White House digs in on July 4 deadline for ‘big, beautiful bill' despite Senate setback
The White House on Thursday dug in on its expectation that Congress will pass the massive reconciliation package containing the president's key agenda items by next week, despite a major setback on Thursday from the Senate parliamentarian.
'We expect that bill to be on the president's desk for signature by July 4th,' press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at a press briefing.
'I know there was a ruling by the Senate parliamentarian this morning. Look, this is part of the process, this is part of the inner workings of the United States Senate, but the president is adamant about seeing this bill on his desk here at the White House by Independence Day,' Leavitt added.
The Senate's referee rejected a plan to cap states' use of health care provider taxes to collect more federal Medicaid funding, a decision that struck a blow to Republicans' strategy for cutting federal spending in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The House has already passed its version of the reconciliation package. It must still get through the Senate, and any changes must go back to the House for approval before going to Trump's desk for his signature.
The Senate parliamentarian's ruling could threaten one of the key provisions to offset federal spending costs. As a result, it could create consternation among fiscal hawks in the GOP who were already concerned the massive piece of legislation did not do enough to cut federal spending.
Republicans could get around the parliamentarian's rulings by holding a simple-majority vote on the floor to establish a new precedent, expanding the scope of what is eligible under reconciliation.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said he would not overrule the parliamentarian over her decision.
Leavitt said she had not spoken to Trump about whether he thought the parliamentarian should be removed over the decision.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Axios
26 minutes ago
- Axios
Tampa Bay's new People's Pride rejects corporate, police ties
Concerned that St. Pete Pride has grown too corporate, a group of activist organizations say they want to return the celebration to its roots. Why it matters: The People's Pride Coalition will hold its inaugural Pride Night on Friday at a time of increasing skepticism of corporate-backed Pride events and marketing campaigns. The big picture: That's especially true this year, as major companies retreat from Pride sponsorships and participation amid President Trump's attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. "They're outing themselves as not truly supporting queer people," coalition member V Garcia told Axios. The wishy-washy approach also shows that relying on corporate support isn't sustainable, added coalition member Gabby Aguilera. Zoom in: The coalition — made up of local grassroots organizations including Tampa Democratic Socialists of America and the Justice Advocacy Network — formed in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attacks and the ensuing war that has so far killed more than 50,000 Palestinians. Organizers were troubled by the big-business sponsors underpinning St. Pete Pride, such as defense contractor GE Aerospace and phosphate mining firm Mosaic, which has a troubling environmental history in Tampa Bay. They've also taken issue with the festival's police presence, a wariness that's only grown as more law enforcement agencies, including St. Pete police, sign partnerships with federal immigration authorities. What they're saying:"It just goes directly against the roots and history of Pride," which began as an uprising, Aguilera said. The other side: St. Pete Pride leaders have heard the coalition's concerns "and recognize that the origins of Pride are rooted in protest and the ongoing fight for liberation and equity for all," president Byron Green-Calisch said in a statement to Axios. Police officers are there to "ensure the safety of the more than half a million attendees expected at our Pride events." "This is a necessity, not an endorsement," he said, adding that leaders "understand that it raises valid concerns for some." Between the lines: Coalition organizers recognize the need for security and that police are typically involved with closing off city streets for parades and similar events. Cutting ties is "not going to be a quick fix," Aguilera said. The nonprofit St. Pete Pride is also working on broadening its individual donor base, new executive director Bior Guigni told Axios in a previous interview. When it comes to corporate partnerships, her goal is to ensure that "it's not just a monetary exchange, but it's also a mission alignment," she said. The latest: While GE Aerospace and Mosaic are not listed among this year's sponsors, coalition members plan to continue putting pressure on the organization to meet their demands. And while they'll march in Saturday's Pride parade, coalition members organized Pride Night for folks who identify with their mission. If you go: The event is 6-10pm Friday at Allendale United Methodist Church in St. Pete. The lineup includes live music, drag performances, crafts, free food and a free store. A $5-15 donation is suggested but not required.
