Latest news with #GOP
Los Angeles Times
12 minutes ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
‘Beautiful' or ‘Ugly,' Trump's big bill shapes the battle for House control in 2026 midterms
WASHINGTON — Debate over President Trump's sweeping budget-and-policy package is over on Capitol Hill. Now the argument goes national. From the Central Valley of California to Midwestern battlegrounds and suburban districts of the northeast, the new law already is shaping the 2026 midterm battle for control of the House of Representatives. The outcome will set the tone for Trump's final two years in the Oval Office. Democrats need a net gain of three House seats to break the GOP's chokehold on Washington and reestablish a power center to counter Trump. There's added pressure to flip the House given that midterm Senate contests are concentrated in Republican-leaning states, making it harder for Democrats to reclaim that chamber. As Republicans see it, they've now delivered broad tax cuts, an unprecedented investment in immigration enforcement and new restraints on social safety net programs. Democrats see a law that rolls back health insurance access and raises costs for middle-class Americans while cutting taxes mostly for the rich, curtailing green energy initiatives and restricting some workers' organizing rights. 'It represents the broken promise they made to the American people,' said Rep. Suzan DelBene, a Washington Democrat who chairs the party's House campaign arm. 'We're going to continue to hold Republicans accountable for this vote.' Whether voters see it that way will be determined on a district-by-district level, but the battle will be more intense in some places than others. Among the 435 House districts, only 69 contests were decided by less than 10 percentage points in the 2024 general election. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has so far identified 26 Democratic-held seats it must defend vigorously, along with 35 GOP-held seats it believes could be ripe to flip. Republicans' campaign arm, the National Republican Congressional Committee, has so far listed 18 GOP incumbents as priorities, plus two districts opened by retirements. There are a historically low number of so-called crossover districts: Only 13 Democrats represent districts Trump carried in 2024, while just three Republicans serve districts Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris carried. Both committees are busy recruiting challengers and open-seat candidates and more retirements could come, so the competitive map will evolve. Still, there are clusters of districts guaranteed to influence the national result. California, despite its clear lean to Democrats statewide, has at least nine House districts expected to be up for grabs: three in the Central Valley and six in southern California. Six are held by Democrats, three by the GOP. Pennsylvania features four districts that have been among the closest national House races for several consecutive cycles. They include a suburban Philadelphia seat represented by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, one of just two House Republicans to vote against Trump's bill and one of the three GOP lawmakers from a district Harris won. Fitzpatrick cited the Medicaid cuts. Vice President JD Vance plans on Wednesday to be in Republican Rep. Rob Bresnahan's northwest Pennsylvania district to tout the GOP package. Bresnahan's seat is a top Democratic target. Iowa and Wisconsin, meanwhile, feature four contiguous GOP-held districts in farm-heavy regions where voters could be swayed by fallout from Trump's tariffs. Beyond bumper-sticker labels – Trump's preferred 'Big Beautiful Bill' versus Democrats' 'Big Ugly Bill' retort – the 900-page law is, in fact, an array of policies with varying impact. Democrats hammer Medicaid and food assistance cuts, some timed to take full effect only after the 2026 midterms, along with Republicans' refusal to extend tax credits to some people who obtained health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 11.8 million more Americans would become uninsured by 2034 if the bill became law; 3 million more would not qualify for food stamps, also known as SNAP benefits. 'Folks will die here in Louisiana and in other parts of the country,' House Minority Leader Jeffries warned last week during a town hall in Republican Speaker Mike Johnson's home state of Louisiana. Jeffries singled out vulnerable Republicans like California Rep. David Valadao, who represents a heavily agricultural Central Valley district where more than half the population is eligible for the joint state-federal insurance program. California allows immigrants with legal status and those who are undocumented to qualify for Medicaid, so not all Medicaid recipients are voters. But the program helps finance the overall health care system, including nursing homes and hospitals. Republicans highlight the law's tightened work requirements for Medicaid enrollees. They argue it's a popular provision that will strengthen the program. 'I voted for this bill because it does preserve the Medicaid program for its intended recipients — children, pregnant women, the disabled, and elderly,' Valadao said. 