Trump praises DeSantis, rates once-frosty relations now ‘10 out of 10 — maybe 9.9'
'Ten out of 10 – maybe 9.9,' the president said of the pair's current relationship while touring the new facility that will soon be used for deportations.
DeSantis, who the president branded 'DeSanctimonious' during the bitter 2024 GOP presidential primary contest, greeted Trump in jeans and a blazer on the tarmac of the new facility designed to encourage 'self-deportation' because of its unpleasant swampy setting.
Advertisement
6 President Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis interacted warmly Tuesday.
REUTERS
6 The two Republican leaders, who clashed in the 2024 presidential primary election, were inaugurating the 'Alligator Alcatraz' facility in the Everglades for migrants.
REUTERS
'As you know, Ron and I have had a really great relationship,' Trump said at a roundtable event inside the new detention facility.
Advertisement
'We had a little off period for a couple of days,' the president added jokingly — referring to the months of mud-flinging between Trump, 79, and DeSantis, 46, who unsuccessfully argued it was time to turn the page on the then-ex-president.
Trump and DeSantis met in spring 2024 after the governor's blowout loss in the GOP primaries and have golfed and interacted in passing at a White House event, but Tuesday marked their most protracted public engagement.
6 The governor encouraged other states to help the feds open more migrant detention centers.
AFP via Getty Images
6 DeSantis awaits Trump's disembarkation from Air Force One.
AFP via Getty Images
Advertisement
DeSantis and Trump interacted warmly as another potential clash takes shape ahead of next year's gubernatorial election, in which term-limited DeSantis has floated his wife Casey as his potential successor while many of Trump's supporters are lining up behind Rep. Bryon Donalds.
Trump did not answer Tuesday when a reporter asked if he would back Casey DeSantis for governor.
6 An alligator floats near the detention camp.
REUTERS
6 Trump tours the facility with DeSantis and Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem.
REUTERS
Advertisement
The 'Alligator Alcatraz' facilities features large heavy-duty tents, with dog-kennel-style chain-link fence partitions separating pods of bunk beds.
DeSantis encouraged other states to create equally imposing facilities for migrants and gushed about the Sunshine State's rush opening, likening it to his COVID-19 management and saying it was 'like the monoclonal antibodies thing on steroids.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
4 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
House Republicans race toward a final vote on Trump's tax bill, daring critics to oppose
WASHINGTON — Republican leaders in the House are sprinting toward a Wednesday vote on President Donald Trump's tax and spending cuts package, determined to seize momentum from a hard-fought vote in the Senate while essentially daring members to defy their party's leader and vote against it. 'The American people gave us a clear mandate, and after four years of Democrat failure, we intend to deliver without delay,' the top four House GOP leaders said Tuesday after the bill passed the Senate 51-50, thanks to Vice President JD Vance's tiebreaking vote. It's a risky gambit, one designed to meet Trump's demand for a July 4 finish — and there's a steep climb ahead. Since launching early this year, Republicans have struggled mightily with the bill nearly every step of the way, often succeeding by only a single vote. Their House majority stands at only 220-212, leaving little room for defections. Some Republicans are likely to balk at being asked to rubber stamp the Senate bill less than 24 hours after passage, having had little time to read or absorb the changes that were made, many at the last minute to win the vote of Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski. House Republicans from competitive districts have bristled at the Senate bill's cuts to Medicaid, while conservatives have lambasted the legislation as straying from their fiscal goals. It falls to Speaker Mike Johnson and his team to convince them that the time for negotiations is over. The bill would extend and make permanent various individual and business tax breaks that Republicans passed in Trump's first term, plus temporarily add new ones that Trump promised during the campaign, including allowing workers to deduct tips and overtime pay, and provide a new $6,000 deduction for most older adults. In all, the legislation contains about $4.5 trillion in tax cuts over 10 years. The bill also provides some $350 billion for defense and Trump's immigration crackdown. Republicans partially pay for it all through less spending on Medicaid and food assistance. The Congressional Budget Office projects that it will add about $3.3 trillion in federal deficits over the coming decade. The House passed its version of the bill back in May, despite worries about spending cuts and the overall price tag. Now, they are being asked to give final passage to a version that, in many respects, exacerbates those concerns. The Senate bill's projected impact on federal deficits, for example, is significantly higher. Trump praised the bill profusely in a social media post, saying 'We can have all of this right now, but only if the House GOP UNITES, ignores its occasional 'GRANDSTANDERS' (You know who you are!), and does the right thing, which is sending this Bill to my desk.' Speaker Johnson, R-La., is intent on meeting the president's July 4 timeline. He's also betting that hesitant Republicans won't cross Trump because of the heavy political price they would have to pay. They need only look to Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who announced his intention to vote against the legislation over the weekend. Soon, the president was calling for a primary challenger to the senator and personally attacking him on social media. Tillis quickly announced he would not seek a third term. Others could face a similar fate. One House Republican who has staked out opposition to the bill, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, is already being targeted by Trump's well-funded political operation. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said leadership was not entertaining the possibility of making changes to the bill before the final vote. He said the two chambers already agree on the vast majority of what's in it. 'It's not as easy as saying, 'hey, I just want one more change,' because one more change could end up being what collapses the entire thing,' Scalise said. Democratic lawmakers, united against the bill as harmful to the country, condemned the process as rushed. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said there's no real deadline for getting the bill passed by July 4th. 'We're rushing not because the country demands it, but because he wants to throw himself another party,' McGovern said. 'This isn't policy. It's ego management.' House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries described the bill in dire terms, saying that cuts in Medicaid spending would result in 'Americans losing their lives because of their inability to access health care coverage.' He said Republicans are 'literally ripping the food out of the mouths of children, veterans and seniors.' 'House Democrats are going to do everything we can for the next few hours, today, tomorrow, for the balance of this week and beyond to stop this bill from ever becoming law,' Jeffries said. Republicans say they are trying to rightsize the safety net programs for the population they were initially designed to serve, mainly pregnant women, the disabled and children, and root out what they describe as waste, fraud and abuse. The package includes new 80-hour-a-month work requirements for many adults receiving Medicaid and applies existing work requirements in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to more beneficiaries. States will also pick up more of the cost for food benefits, with the amount based on their payment error rates, which include both underpayments and overpayments. The driving force behind the bill, however, is the tax cuts. Many expire at the end of this year if Congress doesn't act. 'Passing this bill means smaller tax bills and bigger paychecks for the American people — permanently,' said Senate Majority Leader John Thune. 'It will also help get our economy firing on all cylinders again.' The Tax Policy Center, which provides nonpartisan analysis of tax and budget policy, projected the bill would result next year in a $150 tax break for the lowest quintile of Americans, a $1,750 tax cut for the middle quintile, and a $10,950 tax cut for the top quintile. That's compared to what they'd face if the 2017 tax cuts expired.
