Latest news with #Republican lawmakers
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
MO Republicans ‘kicked a hornet's nest': Repeal of voter-approved laws inspires backlash
Republican lawmakers' decision to overturn a voter-approved expansion of paid sick leave means benefits Missouri workers accrued in recent months will disappear on Aug. 28. They also placed a question on the 2026 ballot rolling back abortion rights that voters enshrined in the state constitution in November. It's not the first time the GOP-dominated legislature overturned voter-approved laws in recent years. But this time, the backlash could have long-lasting consequences. In the short term, proponents of the paid sick leave law are eyeing a new initiative petition to reinstate the benefit in the state constitution, while abortion-rights supporters expect to raise millions to fend off a new ban. But another coalition hopes to go even further. Respect Missouri Voters, a bipartisan constellation of organizations, this month submitted 38 versions of a new initiative petition seeking to undermine the legislature's ability to overturn voter-approved measures. Most would require 80% of the legislature to agree before a law or constitutional amendment enacted by initiative petition could be revised or repealed. They also would prohibit the legislature from making the initiative and referendum process more difficult. The group's PAC reported $200,000 cash on hand on July 1, with another $170,000 in large donations since then. That includes $10,000 from former Republican U.S. Sen. John Danforth. 'This is our one shot,' said Benjamin Singer, CEO of one of the coalition's members, Show Me Integrity. 'If we don't act now, they'll succeed in silencing us forever.' Republicans have taken notice, with some pondering a preemptive strike to change the initiative petition process before any campaign gets off the ground. But others worry it may already be too late and wonder if the GOP overplayed its hand with its recent moves. 'The legislature doesn't really seem to understand, they've kicked the hornet's nest,' said James Harris, a veteran Republican consultant in Missouri. 'We may be about to cross the Rubicon … where the legislature loses a lot of its power.' The showdown is decades in the making. After Missourians approved a constitutional amendment to limit taxes in the 1980s, the Democratic-led legislature tried to make changes to the initiative petition process that were criticized at the time by GOP Gov. John Ashcroft as an attempt to silence voters. He ultimately vetoed the bill. In 1999, Missouri voters rejected a ballot measure that would have allowed concealed carry of firearms. Despite the defeat, the legislature revisited the issue after Republicans took the majority and ultimately passed a concealed carry bill in 2003. Voters passed a ballot measure in 2010 called the 'Puppy Mill Cruelty and Prevention Act' that specified appropriate living conditions for breeding operations with at least 10 female breeding dogs. It also capped the number of animals that a business could use for breeding at 50. Soon after, lawmakers passed a bill that peeled back key parts of the new law, including the cap on the number of breeding dogs. The puppy mill vote inspired advocates to forgo changes to state law and instead put their focus on putting policy changes in the state constitution — making it much harder for lawmakers to make changes because it would require another statewide vote. In subsequent years, voters approved constitutional amendments legalizing marijuana, expanding Medicaid eligibility, creating a nonpartisan redistricting plan and repealing a ban on abortion. More: Jurisdiction issues emerge in Missouri AG's appeal of ruling legalizing abortion But the GOP supermajority wasn't ready to quit without a fight. Lawmakers refused to fund Medicaid expansion until the Missouri Supreme Court said they had no choice. They pushed through a ballot measure of their own, approved by voters, that repealed the nonpartisan redistricting plan. Next year, voters will weigh in on an amendment passed by the legislature putting the state's abortion ban back in place. The paid sick leave expansion was not a constitutional amendment, allowing lawmakers to repeal it without a new statewide vote. 'I don't understand the legislature's strategy at all,' said Sean Nicholson, a progressive strategist who has worked on numerous initiative petition campaigns in Missouri. 'A very pro-Trump electorate spoke very clearly on abortion rights and paid sick leave in November. And now we head into a midterm, and we've seen in Missouri and other states that shenanigans from politicians become part of the story. The legislature has given voters plenty of motivation to double down on what they've already said.' Republicans, who held legislative supermajorities as these progressive ballot measures have been approved by voters, have long complained that out-of-state money from anonymous sources have largely fueled these initiative petition campaigns. They've vowed for years to make it harder to change the constitution through the initiative petition process, but the push always fizzled amidst GOP infighting or other legislative priorities. The threat of an initiative petition that would weaken the legislature's hand in the process has reignited calls for Republicans to take action quickly. The Missouri Freedom Caucus, a group of right-wing legislators who regularly quarrel with GOP leadership, is calling on Gov. Mike Kehoe to convene a special legislative session to change the initiative petition process. 'Missouri's Constitution should not be up for sale to the highest left-wing bidder,' the group said in a statement July 25. 