Congress starts working on Trump's 'big beautiful bill'

USA Today

30-04-2025

Congress starts working on Trump's 'big beautiful bill' | The Excerpt
On Wednesday's episode of The Excerpt podcast: USA TODAY Senior Congress Reporter Riley Beggin breaks down what to know as the GOP starts work on a sweeping Trump priorities bill. Trump provides automakers some relief from 25% tariffs. Republicans propose a massive overhaul of student loans and Pell Grants. Congress passes a bill to outlaw deepfake pornography. USA TODAY National Correspondent Chris Kenning explains how President Trump's coal push stirs hopes and worries in Appalachia.
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Taylor Wilson:
Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and today is Wednesday, April 30th, 2025. This is The Excerpt.
Today, what's next as Congress starts working on Trump's legislative priorities, plus there's a bill on the way dealing with deepfake pornography, and we discuss complicated hopes for a coal revival.
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Over the next few weeks, lawmakers will craft a sweeping package of President Donald Trump's priorities for taxes, border security, energy, and more that they will eventually try to pass along party lines. I spoke with USA TODAY's senior congress reporter, Riley Beggin, for more on what to expect. Hey Riley.
Riley Beggin:
Hey, how you doing?
Taylor Wilson:
Good, good. Thanks for hopping on. So big few weeks ahead. First, how did we get to this point? Refresh us on the budget blueprint passed earlier this month and, I guess, was it a direct version of President Trump's goals and priorities?
Riley Beggin:
It has been quite the journey just to get to this point. Since the President took office in January, Congress has been working on ... actually even before he took office, has been working on setting the stage for his sweeping agenda on the Hill. This is going to be an expansive bill that touches on a lot of different parts of his agenda. The marquee piece of this is going to be extending the 2017 tax cuts and then additional tax policies like eliminating taxes on tips, on overtime, on social security payments. So the tax portion is going to be huge here. And then in addition to that, there will be elements of border security policy, domestic energy production, and additional defense spending.
Taylor Wilson:
We know we'll also likely be hearing a lot about Medicaid in the coming weeks. What's at stake?
Riley Beggin:
There are different cohorts of the Republican Conference who want different things out of this bill. It's going to be really expansive because of those tax portions that I told you about, and the fiscal conservatives want cuts that are going to balance that out at least a little bit, and we're talking trillions and trillions of dollars of spending. They want at least $1.5 trillion cut. The main place that they are seeking to do that is likely going to be through Medicaid programs. What Republicans are saying is, we can fully meet this cutting goal of $880 billion, specifically in this committee that has purview over Medicaid, by eliminating waste, fraud and abuse. Nonpartisan experts that we've consulted say that that is not possible, and as we are getting into this process of building the policy over these next few weeks, it looks like Republicans are trying to figure out some ways to meet that goal without really hitting the pocketbooks of low-income Americans. But we're going to have to see how that goes. There's a lot to unpack there that could potentially impact benefits.
Taylor Wilson:
Riley, remind us what reconciliation is, I don't think this is the first time I've asked you to give us a definition there, and how will it be used this time around?
Riley Beggin:
Yeah. Reconciliation is a super wonky word. Reconciliation is a process that lawmakers use to essentially bypass the filibuster. In the Senate, you need at least 60 votes to get past the filibuster, which is often tricky for the majority party because you so rarely have a 60 vote majority in the Senate. So you have to compromise with the minority party if you're going to get regular legislation through. Reconciliation is a way to avoid that compromise process, pass something with only majority support, so that's Republicans in the House and in the Senate, but there are a lot of rules around that. This bill has to be related to the budget related to spending or cutting spending, and if they try to put policy in there that is not related to spending, it could be cut and could endanger the bill.
Taylor Wilson:
You mentioned the minority. What role will Democrats, if any, Riley, really play over the next few weeks?