Bloomberg
7 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Trump Threatens 35% Japan Tariffs, 'Big Beautiful Bill' Faces Resistance
resident Donald Trump threatened Japan with tariffs of up to 35% as he ramped up tensions for a third straight day, fueling fears of a worst-case scenario among market players. Japan should be forced to 'pay 30%, 35% or whatever the number is that we determine, because we also have a very big trade deficit with Japan,' Trump said, again flagging the possibility that across-the-board tariffs could go much higher than the 24% initially penciled in for July 9. Trump's multitrillion-dollar tax bill is running into Republican resistance in the House as moderate and ultraconservative GOP lawmakers threaten to defy the president. House lawmakers vote Wednesday on the Senate version of the bill, which squeaked through that chamber on Vice President JD Vance's tie-breaking vote. (Source: Bloomberg)
Chicago Tribune
7 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Illinois joins 20 states suing after Trump administration releases private Medicaid data to deportation officials
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration violated federal privacy laws when it turned over Medicaid data on millions of enrollees to deportation officials last month, California Attorney General Rob Bonta alleged on Tuesday, saying he and 19 other states' attorneys general have sued over the move. Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s advisers ordered the release of a dataset that includes the private health information of people living in California, Illinois, Washington state, and Washington, D.C., to the Department of Homeland Security, The Associated Press first reported last month. All of those states allow non-U.S. citizens to enroll in Medicaid programs that pay for their expenses using only state taxpayer dollars. The unusual data sharing of private health information, including addresses, names, social security numbers, immigration status, and claims data for enrollees in those states, was released to deportation officials as they accelerated enforcement efforts across the country. The data could be used to help the Department of Homeland Security locate migrants in its mass deportation campaign, experts said. Bonta said the Trump administration's data release violates federal health privacy protection laws, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). 'This is about flouting seven decades of federal law policy and practice that have made it clear that personal healthcare data is confidential and can only be shared in certain narrow circumstances that benefit the public's health or the Medicaid program,' Bonta said during a news conference on Tuesday. The Trump administration has sought to arm deportation officials with more data on immigrants. In May, for example, a federal judge refused to block the Internal Revenue Service from sharing immigrants' tax data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to help agents locate and detain people living without legal status in the U.S. The move to shore up the federal government's data on immigrant Medicaid enrollees appears to have been set in motion in May, when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced it would be reviewing some states rolls to ensure federal funds have not been used to pay for coverage for people with 'unsatisfactory immigration status.' As part of the review, CMS asked California, Washington and Illinois to share details about non-U.S. citizens who have enrolled in their state's Medicaid program, according to a June 6 memo signed by Medicaid Deputy Director Sara Vitolo that was obtained by the AP. The memo was written by several CMS officials under Vitolo's supervision, according to sources familiar with the process. CMS officials attempted to fight the data sharing request from Homeland Security, saying that to do so would violate federal laws, including the Social Security Act and the Privacy Act of 1974, according to the memo. The legal arguments outlined in the memo were not persuasive to Trump appointees at HHS, which oversees the Medicaid agency. Trump administration gives personal data of immigrant Medicaid enrollees, including people in Illinois, to deportation officialsFour days after the memo was sent, on June 10, HHS officials directed the transfer of 'the data to DHS by 5:30 ET today,' according to email exchanges obtained by AP. HHS is 'aggressively cracking down on states that may be misusing federal Medicaid funds,' agency spokesman Andrew Nixon said in a statement. The agency has not provided details on DHS' role in the effort. Nixon also defended the legality of releasing the data to DHS. 'HHS acted entirely within its legal authority – and in full compliance with all applicable laws – to ensure that Medicaid benefits are reserved for individuals who are lawfully entitled to receive them,' he said in the statement. Dozens of Democratic members of Congress — in both the House and Senate — have sent letters to the involved agencies, demanding that data sharing cease and that Homeland Security destroy the information it has received so far. —
