Hakeem Jeffries trying to ‘go for the record' of longest speech in US Congress
Mr Murray said Hakeem Jeffries is trying to 'go for the record' of the longest speech in US Congress.
'The story right now is a bloke who is seemingly trying to take every moment he can to speak for as long as possible, to get as many eyeballs on his opposition and his party's opposition to the 'Big Beautiful Bill'.'
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News.com.au
43 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Trump's ‘Big Beautiful Bill' could trigger most inflationary era in half a century
The United States is careening toward what may be the most inflationary policy era in over 50 years. As President Donald Trump's sweeping tax and spending bill faces its first Senate votes, alarm bells are ringing across markets and capitals alike – not without reason. The scale and structure of this legislation signal a fundamental break from fiscal prudence and economic logic. This isn't ordinary budget tinkering. It's an aggressive mix of unfunded tax extensions, ballooning military and border expenditures, and deep cuts to social programs – all designed to satisfy short-term political optics at the long-term expense of financial stability. According to independent forecasts, the so-called 'Big Beautiful Bill' will pile at least $1.2 trillion more onto America's federal deficit over the coming decade. That's on top of a debt trajectory already spiraling out of control. Markets understand what's coming. The yield on the 10-year Treasury is now hovering near its highest point since 2022, a stark signal that investors are already demanding more compensation to hold US debt. If this bill passes, yields are likely to surge even further, putting upward pressure on everything from mortgage rates to corporate loans to consumer credit. Interest costs are set to become one of the largest line-items in the federal budget. That's not a distant projection – it's a near-term inevitability. The Congressional Budget Office has already flagged that interest on the national debt is poised to eclipse spending on defence or Medicare within the next several years. Layering another trillion onto the pile will only accelerate that timeline. This surge in government borrowing couldn't come at a worse moment. Inflation is still running well above the Fed's 2% target. Core inflation remains sticky, and wage gains – while welcomed by households – are pressuring pricing further. Into this overheated environment comes a fiscal rocket, pouring gasoline on embers that haven't cooled. The Federal Reserve now faces an impossible dilemma. If it proceeds with planned rate cuts, it risks stoking price pressures even more. If it holds or hikes rates in response to fiscal exuberance, it could choke off growth and stall the fragile economic recovery. Either path leads to pain. The political messaging behind the bill sells it as a pro-growth, pro-border security package. But this is not growth policy – it's fiscal fantasy. Slashing taxes while ramping up spending is the same trick tried in 2017, and it ballooned the deficit with little evidence of sustainable economic payoff. This version is larger, looser, and more dangerous. It is global markets, too, that must prepare for the fallout. The dollar has already dipped in response to the fiscal risks embedded in this proposal. If passed, the downgrade warnings from credit agencies won't stay warnings. A second US credit downgrade, following Fitch's move in 2023, would rattle the very foundation of global finance. US Treasuries are not just domestic instruments; they are the bedrock collateral of the international system. If confidence wavers, the ripples will become waves. For emerging markets, the threat is more than theoretical. Rising US yields pull capital out of riskier jurisdictions, driving up their own borrowing costs and hammering currencies. Debt-servicing becomes more difficult, development plans stall, and social strain rises. These knock-on effects are already being felt across Latin America and parts of Asia as US policy decisions destabilise capital flows. The most worrying aspect of all this isn't just the raw numbers, it's the lack of guardrails. There is no built-in trigger to rein in spending if deficits exceed projections. There is no mechanism to roll back tax cuts if inflation persists. It's a one-way bet on endless growth and bottomless borrowing, a delusion that fiscal gravity won't apply this time. Policymakers in Washington are taking liberties with the role the US plays in the global financial ecosystem. They are not merely managing the American economy; they are shaping the cost of money worldwide. Recklessness at this scale is not absorbed in isolation – it's transmitted instantly across asset classes, currencies, and borders. History teaches us what happens when fiscal expansion collides with inflationary pressure and rising borrowing costs. The 1970s serve as a stark reminder: stagnant growth, runaway prices, and a prolonged crisis in investor confidence. The stakes now are arguably higher. In a globally interconnected financial system, the shockwaves move faster, hit harder, and are harder to reverse. It's not too late to change course, but that window is closing fast. The current bill must be reconsidered. Some spending must be offset, and tax cuts must be justified with real economic productivity gains, not vague promises. Ignoring the consequences doesn't make them go away. It only magnifies the eventual correction. Every investor, institution, and policymaker must face reality: this legislation represents a systemic risk, not a growth strategy. The inflation fight is far from over, and this bill threatens to undo what progress has been made. It could reshape markets, upend central bank plans, and plunge the global economy into an extended period of instability. The most inflationary half century in history may not be a relic of the past. If this bill becomes law, it could be the prelude to the next one. Nigel Green, is the group CEO and founder of deVere Group, an independent global financial consultancy.
