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Daily Mail
13 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Red state homeowners are rushing to make major home improvement to cut bills and bag 30 percent tax credit
In the wake of Donald Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill', Florida homeowners are clamoring to add solar panels to their homes before it's too late. Trump's Big, Beautiful Bill Act was signed into law on July 4. Amongst restrictions to Medicaid and tightening on immigration, it also moved up the deadline for homeowners wishing to receive a tax credit for their solar panels. Now, homeowners who want to conserve energy and earn a 30 percent tax credit must have their solar panels installed by the end of the year. US Representative Kathy Castor told Floridians at a press conference this week: 'Our message today is if you are interested in lower–cost solar for your home or for your business, for your church, synagogue or mosque — you have to act now.' And act they have, but the rush is overwhelming local solar panel companies and creating a dismal future for the industry in Florida as a whole. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, the appropriately named Sunshine State ranked third in the solar industry. Over 20,000 solar panel systems have been installed, employing 14,000 Floridians. The often sweltering heat and sunny conditions makes low–coast solar a good way to decrease electric bills and promote environmentally-friendly living. President Trump's Big, Beautiful Bill was signed into law on July 4 Among other things, the act moved up the deadline for Americans to receive a 30 percent tax credit for installing solar panels on their homes Solar companies in Florida are now scrambling to meet the demands of citizens who wish to make changes to their home before the new December 31 deadline Florida House Representative Kathy Castor (pictured) ridiculed the decision in a press conference and encouraged residents to act fast Bill Johnson, who runs Brilliant Harvest in Sarasota, Florida told the Tampa Bay Times: 'Within 48 hours of the bill being signed, we had enough contracts to complete the year.' It could take weeks for companies like Johnson's to obtain the proper permits and contracts to even begin installing solar panels. So to get that tax credit homeowners must start immediately. Steve Rutherford, the CEO of Tampa Bay Solar said he can't train enough installers to fulfill every request by the December 31 deadline. But after that deadline has come and gone, solar industry professionals worry what a drastic decline in demand will do to their business. Without the government incentive to install green energy, Tampa businesses could see job losses. Rutherford said that these realizations are 'a bit of a funeral in the industry'. Johnson was a little more optimistic and noted that he'd already had clients create contracts for next year, despite losing out on the tax credit. 'This is a body blow,' he said. Bill Johnson (pictured), who runs Brilliant Harvest, said 'Within 48 hours of the bill being signed, we had enough contracts to complete the year' It can take weeks to obtain the proper permits and contracts for solar panel installation Steve Rutherford (pictured), the CEO of Tampa Bay Solar called the change 'a bit of a funeral in the industry' With or without a tax credit, Americans may save hundreds of dollars a year after installing solar energy. File photo above Officials worried that losing federal support for solar programs could cause electric bills everywhere to rise, especially amidst the heat waves Tampa had seen this summer. 'As TECO, Duke and FP&L ask for higher rate increases and your electric bills go up, part of the reason is because of the big ugly bill, and taking away the tax credits you were enjoying for cleaner, cheaper energy,' said Castor. According to the United States Department of Energy, solar panels may still be a good thing for your wallet with or without a 30 percent tax cut. Installation can increase the value of a home by an average of $15,000. Depending on a home's location, sunlight exposure, and climate, owners could still save hundreds of dollars a year, per the US Department of Energy.
The Guardian
13 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Trump news at a glance: inquiry launched into Trump prosecutor as backlash grows over firing of statistics chief
The US office of special counsel, an independent federal agency, confirmed to NBC News that it is investigating former Department of Justice prosecutor Jack Smith for possible violations of the Hatch Act. Smith led investigations into Donald Trump's part in the 6 January US Capitol riot and alleged mishandling of classified documents. It comes as senior Republican lawmakers condemn the decision of their party leader, Trump, to fire the leading US labor market statistician after a report that showed the national economy added just 73,000 jobs – far fewer than expected – in July. Trump claimed, without evidence, that the numbers were 'RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad' and the US economy was, in fact, 'BOOMING' on his watch. Here are the key US politics stories of the day: The confirmation of an investigation into Jack Smith comes after Arkansas senator Tom Cotton, a Republican, requested last week that Smith be investigated for 'unprecedented interference in the 2024 election'. The Hatch Act, a federal law passed in 1939, limits certain political activities of federal employees. Trump, along with other prominent Republican lawmakers, have argued that Smith's investigations into Trump amounted to illegal political activity. Smith ultimately brought two criminal indictments against Trump in 2023 but resigned in January this year before either came to trial. Read the full story The firing of Erika McEntarfer, who had been confirmed to her role in January 2024 during Joe Biden's presidency, has alarmed members of Trump's own party. 'If the president is firing the statistician because he doesn't like the numbers but they are accurate, then that's a problem,' said Wyoming Republican senator Cynthia Lummis. 'It's not the statistician's fault if the numbers are accurate and that they're not what the president had hoped for.' Kentucky senator Rand Paul, another Republican, questioned whether McEntarfer's firing was an effective way of improving the numbers. Read the full story Donald Trump says he considers Sean ''Diddy' Combs 'sort of half-innocent' despite his criminal conviction in federal court in July – but the president called pardoning the music mogul 'more difficult' because of past criticism. 'When I ran for office, he was very hostile,' Trump said of the Bad Boy Records founder. 'It's hard, you know? We're human beings. And we don't like to have things cloud our judgment, right? But when you knew someone and you were fine, and then you run for office, and he made some terrible statements.' Combs was found guilty on 2 July of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, with each leaving him facing up to 10 years in prison – but he was acquitted of more serious sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges. Read the full story Tulsi Gabbard, the director of US national intelligence, hoped to uncover evidence that Barack Obama and his national security team conspired to undermine Donald Trump in a slow-motion coup. But a previously classified annexe to a report by another special counsel, John Durham – appointed towards the end of Trump's first presidency – has further undermined Gabbard's case. It confirms that Russian spies were behind the emails that were originally released as the result of a Russian cyber-hack of internal Democratic information channels and which Trump supporters believed showed the campaign of Hillary Clinton, his 2016 opponent, conspiring to accuse him of colluding with Moscow. Read the full story The Trump administration terminated 1,902 National Institutes of Health grants totalling more than $4.4bn between January and the end of July, according to Grant Witness data. NIH followed guidance from the so-called 'department of government efficiency' (Doge) and Trump's executive orders to cut costs. According to Donald Trump's White House, the US economy is booming, inflation is dead and jobs are surging. A blizzard of economic reports has cast a pall on such claims in recent days. Catching up? Here's what happened 1 August 2025.
