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NBC News
a day ago
- Business
- NBC News
The long arm of Trump's new law: From the Politics Desk
Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team's latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail. Happy Monday! On this day one year ago, Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race. In today's edition, we dive into the early financial and political impacts of the 'big, beautiful bill' and how the White House is trying to shift attention away from the Epstein files. — Adam Wollner The long arm of Trump's new law It has been more than two weeks since President Donald Trump signed the 'big, beautiful bill' into law. But the impacts of what is likely to be the signature legislation of Trump's second term are only starting to be felt, both financially and politically. Final price tag: The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released its final score of the sprawling 887-page bill today, Sahil Kapur reports. The CBO projected the law will add $3.4 trillion to the national debt over the next decade. It found that the law's net spending cuts of $1.1 trillion are outstripped by the $4.5 trillion in decreased revenue, compared with if the measure had not passed. The law will also 'increase by 10 million the number of people without health insurance' by 2034, according to the CBO. Latest poll numbers: A new survey released over the weekend showed Republicans have their work cut out for them in selling the law to the public. Just 39% of U.S. adults said they approved of the 'big, beautiful bill,' according to a CBS News/YouGov poll, while 61% disapproved. That's roughly in line with what other polls found ahead of the legislation's final passage. The CBS News/YouGov survey also found that a majority (54%) said they thought the law will increase their health care costs and that a plurality (40%) said it would increase their taxes — even thought it extends the tax cuts Trump signed into law during his first term. And while 61% said they thought the package would help wealthy people, far less said it would help the middle class (28%) and poor people (24%). That all helps to explain why some Republicans are trying to shift their messaging and cast the bill as a tax benefit for 'working families,' highlighting the move away from taxes on tips and overtime in particular. In the states: As the law is implemented in the coming months and years, its effects will be felt differently state by state. Adam Edelman notes that many of the biggest political fights stemming from the tax cut and spending are already converging in battleground Nevada. About 1 in 3 Nevadans are on Medicaid, according to data from the state and KFF, a nonpartisan health policy research group. But unlike some other states, which may be able to shift funds around in their budgets to build financial support for affected residents, Nevada's hands are largely tied. It has no state income tax, and a state constitutional provision requires a two-thirds majority to raise revenue. Then there are the new law's tax provisions related to tipped employees and gamblers, which will have an outsize effect on a state whose economy relies almost exclusively on casinos and hospitality. In 2026, Gov. Joe Lombardo — who has walked a fine line between offering praise for certain aspects of the megabill while pushing back against others — is seen as the most vulnerable Republican governor up for re-election. And Nevada's battleground 3rd District, represented by Democratic Rep. Susie Lee, will be the site of a key race in the fight for the House majority. And in 2028, Nevada will most likely again host critical contests for the White House and the Senate. Amid Epstein fallout, the Trump administration turns to MAGA's other greatest hits By Ryan J. Reilly and Henry J. Gomez Facing backlash from MAGA supporters about the handling of files related to Jeffrey Epstein, President Donald Trump and his administration have released a flood of information on old grievances and issues popular with the base. Overnight, Trump used his Truth Social platform to attack Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., post a fake artificial intelligence-generated video showing former President Barack Obama being arrested by the FBI and share AI-generated mug shots of a variety of Democratic officials who have served as Republican bogeymen over the years. Trump also weighed in on another MAGA favorite — the names of sports teams — and threatened to try to block a deal to build a new football stadium in Washington, D.C., unless the Commanders changed their name back to the Redskins. The team dropped that name in 2019, after years of criticism that it was racist. The intensity of the Epstein conversation has dampened since last week, after the Trump administration had to contend with many of its MAGA supporters who were furious that officials weren't releasing more information about the files. On Friday, Trump sued The Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch after the Journal published an article saying Trump sent a letter to Epstein in 2003 that included a drawing of a naked woman. By today, many prominent MAGA social media accounts appeared to have moved on from the Epstein issues, focusing instead on some of the other topics the Trump administration has been pushing. The Justice Department and other agencies released files today that have long been the subjects of conspiracies. But they weren't Epstein documents; they were documents about Hillary Clinton and more than 230,000 pages related to the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Attorney General Pam Bondi has been a particular target of the MAGA base's ire. 'Saying Trump posts random stuff to distract is like saying the sun rises to mess with your sleep schedule,' a former Trump adviser said. 'It's just what it does.'
