
Senate votes 51-49 to advance President Trump's ‘big beautiful' spending bill — despite opposition from 2 GOP lawmakers
The Senate voted Saturday to launch into debate on President Trump's 'big beautiful' spending bill, after Republican leaders spent hours working to gain enough support to approve the 940-page document.
The multi-trillion dollar bill narrowly advanced in a 51-49 procedural vote, despite opposition from two Republican lawmakers who joined their Democratic colleagues in an attempt to block the measure from reaching the Senate floor.
Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Rand Paul (R-KY) were the holdouts after they publicly declared that they wouldn't be backing the bill in its current form.
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The Capitol dome in Washington DC on June 28, 2025.
REUTERS
Debate will now begin on the spending bill – and that could take hours as New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer has promised to have the nearly 1,000-page measure read before a final vote on passing it can happen.
Trump has lobbied for House and Senate Republicans to fast-track the legislation so it lands on his desk by his self-imposed July 4 deadline.
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The measure would make Trump's 2017 tax cuts permanent, end taxation on tips and overtime, boost border security funding and scrap green-energy tax credits passed during the Biden administration.
The legislation would also have to raise the debt ceiling by roughly $5 trillion in order to cram in all the provisions.
Trump warned potential dissenters earlier Saturday that refusal to support his bill would be an 'ultimate betrayal' – later lashing out at Tillis on social media for making a 'big mistake' and threatening to primary him for turning his back on the spending bill.
'Numerous people have come forward wanting to run in the Primary against 'Senator Thom' Tillis,' Truth posted on Truth Social as the vote stalled late Saturday night.
'I will be meeting with them over the coming weeks, looking for someone who will properly represent the Great People of North Carolina and, so importantly, the United States of America. Thank you for your attention to this matter!'
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Black America Web
8 minutes ago
- Black America Web
Op-Ed: Bigoted MAGA Republican Wants To Deport NYC Mayoral Nominee Zohran Mamdani, Calling Him ‘Little Muhamaad'
Source: Pool / Getty White conservatives have often claimed they're fine with immigrants so long as they come to the U.S. 'the right way,' meaning legally. This has always been a lie, and now they're revealing that truth to anyone who didn't already know it. If the notion that conservatives only objected to immigrants residing in the U.S. when their paperwork wasn't in order wasn't a big, fat lie, Republican voters would be far more outraged that their leaders are now calling on President Donald Trump to denaturalize and deport Zohran Mamdani. As we previously reported, MAGA supporters across the MAGA-net , including GOP leaders, had gone into full meltdown mode over news that Mamdani had clinched the Democratic nomination in New York City's mayoral race, defeating former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, and, apparently, pissing in the Cheerios of Islamaphobic bigots across America. Well, the frantic attacks on Mamdani have increased exponentially since — *checks notes* — Tuesday, and now even lawmakers, who should know there's no precedent, cause or logic behind it, are calling for Mamdani, who was 7 years old when he and his parents migrated to the U.S., to be stripped of his citizenship. On Thursday, Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) posted on X: 'Zohran 'little muhammad' Mamdani is an antisemitic, socialist, communist who will destroy the great City of New York. He needs to be DEPORTED. Which is why I am calling for him to be subject to denaturalization proceedings.' Attached to his post was a screenshot of a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, urging her to open an investigation into Mamdani. Before we get to how far and wide Ogles is reaching in suggesting a legal reason to deport Mamdani, let's take a look at the way the congressman began his tweet with explicit racism, right before accusing the presumptive Democratic nominee of being antisemitic. Who the hell is 'little Muhammad?' Mamdani is Muslim, and, as mentioned earlier, white conservatives have not been shy about making his faith and ethnicity the central focus of their objection to him. 'Little Muhammad' isn't some cute nickname he came up with for himself, and he's never been referred to as such in the media or by anyone else publicly. So, it appears that Ogles is quoting himself in a reference to the Muslim Prophet Muhammad, which would make 'little Muhammad' an ethnic slur, not that it would matter to xenophobic hypocrites who are only pretending to care about antisemitism to mask their own bigotry. Another thing to note is that, like many MAGA Republicans, including Trump himself, Ogles has blindly accused Mamdani of being a communist, an allegation that is substantiated by absolutely nothing, but bolstered by the fact that your average MAGA conservative has no damn clue what communism actually is. From Al Jazeera: Mamdani's platform calls for making transportation, housing and groceries more affordable, but experts say he hasn't espoused key tenets of communism, such as government takeover of industry and private property. 'Mamdani is NOT a communist,' wrote Anna Grzymala-Busse, Stanford University professor of international studies, in an email to PolitiFact. 'Communism involves a centrally planned economy, with no market forces. Prices and quantities are set by a central government authority. There is no democratic political competition, and instead a single party rules the country. He is not calling for any of this.' Unsurprisingly, Ogles believes Bondi can legally denaturalize and deport Mamdani, not because he has committed a crime — because he hasn't — but because, eight years ago, he expressed views that anti-Palestine conservatives might find offensive. Ogles cited a chapter from the U.S. Code that outlines the revocation of citizenship for individuals who willfully misrepresent or conceal material support for terrorism. From The Hill: 'According to public reports, including a June 21, 2025 New York Post article, Mr. Mamdani expressed open solidarity with individuals convicted of terrorism-related offenses prior to becoming a U.S. citizen. Specifically, he rapped: 'Free the Holy Land Five / My guys,'' Ogles wrote in the letter. The Holy Land Foundation is a U.S.