JD Vance hits the road to sell Trump's ‘Big, Beautiful Bill'
His office confirmed he will be in Canton, Ohio, to discuss the bill's 'benefits for hardworking American families and businesses'.
While his aides offered little detail in advance about the visit, NBC News reported that his remarks will take place at a steel plant in Canton, located about 60 miles south of Cleveland.
The visit marks Vance's second trip this month to sell the legislative package, filled with a hodgepodge of conservative priorities that Republicans have dubbed the 'One Big, Beautiful Bill' as the vice president becomes its chief promoter on the road.
In West Pittston, Pennsylvania, Vance told attendees at an industrial machine shop that they should be able to keep more of their pay in their pockets, highlighting the law's new tax deductions on overtime.
Vance also discussed a new children's savings program called Trump Accounts and how the new law promotes energy extraction, while decrying Democrats for opposing the bill that keeps the current tax rates, which would have otherwise expired later this year.
The legislation cleared the GOP-controlled Congress by the narrowest of margins, with Vance breaking a tie vote in the Senate for the package that also sets aside hundreds of billions of dollars for Trump's immigration agenda while slashing Medicaid and food stamps.
The vice president is also stepping up his public relations blitz on the bill as the White House tries to deflect attention away from the growing controversy over Jeffrey Epstein.
The disgraced financier killed himself, authorities say, in a New York jail cell in 2019 as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. Trump and his top allies stoked conspiracy theories about Epstein's death before Trump returned to the White House and are now reckoning with the consequences of a Justice Department announcement earlier this month that Epstein did indeed die by suicide and that no further documents about the case would be released.
Questions about the case continued to dog Trump in Scotland, where he on Sunday announced a framework trade deal with the European Union.
Asked about the timing of the trade announcement and the Epstein case and whether it was correlated, Trump responded: 'You've got to be kidding with that.'
'No, had nothing to do with it,' Trump told the reporter. 'Only you would think that.'
The White House sees the new law as a clear political boon, sending Vance to promote it in swing congressional districts that will determine whether Republicans retain their House majority next year.
The northeastern Pennsylvania stop is in the district represented by Republican Rep. Rob Bresnahan, a first-term lawmaker who knocked off a six-time Democratic incumbent last fall.
On Monday, Vance will be in the district of Democratic Rep. Emilia Sykes, who is a top target for the National Republican Congressional Committee this cycle.
Polls before the bill's passage showed that it largely remained unpopular, although the public approves of some individual provisions, such as increasing the child tax credit and allowing workers to deduct more of their tips on taxes.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
17 minutes ago
- The Independent
Sen. Josh Hawley wants to exclude ‘Biden voters' from $600 Trump tariff rebate checks
Senator Josh Hawley says the legislation he proposes will send $600 tariff rebate checks to Americans, but not to 'Biden voters,' only to 'Trump blue-collar voters.' 'Well, you wouldn't give it to everybody, you'd give it to the working people,' the Missouri Republican told far-right podcaster and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon on Tuesday. 'You'd give it to our people.' 'I mean, you know, the rich people don't need it … what I mean by that is all those Democrat donors of Wall Street, all these hedge fund guys, who all hate the tariffs, by the way.' The senator introduced the American Worker Rebate Act of 2025 on July 28. It proposes refundable tax credits of at least $600 per adult and dependent child, funded by tariff revenues, with a phase-out for incomes exceeding $75,000 for singles and $150,000 for joint filers. Checks could exceed that if revenues are higher. He said on Bannon's War Room podcast, 'We're on track to raise over $150 billion from tariff revenues this year alone, this calendar year alone.' 'My view is, we ought to give a portion [of] that back to our working-class blue-collar voters who powered the Trump revolution, who got this president into office multiple times, and who are the backbone of this nation.' Tariffs are imposed on imports by U.S. companies, which then pass much of the increased costs on to American consumers through higher prices on goods. Any rebate check would likely be swallowed up by those price increases. In the first half of the year, companies rushed to stock up on goods and inputs from overseas in preparation for the impending imposition of tariffs. This has so far prevented large price hikes, but those inventories will begin to dwindle, and soon the cost of goods is expected to start creeping up. 'Biden has crushed these people,' Hawley claimed, turning his ire toward the previous administration. 'What a legacy for Donald Trump to say, 'I'm gonna take a portion of this massive money' that he's raising on these tariffs, and return it to the people who run this country and are gonna build our future.' Hawley's plan, like the pandemic stimulus checks of the first Trump administration, has strict caps on who is eligible for a rebate payment. 'It'd be $600 for every adult and child, so if you've got a big family, you're gonna get more,' he said. 'And you'd phase it out for income, you know? So again, the wealthy — you start making six figures, you get into the big six figures — you'd phase the thing out.' 