Trump’s bill will feed the rich and starve the poor

These are the times that try people’s souls and tax their faith in human nature. The House of Representatives just passed President Trump’s big bad bill that awards huge tax breaks for rich people and big corporations and rips a gaping hole in the social safety net that protects the poor in bad economic times. The draconian proposal undermines the already shaky health, wealth and wellbeing of millions of struggling American families.  

The MAGA endgame is to fatten u...

Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ pits Senate GOP moderates against conservatives

Senate Republicans are deeply divided over President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” which the House passed by a single vote last week, setting up a battle in the upper chamber between moderates and conservatives that is likely to drag on well into July.

GOP senators are vowing to rewrite the bill, but they’re still weeks away from putting together a package that can muster the 51 votes it needs to pass, according to GOP senators and aides.

The more senators change...

Hawley stakes ground as chief GOP defender of Medicaid

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is staking out his spot as a populist defender of Medicaid in opposition to the steep cuts contained in the House-passed megabill to fund President Trump’s domestic agenda. 

The senior senator from Missouri — who as the state's attorney general once signed on to a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Affordable Care Act — has made his position clear: He will not support a bill that cuts Medicaid benefits. 

Hawley has long warned his party ...

5 ways the ‘big, beautiful bill’ could impact Americans 

Congressional Republicans are moving quickly to pass a mammoth tax and spending cuts package that could have a direct impact on millions of Americans and drastic consequences for the economy.  

The 1,000-plus-page bill recently passed by the House would extend tax cuts set to expire as part of President Trump’s signature 2017 tax law, provisions aimed at nixing taxes on tips and overtime pay.  

It also includes a host of reforms to programs like Medicaid and food ...

Former Rep. Charlie Rangel dies at 94

Former Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.), a Harlem native who served nearly five decades in the House of Representatives, died Monday at the age of 94.

Rangel was first elected to Congress in 1970 after defeating the Rev. Adam Clayton Powell Jr. He served in Congress from 1971 to 2017, eventually becoming the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee in 2007.

Rangel was a veteran of the Korean War, earning a Purple Heart and the Bronze Star. 

“Rangel ...

Budget bill faces Senate opposition over Medicaid 

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These are the changes Senate Republicans are eyeing for the GOP’s ‘big, beautiful bill’

Senate Republicans say they’re going to rewrite the 1,116-page bill the House narrowly passed Thursday to enact President Trump’s agenda.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) urged GOP senators at a meeting Tuesday to keep their changes to the bill as minimal as possible to avoid wrecking the delicate compromises he cobbled together in the House to muster 215 votes for the legislation.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), however, told reporters that the Senate wil...

Trump agenda bill would block Medicaid from covering gender-affirming care

A provision in House Republicans’ “big, beautiful bill” passed Thursday would ban Medicaid from covering gender-affirming health care for transgender people of all ages, a last-minute addition to the measure with the potential to upend care for hundreds of thousands of trans Americans. 

An earlier version of the bill would have also barred coverage for transition-related care, but only for minors. House Republican leadership unveiled the change and several others late ...

States should cut the federal cord and end dependency on Washington 

In most blue states at least, President Trump’s second term is creating a battle over how the states can use federal money. Many Democratic governors are suddenly defending state control and pushing back against Washington’s influence.

But the reality is that too many states resemble satellites orbiting Washington rather than sovereign governments charting their own course. 

In 2022, more than half of Louisiana and Alaska’s budget came from federal funds. Twenty stat...