'I know how important the program is for my constituents.' The law includes $4.5 trillion in tax cuts. It makes permanent existing rates and brackets approved during Trump's first term. Republicans and their allies have hammered vulnerable Democrats for 'raising costs' on American households by opposing the bill. GOP campaign aides point to the popularity of individual provisions: boosting the $2,000 child tax credit to $2,200 (some families at lower income levels would not get the full credit), new deductions on tip and overtime income and auto loans; and a new deduction for older adults earning less than $75,000 a year. 'Everyone will have more take home pay. They'll have more jobs and opportunity,' Johnson said in a Fox News Sunday interview. 'The economy will be doing better and we'll be able to point to that as the obvious result of what we did.' Democrats note that the biggest beneficiaries of Trump's tax code are wealthy Americans and corporations. Pairing that with safety net cuts, Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz concluded, 'The cruelty is the point.' Immigration, meanwhile, was Trump's strongest issue in 2024. NRCC aides say that will continue with the new law's investments in immigration enforcement. Democrats believe the Trump administration has overplayed its hand with its push for mass deportation. The president is a titanic variable. Democrats point to 2018, when they notched a 40-seat net gain in House seats to take control away from the GOP. This year, Democrats have enjoyed a double-digit swing in special elections around the country when compared to 2024 presidential results. Similar trends emerged in 2017 after Trump's 2016 victory. Democrats say that reflects voter discontent with Trump once he's actually in charge. Republicans answer that Trump's job approval remains higher at this point than in 2017. But the GOP's effort is further complicated by ongoing realignments: Since Trump's emergence, Democrats have gained affluent white voters -– like those in suburban swing districts -– while Trump has drawn more working-class voters across racial and ethnic groups. But Republicans face a stiffer challenge of replicating Trump's coalition in a midterm election without him on the ballot. Democrats, meanwhile, must corral voters who are not a threat to vote for Republicans but could stay home. Jeffries said he's determined not to let that happen: 'We're going to do everything we can until we end this national nightmare.' Barrow, Cooper and Brook write for the Associated Press. Cooper reported from Phoenix. Brook reported from New Orleans. AP reporters Michael Blood in Los Angeles and Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pa., contributed to this report.
UPI
an hour ago
- Politics
- UPI
DOGE cuts on Senate agenda in busy week for lawmakers
1 of 2 | The Senate is set to consider a plan this week that will withhold funding from foreign aid and public broadcasting. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo July 14 (UPI) -- Lawmakers will have a busy week in Washington as senators consider a GOP plan with a Friday deadline to pull back billions of dollars that hits foreign aid and public broadcasting. The Senate will hold yet another "vote-a-rama" after the House in June approved a Republican-crafted rescission package in a 214-212 vote to rescind some $9.4 trillion in federal money. It seeks to claw back already-approved funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting -- which funds PBS and NPR -- and cuts cash for the U.S. Agency for International Development, which was targeted this year by the Elon Musk-run Department of Government Efficiency. Trump has long attacked both NPR and PBS over a perceived bias. In May, he signed an executive order to halt federal streams. But concerns exist among some Republican members over cuts to public broadcasting and the 22-year-old President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief under USAID. Trump last week threatened to withhold political support for any Republican who opposed the legislation. "What we're trying to do is ensure that every dollar spent by the federal government is used efficiently and effectively," House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said in June on the package. Last month, four House Republicans broke from GOP ranks to vote against the proposed cuts. But Republicans can afford to lose only three votes this week in the Senate and still have it pass the upper chamber. "I want to strike the rescission of funds for PEPFAR, which has an enormous record of success, having saved some 26 million lives over the course of the program, as well as preventing nearly 8 million infants from receiving AIDS from their infected mothers," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said previously. PEPFAR came to life under then-Republican President George W. Bush with global success in dealing with the immunity virus, which currently infects more than 1 million American women and men. "So I can't imagine why we would want to terminate that program," added Collins. In a social media post last week, the president said it was "very important" that "all Republicans adhere" to his recessions bill. "Any Republican that votes to allow this monstrosity to continue broadcasting will not have my support or Endorsement," Trump wrote. The Senate's Democratic leader has signaled that attempts to ditch pre-approved federal spending may lead to a breakdown in future budget talks headed to a government shutdown. "It is absurd to expect Democrats to play along with funding the government if Republicans are just going to renege on a bipartisan agreement," Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said last week on the floor. However, even some Republicans remain skeptical that Trump's cuts can pass the divided Congress. "Will it pass? I don't know. I really don't know," Sen. John Kennedy, R-L.a., told CNN on Monday. "We got a lot of Republicans who talk tough. We'll see if they're tough." Meanwhile, ex-U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz, a former Republican congressman from Florida who briefly served this year as Trump's national security adviser, will be on Capitol Hill this week for his confirmation as UN ambassador. The House will consider landmark cryptocurrency-related legislation, and also vote on a Pentagon funding bill for fiscal year 2026 that will include a further $831 billion in discretionary spending.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