'So this is not going to the hedge fund managers or all the Biden voters. This is not going to the Wall Street kingpins. So they don't need any of it,' Hawley continued. Hawley failed to note that President Joe Biden was not on the ballot in the 2024 election. He was replaced on the Democratic Party ticket by Vice President Kamala Harris. Continuing to rail against the previous administration, he said: 'This is going to the Trump blue collar voters, the people who Joe Biden crushed, the people who didn't get a raise under Joe Biden for four long years, the people who cannot afford their gas, because Joe Biden shut down our energy, who can't afford their groceries, because Joe Biden drove up the price of everything.' He added: 'And it is a message from us to them, from Trump to these folks that he is here to deliver for them.' The Tax Foundation reported on Monday that Trump's tariffs will raise the costs of food for Americans in addition to the more widely covered impact on the cost of manufactured goods. In 2024, the US imported approximately $221 billion in food products, 74 percent of which ($163 billion) would be subject to the Trump tariffs. Some popular food products, such as bananas and coffee, are almost entirely imported. Critics of the plan to issue $600 rebate checks to Americans argue that the money should instead be used to pay down the national debt, which has increased by another $3.4 trillion thanks to Trump's 'Great, Big, Beautiful Bill,' according to the Congressional Budget Office. Others note that this is a repeat of the Covid-19 pandemic recovery stimulus measures implemented by both the first Trump administration and the Biden administration, which sent out direct checks to individuals. In both instances, there were complaints that the relief provided by the money was short-lived, and Republicans criticized President Biden's $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package, 'The American Rescue Plan,' specifically for stoking rapid inflation. Concerning the Hawley plan, its similarities to earlier initiatives and the inflationary pressure they fueled, opinion writer Josh Barro quipped on X: 'The stimulus will continue until inflation improves.' The U.S. economy experienced a surprising three percent expansion between April and June, offering a temporary rebound from a first-quarter downturn linked to disruptions from Trump's trade disputes. Yet, despite this growth, the report's underlying data suggests a continued apprehension among American consumers and businesses. This caution is rooted in the economic uncertainty created by Trump's tariff plans.
Daily Mail
18 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Three arrested over Cincinnati mass brawl that sparked widespread fury...and one of them was out on bond at the time
Cincinnati cops have arrested three people in connection with a savage mass brawl that left two injured over the weekend. Jermaine Matthews, 39, Montianez Merriweather, 34, and Dekyra Vernon, 24, were taken into custody this week after a couple were violently set upon in the downtown area of the Ohio city on Saturday. Search warrants have also been issued for two other unidentified people accused of jumping into the shocking melee. Footage of the altercation swept social media as the couple were seen being beaten on the street near the LoVe nightclub as a crowd gathered. Cincinnati Chief of Police Teresa Theetge said during a press conference on Monday that around 100 people descended on the brawl, but only one called 911. 'That is unacceptable to not call the police,' she said. 'Traffic was horrendous. People saw this. They were fighting in front of traffic. Why didn't people call us?' Matthews was charged with aggravated riot and assault, however charges against the other individuals are not immediately clear. Daily Mail has contacted Cincinnati Police Department for more information on the charges, with Theetge adding that other arrests may come as cops continue investigating the clash. Theetge added in her press conference that anyone involved in the fight should turn themselves in, and warned that more charges may follow. 'Anyone who put their hands on another individual during this incident in an attempt to cause harm will face consequences,' she said. 'I don't care which side of the incident or the fight they were on.' In shocking footage of the fight, a man in a white t-shirt was shoved to the ground and beaten by two men as other members of the crowd jeered and joined in. The gang beat the man for nearly a minute as he lay in the middle of the street, with the attackers appearing to step on his head multiple times. When the barrage temporarily stopped, the man was seen attempting to stand - but immediately fell over in apparent disorientation. One attacker yelled out 'my man's drunk'. A woman in a black dress rushed to his aid, but was attacked by the crowd, suffering two blows to the face. The impact caused her to fall, with her head slamming onto the pavement. Blood spewed from her mouth. The footage quickly gained traction among conservatives on social media, with a number of leading Republicans condemning the violence this week. The couple that were seen being attacked by the mob have not been named, although Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy had identified the woman in the clip as 'Holly.' He said on social media: 'I spoke to Holly earlier today (the woman tragically assaulted in Cincinnati this weekend). 'She's a single working mom who went to a friend's birthday party. It's unconscionable that there were no police present in that area of Cincinnati on a Friday night, or even an ambulance to take her to the hospital.' Vice President JD Vance waded in on the clip captured in his home state on Monday, saying anybody involved should be thrown in prison. He said: 'I don't know the full context, but the one part that I saw that was really gruesome is you had a grown man who sucker punched a middle-age woman. 'That person ought to go to jail for a very long time - and frankly, he's lucky there weren't some better people around because they would've handled it themselves. 'We have got to make great American cities safe again for families and children, the only way to destroy that street violence is to take the thugs who engage in that violence and throw their asses in prison.' Elon Musk also took to his social media to question what he suggested was a lack of response to the incident. 'Why zero stories?' the Tesla CEO asked Sunday, retweeting a post from the End Wokeness X account alleging that the attack wasn't being covered by news outlets. End Wokeness posted a tweet early Sunday afternoon claiming CNN, ABC, NBC, Fox News, The New York Times and The Washington Post, among others, had failed to cover the attack. By late Sunday evening the terrifying assault had been covered by several local and national media outlets, including the Daily Mail and Fox News.
