President Bush said he would begin to veto spending bills if Congress did not cut the federal budget.  The President has said that curtailing spending is a priority for his Administration and a vital step in cutting the federal deficit in half by 2009 as he plans.  The President has never employed the power of the veto during his five years in office.

A bipartisan compromise on immigration failed yesterday when a Senate vote garnered just 38 votes out of 60 needed to pass the bill.  Some Republicans objected that the bill would grant amnesty to some 11 million illegal immigrants currently in the US.  Supporters of the bill may try to schedule another vote when the Senate returns from its two-week spring recess, but some contend that a new compromise will have to be sought.

The White House is claiming that President Bush’s authorization of a leak of classified National Intelligence Estimate information is legal because the President’s authority itself declassifies the information.  The White House also stuck to its long-time stand on the leak matter, saying it will not comment on an ongoing investigation.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales for the first time suggested that President Bush may have the legal right to authorize wiretaps without a warrant for communications that take place entirely within the US.  At a House Judiciary Committee hearing, Gonzales said, “I’m not going to rule it out,” when asked about the issue. Meanwhile, President Bush remained unapologetic over authorizing NSA wiretaps without warrants on international communications.

A new AP-Ipsos poll found record-low approval ratings for President Bush on Iraq, terror, and his overall job performance.  Close to 70% of Americans think the country is headed in the wrong direction, while just 36% approve of the President’s overall performance.  As a party, Republicans have finally lost their long-time lead on which party to trust on national security matters, falling into a tie with Democrats at 41% each.

A Hamas official said that the ruling Palestinian party may be ready to accept a two-state solution to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  According to the source, Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and President Mahmoud Abbas were to discuss the idea of a two-state solution at a meeting as a way of softening Hamas’ stance of not recognizing Israel.  Haniyeh, though, denies that was ever on the agenda: “That is not correct.  Where did you hear that?” he replied when reporters asked him about the matter.