Evening Edition: President Trump Puts Big Pressure On Big Bill Holdouts
President Trump spent Tuesday morning on Capitol Hill, urging Republican lawmakers in both the House and Senate to pass their respective versions of the so-called 'Big Beautiful Bill,' which includes budget cuts, tax reform, border security funding, and other key parts of his agenda.
While the President feels optimistic about persuading the last few Republican holdouts to join him, the bill faces several hurdles in the coming hours and days.
May Mailman, the Deputy Assistant to President Trump and White House Senior Policy Strategist, joins the Rundown to discuss the President's trip to the Hill, the key elements of the 'Big Beautiful Bill,' and the administration's strategy to win over reluctant Republicans.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
28 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Vigil held for victims of Boulder firebombing attack as suspect's family fights deportation
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Hundreds of people squeezed into the Jewish Community Center in Boulder, Colorado, for a vigil that featured prayer, singing and emotional testimony from a victim and witnesses of the firebombing attack in the city's downtown, while a federal judge has blocked the deportation of the suspect's family. Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, has been charged with a federal hate crime and state counts of attempted murder in Sunday's attack on a group demonstrating for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza. He is being held in a county jail on a $10 million cash bond and is scheduled to make an appearance in state court on Thursday. Witnesses say Soliman threw two Molotov cocktails at the group and authorities say he confessed to the attack that injured 15 people. Rachelle Halpern, who has been walking with the group since 2023, said during Wednesday evening's vigil that she remembers thinking it was strange to see a man with a canister looking like he was going to spray pesticide on the grass. Then she heard a crash and screams and saw flames around her feet. 'A woman stood one foot behind me, engulfed in flames from head to toe, lying on the ground with her husband,' she said. 'People immediately, three or four men immediately rushed to her to smother the flames.' Her description prompted murmurs from the audience members. One woman's head dropped into her hands. 'I heard a loud noise, and the back of my legs burning, and don't remember those next few moments,' said a victim, who didn't want to be identified and spoke off camera, over the event's speakers. 'Even as I was watching it unfold before my eyes, even then, it didn't seem real.' Defendant's family investigated U.S. District Judge Gordon P. Gallagher on Wednesday granted a request from his wife and five children, who like Soliman are Egyptian, to block their deportation after U.S. immigration officials took them into custody. They have not been charged. Federal authorities have said Soliman has been living in the U.S. illegally, and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said Wednesday that the family was being processed for removal. It's rare that a criminal suspect's family members are detained and threatened with deportation. 'It is patently unlawful to punish individuals for the crimes of their relatives,' attorneys for the family wrote in the lawsuit. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin described the plaintiff's claims as 'absurd' and 'an attempt to delay justice.' She said the entire family was in the country illegally. Soliman's wife, Hayam El Gamal, a 17-year-old daughter, two minor sons and two minor daughters were being held at an immigration detention center in Texas, said Eric Lee, one of the attorney's representing the family. Soliman told authorities that no one, including his family, knew about his planned attack, according to court documents. El Gamal said she was 'shocked' to learn her husband had been arrested in the attack, according to her lawsuit. Victims increase to 15 people and a dog On Wednesday, authorities raised the number of people injured in the attack to 15 from 12, plus a dog. Boulder County officials said in a news release that the victims include eight women and seven men ranging in age from 25 to 88. Details about how the victims were impacted would be explained in criminal charges set to be filed Thursday, according to Boulder County District Attorney's office spokesperson Shannon Carbone. Soliman had planned to kill all of the roughly 20 participants in Sunday's demonstration at the popular Pearl Street pedestrian mall, but he threw just two of his 18 Molotov cocktails while yelling 'Free Palestine,' police said. According to an FBI affidavit, Soliman told police he was driven by a desire 'to kill all Zionist people' — a reference to the movement to establish and protect a Jewish state in Israel. Authorities said he expressed no remorse about the attack. The family's immigration status Before moving to Colorado Springs three years ago, Soliman spent 17 years in Kuwait, according to court documents. Soliman arrived in the U.S. in August 2022 on a tourist visa that expired in February 2023, McLaughlin said in a post on X. She said Soliman filed for asylum in September 2022 and was granted a work authorization in March 2023, but that has also expired. Hundreds of thousands of people overstay their visas each year in the United States, according to Department of Homeland Security reports. Soliman's wife is an Egyptian national, according to her lawsuit. She is a network engineer and has a pending EB-2 visa, which is available to professionals with advanced degrees, the suit said. She and her children all are listed as dependents on Soliman's asylum application. The case against Soliman Soliman told authorities that he had been planning the attack for a year, the affidavit said. Soliman's attorney, Kathryn Herold, declined to comment after a state court hearing Monday. Public defenders' policy prohibits speaking to the media. The attack unfolded against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war, which has contributed to a spike in antisemitic violence in the United States. It happened at the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot and barely a week after a man who also yelled 'Free Palestine' was charged with fatally shooting two Israeli Embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington. ___ Golden reported from Seattle. Associated Press reporters Eric Tucker in Washington, Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Missouri, Samy Magdy in Cairo, Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City, Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City contributed to this report.
