Senate advances Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' and protesters try new tactics in L.A.: Weekend Rundown
The Republican-led Senate late Saturday advanced a sweeping domestic policy package for President Donald Trump's agenda after a dramatic hourslong vote, moving it one step closer to passage.
The vote was 51-49, with two Republicans — Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Rand Paul of Kentucky — joining all Democrats in opposition.
Following the vote, Trump attacked Tillis for opposing the sweeping domestic policy bill, threatening to meet with potential Republican primary challengers.
On Sunday, Tillis announced that he would not run for re-election, opening up seat in a battleground state that already was expected to be one of the most hotly contested races of the 2026 midterms.
There will now be up to 20 hours of debate before a process in which senators can offer unlimited amendments. And Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., forced a reading of the entire bill on the floor of the chamber, which will add hours to the process.
Elon Musk resumed attacks on the bill, calling it 'utterly insane and destructive.' The Tesla CEO's criticisms previously led to a high-profile spat with the president.
Protesters in Los Angeles are shifting their tactics as ICE detentions spread fear
An abandoned ice cream cart has become a symbol of resistance to residents of a west Los Angeles neighborhood who oppose President Donald Trump's aggressive immigration policies.
The cart belonged to a beloved ice cream vendor, Ambrocio 'Enrique' Lozano, who was arrested by federal agents last week while walking his usual route through Culver City.
A photo of Lozano's lone ice cream cart spread quickly across social media, triggering a tidal wave of responses from immigration advocates, residents and lawmakers. A crowdfunding campaign for Lozano and his family topped $57,000 after the photo drew national attention.
The response to Lozano's arrest highlights a new strategy emerging after large-scale protests overtook downtown Los Angeles earlier this month. Instead of focusing on marches outside federal buildings, residents of sprawling L.A. County are zeroing in on their own blocks and neighborhoods to show their opposition to Trump's mass deportation efforts.
In other immigration news, Trump said during a Fox News interview that he is working to develop a temporary pass for immigrants who work in certain industries, marking the latest shift in the administration's approach to immigration enforcement for farmworkers.
'Meet the Press'
Zohran Mamdani, the presumptive Democratic nominee for mayor in New York City, on Sunday said that he doesn't believe billionaires should exist.
Asked directly whether billionaires should have a right to exist, Mamdani, who identifies himself as a Democratic socialist, told NBC News' 'Meet the Press,' 'I don't think that we should have billionaires because, frankly, it is so much money in a moment of such inequality, and ultimately, what we need more of is equality across our city and across our state and across our country.'
'And I look forward to working with everyone, including billionaires, to make a city that is fair for all of them,' he added.
His remarks come as some wealthy people in New York City soured on Mamdani in the days after it became clear that he would be the presumptive nominee.
Meanwhile, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., called President Donald Trump's military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities 'illegal' but dodged when asked if he should be impeached for ordering the attacks without congressional approval.
'That's a decision the House makes. That's not a decision the Senate makes. But it is clear that this is illegal,' Murphy said when asked whether he agreed with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's comments that Trump's strikes were grounds for impeachment.
Politics in brief
'Alligator Alcatraz': Florida is constructing a $450 million-a-year immigration detention center in the heart of the Everglades, a political 'boon' for Gov. Ron DeSantis and his top allies.
Party pooper: Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is the latest high-profile figure to try capitalizing on voter disdain for both parties by running for Michigan governor as an independent.
Tasting his own medicine: Legislators fighting Trump's efforts to withhold funding from their states have a novel new tactic: freezing their payments to the federal government in retaliation.
Rapid growth fuels smog in Hanoi, one of the world's most polluted cities
Blocky apartment towers dissolve into gray fog in the Vietnamese capital, as barges carrying sand inch down the Red River toward makeshift jetties. At street level, the city blurs as if it's covered in film. The air stings your eyes and smells of chemicals, like chlorine but not quite. When the sun does punch through, it hangs like a red beach ball against the silver sky.
In January, the average air quality index in the city of almost 9 million people was breaching the 'hazardous' threshold of 300, shrouding its skyline in fog and prompting warnings from health officials.
The fog hanging over Hanoi isn't just pollution, but a byproduct of growth that has lifted Vietnam's economy while fueling its environmental struggles.
Notable quote
How many memories can you bring when the black lights go on?
Chris Martin, creator and co-founder of Cosmic Baseball
Cosmic Baseball offers an electric new take on America's pastime with UV-reflective neon balls and fluorescent jerseys.
In case you missed it
The Israeli Defense Forces and the Israel Securities Authority said they killed Hamas co-founder Hakham Muhammad Issa Al-Issa in a strike on Gaza City.
