INTERVIEW – SENATOR CHRIS VAN HOLLEN – (D-MD) – junior United States Senator from Maryland, serving since January 3, 2017. From 2003-17, he served as the U.S. Representative for Maryland’s 8th congressional district.

• Conservatives fume over “complete” spending concession to Democrats
• White House, Democrats claim victory in budget deal. (CNN)The White House and Democrats on Capitol Hill both took a victory lap Monday after congressional negotiators reached a budget deal Sunday night to fund the government through the end of the fiscal year. Democrats on Capitol Hill rejoiced, pointing to the lack of funding for Trump’s proposed wall on the Mexican border and increases in domestic spending — rather than the massive cuts Trump had proposed — as a victory for Democrats and a blow to the President. Meanwhile, the White House touted a double-digit, multibillion-dollar increase in military spending and $1.5 billion in border security funding as political wins. “I think it’s great that the Democrats like the bill. That’s fantastic,” OMB Director Mick Mulvaney said. “We thought this was a really good deal for this administration as well. Everything that we got in this deal (Sunday) — last night — lines up perfectly with the President’s priorities.”