Capitol Police Zip Tie Seniors in Wheelchairs During Medicaid Protest
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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Capitol Police officers were seen zip-tying the hands of senior citizens in wheelchairs during protests against Medicaid cuts on Wednesday.
Video shows one officer tightening a zip tie over the wrists of one man in a wheelchair featuring what appeared to be a communication aid screen.
Thirty-three people were arrested "for illegally demonstrating inside the Russell Senate Office Building," a Capitol Police spokesperson told CNBC.
Prior to the arrests the crowd had been chanting "No cuts to Medicaid," and holding banners which read "Senate Republicans Don't Kill Us, Save Medicaid."
This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
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The Hill
28 minutes ago
- The Hill
Curveball for GOP as Senate referee strips key Medicaid cuts
Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here It's Thursday. If you listen closely, you may be able to hear the GOP grumbling over the Senate bill. In today's issue: The Senate parliamentarian dealt a major blow to Republicans' 'big, beautiful bill' this morning, disqualifying major Medicaid provisions from the megabill. Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, who serves as the nonpartisan referee for the Senate's bills, has been sifting through the GOP legislation to determine which provisions are compliant with the budget rules Republicans are using to bypass the 60-vote threshold. OK, so what did she cut?: MacDonough rejected the proposal to limit states' use of health care provider taxes to collect more federal Medicaid funding. Why this is a big deal: This was a big moneymaker for the bill — it would have generated hundreds of billions of dollars in savings — and Republicans were counting on this revenue to offset other costs. Without this provision, it throws a huge wrench into how to pay for President Trump's tax cuts. *Cue Billy Mays* — but wait, there's more: The parliamentarian rejected several other provisions to restrict Medicaid and Medicare coverage for immigrants who are not U.S. citizens. Details of the nixed provisions Soo, uh, what happens now?: That's what we're all waiting to see. Republicans' self-imposed deadline is just eight days away. This decision could force Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) to reconsider bringing the bill up for a vote this week. How are Republicans taking the news, you ask?: Well, this adds a major wrinkle to their plans — especially with the deadline in about a week. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) called for the Senate Parliamentarian 'TO BE FIRED ASAP.' 🔎More on his critique Could Thune just ignore this ruling?: Thune reaffirmed Thursday he *will not* overrule the Senate referee's determination. But let's not forget that not all Senate Republicans are on board with these Medicaid cuts: Two GOP senators are a hard 'no' on the bill — and a few are undecided because of the Medicaid cuts. As I like to remind everyone: MacDonough is *not* determining what can become law. Her role as the nonpartisan referee is to decide what can be passed through reconciliation — the special procure that avoids a Democratic filibuster. The Senate can still pass this language if they want, but they would need to do it with 60 'yes' votes. Republicans don't have enough votes to do that on their own and Democrats don't plan to help them. 📝 Running list of what the parliamentarian has rejected 🗨️ Follow today's live blog ➤ ALSO CHOPPED FROM THE BILL: The parliamentarian rejected Republican language to restrict federal health care subsidies from going to abortion services. Which states this provision would have affected the most: 'The provision would have had an 'outsized impact' on states such as Connecticut, Michigan and New Mexico, where insurers now cover abortion services voluntarily but would have incentive to drop abortion coverage to become eligible for federal cost-sharing payment under the Republican proposal, according to a Commonwealth Fund analysis.' Read more Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts announced