Joni Ernst posts sarcastic apology video after downplaying concerns over Medicaid cuts
Sen. Joni Ernst (D-IA) posted a sarcastic apology video after she downplayed the concerns of her constituents about Medicaid cuts at a townhall. Writer-at-large at The Bulwark Tim Miller, National Affairs Correspondent at The Nation John Nichols and U.S. National Editor at Financial Times Ed Luce join Katy Tur to react to the video and discuss Medicaid funding.
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Four Trump administration officials to travel to Santa Fe for regional governors event
Jun. 6—SANTA FE — New Mexico's capital city frequently touts its art galleries, restaurants and progressive policies, but there's a different brand of politics coming to the City Different. Four Cabinet secretaries from President Donald Trump's administration will join seven western governors — including Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham — later this month at the Western Governors' Association's summer meeting in Santa Fe. The two-day event, which starts June 23 at a luxury downtown hotel, will feature discussions about housing shortages, outdoor recreation and wildfire response efforts, according to an online agenda. It will also allow attendees to mingle with corporate sponsors of the event, and travel to the Santa Fe Opera and other local spots. The Trump administration officials slated to attend the meeting are Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin. All four will headline the group's annual meeting as keynote speakers, a WGA spokesman confirmed Friday. Burgum, the former governor of North Dakota, took over as Interior secretary from former New Mexico congresswoman Deb Haaland in January, after Trump won the election. As for the governors slated to attend the event, the list includes Mike Dunleavy of Alaska, Jared Polis of Colorado, Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota, Spencer Cox of Utah, Mark Gordon of Wyoming and Arnold Palacios of the Northern Mariana Islands. Five of those governors are Republicans, with Polis and Lujan Grisham the lone Democrats. Additional governors could also end up attending. As for Lujan Grisham, who will be the event's official host, the governor has vowed to work with Trump administration officials when possible, even while criticizing a Republican-backed plan to trim federal spending on Medicaid and other programs. "My job is to create stability in every single relationship in the federal government," she said during a Bloomberg TV interview last month. The Western Governors' Association is a bipartisan group that includes 19 states and three U.S. territories — American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Previous WGA annual meetings have been held in Olympic Valley, California, and Boulder, Colorado. Meanwhile, Santa Fe has also hosted big political gatherings in past years, including a National Governors Association summer meeting in 2018. That event included a Western-themed reception and a private burning of Zozobra for governors and their family members.
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Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca sues Utah Attorney General over discount medication law
SALT LAKE CITY () — The pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has filed a federal lawsuit against Utah Attorney General Derek Brown and Utah Insurance Commissioner Jon Pike over a recent law that is intended to allow more pharmacies to have access to drug discount programs. In a lawsuit filed May 23, AstraZeneca alleges that Utah SB 69 is unconstitutional. The law was introduced and passed in the 2025 General Assembly, and it went into effect on May 7. The law prohibits drug manufacturers from restricting pharmacies from working with 340B entities, which help pharmacies and patients access medications at a discounted price. Senator Lee responds to the Trump-Musk feud The 340B Drug Pricing Program is a that 'enables covered entities to stretch scarce federal resources as far as possible, reaching more eligible patients and providing more comprehensive services,' according to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) website. It means that drug manufacturers participating in Medicaid agree to provide 'outpatient drugs to covered entities at significantly reduced prices.' All organizations need to be registered and enrolled in the 340B program in order to purchase discounted medications. The law that established the 340B Program, Section 340B(a)(4) of the Public Health Service Act, specified certain types of for the program, such as medical centers that serve rural and other underserved communities and clinics that specialize in particular diseases like HIV/AIDS. SB 69 expands the scope, requiring drug manufacturers to provide the discounts to third-party pharmacies that are contracting with 340B entities, and this is what AstraZeneca is claiming is unconstitutional in its lawsuit. Utah House Republicans elect new leadership members The lawsuit states that because price controls 'disincentivize innovation and destabilize markets,' Congress chose to specifically limit the types of organizations that are eligible in Section 340B. The suit notes that for-profit pharmacies like Walgreens or CVS were not included as eligible, and there have already been several federal court cases ruling that block efforts to require drug manufacturers to provide discounts to contracted pharmacies. AstraZeneca claims in its suit that SB 69 'requires