Riley Beggin:
Really, the role of Democrats here is to be a motivator and a threat for Republicans as they try to stay unified here. If they can't really stick together on this, and there's going to be a lot of internal dissension that is going to threaten that unity, they are going to have to go through Democrats to get some of this stuff done. They really don't want to do that. So Democrats don't have a huge role to play in that they are going to be sort of put on the sidelines here. They're in the minority. In the House, there's not a lot they can do, and in the Senate in this particular process, which I mentioned, they also don't have a lot they can do.
Taylor Wilson:
Interesting. Next few weeks, Riley Beggin covers Congress for USA TODAY. Thanks Riley.
Riley Beggin:
Thank you.
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Taylor Wilson:
President Trump is bringing some relief from his 25% tariffs on foreign cars and auto parts. In a proclamation signed yesterday, Trump is offering auto companies credits for a portion of the tariffs on parts that they import to build vehicles in the U.S. The rebates are equal to 15% of the value of a company's vehicles assembled in the country. The so-called Big Three U.S. auto makers, Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, had pushed for relief after raising concerns about the impact Trump's aggressive tariffs could have on the industry. Trump has argued that tariffs are needed on auto imports to help reinvigorate the domestic production of vehicles.
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Republicans in Congress are moving forward with a plan to overhaul how Americans pay for college. Earlier this week, a GOP-led committee in the House unveiled a 100-page budget bill that would reshape much of the college financial aid system. If enacted, the legislation would impact millions of students and the colleges they attend. It would reduce undergraduate students' eligibility for traditional Pell Grants and penalize some universities for leaving students with crushing debt. Cost for certain college programs would be capped. At the same time, regulations on for-profit colleges would loosen. It would also give student loan borrowers less flexibility in their monthly bills, which for many would go up. The bill would save hundreds of billions of dollars and pave the way for broader tax cuts according to Congressman Tim Walberg, a Michigan Republican who chairs the Education and Workforce Committee in the House. Critics argue the legislation would make it harder for students, especially those from low-income backgrounds, to get into college, graduate and pay back their debts.
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Congress has passed a bill to outlaw deepfake pornography. The legislation will head to President Trump for his signature after near unanimous approval. The bill already had a key endorsement from First Lady Melania Trump. Deepfakes are photos, videos, or audio altered or created by AI to appear real, often without the subject of the media's consent. Many of the images are manipulated to put people into compromising situations, showing them appearing inappropriately or putting them in places that could spark controversy or embarrassment. The images have become a major cause for concern with the explosion of AI technology. A newly passed bill will require technology platforms to remove reported non-consensual sexually exploitative images within 48 hours of receiving a valid request.
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President Donald Trump wants to help revive the coal industry, but his cuts are leading to worries over mine safety. I spoke with USA TODAY national correspondent Chris Kenning for more. Chris, thanks for hopping on, sir.
Chris Kenning:
Thanks for having me.
Taylor Wilson:
Just starting here, Chris, what has President Donald Trump set out to do really when it comes to coal mining?
Chris Kenning:
President Trump during his first term vowed to revive coal and target President Obama's efforts to transition away from coal power, which is more expensive and more polluting than natural gas and renewables. But during his first term, coal employment still dropped, mainly because of that competition. This time around, Trump's taking another swing. Earlier this month, he signed a series of executive orders that call for extracting coal on federal lands, speeding mining permits, and trying to extend the life of coal-fired power plants. And the administration is also seeking to roll back some of the environmental regulations, including rules to curb some toxic emissions. But coal today generates less than 20% of U.S. electricity. That's down from 50% in 2000. A lot of experts have said that because of that ongoing competition from less expensive natural gas and renewables, it's not likely to persuade utilities to open new coal-fired power plants. But a lot of the folks in West Virginia, which is a big coal producing state, are really hopeful that this does lead to more production and more jobs.
Taylor Wilson:
Well, Chris, there is a sense that federal cuts are now leading to coal safety concerns. Just how serious are these worries and what are we talking about specifically?
