Latest news with #CongressionalRepublicans
Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Health
- Los Angeles Times
California, other states sue Trump administration over bill defunding Planned Parenthood
California and a coalition of other liberal-led states sued the Trump administration Tuesday over a provision in the 'Big Beautiful Bill' that bars Planned Parenthood and other large nonprofit abortion providers from receiving Medicaid funding for a host of unrelated healthcare services. The measure has threatened clinics across the country that rely on federal funding to operate. California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, who is helping to lead the litigation, called it a 'cruel, backdoor abortion ban' that violates the law in multiple ways. The states' challenge comes one day after Planned Parenthood won a major victory in its own lawsuit over the measure in Boston, where a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking the ban from taking effect against Planned Parenthood affiliates nationwide. Federal law already prohibits the use of federal Medicaid funding to pay for abortions, but the new 'defund provision' in the bill passed by Congressional Republicans earlier this month goes further. It also bars nonprofit abortion providers that generated $800,000 or more in annual Medicaid revenue in 2023 from receiving any such funding for the next year — including for services unrelated to abortion, such as annual checkups, cancer screenings, birth control and testing for sexually transmitted infections. Attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice have argued that the measure 'stops federal subsidies for Big Abortion,' that Congress under the constitution is 'free to decline to provide taxpayer funds to entities that provide abortions,' and that Planned Parenthood's position should not hold sway over that of Congress. In announcing the states' lawsuit Monday, Bonta's office echoed Planned Parenthood officials in asserting that the provision specifically and illegally targets Planned Parenthood and its affiliate clinics — calling it 'a direct attack on the healthcare access of millions of low-income Americans, disproportionally affecting women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and communities of color.' Bonta's office said the measure threatened $300 million in federal funding for clinics in California, where Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion provider, and 'jeopardized the stability' of Planned Parenthood's 114 clinics across the state, which serve about 700,000 patients annually — many of whom use Medi-Cal, the state's version of Medicaid. During a virtual news conference Monday, Bonta noted that federal funds already don't cover abortions. He said the new provision was 'punishment for Planned Parenthood's constitutionally protected advocacy for abortion' and 'a direct attack on access to essential health care for millions who rely on Medicaid.' 'The Trump administration and Congress are actually gutting essential life-saving care, like cancer screenings and STI testing, simply because Planned Parenthood has spoken out in support of reproductive rights,' Bonta said. 'The hypocrisy is really hard to ignore. A party that claims to be defenders of free speech only seem to care about it when it aligns with their own agenda.' Bonta added: 'Rest assured, California will continue to lead as a reproductive freedom state, and will continue to defend healthcare as a human right.' In their lawsuit, the states argue that the measure is unlawfully ambiguous and violates the spending powers of Congress by singling out Planned Parenthood for negative treatment, and that it will harm people's health and increase the cost of Medicaid programs for states by more than $50 million over the next decade. In its lawsuit, Planned Parenthood also argued that the measure intentionally singled it and its affiliates out for punishment, in violation of their constitutional rights, including free speech. In granting Planned Parenthood's request for a preliminary injunction, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani wrote Monday that she was 'not enjoining the federal government from regulating abortion and is not directing the federal government to fund elective abortions or any healthcare service not otherwise eligible for Medicaid coverage.' Talwani, an Obama appointee, wrote that she also was not requiring the federal government 'to spend money not already appropriated for Medicaid or any other funds.' Instead, Talwani wrote, her order blocks the Trump administration from 'targeting a specific group of entities — Planned Parenthood Federation members — for exclusion from reimbursements under the Medicaid program,' as they were likely to prove that 'such targeted exclusion violates the United States Constitution.' In a statement to The Times Tuesday, White House spokesman Harrison Fields said the 'Big, Beautiful Bill' was 'legally passed by both chambers of the Legislative Branch and signed into law by the Chief Executive,' and Talwani's order granting the injunction was 'not only absurd but illogical and incorrect.' 'It is orders like these that underscore the audacity of the lower courts as well as the chaos within the judicial branch. We look forward to ultimate victory on the issue,' Fields said. