Education Sec. Pick Brings WWE Wrestler ‘Triple H' to Hearing
The scene provided plenty of grist for the online mill.
McMahon—former president and CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment WWE—'brought her own security,' one social media user joked.
Triple H, whose real name is Paul Levesque, is married to McMahon's daughter, Stephanie. Stephanie attended the hearing along with the couple's eldest child, Shane.
'Yeah, the U.S. is a f****** joke,' another social media user commented.
Yet another social media user mocked McMahon's entourage: 'I count 4 people in the room for Linda McMahon's confirmation hearing who've taken a Stone Cold Stunner on national television: Linda McMahon, Paul Levesque, Stephanie McMahon, Shane McMahon.'
'Stone Cold Stunner' is the signature wrestling move of Steve 'Stone Cold' Austin.
'Okay thank you everyone for joining us today, and wait what's that? OH MY GOD IT'S SHAWN MICHAELS! AND HE'S GOT A STEEL CHAIR!' one user jeered, riffing off of the WWE theme.
Trump's rant about wanting to close the very department McMahon plans to head superseded her first committee confirmation hearing.
The president has been pushing for the demise of DoE for years and now claims to want to shut it down 'immediately,' the Independent reported.
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The Hill
11 hours ago
- The Hill
Trump keeps Republicans guessing on Texas Senate endorsement
President Trump is keeping Republicans guessing over whether he'll endorse in the closely watched Texas GOP Senate primary between Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and state Attorney General Ken Paxton. Trump met with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Senate Leadership Fund officials, both Cornyn allies, on Wednesday to discuss the Senate map, including the Texas primary. Cornyn has been consistently trailing Paxton in the polls. And on Thursday, the race was rocked by another wildcard when Paxton's wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton (R) filed for divorce. The attorney general had faced allegations of taking part in an extramarital affair and corruption as a part of his 2023 impeachment trial. An endorsement from Trump has the potential to give Cornyn a much-needed boost among GOP primary voters, who for several cycles have tended to lean further to the right. 'It will affect their perception of where Cornyn stands with President Trump and with the party,' said Brendan Steinhauser, Cornyn's former campaign manager. 'Everything is at the margins but I do think it matters.' Cornyn campaign senior adviser Matt Mackowiak referred to a Trump endorsement as 'the most powerful endorsement in the modern history of the Republican party.' 'Senator Cornyn and President Trump are good friends and close allies and Senator Cornyn is proud to have voted with President Trump 99.2 percent of the time while he has been in office,' Mackowiak said in a statement to The Hill. 'We respect that President [Trump] will take his time to make a decision and in the meantime we are focused on running a first rate, winning campaign, as Senator Cornyn always has,' he added. Cornyn was front and center with the president on Friday when he traveled with Trump to the state's Hill Country, which was ravaged by flooding last week. Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) was also along for the trip. Hunt has had conversations with the White House about potentially jumping into the race and is seen as more viable in a general election than Paxton. Cornyn's allies this week also jumped on the news that Paxton's wife filed for divorce, citing 'biblical grounds.' 'What Ken Paxton has put his family through is truly repulsive and disgusting,' said Joanna Rodriguez, communications director at the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), which is backing Cornyn. 'No one should have to endure what Angela Paxton has, and we pray for her as she chooses to stand up for herself and her family during this difficult time.' Meanwhile on Friday, Hunt posted a picture of him, his wife, and three small children with the caption 'Family, Faith, Freedom. Good Morning America.' Paxton, in a statement, said that 'After facing the pressures of countless political attacks and public scrutiny, Angela and I have decided to start a new chapter in our lives.' 'I could not be any more proud or grateful for the incredible family that God has blessed us with, and I remain committed to supporting our amazing children and grandchildren. I ask for your prayers and privacy at this time,' he added. It's unclear whether Paxton's divorce will have any impact on the increasingly dramatic primary, but polls taken before the news broke show he holds a commanding lead over Cornyn. A poll released last month by Republican pollster Robert Blizzard on behalf of the Educational Freedom Institute, showed Paxton leading Cornyn 50 percent to 28 percent among GOP primary voters. Cornyn's campaign dismissed that poll, saying it was 'silly season for polling and this one takes the gold medal.' However, another poll conducted around the same period by Texas Southern University showed Paxton leading Cornyn 43 percent to 34 percent, with 23 percent saying they were undecided. An internal poll released in May by the Senate Leadership Fund, which is supporting Cornyn, showed Paxton trailing Cornyn by 16 points. While he currently trails in the polls, Cornyn could see an advantage when it comes to the cash race. The senator had not yet released his second quarter fundraising haul as of Friday, but he is seen as one of the most prolific fundraisers in the Senate. He has raked in over $415 million during his time in the Senate and in 2024 alone he raised nearly $33 million to help Republicans win the majority in the upper chamber. Last quarter, Cornyn raised $2.5 million, bringing his cash on hand total to $5.7 million. On top of that, the pro-Cornyn Texans for a Conservative Majority PAC said earlier this month it raised $10.9 million this past quarter. Paxton's second quarter haul shows he has fundraising chops as well. On Friday, the attorney general's campaign said he raised $2.9 million between April and June. But insiders argue that Trump would likely give more weight to polling than fundraising in any decision to endorse. 