Trump Call to End Netanyahu Trial Spurs Israeli Debate on Pardon
Yet the US president's words have added momentum to an effort from across the political spectrum that aims to wrap up the prime minister's case, one that's upended Israeli politics for years.
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CNN
4 minutes ago
- CNN
White House tries to assuage industry worries over migrant workers amid aggressive deportation campaign
As the Trump administration has doubled down on its hardline immigration agenda, behind the scenes senior Trump officials and the president himself have grappled with the consequences of that crackdown against a key portion of the workforce: migrant workers. President Donald Trump has wavered repeatedly on the topic: At times he has suggested farms and other industries employing migrants should be protected, even as he and some top aides have pushed Immigration and Customs Enforcement to intensify its immigration sweeps. 'We're working on it right now,' Trump said Tuesday. 'We have a lot of cases where ICE would go into a farm and these are guys that have been there 10 or 15 years, and the farmers know them – it's called farmer responsibility. Or owner responsibility. But they're going to be largely responsible for these people. And they know these people. They've worked at the farms for 15 years.' Senior administration officials have had discussions with stakeholders as they quietly try to find a durable compromise on the fate of migrant workers, floating various new ways of granting them legal status, multiple sources told CNN. But it's unclear what, if any, solution they can reach without Congress, according to experts. 'President Trump is a tireless advocate for American farmers – they keep our families fed and our country prosperous. He trusts farmers and is committed to ensuring they have the workforce needed to remain successful,' said White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson in a statement, maintaining that deporting 'dangerous criminals and targeting the sanctuary cities that provide them safe harbor is a top priority for the President.' The focus on migrant workers reveals the delicate balance the Trump administration is wrestling with as it tries to carry out a historic number of deportations and avoid agitating key industries or unsettling a fragile economy. Similarly, the president faces headwinds from immigration hardliners who view additional protections for migrant workers as an unnecessary form of relief. The ambiguity in Trump's approach has kept both sides of the debate off balance. CNN reached out to the White House for comment. 'They are working at a breakneck speed to better understand employers' issues with current guest worker visa programs and cut down on paperwork processing delays. Effective reform is a complex undertaking, and initial attempts may not get it entirely right from the start,' said Kip Eideberg, senior vice president of government and industry relations at the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, describing the message he's received from the administration. 'The Administration recognizes this and have been clear that they will make adjustments based on feedback from industry to strike the right balance between border security and immigration reform,' he added. Undocumented immigrants account for 4% to 5% of the total US workforce and between 15% to 20% in industries like crop production, food processing, and construction, according to Goldman Sachs, which warned in a recent report that losing a 'significant share' of those workers could result in temporary bottlenecks, shortages, and price increase. Multiple industry representatives have raised alarm over indiscriminate immigration sweeps where undocumented immigrants without criminal records have been picked up for deportation, including in sectors that are critical to the president's broader agenda. 'It will make it damn near impossible to lean into the administration's effort to strengthen manufacturing,' Eideberg said, despite overwhelming support within the industry for that effort. 'We're stuck between a rock and a hard place,' he said, noting that mass deportations will shrink the labor force. One of the primary concerns for customers is that they won't have enough workers to harvest crops, which will likely have a trickle-down effect on equipment manufacturers and reduce demand, according to Eideberg. But tilting toward helping manufacturers and other employers could cause political problems for the president. 'The more he panders to employers of illegal workers, the more he's going to anger his base of voters who expected – and voted for – tough immigration enforcement across the board without exemptions for politically connected people,' said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies for the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for limited immigration. Representatives from various industries have taken their worries directly to the administration, including the departments of Labor and Agriculture. In an April Cabinet meeting, Trump appeared to nod to those concerns, telling Homeland Security Kristi Noem after her presentation: 'We're also going to work with farmers that if they have strong recommendations for their farms for certain people, we're going to let them stay in for a while and work with the farmers and then come back and go through a process of – legal process.' He later tasked Noem, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to work on the issue, according to a source familiar with the move. Last month, Chavez-DeRemer established the Office of Immigration Policy to try to streamline industry needs and thread the needle of delivering on Trump's mass deportation promise while helping employers navigate existing programs. 