Latest news with #Moderates
Mint
27-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
America's Senate plans big changes for the House's spending bill
Whipping votes is a hard job in Congress, especially with as narrow a majority as the one overseen by Mike Johnson, the House speaker. But even the most masterful legislators can't account for everything. Andrew Garbarino, a New York Republican, fell asleep early on May 22nd as his colleagues considered H.R.1, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. He missed the vote. 'I'm going to just strangle him,' Mr Johnson joked to reporters. The bill passed, but that was the easy part. The Senate will now negotiate its own version of the most consequential legislation of Donald Trump's second term. Mr Trump prefers to govern by executive order, but the bill approved last week addressed administration priorities that couldn't be tackled with his signature alone. Most significantly, it makes permanent his 2017 income-tax cuts, a policy broadly popular with Republicans in both chambers. Yet the multitrillion-dollar legislation will have far-reaching effects on immigration, energy production, social insurance and the military. And the august Senate has very different ideas on many of these issues than the rowdier lower chamber. Tax-reform discussions in the Senate picked up in recent weeks, with senators debating amongst themselves even as they watched House negotiations. Fiscal hawks are upset that the House bill would add more than $3trn to the deficit over the next decade. Moderates, meanwhile, have been critical about changes to climate-change and safety-net programmes. Still, it is already possible to discern broad changes coming in the Senate bill. Top of the list is an expansion of the state-and-local-tax (SALT) deduction, a policy traditionally supported by Democrats that reduces the income-tax burden for high-earners. A handful of House Republicans from high-tax states won an increase of the cap to $40,000, up from $10,000. Yet there is virtually no constituency for the pricey policy among Senate Republicans, who would rather prioritise making permanent the few pro-growth business provisions in the bill. Then there are Mr Trump's tax handouts, which in the House's bill would add about $500bn to the deficit. The Senate, recognising political reality, is expected to include some version of Mr Trump's campaign promises, but is likely to craft less ambitious tax relief on tips, on overtime pay and on car loans (all Trump campaign pledges). Their version would add about half as much to the deficit as the House bill does. The House bill contains about $1.5trn in spending cuts over a decade. Most of this comes from government-funded health care and food-assistance programmes. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin senator and leading Republican tax wonk, would prefer about $6trn in cuts. That would return America to pre-pandemic spending levels, but he knows this maximalist position is unattainable in an ideologically diverse party. So the Senate will aim for more like $2trn in cuts so that the deficit numbers look a bit less alarming. The House bill speeds up sunset provisions to clean-energy tax credits included in Joe Biden's 2022 climate bill, saving billions but alienating moderates and politically vulnerable senators. Cuts to food assistance and Medicaid, a government health programme for poor and disabled Americans, are unpopular with some senators, including economic populists. These differences are unresolved in the Senate and could be the trickiest point when the House and Senate bills are merged in reconciliation, which could still be months away. That won't be easy. But the alternative to compromise will be allowing tax cuts to expire and therefore taxes to rise. Avoiding that may be the single policy choice all Republicans agree on. For now both chambers are steeling themselves for a bicameral brawl. 'The number that we care most about is 218,' Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota senator, told Politico, referencing the size of the House Republican majority. 'Depending on how many we can get to fall asleep.'
Local Sweden
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Local Sweden
Swedish government pushes forward with bid to revoke gang criminals' citizenship
Sweden's conservative-led government has appointed a new inquiry to look into how dual citizens involved in gang crime could have their Swedish citizenship revoked. Advertisement The inquiry follows a committee which in January recommended changing the constitution to make it possible to revoke Swedish citizenship for dual citizens who commit crimes which threaten Sweden's security – but takes the committee's conclusions one step further. The committee, made up of members of all eight parties, proposed that the absolute right Swedish citizens have to retain their citizenship should be limited to allow the citizenship of dual citizens to be revoked in three situations: If they are found guilty of crimes which pose a serious threat to Sweden's security, such as espionage, terrorism, sabotage, treason, or rebellion If they are found guilty of crimes covered by the International Criminal Court, such as genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression If they received their citizenship on false grounds, either through supplying false documents or information or by bribing or threatening government officials The committee however stopped short of recommending stripping citizenship from people found guilty of 'system-threatening crimes' within the framework of gang crime. But the three parties in government – the Moderates, Christian Democrats and Liberals – and their far-right Sweden Democrat allies, have instructed the new inquiry to also look into measures for revoking dual citizens' Swedish nationality over such crimes. 'We're choosing to proceed with this work and are hoping for broader support in parliament,' Migration Minister Johan Forssell told a press conference on May 26th. Anders Ygeman, migration spokesperson for the centre-left Social Democrats, told The Local in January that his party had refused to support the government parties' approach at the time because it was framed so loosely that it "could be used for situations which were impossible to predict beforehand". "If the government wants to widen the scope, they need to be much more precise and you have to be able to predict the consequences," he said. Advertisement However, Forssell argued at the press conference that widening the scope was necessary to crack down on gang criminals taking advantage of a Swedish passport to travel and avoid getting deported while carrying out crimes that seriously threaten the vital interests of the state. He cited police statistics estimating that 1,100 people who are currently active members of criminal networks have dual citizenship. The new inquiry will also look into the general practicalities of how citizenships could be revoked. It is set to present its results by March 20th 2026. Changing one of Sweden's constitutional laws requires the bill to be passed by the Swedish parliament twice, once either side of a general election. As the 2026 election will be held in September and a new government is unlikely to be in place until October or November, in practice this means that any change to the constitution would not come into force until 2027 at the earliest.