Sky News AU
an hour ago
- Sky News AU
Donald Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill' narrowly passes after tumultuous journey through Congress and fierce Democratic resistance
President Donald Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill' (OBBB) has narrowly passed the US Congress after a fierce battle and will now be signed into law by the commander-in-chief. A short time after midnight, House Speaker Mike Johnson declared: 'We have the votes', following the test ballot with the megabill clearing its final hurdle. The 218-214 vote amounts to a significant domestic victory for the Republican President that will fund his immigration crackdown, make his 2017 tax cuts permanent and deliver new tax breaks that he promised during his 2024 election campaign. Nearly all members voted along party lines, with all 212 Democrats voting in unison against the bill and were joined by two Republicans, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania. Republican leaders in the House of Representatives and the President himself spent all night convincing holdouts to get in line behind the controversial legislation to meet the strict deadline of July 4. Trump kept up the pressure throughout, persuading and threatening lawmakers as he pressed them to finish the job. "FOR REPUBLICANS, THIS SHOULD BE AN EASY YES VOTE. RIDICULOUS!!!" he wrote on his Truth Social platform. "Largest Tax Cuts in History and a Booming Economy vs. Biggest Tax Increase in History, and a Failed Economy. What are the Republicans waiting for??? What are you trying to prove???" House Speaker Mike Johnson said: 'This is jet fuel for the economy, and all boats are going to rise.' "Today we are laying a key cornerstone of America's new golden age." The 869-page bill, worth $3.4 trillion, would raise the US debt ceiling by $5 trillion and combines significant tax cuts with increases in border and military spending as well as sweeping cuts to healthcare and food assistance programs. The bill represents a dramatic realignment of the federal government's role in American life, shifting resources from the social safety net and investments in clean energy and reorienting them to finance trillions of dollars in spending on tax cuts. Despite concerns within Trump's party over the bill's hefty price tag and its hit to healthcare programs, in the end just two of the House's 220 Republicans voting against it, following an intense overnight standoff. The bill has already cleared the Republican-controlled Senate by the narrowest possible margin. The White House confirmed Trump will sign it into law at 5pm American time on Friday, the July 4 Independence Day holiday. Congressional Democrats blasted the bill as a giveaway to the wealthy that would leave millions uninsured, coining the mammoth legislation the "big, ugly bill". "The focus of this bill, the justification for all of the cuts that will hurt everyday Americans, is to provide massive tax breaks for billionaires," House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in an eight-hour, 46-minute speech that was the longest in the chamber's history. During the speech, Jeffries read letters from people insured through Medicaid, including many who said they live in congressional districts represented by Republicans. Jeffries called the bill "an immoral document". "Everybody should vote no against it because of how it attacks children and seniors and everyday Americans. And people with disabilities," Jeffries said. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the bill would lower tax revenues by $4.5 trillion over 10 years and cut spending by $1.1 trillion. The spending cuts largely come from Medicaid, the health program that covers 71 million low-income Americans. The bill would tighten enrollment standards, institute a work requirement and clamp down on a funding mechanism used by states to boost federal payments - changes that would leave nearly 12 million people uninsured, according to the CBO. Republicans added $50 billion for rural health providers to address concerns that those cutbacks would force them out of business. Nonpartisan analysts have found that the wealthiest Americans would see the biggest benefits from the bill, while lower-income people would effectively see their incomes drop. On the other side of the ledger, the bill staves off tax increases that were due to hit most Americans at the end of this year when Trump's 2017 individual and business tax cuts were due to expire.
