GOP Senator's Viral Photo After Major Bill Vote
Of the most notable in the proposal, the bill proposes sweeping tax cuts for businesses and the country's wealthiest Americans. To offset the lost revenue, the bill would slash funding for healthcare programs like Medicaid, potentially leaving up to 17 million Americans uninsured. The bill would also cut SNAP, the food aid program relied on by 40 million Americans, by about 20 percent; roll back clean energy initiatives and student loan relief; and increase spending on the military and deportations. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the bill is projected to add at least $3.3 trillion to the national debt over the next decade.
Rep. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska cast the last "yes" vote before JD's tiebreaker, which she later called an "agonizing" decision. While Murkowski supported the tax cuts in the bill, she raised concerns about the spending cuts to Medicaid and SNAP food assistance. Nearly one-third of Alaskans depend on Medicaid, and food insecurity remains a problem as many communities are too remote, requiring food to be barged or flown in, an inaccessible and expensive process.
To convince Murkowski, Republicans stuffed the bill with provisions specifically designed to help win over her vote, including doubling a fund to help rural hospitals from $25 billion to $50 billion over five years, exemptions on work requirements for food assistance, and a tax break for whalers.
Murkowski was also seen looking rather...shocked in an image after the vote.
Naturally, it's gone viral. "tfw you've just stripped healthcare from 17 million Americans and ensured the closure of rural hospitals," one wrote.
"if I send you this pic it means I've made yet another horrible decision and abandoned my standards and morals," another said.
"She knows what she did," this viral tweet read.
People also reacted to her calling the decision "agonizing." "That pain you feel is in your conscience," one wrote.
"'Agonizing' for Lisa Murkowski? 17 million Americans will lose health care as a result of her vote. Be so serious," said Arizona Rep. Yassamin Ansari.
Everyone's pretty much asking the same thing: "Then why did you vote for it?"
Welp, as the bill heads to the House to be deliberated and voted on, we will wait to see if it heads to Trump's desk to be signed into law. In the meantime, in the comments, let us know your thoughts about the bill, and if it passes, how it will impact you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Military veteran gets a life sentence for plotting an FBI attack after his Jan. 6 arrest
WASHINGTON (AP) — A military veteran was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for plotting to attack an FBI office and assassinate law enforcement officers in retaliation for his arrest on charges that he was part of the mob that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, court records show. Edward Kelley was one of the first rioters to breach the Capitol. Nearly two years later, Kelley made plans with another man to attack the FBI office in Knoxville, Tennessee, using improvised explosive devices attached to vehicles and drones, according to prosecutors. Last November, a jury convicted Kelley of conspiring to murder federal employees, solicitation to commit a crime of violence and influencing federal officials by threat. Kelley, 36, received a pardon from President Donald Trump for his Jan. 6 convictions, but a judge agreed with prosecutors that Trump's action did not extend to Kelley's Tennessee case. That makes Kelley, who is from Maryvale, Tennessee, one of only a few Capitol riot defendants remaining in prison after the Republican president's sweeping act of clemency. U.S. District Judge Thomas Varlan handed down Kelley's life sentence during a hearing in Knoxville, according to court records. The judge denied a request for Kelley to be released pending the outcome of an appeal. Prosecutors had recommended a life sentence for Kelley, saying he was remorseless and incapable of rehabilitation. 'On the contrary, Kelley not only believes the actions for which he was convicted were justified but that his duty as a self-styled 'patriot' compelled him to target East Tennessee law enforcement for assassination,' they wrote. Kelley served in the Marine Corps for eight years. He was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan before his 2015 discharge from the military. On Jan. 6, 2021, Kelley was captured on video helping two other rioters throw a Capitol Police officer onto the ground and using a piece of wood to damage a window, according to the FBI. He was the fourth person to enter the Capitol through a broken window, the FBI said. After a trial without a jury, a federal judge in Washington convicted Kelley last November of 11 counts stemming from the riot. Before Kelley could be sentenced, Trump pardoned him and hundreds of other convicted Capitol rioters. Kelley argued that his pardon was broad enough to cover his conduct in the Tennessee case, but the judge disagreed. Varlan said Kelley's crimes in the Tennessee case were separated from Kelley's conduct on Jan. 6 'by years and miles.' Prosecutors reached the same conclusion. In other Jan. 6 cases, however, Trump's Justice Department has argued that the pardons apply to separate convictions. For instance, prosecutors concluded that a Kentucky man's pardon for storming the Capitol also covered his conviction for illegally possessing guns when FBI agents searched his home for the Jan. 6 investigation. Kelley has been jailed since December 2022. His lawyer, Mark Brown, said Kelley did not hurt anybody or directly threaten anybody with violence. Brown urged the judge to reject prosecutors' request to apply a 'terrorism enhancement' in calculating his client's sentence. 