At least 71 people were killed in an Israeli attack on Tehran's Evin prison, a notorious facility where many political prisoners and dissidents have been held, Iran's judiciary has said.
The Glastonbury Festival condemned chants of 'death to the IDF' after English punk duo Bob Vylan led chants criticizing Israel during their performance.
Former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman was laid to rest alongside her husband on Saturday, weeks after she was killed in what's been called a politically motivated assassination.
Beyoncé pumped the brakes on one of her final songs Saturday in Houston after a flying-car prop seemingly malfunctioned while she was midair.
A funeral was held for Adriana Smith, the brain-dead woman who was kept on life support until her baby could be born due to a Georgia abortion law.
The Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda signed a U.S.-mediated peace deal aimed at ending decades of bloody conflict while helping the U.S. gain access to critical minerals in the region.
Vast crowds turned out for Budapest Pride yesterday, defying a ban on the event under Hungary's new law prohibiting events that 'depict or promote' homosexuality. But in the U.S., there was a noticeable drop in corporate sponsorships of Pride events.
At least one person died and two women were injured after in Philadelphia early Sunday morning, according to the city's fire department.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
19 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Trump wants to rip $800bn out of Medicaid. It will punish Maga's poorest
Teresa Mcnab had just come back from taking their 11-year-old daughter to school when she heard her husband fall. She found him seizing on the floor. Jackie had been suffering from blood clots, and despite Mcnab's attempts to resuscitate him while waiting for the ambulance, he was later confirmed dead. He was just 45. 'We had been together for 20 years,' she says. Mcnab and her daughter Faye had to raise funds in order to pay for his burial, at one point selling lemonade to help cover the costs of his gravestone. But one small solace came from Jackie's hospital bills being covered by America's public health insurance programme for people on low incomes, otherwise known as Medicaid. For people like Trump supporter Mcnab in Knox County, Kentucky, this kind of support is vital to keep the threat of financial ruin at bay. It also demonstrates the importance of Medicaid in the poorest parts of rural America. However, that lifeboat may be about to be pulled away as part of Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill'. Under the president's proposal, which he wants lawmakers to pass by Friday, July 4, up to $800bn (£600bn) will be cut from the Medicaid budget to help fund $3.7 trillion in tax cuts. Crucially, this will mean that 16m people will lose health insurance by 2034 compared with current projections, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). And while the bill has been hailed by many on the Right as a tool to boost household income, there are growing fears that Trump's healthcare cuts will target the low-income families who helped to propel him back into the White House. Of the 200 counties with the highest proportion of voters reliant on public health insurance, a staggering 84pc voted for Trump in last year's election. Nowhere exemplifies this contradiction more than Knox County, where 72pc of people backed the Republican presidential candidate. Here, 68pc of the population use some form of public health insurance, and of the 3,142 counties in America, it is one of the top 20 poorest. 'Voters would be mad' These sorts of figures highlight the political risks posed to Trump if he succeeds in passing his healthcare cuts, which edged one step closer on Saturday as Senate Republicans voted narrowly to advance the bill. Steve Bannon, Trump's former chief strategist, has already sounded the alarm by claiming the bill won't succeed 'because Maga is on Medicaid'. However, veteran pollster Frank Luntz says hardcore Trump supporters will back him regardless. 'They'll support whatever he says or does, even cutting their benefits, if they think it will help make America great again,' says Luntz. Though he admits the same may not be true for wavering working-class voters who voted for Trump. 'If there are actual, real, meaningful cuts to Medicaid that voters could see and feel, these voters would be mad,' Luntz adds. 'The Democrats have zero credibility claiming Trump is destroying the economy. But if voters can see and feel the Medicaid cuts, that changes the political calculus completely.' Public health insurance began in America in 1965, when President Lyndon Johnson launched the Medicaid and Medicare programmes. Medicare is a programme for over-65s that is federally funded, whereas Medicaid is an initiative for low-income individuals funded jointly by states and the federal government. Until Barack Obama passed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010, however, most low-income, non-disabled adults were not eligible for Medicaid unless they had children. Even then, the median income eligibility for parents was just 64pc of the federal poverty line, which as of last year represented an annual income of $15,060. The ACA later allowed states to expand Medicaid provision to adults whose incomes were less than 138pc of the federal poverty line. Since these measures were rolled out, the number of uninsured Americans has plunged from 44m to 25m, expanding healthcare coverage significantly across the country. Trump's bill could change all of that. The president is planning to cut $793bn from Medicaid's budget over 10 years, delivering a hammer blow to states such as Kentucky. According to research firm KFF, the state will miss out on $21bn in federal funding as a result of the bill, while 277,000 people will lose access to health insurance. The bill's largest cost-saving measure is the introduction of a new 80-hours-per-month work requirement for adults who receive Medicaid under the ACA expansion. This will claw back $344bn, it is estimated, while the bill will also save $64bn by requiring these adults to redetermine their eligibility every six months instead of every 12. Darren Bullock, 40, is a Trump voter who switched from the Democrats in 2016. He is likely to lose Medicaid coverage because of the new requirements, although he is not hopeful of finding adequate employment. 