'If you're going to move the president with anything on numbers, it's going to be a poll,' said the Republican strategist. Cornyn's supporters and Paxton's Republican critics note that the attorney general's lead in primary polling creates a conundrum for Republicans seeking to maintain their control of the Senate. The same Texas Southern University poll showed Cornyn leading Democratic Senate candidate and former Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) by 4 points and Paxton leading Allred by 2 points. A separate poll released by the Senate Leadership Fund showed the incumbent leading Allred by 6 points, while Hunt led the Texas lawmaker by 4 and Paxton trailed him by 1. The concern is that Paxton's potential weakness as a general election candidate could force Republicans to spend more money defending the seat, taking away resources from other battlegrounds. 'I think it would be more valuable the sooner it comes,' Steinhauser said, referring to Trump's endorsement. 'Of course it helps with fundraising but more importantly, it helps with the couple of million Republican primary voters that are expected to vote in this thing.' 'They do tend to prefer the Trump candidate in these primaries,' he added. Others are skeptical that an endorsement from Trump would have any major impact on Cornyn's chances. An internal poll obtained by The Hill and conducted by the firm Eyes Over showed Cornyn trailing Paxton 44 to 38 percent after Republican primary voters were informed of a scenario in which Trump backed Cornyn, compared to 50 percent to 33 percent before they were told. Another poll obtained by The Hill, which was conducted on behalf of the Conservative Policy Project, showed Cornyn only gaining one point with Trump's endorsement against Paxton and trailing 46 to 34 percent. The same poll showed Paxton trailing a generic Democratic candidate by three points. And the same poll conducted by Blizzard laid out a scenario in which Trump endorsed Cornyn and Paxton attacked Cornyn for his past statements about Trump and working with Democrats on gun safety legislation. In that scenario, Cornyn trailed Paxton 62 percent to 21 percent. Without those assumptions, Paxton led Cornyn by 22 points, according to the findings. 'All the data points to him not being able to help a severely damaged John Cornyn get over the finish line,' the Republican strategist said. However the strategist did not dismiss the power of Trump's endorsement, arguing that it is most valuable to candidates who are not already defined. 'Cornyn is already defined,' the strategist said. 'The battle now for Cornyn is to try to show enough viability and credibility so the president doesn't cut him loose.'
Chicago Tribune
13 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Medicaid, environment experts react to Trump's megabill, potential effects
Northwest Indiana Medicaid and environmental experts expressed concern with the impacts of the Trump Administration's megabill. President Donald Trump signed a megabill focused on tax breaks and spending cuts into law July 4, the day after a tight House roll call vote of 218-214 in favor of the bill. At its core, the package's priority is $4.5 trillion in tax breaks enacted in 2017 during Trump's first term that would expire if Congress failed to act, along with new ones. This includes allowing workers to deduct tips and overtime pay, and a $6,000 deduction for most older adults earning less than $75,000 a year. There's also a hefty investment, some $350 billion, in national security and Trump's deportation agenda and to help develop the 'Golden Dome' defensive system over the U.S. To help offset the lost tax revenue, the package includes $1.2 trillion in cutbacks to Medicaid health care and food stamps, largely by imposing new work requirements, including for some parents and older people, and a major rollback of green energy tax credits. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the package will add $3.3 trillion to the deficit over the decade and 11.8 million more people will go without health coverage. U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, issued a statement after last week's House vote explaining his opposition vote. While the bill may seem 'beautiful' to corporations and the wealthy, for a teacher in East Chicago, a nurse in Gary, the steelworker in Portage or a farmer in LaPorte County, the bill creates 'uncertainty and actually increases the cost of living.' 'I opposed this measure because I cannot in good conscience leave people behind. The Republican Majority made a decision to prioritize their elite donors and corporations, and now seniors, veterans, hard-working Americans, women, children and those yet to be born will pay with increased costs and possibly their lives,' Mrvan said. The bill passed the Senate vote two days before the House vote. The Senate's 50-50 tie was broken by Vice President JD Vance. U.S. Sen. Todd Young said the package includes his legislation that incentivizes R&D activity as well as leveraging private sector investment to increase affordable housing options. 'While I wish this legislation included additional fiscal reforms, this is a strong bill that will benefit Hoosier families and increase the security and prosperity of all Americans,' Young said in a statement. U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, who voted for its passage in the Senate on Tuesday, lauded its increased funding for the Departments of Homeland Security and Defense. 