McCarthy rips GOP hardliners for ‘real misstep' over ‘One Big Beautiful Bill' delay
GOP former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Sunday bashed the Republican lawmakers who blocked a bid to advance President Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' last week.
McCarthy accused the fiscal-hawk pols of prioritizing their own interests and warned that it was a 'real misstep' as the rest of the party pushes to get Trump's sweeping marquee agenda package through Congress.
'The stock market seems like it is moving up. Now, if Congress can start doing the things that President Trump's doing, it would even help us more,' McCarthy told 'Cats Roundtable' on WABC 770 AM.
'[It] was a real misstep on the Republicans' part, in the budget side, that four of them looked out for themselves instead of moving the bill along, reconciliation.'
On Friday, five Republicans — Chip Roy of Texas, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma, Andrew Clyde of Georgia and Lloyd Smucker of Pennsylvania — voted against advancing the bill out of the House Budget Committee.
GOP former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is knocking some Republicans for failing to advance the 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' on Friday.
NurPhoto via Getty Images
Smucker later attributed his vote to procedural reasons to ensure the committee could take up consideration of the bill again.
The other four reps cited various concerns that the package didn't do enough to rein in government spending, and some of them pushed for adjustments such as implementing the bill's Medicaid work requirements faster.
Last week, various committees in the House of Representatives rolled out legislative text for key components of the 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act,' and the Budget Committee was tasked with stitching it all together.
Once the proposal clears the Budget Committee, then GOP leadership can begin moving it through the Rules Committee and eventually to a floor vote.
The 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' features an extension of Trump's 2017 tax cuts, no taxes on tips,, no taxes on overtime pay, an increased tax deduction for seniors, beefed-up border security and bolstered energy supplies, among other things.
McCarthy, speaking on the radio show, also seemingly took a pot shot at the leadership of his successor, House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.). Johnson ascended to the top House post when McCarthy was ousted in a GOP revolt in late 2023.
'What really shows is, once President Trump gets back in the country, I mean, poor President Trump is being the president [and] the speaker at the same time, I think we'll get that bill through,' McCarthy chided.
House Speaker Mike Johnson is dealing with a razor-thin House GOP majority.
CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
GOP leadership has been negotiating with Republican holdouts, trying to advance the signature legislation out of the House Budget Committee.
Republicans are planning to reconvene the Budget Committee late Sunday around 10 p.m. to consider advancing the bill after compromises have been made.
'I think the president will be back in and really looking to these members to get the job done, because if they don't get the job done, your taxes go up, and that's not going to happen,' McCarthy said.
'[The comprehensive bill] has a lot of the promises the president made about no tax on tips and others, and it will just help unleash the economy because it would bring security and stability.'
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Why Musk's feud with Trump could jeopardize his business empire
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While the two could reconcile in the future, observers agree the dramatic turn of events leaves Musk's business empire vulnerable to Trump's wrath. Trump, at one point during Thursday's back-and-forth, threatened to cut Musk's government contracts as he called his former adviser 'crazy.' 'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it!' Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. Musk, in turn, said he would decommission SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, which is responsible for ferrying astronauts and cargo to and from the International Space Station. He later backed off, after an X user urged him to 'cool off and take a step back.' The exchange underscored how Musk's business ventures could get caught in the crosshairs of any feud with the president, who is known to have a proclivity for retribution. 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However, Musk sharpened his criticism of Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' soon after, as he slammed the legislation as a 'disgusting abomination.' The president responded Thursday, saying he was 'very surprised' and 'disappointed' by Musk's comments and cast doubt on the future of their relationship. 'Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will anymore,' Trump said during an Oval Office appearance alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The situation quickly devolved into personal attacks. Musk fired back on his social platform X, suggesting the president would have lost the 2024 election without him, linking Trump to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and backing calls for the president's impeachment. As the feud dragged on Thursday, Tesla's stock plunged 14 percent Thursday, costing the electric vehicle maker more than $150 billion. 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Yahoo
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Federal cuts ripple through bioscience hub in Hamilton
Protesters march in downtown Hamilton. (Photo by Kathryn Houghton for KFF Health News). HAMILTON — Scientists are often careful to take off their work badges when they leave the campus of one of the nation's top research facilities, here in southwestern Montana's Bitterroot Valley. It's a reflection of the long-standing tension caused by Rocky Mountain Laboratories' improbable location in this conservative, blue-collar town of 5,000 that was built on logging. Many residents are proud of the internationally recognized research unfolding at the National Institutes of Health facility and acknowledge that Rocky Mountain Labs has become an economic driver for Hamilton. But a few locals resent what they consider the elitist scientists at the facility, which has employed about 500 people in recent years. Or they fear the contagious pathogens studied there could escape the labs' well-protected walls. That split widened with the COVID-19 pandemic and the divisions that emerged from mask mandates and vaccine development. In 2023, Matt Rosendale, a Republican who was then a U.S. representative from Montana, falsely tied the lab to the origins of covid in an attempt to cut its funding. Now, Hamilton is a prime example of how the Trump administration's mass federal layoffs and cancellation of research grants are having ripple effects in communities far from Washington, D.C. On an April afternoon, hundreds of people filled the sidewalks at an intersection of Hamilton's usually quiet downtown, waving signs that read 'Hands Off Federal Workers' and 'Stop Strangling Science.' Some driving by honked in support, rolled their windows down, and cheered. Others flipped off the rallygoers and cast insults at them. 