GOP leaders seek to quell debt revolt

The Hill

2 days ago

REPUBLICAN LEADERS are working to quash a revolt over debt in President Trump's agenda bill amid fierce criticism from Elon Musk and new projections from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
The nonpartisan CBO said Wednesday that Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' would add $2.4 trillion to the national deficit over the next 10 years, largely driven by tax cuts, which will decrease government revenue by $3.6 trillion.
Furthermore, the CBO said 11 million people would lose health insurance, either through Medicaid cuts or efforts to pare back the Affordable Care Act.
The White House and GOP Congressional leaders are going on the offensive against the CBO, casting it as a partisan organization that's been wrong about their projections in the past.
'We've got a referee who likes to sack our quarterback a lot,' said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.).
Republicans insist the CBO is underestimating growth projections, arguing that deregulation and tax cuts will serve as an engine for economic growth.
However, Trump's trade war got a boost from the CBO, which found government revenue from tariffs would reduce deficit levels by $2.5 trillion over the next 10 years.
Still, GOP leaders are rushing to keep a lid on the brewing revolt over debt, which has been supercharged by Musk, who has fired off more than a dozen social media posts over the past 24 hours calling the bill an 'abomination' and threatening to oust Republican lawmakers who vote for it.
Musk on Wednesday called on Republicans to 'kill the bill,' saying on X that 'a new spending bill should be drafted that doesn't massively grow the deficit and increase the debt ceiling by 5 TRILLION DOLLARS.'
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Trump is 'not delighted' that Musk 'did a 180' on the budget bill, which comes as the clock ticks down toward the GOP's self-imposed deadline to get the legislation through the Senate and then back through the House with almost no margin for error.
Johnson cast Musk's dissent as driven by concerns about personal profits because the bill will end subsidies for electric vehicles (EVs) used by Tesla.
'I know that the EV mandate is very important to him; that is going away because the government should not be subsidizing these things as part of the Green New Deal,' Johnson said. 'I know that has an effect on his business and I lament that.'
There are at least nine GOP senators who are undecided on the bill. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) can only afford to lose three members for the bill to pass the upper chamber.
At least three GOP senators who oppose the bill are citing debt concerns for their opposition, including Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).
Paul says he won't vote for the bill because it raises the debt ceiling by several trillion dollars. Trump on Wednesday called for abolishing the debt ceiling altogether.
Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee will meet with Trump to discuss a way forward on Wednesday afternoon.
HOUSE CONCERNS GROW
If the Senate reaches consensus, could debt concerns imperil the bill when the revised version is sent back to the House?
The Hill's Mike Lillis and Mychael Schnell capture the House dynamics here:
'If they stand on principle and oppose the package over deficit concerns, they would sink legislation that combines virtually all of Trump's domestic policy goals and campaign promises, including an immigration crackdown and sweeping tax cuts Republicans consider must-pass items. If they support the package to lend Trump a huge win, they would be voting to grow the same deficit spending they've characterized as an existential threat to the nation's future well-being.'
Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) warned Wednesday during The Hill's 'Invest in America' event that the national debt would put the U.S. at the mercy of the bond markets, which would effectively 'run the country.'
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who voted in favor of the bill last month, is having second thoughts.
'I fully understand what Elon is saying, and I agree with him to a certain extent,' she said.
Greene also said she just learned about a provision in the bill that would ban state regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) for the next 10 years. She says she would have voted against the bill if she'd known about the provision.
'We don't get the full bill text until very close to the time to vote for it, and so that was one section that was two pages that I didn't see,' Greene told NewsNation.
MEANWHILE…
The conservative House Freedom Caucus is urging negotiators to lock in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts after the White House sent recissions to Capitol Hill.
The recissions package would cut about $9.4 billion in government spending, much of it from public media and international aid.
'The Appropriations process provides Congress with an opportunity to demonstrate our shared commitment to fighting waste, fraud, and abuse by codifying DOGE cuts and embracing the America First agenda,' said the letter, which was sent to Reps. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the chair and ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee.
💡Perspectives:
• Wall Street Journal: The American political realignment is real.
• City Journal: The evolution of American conservatism.
• Newsweek: Trump is ruining the country's image and economy.
• The Liberal Patriot: The two-party face plant.
• The Free Press: How Democrats lost men like me.
Read more:
• House spending hawks face moment of reckoning on Trump megabill.
• Trump bill takes unfriendly fire from GOP allies.
• Medicaid cuts in 'big beautiful bill' become flashpoint for GOP.
• Republicans seek ObamaCare rollback in Trump's megabill.
The Federal Trade Commission and Meta wrapped up a six-week trial over the Facebook and Instagram parent's alleged social networking monopoly, leaving the final decision in the hands of the judge. Here's what to know about where things stand.
© Illustration / Courtney Jones; Associated Press; and Adobe Stock
President Trump said Wednesday he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin following a stunning Ukrainian drone attack on Russian bombers.
'It was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate Peace,' Trump posted on Truth Social. 'President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields.'
Trump said the leaders also discussed 'various other attacks that have been taking place by both sides.' Their conversation lasted for about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
