Latest news with #HouseFreedomCaucus
Fox News
9 hours ago
- Business
- Fox News
SCOOP: House Freedom Caucus draws battle lines as White House readies $9.4B DOGE spending cuts
FIRST ON FOX: The House Freedom Caucus is demanding the House of Representatives vote on the White House's impending $9.4 billion federal spending cut proposal the same week it lands on Capitol Hill. The conservative group, led by Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., is drawing its line in the sand on Monday with an official position on the coming package, which is expected to call for clawing back government funding for NPR, PBS, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). "When the White House submits its first rescissions package to enact [Department of Government Efficiency] spending cuts to Congress, the House of Representatives should immediately move this to the floor for swift passage," the Freedom Caucus position said. "The House Freedom Caucus strongly supports these critical rescissions, and we will support as many more rescissions packages the White House can send us in the coming weeks and months. These first DOGE cuts target taxpayer-funded public broadcasters notorious for their liberal bias like NPR and PBS, as well as billions in wasteful foreign aid dollars." It comes as Elon Musk's time leading President Donald Trump's DOGE effort comes to an end, with the tech billionaire shifting his focus back to Tesla and his other private ventures after his billions of dollars in proposed spending cuts drove a partisan wedge through Congress. "Passing this rescissions package will be an important demonstration of Congress's willingness to deliver on DOGE and the Trump agenda," the statement continued. "While the Swamp will inevitably attempt to slow and kill these cuts, there is no excuse for a Republican House not to advance the first DOGE rescissions package the same week it is presented to Congress then quickly send it for passage in the Republican Senate, so President Trump can sign it into law." The White House is expected to send its $9.4 billion spending cuts package to Congress on Tuesday. The proposal is called a "rescissions package," a vehicle for the president to block funds that were already allocated by Congress in its yearly appropriations process. Once transmitted to Capitol Hill, lawmakers have 45 days to take it up before it's voided. And GOP officials have made clear that it's the first of several such proposals that could come from the White House. National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told Fox News Channel last week that there will "100%" be further rescissions packages coming from the White House. Bringing the first package to a House-wide vote within a week would require quick political maneuvering. Under House GOP conference rules, lawmakers must get 72 hours to read a bill before the chamber weighs in – a provision that conservatives also fought for – putting a possible vote on Friday at the earliest and possible into the weekend. But the House Freedom Caucus is not the only GOP group pushing for a swift vote – Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger, R-Texas, said on Friday, "This brings fairness and accountability back to taxpayers who are sick of funding government waste while making progress towards our crushing $36 trillion national debt. Congress must promptly cement these cuts in law through rescissions and the FY26 appropriations bills." It comes just over a week after House Republicans pushed through Trump's multi-trillion-dollar tax and immigration bill via the budget reconciliation process. That bill is now being considered by the Senate, and will have to go back to the House if the upper chamber makes any changes. Republican leaders are hoping to have that bill on Trump's desk by Fourth of July. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., noted both deadlines in an appearance on NBC News' "Meet The Press" on Sunday. "We're going to have a second budget reconciliation bill that follows after this, and we're beginning next week the appropriations process, which is the spending bills for government. And you're going to see a lot of the DOGE cuts and a lot of this new fiscal restraint reflected in what Congress does next. So stay tuned, this is not the end-all, be-all," he said of the reconciliation bill. Johnson said on X Friday that "Congress is working with the White House to codify DOGE savings to stop government misuse and misspending of our tax dollars."
