Executive Action of Note

In addition to his proclamation imposing 10% tariffs, President Trump issued an executive order Feb. 20 extending the suspension of the de minimis exemption. Prior to Trump’s ending of the policy, the exemption had allowed goods valued at under $800 to be imported into the U.S. without being subject to tariffs and customs paperwork.

• Promoting the National Defense by Ensuring an Adequate Supply of Elemental Phosphorus and Glyphosate-Based Herbicides - Feb. 18, 2026
• Ending Certain Tariff Actions - Feb. 20, 2026
• Continuing the Suspension of Duty-free De Minimis Treatment for All Countries - Feb. 20, 2026
• Imposing a Temporary Import Surcharge to Address Fundamental International Payments Problems - Feb. 20, 2026

Political Update

N.J. Special Election. Analilia Mejia has been declared the winner in the Feb. 5 special Democratic primary for former Rep. Mikie Sherrill’s (D-N.J.) seat. Mejia, a political organizer, bested former Rep. Tom Malinowski and nine other candidates. She will face Republican nominee Joe Hathaway in the April 16 special election.

www.psw-inc.com