'Kelley does not deserve the same sentence as an actual 'terrorist' who injured or killed hundreds or thousands of America citizens,' Brown wrote. Kelley's co-defendant, Austin Carter, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in January 2024. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 4. Kelley created a list of 36 law-enforcement officers to target for assassination and shared it with Carter, calling it their first 'mission,' according to prosecutors. All the officers were involved in Kelley's May 2022 arrest on Capitol riot charges and the FBI's search of his home. 'The proof at trial established that Kelley targeted law enforcement because of their anticipated role in the civil war that Kelley hoped to initiate and because of his animus towards those who participated in his May 2022 arrest and search of his home,' prosecutors wrote. Kelley, Carter and a third man used an encrypted messaging platform to discuss plans, prosecutors said. Carter testified that he met with Kelley to conduct military-style training in November 2022. 'Carter's testimony was unequivocal — he had no doubts that, had he and Kelley not been arrested, the law enforcement personnel included on Kelley's list would have been murdered,' prosecutors wrote. Kelley's attorney said the case involved 'little to no planning.' 'Discussions did not lead to action," Brown wrote. "And while people may not like what Mr. Kelley had to say, he stands behind his position that he has a First Amendment right to free speech.'
News24
29 minutes ago
- News24
Tense meetings as rebel Republicans delay tax bill under pressure from Trump
Republican leaders in the US Congress delayed a key vote for hours on President Donald Trump's signature tax and spending bill on Wednesday as they scrambled to win over a group of rebels threatening to torpedo the centrepiece of the president's domestic agenda. Trump is seeking final approval in the House of Representatives for his Senate-passed 'One Big Beautiful Bill' - but faces opposition on all sides of his fractious party over provisions set to balloon the national debt while launching a historic assault on the social safety net. House Speaker Mike Johnson told lawmakers to return to their offices, holding open a series of afternoon procedural votes required before final approval for more than three hours after it was first called - with no sign of the stalemate breaking. Meanwhile, his lieutenants huddled in tense meetings with holdouts behind the scenes. 'We're going to get there tonight. We're working on it and very, very positive about our progress,' Johnson told reporters at the Capitol, according to Politico. Originally approved by the House in May, the bill squeezed through the Senate on Tuesday by a solitary vote but had to return to the lower chamber on Wednesday for a rubber stamp of the Senate's revisions. 'This bill is President Trump's agenda, and we are making it law,' Johnson said in a determined statement, projecting confidence that Republicans were 'ready to finish the job'. The package honours many of Trump's campaign promises, boosting military spending, funding a mass migrant deportation drive and committing $4.5 trillion to extend his first-term tax relief. But it is expected to pile an extra $3.4 trillion over a decade onto the country's fast-growing deficits, while forcing through the largest cuts to the Medicaid health insurance programme since its 1960s launch. Fiscal hawks in the House, meanwhile, are chafing over spending cuts that they say fall short of what they were promised by hundreds of billions of dollars. Johnson has to negotiate incredibly tight margins, and can likely only lose three lawmakers among more than two dozen who have declared themselves open to rejecting the bill. Lawmakers were hoping to return from recess early on Wednesday to begin voting straight away, although they have a cushion of two days before Trump's self-imposed 4 July deadline. The 887-page text only passed in the Senate after a flurry of tweaks that pulled the House-passed text further to the right. Republicans lost one conservative who was angry about adding to the country's $37 trillion debt burden and two moderates worried about almost $1 trillion in healthcare cuts. Some estimates put the total number of recipients set to lose their health insurance at 17 million, while scores of rural hospitals are expected to close. Meanwhile changes to federal nutrition assistance are set to strip millions of the poorest Americans of their access to the programme. Johnson will be banking on Trump leaning on waverers, as he has in the past to turn around contentious House votes that were headed for failure. The president has spent weeks cajoling Republicans torn between angering welfare recipients at home and incurring his wrath. Trump pressured House Republicans to get the bill over the line in a private White House meeting with several holdouts on Wednesday. 'Our Country will make a fortune this year, more than any of our competitors, but only if the Big, Beautiful Bill is PASSED!' he said in a Truth Social post. House Democrats have signalled that they plan to campaign on the bill to flip the chamber in the 2026 midterm elections, pointing to analyses showing that it represents a historic redistribution of wealth from the poorest Americans to the richest. 'Shame on Senate Republicans for passing this disgusting abomination,' House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters.
