Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro debated retirement and Social Security on CNN on Tuesday night, explaining to his fellow panelists how Social Security is on a path to bankruptcy.
During a roundtable discussion on CNN&#8217;s &#8220;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWUNpmUU7a8&amp;list=PL6XRrncXkMaWWFyjMtzWWSeOocFr-N_3s&amp;index=1">News Night with Abby Phillip</a>,&#8221; Shapiro defended his stance that the government should not hand out Social Security checks for people to retire at 65 years old. The Daily Wire host warned that if the government does not raise the retirement age, &#8220;We will go bankrupt.&#8221;
&#8220;Women are living to 85 if they make it to 65, men are living to 83 if they make it to 65 — that&#8217;s 20 years on the public dime,&#8221; Shapiro added.
Phillip argued that Social Security is a system in which Americans &#8220;pay into&#8221; to receive that money back at retirement.
&#8220;Well no,&#8221; Shapiro replied, adding, &#8220;I promise you the amount that people are taking out is not the amount that is going in, which is why we are going bankrupt.&#8221;
&#8220;Okay, but it&#8217;s not the government just handing out a blank check,&#8221; Phillip said. &#8220;People pay into the Social Security system.&#8221;
&#8220;No, it&#8217;s the government borrowing money &#8230; you pay in X dollars and then you get multiple times X dollars when you retire,&#8221; Shapiro replied. &#8220;That is how the system works. It is not a <a href="https://www.cato.org/commentary/al-gores-social-security-confusion">lockbox</a>. This is what Al Gore was arguing about in 2000.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@benshapiro</a> teaching <a href="https://twitter.com/CNN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CNN</a> panelists how Social Security works is the video you didn&#8217;t know you needed😂 <a href="https://t.co/W54BsyPYKp">pic.twitter.com/W54BsyPYKp</a>
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/1963081890799264170?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Ana Kasparian, host of the leftist show, &#8220;The Young Turks,&#8221; shot back at Shapiro, saying, &#8220;I completely reject what you just said about how we&#8217;re going bankrupt through Social Security. Really? You don&#8217;t think the trillions of dollars we&#8217;ve spent on wars in the Middle East might have something to do with that?&#8221;
&#8220;That is not even remotely a percentage of what we spend on Social Security,&#8221; Shapiro replied.
&#8220;We&#8217;re spending hundreds of billions of dollars on Israel, on Ukraine. I mean, honestly, these foreign conflicts have a lot more to do with our national debt as opposed to us paying into [Social Security],&#8221; Kasparian added.
&#8220;That is just untrue,&#8221; Shapiro fired back.
In 2024, Social Security <a href="https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-budget/where-do-our-federal-tax-dollars-go#:~:text=Social%20Security:%20In%202024%2C%2021,workers%20and%20their%20eligible%20dependents." target="_blank" rel="noopener">accounted for 21%</a> of the federal budget, totaling $1.5 trillion. Defense spending, meanwhile, made up 13% of the budget, or $872 billion. Less than 1% of the budget was allocated to international programs, including humanitarian aid. By far, the most significant portion of the federal budget in 2024 was allocated to health insurance (24%) and Social Security.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/AnaKasparian?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AnaKasparian</a> suggests military spending drives debt more than Social Security:<a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@benshapiro</a>: That&#8217;s not even REMOTELY a percentage of what we spend on Social Security.<a href="https://twitter.com/ScottJenningsKY?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ScottJenningsKY</a>: You think Israel is a bigger portion of our budget than Social Security? <a href="https://t.co/FbD18tnGnP">pic.twitter.com/FbD18tnGnP</a>
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/1963087926188740635?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Ben Shapiro/Abby Phillip

Ben Shapiro Educates CNN Panelists On Social Security: ‘We Will Go Bankrupt’