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
EU Briefs Divided Leaders on Trump's Counterproposal on Tariffs
(Bloomberg) -- European Union leaders are discussing their response to President Donald Trump's latest proposal on trade after a briefing from Ursula von der Leyen. US Renters Face Storm of Rising Costs Philadelphia Transit System Votes to Cut Service by 45%, Hike Fares Mapping the Architectural History of New York's Chinatown Squeezed by Crowds, the Roads of Central Park Are Being Reimagined US State Budget Wounds Intensify From Trump, DOGE Policy Shifts The European Commission president told EU leaders at summit talks in Brussels on Thursday evening that she had received the latest US tariff offer, according to officials briefed on the discussion who declined to give any more detail. The question dogging the leaders and the commission, which handles trade matters for the bloc, is whether to accept an asymmetrical trade deal with the US or risk escalation by striking back, provoking Trump's ire. Several member states argued against retaliation, with most suggesting that reaching a quick deal with the US is better than holding out for a perfect one, even if many of Trump's tariffs remain in place, according to two people briefed on the discussions. But there's still division, with Paris categorically rejecting any deal skewed in favor of the US and pushing for a complete removal of tariffs, another official said. The EU needs to reach an agreement with Trump by July 9, when tariffs on nearly all of the bloc's exports to the US increase to 50%. The US president says the EU takes advantage of US with its goods surplus and perceived barriers to American trade. 'We hope that the discussions with the US continue in an energetic mood in the coming days — the July deadline is coming soon,' Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden told reporters on his way into the summit. 'I wish the commission good luck.' Detailed discussions with the US are taking place on both tariffs and non-tariff barriers, as well as on key sectors, strategic purchases and regulatory matters the EU is hoping to address through its simplification agenda, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The US is asking the EU to make what the bloc's officials see as unbalanced and unilateral concessions, Bloomberg reported earlier. Discussions on critical sectors — such as steel and aluminum, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and civilian aircraft — have been particularly difficult. Officials believe the best-case scenario remains an agreement on principles that would allow the negotiations to continue beyond an early July deadline. Alongside a 10% universal levy on most goods — which is currently facing a US court challenge — Trump has introduced 25% tariffs on cars and double that on steel and aluminum based on a different executive authority. He's also working to expand tariffs on other sectors, including pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and commercial aircraft. Many of those duties are expected to stay, regardless of an agreement with the Trump administration, according to the people. The EU, which has been seeking a mutually beneficial deal, will assess any end-result and at that stage decide what level of asymmetry — if any — it's willing to accept. The EU's industry chief, Stephane Sejourne, told Bloomberg this week that the EU would need to respond to any tariffs — including a baseline 10% levy — with countermeasures. But some EU leaders, including Italy's Giorgia Meloni have indicated that they could live with some levies if it allows for a rapid deal that avoids an escalation in the conflict. 'When we discussed 10% with companies, it isn't particularly impactful for us,' Meloni told reporters in The Hague Wednesday after the NATO summit. 'I think a decision at 10% would enable us, as far as we're concerned, to keep working on things that we care about.' --With assistance from Charlie Duxbury, Olivia Fletcher, Michal Kubala, Lyubov Pronina, Maxim Edwards, Suzanne Lynch, Andrea Palasciano, Samy Adghirni, Donato Paolo Mancini, Jan Bratanic, Katharina Rosskopf and Sanne Wass. How to Steal a House Inside Gap's Last-Ditch, Tariff-Addled Turnaround Push America's Top Consumer-Sentiment Economist Is Worried Apple Test-Drives Big-Screen Movie Strategy With F1 Luxury Counterfeiters Keep Outsmarting the Makers of $10,000 Handbags ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
She's unelected, unknown — and has the power to veto Trump's 'big, beautiful bill.' Who is the Senate parliamentarian?
