The Latest: Key Medicaid provision in Trump’s big bill found to violate Senate rules
The Senate parliamentarian has advised that a Medicaid provider tax overhaul central to President Donald Trump s tax cut and spending bill does not adhere to the chamber s procedural rules delivering a crucial blow as Republicans rush to finish the package this week Guidance from the parliamentarian is rarely ignored and Republican leaders are now forced to consider complicated options Republicans were counting on big cuts to Medicaid and other programs to offset trillions of dollars in Trump tax breaks their top priority Additionally the Senate s chief arbiter of its often complicated rules had advised against various GOP provisions barring certain immigrants from medical care programs Trump wants the statute which includes tax reductions Medicaid cuts and boundary enforcement passed by July Here s the latest What we know about the damage done to Iran s nuclear initiative The big question following U S and Israeli attacks on Iran s nuclear project is What remains of it Trump has noted three targets hit by American strikes were obliterated His defense secretary declared they were destroyed A preliminary record issued by the U S Defense Intelligence Agency meanwhile announced the strikes did major damage to the Fordo Natanz and Isfahan sites but did not totally destroy the facilities The head of the International Atomic Force Agency stated it has seen extensive damage at several nuclear sites in Iran including those three Israel insists it has set back Iran s nuclear project by multiple years Functionaries and experts are still assessing the damage and their evaluation could change Two major questions they are trying to address are where Iran s stockpile of enriched uranium is and what is the state of the centrifuges that enrich the fuel Read more about what we do and do not know regarding the state of Iran s nuclear project Meet the Senate parliamentarian the official tying Republicans in knots over their tax bill A inadequate Republicans reacted with indignation Thursday after Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough advised that selected of the measures in their tax and immigration bill could not be included in the statute It s hardly the first time the parliamentarian s normally low-key and lawyerly role has drawn a blast of masses criticism MacDonough also dashed Democratic plans in the past But the attention falling on MacDonough s rulings in contemporary years also reflects a broader change in Congress with lawmakers increasingly trying to wedge their top approach priorities into bills that can t be filibustered in the Senate The process comes with special rules designed to deter provisions unrelated to spending or taxes and that s where the parliamentarian comes in offering analysis of what does and doesn t qualify Read more about what the Senate parliamentarian does and why lawmakers are so focused on her recommendations right now Macron says Trump is very determined to broker a new ceasefire in Gaza Speaking at a news conference in Brussels after a meeting of EU leaders French President Emmanuel Macron made his remarks following a phone call with the U S president Macron commented Trump was very much aware of the importance of a ceasefire for Gaza following the U S -brokered ceasefire that halted days of fighting between Israel and Iran I think his commitment is crucial on this issue Macron mentioned The two leaders discussed the Middle East and Ukraine according to Macron s office Nate Morris enters race to succeed Sen McConnell pledging loyalty to Trump The businessman joins a competitive campaign in Kentucky to succeed longtime power broker Mitch McConnell branding himself as a political outsider and loyal supporter of the president s Make America Great Again movement Morris disclosed his campaign would be a referendum on McConnell s record and he sought to link his GOP rivals U S Rep Andy Barr and ex-state Attorney General Daniel Cameron to the senator though Morris has his own past ties to McConnell You have two McConnellites who owe everything to Mitch McConnell versus the outside business guy that s running as the MAGA candidate Morris announced in a comment I think that contrast is gonna be very very striking to Kentuckians all over the state because they ve had enough of Mitch Morris has far less name recognition but can tap into wealth accumulated as a tech entrepreneur to unleash an advertising blitz He declared he supports a moratorium on immigration until every immigrant now in the country illegally is deported Spain s PM sticks by decision to break with NATO spending goal despite Trump tariff threats Pedro S nchez walked away from this week s NATO summit with an opt-out from spending more on defense He also left with fresh threats of tariffs from Trump On Thursday the progressive prime minister stuck by his decision to break with NATO allies and responded to Trump s comments by pointing out that it was the European Commission not Spain that decided the bloc s commerce plan What is clear is that deal approach is a procedures directed from here from Brussels S nchez disclosed Spain is an open country It is a country that is friendly to its friends and we consider the United States a friend of Spain At the summit Wednesday NATO members agreed to raise their defense spending to of GDP But S nchez secured the last-minute