Ben Shapiro

Budget

Media

Politics

Retirement

Social Security

The Daily Wire

President Donald Trump moved to cut another $4.9 billion in foreign aid spending through an executive maneuver last used nearly 50 years ago. 
In a Thursday letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), which was posted on social media on Friday, Trump stated that he is clawing back funding from programs run by the State Department, the United States Agency for International Development, and International Assistance Programs. Much of the funding is related to programs pushing climate and gender activism. 
The cuts will be carried out through a pocket rescission—a process allowing the president to revoke previously approved spending just before the fiscal year ends, leaving Congress no time to reauthorize the funds under federal law. Any future funding would require separate congressional approval.
On a background call with The Daily Wire, a White House official said a pocket rescission was a tool that the Trump administration had “dusted off.”
“Last night, President Trump CANCELLED $4.9 billion in America Last foreign aid using a pocket rescission,” the Office of Management and Budget posted on X on Friday. “[President Trump] will always put AMERICA FIRST!”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨 Last night, President Trump CANCELLED $4.9 billion in America Last foreign aid using a pocket rescission.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> will always put AMERICA FIRST! <a href="https://t.co/1DvXYGdy3B">pic.twitter.com/1DvXYGdy3B</a>
— Office of Management and Budget (@WHOMB) <a href="https://twitter.com/WHOMB/status/1961410044907458780?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 29, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio applauded the move from Trump. 
“Since assuming office, President Trump has been committed to rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse from the U.S. government, saving American workers billions of dollars,” Rubio said. “Now, for the first time in 50 years, the President is using his authority under the Impoundment Control Act to deploy a pocket rescission, cancelling $5 billion in foreign aid and international organization funding that violates the President’s America First priorities.”
Rubio said that some of the programs that were cancelled included $2.7 million for “inclusive democracy” in South Africa and $4 million for “global LGBTQI+ awareness” 
“None of these programs are in America’s interest, which is why the President is taking decisive action to put America and Americans first,” Rubio said. 
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A White House official added that the cuts also included hundreds of millions of dollars in climate projects, such as building a greenhouse gas calculator, promoting vegan food in Zambia, developing insect powder for children in Madagascar, and purchasing electric buses in Rwanda.
There is an ongoing legal battle over the use of “pocket recissions,” and some lawmakers have argued that the move is unconstitutional. 
“Given that this package was sent to Congress very close to the end of the fiscal year when the funds are scheduled to expire, this is an apparent attempt to rescind appropriated funds without congressional approval,” Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) said, joining Senate Democrats who spoke out against the move. &#8220;Any effort to rescind appropriated funds without congressional approval is a clear violation of the law.&#8221;
A White House official said Friday afternoon that they believed it had &#8220;a very firm legal footing&#8221; to make the cuts, and that “we will be making that case.”

President Trump Holds Cabinet Meeting

Trump Slashes $5 Billion In Foreign Spending Using Rare Executive Maneuver

Congress

Donald Trump

Executive

Marco Rubio

spending

State Department

USAID

The following is a portion of an edited transcript from a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mrn-250824-member-exclusive?elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+Show+Episodes+Carousel">Weekend Edition of Morning Wire</a> where Daily Wire Executive Editor John Bickley sat down with Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for Responsible Federal Budget.
* * *
JOHN: Joining us now is Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for Responsible Federal Budget. Maya, thanks so much for coming on. First, tell us, what exactly is the <a href="https://www.crfb.org/">Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget</a>?
MAYA: Thanks for having me. Other than a mouthful of a name, it&#8217;s a bipartisan nonprofit watchdog group. Basically, we&#8217;re very concerned about fiscal policy, meaning how big our debt and deficits are and we don&#8217;t have a political agenda at all. I&#8217;m a political independent. Our board and our staff are from across the political spectrum. But we are deeply concerned that our political environment now focuses on borrowing when we shouldn&#8217;t be because of the political benefits of not actually dealing with trade-offs. And that concern has been growing over time.
JOHN: I wanted to ask you exactly about that. You&#8217;ve been warning about borrowing. Why is the growing debt so dangerous for the U.S. economy? What specific ways will it actually impact Americans?
MAYA: I think that&#8217;s one of the biggest challenges about this whole issue. It&#8217;s really not something that feels directly related to us as individuals, but it&#8217;s directly related to everything we care about. The fiscal health of the country is really the underpinning of both our economic and our national security strength. So, if your debt is too high — and ours without question is — every warning sign that there is is blinking bright, bright red right now. But if your debt is too high, it actually means that the government borrows so much money, it squeezes out the investment possibility and the private sector. It slows growth and slows productivity, it pushes up inflation, pushes up interest rates, all sorts of things that slow economic growth, which translates into lower wages, lower standard of living, and less job security. Nothing good on the economic front. That&#8217;s one. 
Two, it means that our budget has huge pressure because interest payments start to absorb more and more of our resources. Whether you want huge tax cuts or huge growth in spending, we can fight about those things, but interest payments get the first claim on the dollar in the budget. Right now it&#8217;s our second largest item in the budget and the single fastest growing item. It also means that when we have national emergencies where you should be borrowing, it&#8217;s more difficult to do so. And it means that, if you&#8217;re trying to fight a recession or a pandemic or a national emergency, you may have high pressure on upward interest rates when you&#8217;re trying to borrow. Whereas, if your debt&#8217;s lower, that doesn&#8217;t happen. 
But it&#8217;s also expanded now where it&#8217;s not just an economic issue, it is a national security issue. We are borrowing from countries with whom we are not aligned. We are not able to make our own national security decisions just from a strategic and security perspective, we have to think about budget resources and you don&#8217;t want to be in that position. So it weakens our ability to respond to emergencies, take advantage of opportunities. But bottom line, we can do fewer things and we become poor as a nation.
And finally, for those people who worry about the next generation, it&#8217;s really, really [hosing] a generation that&#8217;s already facing so many challenges. They are facing a much more difficult, fast-paced, changing world and we have tied up their budget with interest payments and promises to seniors. They don&#8217;t have the fiscal flexibility to respond and they owe a whole lot of debt because of the borrowing we took on.
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JOHN: Like you said, it&#8217;s insidious because you don&#8217;t feel a lot of the effects. There are a lot of things that we can&#8217;t do now, things that we could have done if we had more money available. And then, kicking the can down the road. We&#8217;re not feeling it now – but our kids will feel it, and their kids will feel it. Is there any progress on this in Washington? Anyone paying attention to this?
MAYA: Yes, it&#8217;s so discouraging, honestly, because the situation is getting worse. Our debt to GDP is getting worse. Our annual deficits are getting worse, and this is outside of emergencies. And, frankly, our political environment and willingness to talk about this is much, much worse. We&#8217;re so polarized. You have both parties basically fighting with each other by giving away more things. &#8220;I&#8217;ll give you tax cuts, no taxes on this.&#8221; &#8220;Well, I&#8217;ll give you bigger tax cuts, and I&#8217;ll increase the spending.&#8221; &#8220;I&#8217;ll also increase the spending.&#8221; It used to be that you thought of Republicans as wanting tax cuts and Democrats as wanting spending increases. It&#8217;s literally both now. So, they fight for these huge giveaways. 
So, no, the situation is frankly very troubling both from an economic, national security, but also a political perspective. And internally, because it&#8217;s frustrating to work on an issue where you know we&#8217;re not going to have the big debt deal that we really need to have this year, for instance, a lot of times the best we can do and sort of why we&#8217;re able to pat ourselves on the back for some work is when things would have been worse without the kind of fiscal pressure we put on. But it&#8217;s really frustrating to say, &#8220;Well, we borrowed a trillion dollars, but we might have borrowed a trillion and a half if it weren&#8217;t for our pushing against this issue.&#8221; We&#8217;ve got to do better than that. We&#8217;ve got to start actually turning the ship around and bringing the debt as a share of GDP trajectory down instead of continuing to grow it&#8230;
* * *
<h3><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/debt-deficits-disaster-can-washington-change-course/id1576594336?i=1000723297012">Catch the full interview with Maya MacGuineas on Morning Wire.</a></h3>

