Zeldin tangles with Senate Democrats at budget hearing - Live Updates
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin's testimony before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Wednesday turned acrimonious as the former Republican congressmember and several Democratic senators sparred over the Trump administration's effort to reshape the agency and his allegations of wrongdoing during the Biden administration. The exchanges underscored the growing animosity between Zeldin and Democrats as the Trump administration seeks to dramatically slash EPA's budget and reorganize the agency to rollback dozens of regulations to aid the growth of fossil fuels. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), the panel's ranking member, came out of the gate with questions about EPA's termination of almost 800 grants. Whitehouse pointed to a senior EPA official's statement in a lawsuit that he had individually reviewed each terminated grant on a single day. Zeldin, however, said that the review had been conducted by multiple people over a longer period, and their conversation quickly devolved into the two men shouting over each other. 'We're not going to waste dollars just because you insist on EPA lighting taxpayer dollars on fire,' Zeldin retorted to Whitehouse. 'The American taxpayers, they put President Trump in office because of people like you. They have Republicans in charge of the House and Senate because of people like you, because you don't care about 99 percent of this story.' Whitehouse replied that he wanted Zeldin to "explain why the Department of Justice lawyers representing EPA in court under a duty of candor, have said that everything you've just said isn't true." Whitehouse's time then expired, and Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) remarked on the animosity between Zeldin and Whitehouse. 'All right, well, we seem to have a little bit of a disagreement,' he said, suggesting the two sides 'work on this in the future.' Zeldin also traded barbs with Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), who slammed him for terminating $20 billion in Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund grants without evidence of waste, fraud or abuse. As he did in prior hearings over the last two weeks, Zeldin offered to read his list of allegations of self-dealing and other structural criticisms of the GGRF program. 'Let's see how far down the list you let me go before you cut me off,' Zeldin said. Markey started to ask about what evidence EPA had presented in court. 'You cut me off before the first example of evidence,' Zeldin replied. Markey tried to ask again about court proceedings, but Zeldin pushed forward with his contentions, including about the 'gold bars' claims that the EPA was rushing money out of the agency at the end of the Biden administration, as well as concerns about the ability of Appalachian Community Capital, one of the recipients, to manage its large grant. The duo continued their sniping as Markey's five-minute questioning period came to a close. 'You keep using this inflammatory language without any evidence being presented in court in order to defend these public accusations,' Markey said. "You've wasted your entire five minutes," Zeldin replied. Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), who at that point was chairing the hearing, had to shout over the pair to regain control. Also during the hearing, Zeldin mocked Sen. Adam Schiff after the California Democrat made a long statement criticizing him for terminating grants "without justification," working to overturn California's clean car waivers and proposing to slash EPA's budget. 'With that wind up, by the way — I understand that you are an aspiring fiction writer, I see why,' Zeldin told Schiff, apparently referencing Schiff's hobby of writing screenplays. 'I understand your view that you can cut half of the agency and it won't affect people's health or their water, their air,' Schiff replied. 'That, to me, is a big fiction, Mr. Zeldin.' Schiff added that Zeldin is "totally beholden to the oil industry. You could give a rat's ass about how much cancer your agency causes." Zeldin was cut off from responding because Schiff's time was up. The heightened animosity was notable in the room. Near the end of the hearing, Chair Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) apologized to Zeldin for having stepped away during most of the proceedings. 'I heard it was very lively,' she quipped.