Time of India
20-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Donald Trump goes to Capitol Hill and warns House Republicans: Vote for my 'Big, Beautiful Bill' or get primaried
Donald Trump has sent a stern message asking Republicans to back the much talked about "big, beautiful bill". The US President has warned that without the bill the United States would face huge tax increases. President Trump said that there were "one or two grandstanders" blocking the bill but that he was confident of a deal. Donald Trump vs Republicans? Sharp divisions in the Republican party have slowed the progress through Congress of Trump's budget bill, which pairs an extension of the billionaire's signature tax cuts from his first term with a series of savings. Moderate Republicans fear overly large cuts in the popular program could upset the party's prospects in the November 2026 midterm elections. Live Events Several rebels who had blocked it on Friday dropped their earlier opposition after speaker Johnson spent the weekend persuading them. Subsequently, the bill cleared a key hurdle on Sunday when it finally progressed out of the House Budget Committee. But President Trump will need everyone onside for it to get past Congress. Republicans have a very slim majority in the House, meaning the legislation needs almost unanimous support to pass, with Democrats united against the bill. Even if the bill passes in the House, it will face challenges in the Senate, where Republicans are demanding major changes. Worries over Big, Beautiful Bill Financial experts were opposing the bill on the grounds that it would pile on to the already huge US budget deficit. Independent congressional analysts calculated that the mega-bill's tax provisions would add more than $4.8 trillion over the coming decade. Moderates claimed that the savings would mean millions of the poorest Americans lose health coverage under the Medicaid program. The policy change would result in more than 10 million people losing coverage under the program, according to estimates by the independent Congressional Budget Office. However, Trump insisted that he was "not touching" Medicaid but just cutting "waste, fraud and abuse" -- the slogan of the administration's cost-slashing drive led by tech tycoon Elon Musk. FAQs Q1. Who is President of USA? A1. President of USA is Donald Trump. Q2. What is the name of latest US Budget bill ? A2. The name of latest US Budget bill is "big, beautiful bill".
The Advertiser
12-05-2025
- Politics
- The Advertiser
Tough ask ahead as Liberals gather to crown next leader
The winner of the Liberal leadership could be handed a poisoned chalice as they are tasked with resurrecting the party from its post-election ashes. Liberal politicians will choose their next leader on Tuesday after Australians handed them a bruising election defeat that decimated their ranks and took out Opposition Leader Peter Dutton. Deputy leader Sussan Ley will face off against shadow treasurer Angus Taylor, while senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has teamed up with Mr Taylor in a bid to become his second-in-command. There is no reason to assume whoever takes the job won't last until the next election, and the absence of a deep bench could bode well for them, Australian National University politics lecturer Jill Sheppard said. But leading the coalition when it holds less than half as many seats as Labor is a tough ask, and there is a reason other contenders such as Dan Tehan and Andrew Hastie were quick to rule themselves out. "It does feel like a bit of a poisoned chalice," Dr Sheppard told AAP. "Usually, they at least pretend to want to run for a few days. "The most important day-one job is to keep the party united, and that's not going to be easy when there's a lot of recriminations to be had." About 50 Liberal politicians are expected to vote on the party's future, including recently returned MP Tim Wilson, who also considered throwing his hat in the ring. Moderates have urged the Liberals to abandon culture wars and return to the centre but Dr Sheppard warned that might not solve the party's problems. Coming up with policies that stuck closer to the centre could make it harder for the Liberals to differentiate themselves from Labor, she said. Some of the coalition's lost votes likely bled to hard-right parties such as One Nation, which could spark internal debates about the importance of "culture wars" to some constituents. However, it is unclear whether the next leader will be able to change the Liberal Party's ideological direction. "You're still dealing with the same party room," Dr Sheppard said. "What we've seen with both Dutton and (Prime Minister Anthony) Albanese is that you can come from quite extreme parts of your party, but in order to maintain the leadership, you have to sit somewhere around the centre. "To an extent, it doesn't matter who is leader - the parties are pretty strong and they will constrain their leader." The vote will be the first time Senator Price has stepped into the Liberal party room after she defected from the Nationals to join Mr Taylor's ticket. The Nationals re-elected David Littleproud as their leader on Monday following a challenge from conservative senator Matt Canavan. The winner of the Liberal leadership could be handed a poisoned chalice as they are tasked with resurrecting