PSW Weekly Round-Up - 3/9

Legislative Update

House. The House is in recess this week, with Republicans convening today in Florida for a three-day policy retreat at the Trump National Doral. President Trump will address the lawmakers this afternoon.

Senate. The Senate’s legislative agenda this week is focused on housing legislation. Among other things, the Senate proposal would restrict large institutional investors that own more than 350 homes from purchasing single-family homes for 15 years. The shutdown of Homeland Security programs continues as there has been no deal struck between the White House and congressional Democrats, and the Senate last week was once again unable to advance a funding bill that failed to include reforms sought by Democrats.

Permitting Reform. In a March 5 statement, the top Democrats on the Environment and Public Works and the Energy and Natural Resources Committees agreed to re-start talks on permitting reform after the Interior Department said it would process permits that had been stalled for solar and onshore wind projects. The joint statement by Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) noted that “seeing permits continuing to be approved by the administration is critical for ensuring that talks can continue.”

Committee Action of Note

Tuesday, March 10

• Senate Budget Committee hearing: “Sanctuary Cities: The Cost of Undermining Law and Order”
• Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on The Constitution hearing: “Protecting American Citizenship: Birthright Citizenship for Illegal Aliens and Tourists”
• Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee hearing: “Increasing Domestic Consumption of U.S.-Grown Agricultural Products”

Wednesday, March 11

• Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing: “To Examine S. 3135, the Cold Weather Diesel Reliability Act”
• Senate Finance Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth hearing: “The Fiscal Outlook: 2027–2036”

Thursday, March 12

• Senate Armed Services Committee hearing: “Open/Closed: To receive testimony on the posture of United States European Command and United States Transportation Command in review of the Defense Authorization Request for Fiscal Year 2027 and the Future Years Defense Program”
• Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing: “Transparency and Trust: Exposing Malign Foreign Influence in Higher Education”

Executive Action of Note

On March 4, President Trump issued a proclamation announcing that seven technology companies had accepted the Ratepayer Protection Pledge, committing to “pay for the full costs of the energy and infrastructure needed to build and operate data centers.” The seven companies are Google, Microsoft, Meta, Oracle, xAI, OpenAI, and Amazon.

• Ratepayer Protection Pledge Proclamation - March 4, 2026
• Combating Cybercrime, Fraud, and Predatory Schemes Against American Citizens - March 6, 2026
• Commitment to Countering Cartel Criminal Activity - March 7, 2026

Tariff Update

Tariff refunds. On March 4, Judge Richard Eaton of the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) ordered Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to immediately refund, with interest, tariffs collected utilizing the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which the Supreme Court ruled against on Feb. 20. Approximately $166 billion has been collected in IEEPA duties as of last week.

Following Judge Eaton’s order, a CBP official told the court on March 6 that the agency is developing a refund process that could be ready in 45 days. “The refund processing for the 53,173,939 entries with IEEPA duties,” CBP said, “will require 4,431,161 man hours for CBP to complete.” Instead, CBP is working to have a new process ready in 45 days that would allow automated refunds for any importer that submits a claim identifying all shipments for which it paid IEEPA tariffs. After reviewing CBP’s submission, Judge Eaton said later on March 6 that he would suspend his ruling to require immediate compliance. Judge Eaton added that CBP must provide him with an update by 2 p.m. Thursday on its refund plan. If CBP’s 45-day timetable is met, the refund system would be ready by April 20.

Section 122 court case. President Trump’s imposition of 10% tariffs under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 is being challenged by a group of 22 Democratic attorneys general and two governors. The lawsuit, which was filed March 5 in the Court of International Trade, argues that the justifications used by the President to impose the tariffs are not legal and appropriate.

Political Update

Tuesday elections. Seventeen candidates are on the ballot in Tuesday’s special election to replace former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R), who resigned Jan. 5. Candidates from all parties are on the same ballot, and if no one wins a majority, the top two finishers will compete in an April 7 runoff to determine who will fill the remainder of Greene’s term. Also on Tuesday, Mississippi will hold primaries.

Oklahoma Senate seat. When Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) resigns his seat to take the helm at the Department of Homeland Security, Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) will appoint an interim successor, who, according to Oklahoma law, cannot be a candidate in the November general election for a full Senate term. Party primaries for Mullin’s seat, which is up this year, will be held June 16. If no candidate receives a majority, party runoffs would be Aug. 25. Current Republican House members Reps. Kevin Hern and Stephanie Bice are among those being mentioned as potential candidates. Candidates will file between April 1 and 3.

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