National Debt

‘Blinking Bright, Bright Red’: Maya MacGuineas On America’s Debt, Deficits, And Disaster

'Blinking Bright, Bright Red': Maya MacGuineas On America’s Debt, Deficits, And Disaster

Federal Government

finance

Morning Wire

Spending Bill

U.S. House of Representatives

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testified Wednesday to a congressional committee in favor of President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill,” saying it would be &#8220;cataclysmic&#8221; for lawmakers to let the package die.
Bessent&#8217;s remarks came in response to a question from House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Tax Chairman Mike Kelly (R-PA).
“Let’s go to what actually is going to happen if this bill doesn’t get passed,&#8221; Kelly asked Bessent. &#8220;How is it going to affect hardworking American taxpayers?”
&#8220;It would be cataclysmic,&#8221; Bessent <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1932868781040136656">responded</a>. &#8220;It would be the largest tax hike in history. It would be a disaster for businesses, for working Americans, and for our status in the world.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/SecScottBessent?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecScottBessent</a>: If the One Big Beautiful Bill doesn&#39;t pass, &quot;it would be cataclysmic. It would be the largest tax hike in history. It would be a disaster for businesses, for working Americans, and for our status in the world.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/Aaihs72JyP">pic.twitter.com/Aaihs72JyP</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1932868781040136656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Bessent&#8217;s warning comes as the Senate considers whether or not it will pass the bill, which passed the House by just one vote. Two House Republicans <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-holdouts-sound-alarm-36t-debt-crisis-trumps-big-beautiful-bill-passes-house-vote" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted against</a> it. <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5341080-republicans-debate-fiscal-deficit-cuts/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senate Republicans</a> seem divided on the bill, with  Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky notably <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5314189-rand-paul-house-gop-budget-bill/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expressing</a> his dissatisfaction with the bill’s debt ceiling.
Replying to Kelly, Bessent warned that if the bill does not pass, “We would see increases in taxes of thousands of dollars on working Americans. We would see business contract, and we would see a substantial increase in the unemployment rate.”
Proponents of the bill, which <a href="https://taxpolicycenter.org/features/2025-tax-cuts-tracker#:~:text=TAX%20CUTS-,Expiring%20TCJA%20Provisions,set%20to%20expire%20after%202025.&amp;text=Near%20doubling%20of%20the%20standard,State%20and%20local%20taxes%20(SALT)" target="_blank" rel="noopener">extends</a> the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, argue that killing it threatens the national economy, while opponents claim that the bill only adds trillions to the national debt while reducing healthcare and nutrition benefits.
Kelly also asked Bessent to comment about what more can be done to move the economy in the right direction.
“The combination of small business and manufacturing, along with the President’s tax agenda for no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, a tax cut for seniors, and the ability to buy a new, American-made car and deduct the interest will solve this horrendous affordability crisis,&#8221; Bessent replied.
“The way to think about it, Congressman — we are dealing with two things here: we are dealing with affordability and we are dealing with inflation,” Bessent said.
“We are working to pull [affordability] down. That can be pulled down two ways: through price levels or [increasing] real wages. I think we can do both but the real fill-up here would be [to] increase real wages for working Americans.”
Later in the hearing, Representative David Kustoff of Tennessee reiterated Kelly’s concerns about the danger of killing the bill.
Bessent agreed, saying that, “I think it could set off a financial crisis the likes of which we have not seen since ‘08, ‘09.”