pharmaceutical manufacturers to offer 340B-discounted pricing for sales at an unlimited number of contract pharmacies,' expanding 340B discounts to 'an entirely new category of transactions not covered by Section 340B itself.' The suit alleges that SB 69 directly conflicts with federal law requirements, and therefore, it cannot be enforced against Astrazeneca or other drug manufacturers. AstraZeneca is asking the court to declare SB 69 unconstitutional and to order that Utah AG Derek Brown and Insurance Commissioner Jon Pike not enforce the law against AstraZeneca. Musk floats 'The American Party' after Trump tiff Myths VS Facts: What health officials want you to know about the MMR vaccine Good4Utah Road Tour: Willard Bay State Park Lori Vallow Daybell back in court, charged with conspiracy to murder ex nephew-in-law Man charged with assault for allegedly attacking and strangling neighbor Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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'You Deserve Better': Veterans Rally on National Mall Against Trump Cuts
Thousands of veterans gathered and raised their fists to the rhythm of the punk rock band Dropkick Murphys on Washington, D.C.'s National Mall on Friday, rallying against the Trump administration's federal job cuts and the potential loss of government services. Many attendees of the Unite for Veterans, Unite for America Rally carried signs, including some that read "I Stand With Vets;" "Respect, Honor, Pay, Veterans;" and "VA Support Isn't a Gift, It's a Debt." The protest rally, part of the growing public concern over the administration's plans to dramatically reshape the federal government, also coincided with the 81st anniversary of D-Day. Since President Donald Trump took office, layoffs from government jobs have affected veterans who make up a large percentage of the federal workforce, with some congressional estimates that around 6,000 former service members have lost their livelihoods. An internal memo obtained by in March showed that more than 80,000 Department of Veterans Affairs employees could be fired, which advocates say would harm important services. Read Next: White House Asked Joint Chiefs Chairman for Candidates to Lead NASA, Worrying Experts Lead singer of the Dropkick Murphys Ken Casey said it in his own way, telling the veterans in the crowd that he supported them before tearing into newly released music. Veterans in attendance associated the band with their service during the Global War on Terror. "We have always stood with the vets, and the vets have always stood with the Dropkick Murphys," Casey said. "When sh-- ain't right, we're going to speak up. That's what it's all about and guess what? Sh-- ain't right!" Former Army Sgt. Will Attig, who recalls being an 18-year-old riding in a Humvee and listening to Dropkick Murphys music during his deployment to Iraq, said it was a surreal moment to be standing on a stage next to Casey. "There's a connection with music," said Attig, who was one of the organizers of the event. "Music is a part of the veterans community. ... Music is one of the ways we fight back." The protest brought together veterans advocacy groups and service members from different generations like Randall Goldberg, a former Army soldier who said he left the service in 1970 and is angered by the Trump administration's actions when it comes to veterans. "There has to be resistance to those folks," Goldberg said of the loss of federal jobs and projected cuts. "It's nuts; it's nothing fair." In addition to numerous generations of veterans in attendance, vocal veterans in Congress also spoke and made appearances at the event. Sen. Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat and a Marine Corps veteran, told in an interview on the National Mall that the potential cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs have pushed many former service members to speak out. "We just tend to suck it up, right?" Gallego said of the veteran community. "I think this has pushed a lot of veterans to an existential moment, because we've never seen something like this." Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat and retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel who was wounded in combat, rallied the crowd as one of the scheduled speakers. She spoke out about many of Trump's policies and the so-called "One Big, Beautiful Bill," legislation working through Congress to enact Trump's agenda that she described as "a middle finger to our heroes" by offering tax cuts instead of keeping jobs. The crowd, in response, raised their own middle fingers to the sky. "You deserve better; you've earned better," Duckworth said during her remarks. "Since our warriors landed on the beaches of Normandy on this very day 81 years ago, those who have worn the uniform have defied the odds to define America at her best. America is what she is today because of the blood of brothers and sisters shed in combat zones." Dropkick Murphys played many of their signature hits, including "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" and "Rose Tattoo," but it was a newly released song played by the band titled "Who'll Stand With Us?" that appeared to strike the biggest chord. "Who'll stand with us? Don't tell us everything is fine, Who'll stand with us? Because this treatment is a crime," Casey belted to the crowd, with many attendees nodding in agreement. Related: Dropkick Murphys, Lawmakers to Join Veterans in Washington on D-Day to Protect VA Benefits, Federal Jobs