NBC News
4 days ago
- Business
- NBC News
The biggest political fights over Trump's megabill are converging in Nevada
When it comes to President Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill, ' few places could be impacted more significantly than Nevada — one of the country's most closely divided swing states. For starters, Nevada is expecting the law's changes to Medicaid and food assistance to boot hundreds of thousands of residents from crucial social safety net programs. Like other states in similar predicaments, lawmakers will have to scramble to figure out how to find money in the state budget to keep many of those people covered. But the impacts of the law on that budget and the state's broader finances could be even more significant than in many others because Nevada has no state income tax, and therefore is extremely limited in how it can find new revenues. Then there are the new law's tax provisions related to tipped employees and gamblers that will have an outsize effect on a state whose economy relies almost exclusively on casinos and hospitality. The implementation of the new law in the coming months and years will occur as Nevada is set to play a key role in the next midterm and presidential elections. In 2026, Gov. Joe Lombardo — who has walked a fine line between offering praise for certain aspects of the megabill while pushing back against others — is seen as the most vulnerable Republican governor up for re-election. And Nevada's battleground 3rd District, represented by Democratic Rep. Susie Lee, will be a key race in the fight for the House majority. And in 2028, Nevada will likely again host critical contests for the White House and Senate. Democrats are already eager to go on offense against the law. State Rep. Steve Yeager, the Democratic speaker of the state Assembly, said he's already been contacted by many constituents who have expressed 'concern about what this bill might mean for them' and how they could be impacted by its changes to Medicaid, food assistance, energy credits, taxes on tips and gambling. Yeager added he was going 'to make sure that every single voter who goes to the ballot box here next year in 2026 knows about this bill and knows about the impact.' 'A low-revenue state' Approximately 1 in 3 Nevadans are on Medicaid, according to data from the state and KFF, a nonpartisan health policy research group, due in part to a massive expansion of the program back in 2013 by then-Gov. Brian Sandoval, one of the first Republican governors to embark on Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. Trump's law will institute steep cuts to Medicaid and food aid benefits mostly by establishing new work requirements, restrict state-levied fees on health care providers that are mostly used to fund Medicaid, and preclude the federal government from being responsible for reimbursing states any longer. In Nevada, as many as 100,000 people could fall off Medicaid as a result, according to the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. But unlike some other states, which may be able to shift funds around in their budgets to build financial support for affected residents, Nevada's hands are largely tied. It has no state income tax and has a state constitutional provision requiring a two-thirds majority to raise revenue. 'We don't have the funds to be able to fill these critical gaps,' Yeager said. 'We're a low-revenue state. … We're in a really tough place.' Nevada is also likely to be uniquely impacted by a pair of tax provisions. Starting in 2026, gamblers will have to pay more taxes under the GOP's new law. That's because the law will limit what gamblers can deduct from their yearly taxes to 90% of their losses. Bettors can currently deduct the entirety of their losses — up until their winnings. Bettors have expressed concerns that the provision could cause professional gambling in the U.S. to fold. And Nevada Democrats say it's all but certain to impact the bustling and crucial industry in the casino-laden state. 'This means if someone wins a big jackpot in Las Vegas and then loses that one jackpot later on, they would still be liable for 10% in taxes on gaming 'income,' even though they had not brought home anything,' Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., said last week on the chamber floor. 'That's not just bad math, it's bad policy.' Meanwhile, Trump and Republicans have boasted of the law's provision that they call 'no tax on tips.' Trump unveiled the concept during a 2024 campaign event in Nevada, which is among the states with the highest concentration of service workers who rely on tips. 