Senate Finance Committee Holds Confirmation Hearing For Scott Bessent

Not Passing ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Would Be ‘Cataclysmic,’ Treasury Secretary Warns

Rand Paul

Scott Bessent

Senate

President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration submitted its first rescissions package of the year to Congress, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced on Tuesday, accompanied by a list of instances of &#8220;waste, fraud, and abuse&#8221; singled out for the chopping block.
In a thread <a href="https://x.com/WHOMB/status/1929991228449312979" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> on X, OMB said lawmakers in the House and Senate &#8220;must act&#8221; on the request to claw back billions of dollars in &#8220;wasteful foreign aid and federal funding for NPR and PBS&#8221; previously appropriated by Congress, with &#8220;45 days to codify these massive cuts to woke, wasteful, and weaponized spending via a simple majority vote&#8221; using the Impoundment Control Act.
OMB specifically highlighted $67,000 for testing insect powder nutrition on children in Madagascar, $33,000 for “Being LGBTI in the Caribbean,&#8221; $643,000 for &#8220;LGBTQI+&#8221; programs in the Western Balkans, and $567,000 for &#8220;LBGTQI+&#8221; programs in Uganda.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
$67,000 for testing insect powder nutrition on children in Madagascar. <a href="https://t.co/ehLzMuIkkr">pic.twitter.com/ehLzMuIkkr</a>
— Office of Management and Budget (@WHOMB) <a href="https://twitter.com/WHOMB/status/1929991230567457260?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Scores of DEI and Global Green New Deal funding&#8221; projects were also mentioned, including: $5 million for the &#8220;Minority Serving Institute Fellowship Cooperative Agreement,&#8221; $595,400 for training women in gender equity, $500,000 for electric buses in Rwanda, $6 million for “net zero cities” in Mexico, $2.1 million for climate resilience in Southeast Asia, Latin America, and East Africa, as well as $5 million for “green transportation and logistics” in Eurasia.
OMB&#8217;s list went on to mention $4 million for “legume systems research&#8221; and $3 million for Iraqi Sesame Street.
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In addition, OMB noted millions under the PEPFAR account for so-called LGBTQIA+ programs, condoms, and vasectomies: $833,000 for &#8220;transgender people, sex workers and their clients and sexual networks&#8221; in Nepal, $5.1 million for &#8220;resilience of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans gender, intersex, and queer global movements,&#8221; $3 million for circumcision, vasectomies, and condoms in Zambia, $1 billion in contributions to &#8220;wasteful, corrupt, and anti-American international organizations,&#8221; including $135 million to the World Health Organization, and $1.1 billion for the &#8220;left-wing&#8221; Corporation for Public Broadcasting, &#8220;which uses your taxpayer dollars to fund PBS and NPR.&#8221;
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) confirmed receipt of the rescissions package, which his office said focuses on $9.4 billion in &#8220;wasteful spending&#8221; identified by the Trump administration&#8217;s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative. He also gave a shoutout to Elon Musk, who earlier had <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-cant-stand-it-anymore-goes-nuclear-on-big-beautiful-bill" target="_blank" rel="noopener">assailed</a> the lawmakers who voted to pass the &#8220;One Big, Beautiful Bill&#8221; last month, citing the &#8220;unsustainable&#8221; debt.
&#8220;The House will act quickly on this request,&#8221; Johnson said in a statement. &#8220;Under President Trump, every federal taxpayer dollar is actually being used to serve the American people, not to fund a bloated bureaucracy or purely partisan pet projects. We thank Elon Musk and his DOGE team for identifying a wide range of wasteful, duplicative, and outdated programs, and House Republicans are eager to eliminate them.&#8221;
He added: &#8220;This rescissions package reflects many of DOGE’s findings and is one of the many legislative tools Republicans are using to restore fiscal sanity. Congress will continue working closely with the White House to codify these recommendations, and the House will bring the package to the floor as quickly as possible.&#8221;
Johnson also took a shot at Democrats, who have largely opposed anything Trump supports, including DOGE.
“Democrats continue to wail and complain — NOT at the fraud, waste, and abuse — but at the Trump Administration simply for exposing it,&#8221; the speaker declared. &#8220;In fact, Democrats are the only ones in Washington who do not want to stop the egregious misspending of the people’s tax dollars. Democrats continue to defend corruption, while Republicans are delivering real accountability and real savings the American people demanded in November.&#8221;
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) criticized the spending cuts request.
&#8220;The reckless rescissions package introduced today is only the latest attempt by the Trump administration to attack the free press, decimate lifesaving humanitarian aid and hurt our national security,&#8221; Jeffries said in a statement. &#8220;House Democrats will continue to aggressively push back on the continued chaos, cruelty and corruption of this administration and on the far-right extremism being unleashed on the American people.&#8221;