'Under President Trump's leadership, I'm working closely with Secretary Rollins, Secretary Noem, and our federal partners on fulfilling this Administration's mission to cut red tape, support agricultural employers, and ensure they have the legal workforce needed to keep our food supply secure,' Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement. According to an agriculture industry source, a similar idea had been discussed in a meeting with Rollins earlier this year that would include setting up a program for farmers to ensure they had enough laborers. It's unclear how that program would be different from existing temporary farm visas known as H-2A. The source said Trump has also raised the idea to Rollins of creating a mechanism that would allow farmers to sign a document or affidavit for undocumented workers, who would self-deport and then be allowed to return legally. But that kind of proposal would draw objections from hardliners. 'It ends up being who's going to win this tug of war,' said Chris Chmielenski, president of the Immigration Accountability Project, which advocates for limited immigration, describing a form of relief for undocumented migrant workers akin to 'amnesty.' 'I have no idea which way it's going to go,' he said. There are 2.4 million farmworkers in the United States, according to the Economic Policy Institute, 40% of whom the Agriculture Department estimates lack legal status. United Farm Workers President Teresa Romero previously told CNN that she's been getting calls from concerned farmworkers across California about ICE crackdowns in the state. Separate from the existing undocumented population, the administration has also made a series of moves to strip temporary protections from migrants who had been given permission to legally work and live in the country – suddenly depriving some employers of workers. 'We might keep losing legal workers from the system,' said Jennie Murray, president and chief executive officer of the National Immigration Forum. 'All of them (industries) are extremely worried. They're worried they don't have future flows of workers coming into the country. They're extremely worried to lose these temporary workers they've become dependent on.' An immigration raid at an Omaha meat production plant on June 10 that resulted in dozens of workers being taken away sparked fresh concerns about the administration's priorities – culminating in a phone call between Rollins and Trump the following day over the issue. Two days later, Trump posted on his Truth Social: 'Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace… This is not good. We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!' Immigration and Customs Enforcement quickly issued guidance to agents limiting immigration raids at farms, hotels, and restaurants. Just a few days later, Trump posted on his Truth Social account telling ICE officials 'to do all in their power to achieve the very important goal of delivering the single largest Mass Deportation Program in History.' ICE soon announced worksite enforcement would continue. ICE has conducted sweeps at construction sites, popular vacation destinations like Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, as well as local Home Depots, which are a common spot for contractors and homeowners to approach and hire laborers. Rosanna Maietta, president and CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, told CNN in a statement that the organization has also held meetings with administration officials 'to convey our acute workforce shortage challenges and underscore the importance of a strong hospitality and tourism sector.' Trump seemed to shift course again in the last week, saying the administration is working on a temporary pass for migrant workers, particularly those working on farms and in the hospitality industry, arguing he's on 'both sides.' 'I'm the strongest immigration guy that there's ever been, but I'm also the strongest farmer guy that there's ever been,' Trump said in an interview on Fox News' 'Sunday Morning Futures.' The whiplash has been indicative of the two factions within the administration – one focused on the impact on labor, and another intent on arresting and deporting as many people as possible. The latter has been led by White House deputy chief of staff and architect of Trump's hardline immigration policies Stephen Miller. Miller has argued on CNN that the administration's immigration crackdown wouldn't disrupt the agriculture industry and result in higher prices, saying that migrants who recently arrived to the US 'aren't doing farmwork.' Rollins sees the issue differently. 'The labor question is a significant one. It is one that is perhaps not the very top of the list, but for some they would say the very top of the list,' the agriculture secretary told lawmakers at a congressional hearing in mid-June. In a CNBC interview Wednesday, Rollins said Trump's 'goal, that he has tasked me with effectuating, is making sure that we have a 100% legal workforce. That anyone that is here illegally must pay the consequences, return to the country, and then eventually, as he's talked about in different ways, come back. So, we are working on all of that right now.' She cited reforms to temporary worker visas, arguing: 'There will be zero amnesty. We will ensure all laws are followed.' Sources familiar with the dynamic between Rollins and Miller told CNN the relationship between the two is professional and despite the different viewpoints on immigration policy, it hasn't devolved. 'There's a respect between the two, and also a very clear understanding that Trump likes and is deeply reliant on both,' one administration official said. 'This is an area where their equities overlap and are quite different. They both understand that – or at least have up to this point. But POTUS cares deeply about farmers and ranchers and beyond his personal affinity for the Secretary, really values hearing directly from her about what the industry is saying,' the official said. 'And they're freaking out right now – and have been for months.'
Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Here's who stands to gain from the ‘big, beautiful bill.' And who may struggle
President Donald Trump has promised that the 'big, beautiful bill' passed by the Senate and being considered by the House of Representatives will be one of the most successful pieces of legislation in American history. Of course, the ultimate beauty of this sweeping legislation is very much in the eye of the beholder. The bill could end up boosting some workers and industries, while others may be left worse off. Corporate America Big business groups, including the US Chamber of Commerce and Business Roundtable, applauded the Senate's passage of the bill on Tuesday. Corporations are betting they will benefit from the legislation making permanent the tax breaks in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Manufacturers Manufacturers are especially happy that the bill would make significant changes to how the US tax code treats the construction of new manufacturing facilities. If the bill passes, businesses would be allowed to fully and immediately deduct the cost of building new manufacturing facilities. This temporary provision is retroactive to January 19, 2025 and continues for construction that begins before January 1, 2029. And in a bid to incentivize more chipmaking in America, the legislation would enhance tax credits for semiconductor firms building manufacturing facilities in the United States. Small businesses and partnerships The National Federation of Independent Business, the leading small business lobbying group, praised the legislation for making permanent a special deduction for the owners of certain pass-through entities who pay businesses taxes on their individual tax returns. That deduction, which applies to small businesses and partnerships formed by lawyers, doctors and investors, would get increased in the House version of the bill from 20% to 23%. The Senate bill kept it at 20%. High-income Americans The net income for the top 20% of earners would increase by nearly $13,000 per year, after taxes and transfers, according to an analysis of a near-final version of the Senate bill by Penn Wharton Budget Model. That amounts to a 3% average increase in income for those households. For the top 0.1% of earners, the average annual income gain would amount to more than $290,000, according to Penn Wharton. Americans living in high-tax states should also benefit from the Senate version of the legislation because it temporarily increases limits on deductions for state and local taxes for householders making up to $500,000 annually to $40,000 per year for five years. However, millionaires who lose their jobs will not be able to collect unemployment benefits, according to a recent provision added to the Senate bill. Workers who receive tips and overtime Certain workers will receive an extra tax break through 2028. Employees who work in jobs that traditionally receive tips could deduct up to $25,000 in tip income from their federal income taxes, while workers who receive overtime could deduct up to $12,500 of that extra pay. However, highly compensated individuals, who make more than $160,000 in 2025, would not qualify. Low-income Americans Many people at the lowest end of the income ladder would be worse off because the package would enact historic cuts to the nation's safety net program, particularly Medicaid and food stamps. Among the many changes to these programs would be the addition of federally mandated work requirements to Medicaid for the first time in its 60-year history and the expansion of the work mandate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, the formal name for food stamps. Parents of children ages 14 and up are among those who would have to work, volunteer, take classes or participate in job training to keep their benefits. Millions of low-income Americans are expected to lose their benefits because of the work requirements and the bill's other measures affecting Medicaid and food stamps. Notably, few of those dropped from Medicaid coverage would have access to job-based health insurance, according to a Congressional Budget Office report about the House version of the package. The health provisions won't only hit low-income Americans. The Senate is also tightening verification requirements for the Affordable Care Act's federal premium subsidies, which could also leave some middle-income Americans uninsured. All told, the bill could result in more than 10 million more people being uninsured in 2034, according to a CNN analysis of the bill and CBO forecasts. Hospitals Hospitals are not happy with the health care provisions of the bill, which would reduce the support they receive from states to care for Medicaid enrollees and leave them with more uncompensated care costs for treating uninsured patients. 