WASHINGTON — House lawmakers return to Washington this week, where the primary question will be whether Budget Committee Republicans can come to an agreement to mark up a budget resolution that gets the ball rolling on the budget reconciliation process needed to advance President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda.

Given the pace of Congress, it could be hard for them to keep up with the speed of President Donald Trump’s executive agenda — which in the last several days has included sweeping new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, and a potential effort to restructure the U.S. Agency for International Development.

“USAID, run by radical lunatics, and we’re getting them out, and then we’ll make a decision,” Trump told reporters Sunday.

Elon Musk, a top adviser to the president, said during a livestream on his X platform late Sunday night that Trump agreed with him about wanting to eliminate USAID.

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who joined the livestream, said that the new administration and the Congress need to work quickly to have accomplishments ahead of the midterms.

“We all know there’s going to be bumps along the way,” Ernst said. “Of course there are, because we’re moving at the speed of relevance here, but we’ve got to get in there and make an impact so that our constituents can actually see the benefits. Because we’ve got a tough … mid-presidential year election coming up in 2026, and we cannot lose the House or the Senate, because then the president will be dead in the water.”

The new tariffs that Trump slapped on Canada, Mexico and China will be “effective Tuesday,” according to a White House official.

With that timing, the tariffs will be top of mind at the Finance Committee’s scheduled Thursday confirmation hearing for the nomination of Jamieson Greer to be U.S. trade representative. Greer was the chief of staff to the USTR in Trump’s first term.

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., at a news conference on Sunday criticized the tarrifs, particularly on goods from Mexico and Canada, using an avocado and a can of Corona beer as props to highlight potential increased food costs for Super Bowl parties.

More nominees on the move

Chris Wright, who has served as CEO of fracking company Liberty Energy, is on track to be confirmed Monday evening as secretary of Energy.

Procedural votes are also expected Monday evening, with Democrats forcing Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to take additional steps to call up Trump’s nomination of Russ Vought to be director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Democrats were already widely opposed to Vought’s nomination, but there’s been renewed focus on the budget office after recent announcements from the Trump administration — including an on-again-off-again effort to put a widespread pause on federal aid spending.

Also in line for floor votes this week are the nominations of former Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs; Pam Bondi to be attorney general; and Eric Turner to be secretary of Housing and Urban Development. A cloture vote on the Bondi nomination is expected Monday evening.

Trump on Sunday said the Senate was not moving fast enough on his nominees. However, the time agreements reached by Thune seem to be getting the nominees through to confirmation in roughly the same amount of time as they would if the Senate were burning the proverbial midnight oil, given the extent of the Democratic objections.

The president said in a social media post that the Democratic-led delays were “disgraceful.”

“Republicans must GET TOUGH — AND MUST GET TOUGH VERY FAST. We need our Nominees NOW, for the Safety and Good of our Country!” Trump said.

Senate confirmation hearings and committee votes on more nominees continue this week. The Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee considers the nomination of Brooke Rollins to be Agriculture secretary on Monday, and the Finance Committee meets Tuesday on the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead Health and Human Services.

Meanwhile, the full House this plans to take up a bill designed to combat fentanyl by imposing new restrictions on fentanyl-related substances and a bill to restrict the ability of the president to impose limits on hydraulic fracking.

The latest anti-fentanyl bill, sponsored by Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., passed the House with bipartisan support last Congress.

John T. Bennett contributed to this report.

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