Cuomo Blamed for Barely Campaigning As Dems Plot to Stop Zohran Mamdani
Howie Kurtz on the Supreme Court ruling states can block Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood, questions remaining on the assessment of success of the Iran strike and Andrew Cuomo remaining in NYC mayoral race despite surprise loss to democrat socialist.
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Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Senators launch a weekend of work to meet Trump's deadline for passing his tax and spending cuts
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is preparing for a key procedural vote Saturday as Republicans race to pass President Donald Trump's package of tax breaks, spending cuts and bolstered deportation funds by his July Fourth deadline. Republicans are using their majorities in Congress to push aside Democratic opposition, but they have run into a series of political and policy setbacks. Not all GOP lawmakers are on board with proposals to reduce spending on Medicaid, food stamps and other programs as a way to help cover the cost of extending some $3.8 trillion in Trump tax breaks. Ahead of the expected roll call, the White House released a statement of administrative policy saying it 'strongly supports passage' of the bill that 'implements critical aspects' of the president's agenda. Trump himself was at his golf course in Virginia on Saturday with GOP senators posting about it on social media. "It's time to get this legislation across the finish line," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., though the vote time was still uncertain. The 940-page bill was released shortly before midnight Friday, and senators are expected to grind through the days ahead with hours of potentially all-night debate and countless amendments. Senate passage could be days away, and the bill would need to return to the House for a final round of votes before it could reach the White House. With the narrow Republicans majorities in the House and Senate, leaders need almost every lawmaker on board in the face of essentially unified opposition from Democrats. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, opened the day's session with an impassioned defense of the package that he said has been misrepresented by its critics. 'Read it for yourself,' he said. Make-or-break moment for GOP The weekend session could be a make-or-break moment for Trump's party, which has invested much of its political capital on his signature domestic policy plan. Trump is pushing Congress to wrap it up, even as he sometimes gives mixed signals, allowing for more time. At recent events at the White House, including Friday, Trump has admonished the 'grandstanders' among GOP holdouts to fall in line. 'We can get it done,' Trump said in a social media post. 'It will be a wonderful Celebration for our Country.' The legislation is an ambitious but complicated series of GOP priorities. At its core, it would make permanent many of the tax breaks from Trump's first term that would otherwise expire by year's end if Congress fails to act, resulting in a potential tax increase on Americans. The bill would add new breaks, including no taxes on tips, and commit $350 billion to national security, including for Trump's mass deportation agenda. But the spending cuts that Republicans are relying on to offset the lost tax revenues are causing dissent within the GOP ranks. Some lawmakers say the cuts go too far, particularly for people receiving health care through Medicaid. Meanwhile, conservatives, worried about the nation's debt, are pushing for steeper cuts. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said he remains concerned about the fundamentals of the package and will not support the procedural motion to begin debate. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has been opposed to the measure to raise the nation's debt limit by $5 trillion. And Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., pushing for deeper cuts, said he needed to see the final legislative text. After setbacks, Republicans revise some proposals The release of that draft had been delayed as the Senate parliamentarian reviewed the bill to ensure it complied with the chamber's strict 'Byrd Rule,' named for the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd, It largely bars policy matters from inclusion in budget bills unless a provision can get 60 votes to overcome objections. That would be a tall order in a Senate with a 53-47 GOP edge and Democrats unified against Trump's bill. Republicans suffered a series of setbacks after several proposals were determined to be out of compliance by the chief arbiter of the Senate's rules. One plan would have shifted some food stamp costs from the federal government to the states; a second would have gutted the funding structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. But over the past days, Republicans have quickly revised those proposals and reinstated them. The final text includes a proposal for cuts to a Medicaid provider tax that had run into parliamentary objections and opposition from several senators worried about the fate of rural hospitals. The new version extends the start date for those cuts and establishes a $25 billion fund to aid rural hospitals and providers. Most states impose the provider tax as a way to boost federal Medicaid reimbursements. Some Republicans argue that is a scam and should be abolished. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has said that under the House-passed version of the bill, some 10.9 million more people would go without health care and at least 3 million fewer would qualify for food aid. The CBO has not yet publicly assessed the Senate draft, which proposes steeper reductions. Top income-earners would see about a $12,000 tax cut under the House bill, while the package would cost the poorest Americans $1,600, the CBO said. SALT dispute shakes things up The Senate included a compromise over the so-called SALT provision, a deduction for state and local taxes that has been a top priority of lawmakers from New York and other high-tax states, but the issue remains unsettled. The current SALT cap is $10,000 a year, and a handful of Republicans wanted to boost it to $40,000 a year. The final draft includes a $40,000 cap, but for five years instead of 10. Many Republican senators say that is still too generous. At least one House GOP holdout, Rep. Nick LaLota of New York, had said that would be insufficient. Trump's deadline nears Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Republicans dropped the bill 'in the dead of night' and are rushing to finish the bill before the public fully knows what's in it. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who sent his colleagues home for the weekend with plans to be on call to return to Washington, had said they are 'very close' to finishing up. 'We would still like to meet that July Fourth, self-imposed deadline,' said Johnson, R-La. Johnson and Thune have stayed close to the White House, relying on Trump to pressure holdout lawmakers.