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Washington Post
10 minutes ago
- Washington Post
The New York mayor's race shows a badly divided Democratic Party
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Ahead of the June 24 primary in New York, Mamdani has become the candidate of the city's young progressives; Cuomo of the older moderates — and there's not much space left for anyone else. The persistence of this divide matters far beyond New York. Older moderate Democrats and younger progressives have disagreed sharply on how to take on President Donald Trump in the first few months of his administration. Looking forward to 2026 and 2028, it will be hard for Democrats to be unified if every primary results in one big bloc of the party feeling frustrated and unrepresented. I am shocked that the perennial Democratic divide is so strong that it has made Cuomo and Mamdani the top candidates for mayor of New York. Neither is a conventional candidate for the job. In a city that often chooses insiders with long résumés for mayor, Mamdani is fairly new to the scene and not part of the political establishment. He worked on the campaigns of a few left-wing New York politicians before running on his own in 2020. Helped by an endorsement from the Democratic Socialists of America, he defeated an incumbent in the primary for a Queens state house district and then easily won the general election. Mamdani of course isn't the only 30-something progressive rising in New York politics. But U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), who has not endorsed Mamdani but is very critical of Cuomo, isn't in an executive role in a massive city. If elected, Mamdani will need to work with police chiefs, chief executives of major companies and other power brokers who aren't likely to show much deference to a 33-year-old. Cuomo, who has been the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban development, New York's attorney general and governor, has the requisite experience. But four years ago, it was hard to imagine him holding office again. The report from the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James detailing Cuomo allegedly touching women without their consent and making inappropriate comments seemed (and should have been) permanently disqualifying, particularly for a party that prides itself on women's rights and autonomy. Cuomo denies the allegations, but resigned under the threat of impeachment. Also, in 2021, it seemed the Democratic Party had moved decidedly left and would no longer tolerate the centrist Cuomo, who for years had collaborated with Republicans in the New York State Senate to reduce the power of progressives in Albany. But the ethics scandals and unpopularity of current mayor Eric Adams, who is a Democrat, created a huge void. Numerous candidates — moderates, progressive and those trying to position themselves in between — are all running, including city Comptroller Brad Lander and City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. (She is not related to the incumbent mayor.) 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That establishment support is helping him with voters more likely to be connected with those institutions, particularly voters older than 50 and African Americans. His voting base resembles the ones that helped former secretary of state Hillary Clinton defeat Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) in the 2016 Democratic primary and former president Joe Biden beat Sanders in 2020. The kind of voters who were drawn to Sanders nationally are behind Mamdani in New York: White college graduates, people younger than 50 and those who identify themselves as very liberal in particular. Like Sanders, Mamdani is courting voters by proposing progressive ideas, such as a rent freeze and free city buses. He's also appealing to them with clever, personable ads and videos. I hope Mamdani wins. My policy views are closer to his than Cuomo's. And while Cuomo says he did nothing wrong, James's report depicts someone who should never again be given a powerful job. That said, even if Mamdani became mayor, I would be concerned about how he got there and what it portends for the broader American left. It's entirely logical that there are some fissures in the Democratic Party, which is made up of millions of people. What's so troubling is how big and perhaps intractable those divides are. Biden entered the presidency facing deep skepticism from progressives and younger Democrats because so few of them backed him during the primary. He never really gained their trust. Similarly, President Sanders likely would have received little grace or loyalty from moderate or older Democratic voters, who opposed him en masse. In New York, Mamdani would triumph despite strong resistance from older moderates in the party; a Cuomo win would be a defeat for young progressives. The party desperately needs to break this old/moderate/non-college vs. young/progressive/college-educated divide. But that's not easy. Progressives like me view the old guard as stuck in the past, conservative and uncreative. Moderate Democrats view progressives as elitist and impractical. Having such negative views of people you are supposed to be in coalition with is not ideal. Progressives think the party's left wing should be in charge. (The moderates' leadership has led us to a country where Trump dominates politics.) The moderates would rightly point that Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden didn't win presidential elections by calling themselves socialists. Mamdani is a charismatic, inspirational politician. He has a much better chance of moving people in the other camp to his than Cuomo, who is disliked even by people who agree with him on policy. But the New York race has made me even more nervous about 2027 and 2028. Will Democrats, instead of focusing on Trump, engage in a super-divisive, toxic presidential primary? If progressives and moderates remain divided by age, education, ideology and race, then the answer to that question seems, obviously, yes.