'If they want people to work 80 hours a month, they'd need to bring in a lot more jobs,' he says. In rural areas like Knox County, a key barrier for people to finding work is logistics. Bullock might be able to find a job, but he will struggle to get there. He does not own a mobile phone or a car, and there is no public transport. Jennifer Tolbert, the director of state health reform at KFF and deputy director of the firm's Medicaid programme, warns that people aged 55 to 64 who have taken early retirement from physical jobs are the most vulnerable. 'They probably just can't work those jobs any more,' says Tolbert, who adds that they are also in an age bracket that means they are more likely to need healthcare. Tolbert also warns that many people who can meet the work requirements will lose Medicaid simply because of the new burden of paperwork. This includes Mcnab, now 42 and widowed for four years, who gets up at 4.30am every day to work as a full-time cook. She will have no problem meeting the 80-hour work requirement, but she has little time to spare for extra paperwork. 'I take care of my daughter, I take care of my 78-year-old mom, I take care of our home, and half the time I don't even have time for myself,' she says. Another major question is the impact of Medicaid cuts on drug rehabilitation programmes. Chris Ross, 39, is a former drug addict whose life was brought to a 'screeching halt' by substance abuse, as he fell victim to Kentucky's opioid crisis and became homeless. He was just one of many. 'We are plagued with substance abuse,' says Daniel Phipps, the secretary of the Appalachian Restoration Project, which runs drug rehab programmes and helps recovering addicts back into work. It was one of Phipps's programmes that helped to get Ross clean six years ago. He is now married, has custody of his children and works as the project's court liaison. Like the vast majority of the project's patients, his care was funded by Medicaid. 'If I hadn't had Medicaid, I would probably still be homeless,' he says. The public health insurance programme is the bedrock of the project's business, Phipps adds. The Republican bill does exempt people who have a substance use disorder or are participating in rehabilitation programmes from the new work requirements. But the cuts could hit rehab programmes in other ways, says Tolbert. For example, drug addicts may lose their coverage because they cannot meet the reporting requirements, or federal funding cuts will lead to states cutting back on payments for rehab providers. Overall, Tolbert says regional hospitals that cater to low-income communities will be hit hard financially as more people become uninsured, with many set to cut back on staff or services. The political consequences of such changes could be far-reaching. In Knox County, voting Republican is entrenched in the local culture, although such drastic healthcare cuts will no doubt force some people to think again.
New Statesman
23 minutes ago
- New Statesman
Is Donald Trump your 'Daddy'?
Photo byMaga Republicans have major daddy issues, and some world leaders seem to be taking note. Last week, after Donald Trump dropped an f-bomb when comparing Israel and Iran to children fighting in the schoolyard, Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte added that 'Daddy has to sometimes use strong language.' Later, Trump told reporters that Rutte meant it as a sign of affection, characterising his comments as, 'Hey Daddy. You're my Daddy.' The Trump White House was so tickled that they put out a slick video of the Nato summit – mostly featuring various white men gesticulating – with the Usher song 'Hey Daddy' as the soundtrack. The video, titled DADDY'S HOME, was not the first time that the Trump fandom had gone full Freudian and made the president into a bizarre icon of sexualised authority. Back in October, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson told a crowd full of Trump rally-goers that that the then-candidate would come in and restore order. 'Dad is pissed,' Carlson said. 'And when dad gets home, you know what he says? 'You've been a bad girl. You've been a bad little girl, and you're getting a vigorous spanking right now.'' Instead of recoiling in horror, the crowd loved it, chanting 'Daddy's Home' as Trump took the stage. Days after the Nato summit, the Trump team began selling $35 DADDY t-shirts emblazoned with Trump's mugshot. There is much to say about the psychosexual issues at play here, as the self-styled masculine Real Men of Maga collectively whimper for a bigger, stronger, older man to punish them like naughty little boys they are. The sexual connotations of 'daddy' are clear, and somehow even more disturbing than other widely disseminated Trump memes, including those of the president as Jesus Christ. And the 'daddy' moniker is clearly also about the fear that has always animated conservative politics: Maga voters want Trumpian authoritarianism because they hope a Big Daddy will make the big, scary world a little less frightening. Daddy may punish his naughty but beloved children, but he'll blow away anyone who threatens them. The 'daddy' turn from foreign leaders, though, is a different animal. 