today that all six remaining cases will be decided TOMORROW. That includes birthright citizenship, age verification for porn sites, opt-outs for classroom discussion of LGBTQ issues and a case related to race in congressional redistricting. Expect lots of protesters outside the Supreme Court. Planned Parenthood was delivered a gut punch today. The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that South Carolina is legally allowed to cut off Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood. Keep in mind, this case is not about the legality of abortion access, but it's about Medicaid funding. The case decided 'whether a Medicaid beneficiary has the 'right' to pick their preferred health provider and sue if they can't.' From The Hill's Nathaniel Weixel: 'The ruling paves the way for the state to prevent Planned Parenthood from receiving funding through Medicaid. The ruling only applies to South Carolina, where abortion is already outlawed after six weeks of pregnancy, but could be a template for other states.' More on the case Plus — we also got a ruling on DNA testing for a death row inmate: 'The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a Texas death row inmate has the legal right to sue over the state's laws governing DNA testing in a bid to test evidence he says would block his execution.' Read more on the case ➤ 10 YEARS AGO TODAY: The Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage. Related reads: The Hill: 10 years after Obergefell, gay marriage faces growing threats The Washington Post: Gay marriages have doubled in 10 years since Supreme Court ruling The Hill: Supreme Court turns to backlog of transgender cases after Tennessee ban ruling Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth held a rare Pentagon press conference this morning to defend the U.S. strikes on Iran — and to rip into the media's coverage of the operation's effectiveness. It was pretty contentious. What is Hegseth's frustration?: An internal report was leaked, preliminarily assessing the damage of the U.S.'s Iran strikes. The report suggests the military operation may have set Iran's nuclear program back by a few months, but not decades as Trump has said. Hegseth stressed the report is 'preliminary': 'Whether it's fake news CNN, MSNBC or The New York Times, there's been fawning coverage of a preliminary assessment. It was preliminary — a day and a half after the actual strike — when it admits itself in writing that it requires weeks to accumulate the necessary data to make such an assessment.' He also took a verbal shot at his old colleague: Hegseth attacked Jennifer Griffin, his former colleague at Fox News and longtime Pentagon reporter. 'Jennifer, you've been about the worst. The one who misrepresents the most intentionally,' he told Griffin. She then defended herself. 📹 Watch the contentious back-and-forth ➤ WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT 'SLEEPER CELL' WARNINGS: TThe Trump administration has warned there may be Iranian 'sleeper cells' operating in the U.S. The Hill's Miriam Waldvogel wrote a helpful explainer on sleeper cell threats. The House and Senate are in. President Trump is in Washington. (All times EST) Today: Closing arguments in the Sean 'Diddy' Combs Details 1 p.m.: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt briefs reporters. 💻 Livestream 3 p.m.: First and last House votes. 📆Today's agenda 4 p.m.: Trump participates in a 'one, big, beautiful' event in the White House. 💻 Livestream 🥥 Celebrate: Today is National Coconut Day and National Bomb Pop Day! 😅 It's OK. No one heard the comment anyway, right?: NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte tried to clarify his comment from earlier this week when he referred to President Trump as 'Daddy.' Oh, and by the way, the White House created a music video to 'Daddy's Home.' 📹 Watch 🎥 What do you think is the best movie since 2000?: The New York Times asked more than 500 influential directors, actors, etc., to vote for the best movies of the 21st century. 🎞️ Here's the running list of the 100 best movies If you ever wonder how people tell their dogs apart when they look incredibly similar, these huskies are doing a *great* job at showing us the difference.