President Trump

DEI, Insect Powder, And Trans ‘Resilience’: Trump Unveils ‘Woke’ Spending Cuts Request

Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

Mike Johnson

National Public Radio (NPR)

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)

Trump Administration

U.S. Senate

The budget bill moves to the Senate, Trump confronts the President of South Africa, and two staffers at the Israeli Embassy are gunned down in a targeted attack. Plus, Colorado passes a bill that makes misgendering a discriminatory act.
It’s Friday, May 23, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
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<h2>Washington Roundup</h2>
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<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-924395" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_22_04.Still001.jpeg" alt="" width="640" height="360" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_22_04.Still001.jpeg 640w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_22_04.Still001-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></div>
Topline: It’s been a busy few days in Washington, with big news on Trump&#8217;s budget bill, South Africa, and even the Supreme Court.
Early Thursday morning, the House of Representatives passed a comprehensive tax and budget package — what the president has been calling the “big, beautiful bill.” This was a huge win for President Trump, who pushed congressional Republicans to pass a single bill rather than several smaller pieces of legislation. It’s perhaps an even bigger win for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who not only rallied his caucus to this seemingly impossible task, but did so by his self-imposed Memorial Day deadline, which many people thought was impractical. The bill passed the House 215-214, with every Democrat voting “no” and a handful of Republicans dissenting as well. The legislation now goes to the Republican-controlled Senate, which Trump hopes will wrap things up by July 4.
The bill contained many key priorities for the Trump administration. Russ Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, joked that there was so much good stuff in the bill, it was impossible for him to single out the most important part: “You’re asking me to choose amongst my children! They are all very important … we have ended fiscal irresponsibility and futility by not being able to pass big reductions and mandatory savings that make total sense.”
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Among other things, the bill, which is more than 1,000 pages long, raises the debt limit by $4 trillion and funds Trump’s priorities on border security, energy, and national defense. It extends the 2017 Trump tax cuts, which are set to expire at the end of the year. It also defunds Planned Parenthood and blocks federal dollars from funding transgender procedures.
Meanwhile… This week, President Trump hosted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in an Oval Office meeting &#8212; they wanted to talk tariffs and foreign aid. Remember, this came on the heels of the White House welcoming 59 white South African farmers to the United States. Those farmers claim they’re fleeing an anti-white genocide in their home country, something the South African government strongly denies. But Trump came prepared to have that conversation with Ramaphosa, at one point dimming the lights in the Oval Office to play videos of anti-white rhetoric in South Africa.
And… On Thursday, the Supreme Court handed down a 4-4 decision on whether Oklahoma could open the nation’s first religious charter school. Justice Amy Coney Barrett abstained from voting, which caused the tie. Because there was no majority, the court did not issue an opinion, and we don’t know how the other justices voted. But that also means this case does not become federal precedent, and the court will likely have to take up the issue again.
<h2>Embassy Staff Gunned Down In Antisemitic Terror Attack In D.C.</h2>
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Topline: Two Israeli Embassy staffers were gunned down in Washington, D.C. this week in what FBI officials are calling an act of terrorism.
On Wednesday night, the American Jewish Committee was hosting a celebration at the Capital Jewish Museum, just blocks from the U.S. Capitol. As the event ended, a lone gunman opened fire, killing 26-year-old Sarah Milgrim and 30-year-old Yaron Lischinsky, both of whom worked at the Israeli Embassy and were in a relationship. According to family members, Yaron had purchased an engagement ring and planned to propose to Sarah next week during a trip to Jerusalem.
Shortly after opening fire, the gunman, 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez, entered the museum and told attendees to call the police. Footage from the scene shows him holding up a red kaffiyeh while chanting two words while being handcuffed: “Free Palestine.”
Days before the attack, the museum where the shooting took place applied for a security grant from the D.C. Government, citing “concern[s] about security due to some very scary incidents that some institutions have faced and because of a climate of antisemitism.” FBI Director Kash Patel said the incident was an act of terrorism, and officials say Rodriquez appeared to have acted alone.
Shortly before the attack, Rodriquez published a manifesto titled “Escalate for Gaza, Bring The War Home.” There, he wrote that anyone supporting Israel had “forfeited their humanity,” adding that his attack was “in some funny way, the only sane thing to do.” In recent years, Rodriguez was heavily involved in far-Left political activism — taking part in numerous anti-Israel demonstrations and working with the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL).
Jewish leaders have been warning that growing anti-Israel sentiment on college campuses and in the media would inevitably lead to attacks like this one. Jonathan Epstein, a recent graduate of Columbia University who was a witness to the shooting, told <a href="https://x.com/RedWave_Press/status/1925526438666498127">CNN</a>, “I saw the same thing in his eyes that I saw in the eyes of all the protesters at Columbia. Nothing different between him and them. … They gave the permission. And they have called for this.”
<h2>Colorado Makes &#8220;Misgendering&#8221; Illegal</h2>
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Topline: &#8220;Misgendering&#8221; is now officially an illegal, discriminatory act under Colorado law.
Colorado Democratic Governor Jared Polis signed <a href="https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb25-1312">House Bill 1312</a> into law last week. This applies to places like workplaces and schools, and violations of the statute could lead to fines or other civil penalties under Colorado’s anti-discrimination laws.
The law is drastically pared down from its original version, which said parents in custody battles who misgender or “deadname” their child were guilty of “coercive control” and could lose custody. Under Colorado law, &#8220;coercive control&#8221; is a serious category that <a href="https://frascona.com/sweeping-new-domestic-abuse-laws-for-divorcing-couples-unmarried-couples-and-children/">includes</a> things like threatening to kill someone.
“This bill was an attack on parental rights,” Colorado House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese (R-14) told The Daily Wire. “This is an issue that transcends party lines. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Republican, a Democrat, or unaffiliated. Nobody wants the government to be raising our children, or telling us how to raise our children.”
More than 700 Coloradans signed up to testify against the bill, and tens of thousands more signed petitions against it. Ultimately, Democrats were forced to strike the radical custody battle language, and some Democratic lawmakers even backed down and refused to vote for it unless the custody provision was removed.
The new law bars Colorado courts from enforcing statutes from other states that could remove children from parents who support their children taking transgender hormones or undergoing surgeries. It also requires schools that have dress codes to allow students to wear the uniform of the opposite gender and mandates that schools have policies affirming chosen names. The bill also allows people who identify as transgender to change the gender marker on their driver&#8217;s license up to three times without a court order.
Colorado has other controversial bills on transgender ideology coming down the pike, including one that would <a href="https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb25-1309">ban</a> health insurers from limiting so-called “necessary” transgender procedures.