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment on the states' lawsuit. Jodi Hicks, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, joined Bonta during his news conference. She welcomed the states' lawsuit, saying 'an attack this severe requires a multi-pronged response with both short and long term strategies.' Hicks said it's particularly important that California is helping to fight back, given the huge stakes for the state. 'California is the most impacted state across the country because of the volume of patients that we have, but also because of the amount of Medicaid that our state takes,' she said. 'It speaks to our values. And this defund provision is certainly [an] attack on values — most heavily on California.' Bonta is leading the lawsuit along with the attorneys general of Connecticut and New York. Joining them are Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and the attorneys general of Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia. Bonta noted the lawsuit is the 36th his office has filed against the Trump administration in the last 27 weeks.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump ‘hung up after 30 seconds' on the phone with CNN reporter who called to ask about new Epstein photos
A reporter asked President Donald Trump about newly unveiled photos tying him to Jeffrey Epstein — but the call only lasted 30 seconds before the president reportedly hung up. Unearthed archived photos capturing Jeffrey Epstein attending Trump's 1993 wedding to Marla Maples at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, published by CNN, reveal fresh insights into their relationship as the president tries to distance himself from the late financier's case. When CNN reporter Andrew Kaczynski called Trump to ask about the photos, the president gave an abrupt response: 'You've got to be kidding me.' He then repeatedly called the network 'fake news' and, after 30 seconds, hung up, the outlet reported. White House Communications Director Steven Cheung told CNN in a statement: 'These are nothing more than out-of-context frame grabs of innocuous videos and pictures of widely attended events to disgustingly infer something nefarious.' 'The fact is that the president kicked him out of his club for being a creep. This is nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media,' Cheung added. CNN also uncovered footage from a 1999 Victoria's Secret fashion event of Trump and Epstein chitchatting. Other photos widely available also show the two men together at the runway show, the outlet noted. Trump's 30-second phone call comes days after the president sued the Wall Street Journal for a report claiming that he allegedly gave Epstein a 'bawdy' birthday card for his 50th birthday. The card contained sexually suggestive drawing and a reference to 'secrets' both men shared, the publication alleged. Trump has vehemently denied the claims and sued the WSJ and its owners for $10 billion for defamation. The recent reports linking Trump to Epstein come as the White House attempts to quell the uproar over the so-called Epstein files. His MAGA supporters erupted after the Justice Department released a July 6 memo stating no further disclosures were necessary after the "exhaustive" review the department conducted. The memo led to demands for increased transparency from both MAGA world and Congressional Republicans after Attorney General Pam Bondi revealed there was a trove of documents to be reviewed in the case. Just months earlier, she said was examining a 'truckload' of evidence the FBI had provided on the case, noting the 'client list' of high-profile associates linked to the sex offender's trafficking scheme was sitting on her desk. Her office in February released 'Phase 1' of the Epstein files — roughly 100 pages of documents, most of which were already publicly available. A mix of outrage and disappointment bubbled up among right-wing influencers. Still, many anticipated more information about the convicted sex offender was coming. Then, the July 6 memo deflated any lingering hope. It stated there was no evidence that a 'client list' existed and that Epstein had died by suicide in his New York City jail cell in 2019. Amid internal Trump administration clashes and an uproar online, the president requested Bondi to release the grand jury transcripts in the cases of Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, the financier's former girlfriend who was sentenced to 20 years behind bars following her 2021 conviction for her role in a scheme to abuse girls with Epstein. Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche filed motions to unseal the grand jury transcripts — a move that experts say amounts to only a fraction of the Epstein files. The judges overseeing the cases have now asked for more information, including statements from Maxwell and the victims about the disclosures, before proceeding. The Trump administration will meet with Maxwell in the 'coming days,' Blanche announced Tuesday. 'If Ghislane Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say,' the deputy AG said. Not long after Blanche's announcement Tuesday, the House Oversight Committee approved a subpoena for Maxwell. Trump said the subpoena" sounds appropriate" during questions from reporters at the White House.