New York Post
34 minutes ago
- New York Post
Senate parliamentarian scraps GOP's Medicaid reforms in ‘big beautiful bill'
WASHINGTON — Republicans faced another obstacle to passing President Trump's 'big beautiful bill' Thursday after the Senate parliamentarian ruled several health care spending reforms would need 60 votes to pass muster rather than the 51 sought by the GOP — likely preventing hundreds of billions of dollars in potential savings. Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough determined some of the megabill's Medicaid provisions — including changes to federal funding for US states' share of health care provider taxes — were not eligible for approval via the simple majority gambit, known as reconciliation. Other axed provisions eliminated some Medicaid eligibility for non-citizen adults and children and lowered Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) funding percentages for states that let non-citizens obtain health care coverage from 90% to 80%. Still another section that failed to pass muster with MacDonough blocked federal funding for Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to provide gender-transition medical care. 'The WOKE Senate Parliamentarian, who was appointed by Harry Reid and advised Al Gore, just STRUCK DOWN a provision BANNING illegals from stealing Medicaid from American citizens,' erupted Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.). 'This is a perfect example of why Americans hate THE SWAMP.' 'Unelected bureaucrats think they know better than U.S. Congressmen who are elected BY THE PEOPLE,' he added. 'Her job is not to push a woke agenda. THE SENATE PARLIAMENTARIAN SHOULD BE FIRED ASAP.' 'How is it that an unelected swamp bureaucrat, who was appointed by Harry Reid over a decade ago, gets to decide what can and cannot go in President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill?' griped Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.). 'It is time for our elected leaders to take back control. [Vice President JD Vance] should overrule the Parliamentarian and let the will of the people, not some staffer hiding behind Senate procedure, determine the future of this country.' 3 Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough determined some of the megabill's Medicaid provisions can't pass by a simple majority because they violated the Byrd Rule. via REUTERS The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) determined that the House-passed version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which the Senate has been revising, would add up to $3 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade. House Republicans had previously boasted that as much as $1.6 trillion in spending cuts were included in their version of the tax-and-spending package. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) described MacDonough's ruling as a 'speed bump' in the bill's progress. 3 Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has indicated in the past that overruling the parliamentarian would be tantamount to abolishing the 60-vote filibuster. AP Thune, 64, has indicated in the past that ignoring the parliamentarian would be tantamount to abolishing the 60-vote filibuster, a feature that sets the upper chamber apart from the lower and provides a check for the party out of power. Vance, though president of the Senate, can't overrule the parliamentarian's decision outright either, but would need a vote by the full chamber. Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee, celebrated the ruling in a statement, sharing other provisions that had been struck down by the upper chamber's referee. 3 Republicans are balking at the Senate parliamentarian's decision on Thursday to scrap several health care spending reforms tucked into President Trump's 'big beautiful bill.' AP 'Democrats are continuing to make the case against every provision in this Big, Beautiful Betrayal of a bill that violates Senate rules and hurts families and workers,' Merkley (D-Ore.) said. 'Democrats are fighting back against Republicans' plans to gut Medicaid, dismantle the Affordable Care Act, and kick kids, veterans, seniors, and folks with disabilities off of their health insurance – all to fund tax breaks for billionaires.' Reconciliation legislation is subject to parliamentary scrutiny under the so-called 'Byrd Rule' — named for former Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd — which requires bills to focus strictly on fiscal issues.
CNN
36 minutes ago
- CNN
Trump's massive agenda bill faces headwinds in the Senate after key ruling from chamber's rules referee
The timeline to pass President Donald Trump's sweeping domestic policy bill by July 4 could slip as Republican lawmakers scramble to retool their bill to meet Senate rules and garner enough support in a deeply divided GOP conference. Senate GOP leaders had hoped to move Trump's massive agenda in their chamber by Saturday morning, giving it to Speaker Mike Johnson to jam it through the House by Tuesday — so the president could sign it by the Fourth of July. But Thursday morning, the Senate's rules referee, parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, struck down key provisions, saying they don't meet the chamber's strict budget rules that must be followed so the bill can be approved by a simple majority of 51 votes – or just GOP support. 