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Kennedy has said the nation should pause funding infectious disease research, and the White House has said it plans to intensify scrutiny of gain-of-function research, which involves altering a pathogen to study its spread. Hamilton, in Ravalli County, is a place of scientists, ranchers, and outdoor recreationists. Here, 1 in 8 people live below the federal poverty line. Nearly 70% of county residents who participated in the 2024 presidential election voted for Trump, and Trump signs still dot U.S. Highway 93 leading to town. In the thick of the COVID pandemic, the sheriff and county commissioners refused to enforce a statewide mandate to mask in public spaces while Rocky Mountain Labs researchers worked to understand the virus. The lab's work dates to 1900, and even early on it was controversial. Rocky Mountain spotted fever was killing people in the valley. 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The rural community is also a base for international vaccine developer GSK due to the lab's presence. Kathleen Quinn, a vice president of communications for the company, said GSK's business with government agencies 'continues as usual' for now amid federal changes and that it's 'too early to say what any longer-term impact could be.' 'Our community is impacted more than most,' said City Councilor Darwin Ernst. He spoke during an overflowing March town hall to discuss the federal government cuts. Hundreds of people turned out on the weeknight asking city councilors to do something. Ernst, a former researcher at the lab who now works as a real estate broker and appraiser, said in an interview he's starting to see more homes enter the market, which he attributed to the atmosphere of uncertainty and former federal workers' having to find jobs elsewhere. 'Someone recently left with her entire family. Because of the layoffs, they can't afford to live here,' he said. 'Some people retire here but that's not everyone.' Jane Shigley said she's been a Hamilton resident for more than 30 years and initially thought the government would find 'some inefficiencies, no big deal.' But now she's worried about her hometown's future. 'Something's going on that we can't control,' Shigley said. 'And the people that it's happening to aren't allowed to talk to us about it.' The City Council sent a letter to federal officials in April asking for formal consultation prior to any significant changes, given Hamilton's 'interdependence' with Rocky Mountain Labs and the federally controlled lands surrounding Hamilton. As of May, city leaders hadn't received a response. People in town are split on how badly the federal cuts will affect Hamilton. Julie Foster, executive director of the Ravalli County Economic Development Authority, said the community survived the decline of logging, and she thinks Rocky Mountain Labs will survive, too. 'It will be here. There may be bumps in the road, but this is a resilient place,' Foster said. Even amid the cuts, Rocky Mountain Labs is in the process of a building expansion that, so far, hasn't stopped. And researchers' work continues. This spring, scientists there helped make the first identification in Montana of a species of tick known to carry Lyme disease. KFF Health News correspondent Rae Ellen Bichell contributed to this report. KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.
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28 minutes ago
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Corporate support for Pride is dwindling nationwide. In NC, it's a mixed bag
Pride Month has long been an occasion for companies and institutions to display their support for the LGBTQ+ community, whether it be for profit or for principle. It's often a trivial gesture, but it can have a meaningful impact for a community that had long been relegated to the shadows of society. But more recently, that support has waned amid a regressive political climate that has made many companies rethink their commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion. A survey conducted by the national risk management firm Gravity Research found that around 39% of companies said they would reduce their engagement around Pride Month this year. Some of the top reasons for the change were the Trump administration, conservative activists and conservative policymakers, the survey found. Major corporations, including Mastercard and Pepsi, have pulled their sponsorship of major Pride events or avoided the topic on social media. In North Carolina, the results are mixed. Take Lowe's, which is based in Mooresville. Lowe's hasn't yet acknowledged Pride Month on its social media — a marked difference from past years when it openly embraced the occasion. That's not unexpected, given that Lowe's has already announced an end to many of its DEI initiatives. Last year, the company said it would no longer participate in surveys conducted by LGBTQ+ groups and ended its support of outside events like festivals, parades and fairs. (Lowe's had previously been a longtime supporter of Charlotte's annual Pride festival.) But surprising or not, it's reflective of a growing trend away from publicly embracing the LGBTQ+ community. Charlotte-based Bank of America also has remained quiet about Pride so far. In past years, Bank of America has been vocal about celebrating the occasion on social media and honoring its LGBTQ+ employees with the hashtag #BofAPride, but that support has been absent this year. Compare that with Truist, which posted in celebration of Pride on its Facebook and Instagram accounts. For North Carolina's professional sports teams, the results are mixed, too. While the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte Hornets both celebrated the start of Pride on social media, the Carolina Hurricanes have not. In fact, the team has remained largely silent about Pride since 2023 — the Hurricanes are one of just a handful NHL teams to not acknowledge it this year — a decision that has disappointed many fans who feel a simple acknowledgment of the occasion is not too much to ask. The same goes for the state's largest cities. The city of Charlotte posted on its social media accounts at the beginning of Pride, in addition to updating its profile picture to a rainbow version of the city's crown logo. The cities of Raleigh and Greensboro, however, did not. This move toward silence comes at a time when things like Pride celebrations and flags are under attack from lawmakers across the state. Legislation has been introduced at the state level that would effectively ban the display of Pride flags in government buildings, while some counties have passed ordinances governing public events that some interpret as targeting Pride events or drag performances. Of course, a social media post is just that: a social media post. It's not going to defeat anti-LGBTQ legislation, or save gay kids from being bullied, or change the country's attitude towards transgender people — at least not on its own. From some companies, it's just a lot of empty words or glorified virtue signaling. But public support for any marginalized group can be meaningful, especially when it happens on a large scale. And when institutions cower in the face of political pressure to stay silent, they're just letting the bullies win. It makes real change all the more difficult. Ultimately, it's not the silence that is the problem. It's the fact that the silence is new — a sudden absence of the public support and acceptance that existed before. It feels like another step backward during a time when progress feels like it's constantly stuck in reverse.
