Trump news at a glance: president pushes Republicans to back big bill amid forecast losses to healthcare
The US Senate has opened debate on what Donald Trump calls his 'big beautiful bill' as new analysis says changes made to it in the chamber will add nearly $3.3tn to the nation's debt load while resulting in even steeper losses in healthcare coverage.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office's analysis adds to the challenges for Republicans as they push to get the bill over the line by the US president's self-imposed deadline of 4 July. After release of the bill's new costs, Trump cajoled and threatened lawmakers from his own party, posting on his Truth Social platform: 'REMEMBER, you still have to get reelected.'
Senator Thom Tillis announced he would not run for re-election next year, a day after the North Carolina Republican voted against Trump's legislation, prompting insults from the president.
Trump meanwhile said he was considering forcing journalists who published leaked details from a US intelligence report on the American military strikes on Iran to reveal their sources, also saying his administration may prosecute those reporters and sources if they don't comply.
Here are the key Trump administration stories at a glance:
The US Senate opened debate on Donald Trump's sprawling domestic policy legislation on Sunday, the package of tax cuts, increased spending on immigration enforcement and drastic reductions in funding for healthcare and nutrition assistance that the president calls his 'big beautiful bill'. Formal debate on the measure began after Democrats forced Senate clerks to read the entire 940-page bill aloud, to underscore their argument that the public is largely unaware of what the package contains and to delay a final vote until Monday.
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Republican Thom Tillis said he would not run for re-election to the US Senate next year, a day after the North Carolina senator's vote against Trump's signature piece of domestic legislation prompted the president to launch a barrage of threats and insults – as well as promise to support a primary challenger to defeat him in their party's 2026 primary. Tillis said: 'In Washington over the last few years, it's become increasingly evident that leaders who are willing to embrace bipartisanship, compromise, and demonstrate independent thinking are becoming an endangered species.'
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The University of Virginia received 'explicit' notification from the Trump administration that the school would endure cuts to university jobs, research funding and student aid as well as visas if the institution's president, Jim Ryan, did not resign, according to a US senator. In an interview with CBS, Virginia Democrat Mark Warner defended Ryan – who has championed diversity policies that the president opposes – and predicted Trump would similarly target other universities.
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Donald Trump said he was weighing forcing journalists who published leaked details from a US intelligence report assessing the impact of the recent American military strikes on Iran to reveal their sources. The president also claimed his administration may prosecute those reporters and sources if they don't comply. In a Fox News interview Trump doubled down on his claim that the 21 June airstrikes crippled Iran's nuclear program and dismissed the leaked intelligence assessment in question – which suggested the strikes only temporarily disrupted Iran's nuclear development – as incomplete and biased.
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The president threatened to block New York City from receiving federal funds if favoured mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic socialist, 'doesn't behave himself' should he be elected. Mamdani, meanwhile, denied that he was – as the president claimed – a communist. But he reaffirmed his commitment to raise taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers while saying: 'I don't think that we should have billionaires.'
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Blood-sucking ticks that trigger a bizarre allergy to meat in the people they bite are exploding in number and spreading across the US, to the extent that they could cover the entire eastern half of the country and infect millions of people, experts warn.
Iran's ambassador to the UN said the Islamic republic's nuclear enrichment 'will never stop' because it is permitted for 'peaceful energy' purposes under the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. 'The enrichment is our right,' Iravani told CBS News.
Catching up? Here's what happened on 28 June 2025.
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Reuters
32 minutes ago
- Reuters
Kremlin, asked about US sanctions bill, suggests it would impact Ukraine peace efforts if implemented
MOSCOW, June 30 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Monday that it had taken note of comments made by U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham who is sponsoring a tough new sanctions bill on Russia and that its backers should consider its impact on efforts to reach a peace deal on Ukraine. Graham said in an interview with ABC News on Sunday that President Donald Trump had told him that the sanctions bill - which would impose 500% tariffs on countries like China and India that buy Russian oil - should be brought forward for a vote. Graham called Trump's decision "a big breakthrough" which he said was part of efforts to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table on Ukraine and give Trump "a tool" to bring that about. He stressed however that Trump had a waiver and could decide whether or not to sign it into law if and when it passes Congress. Asked about Graham's comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russia was aware of the U.S. senator's stance and had taken note of his statement. "The senator's views are well known to us, they are well known to the whole world. He belongs to a group of inveterate Russophobes. If it were up to him, these sanctions would have been imposed long ago," said Peskov. "Would that have helped the (Ukraine) settlement (process)? That is a question that those who initiate such events should ask themselves."