'I'm proud to support the biggest tax cut for working families in American history. This bill delivers on President Trump's promises to secure the border and strengthen our military, while also making the largest spending cut ever.' Under the federal law, states have until Jan. 1, 2027, to enforce the work requirements for Medicaid enrollees. The new law means Hoosiers 19 to 64 years old will have to work at least 80 hours per month to be eligible, according to a statement from the Indiana House Democratic Caucus. Under the law, parents of children 13 years and younger and medically frail individuals are exempt from the work requirements. But the law requires those who have to follow the work requirements to complete eligibility redeterminations twice a year, as opposed to once a year, according to the statement. Earlier this year, the Indiana Legislature passed a law that as of July 1, imposed a work or volunteer requirement of 20 hours per week, quarterly eligibility checks and monthly monitoring of internal reviews of personal information, according to the statement. Further, Indiana has a trigger law that requires Medicaid expansion to automatically begin unwinding if federal funding for Medicaid expansion drops below 90%, which means services would be reduced, according to the release. Currently, Indiana's Medicaid program is funded 90% by the federal government and 10% through the cigarette tax and hospital assessment fee, said Tracey Hutchings-Goetz, a Hoosier Action organizer. The new federal Medicaid law will supersede the state Medicaid law, Hutchings-Goetz said. In Indiana, Children's Health Insurance Program, Hoosier Healthwise, Healthy Indiana Plan, Hoosier Care ConnectTraditional Medicaid, MedConnect, or Medicaid for employees with disabilities, are all funded through Medicaid, according to the release. The bill cuts a trillion dollars from Medicaid through shifting the financial burden of Medicaid to states and taxpayers, according to the release. 'Indiana Medicaid enrollees could face cuts to services and longer waitlists due to the loss of federal funding. Even the privately insured will feel the squeeze of Medicaid cuts as hospitals and clinics will now have to eat the costs to provide uncompensated care for uninsured individuals,' according to the release. At Hoosier Action, a community organization that focuses on issues like health care, leaders are 'deeply concerned' about the megabill, and the people the organization supports are scared, Hutchings-Goetz said. Hutchings-Goetz said that she has heard daily from Medicaid recipients who are self-employed, chronically ill, with disabilities or parents with sick children with questions about how the bill will impact them and what they can do. In anticipation of a lapse of coverage, Hutchings-Goetz said people are considering stockpiling medications and other emergency preparedness strategies. 'People are trying to plan and they don't have enough information, and we don't have enough information,' Hutchings-Goetz said. 'People are really scared.' In Indiana, the Medicaid cuts will result in 12 rural hospitals closing, Hutchings-Goetz said. When that happens, people will have to travel further for care, which will lead to sicker populations and potential death, she said. 'This bill is going to make us sicker and poorer, and we're not happy with it,' Hutchings-Goetz said. Leslie Hawker, program manager for Everybody Counts Inc., said the new federal Medicaid law is 'devastating' for everyone, as it's projected that 17 million people will be kicked off Medicaid. As the uninsured go to hospitals for emergency care, Hawker said insurance costs will increase for those who have private insurance as hospitals seek to recoup the cost of caring for the uninsured, Hawker said. 'It's going to kill people, and for what? Who benefits by this bill? It's not the normal, everyday John Q. Public. It's people who own corporations. It's a death sentence for a lot of people,' Hawker said. Coupled with Medicaid changes, one former Environmental Protection Agency leader believes environmental changes will have drastic effects for U.S. citizens. 'It will increase a variety of pollution threats, like emissions from power plants, from heavy-duty diesel buses and trucks,' said former EPA Region 5 Administrator Debra Shore. 'Eventually, it will lead to early deaths, loss of work and school hours. It's a severe hit to the gains we had made in protecting public health.' While the megabill was still going through the House and Senate, the EPA posted on Facebook, saying it 'delivers for all Americans,' by eliminating hundreds of billions of dollars in Green New Deal tax credits, repealing former President Joe Biden administration's electric vehicle mandates, and opening federal lands and waters to oil, gas, coal, geothermal and mineral leasing, according to Post-Tribune archives. Shore, who led the EPA's Chicago office during Biden's presidency, said the bill is 'perhaps the most sweeping rollback of environmental and public health protections in modern U.S. history.' 'The size of cuts in the EPA budget will effectively, in my opinion, eviscerate the agency,' Shore said. 'At a time where Congress has been adding to the agency's statutory mission to protect human health and the environment, it's removing the resources that would enable it to fulfill its obligations.' Shore is particularly worried about cuts to the agency's Office of Research and Development budget. The budget proposes a nearly 34% decrease in science and technology funding, which is about $255 million, according to a budget breakdown. Specific laboratories and research areas impacted include air and energy, sustainable and healthy communities, safe and sustainable water resources, and chemical safety for sustainability. Between the four research areas, about $204.1 million from the EPA's budget is cut in the upcoming fiscal year. 