'If you're a restaurant worker, a server, a valet, a bellhop, a bartender, one of my caddies … your tips will be 100% yours,' Trump said of the policy idea during a January visit to Las Vegas shortly after he was sworn in for his second term. The law allows for a deduction on federal taxes of up to $25,000 in tipped income. At first glance, it appears it could be a boon for workers who rely heavily on tips. But economists at the Yale Budget Lab have written that 37% of all tipped workers don't earn enough money to even pay federal income tax, meaning that these people wouldn't gain from the new deduction. In addition, critics note the cap is relatively small and that it phases out once workers enter a higher income bracket ($150,000 per year). Plus, the provision only runs through 2028. Democrats also note that the law froze nearly all of the clean energy funds the state had received under President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act. Nevada, where scorching temperatures have led to soaring energy costs for voters and businesses, was among the states that claimed the most IRA funds used to incentivize clean energy investments and jobs, as well as home energy rebates. As those funds dry up, so too could financial relief for residents and businesses. 'With the undoing of some of the Inflation Reduction Act, losing monies that were in the bill, we're going to lose solar jobs — and I am confident that our power bills are going to increase,' Yeager said. A key gubernatorial race Those impacts will loom particularly large in next year's governor's race in Nevada. Even before Trump enacted the law, Lombardo, who won his 2022 election over Democrat Steve Sisolak by just 1.5 percentage points, was the only Republican governor up for re-election next year whose race was rated by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report as a 'toss-up.' Nevada Democrats have already aggressively sought to link Lombardo to the 'big, beautiful bill.' 'Lombardo will have to reckon with the damage done to Nevadans' lives and livelihoods because he was too cowardly to stand up to Trump,' said Nevada Democratic Party Chair Daniele Monroe-Moreno. Lombardo, for his part, has praised some of the tax provisions in the law, but he also warned Congress not to make changes to Medicaid funding ahead of its passage. 'While my administration continues to assess this bill as it moves to get signed into law, Nevadans should be excited about the potential impacts of tax cuts, investments in small businesses and American manufacturing, and efforts to help secure our border,' Lombardo wrote on X the day before Trump signed it into law. A spokesperson for Lombardo declined to comment for this story but referred to that post on X, in which Lombardo also lauded the law's 'no tax on tips' provision. The spokesperson also referred to the letters Lombardo wrote to Congress and state legislators expressing his concerns about the bill's impact on Medicaid, plus a letter he wrote to Trump urging him to reconsider the gambling losses provision. Lombardo was also among just seven Republican governors who did not sign a May letter in support of Trump's proposed 'big, beautiful bill.' That tension underscores the bind many Republican incumbents are likely to find themselves in during next year's midterms as they seek to take credit for some of the tax-saving mechanisms of the bill while distancing themselves from the cuts that Democrats are already hammering them on — all while trying to avoid running afoul of Trump. Responding to questions about the political impacts of the law, John Burke, a spokesperson for the Lombardo-supporting Better Nevada state PAC, said in an email, 'Under Governor Lombardo's leadership, Nevada is finally getting back on track, and the people of our state are seeing results.' He pointed specifically to accomplishments on affordable housing and education. 'The Governor has been vocal about his support for eliminating taxes on tips and supports a return to previous law on gambling losses,' Burke added. State Attorney General Aaron Ford, who is so far the only Democrat who's entered the race against Lombardo, slammed the law for its impacts on health care and food assistance. He said 'servers and bartenders and hospitality workers are going to be getting played' by Republicans' 'no tax on tips' claims.