exemption saying Spain will only spend up to which he called sufficient and realistic Supreme Court has cases to decide including birthright citizenship The high court is in the final days of a term that has lately been dominated by the Trump administration s urgency appeals of lower court orders seeking to slow the president s efforts to remake the federal leadership But the justices also have six cases to resolve that were argued between January and mid-May One of the cases was an emergency appeal the administration s bid to be allowed to enforce Trump s executive order denying birthright citizenship to U S -born children of parents who are in the country illegally The remaining opinions will be delivered Friday Chief Justice John Roberts noted Read more about selected of the biggest remaining cases US signs agreements with Guatemala and Honduras to take asylum seekers The two nations signed the agreements to potentially offer refuge to people from other countries who otherwise would seek asylum in the U S Homeland Defense Secretary Kristi Noem announced at the conclusion of her Central America trip The agreements expand the Trump administration s efforts to provide flexibility in sending movers not only to their own countries but also to third countries as it attempts to ramp up deportations Noem commented the agreements were in the works for months with the U S cabinet applying pressure on Honduras and Guatemala to get them done Honduras and now Guatemala after this day will be countries that will take those individuals and give them refugee status as well Noem disclosed We ve never inferred that the United States should be the only option that the guarantee for a refugee is that they go somewhere to be safe and to be protected from whatever threat they face in their country It doesn t necessarily have to be the United States Lawmakers remove revenge tax provision from Trump s big bill after Treasury requests its removal After Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made the request Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo R-Idaho and House Procedures and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith R-Missouri disclosed we will remove proposed tax code Section Congressional Republicans stand ready to take immediate action if the other parties walk away from this deal or slow walk its implementation they announced Section would let the federal regime impose taxes on companies with foreign owners as well as investors from countries judged as charging unfair foreign taxes on U S companies The measure was expected to lead various companies to avoid investing in the U S out of concern that they could face steep taxes Bessent disclosed via the social platform X that he made his request after reaching an agreement with other countries on the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Improvement Global Tax Deal He commented that after months of productive dialogue they would announce a joint understanding among G countries that defends American interests Justice Department says it intends to try Kilmar Abrego Garcia on federal smuggling charges The department revealed Thursday that it intends to try him before it moves to deport him This defendant has been charged with horrific crimes including trafficking children and will not walk free in our country again DOJ spokesperson Chad Gilmartin communicated The Associated Press Gilmartin made the declaration after a federal prosecutor informed a federal judge in Maryland that the Trump administration plans to deport Abrego Garcia to a country that is not his native El Salvador after he s disclosed from jail in Tennessee Justice Department attorney Jonathan Guynn revealed removal proceedings would be to a third country But the prosecutor also mentioned there were no imminent plans to deport Abrego Garcia and the U S cabinet would comply with all court orders Trumps drop Made in the USA label for new phone and a debate ensues How to define made The four words that just a sparse days ago appeared on a website where customers can pre-order the new Trump-branded phones with an American flag etched on the back have disappeared In their place are much vaguer words such as proudly American and brought to life right here in the U S A It s not clear why the Trump family is changing the language but the Federal Commerce Commission requires that items labeled Made in USA be all or virtually all produced domestically Several companies have been sued over misusing the term The Trump Organization has not explained the change and has not responded to a request for comment Neither did an outside masses relations firm handling the Trumps mobile phone business including a request to confirm a announcement made to another media outlet T phones are proudly being made in America Trump Mobile spokesman Chris Walker noted according to USA Currently Speculation to the contrary is absolutely inaccurate Trump says he hopes bill can be passed by July as celebration event ends The president shook hands with the people who stood on stage behind him before he left the East Room Solicited on the way out if the bill will be finished by Congress self-imposed July deadline he declared we hope so Trump s demarcation czar says it will be hard road to make US safer without the tax cut and spending bill The president appealed Tom Homan to say a inadequate words and Homan commented