an hour ago
- Business
- First Post
Watch: US Senator Lindsey Graham warns India, China of 500% tariff 'sledgehammer' over Russia trade
Graham specifically called out India, criticising the South Asian nation for buying discounted Russian oil and 'reselling' it, which he claims indirectly funds Putin's military campaign. read more US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) speaks to the media, after a Senate GOP lunch, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, June 28, 2025. File Image/Reuters As concerns mount over Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, US Senator Lindsey Graham has warned countries, including India, of severe economic sanctions soon. In an interview on CBS's Face the Nation, Graham disclosed that he and Senator Richard Blumenthal have garnered strong bipartisan support in the Senate for a broad sanctions package aimed at nations supporting Russia's war efforts through trade, particularly in oil and petroleum products. 'This congressional package that we're looking at would give President Trump the ability to impose 500 per cent tariffs on any country that helps Russia, and props up Putin's war machine. He can dial it up or down. He can go to 0 per cent, to 500 per cent. He has maximum flexibility,' said Graham. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Graham specifically called out India, China, and Brazil, criticising New Delhi for buying discounted Russian oil and 'reselling' it, which he claims indirectly funds Putin's military campaign. 'India buys oil from Russia cheap and resells it. That's despicable,' Graham declared, adding that these nations 'are about to get hurt big time if you keep helping Putin.' He also claimed that the sanctions were actually a 'sledgehammer' available to President Donald Trump to 'go after Putin's economy'. "China, India and Brazil, you are about to get hurt big time if you keep helping Putin" - Trump's on-off friend Senator Lindsey Graham — 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿 (@DefenseDagger) July 14, 2025 This push for tough economic measures comes as Trump considers additional aid for Ukraine, with intelligence reports warning that Russia could make significant territorial gains by next year if Ukraine's drone and artillery supplies remain insufficient. Graham also teased upcoming announcements about arms sales and redirecting seized Russian assets to strengthen Ukraine's defences. 'Stay tuned for a plan where America will start selling large quantities of weapons to our European allies to help Ukraine,' he said. He stressed that, with diplomatic efforts to engage Moscow failing, intense economic pressure might be the only way to end the conflict.
Boston Globe
2 hours ago
- Business
- Boston Globe
Seniors score, gamblers get rolled in Trump's ‘big beautiful bill'
One is a tax break that falls short of Trump's promise to eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits, but still delivers welcome — though temporary — relief for some seniors. Advertisement The other is a last-minute change to the IRS's treatment of betting losses that has set off howls of protest from gamblers and could squeeze Massachusetts' cut of gaming revenue. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Here's a rundown. Promises made, promises kept — sort of As congressional Republicans scrambled to put together a package of tax cuts and spending increases demanded by Trump, they were also under pressure to deliver on their leader's vow to do away with taxes on Social Security income. It was an impossible order to carry out — and not just because it would blow up the federal budget. Changes to Social Security aren't allowed under So, in an adroit bit of budgetary legerdemain, GOP lawmakers instead crafted a tax break specifically for filers 65 and older. Advertisement This 'enhanced deduction' — $6,000 for individuals ($12,000 for couples) — is set to expire after Trump leaves office. It comes on top of the standard deduction available to all taxpayers ($15,000 for individuals and $30,000 for couples in 2025), as well as the existing bonus deduction for filers over 65 ($2,000 for an individual, $3,200 for a couple). There are important caveats: Congress didn't eliminate taxes on Social Security income; the deduction is a back-door way to reduce seniors' taxable income, including the retirement benefits. Taxpayers under 65 aren't eligible, even if they receive Social Security. The full deduction is limited to individuals with taxable income of less than $75,000 ($150,000 for joint filers). It shrinks at higher income levels, disappearing altogether for individuals with taxable income of more than $175,000 ($250,000 for couples). The temporary change will mostly help