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘I'm running,' Cannizzaro announces she will run for Nevada Attorney General's seat
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Nevada Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro announced on Tuesday that she is starting her campaign for the attorney general's office in 2026. She is the second major candidate to do so. 'Our leaders should be focused on making Nevada safer and stronger, but the Trump administration and Congress have continued their assault on ordinary Nevadans, cutting Medicaid and funding for our schools, attacking Planned Parenthood and reproductive rights, and raising the cost of energy, housing and groceries,' she said in a news release. Cannizzaro is a lifelong Nevadan, a former prosecutor, and the first woman to serve as Majority Leader of the Nevada State Senate. Her announcement also included a YouTube video. Cannizzaro will go up against state Treasurer Zach Conine in the democratic primary. The former attorney and consultant was the first major candidate when he announced in May that he would seek the attorney general's office. According to his campaign website, he is 'running to be Nevada's next Attorney General because Nevadans deserve someone who isn't afraid of rolling up their sleeves to take on big fights.' It also states, 'Whether it's protecting Nevadans from overreach by the federal government, leveling the playing field for workers, families, and small businesses, or delivering results for Nevadans who are struggling.' Current Attorney General Aaron Ford announced his plans to challenge Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
County lauds intake center to help unhoused, but federal funding cuts threaten resources
Steven Martin, left, and Justin Golden, are receiving resources at the Navigation Center, which helps people experiencing homelessness get off the streets. (Photo: Michael Lyle/ Nevada Current) Clark County officials have recently touted its Navigation Center, a 70-bed noncongregate shelter that stabilizes unhoused people before referring them to other transitional housing programs and treatment, as the model that could help address Southern Nevada's growing homelessness crisis. Speaking at an event Wednesday honoring its two-year anniversary since opening the facility, Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom said local officials have discussed replicating the intake center valley wide. It's still uncertain how the slashing of federal funding, including major cuts to Medicaid, might undermine the county's goal to build additional centers and connect unhoused people staying at those facilities to services. Many of the resources provided through the Navigation Center, like referrals to health care providers or mental health treatment, are paid through various types of federal funding, including Medicaid, Segerblom said. The county is taking into account 'what we will potentially lose' from all the federal cuts, he added. 'We are all terrified, frankly,' Segerblom said. 'We are very aware all this is on a house of cards.' President Donald Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' that was signed into law this month features steep reductions to the social safety net, including major cuts to Medicaid and food benefits. Nevada stands to lose about $590 million annually in federal Medicaid funding for the next 10 years and more than 114,500 Nevadans are estimated to lose coverage, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Trump is also proposing additional cuts in his 2026 fiscal budget across various agencies, including slashing U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development budget by more than 40%. The cuts include a $532 million decrease in homeless assistance programs and a consolidation of several grants, like those provided by the federal Continuum of Care program that states use to address homelessness. John Fernandez, program manager with WC Health, which the county contracts to provide case management at the Navigation Center, said they are still waiting to learn how cuts could impact operations and efforts to refer people to services. 'If they don't have Medicaid, it will make it difficult for them to receive any mental health providers or even doctors and get some of the assistance they need,' he said. Stabilizing people The Navigation Center is located in East Las Vegas in a former Motel 6, which was converted into the 70-bed intake center with semi-private rooms for unhoused people. During the height of Covid when it wasn't safe for unhoused people to remain in large, congregate spaces like emergency shelters, the county converted former motels into noncongregate shelters. Since opening in 2023, the Navigation Center has been used by the county as a starting place for people seeking to exit homelessness. They are usually referred to the facility by either a service provider or law enforcement. Once at the center, people can stay roughly 30 days, receive required case management twice a week, are assisted with getting vital documents like birth certificates, and begin to get connected to other housing resources or mental health assessments and treatment. 'It gives them a chance to decompress from being unsheltered and then moving on where they can get more intensive wrap-around services and focus on long term housing solutions,' said Brenda Barnes, the social services manager. The county said that nearly 1,800 people have cycled through the center since it opened. While county officials said they are tracking what services people are referred to, how many were housed and recidivism rates of how many end up on the streets, they didn't provide those figures Wednesday. For Justin Golden, a 37-year-old staying at the Navigation Center, the facility has become the place he has needed to stabilize his life. After being released from City of Las Vegas jail in early June, he began couch-surfing as he tried to get connected to resources, like getting a new EBT card for his Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, and finding employment. Three weeks ago, while sleeping in a park in Henderson, outreach workers from the Salvation Army referred him to the Navigation Center, he said. Golden lost his identification when he was arrested and struggled to get new documents since he was released, delaying the process of exiting homelessness. Less than three weeks into his time at the Navigation Center, he has been able to start collecting the documents needed and plans to transfer to another transitional housing program offered by the county by the end of the month. Since coming to the center, Golden has shared a room with 27-year-old Steven Martin, who has been experiencing homelessness for nearly a year after moving to Southern Nevada from California. Because of a criminal record, Martin said he has struggled to find employment and earn enough money to get back on his feet. He didn't know where to turn, or where he could get resources, until he was referred to the Navigation Center by a provider. Martin also plans to go to a 90-day transitional housing program after his time is done at the Navigation Center. Though Fernandez has seen the center has been successful, he said the facility is often at capacity. The other noncongregate shelters he refers people to for the next part of their efforts to exit homelessness are also reaching capacity. It will likely create a backlog in the system. 'I think if we could open up another navigation center it would be beneficial for everyone,' he said. 'At this point, we are getting to a capacity where we can't take too many people in. We only have 70 beds here. All the other properties are getting full as well. If we're not able to transition people in 30 days to another property, then we can't take more people.' While opening the navigation center is one of the many steps the county is taking to address the homelessness crisis, the lack of permanent housing remains a fierce and stubborn barrier to addressing homelessness in Southern Nevada, Segerblom said. 'We need more housing,' he said.