he didn t understand what the holdup is in Congress He explained it s a no-brainer that national shield and citizens safety should be a nonpartisan issue Homan noted the bill has money for more agents beds and deportation flights to detain and get bad people out of the country I get irritated I get pissed off because I m sick of meeting angel moms and dads Homan reported using a description that refers to parents of children killed by immigrants in the country illegally You want to talk about family separation They bury their children Homan stated making the country safer without the bill will be a hard road Senators diverge sharply on damage done by Iran strikes after classified briefing Senators emerged with sharply different assessments of the U S bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites with Republicans calling the mission a clear success and Democrats expressing deep skepticism CIA Director John Ratcliffe Secretary of State Marco Rubio Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen Dan Caine chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff came to Capitol Hill to give the classified briefings originally scheduled for Tuesday Various Republicans left satisfied though their assessments of how much Iran s nuclear effort was set back by the bombing varied Sen Tom Cotton noted a major blow and catastrophic damage had been dealt Their operational capability was obliterated There is nobody working there tonight It was highly effective There s no reason to hit those sites anytime soon Sen Lindsey Graham declared Democrats remained doubtful and criticized Trump for not giving Congress more information Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer disclosed the briefing raised more questions than it answered Trump says his no taxes on tips campaign pledge originated with a waitress in Las Vegas The president says she came over when he was at a dinner at his hotel in the city He required how she was doing and she reported him the regime was killing me on tips She disclosed sir there should be no tax on tips Trump reported at a White House event organized to promote the sweeping bill that would end taxes on tips Trump commented he mentioned that s the coolest thing I ve ever heard He disclosed he later walked outside to hundreds of waiting journalists and announced Ladies and gentlemen please announce tonight there will be no tax on tips And a legend was made Mexico s president criticizes sanctions on Mexican banks by Trump administration Claudia Sheinbaum responded sharply Thursday to the U S regime sanctions to block transfers from three Mexican financial institutions saying Washington has not shown evidence of its accusations of money laundering The Treasury Department hasn t provided a single piece of evidence to show that any money laundering was taking place Sheinbaum stated We aren t going to cover for anyone there isn t impunity here They have to be able to demonstrate that there was indeed money laundering not with words but with strong evidence Shortly after ward Mexico s banking authority stated that it was temporarily taking over management of two of the institutions CIBanco and Intercam Banco to protect creditors The U S Treasury Department stated the sanctions Wednesday on those two banks and brokerage Vector Casa de Bolsa alleging that they facilitated millions of dollars in money transfers for drug cartels Trump holds celebration to spur action on tax cut and spending bill pending in the GOP-controlled Senate The White House East Room is packed for the celebration of the president s signature domestic protocol bill Several Cabinet members are there and on stage are about individuals who Trump and the White House say will benefit from the bill Senate Republicans are struggling with how to cut billions from vitality care without harming people or hospitals and others care providers Treasury secretary asks lawmakers to remove revenge tax provision from Trump tax bill Scott Bessent required them to scrap Section which would let the federal authorities impose taxes on foreign-parented companies and investors from countries judged as charging unfair foreign taxes on U S companies The measure is anticipated to cause companies to avoid investing in the U S out of concern that they could face steep taxes Bessent commented via the social platform X that its removal will provide greater certainty and stability for the global business activity and will enhance enhancement and capital in the United States and beyond Trump invites Republicans to White House House Speaker Mike Johnson and GOP lawmakers are heading to the White House as Trump hosts an event designed to urge Congress to pass his big tax cuts bill As Republicans struggle to push the package to passage one invited GOP holdout Sen Ron Johnson of Wisconsin mentioned it s supposedly going to be a mass arm-twisting State Department confirms it approved M for Israeli-backed group distributing food in Gaza Deputy department spokesman Tommy Pigott communicated reporters Thursday that the funding for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and its work should be commended and supported and called on other nations to contribute to it The private aid organization providing humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza that has been criticized by the United Nations and relief organizations for attempting to rebuild a