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Morning Brief: Trump’s Budget Win, D.C. Attack, & Parents Fight Trans Law

Anti-Semitism

Colorado

Gaza

Israel

Murder

Transgender

Washington D.C.

The Trump-backed “big, beautiful bill&#8221; House Republicans passed early Thursday will prohibit all federal funding for transgender procedures on both children and adults if signed into law.
During a marathon nighttime session, Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) successfully expanded a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republicans-take-big-step-to-codify-trumps-battle-against-gender-insanity?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Republicans+Take+Big+Step+To+Codify+Trump’s+Battle+Against+Gender+Insanity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">provision</a> banning funding for transgender procedures for kids to include adults as well. Due to Crenshaw&#8217;s amendment, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program will no longer cover life-altering and dangerous transgender medical procedures.
&#8220;The Crenshaw Amendment will become law — and it’s long overdue,&#8221; the Texas Republican told The Daily Wire. &#8220;Gender transition procedures are the lobotomy of our generation. So-called &#8216;gender-affirming care&#8217; isn’t healthcare—it’s fringe science with no proven benefit and massive risks.&#8221;
The provision was secured by an amendment to Section 1903(i) of the Social Security Act, prohibiting funding for medically unnecessary procedures. This would mean funding would no longer go toward things like removing the breasts of women who identify as men or crafting pseudo male or female genitalia for transgender-identifying individuals.
Last week, Crenshaw introduced a provision banning the funding of the procedures on kids into the House Energy and Commerce Committee budget bill that it sent to the House Budget Committee. That provision alone would have saved $1.4 billion in taxpayer dollars, The Daily Signal <a href="https://www.dailysignal.com/2025/05/15/republicans-could-secure-about-1-4-billion-savings-through-defunding-child-transitions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> last week.
The full House passed the budget bill 215-214 Thursday morning, including Crenshaw&#8217;s transgender funding ban for both kids and adults. President Donald Trump has cited the ban on funding of child transgender procedures as one of the reasons for Republicans to back the bill.
Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) has pushed for a similar provision to end all taxpayer funding of transgender procedures.
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Crenshaw also secured reimbursements for Texas and other border states that have borne the brunt of the illegal immigration under former President Joe Biden, and added work requirements for able-bodied adults to be eligible for Medicaid, with exceptions for disabled people or pregnant women.
Social conservatives also picked up another major win with the advancement of the budget bill, as it would end Medicaid funding for abortion giant Planned Parenthood. Terry Schilling, the president of the American Principles Project, celebrated the passage of the bill.
&#8220;The One, Big, Beautiful Bill that passed the House will end taxpayer funding for gender transition surgeries, defund Planned Parenthood and increase the Child Tax Credit – all are monumental wins for our great nation,&#8221; Schilling said. &#8220;Now it is time for the Senate to get this bill across the finish line so we can Make Families Great Again.”