Axios
4 days ago
- Health
- Axios
House passes reconciliation bill with sweeping Medicaid changes
The House passed the reconciliation bill in a 215-214 vote early Thursday morning that includes the first set of federal work requirements. Why it matters: The reconciliation bill includes the biggest Medicaid rewrite in the history of the safety-net program, which will likely result in millions of Americans losing their health insurance coverage. The big picture: The package represents an uneasy compromise between conservative Republicans' demands and the concerns of GOP moderates. Moderates had pushed back against more sweeping Medicaid policy changes, like altering the federal share of costs for states (FMAP) or implementing per capita caps, though they were on board for work requirements. Hardline conservatives then staged their own rebellion this week, demanding deeper cuts to Medicaid to help pay for state and local tax deductions — but then caved after GOP leadership and the White House agreed to some limited changes. House Freedom Caucus members had continued up unto Wednesday to try to push for deeper cuts for FMAP, but were unsuccessful. What's inside: The manager's amendment filed on Wednesday had a few updates to the health provisions — most notably by moving up the start of work requirements to the end of 2026, from 2029, which was a Freedom Caucus demand. It also would fund cost-sharing reduction payment to insurers and allow state-directed payments to be higher in states that have not expanded Medicaid than in expansion states. The original bill also would cut the FMAP for states that cover undocumented immigrants with state funds, impose cost-sharing on enrollees for medical services and increase Medicaid eligibility checks to every six months. And it includes several other GOP health care priorities on PBMs, the Medicare physician payment cut and delaying the nursing home staffing measure. In one more last-minute change, the amended bill would now ban Medicaid funding for gender-affirming care for all individuals, not just minors as the original bill would have done. By the numbers: The Congressional Budget Office estimated that around 10 million individuals will lose health insurance coverage due to the policy changes.
New York Times
4 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
For These Trump Voters, a Rubber-Stamp Congress Is a Key Demand
Congress is a coequal branch of government empowered to make laws, control government spending and declare war. But according to Trump voters, the role of the legislative branch is to rubber-stamp the president's agenda — and they don't appreciate Republicans who deviate from the party line. In two recent focus groups that quizzed older Trump voters from across the country about their views of Congress and congressional leaders, participants consistently praised lawmakers who displayed 'loyalty' to President Trump and disparaged those whom they viewed as failing to fall in line behind him. They expressed as much disdain for members of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus as they did for the more moderate senators they refer to as RINOs, or 'Republicans in Name Only,' including Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. And they reserved their purest aversion for Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the solidly conservative former longtime party leader, whom they described alternately as an 'obstructionist' to Mr. Trump's agenda, a 'snake in the grass' and a 'bowl of Jell-O' with no spine. Their perspectives offered a striking contrast to the reception that many Republican lawmakers have confronted at raucous town halls throughout the country in recent months. The lawmakers have been grilled and booed by constituents at these events for supporting Mr. Trump's policies on tariffs, immigration and, most recently, the sprawling domestic policy bill that the G.O.P. pushed through the House last week. And they help explain why most Republican lawmakers have put aside any reservations they may have on key issues and backed the president — because a critical portion of their party's base is still demanding that they do so. 'For loyal Trump voters, they're loving what they see as him 'doing something' and don't want congressional Republicans getting in the way of his agenda,' said Sarah Longwell, the anti-Trump Republican strategist who conducted the focus groups. 'And members of Congress have gotten that message loud and clear.' These voters represent only a piece of the electorate that Republicans must court in the run-up to midterm congressional elections in which their governing trifecta is on the line. Since Mr. Trump took office, G.O.P. lawmakers have struggled to defend his executive actions, his efforts to dismantle the federal bureaucracy and unilaterally defund government programs, and to explain to their constituents why they are not doing more to challenge him. In Nebraska this week, Representative Mike Flood faced an angry crowd grilling him on the Medicaid and food assistance cuts included in the domestic policy bill. And he admitted he had been unaware that the measure included a provision to limit the power of federal judges to hold people, including Trump administration officials, in contempt for disobeying court orders. But Ms. Longwell's sessions, videos of which were shared with The New York Times, were a reminder that there is still a powerful pull for Republicans to swallow whatever disagreements they may have with Mr. Trump and bow to what he wants. Since the beginning of this Congress, Speaker Mike Johnson, whose too-slim majority in the House leaves him little latitude to maneuver, has positioned himself less as the leader of the legislative branch and more as a junior partner to Mr. Trump. That stance is exactly what these voters, whom Ms. Longwell identified only by their first names and last initials to protect their privacy, said they liked about him. Arthur M., a voter from Arizona, described Mr. Johnson as 'loyal,' adding: 'I'm not saying they should never have any other ideas of their own, but they certainly shouldn't have someone dissenting if you're trying to put an agenda through — and that's what the Congress is.' Jeff B., a voter from Georgia, said Mr. Johnson always appeared to be 'in over his head.' But he did not see that as a negative. 