distribution system for aid that has long existed The U S has announced that traditional means of distributing aid to Gaza have been compromised by Hamas The Associated Press and other news organizations released Tuesday that the money had been approved citing unidentified bureaucrats Trump and Emmanuel Macron discuss the situation in Ukraine and the Middle-East Trump called his French counterpart Macron s office mentioned The phone call took place as Macron was in Brussels for an EU summit during which European leaders were to discuss the world s major crises Trump and Macron decided to maintain close coordination on these issues according to Macron s office without providing other details Kennedy s advisers have endorsed flu vaccines for just about every American But they threw in a twist Only use certain shots free of an ingredient antivaccine groups have falsely tied to autism What is normally a routine step in preparing for the upcoming flu season drew intense scrutiny after Robustness Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr abruptly fired the influential -member Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and handpicked replacements that include several vaccine skeptics That seven-member panel bucked another norm Thursday It deliberated the safety of a preservative used in less than of U S flu vaccinations based on a presentation from an antivaccine group s former leader without allowing the usual populace airing of scientific records from the Centers for Illness Control and Prevention Read more about flu vaccines and the committee WTO warns goods agreement could slow in the coming months The World Transaction Organization communicated Thursday that goods agreement rose strongly in the first part of as importers frontloaded purchases in anticipation of expected higher tariffs But it also cautioned that export orders have begun to weaken suggesting that the momentum earlier in the year may not last The Geneva-based agreement body commented its latest goods deal barometer which tracks trends in global bargain rose to in April up percentage points from the last reading in March A reading of is considered the baseline so any reading over that is above trend However the tracker on new export orders came in at The document alluded to uncertainty caused by sweeping U S tariffs under the Trump administration launched in early April that have since largely been eased Prosecutors say the US plans to initiate removal proceedings against Abrego Garcia Federal prosecutors recounted a judge Thursday that the regime plans to deport Abrego Garcia to a country that is not El Salvador upon his release from a Tennessee jail But the prosecutors also commented that they would comply with all court orders and that their plans are not imminent Trump tries to push his legislative agenda over the finish line Before wrapping up her briefing Leavitt expressed confidence that the big beautiful bill will be approved by Congress on the president s timeline I know everyone looks forward to being here at the White House for the bill signing next week she noted Trump is holding an event later in the afternoon to press his incident He wants the rule which includes tax reductions Medicaid cuts and limit enforcement passed by July When you have a totalitarian regime you have to save face The White House brushed off the ayatollah s defiant message Any commonsense open-minded person knows the truth about the precision strikes on Saturday night Leavitt declared They were wildly achieving Kilmar Abrego Garcia s lawyers ask judge to order him returned to Maryland when he s published from jail The lawyers say that would prevent attempts by immigration administrators to deport Abrego Garcia when he is circulated from jail in Tennessee A federal judge in Tennessee has ruled that Abrego Garcia has a right to be disclosed while he awaits trial on federal human smuggling charges But she hasn t disclosed him over concerns of deportation Abrego Garcia lived in Maryland for more than a decade before the Trump administration mistakenly deported him to his native El Salvador in March mistakenly deported him in March to El Salvador Read more about Abrego Garcia s occurrence White House says Iran didn t move uranium The fate of Iran s uranium stockpile is a critical question after U S strikes over the weekend Leavitt mentioned the White House believes it was not whisked away from nuclear facilities between American missiles and bombs landed We were watching closely and there was no indication to the United States that any of that enriched uranium was moved she explained White House says Trump ended the immediate threat of Iranian nuclear initiative Press secretary Karoline Leavitt began Thursday s briefing by touting a U S mission that will go down in the history books as an overwhelming success She also reported Trump wants peace and U S authorities are in communication with Iranian leaders Right now we re on a diplomatic path with Iran Leavitt mentioned Israelis love Trump But specific are unnerved by vow to save Netanyahu from his corruption trial Trump s call for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu s corruption trial to be thrown out has plunged the American leader into one of Israel s the bulk heated debates unnerving specific in its political class just days after they unanimously praised his strikes on Iran Trump s social media post