Latest news with #TrumpAgenda
Fox News
10 hours ago
- Business
- Fox News
Florida Republican's bill would make Trump orders permanent in bid for US 'dominance' in key industry
FIRST ON FOX: A Republican Florida congressman is looking to codify several of President Donald Trump's executive actions pertaining to domestic energy production through legislative action he took Monday. Rep. Byron Donalds, who has been endorsed by Trump to replace term-limited Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, introduced the "Strengthening American Nuclear Energy Act" in an effort to codify four of the president's executive actions related to boosting nuclear energy production and use in the United States. Trump signed the orders late last-month. "In November, the American people granted us an unprecedented mandate to implement President Trump's America First Agenda. Now more than ever, it's up to Congress to hold up our end of the bargain," Donalds told Fox News Digital. "Energy security is national security, and it's imperative that our nation re-asserts our dominance in the nuclear space." On May 23, Trump signed four executive orders aimed at accelerating the development and deployment of nuclear energy in the United States. One of those orders, the "Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security," directs the Army to build a nuclear reactor "at a domestic military base or installation" by September 30, 2028. The order also directs the Secretary of Energy to establish artificial intelligence data centers that run on nuclear energy at Department of Energy facilities across the 48 contiguous States and the District of Columbia, with the goal of having the first one completed within the next 30-months. Finally, in addition to these measures and others, the wide-ranging executive order directs the country to pursue at least 20 new international nuclear cooperation agreements. Meanwhile, another one of the orders that Donalds' legislation seeks to codify compels the Secretaries of Defense, Transportation and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to prepare a comprehensive report within 240 days of when the order was signed. The report is supposed to include a national strategy to support the management of spent nuclear fuel and other "high-level waste," an evaluation of the current reprocessing and recycling efforts related to spent nuclear fuel and recommendations on how to improve it, and a program to develop methods and techniques for transporting used and unused nuclear fuel. The order also includes several other timelines, including one for the publication of a report on how to strengthen domestic uranium conversion capacity and enrichment capabilities. It also imposes timelines for the government to update its nuclear energy policies to spur production, and says that at least 10 large nuclear reactors must be under construction no later than 2030. The final two orders from Trump, which Donalds is seeking to codify, are largely aimed at reducing regulatory burdens surrounding nuclear energy production. The first of the two seeks to reform the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in order to help accelerate domestic nuclear energy production. The order aims to do away with what it describes as the NRC's excessive caution that has hindered the growth of nuclear energy in the United States. The second regulatory-focused nuclear energy directive from Trump is aimed at reforming the Department of Energy's nuclear reactor testing, in an effort to speed up the development of nuclear power plants. For instance, the order requires officials at the Energy Department to revise internal procedures to ensure that new reactors can become operational within two years of when builders apply to construct it. The safety risks of nuclear energy have long been a debate among energy policymakers in Washington. Part of Trump's orders are to expedite some of the safety regulations which his administration claims have been stifling domestic nuclear energy production. However, nuclear energy experts, such as Ernest Moniz, an Obama-era energy secretary and nuclear physicist, have said Trump's move to reform the NRC could be problematic. "Reorganizing and reducing the independence of the NRC could lead to the hasty deployment of advanced reactors with safety and security flaws," Moniz told the Washington Post. "A major event would, like those in the past, increase regulatory requirements and set back nuclear energy for a long time." Others, such as Paul Dickman, a former senior staffer on the NRC, have said Trump's reforms have "no scientific foundation." "You can't just do this by fiat," Dickman told the Post.
Washington Post
21 hours ago
- Business
- Washington Post
For Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Trump's big bill is a big test
Senate Republicans are rushing to pass a massive bill that includes much of President Donald Trump's domestic agenda, the first big legislative test for the party's new majority leader, Sen. John Thune. When Republicans passed their last mammoth tax bill in 2017, the South Dakota Republican was a top lieutenant to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), the longtime majority leader. Now, it's all up to Thune to shepherd Trump's agenda through a narrowly divided chamber — where some Republicans are already bashing the bill.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's tax bill has a long way to go in the Senate as Republicans mull major changes
Republican leaders spent months carefully crafting the 1,038-page megabill advancing President Donald Trump's agenda, engaging in grueling negotiations and backroom dealings to unite competing GOP factions just enough to squeeze the package through the House. Now, several of those provisions that ensured its passage could be on the chopping block. The Senate is set to begin consideration of Trump's 'big beautiful bill' as Republican leaders scramble to finalize the massive budget framework before the Fourth of July. But Republican senators — including Utah Sens. Mike Lee and John Curtis — are unsure about some of the contents, warning some provisions go too far while others don't go far enough to reduce the nation's deficit. 'There are solid victories in the bill,' Lee said in a statement to the Deseret News. 