Forbes
35 minutes ago
- Forbes
Trump Bans Harvard's International Students From Entering US
Officials from Harvard University on Wednesday night criticized President Donald Trump's move to block the entry of its international students and researchers into the U.S. and revoke their visas, as the White House sought to reposition its fight to block the entry of the university's international students into the U.S. as a national security issue. In a proclamation signed on Wednesday night, the president suspended the entry into the U.S. of any new Harvard University student or researcher under the F, M, or J student and exchange visitor visas. The president has also ordered Secretary of State Marco Rubio to 'consider revoking existing F, M, or J visas' for existing Harvard students. The move does not impact international students attending other U.S. universities and will also not apply to Harvard students, 'whose entry is deemed in the national interest.' The White House's announcement outlined multiple grievances with the university, including allegations of foreign adversaries taking advantage of 'easy access to American higher education' and Harvard's refusal to share disciplinary records for foreign students. The announcement said its stated issues have ' compelled the Federal government to conclude that Harvard University is no longer a trustworthy steward of international student and exchange visitor programs.' In a statement issued to multiple outlets, Harvard University spokesperson Jason Newton said: 'This is yet another illegal retaliatory step taken by the Administration in violation of Harvard's First Amendment rights…Harvard will continue to protect its international students.' In a post on X, Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote: 'Admission to the United States to study at an 'elite' American university is a privilege, not a right. This Department of Justice will vigorously defend the President's proclamation suspending the entry of new foreign students at Harvard University based on national security concerns.'
CNN
39 minutes ago
- CNN
Texas could soon ban THC products. The state's booming cannabis industry is fighting back
Holden Hylander carefully trims the top of a hemp plant inside a greenhouse, one of 3,000 plants that he oversees at this farm nestled in the sprawling Hill Country of Texas. Once processed, these crops will be turned into millions of gummies that are sold legally in the burgeoning THC market throughout the state. But those products may never make it to the shelves, as a bipartisan-passed bill now awaits Gov. Greg Abbott's signature to ban the sale and possession of THC consumables. By the time Hylander's plants are fully grown and ready to harvest in September, the products they become might be illegal. 'We spent a lot of time getting our processes down and following the rules,' said Hylander, director of farm operations for Hometown Hero, a veteran-owned cannabis company based in Austin. 'I've gotten licenses five years in a row and had zero complaints about what we do, but yet it's kind of getting pulled out from under us.' While marijuana is illegal in Texas, less potent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) products became legal after a federal law in 2018 and a state law in 2019 essentially greenlit the hemp-growing industry. These laws were designed to expand agricultural opportunities for hemp farmers and allow the sale of CBD oils as wellness products, but critics argue the legislation inadvertently paved the way for the sale of stronger substances, like delta-8 THC or delta-9 THC, which can mimic the effects of weed. CBD and THC both come from hemp plants and can be used to treat anxiety, sleep, and pain, but THC is more potent and has psychoactive effects. Both are currently legal in Texas, but THC levels must be less than .3% delta-9 THC. The new law, if it goes into effect, would only allow for the sale and possession of less-potent, non-intoxicating hemp-derived products, like CBD. In the past six years, the cannabinoid industry has skyrocketed in Texas, largely due to the stronger THC products. The industry generated $5.5 billion last year alone in sales revenue, $2.1 billion in wages and $267 million in tax revenue, according to estimates from Whitney Economics, a data firm that produces reports for the broader cannabis industry. Supporters worry that if the ban goes into place in September, many of the industry's 5,500 registered hemp sellers — along with tens of thousands of jobs — could disappear overnight and push the demand back into the black market. According to the Department of State Health Services, registered sellers sell THC products at about 8,600 locations, many of them gas stations and convenience stores. While the ban would exempt products that only contain non-psychoactive compounds such as CBD, industry leaders say the market for those products alone is not profitable or sustainable for retailers who solely focus on hemp products. 