Bloomberg
19 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Powell and Lagarde Count Cost of Trump's Turbulence
The global economy's concussion from five months of Donald Trump's presidency is likely to feature when five of the world's leading central bank chiefs discuss monetary policy in public on Tuesday. From tariff-related trade ructions to oil-price gyrations caused by Middle East hostilities, the question of how to handle the fallout from White House decisions may loom large as Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell speaks on a panel with peers from the euro zone, Japan, South Korea and the UK.
Fox News
33 minutes ago
- Fox News
Key GOP senator defects on crucial vote, imperiling Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' in narrow majority
Print Close By Alex Miller Published June 28, 2025 A vulnerable Senate Republican put his foot down against President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" over concerns of deep Medicaid cuts inside the megabill. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told Fox News Digital that he would not support the measure through a procedural hurdle necessary to kick off a marathon of debate and amendment voting that would eventually culminate in the measure's final passage. TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' FACES REPUBLICAN FAMILY FEUD AS SENATE REVEALS ITS FINAL TEXT Tillis, who is up for reelection in 2026, said after exiting the Senate GOP's closed-door lunch that he has a "great relationship" with his colleagues, but that he couldn't support the colossal bill. "We just have a disagreement," he said. "And, you know, my colleagues have done the analysis, and they're comfortable with the impact on their states. I respect their choice. It's not a good impact in my state, so I'm not going to vote on the motion to proceed." ANXIOUS REPUBLICANS TURN TO TRUMP AMID DIVISIONS OVER 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' He also won't support the bill during the final stretch. Tillis is part of a cohort of Senate Republicans who have expressed reservations over the Senate GOP's changes to the Medicaid provider tax rate. Tillis' resistance to the bill is a bad sign for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., who can only afford to lose three votes. So far, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., has vowed to vote against the procedural test, and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is expected to follow suit. Trump was meeting with Johnson and Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fl., another possible holdout, during the lunch. Lawmakers are expected to vote to advance the bill at 4 p.m. on Saturday. The mounting resistance could force Thune to go back to the drawing board. Further complicating matters is Collins, who is also up for reelection in 2026, who said that while she would support the bill through the first step, she was leaning against voting to pass the bill in the final stretch unless the legislation was "further changed." SENATE GOP EYES MEDICAID SWEETENER TO SAVE TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' The latest version of the bill, which dropped near the stroke of midnight, included tweaks to the Senate's offering that would push back the provider rate crackdown by one year, and also added another $25 billion for a rural hospital stabilization fund. While others in the group, like Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., are on board to at least see the legislation move through the first key procedural hurdle, Tillis has argued that his state would be harshly affected by the crackdown. Indeed, during a closed-door lunch earlier this week, the lawmaker reportedly warned that North Carolina could lose as much as $40 billion in Medicaid funding if the changes were codified. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP For now, Tillis is unlikely to budge, even after conversations with Trump. He is also planning to unveil further analysis on the impact of Medicaid cuts on his state that he said no one in the "administration or in this building" has been able to refute. "The president I have talked, and I just told him that, 'Look, if this works for the country, that's great. And if my other colleagues have done extensive research and concluded it's different in their states, I respect that,'" he said. "We just have a disagreement based on the implementation in our respective states." Print Close URL