'He's not the kind of guy like Mitch McConnell, who was pulling all the strings,' he said. 'He's struggling, and I think that's the way it's supposed to be. He looks like he's in over his head, and I think that's the way it's supposed to be.' The voters who participated in the focus groups, which were conducted on May 16 and 19, had uniformly negative views of those House Republicans they viewed as 'rabble-rousers,' which they defined as anyone expressing an opinion that was not in sync with the White House. Jane H., a voter from Indiana, criticized her congresswoman, Representative Victoria Spartz, an unpredictable lawmaker who often sides with the hard right, for being 'out of line' when she makes noises about opposing Mr. Trump's agenda. Gilbert W. from North Carolina held a similar view of Ms. Murkowski, who has routinely broken with her party to criticize Mr. Trump. 'Murkowski — this woman's never found anything on the Republican side she really goes for,' he said, calling her a 'troublemaker.' In contrast, Allen K. from Arizona praised his congressman, Representative Juan Ciscomani, for never making any waves. 'Whatever Trump does, he'll say,' he said of Mr. Ciscomani, describing that as a positive. As for Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the new Republican majority leader, he earned kudos mostly for not being Mr. McConnell. 'He's pressing Trump's agenda, it seems like,' Gilbert W. said. 'What else can you ask for?' Jane H., a three-time Trump voter, said: 'What I want to see is someone who will work hard and effectively to advance a conservative agenda, and to work closely with the White House to advance at this time Donald Trump's agenda. It's what the American people want, so that's what John Thune should be doing.' Many of the participants in the focus groups had only vague impressions of their own representatives, a reminder that to many voters, Congress remains a faceless institution of 535 mostly anonymous lawmakers about whom they don't have particularly strong feelings. That could help explain why most appeared to judge their elected officials almost exclusively according to how deferential they were to Mr. Trump, about whom they expressed potent — and extremely positive — sentiments. Asked for his opinions on Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill, Steve C., a voter from Michigan, said: 'I don't have an opinion on anyone specifically.'
Fox News
6 days ago
- Business
- Fox News
Winners, losers and grab-bags from House GOP's narrow passage of 'big, beautiful bill'
With the narrow 215-214 passage of House Republicans' "Big, Beautiful Bill," (BBB) there were noted winners and losers, and some entities who felt mixed results from the midnight-oil-burning negotiations and vote. The House Freedom Caucus (HFC) within the GOP conference appeared to be a key player in BBB talks, as Chairman Andy Harris of Maryland voted "present," while two other HFC members, Reps. Warren Davidson of Ohio and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, voted "nay." The HFC was initially very concerned about the bill's spending levels and how quickly — or not — some of the reduction measures would be implemented. Ultimately, the HFC won out in terms of shifting Medicaid Work Requirements in the bill to take effect by 2027 rather than the originally proposed 2029 deadline. On the other GOP flank, moderates and lawmakers from blue states had expressed concern over the State and Local Tax Deduction (SALT) — which helps Democrat-run state residents lessen their tax burden. Originally, SALT was capped at $10,000, but the budget bill raised it to $30,000 for individuals earning up to $400,000. Rep. Michael Lawler, R-N.Y., and other blue-state Republicans clashed with President Donald Trump on the matter — with the president retorting that he knew Lawler's Rockland County district better than he did. Lawler was seen as a winner in the budget bill's passage, as his work — along with that of Long Island Republicans like Rep. Nick LaLota — secured the deduction for their constituents. Another blue-state Republican, Rep. Andrew Garbarino of New York, was one of two nonvoting members — the other being Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., according to the official roll. Residents of such high-tax states as New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Maryland and California won out in that respect, ensuring that they would be able to continue to utilize SALT. Outright winners from the bill were Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who saw some version of their original effort come to pass. Trump also saw his sweeping middle- and upper-class tax cuts preserved from expiration, which in turn rendered debt-and-deficit hawks proverbial losers. Passage of the bill in the House comes as the national debt currently sits at $36,214,475,432,210.84, according to FOX Business' National Debt Tracker. The federal deficit will grow by about $2 trillion over 10 years, according to reports, while the tax cuts' preservation will reduce gross federal revenue. But Medicaid and SNAP work requirements funding cuts are expected to lessen that blow. Other winners included illegal immigration hawks, with the bill allocating billions for the Pentagon and for homeland security, including at the U.S.