SBS Australia
an hour ago
- SBS Australia
Donald Trump claims win as his 'big, beautiful bill' narrowly passes US Congress
Donald Trump's mega-bill passes 218–214, pushing A$6.8 trillion in tax cuts and immigration crackdowns. Democrats warn 17 million could lose healthcare as Medicaid and food aid face deep cuts. It also cuts health and food safety net programs and zeroes out dozens of green energy incentives. United States President Donald Trump has secured a victory after his signature tax and spending bill cleared its final hurdle in the US Congress, as the Republican-controlled House of Representatives narrowly approved the massive bill and sent it to him to sign into law. The bill, which passed with a vote of 218 to 214, will fund the Republican president's immigration crackdown, make his 2017 tax cuts permanent and deliver new tax breaks that he promised during his 2024 campaign. It also cuts health and food safety net programs and zeroes out dozens of green energy incentives. It would add $US3.4 trillion ($5.2 trillion) to the nation's $US36.2 trillion ($55.1 trillion) debt, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Despite concerns over the 869-page bill's price tag and its hit to healthcare programs, Republicans largely lined up in support, with only two of the House's 220 Republicans voting against it. The bill has already cleared the Republican-controlled Senate by the narrowest possible margin. Republicans said the legislation will lower taxes for Americans across the income spectrum and spur economic growth. Republican representative Virginia Foxx of North Carolina described the bill as bringing: "Historic tax relief for working families. Massive investment to secure our nation's borders. Capturing generational savings. Slashing waste, fraud and abuse in government programs so that they may run more efficiently." Every Democrat in Congress voted against it, criticising the bill as a giveaway to the wealthy that would leave millions uninsured. "The focus of this bill, the justification for all of the cuts that will hurt everyday Americans, is to provide massive tax breaks for billionaires," House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said in an eight-hour, 46-minute speech that was the longest in the chamber's history. Trump kept up the pressure throughout, cajoling and threatening Congress as he pressed them to send him the legislation by the July 4 Independence Day holiday. "FOR REPUBLICANS, THIS SHOULD BE AN EASY YES VOTE. RIDICULOUS!!!" he wrote on social media. A small group of opponents in the party finally fell into line after speaker Mike Johnson worked through the night to corral dissenters in the House of Representatives Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and House Republicans give a thumbs up during the enrolment ceremony of President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act after the bill passed in the US Capitol on 3 July 2025. Source: Getty / Bill Clark Republicans raced to meet that deadline, working through last weekend and holding all-night debates in the House and the Senate. The bill passed the Senate on Tuesday in a 51-50 decision, with vice president JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote. What's in Trump's 'big, beautiful bill'? According to the CBO, the bill would lower tax revenues by $US4.5 trillion ($6.9 trillion) over 10 years and cut spending by $US1.1 trillion ($1.7 trillion). Those spending cuts largely come from Medicaid, the health program that covers 71 million low-income Americans. Some estimates put the total number of recipients set to lose their insurance coverage under the bill at 17 million. Scores of rural hospitals are expected to close. The bill would tighten enrolment standards, institute a work requirement and clamp down on a funding mechanism used by states to boost federal payments — changes that would leave nearly 12 million people uninsured, according to the CBO. Republicans added $US50 billion ($76 billion) for rural health providers to address concerns that those cutbacks would force them out of business. Nonpartisan analysts have found that the wealthiest Americans would see the biggest benefits from the bill, while lower-income people would effectively see their incomes drop as the safety-net cuts would outweigh their tax cuts. The increased debt load created by the bill would also effectively transfer money from younger to older generations, analysts say. Ratings firm Moody's downgraded US debt in May, citing the mounting debt, and some foreign investors say the bill is making US Treasury bonds less attractive. On the other side of the ledger, the bill staves off tax increases that were due to hit most Americans at the end of this year, when Trump's 2017 individual and business tax cuts were due to expire. Those cuts are now made permanent, while tax breaks for parents and businesses are expanded. The bill also sets up new tax breaks for tipped income, overtime pay, seniors and auto loans, fulfilling Trump campaign promises. The final version of the bill includes more substantial tax cuts and more aggressive healthcare cuts than the initial version that passed the House in May. During deliberations in the Senate, Republicans also dropped a provision that would have banned state-level regulations on artificial intelligence, and a "retaliatory tax" on foreign investment that had spurred alarm on Wall Street. The legislation is the latest in a series of big wins for Trump, including a Supreme Court ruling last week that curbed lone federal judges from blocking his policies, and US air strikes that led to a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