middle- and upper-middle class taxpayers, A losing proposition Republicans slipped a last-minute change into their bill that lowered the amount of gambling losses that can be used to offset income from winning bets. The result: Some gamblers could end up owing taxes Republicans said the change was necessitated by the budget reconciliation rules, the details of which are so arcane they defy my powers to explain. A longstanding tax provision allowed gamblers to deduct 100 percent of their losing bets, up to the amount of their winnings. For example, a high roller or professional gambler with $100,000 in losing bets in a year could use that amount to offset up to $100,000 in wagers that paid off. In the new bill, the deduction limit has been dropped to 90 percent, which in the scenario above would leave the gambler with taxes owed on $10,000 — even though they had no net earnings for the year. 'No one should have to pay taxes on money they didn't win,' Representative Dina Titus, a Nevada Democrat, Advertisement Titus is a co-sponsor of the FAIR BET Act, which would permanently restore the 100 percent offset. Rufus Peabody, a professional sports bettor, 'More likely than not, I would owe more money in taxes than I actually made in 2026 if I continue betting,' Peabody said. 'And so, as it stands, it becomes untenable to be a professional gambler.' Unless the change is reversed, casinos such as the Encore in Everett and online betting apps including Boston's DraftKings could see a falloff in revenue as gamblers back away. Massachusetts, which has raked in $2.4 billion in tax revenue since casino and sports betting began in the state, could see its budget take a hit. As always, Congress giveth and it taketh away. This time, seniors are happy to take what they can get. Gambler, on the other hand, rolled snake eyes. Larry Edelman can be reached at
Politico
2 hours ago
- Business
- Politico
House preps for crypto votes on Wednesday and Thursday
It's grind time for Republicans. They have until Friday to deliver on President Donald Trump's rescissions request as they also try to salvage government funding talks that are spiraling out of control. With several senators insisting on changes to Trump's proposal to claw back $9.4 billion for foreign aid and public media, White House budget director Russ Vought will head to the Hill on Tuesday to talk with senators about the plan. Tuesday is also when the Senate is expected to take its first procedural vote on the rescissions bill. One of the week's main characters is shaping up to be Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins. The Maine Republican is among the senators resisting Trump's rescissions request in its current form. She's also trying to get the Senate's bipartisan funding negotiations back on track, after a fiscal 2026 Commerce-Justice-Science amendment from Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) targeting the relocation of FBI headquarters triggered a rift among Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and other committee Republicans. In the House, Republicans are less concerned with salvaging bipartisanship as they gear up to pass fiscal 2026 Defense Department appropriations this week. Though Pentagon funding has long enjoyed backing from both parties, Speaker Mike Johnson can't bank on much Democratic support for the bill and will need to keep the GOP conference united to pass it. The $831.5 billion bill cleared House Appropriations last month almost entirely along party lines, as Democrats decried conservative policy provisions that would block funding for troops to travel to seek abortions — a rolled-back Biden-era policy — and Pentagon diversity efforts. Democrats will push for votes to remove those and other GOP policy riders they consider nonstarters, as well as to undo the Trump administration's policy barring transgender people from serving in the military. Many Republican hawks had hoped for a larger price tag for the defense bill, which would keep annual Pentagon funding static. But expect hard-liners, whose votes Johnson will need to keep the bill on track, to continue to try to put their stamp on the plan. Several Republicans including Reps. Paul Gosar (Ariz.), Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) and Scott Perry (Pa.) have filed amendments to block funding, foreign military sales or munitions transfers to Ukraine. What else we're watching: Trump poised for big crypto win: House Republicans are set to make history this week when they send a landmark crypto policy revamp to Trump for his signature. The bill originated in the Senate and is headed to House Rules on Monday night, and could pass as soon as Tuesday. Trump judges incoming: The Senate is poised to confirm Whitney Hermandorfer on Monday night, making her the first new judge of Trump's second term. Hermandorfer, who is expected to receive party-line support, is the president's pick to serve on the 6th Circuit, the federal court that hears appeals from Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. Russia sanctions bill: Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), the bipartisan sanctions bill's lead sponsors, will meet with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte for dinner Monday night with other senators as the two try to shore up support. Trump is also expected to make an announcement on Russia on Monday. Jordain Carney, Connor O'Brien, Jasper Goodman, Hailey Fuchs and Mia McCarthy contributed to this report.