'This ban is a gift to the cartels,' state Rep. James Talarico, a Democrat who opposed the bill, said in a speech last month. Leading the charge against THC products is the state's conservative lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, who accuses the industry of producing items that far exceed the legal .3% limit of THC and marketing those products – like gummies, cookies and chips – to children. Supporters of the ban say the products are too easily available and have become a public safety issue, citing examples of adults and children who've experienced medical problems after consuming them. 'Nothing is more important than stopping a kid getting a hold of this junk,' said Patrick at a fiery news conference last week after the bill had been passed. It's unclear whether Abbott plans to sign or veto the bill. If he doesn't take action by June 22, the bill automatically becomes law. A spokesperson from his office told CNN the governor 'will thoughtfully review any legislation sent to his desk.' The hemp industry and opponents of the ban say the lieutenant governor is grossly misrepresenting the manufacturing of these products. They argue that legislators created the industry in the first place, and that the vast majority of hemp companies are responsible businesses that closely follow industry and state-mandated standards. They say the products have become a popular and safer alternative to pharmaceutical drugs and alcohol for help with anxiety, pain and sleep – and that the number of adults who benefit far outweighs the rare examples of those who experience extreme symptoms. It's also an industry that's thriving off a national trend of people moving away from alcoholic beverages. According to a 2024 study, a higher number of Americans reported using cannabis every day than drinking alcohol daily. On Monday at the state Capitol, a coalition of military veterans, farmers and business owners – along with the Texas Hemp Business Council – wheeled boxes into the governor's office with what they say are 5,000 handwritten letters and a petition with more than 100,000 signatures from Texans who want Abbott to veto the bill, known as SB3. 'SB3 violates the very principles Texas prides itself on: small government, individual freedom, and free enterprise,' said Cynthia Cabrera, president of the Texas Hemp Business Council. Texas isn't the only state that's wrestled with the emergence of these products. According to a 2023 report from The National Cannabis Industry Association, 17 states have banned delta-8 THC, for example, and seven states have severely restricted it. Last year, the Florida legislature passed a bill that would significantly restrict the sale of hemp-derived THC products, but Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed it, saying the regulations would be 'debilitating' to small businesses. In Texas, some law enforcement officials have spoken out against the growing industry and claim that more access to cannabis poses dangers to users. 'We see the psychotic episodes. We see the suicide attempt,' said Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis at a news conference hosted by the lieutenant governor last week. 'We sit down with parents who are heartbroken and devastated after something has happened with their child, after they consume something that everybody thought was safe.' Joel Rodriguez, a 25-year-old college student, said he's still recovering from what he called an addiction to THC products that he purchased online and at vape shops in the McAllen, Texas area. In 2022, Rodriguez said, he took one hit from a vape product that he said contained a mixture of synthetic delta-9 and delta-8, as well as two other cannabinoids known as HHC and THC-P, though he doesn't recall the exact brand. He said he immediately felt symptoms of paranoia that didn't subside for weeks. 'Everything started getting dizzy. I started to hear voices. I could hear people's thoughts. I would hear things crawling out of the walls,' he told CNN. 'I thought the sun was talking to me.' His family got him medical attention at a hospital, where he said he was diagnosed with cannabis-induced psychosis and prescribed a variety of prescription drugs. Rodriguez said he continued using vape products that he purchased in the Rio Grande Valley, and his family got him support at rehabilitation centers in Texas and Utah over the past three years. To this day, he said he's still taking clozapine to treat symptoms of schizophrenia and will need it indefinitely. He and his mother, Didi, appeared at a news conference at the Texas state Capitol on Monday to urge Abbott to sign the bill. 'In the world of cannabis-induced psychosis, we as families, we struggle to fight for our loved ones' well-being and put them back in … the path of wellness,' she said. 