'Without immediate reform, left-wing activists will continue to use this loophole to force their unpopular agenda on Missouri citizens with a mere 51% of the vote.' Whether Missourians will get another chance to vote on paid sick leave is still up in the air. Missouri's law allowed employees to earn one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked, starting May 1. By the time it's officially repealed, 17 weeks will have elapsed. That means someone working 40 hours a week could have earned 22 hours of paid sick leave. If workers don't use their paid sick leave before Aug. 28, there's no legal guarantee they can do so afterward. The sick leave expansion was a 'job killer,' said Kara Corches, president and CEO of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, adding that 'one-size-fits-all mandates threaten growth.' Richard Von Glahn, policy director of Missouri Jobs with Justice, which advocated for the paid sick leave ballot measure, noted 58% of voters approved the proposal. It was also upheld unanimously by the Missouri Supreme Court. 'Now workers may again face the reality of having no paid sick time to take care of their families without losing out on a check,' Von Glahn said shortly after the governor signed the paid sick leave repeal earlier this month. 'This move by the Missouri legislature sets a dangerous precedent for democratic processes in our state.' This story was first published at This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri GOP repeal of voter-approved laws inspires new petitions
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Trump announces $550 billion Japan trade deal
President Donald Trump announced he had reached a new trade deal with Japan, terming it 'the largest deal in history' as he celebrated with Republican lawmakers at the White House. The president announced a new 15 percent tariff on Japanese imports – down from a threatened 25 percent. The pep rally came on a day Trump's White House was whipsawed by the Jeffrey Epstein controversy, with the president cheerfully proclaiming a win hours after tearing into predecessor Barack Obama. 'I just signed, and it was really helped a lot by our big, beautiful deal that we just did,' Trump said in the East Room of the White House at a reception with Republican members of Congress. 'But I just signed the largest trade deal in history, I think maybe the largest deal in history, Japan,' Trump said. He repeatedly gushed about its size, saying, 'This is, they say, the biggest deal ever made.' Trump, who had earlier announced deals with Indonesia and the Philippines as an August 1 deadline he declared after pausing his 'reciprocal' tariffs approaches, told lawmakers there were more talks in the works. Failure to reach agreements after his administration promised '90 deals in 90 days' could spark yet another market meltdown, something Trump is eager to avoid as he touts surging markets. 'We have Europe coming in tomorrow,' said Trump, days after reports of the tariffs he could slap on the European Union. Trump announced the deals minutes after posting about it on Truth Social. 'Japan will invest, at my direction, $550 Billion Dollars into the United States, which will receive 90% of the Profits,' Trump said, without spelling out how the investments would be calculated. Japan is already a top U.S. investor. Trump said it would create 'hundreds of thousands of jobs.' 'Perhaps most importantly, Japan will open their Country to Trade including Cars and Trucks, Rice and certain other Agricultural Products, and other things. Japan will pay Reciprocal Tariffs to the United States of 15 percent,' Trump wrote. 'This is a very exciting time for the United States of America, and especially for the fact that we will continue to always have a great relationship with the Country of Japan. Thank you for your attention to this matter!' Trump concluded. Trump said the country was 'becoming very rich again,' although some of the market's recent gains came after Trump hit 'pause' on his tariff decisions and backed off his repeated threats to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Trump also dangled further talks. 'We're going to make a deal with Japan on the LNG in Alaska,' Trump said. A deal with Japan that puts off an escalatory trade war would restore some stability to a major trade relationship. Trump cranked up the pressure earlier this month when he threatened to slap a 25 percent tariff on Japan and South Korea – both key political allies – if they didn't reach an agreement by August 1. He also lauded House Republicans who jammed through his 'big, beautiful bill,' and promised to lend them political support. 'We're going to make all those robo calls for you,' Trump said, on a day he once again threatened to go after 'no' vote Thomas Massie (R-Ky.). 'There's been no Congress like this Congress in terms of achievement,' Trump said. He called out birthdays and anniversaries in the crowd, and spoke about House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise after he suffered a shooting. 'He was going to be a goner,' Trump said. 'You look better now than you did then,' he told him. 'We're so grateful for you,' Housing Secretary Scott Turner told the president when Trump invited him to say grace. 'You are a tremendous leader and we thank God for you,' he told Trump before the prayer. 'Thank you for giving us favor to pass this big, beautiful bill,' Turner said during the prayer of the bill that passed the House 218-214 with Trump losing just two Republican votes. Trump took the opportunity to praise Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, on a day he accused Barack Obama of 'treason' and applied pressure for him to be investigated over the origins of the Russia probe in 2016. 'Where's Tulsi? She's like hotter than everybody. She's the hottest one in the room right now,' Trump said. Trump repeated his claim that 'Obama cheated on the election,' after Obama slammed his earlier attacks. 'With your stamina, you know we can never sleep,' Speaker Mike Johnson told Trump when he took the microphone.
