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Int'l Business Times
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
GOP Senator Admits Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' Isn't 'There Yet' Despite Voting Yes: 'Hope the House' Sends It Back
President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" was passed by the Senate Tuesday after Republicans secured the vote of a hesitant Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). Speaking to reporters after the vote, Murkowski described the decision as "agonizing," and admitted the bill does not have her full support, despite getting her vote. "We do not have a perfect bill by any stretch of the imagination," she said. "My hope is that the House is going to look at this and recognize that we're not there yet." Murkowski said she supported the bill only after securing key concessions for her state, including added flexibility in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), more funding for rural hospitals and the removal of a tax on solar and wind projects. "Did I get everything I wanted? Absolutely not," she acknowledged. "I had to look on balance, because the people in my state are the ones that I put first." Murkowski also criticized what she called the "artificial" rush by the White House and GOP leadership to pass the bill by July 4, saying she's urged them to instead send the legislation to a conference committee for further negotiation. "I've urged the White House that I think that more process is needed ... because I would like to see a better outcome for people in this country," she said. Murkowski explained her vote as a pragmatic step to keep negotiations alive: "Kill it and it's gone," she said. "There is a tax impact coming forward. That's gonna hurt the people in my state." Murkowski has gained notoriety for her moderate politics and willingness to publicly disagree with certain Trump initiatives, leading Trump to accuse her of "suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome" when she voted with Democrats to repeal tariffs levied against Canada. "We are all afraid," Murkowski said in April. Before she opposed Trump's tariffs, she'd already earned his ire by voting against cabinet picks including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and FBI Director Kash Patel, and speaking out against Trump's renaming of Mount McKinley from its Indigenous name, Denali. The bill, which advances key Trump priorities including extending the 2017 tax cuts, now heads to the House, where debate is expected to continue. Originally published on Latin Times
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Even Republicans are Raising Eyebrows Over Trump's Exclusive Memecoin Dinner
Alarm bells are ringing over President Donald Trump's upcoming dinner for top investors in his memecoin, known as $TRUMP. Senate Republicans have expressed concern that invitations extended to the top 220 $TRUMP holders for an 'unforgettable gala dinner with the president' at the White House may not be entirely 'appropriate.' 'This is my president that we're talking about, but I am willing to say that this gives me pause,' Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis told NBC News. Lummis, a staunch ally of the president, has been pushing for greater regulation in the cryptocurrency space, describing it as 'the Wild West.' Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), a frequent dissenter in the party ranks, said the idea made her uneasy but added that she didn't have all the details. 'I don't think it would be appropriate for me to charge people to come into the Capitol and take a tour,' Murkowski told NBC News. 'He's got to remember that he's living there, but it's the people's house, right?' Trump's memecoin, launched on Jan. 17—just three days before his inauguration—surged to a peak market value of more than $14.5 billion on Jan. 19 before dropping by 64 percent. However, following the announcement last week that holders could buy access to the exclusive event, with the top 25 investors getting an 'ultra-exclusive VIP reception with the president,' its value has surged by 50 percent. Few Republicans have publicly questioned the ethics of the event, however Democratic Senators Adam Schiff and Elizabeth Warren have warned that the event may constitute 'pay-to-play' corruption. They have requested an investigation by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. The official leaderboard on the Get Trump Memes website suggests an invitation can be bought for as little as $1,700 in $TRUMP. However, data on the Solana blockchain explorer Solscan indicates that the top 220 $TRUMP coin-holders have between $460,000 and $319 million in $TRUMP. This does not include the coins held by the two Trump-owned entities, CIC Digital LLC and Fight Fight Fight LLC, which together own 80 percent of the president's cryptocurrency, currently valued at $10.3 billion. CIC Digital receives trading revenue for transactions in the $TRUMP market and, since its inception, has earned up to $100 million in transaction fees alone, Reuters reports. At least 50 of the largest investors in the coin have made profits in excess of $10 million each, while some 800,000 retail traders with small holdings have collectively lost more than $2 billion.