'But in its current form, the (Big Beautiful Bill Act) won't pass the Senate. It simply doesn't do enough to address the government's spending crisis. But we can make it better.' One of the most controversial provisions tucked into the budget resolution is language repealing clean energy tax credits that were passed in the Inflation Reduction Act under the Biden administration with only Democratic support. That language was demanded by a group of fiscal conservatives in the House who threatened to vote against the full package if it was not included. However, some Republicans have been wary to fully repeal the green energy tax incentives, arguing it could raise utility costs for all Americans. Curtis is among those pushing to preserve some of those clean energy policies, particularly those dealing with nuclear energy, net-zero emissions, battery storage and more. The first-term senator has long centered his climate policies on clean energy solutions, suggesting earlier this week he will push for those changes as the Senate considers the bill. 'My friends in the House kind of called me up to say, 'Listen, we're counting on you to fix it,'' Curtis said at an event in Tooele last week. 'So I think even many of them knew that what they sent over did need some work, and that's now our job in the Senate to put our stamp on that and have it speak for our will.' 'And I think if I have anything to say about it,' he added, 'I'll make sure that we're taking into account our energy future.' On the other hand, Lee has previously suggested he wants a comprehensive repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act, telling the Deseret News it should be overhauled 'lock, stock, and barrel.' 'There are some simple ways we can improve the bill,' Lee said. One way is to 'end Biden's politically motivated subsidies under the so-called 'Inflation Reduction Act' and end the Green New Scam once and for all.' While the two Utah senators have competing visions for the future of green energy tax credits, the pair have similar views on how to address proposals paring back government spending to reduce the deficit. Both Curtis and Lee have pushed for deeper spending cuts and reforms to certain government programs. While Republicans have vowed not to slash necessary benefits under Medicaid and other welfare programs, Curtis has repeatedly urged lawmakers to engage in conversations about reining in fraudulent spending. If not, the senator has warned, drastic cuts will be necessary in the future. Lee has also been vocal about searching for deeper spending cuts in the budget framework, arguing it does not go far enough to reduce the deficit. Those calls have been echoed by some fiscal hawks in the House, who say they are counting on the Senate to implement deeper spending cuts they couldn't secure with their slim majority. Another key deal that was made in the reconciliation package is an expansion of federal deductions for state and local taxes paid, also known as SALT. That provision was demanded by blue-state Republicans who threatened tanking the package if it wasn't included. Republican leaders offered to increase the current deduction cap to $40,000 — up from the current $10,000 limit — for individuals who make $500,000 or less a year. That cap would then increase by 1% every year over the next decade and remain permanent after that period. However, that increase may not be met with open arms in the Senate — and Lee is already hinting at its removal. 'Right now, it unfortunately contains big SALT cap increases, which are basically subsidies for high-tax blue states paid for by hardworking families in Utah and the rest of the country,' Lee said. Another provision that could find itself on the cutting room floor: a debt ceiling increase. The debt limit is the total amount of money the federal government is authorized to borrow in order to pay off existing obligations, tax refunds, interest on the national debt and other payments, according to the Treasury Department. House Republicans tucked a $4 trillion debt ceiling increase into the budget resolution to avoid a default later this summer, arguing that by doing so, they would strip Democrats of the chance to use the impending deadline as leverage to attach some of their own policies. However, some Republicans are staunchly opposed to a debt limit increase in any fashion. 'I think the problem for conservatives is they lose their high moral ground. These will be their deficits,' said Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who is currently opposed to the package. 'These will be GOP spending bills, GOP deficits, and there is no change in the direction of the country.' House GOP leaders are pleading with their counterparts in the Senate not to make changes to the massive reconciliation package, warning any edits could tank the megabill before it even makes it to Trump's desk. Meanwhile, the president is telling the Senate to 'make the changes they want' — sending mixed messages as Republicans consider alterations to the budget framework advancing policies on the border, energy, national defense and tax reform. Some of the hard-to-convince lawmakers hope their stubbornness will ward off any of their Senate colleagues from making drastic changes, noting the drawn-out process in the House should deter them from doing so. 'I think after seeing how painful of a process this is and how difficult it is to get anything through this side, I think that will send a strong message in the Senate that you can't really change it,' Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., a member of the Freedom Caucus, told the Deseret News.
CNN
a day ago
- Business
- CNN
Interviews with White House Budget Director Russ Vought; House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries; Senator Chris Murphy - State of the Union with Jake Tapper and Dana Bash - Podcast on CNN Audio
Interviews with White House Budget Director Russ Vought; House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries; Senator Chris Murphy State of the Union 47 mins On CNN's State of the Union, Dana Bash sits down for an exclusive interview with the man seen as the architect behind President Trump's scorched-earth effort to upend the federal government, White House Budget Director Russ Vought. Then, House Democratic Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries joins Dana to detail his party's plan to counter Trump's agenda, as well as respond to a new CNN poll showing Americans frustration with the Democratic Party. Next, Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy pushes back against Republican messaging around President Trump's massive spending and tax cut bill. Finally, Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell, CNN Senior Political Commentator Scott Jennings, and CNN Political Commentators Jamal Simmons and Shermichael Singleton weigh in on Elon Musk's exit from the Trump administration, as well as early 2028 moves by Democrats.
CNN
2 days ago
- Business
- CNN
‘We can't let our foot off the gas pedal': Jeffries on Dems' plan to counter ‘Trump's one, big ugly bill'
House Democratic Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries joins CNN's Dana Bash to lay out Democrats' plan to counter Trump's agenda and respond to voter frustration with his party.