CNN
20-07-2025
- Business
- CNN
Talk about no taxes on tips, less about Medicaid cuts: How GOP is trying to sell Trump's landmark law
The White House just spent six months jamming a massive legislative package through Congress with almost no margin for error. Now comes the real challenge. Donald Trump's aides and allies are embarking on a concerted bid to sell the president's 'big, beautiful bill' to voters who are mostly unfamiliar with its specifics and skeptical of what little they have heard about the administration's central domestic accomplishment. The yearlong mission — relying in part on dispatching top Trump officials across the country to highlight the bill's economic benefits — is seen as critical to preserving GOP control of Congress in next November's elections, according to interviews with more than half a dozen White House aides, allies and Republican lawmakers. And for a White House that's cast Trump's agenda as a financial boon for Americans, the midterms represent a high-stakes referendum that could determine the course of his final years in office. 'It comes down to whether people feel like they're doing better and have more money in their pockets,' said one Trump political adviser. 'And if they don't think the economy's going well, then we've got a problem.' Republicans will have several months to make headway with voters before the midterm season heats up, after lawmakers passed nearly the entirety of Trump's domestic agenda in a single multitrillion-dollar package just ahead of the White House's self-imposed July 4 deadline. But the urgency behind an extended campaign for the bill underscores how little time the GOP had to explain what was actually in the package before passing it — and signals a recognition of the steep uphill battle the party now faces in selling it after the fact. What Americans did learn about the bill amid the rushed process was largely negative, polling has shown. Perhaps most alarming for Trump and Republicans, party operatives said, is that many voters remain concerned that rather than juicing the economy as the president promised, a package that includes deep cuts to Medicaid and food assistance might end up leaving them worse off overall. 'I'm not sure anybody completely understands what's in it, including most of the people who voted for it,' said Whit Ayres, a Republican pollster. 'But there are a lot of provisions in it that will be challenging to sell to many of the Trump voters who live in small-town and rural areas, a great many of whom are on Medicaid.' White House officials and their allies have coalesced behind a plan to bolster enthusiasm for the sprawling bill by focusing mainly on the narrow slice of policies that have proved most popular — such as provisions eliminating taxes on tips and on overtime pay, according to GOP lawmakers and campaign officials. Republican leadership has also encouraged lawmakers to tailor their messaging on Trump's agenda to their specific constituencies' priorities. 'Energy states are going to talk about the things that are going to really help us build our energy dominance; border states, probably more about border security,' said Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota. 'You've got all those general concepts that are important, and then how you present it is going to be a function of what you work on as a member and what's really important in your state.' That strategy is aimed primarily at reframing voters' view of what Republican lawmakers privately acknowledge is an unwieldy and vaguely named bill, while also allowing them to paper over more unpopular elements such as the hundreds of billions of projected cuts to health care spending needed to help pay for the array of tax breaks. Democrats have seized on those Medicaid cuts, betting that the backlash will propel them back into power next year. Within GOP circles, strategists plotting out the next several months are operating under the theory that if they can simply contain the damage done to the party on health care issues, they'll be able to press advantages elsewhere. 'As long as we level the playing field on the Medicaid aspect, we can talk about tax cuts and border security all day,' said one Republican campaign official. 'It's something we think about every day: What is the narrative of this cycle?' In eastern Pennsylvania on Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance offered an early look at how Trump officials will try to execute on the strategy in forthcoming trips to key districts, touting the bill's tax breaks and energy policies in a state where the coal and gas industry plays a major role. He made no mention of Medicaid and the broader health provisions expected to eliminate coverage for nearly 12 million people over a decade, instead urging attendees to talk up the bill's benefits in their own communities. 'Go and talk to your neighbors, go and talk to your friends about what this bill does for American citizens,' Vance said. The White House is still finalizing which Cabinet officials to send where to promote the bill over the next several months. In a statement, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson called the bill 'an encapsulation of the campaign promises that the American people elected President Trump to enact.' 'The Trump administration plans to communicate the massive achievements in the One Big Beautiful Bill at every opportunity,' she said. Still, there are lingering doubts across the GOP about how quickly the White House and Republican lawmakers can turn around public opinion — and whether enough voters will feel enough of the benefits in time to salvage their congressional majorities. The bill's passage further widened an advantage Democrats hold over Republicans over which party's base is more energized to vote, CNN polling released last week shows. The GOP has so far made little progress toward countering Democratic attacks over Medicaid cuts as well, even as Republicans point to data showing the specific policies in the bill imposing work requirements and restricting eligibility have majority support. And while Republicans believe they will eventually find their footing, much of their fate may depend on whether Trump and his GOP allies can stay focused on promoting the bill for more than a year. In the weeks since July 4, Trump's heightened attacks on the Federal Reserve chair and his administration's botched handling of promised Jeffrey Epstein disclosures have created days of news cycles that distracted from the administration's core agenda. 'The sales job is important, and when the administration then gets in its own way with things that are going to garner a lot of media attention — let's say, Jeffrey Epstein, for instance — that impacts that,' said Doug Heye, a longtime Republican strategist. The White House in the coming weeks is likely to face another decision point that could alter Republicans' trajectory ahead of the midterms: Whether to push Congress to pass new legislation enacting even more spending cuts, and potentially even pursue a second major policy bill at some point next year. The prospect has animated budget hawks in the White House and on Capitol Hill eager to further shrink federal spending. But others are wary of the political fallout of slashing more from popular programs after congressional Republicans just passed a $9 billion cuts package taking aim at PBS and NPR. And with little GOP consensus on what policies the party should pursue next, some Republicans say focusing on how to sell their one 'big, beautiful bill' is challenge enough for the coming year. 'Given the fact this bill is enormous,' Ayres said, 'I don't know that you really need much of anything else to try to explain.'