Chris Kenning:
Amid the optimism that these policies have brought to West Virginia, there's also been this cross-current of concern. One of the reasons is that Trump's cuts to the federal workforce, which have crossed many agencies, have also hit agencies that are dealing with miner safety programs. Earlier this month, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health faced cuts in West Virginia. That really stymied the work of this Black Lung Program, which does surveillance and prevention and helps miners to get the care they need to apply to move to a less dusty and dangerous position in a mine in which they're working. In addition, the administration delayed a new rule that was set to go in effect that would limit exposure to silica dust, which is a driver of the black lung cases that we've seen resurging over the last 20 years. These days, black lung effects one in five coal miners in the Appalachia region.
Taylor Wilson:
Are coal miners in West Virginia, Chris, where you spoke with a lot of folks, are they now pushing back against Trump's coal plans? Considering some of those worries, are they on board with this kind of coal-friendly president? What do we hear from them?
Chris Kenning:
They're definitely on board. A lot of the people I talked with voted for Trump in a state where 7 in 10 voters supported him in the last election. But those concerns about mine safety have produced a pushback. You've seen Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito and others calling on the Trump administration to reconsider the changes and United Mine Workers of America calling on the administration to not jettison these hard-won safety measures. At the same time, they want coal to succeed and they want coal to grow. They just don't want to do it at the expense of safety.
Taylor Wilson:
In terms of the coal job market right now, Chris, we know a lot of industry has moved to some other maybe renewable resources. We've seen some of these shifts. But what do the jobs look like? Is it relatively easy for anyone wanting to start this career to hop in? Is there steady work? What are you seeing?
Chris Kenning:
It's been on the long decline for a very long time. I spoke to a guy who heads the health and safety for the Mine Workers Union, and he said during the better years, you could spend an entire career in the same mine when there were still large deposits everywhere. But over time, these coal seams became smaller and more expensive, and companies became more sensitive to drops in the market price, so that meant frequent idling and closures and more on and off work. I think between 2011 and 2022, total coal industry employment fell by 57%. It landed hardest in the Appalachian coal producing states like West Virginia. At the same time, a lot of people who entered job retraining or moved away to find work, they found that these coal jobs are really hard to replace.
Taylor Wilson:
How does the Trump administration respond to some of the concerns we've outlined, Chris?
Chris Kenning:
Trump officials have said that the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health programs related to mine safety would remain intact. They said that NIOSH would join an administration for healthy America. Some of the White House spokespeople said that Trump's a huge ally of America's coal miners and they're going to do all they can to make sure to keep hard-working coal miners safe. The Department of Labor said it would work to identify ways to keep mine safety inspection teams on the ground continuing their work despite looking at these office closures. But a lot remains unknown, both for the mine safety workers and the miners themselves as they wait to see how these policies will unfurl. Just this week, we saw that several dozen workers from a coal surveillance program in West Virginia were called back to work after being put on administrative leave earlier in the month. It's not known whether or how long that callback will last and who will remain.
Taylor Wilson:
All right. Chris Kenning is a national correspondent with USA TODAY. Listeners can find the full version of this story with a link in today's show notes. Thank you, Chris.
Chris Kenning:
Thank you.
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Taylor Wilson:
In the 100 days since taking office, President Trump has transformed American government with executive orders, firings, and major cuts. One area where voters are still waiting to see the impact they were promised: the economy.
Trevor Hughes:
A lot of folks who really wanted to see President Trump swept into office because he had what they believed was a better economic plan. They're still waiting to see it.
Taylor Wilson:
That's USA TODAY national correspondent Trevor Hughes. He joins my colleague Dana Taylor for a deep dive into how Trump's 100 days have impacted regular Americans. You can hear that conversation right here beginning at 4:00 PM Eastern Time later today.
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Thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the podcast wherever you get your audio, and if you're on a smart speaker, just ask for The Excerpt. I'm Taylor Wilson and I'll be back tomorrow with more of The Excerpt from USA TODAY.