-based Muslim charity. Five of its leaders were convicted of funneling money to Hamas in support of Palestine in 2008. 'Publicly praising the Foundation's convicted leadership as 'my guys' raises serious concerns about whether Mr. Mamdani held affiliations or sympathies he failed to disclose during the naturalization process,' Ogles wrote. The Trump administration cited similar obscure legislation to justify the detention and deportation of Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist who also had not committed a crime. Khalil still faces a formal trial, but a federal judge ruled that he can't be deported without due process just because the White House doesn't agree with his views. Even Ogles seems to be aware that what he's trying to do violates the First Amendment, but as Trump supporters across the nation have shown, the Constitution ends where their unbridled xenophobia begins. 'While I understand that some may raise First Amendment concerns about taking legal action based on expressive conduct, such as rap lyrics, speech alone does not preclude accountability where it reasonably suggests underlying conduct relevant to eligibility for naturalization,' Ogles wrote. Again, this man is going to pull every muscle in his body with that reach. It would be nice if Ogles and all the other Republican leaders and groups who are calling for Mamdani's deportation would just admit they're doing it for the same reason every conservative justice on the U.S. Supreme Court voted Friday to aid Trump in his war against birthright citizenship. It was never about the legality of Black and brown migrants living here. It was always about reinforcing white nationalism; they prove it every day! SEE ALSO: MAGA Racists Predictably Melt Down Over Muslim NYC Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani's Win After Winning NYC's Democratic Mayoral Primary, Zohran Mamdani Reaffirms Support For Reparations SEE ALSO Op-Ed: Bigoted MAGA Republican Wants To Deport NYC Mayoral Nominee Zohran Mamdani, Calling Him 'Little Muhamaad' was originally published on

USA Today
12 minutes ago
- USA Today
'Let Bibi go': Trump says US is 'not going to stand' for Netanyahu's prosecution
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New York Post
16 minutes ago
- New York Post
Leftist media's Iran misreporting: Letters to the Editor — June 30, 2025
The Issue: CNN's report on an assessment doubting the US's success in its strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. Once again, we have an apparent security leak coming from a government security agency and a cable news channel, CNN, runs the story as though the leaked information is 100% true ('Well, leak of the devil, CNN,' Miranda Devine, June 26). CNN did not disclose that the leaked information came with low confidence and that a full assessment of the bomb damage will take weeks or months to verify. Despite this cautionary warning, CNN ran the story and then other media outlets and Democrats followed CNN's lead. They will do anything to disparage the president. The full facts and respected analysis have not been disclosed, so CNN's actions should be severely criticized. Let's wait for the facts to come out before we judge the success or failure of the mission. Harold Fishman Manhattan If Democrats were given a briefing about the Iran strike, then soon after some of this news was leaked to the news media, what is the president supposed to think? This is information so sensitive it is top secret. To leak this information is a federal crime. Whoever is responsible for leaking the intelligence could be looking at losing 10 years of their life behind bars. Joseph Comperchio Brooklyn We now have a president who makes decisions on behalf of the American people. But all those in the media who see everything through a haze of Trump-deranged hatred respond with reporting aimed toward demonstrably false stories about (for example) mission failure rather than actual success. They couldn't wait to report false stories, leaked by spiteful, residual saboteurs. One can only deduce from this behavior that those Trump-deranged people in the media hate Trump more than they love their country. Rick Cabrera Elmhurst This bombing was as close to the taking out of the Death Star in 'Star Wars' as you can get. America dropped bombs through air shafts the size of your kitchen refrigerator from 13,000 feet and it was a direct hit. This action may lead to actual peace in the Middle East. Yet you'd be hard-pressed to find any mainstream media outlet that cheers anything America succeeds at anymore. This needs to end. If you don't love being here, maybe you should leave. This bombing also showed the rest of the world we are the rulers of the skies and nobody is a close second. James Schwartz Summit, NJ The Issue: AOC and other Democratic politicians' disapproval of President Trump's Iran strike. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez should consider that old saying: 'Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt' (' 'Make my day' & impeach,' June 25). One wonders what purpose this one-trick pony actually serves in legislative matters other than to oppose, accuse and rabble-rouse, mostly for the sake of anything to say. Vincent Ruggiero Scottsdale, Ariz. How ironic: AOC is up in arms over President Trump's bombing of Iran, saying it's unconstitutional, calling once again for an impeachment. Funny: I don't remember the Dems being upset with former President Barack Obama not asking Congress for permission. Thomas De Julio Delray Beach, Fla. The wimpy and feckless so-called leaders are outraged, with AOC calling for Trump's impeachment. Every one of them complained that Trump didn't go before Congress. But the last time Congress was apprised of the president's intentions for an enemy attack was long ago. JR Cummings Manhattan Want to weigh in on today's stories? Send your thoughts (along with your full name and city of residence) to letters@ Letters are subject to editing for clarity, length, accuracy, and style.