'We don't control the timing of the parliamentarian. That's obviously something that we have to adapt to but we're plowing forward and when we actually get on it still is an open question, but rest assured we will,' Senate Republican Leader John Thune told reporters when asked about bill timing, saying they have 'contingency plans' for such 'speed bumps.' Chief among the denied provisions is the GOP's proposed changes to taxes that states can impose to help pay for Medicaid coverage – an issue known as the provider tax – which could have raised $200 billion to pay for programs in the bill. Now, Republican leaders are scrambling to retool the provision so it can both meet Senate rules and pass muster with a divided Senate GOP conference. It's unclear how long that process will take, according to several senior GOP sources. The parliamentarian has made a number of other notable rulings, but her determination that increases to provider taxes do not comply with budget rules means Republicans will have to find another way to offset the cost of the president's massive domestic policy bill just days before GOP leadership wanted to vote on it. Thune has previously ruled out trying to overrule the parliamentarian, worried about the precedent that would set for the chamber. 'We'll continue our work and find a solution to achieve the desired results,' a Republican source familiar with the negotiations told CNN Thursday morning. Potential changes to the Medicaid program have badly divided the Senate GOP, with a number of members – including Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri and Susan Collins of Maine, among others – worried that the new limits would devastate rural hospitals in their states. Others, still, want deeper Medicaid cuts to help pay for the multi-trillion-dollar tax overhaul in the bill. Republican leadership is looking to see if they can make changes to the bill's Medicaid provisions to resubmit to the Senate parliamentarian, in the hopes that she'll accept it the second time around. Hawley said Thursday morning that he prefers the House's model, which froze provider tax rates at current levels, and said he had spoken with Trump Wednesday evening and that the president agreed with him. But the House's approach to provider taxes, which was also included in the Senate bill, was also ruled out of order by the parliamentarian. 'His message was, do what the House did, so I agree with that,' he said, adding, 'If the leadership wants to redraft, my advice would be, why don't you do what the House did.' Pressed on the fact that the parliamentarian also overruled a freeze on provider taxes, Hawley answered, 'They're gonna have to redraft all of it, but this would be a chance to fix it.' 'This would be a chance for leadership to fix it and actually do something right here that's not gonna hurt rural hospitals,' he continued, without providing more details on what provisions he wants to see in a new draft that he thinks could withstand the parliamentarian's review. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, who is up for reelection in 2026, has warned his colleagues for the last week that he won't vote to proceed to full Senate debate on the bill unless he gets state-specific answers. 'I'm still looking at answers to questions, so whether or not we retool that, or go back to the House baseline and build off there, I think those are discussions that the leadership will be having today,' Tillis told CNN. 'If retooling means I can get answers to what I consider to be fundamental questions, I'm open to it. But if retooling means I'm still not going to get the answers I need to understand the impact of the state, I'm opposed to it.' A number of Republican senators cautioned their timeline for passing the megabill had been upended by the parliamentarian's ruling, venting their frustrations on Capitol Hill in the hours after it came down. 'I'm concerned about the parliamentarian's ability to make these decisions,' Sen. Markwayne Mullin said, suggesting without evidence that 'it seems politically motivated.' 'The parliamentarians are not supposed to be in politics — and I'm not accusing her of that, I haven't heard her explanation of it. I want to see it before I just take this decision. I want to see how she got to the decision,' the Oklahoma Republican said. Sen. Tommy Tuberville went further, calling for the parliamentarian to be fired. 'The WOKE Senate Parliamentarian, who was appointed by Harry Reid and advised Al Gore, just STRUCK DOWN a provision BANNING illegals from stealing Medicaid from American citizens. This is a perfect example of why Americans hate THE SWAMP,' Tuberville wrote on X. The Senate parliamentarian is a nonpartisan position that was created in the 1930s. In the role, MacDonough, the first woman to serve as parliamentarian, is tasked with advising the chamber on how its rules, protocols and precedents should be applied. That includes advising senators in a bill-review process known as a 'Byrd Bath' when they are looking to use Senate budget rules to pass a bill with a simple majority. Senators acknowledged that the parliamentarian's rulings could slow their timeline for passing the bill. 'One option, obviously, would be to go forward without the provider tax provisions, and we could do it pretty quickly,' Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy said, noting that deficit hawks in the GOP conference would 'be screaming like they're part of a prison riot,' if leadership took that path. 'Another option would be to rewrite it, which will delay things. Will [Senate Majority Leader] Thune keep us here until we give them re-written? I don't know,' he continued. Saying 'it's pretty frustrating,' Florida GOP Sen. Rick Scott insisted he's optimistic his conference can rework the language. Pressed, however, on whether the legislation could still pass the Senate this weekend, as Republicans had hoped, Scott said: 'Who knows? I'm up here until we get it done.'