USA Today
04-07-2025
- Health
- USA Today
Nevada Rep. Mark Amodei explains yes vote on Trump's budget bill, Medicaid changes
Only one member of Congress from Nevada voted in favor of President Donald Trump's budget bill and its Medicaid cuts: Rep. Mark Amodei. Trump plans to sign the bill into law at 2 p.m. Pacific time July 4. After the U.S. House approved the bill July 3, Amodei released a lengthy statement explaining his decision to support what he called historic legislation to address the Biden administration's mismanagement. 'As with any major reform bill, the One Big Beautiful Bill is a balancing act,' he said, referring to its legislative name inspired by Trump's language. 'I have long believed that we can't let perfect be the enemy of good, and our work won't stop here in getting Nevadans the relief they need.' Amodei disputed claims the bill is only a handout to the wealthy and characterized it as helping everyday working families. Amodei's bill highlights Among Amodei's highlights for the bill are that: 'Claims that this bill harms veterans are nothing more than political scare tactics and gaslighting,' he said. 'The legislative text contains no provisions explicitly targeting veterans, and veterans receiving VA benefits will continue to do so without interruption.' Amodei on Medicaid changes Amodei, a Republican who represents the top half of Nevada, noted that discussions around the bill have focused on Medicaid. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, a Nevada Democrat, hammered the bill the day before its passage, calling it 'mean and cruel.' She noted that estimates show 114,500 Nevadans are expected to lose health care coverage. Northern Nevada HOPES, which serves low-income patients, said the bill will force a 30% reduction in the number of people it can said Medicaid has exploded in size since it started in 1965. 'Since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act,' his news release said, 'Medicaid has shifted away from its original mission of serving the traditional low-income population, evolving instead into a de facto state-run universal healthcare system.' In fiscal year 2023, he said, Nevada spent 30% of its budget on Medicaid, $5.6 billion. 'The One Big Beautiful Bill addresses and reins in these excessive Medicaid costs by establishing commonsense work requirements for able-bodied adults without young dependents,' Amodei said. 'In addition, the bill strengthens program integrity measures that protect Medicaid resources for the most vulnerable such as children, pregnant women, people with disabilities and low-income families.' More: 'Cruel' Medicaid cuts in Trump budget bill cuts to hurt Nevada, Sen. Cortez Masto says Funding for rural hospitals There's a balancing act, he said, between reining in out-of-control Medicaid spending and protecting Nevada's hospitals and health clinics. To offset decreases in Medicaid funding for hospitals, Republicans added the Rural Hospital Stabilization Fund to the bill. This, Amodei said, 'will provide $50 billion in relief from 2028 through 2032 for rural hospitals.' Pat Kelly of the Nevada Hospital Association said it's unclear how much help it'll bring. At Cortez Masto's news conference, Kelly said that the federal budget bill's changes to the provider tax rate will decrease hospital funds. 'The total effect by state fiscal year 2029 on Nevada hospitals,' he said, 'will be a loss of $618 million in payments.' Kelly noted the $50 billion fund mentioned by Amodei in the federal budget bill. 'But that provision,' he said, 'is not just for rural hospitals. It's for all providers in rural areas so we're not sure how much is going to be available for hospitals. If there's a group that truly needs our support, it's our rural hospitals.' Amodei said the bill gives the state two years to prepare for changes to the Medicaid provider tax supporting hospitals. 'A perfect solution to healthcare costs has eluded us again,' he said, 'but it will be interesting to see what the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services do with implementation of these new Medicaid policies and future rules and regulations. 'I look forward to continuing to work with CMS, the Nevada Health Authority, and our local stakeholders on these issues.' Mark Robison is the state politics reporter for the Reno Gazette Journal, with occasional forays into other topics. Email comments to mrobison@ or comment on Mark's Greater Reno Facebook page.
