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Int'l Business Times
a day ago
- Business
- Int'l Business Times
Republicans Forced to Do Damage Control, Calm Down Lawmakers After Elon Musk Slams 'Big, Beautiful Bill' Supporters: Report
Leaders of the Republican Party are scrambling to settle other party members after billionaire Elon Musk launched a scathing criticism of the Trump-backed GOP spending bill. Speaker Mike Johnson, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Senate Majority Leader John Thune are attempting to quell uncertainty amongst congressmen from their party caused by Musk's rebuke of the "one big, beautiful bill." Johnson attempted to reassure Republican lawmakers during a House Republican Conference which occurred behind closed doors on Wednesday, three sources who were present at the meeting told POLITICO. Furthermore, the Speaker of the House has been in contact with the Tesla CEO and has attempted to explain the reasoning behind the spending bill in an attempt to garner Musk's support. "I think he's flat wrong, and I've told him as much," Johnson said at a news conference after the meeting. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters that he did not expect Musk's comments to sway Senate Republicans on Wednesday. "Obviously he has some influence, got a big following on social media," he said. "But at the end of the day this is a 51-vote exercise here in the Senate, and I think it's going to be the question for our members is going to be would you prefer the alternative. And the alternative isn't a good one." Thune also stated that he had been in contact with Musk within the past few days. "There are going to be a lot of people who share commentary about this, and we just got to make sure we're doing everything we can to get our arguments out there," Thune added. During an interview, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise stated that Musk's comments did not severely impact the party's ability to raise funds or garner support, further stating that the GOP is "continuing to see fundraising goals get exceeded." "The speaker, myself, our whole team continues to exceed fundraising goals, because people know what's at stake next year," Scalise added. "And President Trump's all in, by the way, too, helping us hold the House. ... He's been our best, most effective deliverer of support." Originally published on Latin Times
UPI
22-05-2025
- Politics
- UPI
Trump legislative agenda bill: Medicaid cuts and tax breaks
1 of 3 | Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks during a press conference after a House Republican Conference meeting attended by President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D,C,m on Tuesday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo May 21 (UPI) -- Congress is pressing to pass President Donald Trump's legislative agenda bill ahead of Memorial Day, though some Republicans have objected to portions of it. The budget reconciliation bill, called the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," is 1,116 pages of legislation to fund Trump's broad agenda. Included is more than $150 billion in additional funding for defense, an extension of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, an increase in the maximum deduction individuals can take in state and local taxes and limitations on Medicaid eligibility. A nonpartisan analysis of the bill by the Congressional Budget Office estimated that it will add nearly $4 trillion to the national debt. "It's very important for people to understand why we're being so aggressive on the timetable and why this really is so important," House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday. "This is the vehicle through which we will deliver on the mandate the American people gave us during the last election. You're going to have historic savings for the American people, historic tax relief for American workers, historic investments in border security." Medicaid eligibility Changes to Medicaid funding and eligibility are the most contentious issues Congress is mulling. Changes include an estimated $792 billion in cuts in the next 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. It would be the largest cut to the program in its 60-year history. Alex Berrios, co-founder of Mi Vecino, a Latino community advocacy and outreach organization based in Florida, told UPI his organization urged former President Joe Biden's administration that more Medicaid funding was needed. Berrios met with that administration monthly to discuss the impact of the president's policies on the Latino community. "The services provided to the most vulnerable community members, the elderly that need medical assistance, they're not being provided in a way that's accessible to people," Berrios said. "When we're cutting costs and cutting prescription drug prices, but we're not hiring people with language skills or enough staff to handle the volume of calls, those are barriers of access for people not getting the care they need." Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, has argued that previous versions of the bill did not go far enough in Medicaid reform. After voting "present" on the bill during a House Budget Committee meeting Sunday, he posted on X that changes must be made for it to pass. "The bill does not yet meet the moment leaving almost half of the green new scam subsidies continuing," Roy posted. "More, it fails to end the Medicaid money laundering scam and perverse funding structure that provides seven times more federal dollars for each dollar of state spending for the able-bodied relative to the vulnerable." More than 71 million people were enrolled in Medicaid and 7.2 million in Children's Health Insurance Program Managed Care Access program, or CHIP, as of December, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research and policy institute, estimated that more than 15 million people would lose healthcare coverage and become uninsured due to the Medicaid cuts proposed. The bill proposes measures for work requirements to qualify for coverage. Adults between ages 19 and 64 who do not have children would be required to work at least 80 hours per month. A combination of community involvement and enrollment in an educational program at least half-time also can apply to these requirements. Recipients of benefits would be required to submit to eligibility screenings more frequently. Rather than the 12 months that they are typically allowed, they would be subject to screening every six months. Similar work requirements would apply to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits. A moratorium would be set on the secretary of Health and Human Services enacting the final rule on CHIP published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid through Jan. 1, 2035. The final rule is meant to increase access to health services with increased standards of timely care, increased workforce and limits on wait times. A federal ban on Medicaid and CHIP recipients receiving funding for gender transition procedures for minors is among added restrictions. Exceptions include puberty suppression or blocking drugs for the purpose of normalizing puberty when deemed medically necessary or a "verifiable disorder of sex development." The child tax credit will again increase temporarily, this time to $2,500 per child. A Social Security number is required to qualify. Tax breaks The Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that the proposed tax cuts in the budget reconciliation bill will add as much as $5 trillion to the nation's debt in the next 10 years by decreasing federal tax revenues. The largest contributor to this plan is an extension of the tax cuts enacted as part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which went into effect in 2018. In total, taxes across the board would decrease by $568.7 billion, or 11%, starting in fiscal year 2027. However, taxes on people who make $15,000 or less, the lowest income category, would increase by 18.7%, generating an additional $1 billion over the current law. Taxpayers who make $200,000-$500,000 would contribute $169.5 billion less than they do currently, while people who earn $1 million or more would contribute $96 billion less than at their current rate of taxation. The tax cuts, as proposed, are to be extended permanently, meaning they require congressional action to overturn. Among Trump's new tax policies are the plans to eliminate taxes on tips and overtime. Unlike the extension of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act cuts, these reductions are to expire in 2028. Qualifying tips are "any cash tip received by an individual in an occupation that traditionally and customarily received tips on or before December 2024." This does not apply to payments made that are not specified for a service trade or business. A Social Security number is required to make deductions based on tips. Where does the quote end here? Up to $10,000 in car loan interest is another new potential tax deduction. People with an adjusted gross income of less than $100,000 or married couples under $200,000 fit the eligibility requirements for this proposal, but only if the vehicle is assembled in the United States. Defense spending The budget reconciliation bill includes about $150 billion in new defense spending, increasing the total budget for the Department of Defense to more than $1 trillion. It is more than a 20% increase over U.S. military spending in Trump's last year of his first term and surpasses the already record spending under former President Joe Biden for a single year. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, it has $2.23 trillion in budgetary resources available in fiscal year 2025. It has about $782 billion in total obligations or funds it plans to spend in the fiscal year -- about 35% of its total resources. The bill proposes billions in new funding for an array of defense equipment and facilities and development and acquisition of missiles and nuclear weapon capabilities across its military's branches. New defense spending is directed toward border security, including $5 billion for border operations and deployment of military personnel. Funding will also go toward counter-narcotics operations. An additional $46.5 billion is proposed for expenses related to constructing and installing border barriers, access roads, cameras, sensors and other technology meant to detect immigrant crossings. In the bill, the Trump administration outlines its minimum goals for hiring additional U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents through 2029. In fiscal year 2025, it calls for a minimum of 2,500 new hires. Each year after through 2029 sets the minimum new hires at 1,875. If the funding is