'I've never worked with such a team of smart, devoted professionals who had a shared sense of mission, namely to protect public health and the environment,' Shore said. 'It is heartbreaking to hear how they are being treated with willful cruelty, with dismissal of expertise and utter disregard for their passionate devotion to the agency's mission.' Susan Thomas, director of policy and press for Just Transition Northwest Indiana, said that although the megabill's passage was imminent, it doesn't make it any easier. 'So much has been stripped away,' Thomas said. 'It's destruction for destruction's sake.' Thomas is worried about how much oil and gas companies will benefit from the megabill and how it will impact generations to come. Environmental justice communities — such as those in Northwest Indiana — could continue to suffer if industries are given more power. She believes public health will worsen as a result of EPA rollbacks and Medicaid cuts. An October report from Industrious Labs found that most residents in Gary are in the top 10% of U.S. residents most at-risk for developing asthma and at-risk of low life expectancy. In 2020, Indiana had a lung cancer rate of 72.5 per 100,000 people, with Lake County as one of the counties with the highest cancer mortality rates, according to the American Lung Association. A 2016 JAMA Network report also found Gary as one of the top five U.S. cities with the lowest life expectancy at one point. 'We've really got to take a step in our communities and be hyperlocal,' Thomas said. 'That will help make local progress, and when you make connections with folks, you make friendships, you make bonds, and you start to rely on each other. It's really powerful.'
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump nominates MAGA influencer Nick Adams to Malaysia ambassador post
President Trump has nominated MAGA influencer and self-described 'alpha male' Nick Adams to be the next ambassador to Malaysia, the White House announced in a list of recommendations sent to the Senate this week. Adams, a 40-year-old Australian native who lives in Florida, said in a video posted on the social platform X on Thursday that he is 'humbled and honored' by the nomination and looks forward to the Senate confirmation process. 'Accepting this call of duty should be the easiest decision made by any American,' Adams said in the video, with soft music playing in the background. 'It is nothing short of a lifetime's honor to take the president's goodwill and spread it to the great people of Malaysia.' 'Our country is the land of tremendous opportunity, and in our new golden age these opportunities will grow like never before,' he added. The news comes as Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Malaysia for an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) gathering. Adams has been a staunch Trump supporter for years, often confused as a parody account or fake persona for his provocative social media posts, including one in November 2023 that referred to pop superstar Taylor Swift as a 'woke jezebel.' After devastating floods killed more than 100 people in Texas over the weekend, Adams posted an image generated by artificial intelligence of Trump standing alongside a depiction of a biblical shepherd. 'Just like King David from the Bible, President Trump is a good shepherd, and we are his flock!' Adams wrote. He's cultivated a relationship with the president, and Trump wrote the forward to Adams's 'Alpha Kings' book last year, calling Adams a 'good friend.' 'When somebody comes from another land and wants nothing more than to be an American, to uphold American values and patriotic spirit, it's something that I truly appreciate,' Trump wrote in the brief book intro. 'That's Nick Adams.' Adam's header image on his X profile refers to himself as 'President Trump's Favorite Author.' Rolling Stone referred to Adams in a story Thursday as a 'Hooters-obsessed MAGA diehard' whose online posts have prompted speculation that he's 'a performance artist.' Adams frequently writes posts about his trips to the Hooters chain restaurant. 'I am calling on men everywhere to rescue the great American institution called Hooters!' he wrote in a February post amid reports that the chain was struggling financially. 'Crooked Joe Biden tried to destroy it, but we are living in President Trump's Golden Age!' 'Hooters will rise again, bigger and better than ever before! We will MAKE HOOTERS GREAT AGAIN!' he added. Adams also has posted frequently about his interactions with women, whom he frequently uses the Aussie slang 'sheila' to describe. 'I went on a date with an extremely attractive girl this evening and took her to a very classy restaurant. We sat down and I instantly asked who she will be voting for this November,' he wrote last year. 'She said Kamala Harris. Without hesitation, I got up and left. She can order an Uber home.' He followed that by urging followers to reject women who don't support Trump. 'It's time to give the sheila's an ultimatum — vote for President Trump this November or get DUMPED!' he wrote. The ambassador nomination reignited questions about the authenticity of his online persona, which he maintains is real. Meanwhile, the South China Morning Post reported that overseas diplomats were concerned by the nomination. 'It's a surprising pick that favors political loyalists over those who actually fit the post,' an unnamed diplomat based in Kuala Lumpur told the outlet. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