Members Of The Texas Congressional Delegation Speak On Border Security

‘Long Overdue’: House Republicans Vote To End Federal Funding For Transgender Procedures

Dan Crenshaw

House of Representatives

Medicaid

transgender surgery

President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” hit a major roadblock in Congress on Friday as GOP infighting stalled progress.
The House Budget Committee failed to advance the <a href="https://docs.house.gov/meetings/BU/BU00/20250516/118284/BILLS-119pih.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">legislation</a> in a 16-21 vote, with five Republicans joining Democrats over a dispute on the degree and timing of efforts to rein in the deficit, benefits, and environmental programs.
The outcome is a blow to House GOP leadership, which hopes to get the bill passed by Memorial Day. Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX) <a href="https://x.com/CraigCaplan/status/1923410292882481224" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> he did not expect the panel to meet again on Friday and <a href="https://x.com/HouseBudgetGOP/status/1923456699643379990" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suggested</a> it could take another crack at the legislation on Sunday evening.
With negotiations poised to stretch into the weekend, members will have to consider that certain alterations to placate the GOP holdouts might alienate other Republicans.
One of the GOP defectors, Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-PA), <a href="https://x.com/RepSmucker/status/1923416132117020712" target="_blank" rel="noopener">explained</a> on X that he &#8220;fully&#8221; supports the &#8220;one big, beautiful bill&#8221; and his vote was a &#8220;procedural requirement to preserve the committee’s opportunity to reconsider the motion to advance&#8221; it.
The other Republicans who opposed the legislation included conservative Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX), Andrew Clyde (R-GA), Josh Brecheen (R-OK), and Ralph Norman (R-SC). Doing more to shrink the deficit, benefit reform, and repealing the &#8220;Green New Scam&#8221; are <a href="https://x.com/chiproytx/status/1923415709247291674" target="_blank" rel="noopener">among</a> their priorities.
&#8220;Reps. Roy, Norman, Brecheen, Clyde and others continue to work in good faith to enact the President’s &#8216;Big Beautiful Bill&#8217; — we were making progress before the vote in the Budget Committee and will continue negotiations to further improve the reconciliation package,&#8221; the House Freedom Caucus <a href="https://x.com/freedomcaucus/status/1923415292404777170" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a post on X. &#8220;We are not going anywhere and we will continue to work through the weekend.&#8221;
Trump, who wrapped up a tour through the Middle East this week, had called on Republicans to pass the overall tax and budget bill to implement various priorities of his second term.
&#8220;Republicans MUST UNITE behind, &#8216;THE ONE, BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL!&#8217; Not only does it cut Taxes for ALL Americans, but it will kick millions of Illegal Aliens off of Medicaid to PROTECT it for those who are the ones in real need,&#8221; Trump said in a <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114517897638237566" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a> on Truth Social.
&#8220;The Country will suffer greatly without this Legislation, with their Taxes going up 65%,&#8221; he added. &#8220;It will be blamed on the Democrats, but that doesn’t help our Voters. We don’t need “GRANDSTANDERS” in the Republican Party. STOP TALKING, AND GET IT DONE! It is time to fix the MESS that Biden and the Democrats gave us. Thank you for your attention to this matter!&#8221;
Other House committees advanced their respective parts of the bill this week, but there are certain matters within those pieces that might need to change in order for a sufficient number of Republicans and their slim majority to rally around the final product, including the state and local tax <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-tax-deduction-cap-threatens-to-derail-trumps-one-big-beautiful-bill" target="_blank" rel="noopener">(SALT) deduction cap</a>.
Democrats who are focused on pushing back on Trump&#8217;s agenda celebrated the House Budget Committee snafu.
&#8220;BREAKING: We just stopped the Republican budget bill in committee,&#8221; Rep. Brandon Boyle (D-PA) <a href="https://x.com/CongBoyle/status/1923413597255794984" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X. &#8220;Whether it&#8217;s adding trillions to the debt, massive giveaways to billionaires, or millions of Americans kicked off their health care, Republicans know how unpopular this bill is. We won&#8217;t stop fighting back.&#8221;
If and when the “one big, beautiful bill” gets passed through the House, it will head to the Senate, which also has a narrow GOP majority. There, the measure could also have a difficult time as some Republicans have already voiced objections to its <a href="https://x.com/atrupar/status/1922691432017543566" target="_blank" rel="noopener">handling</a> of Medicaid and <a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/05/14/congress/the-titanic-johnson-predicts-houses-big-beautiful-reconciliation-bill-will-sink-in-the-senate-00348310" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spending</a> cuts.