BreakingNews.ie
18 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Epstein and Maxwell grand juries ‘did not hear directly from victims'
The federal grand juries that indicted Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell on sex-trafficking charges did not hear directly from any of the alleged victims in the case, Justice Department officials have said. The claim came in support of the Justice Department's request to unseal transcripts of the usually secret proceedings. Just two witnesses gave evidence to the panel and both were law enforcement officials, the officials said. Advertisement In a court filing late on Tuesday, the officials again urged the court to release the records, citing huge public interest, and sought to assure judges that making them public would not harm victims of the couple's crimes. While the memo did not detail what was in the grand jury evidence, it dampened expectations that the transcripts would contain new revelations, saying that 'certain aspects and subject matters' contained in them became public during Maxwell's trial in 2021 and that other details have been made public through many years of civil lawsuits filed by victims. Ghislaine Maxwell with Jeffrey Epstein (US Department of Justice/PA) The Justice Department described the grand jury witnesses in response to questions from two judges who would have to approve the release of the transcripts. Grand jury transcripts are rarely released by courts unless they need to be disclosed in connection with a judicial proceeding. The papers filed on Tuesday cite a 1997 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that said judges have wide discretion and public interest alone can justify releasing grand jury information. Advertisement The Epstein grand jury heard from just one witness, an FBI agent, when it met in June and July 2019, the government disclosed. The Maxwell grand jury heard from the same FBI agent and a New York Police Department detective when it met in June and July 2020 and March 2021, according to the submission. It is not unusual for law enforcement officials to be the only witnesses before grand juries, which have a limited role and do not need to decide whether a person is guilty of a crime. The memorandum was signed by Jay Clayton, the interim US attorney for the Southern District of New York, and included the names of attorney general Pam Bondi and deputy attorney general Todd Blanche. The request to unseal the transcripts came after the Justice Department enraged parts of President Donald Trump's base of supporters when it announced in early July that it would not be making public any more investigative files related to Epstein, who was accused of paying under-age girls for sexual acts. Advertisement The decision not to make additional materials public shocked some Trump supporters because members of his administration had hyped the expected release and stoked conspiracies around the well-connected financier. Epstein killed himself in a federal jail in August 2019, weeks after his arrest on sex-trafficking charges, but his case has generated attention and conspiracy theories because of his and Maxwell's links to famous people, such as royals, presidents and billionaires, including Mr Trump. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence after her December 2021 conviction for luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein. Last week, she sat for interviews with Justice Department officials in Florida, answering questions 'about 100 different people', her lawyer said. Maxwell was being interviewed because of Mr Trump's directive to gather and release any credible evidence about others who may have committed crimes, the deputy attorney general said. Advertisement Donald Trump (Christopher Furlong/AP) Mr Trump has denied prior knowledge of Epstein's crimes and claimed he had cut off their relationship long ago, but he faces ongoing questions about the case. When reporters last week pressed the Republican president about possibly pardoning Maxwell, he deflected, emphasising his administration's successes. After the request to unseal grand jury records, two former prosecutors in Manhattan told the Associated Press the transcripts would be relatively short and contain only the evidence of law enforcement witnesses talking about evidence that tracks information in the indictments. The court memorandum filed on Tuesday said many of the victims whose accounts of being exploited by Epstein and Maxwell were discussed before the grand jury by the FBI agent and the NYPD detective later gave evidence at Maxwell's public trial. The government said no Epstein or Maxwell family members have come forward to express an interest in the request to unseal the grand jury transcripts, although Maxwell has indicated she will file a position with the court. Advertisement The memorandum says the request to unseal the transcripts is 'consistent with increasing calls for additional disclosures in this matter'. 'There is undoubtedly a clearly expressed interest from the public in Jeffrey Epstein's and Ghislaine Maxwell's crimes,' it says. 'Beyond that, there is abundant public interest in the investigative work conducted by the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation into those crimes.' Under a 2008 non-prosecution agreement, Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida to state charges of soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution. That allowed him to avoid a possible life sentence, instead serving 13 months in a work release programme. He was required to make payments to victims and register as a sex offender. He was later charged by federal prosecutors in Manhattan for nearly identical allegations in 2019.