The Guardian
33 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Thom Tillis won't seek re-election after clash with Trump over ‘big beautiful bill'
Good morning. Thom Tillis announced yesterday that he would not run for re-election to the US Senate next year, one day after the North Carolina Republican's vote against Donald Trump's signature piece of domestic legislation prompted the president to launch a barrage of threats and insults – as well as promise to support a primary challenger to defeat him in their party's 2026 primary. 'In Washington over the last few years, it's become increasingly evident that leaders who are willing to embrace bipartisanship, compromise, and demonstrate independent thinking are becoming an endangered species,' Tillis said in a statement. Shortly after Tillis refused to support the bill in a procedural vote in the Senate on Saturday, Trump attacked the senator, accusing him of grandstanding. What is the latest on Trump's 'big beautiful bill'? The US Senate opened debate on the sprawling domestic policy legislation yesterday. Formal debate on the measure began after Democrats forced Senate clerks to read the entire 940-page bill aloud, to underscore their argument that the public is largely unaware of what the package actually contains. Follow live updates here. Tens of thousands of Palestinians were fleeing eastern parts of Gaza City in the north of the territory on Sunday after Israel warned of a major offensive. The messages on social media from the Israel Defense Forces directed those living in several crowded neighborhoods to al-Mawasi, a coastal area much farther south that is already overcrowded and has very limited facilities. Witnesses described scenes of chaos as entire families tried to pack their remaining belongings, tents and meagre stocks of foods on to donkey carts, bicycles, improvised pickup trucks and cars. What's happening with the planned ceasefire talks? Israeli officials are due in Washington for a new ceasefire push by the US, which is fuelling the war by providing weapons to the Israeli military. Israel's strategic affairs minister, Ron Dermer, is expected at the White House later today for talks on Iran and Gaza, an Israeli official said. Amir-Saeid Iravani, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, said yesterday that his country's nuclear enrichment 'will never stop' because it was permitted for 'peaceful energy' purposes under the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. 'The enrichment is our right, an inalienable right, and we want to implement this right,' Iravani told CBS News, adding that Iran was ready for negotiations but 'unconditional surrender is not negotiation. It is dictating the policy toward us.' What's Trump threatening to do about leaked intelligence? 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The Independent
34 minutes ago
- The Independent
EPA employees put names to 'declaration of dissent' over agency moves under Trump
A group of Environmental Protection Agency employees on Monday published a declaration of dissent from the agency's policies under the Trump administration, saying they 'undermine the EPA mission of protecting human health and the environment.' More than 170 EPA employees put their names to the document, with about 100 more signing anonymously out of fear of retaliation, according to Jeremy Berg, a former editor-in-chief of Science magazine who is not an EPA employee but was among non-EPA scientists or academics to also sign. The latter figure includes over 70 Nobel laureates. The letter represents rare public criticism from agency employees who could face blowback for speaking out against a weakening of funding and federal support for climate, environmental and health science. Scientists at the National Institutes of Health made a similar move earlier in June. "Since the Agency's founding in 1970, EPA has accomplished (its) mission by leveraging science, funding, and expert staff in service to the American people. Today, we stand together in dissent against the current administration's focus on harmful deregulation, mischaracterization of previous EPA actions, and disregard for scientific expertise," the letter read. Agency spokespeople did not immediately respond Monday to messages seeking comment. Employees want the EPA get back to its mission 'I'm really sad. This agency, that was a superhero for me in my youth, we're not living up to our ideals under this administration. And I really want us to,' said Amelia Hertzberg, an environmental protection specialist at the EPA who has been on administrative leave since February from the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights, while the administration works to close down her department. Hertzberg's work focused on the most vulnerable groups impacted by pollution: pregnant and nursing people, young children and babies, the elderly, people with preexisting and chronic health conditions and people living in communities exposed to higher levels of pollution. That wasn't supposed to be controversial, but it's become so in this political climate, she said. ' Americans should be able to drink their water and breathe their air without being poisoned. And if they aren't, then our government is failing,' she said. Berg, who also directed the National Institute of General Medical Sciences at NIH from 2003-2011, said the dissent isn't motivated by partisan criticism. He said the employees hope it will help the EPA get back to the mission for which it was established — which 'only matters if you breathe air and drink water." 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She regularly meets with graduate students who are worried about pursuing scientific careers as labs lose funding. It's a long-term problem if we aren't supporting the next generation of scientists, she said: "That's decades worth of loss.' Follow Melina Walling on X @MelinaWalling and Bluesky @ ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
