Massachusetts advocates fear Trump's bill will unravel health safety net in Obamacare's model state
Provisions contained in both the Senate and House versions of the massive tax and spending cuts bill advancing in Congress — a centerpiece of President Donald Trump's agenda — could strip health insurance from up to a quarter of the roughly 400,000 people enrolled in the Massachusetts Health Connector, according to state estimates.
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Associated Press
11 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Hakeem Jeffries takes his 'sweet time' holding the floor to delay Trump's tax bill
WASHINGTON (AP) — There's no filibuster in the House, but Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries essentially conducted one anyway. Jeffries held the House floor for more than eight hours Thursday, taking his 'sweet time' with a marathon floor speech that delayed passage of Republicans' massive tax and spending cuts legislation and gave his minority party a lengthy spotlight to excoriate what he called an 'immoral' bill. As Democratic leader, Jeffries can speak for as long as he wants during debate on legislation — hence its nickname on Capitol Hill, the 'magic minute,' that lasts as long as leaders are speaking. He began the speech at 4:53 a.m. EDT, and was on pace to break the record set by then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., in 2021, when he was the GOP leader. McCarthy spoke for 8 hours, 32 minutes when he angrily criticized Democrats' 'Build Back Better' legislation, breaking a record set by Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., when she spoke about immigration for 8 hours, 7 minutes in 2018. 'I feel an obligation, Mr. Speaker, to stand on this House floor and take my sweet time,' Jeffries said as he opened. The speech pushed a final vote on Republican President Donald Trump's tax bill, initially expected in the early morning, into the daylight hours. The New York Democrat used the time to criticize the bill's health care and food aid cuts, tax breaks for the wealthy and rollbacks to renewable energy programs, among other parts of the bill that Democrats decry. He also killed time by riffing on hip-hop, King George III and his own life story, among other diversions. He called out Republicans who have voiced concerns about the bill, read stories from people concerned about their health care from those GOP lawmakers' districts and praised his own members, some of whom sat behind him and cheered, clapped, laughed and joined hands. 'This reckless Republican budget is an immoral document, and that is why I stand here on the floor of the House of Representatives with my colleagues in the House Democratic caucus to stand up and push back against it with everything we have,' Jeffries said. Jeffries sneaked small bites of food and drank liquids to boost his energy, but did not leave the chamber or his podium. The speech would be over if he did. Democrats were powerless to stop the huge bill, which Republicans are passing by using an obscure budget procedure that bypasses the Senate filibuster. So they were using the powers they do have, mostly to delay. In the Senate, Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York forced Senate clerks to read the bill for almost 16 hours over the weekend. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., similarly gained attention in April when he spoke for more than 25 hours on the Senate floor and broke the record for the longest continuous Senate floor speech in the chamber's history. Booker was assisted by fellow Democrats who gave him a break from speaking by asking him questions on the Senate floor, but Jeffries' 'magic minute' did not allow for any interaction with other members. Republicans who were sitting on the floor when Jeffries started trickled out, leaving half the chamber empty. And as they anxiously awaited their vote, some mocked him on social media. 'Anything that drives House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries this crazy must be good,' posted South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham. 'Pass the One Big Beautiful Bill now.' ___ Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro and Leah Askrinam contributed to this report.
CNN
15 minutes ago
- CNN
The hidden bad news in the June jobs report
On the face of it, the June jobs report presents a robust picture of the US economy, with a historically low unemployment rate, a healthy number of jobs added and wage growth that outpaces inflation. But a closer look at the data reveals blemishes that could mar that rosy outlook — with President Donald Trump's economic policies as the most significant common denominator. The monthly headline number of 147,000 soundly beat out expectations of 117,500 net job gains, with a healthy upswing in traditionally steady industries like local and state government, education, leisure and hospitality and health care. And the unemployment rate also looks encouraging, falling to 4.1% against expectations of a rise to 4.3% for the first time since October 2021, when the country was still in the throes of pandemic upheaval. Even the dreaded monthly revisions offer promise — April and May were both revised upward, while in previous reports, prior months have tended to see (sometimes hefty) downward revisions. (March's stronger-than-expected 228,000-job gain was ultimately revised down by 108,000 jobs.) But, beyond the top-level data, things get a little murkier: It is becoming harder for Americas to find work: The average duration of unemployment rose from 21.8 weeks to 23 weeks, and the share of unemployed workers who have been out of a job for 27 weeks or longer rose to 23.3%, edging closer to a three-year high. Trump's tariffs — and the dizzying back and forth on implementing them and pausing them — has caused many businesses to stall major decision-making or spending, including hiring. Manufacturing employment was down: The sector saw a decline for the second-straight month, losing 7,000 jobs — a cloudy development for one of Trump's benchmark economic