Newsweek
10 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Donald Trump's World Is 'Fracturing,' Former Giuliani Associate Warns
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Lev Parnas, a former associate of Rudy Giuliani, is warning that President Donald Trump's world is "fracturing" amid Elon Musk's rebuke of his sweeping spending bill and other recent policy moves. Newsweek reached out to the White House via email for comment on Wednesday. Why It Matters The One Big Beautiful Bill Act is a key avenue for Republicans to advance the White House's agenda following the widespread GOP victories in the November election. Key Republican holdouts in the House and Senate have voiced opposition to the bill, citing concerns that it would increase the national debt, among other worries. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday, former Department of Government Efficiency chief Musk bashed the piece of legislation, saying, "I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it." Musk doubled down in another X post on Wednesday: "A new spending bill should be drafted that doesn't massively grow the deficit and increase the debt ceiling by 5 TRILLION DOLLARS." What To Know In a Substack article published on Wednesday, Parnas mentioned Musk's recent shift against the president's beloved legislation. "I've been warning you for months now — there are real cracks forming inside Trump's world. And not just little disagreements behind the scenes," Parnas wrote. "The latest — and loudest — break came from Elon Musk." Parnas said that Musk was "paraded around the White House" in the first few months of Trump's second term, but the Tesla billionaire is no longer "playing" along. The former Giuliani associate is a Ukrainian American businessman who was convicted in 2021 of fraud and campaign finance crimes. He was then sentenced to 20 months in prison. "I've seen how this works from the inside," Parnas wrote. "When loyalty turns to silence, and silence turns to defiance — it's over. The myth of Trump's control starts to collapse." "But Elon is just the loudest crack. The truth is, Trump's empire is fracturing on every front," he added. Parnas went on to note that policy decisions, such as tariffs, praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the acceptance of a Qatari airliner, are also causing cracks in Trump's world. "And I'm telling you now: the very foundation of Trump's power — fear and obedience — is crumbling," Parnas wrote. "Elon might be the first to break publicly, but he won't be the last. There are lawmakers. There are donors. There are insiders. I promise you, they are rattled. And some of them are looking for a way out." Lev Parnas testifies during a House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing on March 20, 2024, in Washington, D.C. Lev Parnas testifies during a House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing on March 20, 2024, in Washington, People Are Saying President Donald Trump, Monday on Truth Social: "So many false statements are being made about 'THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,' but what nobody understands is that it's the single biggest Spending Cut in History, by far! But there will be NO CUTS to Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid." Trump continued: "In fact, they will be saved from the incompetence of the Democrats. The Democrats, who have totally lost their confidence and their way, are saying whatever comes to mind — Anything to win! They suffered the Greatest Humiliation in the History of Politics, and they're desperate to get back on their game, but they won't be able to do that because their Policies are so bad, in fact, they would lead to the Destruction of our Country, and almost did." The president concluded, "The only 'cutting' we will do is for Waste, Fraud, and Abuse, something that should have been done by the Incompetent, Radical Left Democrats for the last four years, but wasn't." White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday: "Look, the president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill. It doesn't change the president's opinion." What Happens Next Trump has set a deadline for Senate Republicans to pass the bill and have it on his desk before July 4. It is unclear whether Republican senators will garner enough votes to get it done.
USA Today
11 minutes ago
- USA Today
Trump's early-term momentum has hit a wall. Here's why.
Trump's early-term momentum has hit a wall. Here's why. From Gaza to Ukraine and from federal judges to the Federal Reserve, President Donald Trump has seen his early White House successes take a back seat to emerging struggles. Show Caption Hide Caption Elon Musk slams Trump's big tax bill on X Days after leaving the White House, Elon Musk slammed President Trump's big tax bill on X. WASHINGTON − Governing? Harder than it looked. Just as Donald Trump is pushing to pass the centerpiece of his domestic agenda, former BFF Elon Musk is trashing his "big, beautiful bill" as "a disgusting abomination." The president's prediction that Vladimir Putin would heed his entreaties to end the Ukraine war in 24 hours is stretching into Month Five. Judges he appointed to the bench are daring to rule against him. From cutting federal spending to deporting illegal immigrants, from reaching a nuclear deal with Iran to negotiating a ceasefire in Gaza, Team Trump is running into roadblocks that are making it difficult to deliver on promises he confidently made before moving into the White House. More: Trump erupts when asked about 'TACO