condemning the trial as a WITCH HUNT and his vow that the United States will be the one who saves Netanyahu from serious corruption charges came just two days after he called off an Israeli bombing raid in Iran to preserve a ceasefire Both were dramatic interventions in the affairs of an ally that previous U S administrations had invariably insisted was a sovereign nation that made its own decisions Now the one leader nearly all Israelis seem to promotion has fully embraced the one who largest part divides them With all due respect for Trump he is not supposed to interfere in a legal process in an independent country opposition leader Yair Lapid narrated Israeli media Read more about Trump and Netanyahu Gov Pritzker dodges questions on presidential bid after announcing gubernatorial campaign Illinois Gov JB Pritzker was at a Thursday morning rally launching his bid for a third term in office next year I m running for governor nowadays because I want to be governor of Illinois the Democrat narrated reporters Pritzker a vocal critic of Trump who was a top contender as Kamala Harris running mate in has often been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate for his party Pritzker also beat back against Trump on Thursday calling the president a megalomaniac narcissist and the GOP fascist freak show fanatics aiming to end democracy Our story doesn t have a king telling us what to do he declared as hundreds of supporters cheered JB at Chicago s Grand Passing Park Field House where Pritzker released his first gubernatorial bid in RFK says US is pulling funding from global vaccine group Gavi U S Fitness Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr says the country is pulling its sponsorship from the vaccines alliance Gavi saying the organization has ignored the science and lost the inhabitants trust A video of Kennedy s short speech was shown to a Gavi meeting in Brussels on Wednesday where the organization that has paid for more than billion children to be vaccinated through routine immunization programs was hoping to raise at least billion for the next five years Kennedy a longtime vaccine skeptic mentioned Gavi s partnership with the World Healthcare Organization during COVID- accusing them of silencing dissenting views and legitimate questions about vaccine safety Gavi disclosed in a declaration Thursday that its utmost concern is the medical and safety of children adding that any decision it makes on vaccines to buy is done in accordance with recommendations issued by WHO s expert vaccine group Read more about Kennedy s announcement on the vaccine group Trump is now fundraising with Daddy shirts The president and his allies are taking a liking to the Daddy nickname inspired by comments made by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and are now selling orange T-shirts with his image and the word The new merchandise benefits his fundraising efforts linked to his and Vice President JD Vance s leadership political action committees and the Republican National Committee In a news conference with Trump Rutte noted daddy has to sometimes use strong language when the two were talking about his dealings with warring Israel and Iran The White House shared a mashup video on social media with highlights from the NATO summit in the Netherlands and the soundtrack of Usher s song Hey Daddy Daddy s Home Trump executives will give their first classified briefing to Congress on the Iran strikes Senators are set to meet with top national shield executives Thursday as selected lawmakers question Trump s decision to bomb three Iranian nuclear sites and whether those strikes were ultimately flourishing The classified briefing originally scheduled for Tuesday also comes as the Senate is expected to vote this week on a resolution that would require congressional approval if Trump were to order another strike on Iran CIA Director John Ratcliffe Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are expected to brief the senators Democrats and several Republicans have mentioned the White House overstepped its authority when it failed to seek the advice of Congress They also want to know more about the intelligence Trump relied on when he authorized the attacks Read more about the classified briefing to Congress Trump s latest rejection of intelligence assessments reflects a long distrust of spy agencies President Trump s fights with the intelligence society were a running theme of his first term as he raged against an scrutiny into his campaign s alleged links to Russia Now a sequel is playing out as Trump battles to shape the residents s understanding of his foreign program gamble in Iran An early U S intelligence assessment stated Iran s nuclear project has been set back only a scant months after American strikes on three sites last weekend The Republican president has rejected the review and pronounced the operation altogether and fully obliterated The dispute is unlikely to fade anytime soon Top administration administrators are pressing Trump s incident with Hegseth scolding the media at a Pentagon briefing Thursday for breathlessly focusing on an intelligence record he downplayed as preliminary Briefings also are scheduled for lawmakers though the White House plans to limit the sharing of classified information after the initial assessment leaked this week Read more about Trump s relationship with the intelligence region Source