passed as proposed, the Department of Defense would dedicate new funding toward naval capabilities. This includes $4.6 billion for a second Virginia-class submarine -- a nuclear-powered attack submarine -- in fiscal year 2027. About $5.4 billion would go toward two more guided missile destroyer ships. Several investments are earmarked for unmanned vessels, including $3.3 billion to expand production on small and medium unmanned surface vessels. Another $1.3 billion would expand production of unmanned underwater vehicles. Air defense and space operations are also in line for new funding. The bill proposes $7.2 billion for the development, procurement and integration of military space-based sensors. These are used to scan Earth for strategic global missile warnings. It also seeks to accelerate the development of U.S. hypersonic defense systems with an additional $2.2 billion in funding. In 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin disclosed that Russia launched an experimental hypersonic missile at a Ukrainian aerospace plant. It was Russia's first use of a nuclear-capable weapon in the war. Trump aims to invest in the United States' presence in the Indo-Pacific with $1.1 billion in infrastructure within the area of its Indo-Pacific command and $1 billion for an offensive cyber operation.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
House Republicans divided as Trump's comprehensive bill faces critical vote
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has been hard at work this week meeting with as many factions within the House GOP as possible to quell concerns ahead of a chamber-wide vote on President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill." Managing a razor-thin House majority isn't easy in the best of times, but negotiating the vast tax-immigration-energy-defense-debt limit bill has revealed both old and new fractures within the Republican Conference. Fox News Digital took a look at what the key factions have been looking for. House Freedom Caucus Heading To White House After Delay Play On Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' The House Freedom Caucus and their allies have been pushing the bill to go further on curbing Medicaid's Affordable Care Act (ACA) expansion, and implementing work requirements for able-bodied Americans on the government healthcare program sooner than the current bill's 2029 deadline. There's broad consensus among Republicans on needing work requirements for able-bodied Americans on healthcare, but cutting too deeply into the Obamacare-era expanded population has some moderate GOP lawmakers worried. Read On The Fox News App The conservatives have consistently argued that they are only seeking to reshuffle the program to make it more available for vulnerable people who truly need it, including low-income women and children. That same group has argued in favor of a total repeal of President Joe Biden's green energy tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) – a push that has pitted them against Republicans whose districts have businesses that benefitted from those subsidies. Dems Warn House Republicans Will Pay Price At Ballot Box For Passing Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' Moderate Republicans in California, New York, and New Jersey have been taking a stand on raising the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap. SALT deduction caps primarily benefit people living in high-cost-of-living areas like New York City, Los Angeles, and their surrounding suburbs. Republicans representing those areas have argued that raising the SALT deduction cap is an existential issue — and that a failure to address it could cost the GOP the House majority in the 2026 midterms. Several of the Republicans vying for higher SALT deduction caps have pointed out that their victories are critical to the party retaining control of the House in 2024. SALT deduction caps did not exist before Trump's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which notably instilled a $10,000 ceiling for married and single tax filers. That cap has been received positively by the majority of Republicans, however – and those in lower-tax, GOP-controlled states have dismissed the push for a higher SALT deduction cap as an unearned reward for Democratic states with high-tax policies. Republicans in places like Tennessee and Missouri have argued it was their tax dollars subsidizing wealthier, blue-leaning areas' tax breaks. Blue state Republicans, meanwhile, have contended that they send more tax dollars back to the federal government which in turn helps pay for lower-tax states. There is some overlap between Republicans looking for more modest cuts to the IRA and those seeking a higher SALT deduction cap – but not completely. Republicans in swing districts in Arizona and Pennsylvania have argued that upending those tax credits now would harm businesses in their districts that had begun changing their operations already to conform to those new tax breaks. In March, 21 House Republicans signed a letter urging their colleagues to preserve the green energy tax credit. "Countless American companies are utilizing sector-wide energy tax credits – many of which have enjoyed broad support in Congress – to make major investments in domestic energy production and infrastructure for traditional and renewable energy sources alike," they wrote. But conservative fiscal hawks pushing for a total repeal said in their own letter that the U.S.' growing green energy sector was the product of government handouts rather than genuine sustainable growth. "Leaving IRA subsidies intact will actively undermine America's return to energy dominance and national security," they said. "They are the result of government subsidies that distort the U.S. energy sector, displace reliable coal and natural gas and the domestic jobs they produce, and put the stability and independence of our electric grid in jeopardy."Original article source: House Republicans divided as Trump's comprehensive bill faces critical vote
