Weekend reads: A scramble to preserve Medicaid, DOGE axes NC contracts, Scientists have their say
North Carolinians protest cuts to government services and the social safety net in the name of government efficiency. (Photo: Clayton Henkel/NC Newsline)By
Gov. Josh Stein sent congressional leaders a letter asking them to spare Medicaid from budget cuts. About 3.1 million North Carolinians use the government health insurance.
The U.S. House is considering Medicaid cuts that could reach $880 billion over 10 years. North Carolina Medicaid Director Jay Ludlam told legislators last week a cut of that magnitude would mean a possible loss to North Carolina of $27 billion over 10 years. [Read more….]By
As the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) works to slash contracts, grants, and leases around the country, North Carolina is set to lose more than 20 U.S. government facilities.
Those losses — largely in the form of leases DOGE says it has terminated — include Social Security Administration and Internal Revenue Service offices, court buildings, and environmental and agricultural posts around the state. While the agency lists some as transferred to federal spaces, others are described as permanently closed.[Read more…]By
Hundreds of scientists and students overtook Raleigh's Halifax Mall Friday to call for an end to the Trump administration's attacks on funding for the sciences and higher education, warning of calamity for North Carolina's research economy.
Part of a nationwide 'Stand Up for Science' protest that drew crowds from San Francisco's Civic Center Plaza to Boston Common — including a crowd of thousands outside the Lincoln Memorial — the demonstration at noon in Raleigh took aim at President Donald Trump's cuts to cancer research, support of anti-vaccine activists, and threats toward universities around the country. [Read more…]By
State officials charged with leading western North Carolina's recovery from Hurricane Helene have warned that there are years of rebuilding ahead.
But top state lawmakers made their expectations clear Thursday: they want shovels in the ground, and houses under construction, as soon as possible. [Read more…]By
Women living in Winston-Salem whose husbands were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement visited the state Legislative Building in Raleigh on Wednesday to share their stories with lawmakers.
The visit comes a day after the state Senate approved and sent to the House a bill dubbed the North Carolina 'Border Protection Act.' The legislation would require state agencies like the Department of Public Safety and Highway Patrol to enter agreements with ICE to assist with immigration enforcement.[Read more…]By
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) has denied an appeal by Raleigh's Saint Augustine's University (SAU) to restore its accreditation. The historic HBCU was stripped of its accreditation by SACSCOC last December following a series of financial challenges. As NC Newsline previously reported, the college failed on multiple occasions to meet payroll, leaving faculty unpaid as they cancelled classes. [Read more…]
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Debate is underway in the Senate on Trump's big bill, but overnight voting is delayed
WASHINGTON -- Debate has been underway in the Senate late into the night, with Republicans wrestling President Donald Trump's big bill of tax breaks and spending cuts over mounting Democratic opposition — and even some brake-pumping over the budget slashing by the president himself. The outcome from the weekend of work in the Senate remains uncertain and highly volatile, and overnight voting has been pushed off until Monday. GOP leaders are rushing to meet Trump's Fourth of July deadline to pass the package, but they barely secured enough support to muscle it past a procedural Saturday night hurdle in a tense scene. A handful of Republican holdouts revolted, and it took phone calls from Trump and a visit from Vice President JD Vance to keep it on track. GOP Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina announced Sunday he would not seek reelection after Trump badgered him for saying he could not vote for the bill with its steep Medicaid cuts. A new analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found that 11.8 million more Americans would become uninsured by 2034 if the bill became law. It also said the package would increase the deficit by nearly $3.3 trillion over the decade. But other Senate Republicans, along with conservatives in the House, are pushing for steeper cuts, particularly to health care, drawing their own unexpected warning from Trump. 'Don't go too crazy!' the president posted on social media. 'REMEMBER, you still have to get reelected.' All told, the Senate bill includes some $4 trillion in tax cuts, making permanent Trump's 2017 rates, which would expire at the end of the year if Congress fails to act, while adding the new ones he campaigned on, including no taxes on tips. The Senate package would roll back billions in green energy tax credits that Democrats warn will wipe out wind and solar investments nationwide, and impose $1.2 trillion in cuts, largely to Medicaid and food stamps, by imposing work requirements and making sign-up eligibility more stringent. Additionally, the bill would provide a $350 billion infusion for border and national security, including for deportations, some of it paid for with new fees charged to immigrants. If the Senate can pass the bill, it would need to return to the House. Speaker Mike Johnson has told lawmakers to be on call for a return to Washington this week. Unable to stop the march toward passage of the 940-page bill, the Democrats as the minority party in Congress is using the tools at its disposal to delay and drag out the process. Democrats forced a full reading of the text, which took some 16 hours. Then senators took over the debate, filling the chamber with speeches, while Republicans largely stood aside. 'Reckless and irresponsible," said Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan. "A gift to the billionaire class,' said Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Sen. Patty Murray, the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, raised particular concern about the accounting method being used by the Republicans, which says the tax breaks from Trump's first term are now 'current policy' and the cost of extending them should not be counted toward deficits. 'In my 33 years here in the United States Senate, things have never — never — worked this way,' said Murray, the longest-serving Democrat on the Budget Committee. She said that kind of 'magic math' won't fly with Americans trying to balance their own household books. "Go back home and try that game with your constituents," she said. 'We still need to kick people off their health care — that's too expensive. We still need to close those hospitals — we have to cut costs. And we still have to kick people off SNAP — because the debt is out of control.' Sanders said Tillis' decision not to seek reelection shows the hold that Trump's cult of personality has over the GOP. 