'It's a dark, horror-filled war against unseen enemies.' While incidents of cannabis-induced psychosis are rare, more studies are being done on why some people seem to be more susceptible than others. The votes on this bill have not fallen along strict party lines. Democratic State Sen. Roland Gutierrez voted with Patrick to ban these THC products. Gutierrez told CNN that while he wants to see Texas fully legalize and regulate cannabis, the current law in Texas has opened the door to many 'bad actors' selling dangerous synthetic products to young people. What we're selling to kids on the street and in convenience stores is just a bunch of crap,' Gutierrez said. The senator said he supported the move to ban THC products after lawmakers also voted to expand the ability of military veterans to get prescriptions under the state's restrictive medical marijuana program. 'Cannabis is a great healer of many things. It has to be regulated in some way,' Gutierrez said. 'But that's not what's happening in Texas.' Industry experts concede there may be some bad actors selling products that contain synthetics or illegal amounts of THC, but they say the overwhelming majority of companies follow the rules because they want to stay in business. Groups like the Texas Hemp Business Council have lobbied for more regulations, like age minimums, in previous legislative sessions but have not succeeded. 'I don't understand how Texas politicians can decide they're gonna create something. And then on a whim, six years later decide, 'Eh, we don't like how this went. We're gonna completely wipe it out. We're gonna shut down the industry and we're gonna harm all these individuals and all these small businesses in Texas,'' said Lukas Gilkey, co-founder of Hometown Hero, the Austin-based company that owns the hemp farm where Holden Hylander works. In Patrick's news conference last month, he displayed a variety of THC products before the cameras and specifically focused on a bag of edibles made by Hometown Hero. 'I don't know what's in it because no one knows what's in it,' he said. 'It can poison you — not just children, but adults.' Gilkey said he chuckled when he saw Patrick pick on his company's edibles, because his products label all of the ingredients and include a QR code on the packaging for people who want to learn more about the product. He said the products are sent to Drug Enforcement Administration partner labs and go through rigorous testing for accuracy standards, as well as testing for harmful constituents. 'He tries to make it seem like there's no regulation on these products when that's the opposite. This industry is heavily regulated within Texas. We have a lot of requirements that we have to go through to be fully legal within Texas,' Gilkey told CNN. 'We show everything we're required to by law.' If the ban goes into effect, roughly 200 employees at his company could be out of a job, he said. 'I moved here because the governor himself said that this was a state that supported small businesses,' said Gilkey, a Coast Guard veteran who also serves as an advocate for the hemp industry. 'That's why he came here. And now to be in a position where the state is deciding that they changed their mind on something is very unfortunate.' After fierce debate, lawmakers ultimately passed reforms this legislative session to expand the state's medical cannabis law as a concession. The new provisions increase the number of licensed dispensaries from three to 12 and add 'chronic pain' as an eligible medical condition. However, critics say the reforms are hardly enough to help the large population of Texans who use THC products for symptoms. Dave Walden, an Army veteran and senior vice commander for the VFW Department of Texas, said at a news conference on Monday that he became reliant on opioids while seeking care at the VA but said the drugs 'nearly destroyed' him. 'Since 2018, I haven't touched a single opioid,' he said, holding up a THC product. 'I've rebuilt my life. I've become a better leader, a better husband, a better father, and ultimately a better man. But now Senate Bill 3 wants to turn this into contraband. It wants to turn me and thousands of other veterans into criminals for choosing an alternative that works for us.' State Rep. Brian Harrison was among two House Republicans who opposed the ban. He further bucked his own party on Monday by publicly calling for Abbott to veto the bill, describing it as government overreach that will lead to an economic disaster. 'The government is not your parent,' he told CNN on Monday. 'And I'm very concerned about what it's going to do to Texas adults who want, or who rely on these products, and it either pushing them into much more dangerous and unregulated black markets or to more deadly and addictive pharmaceuticals.'