trade' ― a new nickname mocking his tariff approach There are some skid marks where the rubber has met the road. To be sure, some of Trump's problems come from a surplus of early successes and from the breadth of his ambitions. Through a flood of executive orders and actions, he has launched a transformation of the USA's approach to the world and the federal government's role in Americans' lives. Congressional Democrats are still struggling to craft a consistent and coherent strategy against him. But the pushback from other forces has become increasingly problematic for the White House − pushback from skeptical judges, foreign leaders with their own priorities, a steady-as-she-goes Federal Reserve and the reality of budget arithmetic. If Trump's first 100 days were a rollercoaster, the second 100 days, a span that ends on Aug. 8, are proving to be a bit of a slog. Ukraine: 'It'll be done within 24 hours' The question for Trump − as it was for many of his predecessors in the White House − is how he chooses to respond, whether he doubles down or adjusts his goals and tactics when obstacles loom. Consider Ukraine. In dozens of campaign speeches, candidate Trump said he would settle the war in Ukraine within a day of taking office, and perhaps even before he moved in. More: Russia's 'Pearl Harbor': What to know about Ukraine's audacious drone strike "I know Zelenskyy, I know Putin," he said at one Pennsylvania rally, referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his Russian counterpart "It'll be done within 24 hours, you watch. They all say, 'That's such a boast.' It will be done very quickly.'" But Putin has swatted away Trump's demands for a quick ceasefire, and Ukrainian forces have engineered a stunning drone assault on Russian military forces. An end to the war seems nowhere in sight. "I'm very disappointed," Trump said on May 28. What does he do next? More: Russia demands harsh terms at Ukraine peace talks Trump has threatened sanctions on Russia but is clearly loath to impose them. He has also suggested the United States may just walk away, leaving the conflict to the two warring parties and the Europeans to figure out. He faces similar calculations on tariffs, where he has delayed or reduced his most far-reaching threats to China and elsewhere when they seemed to rattle the stock markets. Does he follow through on his July 8 deadline for trading partners to make deals or be hit with the most stringent tariffs in close to a century? And on Gaza, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a longtime ally, has resisted the administration's efforts to negotiate a ceasefire. "Get it over with and let's get back to peace and stop killing people," Trump had vowed during the 2024 campaign. But the region is still wracked by chaos and violence, in recent days over the distribution of food aid. For presidents, a familiar problem Trump is hardly the first president to find himself stymied by the realities of governing and the frustrations of the balance of power. Franklin D. Roosevelt was so enraged by Supreme Court decisions undercutting his New Deal that in 1937 he proposed packing the court with additional, and presumably friendlier, justices. That idea went nowhere, though the high court started to be more welcoming to his initiatives. More than a half-century later, Bill Clinton adopted a strategy of cooperation with the new Republican House speaker, Newt Gingrich, when Democrats lost control of Congress in the 1994 midterm elections. The policy, dubbed "triangulation," dismayed liberal Democrats but led to welfare reform and a balanced budget. More: Elon Musk slams President Trump's big tax and policy bill as a 'disgusting abomination' After Democratic setbacks in the 2014 midterms, Barack Obama said he still had the ability to deploy "the pen and the phone" − that is, to sign executive actions and to activate outside allies. Trump enjoys considerable political assets, including the discombobulation of Democratic leaders and the loyalty of congressional Republicans. More: Trump lashes out at Sen. Rand Paul over opposition to big tax bill That is being tested by the battle over the bill known as reconciliation. The sprawling measure would extend and expand tax cuts from Trump's first term, add billions of dollars for border security, and trim billions from Medicaid and clean-energy tax credits. It would also increase the national debt by a budget-busting $2.4 trillion over 10 years, according to the updated estimate by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. In previous showdowns, Trump has prevailed in Congress, in part because GOP members see their reelections at risk if an unhappy president backs primary challengers against them. He is lobbying for the bill as "arguably the most significant piece of Legislation that will ever be signed in the History of our Country." But Musk, who until May 27 led Trump's DOGE budget-cutting initiative, has weighed in on the other side, warning the legislation would create a "crushingly unsustainable debt." His warnings are being cited by Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and a handful of other GOP senators alarmed by the bill's impact on the federal budget deficit. The tech billionaire posted an electoral threat of his own on X. The social-media platform is a political asset, too, not to mention the hundreds of millions of dollars that the world's richest man has been willing to spend in the past on political campaigns. "In November next year," he proposed, "we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people."