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
House Republicans vote to rename Kennedy Center opera house after Melania Trump
Congressional Republicans are moving forward with a plan to rename the Kennedy Center opera house after Melania Trump. Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson added an amendment to the Interior-Environment spending bill that most of the center's funding for the 2026 fiscal year would be contingent on changing the name to the 'First Lady Melania Trump Opera House.' The Appropriations Committee voted 33-25 to approve the amendment. The bill will still need to go to a vote in the House and pass in the Senate before a Sept. 30 deadline. 'As Chairman of the House Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee — which oversees federal funding for capital repairs and operations and maintenance at the Kennedy Center — I am proud to honor (Melania Trump's) support and commitment in promoting the arts and humanities,' Simpson said in a statement. ADVERTISEMENT President Trump took over as the center's chair in February, ousting longtime board members and installing allies on the board and as trustees. The Trumps both attended the opening night performance of 'Les Misérables' at the Kennedy Center last month, where they were met by boos from the audience. The opera house, the second-largest venue at the Kennedy Center, is the site of the annual Kennedy Center Honors, the nation's highest award for lifetime achievement in the arts. The Trumps did not attend the Kennedy Center Honors during his first term. _____
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
House Republicans vote to rename Kennedy Center opera house after Melania Trump
Congressional Republicans are moving forward with a plan to rename the Kennedy Center opera house after Melania Trump. Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson added an amendment to the Interior-Environment spending bill that most of the center's funding for the 2026 fiscal year would be contingent on changing the name to the 'First Lady Melania Trump Opera House.' The Appropriations Committee voted 33-25 to approve the amendment. The bill will still need to go to a vote in the House and pass in the Senate before a Sept. 30 deadline. 'As Chairman of the House Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee — which oversees federal funding for capital repairs and operations and maintenance at the Kennedy Center — I am proud to honor (Melania Trump's) support and commitment in promoting the arts and humanities,' Simpson said in a statement. ADVERTISEMENT President Trump took over as the center's chair in February, ousting longtime board members and installing allies on the board and as trustees. The Trumps both attended the opening night performance of 'Les Misérables' at the Kennedy Center last month, where they were met by boos from the audience. The opera house, the second-largest venue at the Kennedy Center, is the site of the annual Kennedy Center Honors, the nation's highest award for lifetime achievement in the arts. The Trumps did not attend the Kennedy Center Honors during his first term. _____
Fox News
22-07-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Scoop: Democrats launch billboards outside hospitals to target Trump for 'Gutting Rural Health Care'
FIRST ON FOX: The Democratic National Committee (DNC) on Tuesday launched billboards outside three rural hospitals that Democrats say are closing or cutting back services due to President Donald Trump's recently signed domestic policy package. The DNC says it placed billboards in Silex, Missouri; Stillwell, Oklahoma; and Missoula, Montana, to make sure that rural voters, who overwhelmingly supported Trump in last year's presidential election, "know who is responsible for gutting rural health care." The Democrats' national party committee, in taking aim at the sweeping and controversial tax cut and spending measure, named the "One Big Beautiful Bill" by Trump and congressional Republicans, argued that "residents are already seeing the firsthand effects of Trump's Budget Betrayal." The billboards were shared first with Fox News Digital on Tuesday morning. The measure is stuffed full of Trump's 2024 campaign trail promises and second-term priorities on tax cuts, immigration, defense, energy and the debt limit. It includes extending the president's signature 2017 tax cuts and eliminating taxes on tips and overtime pay. By making his first-term tax rates permanent — they were set to expire later this year — the bill will cut taxes by nearly $4.4 trillion over the next decade, according to analysis by the Congressional Budget Office and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. The measure also provides billions for border security and codifies the president's controversial immigration crackdown. The $3.4 trillion legislative package is also projected to surge the national debt by $4 trillion over the next decade, but many Republicans dispute the projection by the Congressional Budget Office. And the new law also restructures Medicaid — the almost 60-year-old federal program that provides health coverage to roughly 71 million low-income Americans. The changes to Medicaid, as well as cuts to food stamps, another one of the nation's major safety net programs, were drafted in part as an offset to pay for extending Trump's tax cuts. The measure includes a slew of new rules and regulations, including work requirements for many of those seeking Medicaid coverage. Democrats, for months, have repeatedly blasted Republicans over the social safety net changes. And they spotlighted a slew of national polls last month and this month that indicate the bill's popularity in negative territory. The DNC claims that the bill, which Trump signed into law on July 4 after the GOP-controlled House and Senate narrowly passed the measure along near-party-line votes, will gut Medicaid, forcing rural hospitals and nursing homes to close their doors. "Rural hospitals were already on the brink of collapse thanks to Donald Trump, but now he has put the last nail in the coffin for rural hospitals with his billionaire budget bill," DNC chair Ken Martin argued in a statement to Fox News. Martin highlighted that "in states across the country, hospitals are either closing their doors or cutting critical services, and it's Trump's own voters who will suffer the most. This is what Donald Trump does — screw over the people who are counting on him." Republican National Committee (RNC) chair Michael Whatley, in an interview with Fox News Digital last week, spotlighted that "if you take a look at the Medicaid side of this conversation, the fact is that we're going to be moving illegal aliens off of Medicaid. We're going to be strengthening the program. Those are things that absolutely need to happen." And he argued that "the tax cuts are going to be very, very strong indicators, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security. Plus we're extending those Trump tax cuts. This is going to help every family in every community all across the country." Included in the megabill is a $60 billion fund, named the Rural Health Transformation Program, which Republicans say would offset cuts to Medicaid and would also help overcome long-standing health disparities that rural communities have faced. But the DNC says their new analysis "shows this funding was never going to be enough to make a difference." And the DNC points to a non-partisan breakdown of the new law, which says that half of the rural hospital funding will be split evenly among all states that apply, regardless of need. Both parties see the "big, beautiful bill" as a key part of their messaging heading into next year's midterm elections, when the Republicans will be defending their slim majorities in the House and Senate.