Daily Mail
13 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Dem senator agrees with GOP that Trump's making progress on trade war but others make grim tariffs forecast
A prominent Democratic senator is backing President Donald Trump 's trade war strategy, even as others in his party warn that looming economic fallout could soon hit American consumers and industries. Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, told Fox News Digital this week that the Trump administration's aggressive use of tariffs has been effective so far. 'Absolutely,' Fetterman said when asked if he believed the U.S. is winning the trade war. 'I'm a huge fan of Bill Maher, and I mean, I think he's really one of the oracles for my party, and he acknowledged it, it's like, hey, he thought that the tariffs were going to tank the economy, and then he acknowledged that it didn't,' Fetterman added. 'So, for me, it seems like the E.U. thing has been going well, and I guess we'll see how it happens with China.' Fetterman's comments come as Trump intensifies his tariff push. On Thursday, the 47th President signed two new executive orders - one raising tariffs on Canadian imports from 25 percent to 35 percent beginning Friday, and another modifying reciprocal tariff rates for countries with significant U.S. trade deficits. The White House cited Canada's failure to help curb fentanyl and other illicit drug imports as the reason for the increased tariffs. 'The goal is to secure fair, balanced and reciprocal trade relationships,' the White House said in a statement. The moves build on Trump's earlier decision this year to impose a baseline 10 percent tariff on all countries, with steeper rates for those running large trade surpluses with the U.S. Trump's recently installed tariffs took effect on April 9, and since then, the his administration has inked several major trade deals. During his second term, Trump and his administration reached a trade agreement with the European Union (EU) under which the E.U. committed to purchasing $750 billion in American energy and investing an additional $600 billion in the U.S. economy by 2028. As part of the deal, the E.U. accepted a 15 percent percent tariff rate. A separate agreement was struck with Japan, which pledged $550 billion in investments aimed at rebuilding and expanding key American industries. Japan also agreed to open its markets further to U.S. exports and, like the E.U., accepted a baseline 15 percent tariff rate. However, many top Democrats remain skeptical. While speaking with Fox News Digital, Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed cautioned that any short-term gains could be undercut by rising prices. 'Within a few weeks or months, you'll start seeing significant increases in most things you buy,' Reed said. 'And also, you will see disruption in terms of a lot of our industries, because they're not able to access product or supply.' Senator Chris Van Hollen, of Maryland, echoed those concerns, saying Trump's tariff strategy contradicts his campaign promises. 'This is the president who said he was going to come in and reduce prices. Prices are going to rise, and they're going to rise more over time,' Van Hollen warned. However, Massachusetts Senator, Elizabeth Warren, took a broader view, arguing that Trump's confrontational trade policies are pushing U.S. allies to look elsewhere for business. 'Donald Trump may beat his chest and say, "Man, I made him take a 15 percent tariff or 25 percent tariff," but also understand that every one of those trading partners is now looking hard all around the rest of the world to find other customers,' Warren said. 'The United States under Donald Trump is not a reliable trading partner. And that's not good for any of us.' Warren also linked the trade war to interest rate policy, blaming Trump's tariff decisions for the Federal Reserve's refusal to lower rates. 'Jerome Powell said last month that he would have lowered interest rates back in February if it hadn't been for the chaos that Donald Trump was creating over trade,' Warren said. 'And the consequence has been that American families have, for six months now, been paying more on credit cards, more on car loans, more home mortgages.' Republicans, however, are rallying behind the president's hardline stance. Texas Senator Ted Cruz called the strategy a 'big win'. 'I think it's exactly the right approach,' Cruz said. 'It's what I have been urging the president to do, and I think the successes he's winning are big wins for America.' Seemingly mocking Democrats' warnings of economic turmoil, and quoting the film Casa Blanca, Cruz added, 'I'm shocked, shocked that Democrats are rooting for the economy to do badly under President Trump.' 'It'd be nice if some Democrats would put their partisan hatred for Trump aside and actually start working together for American workers and American jobs. Unfortunately, I don't see a whole lot of Democrats interested in doing that right now,' he said. Louisiana Senator John Kennedy praised the E.U. deal and said he hopes it leads to what he calls 'ideal reciprocity'. 'Clearly, the president got a good deal from one perspective. The Europeans just caved, they did. Fifteen percent tariffs on them, zero on us, commitment to invest in our country,' Kennedy said. 'But the part of the deal I like the most - the E.U. and the president agreed that a whole bunch of goods would be tariff-free. That is, no American tariffs and no E.U. tariffs.' 'Let the free enterprise system work. May the best product at the best price win,' Kennedy added. 'That, to me, would be the perfect situation.'