priorities. Job growth was not widespread: Sectors that saw the biggest monthly gains (state and local government, health care, leisure and hospitality) were mostly ones that are less affected by tariffs. Employees worked fewer hours: The average workweek edged down by one-tenth of an hour, to 34.2 hours, in June. This potentially signals a weakening in the demand for labor, economist Dean Baker of the Center for Economic Policy Research noted. The unemployment rate for Black Americans rose: The jobless rate for Black workers increased in the June report, rising from 6% to 6.8%, its highest rate since January 2022. That's typically an indicator of economic weakness, but it's also a volatile number from month to month. More women are leaving the workforce: The data indicates that job gains could be going mostly to men: Since January, a net 338,000 women have left the labor force, while 183,000 men have joined the labor force, the National Women's Law Center noted on Thursday. Wage growth gains have slowed: While the pace of wage growth increased last month, it was at a slower rate than economists expected. Average hourly earnings rose by just 0.2% in June, bringing the annual growth rate to 3.7% from 3.9%. There's some fuzzy math to understand: The unemployment rate went down and the size of the labor force also went down — mostly because the US lost more than 1 million foreign-born workers in the last quarter. That rebalancing essentially allows the jobless rate to stay unchanged or even drop, despite an increase in the number of people out of work. About those workers: Trump's policies include a large-scale immigration crackdown and targeted deportation of workers, depriving companies of what has been a key sector of the labor force in recent years. For now, the US job market continues to defy expectations. But with Trump's self-imposed July 9 deadline approaching for key US trading partners to reach a deal on tariffs, and his signature domestic policy bill still being debated in Congress, businesses and their workers remain frozen in a state of uncertainty. CNN's Alicia Wallace contributed to this report.
CNN
15 minutes ago
- CNN
The hidden bad news in the June jobs report
On the face of it, the June jobs report presents a robust picture of the US economy, with a historically low unemployment rate, a healthy number of jobs added and wage growth that outpaces inflation. But a closer look at the data reveals blemishes that could mar that rosy outlook — with President Donald Trump's economic policies as the most significant common denominator. The monthly headline number of 147,000 soundly beat out expectations of 117,500 net job gains, with a healthy upswing in traditionally steady industries like local and state government, education, leisure and hospitality and health care. And the unemployment rate also looks encouraging, falling to 4.1% against expectations of a rise to 4.3% for the first time since October 2021, when the country was still in the throes of pandemic upheaval. Even the dreaded monthly revisions offer promise — April and May were both revised upward, while in previous reports, prior months have tended to see (sometimes hefty) downward revisions. (March's stronger-than-expected 228,000-job gain was ultimately revised down by 108,000 jobs.) But, beyond the top-level data, things get a little murkier: It is becoming harder for Americas to find work: The average duration of unemployment rose from 21.8 weeks to 23 weeks, and the share of unemployed workers who have been out of a job for 27 weeks or longer rose to 23.3%, edging closer to a three-year high. Trump's tariffs — and the dizzying back and forth on implementing them and pausing them — has caused many businesses to stall major decision-making or spending, including hiring. Manufacturing employment was down: The sector saw a decline for the second-straight month, losing 7,000 jobs — a cloudy development for one of Trump's benchmark economic priorities. Job growth was not widespread: Sectors that saw the biggest monthly gains (state and local government, health care, leisure and hospitality) were mostly ones that are less affected by tariffs. Employees worked fewer hours: The average workweek edged down by one-tenth of an hour, to 34.2 hours, in June. This potentially signals a weakening in the demand for labor, economist Dean Baker of the Center for Economic Policy Research noted. The unemployment rate for Black Americans rose: The jobless rate for Black workers increased in the June report, rising from 6% to 6.8%, its highest rate since January 2022. That's typically an indicator of economic weakness, but it's also a volatile number from month to month. More women are leaving the workforce: The data indicates that job gains could be going mostly to men: Since January, a net 338,000 women have left the labor force, while 183,000 men have joined the labor force, the National Women's Law Center noted on Thursday. Wage growth gains have slowed: While the pace of wage growth increased last month, it was at a slower rate than economists expected. Average hourly earnings rose by just 0.2% in June, bringing the annual growth rate to 3.7% from 3.9%. There's some fuzzy math to understand: The unemployment rate went down and the size of the labor force also went down — mostly because the US lost more than 1 million foreign-born workers in the last quarter. That rebalancing essentially allows the jobless rate to stay unchanged or even drop, despite an increase in the number of people out of work. About those workers: Trump's policies include a large-scale immigration crackdown and targeted deportation of workers, depriving companies of what has been a key sector of the labor force in recent years. For now, the US job market continues to defy expectations. But with Trump's self-imposed July 9 deadline approaching for key US trading partners to reach a deal on tariffs, and his signature domestic policy bill still being debated in Congress, businesses and their workers remain frozen in a state of uncertainty. CNN's Alicia Wallace contributed to this report.