As peace talks have stalled, Ukraine has launched a series of audacious attacks aimed at repelling Russia's offensive posture.
Ukraine used smuggled drones to strike Russia's nuclear armed air bases over the weekend. And Ukrainian officials say they blew up a bridge connecting Russia to Crimea, which is used as a supply route by Russian forces.
Trump's Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg said nuclear risk levels 'are going way up' after the Ukrainian strikes.
'When you attack an opponent's part of their national survival system, which is their triad, the nuclear triad, that means your risk level goes up because you don't know what the other side is going to do,' he told Fox News. 'You're not sure.'
It was Trump and Putin's first publicly known call since mid-May. Recently, Trump has been lashing out Putin over Russia's attacks against Ukraine.
Officials from Ukraine and Russia met in Istanbul this week and agreed on a prisoner swap, but they remain far apart on a potential ceasefire.
Trump also suggested Wednesday that Putin would help him negotiate a deal to end Iran's nuclear program.
'President Putin suggested that he will participate in the discussions with Iran and that he could, perhaps, be helpful in getting this brought to a rapid conclusion,' Trump said.
President Trump on Wednesday doubled steel and aluminum tariffs to 50 percent, the latest salvo in his trade war.
U.S. steelworkers praised the move, saying the tariffs will 'help prevent new surges in imports that would injure American steel producers and their workers.'
Canada, a major steel exporter to the U.S., denounced the tariffs, with Prime Minister Mark Carney calling them 'unlawful and unjustified.'
The new tariffs come after two federal courts found Trump's use of an emergency declaration was unlawful, although both rulings are on hold to allow for the appeals process to play out.
New jobs data released Wednesday reignited debate over Trump's tariffs and the Federal Reserve's response.
According to ADP, payrolls increased by only 37,000 in May, a steep drop from April's increase of 60,000, and the lowest total since March 2023.
Trump pointed to the data to launch another round of attacks against Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who has refused to lower interest rates over fears the trade war will lead to inflation.
'ADP NUMBER OUT!!! 'Too Late' Powell must now LOWER THE RATE. He is unbelievable!!! Europe has lowered NINE TIMES!' Trump posted on Truth Social.
ADP chief economist Nela Richardson told reporters the 'hiring hesitancy' is a result of uncertainty around U.S. trade policies.
'It's like driving through fog for some of our firms here,' Richardson said. 'When you're in that situation, you can't really stop, but you might slow down. And so that's what we're seeing.'
MEANWHILE…
The White House sent a letter to trade partners urging them to cut new deals with the Trump administration during the pause in reciprocal tariffs.
Trump weighed in on the state of trade talks with China, saying it's 'extremely hard to make a deal' with President Xi Jinping.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned: 'They either want to be a reliable partner to the rest of the world, or they don't.'
Tensions with China are high after two Chinese citizens were charged with conspiracy for smuggling a fungus into the U.S. that the FBI described as a 'dangerous biological pathogen.'
ELSEWHERE…
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is in Paris, where he met with his counterpart in the European Union to discuss trade policy.
Greer said in a statement that negotiations are 'advancing quickly,' indicating a 'willingness by the EU to work with us to find a concrete way forward to achieve reciprocal trade.'
© AP Photo/Susan Walsh
Former President Biden's White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reveals in her forthcoming book that she's leaving the Democratic Party to become an Independent.
The book, titled 'Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines,' will be released in October, with promotional materials describing it as a 'groundbreaking, revelatory assessment of America's broken two-party system.'
The book comes as Washington has been gripped by revelations in the book 'Original Sin,' which details how Biden's inner circle hid his decline from the public and the press.
As press secretary, Jean-Pierre had one of the most public-facing roles in the administration and would have been in regular contact with both the president and his closest advisers to shape their communications strategy.
Jean-Pierre's book will 'takes us through the three weeks that led to Biden's abandoning his bid for a second term and the betrayal by the Democratic Party that led to his decision,' according to the publisher.
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) is demanding interviews with some of Biden's top former aides as he expands his probe into the former president's mental acuity.
• Former President Clinton is adding his voice to the bevy of political figures raising concerns that President Trump's agenda-setting 'One Big Beautiful Bill' will pile onto the country's debt.
Clinton said during an event in Washington on Tuesday evening that leaders 'have to get ahold' of the national debt, which has more than tripled since he left office two decades ago.
'There are people who want to believe it doesn't matter, but it does,' Clinton said.
His remarks came during a discussion with co-author James Patterson at D.C.'s Lincoln Theatre to discuss their new novel, 'The First Gentleman,' released this week.
— Elizabeth Crisp
• Trump and his allies are going hard after the Federalist Society, blaming the conservative judicial group for Trump's appointees that have at times intervened to block his agenda in the courts.
The Hill's Zach Schonfeld and Ella Lee write in their latest issue of 'The Gavel':
'The boiling point has unleashed a rebellion pitting the Make America Great Again movement against the conservative legal stronghold that helped Trump reshape the courts during his first term by offering up conservative judges as suggestions to fill benches across the country.'
💡Perspectives:
• Ross Barkin: The collapse of the professional left.
• Wall Street Journal: Ukraine's drone strake a warning – for the U.S.
• Spiked: Harvard brought the reckoning on itself.
• The Hill: An era of political violence.
• Politico: Dems set out to study young men. Here's what they found.
Read more:
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• Trump allies attempt DC Bar takeover.
• NY Dems close ranks around Hochul amid deputy's primary revolt.
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