'We are literally taking food out of the mouths of hungry kids,' Sanders said, while giving tax breaks to Jeff Bezos and other wealthy billionaires. Republicans are using their majorities to push aside Democratic opposition, and appeared undeterred, even as they have run into a series of political and policy setbacks. "We're going to pass the 'Big, beautiful bill," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the Budget Committee chairman. The holdout Republicans remain reluctant to give their votes, and their leaders have almost no room to spare, given their narrow majorities. Essentially, they can afford three dissenters in the Senate, with its 53-47 GOP edge, and about as many in the House, if all members are present and voting. Trump, who has at times allowed wiggle room on his deadline, kept the pressure on lawmakers to finish. He threatened to campaign against Tillis, who was worried that Medicaid cuts would leave many without health care in his state. Trump badgered Tillis again on Sunday morning, saying the senator 'has hurt the great people of North Carolina.' Later Sunday, Tillis issued a lengthy statement announcing he would not seek reelection in 2026. In an impassioned evening speech, Tillis shared his views arguing the Senate approach is a betrayal of Trump's promise not to kick people off health care. 'We could take the time to get this right,' he thundered. But until then, he said he would remain opposed. Using a congressional process called budget reconciliation, the Republicans can rely on a simple majority vote in the Senate, rather than the typical 60-vote threshold needed to overcome objections. Without the filibuster, Democrats have latched on to other tools to mount their objections. One is the full reading of the bill text, which has been done in past situations. Democrats also intended to use their full 10 hours of available debate time, which was underway. And then Democrats are prepared to propose dozens of amendments to the package, a process called vote-a-rama. But Republicans late Sunday postponed that expected overnight session to early Monday. As Saturday's vote tally teetered, attention turned to Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who was surrounded by GOP leaders in intense conversation. She voted 'yes.' Several provisions in the package are designed for her state in Alaska, but some were out of compliance of the strict rules by the Senate parliamentarian. A short time later, Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., drew holdouts Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, Mike Lee of Utah and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming to his office. Vance joined in. Later, Scott said, 'We all want to get to yes.'
The Hill
3 hours ago
- The Hill
House could vote on ‘big, beautiful bill' by Wednesday morning, Emmer announces
The House could vote on the GOP's 'big, beautiful bill' as early as Wednesday morning, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer's (R-Minn.) office announced Sunday, officially notifying members that they will have to return to Washington, D.C., to vote on the megabill. The beacon came as Senate Republicans were racing to pass the sprawling tax cuts and spending package, with GOP leaders hoping to send President Trump the measure by their self-imposed July 4 deadline. Once the Senate approves the bill, the House has to give it a final stamp of approval. 'Members are advised that votes are now expected in the House as early as 9:00 a.m. Wednesday, July 2. Please stay tuned to future updates for additional information regarding this week's schedule. This is a change from the previously announced schedule,' the whip's office wrote in a notice Sunday night. The House was scheduled to be on recess this week for July 4. If the Senate clears the legislation and sends it across the Capitol, the measure will first head to the House Rules Committee, where the panel will hold a vote to set parameters for debate. Then, the entire chamber will have to adopt a procedural rule for the legislation — which could happen as early as Wednesday morning — followed by general debate and a final passage vote. It remains unclear when the House will get its hands on the package. The Senate is scheduled to begin what is known as a vote-a-rama Monday morning at 9 a.m., giving senators in both parties an opportunity to introduce and vote on an unlimited number of amendments to the package. It remains unclear when the process will wrap up. Afterward, the chamber will hold a final passage vote. It is not yet certain that the legislation will have enough support to clear the upper chamber. Moderate Republicans have raised concerns about cuts to Medicaid, and conservatives have gripes about the level of spending cuts, prompting uncertainty about the measure's odds in the Senate. The bill, however, could change during the vote-a-rama process to shore up support. Senate Republicans can only lose three members and still clear the package, assuming full attendance and united Democratic opposition. The dynamics are similar in the House, where at least six moderate Republicans have said they will not support the bill in its current form, The Hill has learned, because of Medicaid language and the rollback of green-energy tax credits, among other provisions. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), one of the two Republicans to vote against the House version of the bill last month, is also expected to vote against the bill, bringing the current number of opponents to seven. House Republicans can also only lose three of their own members and still pass the bill if there is full attendance and all Democrats vote 'no.'
Axios
4 hours ago
- Axios
Retiring GOP senator savages Medicaid cuts in Trump's "big, beautiful bill"
Fresh off announcing he'll retire next year, Sen. Thom Tillis gave a lengthy floor speech Sunday night attacking cuts to Medicaid in the " big, beautiful bill." Why it matters: The North Carolina Republican is accusing the GOP of breaking President Trump's campaign promises to protect Medicaid. Tillis voted Saturday against starting debate on the bill, and has declared he'll vote "no" on the final version. Zoom in: "I'm telling the president, you have been misinformed," Tillis said on Sunday night. "What do I tell 663,000 people in two years, three years, when President Trump breaks his promise by pushing them off of Medicaid because the funding's not there anymore," Tillis asked. He compared Trump's promise on Medicaid to former President Obama's "if you like your health care plan, you can keep it" quote on the Affordable Care Act. The Senate's version of the "big, beautiful bill" would result in 12 million more people without health insurance in 2034 than today, the Congressional Budget Office projects. Between the lines: The Senate is expected to vote on Monday on an amendment by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) that would lower the federal matching share (FMAP) for states that have expanded their Medicaid programs.