The Hill
31 minutes ago
- The Hill
House GOP advances Trump megabill after Johnson calls conservative holdouts' bluff
House Republicans advanced their 'big, beautiful bill' full of President Trump's legislative priorities early Thursday morning, overcoming a key procedural hurdle after GOP leaders left the vote open for hours to quell an internal revolt. The chamber voted 219-213 to adopt a rule governing debate on Trump's domestic agenda, opening up discussion on the megabill and teeing up a final vote on the package. The vote was something of a gamble for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who has faced opposition to the legislation from various corners of his ideologically diverse conference. Heading into the rule vote, conservatives had warned that they would sink the procedural measure unless it was delayed beyond Wednesday. Johnson called their bluff, held the vote open for more than five hours, and then adopted the rule after winning just enough support — an effort that got a big boost from Trump, who spoke with some of the holdouts during the long, midnight impasse. Adoption of the rule sets the stage for Johnson and his leadership team to pass the legislation later Thursday morning, well ahead of their self-imposed July 4 deadline. The Senate had passed the same bill on Tuesday, so the legislation will head directly to Trump's desk, where he's expected to sign it with a ceremonial flourish on Independence Day. The chamber adopted the rule after a whirlwind of an afternoon on Capitol Hill, which saw a different procedural vote stall for more than seven hours as holdouts huddled with Johnson and White House aides behind closed doors. It marked the longest vote in House history. Hardline conservatives have hammered the 'big, beautiful bill,' wary that it cuts too little in federal spending and piles too much onto the national debt. Those concerns only grew after the package returned from the Senate, which had altered the initial House bill in ways that increased deficit spending. On Wednesday morning, a number of hardline conservatives had vowed to vote against the rule if it came to the floor. By Wednesday evening, those warnings had softened slightly. But shortly before the House rule hit the floor, several spending hawks told reporters that if Johnson called the vote they would abstain, requesting more time to learn the details of the Senate-passed bill. The Speaker called the vote anyway, successfully calling their bluff and allowing the tenuous process to move forward. Leadership called the vote minutes after Trump urged Republicans to approve the megabill Wednesday night. 'It looks like the House is ready to vote tonight. We had GREAT conversations all day, and the Republican House Majority is UNITED, for the Good of our Country, delivering the Biggest Tax Cuts in History and MASSIVE Growth. Let's go Republicans, and everyone else – MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!' Trump wrote on Truth Social. But then leaders were forced to again hold a vote open for more than five hours to solidify support. For several hours, it stalled at four GOP 'no' votes and 10 Republicans withholding their vote. Eventually, two of the holdouts voted to advance the measure, but Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) flipped his 'yes' vote to 'no,' putting the tally at 207 to 217. Several hours later, the president spoke directly with some of the holdouts, including Reps. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) and Massie. Not long afterward, Johnson announced that he'd secured the votes to pass the rule. The House will now proceed to debate on the 'big, beautiful bill' and then a vote on final passage, which Johnson said he expected around 8 or 8:30 a.m.