'The real-life consequences of these nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts – the largest ever proposed by Congress – will result in irreparable harm to our health care system, reducing access to care for all Americans and severely undermining the ability of hospitals and health systems to care for our most vulnerable patients,' said Rick Pollack, CEO of the American Hospital Association. The association said it is 'deeply disappointed' with the bill, even though it contains a $50 billion fund to help rural hospitals contend with the Medicaid cuts, which hospitals say is not nearly enough to make up for the shortfall. Clean energy and EVs The Senate removed a last-minute excise tax on wind and solar that experts warned would have been a 'killer' for the clean energy industry. However, the Senate bill still strips tax incentives for wind, solar and other renewable energy projects by 2027 and gives developers stringent requirements to claim them. The American Clean Power Association slammed the legislation as a 'step backward for American energy policy' that will eliminate jobs and raise electric bills. Electric vehicle makers could also be left worse off because the GOP bill ends EV tax credits of up to $7,500 at the end of September. Previously those tax credits were scheduled to last through 2032, providing a powerful incentive for car buyers. Deficit hawks The Senate version of the package would increase the deficit by about $3.4 trillion over the next decade, according to CBO. Adding trillions to the debt risks lifting already elevated interest rates. That in turn will make it more expensive for Americans to finance the purchase of a car or a home and for businesses to borrow money to grow. Not only that, but higher rates would force the federal government to devote even greater resources to finance its own mountain of debt. The CBO expects US federal government interest costs to surpass $1 trillion per year. US spending on interest has already more than tripled since 2017, surpassing what the federal government's entire defense budget. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Joe Biden Casually Drops Bombshell About Who's Still Seeking His Advice
Former President Joe Biden claimed that world leaders and U.S. lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are reaching out to him for advice and to ask him to remain active in politics amid his successor, President Donald Trump's, divisive second term. Biden is still involved in politics but now remains behind the scenes, he told the Society for Human Resource Management in San Diego on Wednesday after being asked how he's now filling his 'newfound time' since leaving office. . 'I stayed engaged because I really cared about what I was doing. Many things I worked so damn hard [on], that I thought changed the country, are changing so rapidly,' Biden said, a reference to Trump's ongoing bid to gut most of his policy achievements. Biden later revealed, 'I'm getting calls. I'm not going to go into it, I can't. From a number of European leaders asking me to get engaged. I'm not, but I'm giving advice. Because things are different. You know, I often ask the question, if America doesn't lead the world, who can? Not a joke. Not because of power. Who could put it together? And mistakes, today, have significantly greater consequences than they did 50 years ago.' 'How can you just walk away?' Biden asked. 'You don't see me out there publicly doing a lot of this. But I'm also dealing with a lot of Democrats and Republican colleagues, all of them, wanting to talk, not because they think I have the answer, just to bounce things off me. 'I'm not looking' for it, he added. 'They asked to see me, I see them.' Biden, who in May revealed he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer, also said he's 'working like hell' to write a new, 500-page memoir documenting his presidency. 'They want me to just focus on the four years and talk about what happened and how it impacted on the world and/or if it did.' Top Trump Official's POTUS Praise Goes Viral For Cringiest Reasons Fox News Pundit Asks Most Sycophantic Question About Trump. It Does Not Go Well. Trump Asks DeSantis The Weirdest Question About Marjorie Taylor Greene, In Front Of Her BF