the party from its post-election ashes. Liberal politicians will choose their next leader on Tuesday after Australians handed them a bruising election defeat that decimated their ranks and took out Opposition Leader Peter Dutton. Deputy leader Sussan Ley will face off against shadow treasurer Angus Taylor, while senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has teamed up with Mr Taylor in a bid to become his second-in-command. There is no reason to assume whoever takes the job won't last until the next election, and the absence of a deep bench could bode well for them, Australian National University politics lecturer Jill Sheppard said. But leading the coalition when it holds less than half as many seats as Labor is a tough ask, and there is a reason other contenders such as Dan Tehan and Andrew Hastie were quick to rule themselves out. "It does feel like a bit of a poisoned chalice," Dr Sheppard told AAP. "Usually, they at least pretend to want to run for a few days. "The most important day-one job is to keep the party united, and that's not going to be easy when there's a lot of recriminations to be had." About 50 Liberal politicians are expected to vote on the party's future, including recently returned MP Tim Wilson, who also considered throwing his hat in the ring. Moderates have urged the Liberals to abandon culture wars and return to the centre but Dr Sheppard warned that might not solve the party's problems. Coming up with policies that stuck closer to the centre could make it harder for the Liberals to differentiate themselves from Labor, she said. Some of the coalition's lost votes likely bled to hard-right parties such as One Nation, which could spark internal debates about the importance of "culture wars" to some constituents. However, it is unclear whether the next leader will be able to change the Liberal Party's ideological direction. "You're still dealing with the same party room," Dr Sheppard said. "What we've seen with both Dutton and (Prime Minister Anthony) Albanese is that you can come from quite extreme parts of your party, but in order to maintain the leadership, you have to sit somewhere around the centre. "To an extent, it doesn't matter who is leader - the parties are pretty strong and they will constrain their leader." The vote will be the first time Senator Price has stepped into the Liberal party room after she defected from the Nationals to join Mr Taylor's ticket. The Nationals re-elected David Littleproud as their leader on Monday following a challenge from conservative senator Matt Canavan. The winner of the Liberal leadership could be handed a poisoned chalice as they are tasked with resurrecting the party from its post-election ashes. Liberal politicians will choose their next leader on Tuesday after Australians handed them a bruising election defeat that decimated their ranks and took out Opposition Leader Peter Dutton. Deputy leader Sussan Ley will face off against shadow treasurer Angus Taylor, while senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has teamed up with Mr Taylor in a bid to become his second-in-command. There is no reason to assume whoever takes the job won't last until the next election, and the absence of a deep bench could bode well for them, Australian National University politics lecturer Jill Sheppard said. But leading the coalition when it holds less than half as many seats as Labor is a tough ask, and there is a reason other contenders such as Dan Tehan and Andrew Hastie were quick to rule themselves out. "It does feel like a bit of a poisoned chalice," Dr Sheppard told AAP. "Usually, they at least pretend to want to run for a few days. "The most important day-one job is to keep the party united, and that's not going to be easy when there's a lot of recriminations to be had." About 50 Liberal politicians are expected to vote on the party's future, including recently returned MP Tim Wilson, who also considered throwing his hat in the ring. Moderates have urged the Liberals to abandon culture wars and return to the centre but Dr Sheppard warned that might not solve the party's problems. Coming up with policies that stuck closer to the centre could make it harder for the Liberals to differentiate themselves from Labor, she said. Some of the coalition's lost votes likely bled to hard-right parties such as One Nation, which could spark internal debates about the importance of "culture wars" to some constituents. However, it is unclear whether the next leader will be able to change the Liberal Party's ideological direction. "You're still dealing with the same party room," Dr Sheppard said. "What we've seen with both Dutton and (Prime Minister Anthony) Albanese is that you can come from quite extreme parts of your party, but in order to maintain the leadership, you have to sit somewhere around the centre. "To an extent, it doesn't matter who is leader - the parties are pretty strong and they will constrain their leader." The vote will be the first time Senator Price has stepped into the Liberal party room after she defected from the Nationals to join Mr Taylor's ticket. The Nationals re-elected David Littleproud as their leader on Monday following a challenge from conservative senator Matt Canavan. The winner of the Liberal leadership could be handed a poisoned chalice as they are tasked with resurrecting the