'The wording appears to have been stolen from the adult entertainment industry,' Gabrielius Landsbergis, the former foreign minister of Lithuania, observed on X. 'It reduces Europe to the state of a beggar – pitiful before our Transatlantic friends and Eastern opponents alike.' He's right about the 'adult entertainment industry' connotations of the word. But to be a bit more explicit about it: if Trump is Daddy, doesn't that mean Europe is getting screwed? Maybe Mark Rutte has his own daddy issues that he let slip in front of the press, and perhaps that's a big topic of conversation with his therapist this week. I suspect, though, that he called Trump Daddy as a way of cosying up to the president by using the submissive language of Trump's Maga followers – the verbal equivalent of bending the knee. Trump's first term was a disaster for the world, and his second one has somehow managed to be far, far worse despite only being a few months old. But instead of standing strong against the strongman, many of the world's leaders – and not just the other authoritarians, but self-styled small-d democrats – have become obsequious and servile. This mass submission is unbecoming and at times humiliating. But it's also revealing of the weaknesses of all the men (and they are mostly men) involved here. The world's most powerful people falling all over themselves to flatter Trump isn't just a bad look; it should also worry Americans (and the world) to know that our president is such an easily manipulated egomaniac that everyone around him seems to have concluded lavishing praise on him is the best way to get him to act in their interests. That's not the sign of a wise leader; it's indicative of just how little he knows, how few positions he sincerely holds and much of a liability he is. After all, while the Nato head using 'daddy' to nudge Trump toward a sensible policy on the alliance will hopefully result in an outcome that makes the world safer and more stable, Rutte is far from the only person to play the flattery game. What happens if Trump likes someone else's overtures more – and that someone is, say, a Vladimir Putin or a Benjamin Netanyahu or a similarly malevolent character? Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Some leaders have managed to butter Trump up without degrading themselves, mostly by being willing to also criticise him when he acts badly. French president Emmanuel Macron has made his American counterpart a guest of honour at a Bastille Day celebration and never misses an opportunity to praise him when he believes Trump is doing the right thing. But he rarely crosses the line into the kind of 'daddy' debasement on display at Nato. Foreign leaders, like Democratic politicians at home, are caught in an unenviable bind. The US is a fantastically wealthy country that has historically used some of its resources for the greater good, whether that was through supporting Nato or funding health and development around the globe. Now, we are pulling back from that. Trump employed the world's richest man to clean up alleged government waste, and Elon Musk decided that the most wasteful thing America was doing was saving the lives of people with HIV and the world's poorest children, and so he and his Doge team hit delete on USAID. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. just announced that the US will no longer fund GAVI, a groundbreaking global vaccination program that researchers estimate has saved the lives of some 17 million children in just 20 years. The idea of sucking up to an administration that is so enthusiastically wrecking the world is nauseating. But also: if flattering a man who deserves nothing but scorn means he does less damage, might it be worth the humiliation? Trump departed the Nato summit early. Nato, though, still exists with the US as a member, despite Trump's repeated threats to pull America out of it. He even deemed the alliance 'not a rip-off,' a real pivot from his previous statements. Daddy diplomacy seems to have worked. In this particular scenario, that's a relief. But it raises the question: who else might to fawning over Trump, and what might their obsequiousness get them in return? [See also: Why do right-wing 'transvestigators' believe Michelle Obama is a man?] Related
Daily Mail
35 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Trump threatens to turn DOGE on Musk as he warns billionaire will have to 'close up shop and head back to South Africa'
Donald Trump said Elon Musk may get a dose of his own medicine, suggesting that the former 'First Buddy' may have the Department of Government Efficiency turned on himself. The president was responding to Musk's day-long protest over the 'One Big, Beautiful Bill,' which Musk is using to stoke fears of launching a third party to take on Republicans and Democrats. Trump wrote: 'Elon Musk knew, long before he so strongly Endorsed me for President, that I was strongly against the EV Mandate. It is ridiculous, and was always a major part of my campaign. Electric cars are fine, but not everyone should be forced to own one.' He then turned the screws on Musk, suggesting his time benefitting from the U.S. government could be over. 'Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa. No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!' Long-time Trump ally Steve Bannon also ripped Musk for criticizing the president's signature legislation. After weeks of relative silence following a feud with Trump over the legislation, Musk rejoined the debate on Saturday as the Senate took up the package, calling it 'utterly insane and destructive' in a post on social media platform X. On Monday, he ramped up his criticism, saying lawmakers who had campaigned on cutting spending but backed the bill 'should hang their heads in shame!' Donald Trump said Elon Musk may get a dose of his own medicine, suggesting that the former 'First Buddy' may have the Department of Government Efficiency turned on himself 'And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth,' Musk said. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO called again for a new political party, saying the bill's massive spending indicated 'that we live in a one-party country - the PORKY PIG PARTY!!' 'Time for a new political party that actually cares about the people,' he wrote. 'If this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be formed the next day,' Musk pledged in a post on X Monday evening. 'Our country needs an alternative to the Democrat-Republican uniparty so that the people actually have a Voice,' he added. A few hours before his new pledge to primary Republicans, Musk called out their refusal to pass legislation that he sees as sufficiently conservative via a post on X Monday afternoon, as senators voted on various amendments to Trump's budget package. A full Senate vote on the budget bill is expected either late Monday evening or early Tuesday morning, as President Trump has been pushing Congress to get it to his desk by July 4th. The Senate version of Trump's bill is estimated to add between 3.3 billion and 4.5 billion to the national debt. 'It is obvious with the insane spending of this bill, which increases the debt ceiling by a record Five Trillion Dollars that we live in a one-party country – the Porky Pig Party!!' Musk wrote on X. 'Time for a new political party that actually cares about the people,' Musk added. A few minutes later, Musk also called out several House Republicans who are a part of the conservative 'Freedom Caucus,' for their votes to pass the House version of the bill. 'How can you call yourself the Freedom Caucus if you vote for a Debt Slavery bill with the biggest debt ceiling increase in history? @RepAndyHarrisMD @chiproytx,' Musk wrote, addressing the two GOP lawmakers directly. Musk then escalated his attacks further, pledging to oust Republicans from Congress who vote for the bill. He said that any GOP lawmakers who 'campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history' while adding they 'should hang their head in shame!' Musk, the world's richest man now worth over $400 billion, founded the AmericaPAC super pac in 2024. AmericaPAC raised over $260 million last year, and spent it in support of Republicans, many of whom ran in swing districts. Over $88 million went to directly supporting Trump. Musk was rewarded handsomely for his efforts, and spent nearly four months in Trump's White House as a 'special government employee' leading the Department of Government efficiency (DOGE). In that role, he pinpointed many areas where the federal government could make budget cuts, but in Musk's eyes much of that work will be for nothing if the government doesn't curb its record high spending levels. Some libertarian-minded Republicans have previously taken Musk's side in the GOP budget fight. Elon Musk via X Elon Musk via X New additions to the the national debt were have been a non-starter for the likes of Kentucky Republican Rand Paul, who notes that he does want to see the 2017 tax cuts made permanent. Paul also described the current $5 trillion in new debt that the budget bill would add as 'Biden spending levels.' 'This will be the largest increase in the debt ceiling ever in our history. We've never raised the debt ceiling without meeting the target. You can say it doesn't directly add to the debt but if you reach the ceiling you'll meet that. We won't discuss it for a year or two. I think it is a terrible idea to do this' Paul told Fox News earlier in June. Paul has also contrasted the pending package with the funds anticipated to be saved by spending cuts pushed for by DOGE. 'That's more than all the DOGE cuts that we found so far. So, the increase in spending put into this bill exceeds the DOGE cuts. When you look just at the border wall, they have $46.5 billion for the border wall,' Paul said on Face the Nation earlier this month. Utah GOP Senator Mike Lee is another Senate Republican who hasn't fully supported President Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' of a spending package which is currently being voted on in the U.S. Senate after being passed by the House of Representatives back in May. Lee and Musk previously joined forces to describe the bill as 'debt slavery' in a back and forth exchange on X. Musk's criticism of the bill has caused a rift in his relationship with Trump, marking a dramatic shift after the tech billionaire spent nearly $300 million on Trump's re-election campaign and led the administration's controversial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a federal cost-cutting initiative. Musk, the world's richest man, has argued that the legislation would greatly increase the national debt and erase the savings he says he has achieved through DOGE. It remains unclear how much sway Musk has over Congress or what effect his opinions might have on the bill's passage. But Republicans have expressed concern that his on-again, off-again feud with Trump could hurt their chances to protect their majority in the 2026 midterm congressional elections. The rift has also led to volatility for Tesla, with shares of the company seeing wild price swings that erased approximately $150 billion of its market value, though it has since recovered.
