House Passes Budget Plan to Advance Trump's Agenda; EU Pauses Counter-Tariffs Against US for 90 Days

The House on Thursday passed a budget plan that lays the groundwork for extending President Donald Trump's 2017 tax cuts, despite opposition from all Democrats and two Republicans who worried that it does not cut spending sufficiently. The 216-214 House vote is a preliminary - but required - step that would enable Republicans to bypass Democratic opposition and pass tax cut legislation along party lines later this year.

The European Union will pause its first countermeasures against U.S. tariffs after Trump temporarily lowered the hefty duties he recently imposed on dozens of countries, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday. The bloc was due to launch counter-tariffs on about 21 billion euros ($23.25 billion) of U.S. imports from next Tuesday in response to Trump's 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum. The EU is still assessing how to respond to U.S. car tariffs and the broader 10 percent levies still in place.

Military officials are testifying on Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the national security challenges and the military posture of U.S. armed forces in the Indo-Pacific region.