party from its post-election ashes. Liberal politicians will choose their next leader on Tuesday after Australians handed them a bruising election defeat that decimated their ranks and took out Opposition Leader Peter Dutton. Deputy leader Sussan Ley will face off against shadow treasurer Angus Taylor, while senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has teamed up with Mr Taylor in a bid to become his second-in-command. There is no reason to assume whoever takes the job won't last until the next election, and the absence of a deep bench could bode well for them, Australian National University politics lecturer Jill Sheppard said. But leading the coalition when it holds less than half as many seats as Labor is a tough ask, and there is a reason other contenders such as Dan Tehan and Andrew Hastie were quick to rule themselves out. "It does feel like a bit of a poisoned chalice," Dr Sheppard told AAP. "Usually, they at least pretend to want to run for a few days. "The most important day-one job is to keep the party united, and that's not going to be easy when there's a lot of recriminations to be had." About 50 Liberal politicians are expected to vote on the party's future, including recently returned MP Tim Wilson, who also considered throwing his hat in the ring. Moderates have urged the Liberals to abandon culture wars and return to the centre but Dr Sheppard warned that might not solve the party's problems. Coming up with policies that stuck closer to the centre could make it harder for the Liberals to differentiate themselves from Labor, she said. Some of the coalition's lost votes likely bled to hard-right parties such as One Nation, which could spark internal debates about the importance of "culture wars" to some constituents. However, it is unclear whether the next leader will be able to change the Liberal Party's ideological direction. "You're still dealing with the same party room," Dr Sheppard said. "What we've seen with both Dutton and (Prime Minister Anthony) Albanese is that you can come from quite extreme parts of your party, but in order to maintain the leadership, you have to sit somewhere around the centre. "To an extent, it doesn't matter who is leader - the parties are pretty strong and they will constrain their leader." The vote will be the first time Senator Price has stepped into the Liberal party room after she defected from the Nationals to join Mr Taylor's ticket. The Nationals re-elected David Littleproud as their leader on Monday following a challenge from conservative senator Matt Canavan.
Perth Now
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
Tough ask ahead as Liberals gather to crown next leader
The winner of the Liberal leadership could be handed a poisoned chalice as they are tasked with resurrecting the party from its post-election ashes. Liberal politicians will choose their next leader on Tuesday after Australians handed them a bruising election defeat that decimated their ranks and took out Opposition Leader Peter Dutton. Deputy leader Sussan Ley will face off against shadow treasurer Angus Taylor, while senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has teamed up with Mr Taylor in a bid to become his second-in-command. There is no reason to assume whoever takes the job won't last until the next election, and the absence of a deep bench could bode well for them, Australian National University politics lecturer Jill Sheppard said. But leading the coalition when it holds less than half as many seats as Labor is a tough ask, and there is a reason other contenders such as Dan Tehan and Andrew Hastie were quick to rule themselves out. "It does feel like a bit of a poisoned chalice," Dr Sheppard told AAP. "Usually, they at least pretend to want to run for a few days. "The most important day-one job is to keep the party united, and that's not going to be easy when there's a lot of recriminations to be had." About 50 Liberal politicians are expected to vote on the party's future, including recently returned MP Tim Wilson, who also considered throwing his hat in the ring. Moderates have urged the Liberals to abandon culture wars and return to the centre but Dr Sheppard warned that might not solve the party's problems. Coming up with policies that stuck closer to the centre could make it harder for the Liberals to differentiate themselves from Labor, she said. Some of the coalition's lost votes likely bled to hard-right parties such as One Nation, which could spark internal debates about the importance of "culture wars" to some constituents. However, it is unclear whether the next leader will be able to change the Liberal Party's ideological direction. "You're still dealing with the same party room," Dr Sheppard said. "What we've seen with both Dutton and (Prime Minister Anthony) Albanese is that you can come from quite extreme parts of your party, but in order to maintain the leadership, you have to sit somewhere around the centre. "To an extent, it doesn't matter who is leader - the parties are pretty strong and they will constrain their leader." The vote will be the first time Senator Price has stepped into the Liberal party room after she defected from the Nationals to join Mr Taylor's ticket. The Nationals re-elected David Littleproud as their leader on Monday following a challenge from conservative senator Matt Canavan.