Axios
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Barrasso to honor "sherpas" who helped Trump's Cabinet get confirmed
A political organization associated with Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso is hosting a reception Monday night to celebrate the "sherpas" who helped Trump's Cabinet get confirmed by the Senate. Why it matters: Trump's Cabinet was confirmed in record time and senators want to honor the aides and advisers who helped make it happen. In addition to Barrasso (R-Wyo.), top Trump officials are expected to attend, according to people familiar with the matter. Driving the news: The event is being hosted by the Senate Opportunity Fund, a 501(c)4 organization that Barrasso aides set up during the first Trump administration to help the Republican Conference hone its messaging. The effort is being led by Arjun Mody, a longtime Barrasso adviser, who was also involved in the confirmation of Pete Hegseth at the Defense Department, Kash Patel at the FBI and Frank Bisignano at the Social Security Administration. Zoom out: Both parties use sherpas — typically former Senate staffers or actual senators — to help nominees navigate the confirmation process. (The term is also to refer to a country's top representative at G-20 summits.) President Trump's transition team started to put together a strategy in July on how to get their nominees confirmed by the Senate. Nominees were assigned confirming teams when they were named. Zoom in: There's a debate among Trump advisers and old Senate hands on which sherpas has the hardest job in navigating the confirmation minefield and finding 50 votes. Atop the list are Eric Ueland (himself nominated to be the deputy at Office and Management and Budget), who helped Hegseth win a 51-50 confirmation vote, with Vice President Vance dramatically breaking the tie. Arthur Schwartz, an adviser to Donald Trump Jr., also helped with Hegseth, as well as Elbridge Colby. Schwartz also counseled Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll on his confirmation. Ken Nahigian, who led the Trump-Pence transition eight years ago, was instrumental in getting Robert F. Kennedy Jr. confirmed as Health and Human Services Secretary.
Axios
30-04-2025
- Business
- Axios
Top 4 moments from Speaker Johnson's Axios interview
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) defended President Trump 's tariffs, got real about the deadline to get a mega-MAGA bill through Congress and warned Democrats are hugry to impeach Trump for a third time. Why it matters: Johnson has had to fight again and again to keep his power over the Republican Conference. He's headed for another high-stakes battle to jam through the president's agenda with slim margins. Here are the top moments from the Axios News Shaper interview with the speaker: Tariffs If Trump's tariff actions reached a point where it encroached on the constitutional power of Congress, Johnson said he'd call Trump first before stepping in. "I think the executive has a broad array of authority that's been recognized over the years," Johnson told Axios' Hans Nichols. "If it gets close to where the imbalance is there, then we would step in." "But I think the first protocol, to be very frank, is I would call the president and talk with him," he added. MAGA bill deadlines Johnson acknowledged Wednesday the real deadline will be the debt ceiling X date. "That's a big pressure point, and we don't know exactly when that X date will fall," Johnson said. "I have had to work under the assumption... that it could be the earliest date, maybe early June, so we can't be caught flat-footed on this." Johnson has repeatedly said he wants to pass Trump's "one, big beautiful bill" full of tax cuts, border funds and spending reductions by Memorial Day. "The Treasury Secretary said July 4th this week in public statements, and we applauded that, but I really hope we do it sooner," Johnson said. Medicaid cuts Johnson said he was not sure that House Republicans would come up with $500 billion in savings in the Medicaid program, but "We aspire to that." He argued that the estimate of "waste, fraud and abuse" in the program comes to $51 billion a year — tallying to roughly $500 billion over 10 years. Democrats have pounced on the idea of Republicans cutting Medicaid benefits as part of their mission to lower federal spending. Johnson defended their approach saying Americans "depend upon these things, and our job is to shore them up and make sure that we preserve the programs for the people who are genuinely need and deserve it." Democrat impeachment threat Johnson warned that if he loses the majority in the House next year, he expects Democrats to attempt to impeach Trump for a third time "on Day One."