Republicans in Congress have spent months hammering out the details of the massive tax and spending plan they have named the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, making a series of changes in hopes of crafting a plan that can gain the support of the GOP's far-right fringe, moderates and everyone in between. For all of the different factions that must sign off on whatever ends up in the final bill, one of the most important people Republicans will need to win over isn't a member of their party at all. A little-known bureaucrat called the Senate parliamentarian ultimately has final say on what can and can't go into this kind of legislation, not based on her political beliefs, but on her judgment of what the Senate rules allow. Over the course of the past week, the parliamentarian has decided that a long list of key provisions that have been part of the "big, beautiful bill" cannot be included in their current forms. Here's a list of just some of the items that have been vetoed: A plan to sell off millions of acres of public lands. Defunding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Blocking federal grants for 'sanctuary cities.' Cuts to federal food assistance. Barring undocumented immigrants from receiving Medicaid. Rollbacks of green energy funding and emissions standards. New Medicaid tax rules that would have brought in hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue. Republicans will now have to either rewrite each of these sections of the bill in a way that satisfies the parliamentarian or be forced to abandon them completely so they don't prevent the entire package from becoming law. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Thursday that he was prepared for certain elements of the bill to be rejected but is hopeful that his party can adjust and put together a final plan that maintains their priorities. 'We didn't know for sure how she was going to come down on it,' he said. 'But there are things that we can do, there are other ways of getting to that same outcome.' The rules that dictate how Congress operates are extraordinarily complicated. So complicated that even the savviest of policy-minded members can't keep track of it all. The position of parliamentarian was created in the early 20th century to essentially serve as the referee to make sure that everything in the legislature is done by the book. For decades, their job was largely to serve as a nonpartisan adviser on proper legislative procedure to the two branches of Congress. The Senate parliamentarian has become a much more important figure in recent decades because of the filibuster. Officially, bills only need a simple majority to pass through the Senate, but the filibuster allows any single senator to raise that threshold to 60 votes. It's been nearly 50 years since either party has held 60 or more seats in the chamber, which means that the filibuster can effectively sink any bill that doesn't have at least some bipartisan backing. As the use of the filibuster became more and more common, Congress was finding it difficult to get even its most basic functions done, particularly its duty to pass a budget that allows the government to operate at all. So in the 1970s, they invented a process called reconciliation, which created a way to get around the filibuster and pass bills with a simple majority again. Some of the most important legislation of the past half-century — including the tax cuts passed during President Trump's first term and former President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act — have only become law because of reconciliation. The catch is that reconciliation is only available for bills that primarily concern the budget. Anything else is still subject to the filibuster. There are some other rules that disqualify even some budget-centric proposals from reconciliation. Judgments on what does and doesn't qualify for reconciliation can be extraordinarily technical, and members of Congress have obvious incentives to fudge things in order to get their preferred policies through the door. That's why the ultimate say belongs to the parliamentarian. Whenever a reconciliation bill is being prepared in the Senate, the parliamentarian will comb through every detail to determine which parts can move forward with a majority vote and which ones are subject to the filibuster. Rarely do huge mega-bills like the GOP's spending plan make it through this process unscathed. It's common for members of both parties to disagree with the parliamentarian's assessments, but under current rules, their judgment is final. The current parliamentarian is named Elizabeth MacDonough. She's a 59-year-old Washington, D.C., native who has worked for the federal government in some capacity for most of the past 35 years. She was appointed as parliamentarian in 2012, becoming the first woman — and just the sixth person in history — to hold the position. At the time, she was described as 'down-to-earth,' 'diligent' and 'a pistol' by figures in Congress who knew her well. Since assuming the role, she has largely stayed out of the public eye. She purportedly only makes one public speech a year and does not speak directly to the media. During her tenure, control of the Senate has flipped three separate times — first to Republicans in 2015, then to Democrats in 2021 and back to the GOP this year. In addition to advising leaders from both parties through several reconciliation bills over the years, she also guided the Senate through two separate impeachment trials and was responsible for protecting Electoral College certificates from the mob attacking the Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack. Ultimately, the GOP doesn't actually have to listen to the parliamentarian. There is a provision that's often called the 'nuclear option' that allows Senate rules to be rewritten by a majority vote. If Republicans used it, they could overrule the parliamentarian's decision, change the standards for reconciliation or even fire her with just 50 votes. Some members of the party want to do just that. Florida Rep. Greg Stuebe called on the GOP to ignore the parliamentarian in a post on social media, writing, 'It is time for our elected leaders to take back control.' Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville went a step further in his own post. 'THE SENATE PARLIAMENTARIAN SHOULD BE FIRED ASAP,' he wrote. Thune, who would have to be on board with any action taken against the parliamentarian, said the nuclear option is not on the table. 'That would not be a good option for getting a bill done,' he told reporters Thursday. Though Thune didn't elaborate on his thinking, Senate leaders from both parties have historically been hesitant to take bold steps to undermine the filibuster out of fear that it would leave them with less power to stop legislation the next time they are in the minority. Republicans have already floated a few altered proposals to get some of their policy priorities back into the bill, but it remains to be seen how drastic the changes to the final package might be and whether these new plans can survive the parliamentarian's scrutiny.