-Mexico border. Energy interests also won out in the bill's passage. The American Petroleum Institute applauded the House for taking another step to "restore American energy dominance." "By preserving competitive tax policies, beginning to reverse the 'methane fee,' opening lease sales and advancing important progress on permitting, this historic legislation is a win for our nation's energy future," the group said in a statement. Losers included Democratic leadership, as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., saw his caucus vote as a bloc, but just shy of the partisan force necessary to block the bill. One particularly upset "loser" in the bill's passage was House Homeland Security Committee ranking member Bennie Thompson of Mississippi. "You can't shovel s--- and call it sugar," Thompson fumed in a Thursday statement. "This horrific bill is one of the most shameful grifts I have ever seen played on the American public," he added. Abortion providers also lost out via the bill, as it reportedly bans Medicaid disbursements to Planned Parenthood for one year, which could lead to decreased revenue for such organizations. Opponents of SALT, including members of the HFC, also essentially lost out, given the fact the deduction remained intact and was somewhat bolstered. The bill's slashing of green energy tax credits also renders that particular corporate sector — including wind, solar and EV concerns — another potential loser in the BBB.
Epoch Times
26-05-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
Trump Open to ‘Significant' Senate Changes on House Reconciliation Package
President Donald Trump said he is open to the Senate making 'fairly significant' changes to the reconciliation package that narrowly passed the House, which may complicate Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) effort to preserve what he called a 'very delicate' compromise. 'I want the Senate and the senators to make the changes they want, and we'll go back to the House and we'll see if we can get them,' Trump 'I think they are going to have changes,' Trump added. 'Some will be minor and some will be fairly significant.' The House passed the bill on Thursday by a 215–214 vote along party lines. Following the passage, Johnson urged the Senate to avoid major revisions, warning that too many changes could upend the narrow margin needed to get the bill through the lower chamber again. 'We've got to pass it one more time to ratify their changes in the House, and I have a very delicate balance here, a very delicate equilibrium that we've reached over a long period of time, and it's best not to meddle with it too much,' Johnson Trump's greenlighting of Senate changes may be encouraging to hardline fiscal conservatives who criticized the bill for not going far enough to balance the budget. Related Stories 5/25/2025 5/24/2025 'This bill falls profoundly short. It does not do what we say it does with respect to deficits,' Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris (R-Md.) also voted 'present' in the House floor vote in protest. The congressman took issue with, among other things, the bill's Medicaid overhaul that includes new work requirements that won't take effect until 2029 and more frequent eligibility checks, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who calls for 'I think we have enough to stop the process until the president gets serious about spending reduction and reducing the deficit,' the senator Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) also said he wouldn't support the bill without addressing its proposed $5 trillion debt ceiling hike. 'I think the cuts currently in the bill are wimpy and anemic, but I still would support the bill, even with wimpy and anemic cuts, if they weren't going to explode the debt,' Paul 'They're going to explode the debt. The House's [debt-limit increase] is $4 trillion. The Senate has actually been talking about exploding the debt by $5 trillion.' For Trump, the Senate process could be an opportunity to pursue his policy goals left out of the House package. For one, the House bill did not close what's known as the carried-interest tax loophole, which allows private equity, venture capital, and hedge fund managers to pay a 20 percent long-term capital gains tax rate on the gains they receive from their investments that might otherwise be taxed as ordinary income at rates up to 37 percent. Changing it could reduce the deficit by Another exclusion was Trump's proposal to create a new top tax bracket for the nation's highest earners. While the president wants to extend the tax cuts he signed into law in 2017, he has Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has not set a timeline for the upper chamber to pass its version of the bill, although Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he is Due to the budget reconciliation process, the bill is not subject to the Senate filibuster and can pass with a simple majority. With Republicans holding 53 seats, Thune can afford to lose three Republican votes and still pass the bill with Vice President JD Vance breaking the tie.