President Donald Trump

Trump’s ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ Hits Snag In Critical Vote

President Donald Trump deepens U.S. ties in the Middle East with historic economic partnerships, while domestic battles over tax cuts and Medicaid rage on in Congress. The Federal Aviation Administration calls an urgent meeting with airlines to address critical staff shortages and faulty equipment at major travel hubs, grounding thousands of flights. And, a sweeping ICE raid in Nashville nets nearly 200 illegal aliens, sparking backlash from the city’s Democratic mayor and a larger national debate on Homeland Security protocols. 
It’s Thursday, May 15, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here:
 
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If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
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<h2>Budget Battle Continues</h2>
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Topline: House Republicans negotiated Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” this week in marathon sessions that began Tuesday and stretched well into Wednesday morning. Lawmakers muscled the legislation forward to prepare it for passage by the end of next week.
As budget negotiations continue to shape the bill, Congressional Republicans are focused on permanently extending Trump’s 2017 &#8220;Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.&#8221; On top of that, Republicans want to make good on Trump’s campaign promises, such as no tax on tips, and boost funding for the military and immigration enforcement.
“We&#8217;re checking all the boxes,&#8221; Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) told Newsmax. “ [The president] promised no taxes on overtime, no taxes on Social Security, no taxes on, for example, interest on car loans that are made in America. A number of those things are woven into this bill, and we&#8217;ve made all the math work so we can do that.“
So far, Republicans have agreed on new tax exemptions for tips and overtime pay for those earning less than $160,000 annually. The government will pay $1,000 to parents for babies born through December 31, 2028. The House bill also raises the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction from $10,000 up to $30,000, which some Republicans in blue states have said is still not enough.
However, to balance the books, the GOP must find funding offsets. For example, the bill limits itemized deductions for the 37% top bracket, and some Inflation Reduction Act tax credits for electric vehicles and green energy will be scrapped, though not entirely until 2029. The bill would also introduce work requirements for able-bodied people to access Medicaid, and would create new safeguards to prevent waste and fraud, although those reforms could face opposition in the Senate.
And… Yesterday, the White House announced an agreement that it said would generate an economic exchange worth $1.2 trillion with Qatar. As part of that deal, Qatar Airways said it plans to buy as many as 210 planes from Boeing. The U.S. has also agreed to deeper military cooperation with Qatar. Earlier this week, the president struck deals with Saudi Arabia that the White House says are worth about $600 billion.
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<h2>FAA Reforms</h2>
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Topline: The Trump administration is putting pressure on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after several deadly plane crashes and concerns with staffing shortages.
On Wednesday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy testified to lawmakers on a House Appropriations subcommittee about the Transportation Department’s new budget request. He’s asking for billions of dollars to update the country’s air traffic control system, which has been the target of widespread criticism after several deadly disasters and major snarls in the system.
Hundreds of flights were grounded at Newark Liberty International Airport last week when air traffic controllers lost communications with planes for about 90 seconds. Newark needs 38 air traffic controllers – it only has 24, and five of them are on a 45-day trauma leave due to stress resulting from recent problems. Also, construction at Newark has caused about 34 flight cancellations per day. Duffy blamed the Biden administration for failing to fix a broken system.
“This did not have to be our story,” Duffy said. “Over the last four years, the last administration, they knew this was a problem. And by the way, during COVID, when people weren’t flying, that was a perfect time to fix these problems.”
On Wednesday, airlines met with the FAA to address the situation at Newark. The FAA is already working on the Newark airport — it installed a software update to prevent another outage and is slashing the number of flights for now.
Duffy has made reversing the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI ) hiring practices implemented under the Obama and Biden administrations a major focus and has introduced a new recruitment program to address the air traffic controller shortage. He also <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/transportation/5290613-sean-duffy-air-traffic-control-overhaul/">wants</a> to invest in new equipment — new radios for air traffic controllers, radar on the ground, tarmac sensors, and a new flight management system to improve airspace efficiency. As he was testifying to Congress on Wednesday, Duffy’s Transportation Department announced it had just approved dozens more infrastructure grants, for a total of 405 grants worth nearly $5 billion so far. The department says it has cleared about 13% of the backlog under former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who served during the Biden administration.
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<h2>Nashville ICE Raids Nab Nearly 200 Illegals</h2>
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Topline: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carried out a week of raids in Nashville, Tennessee, arresting nearly 200 illegal aliens and prompting outrage from the city’s Democratic mayor.
A week-long ICE raid in Nashville that started on May 3 captured nearly 200 illegal aliens, many of whom have been convicted of criminal offenses. Of the 196 illegal aliens detained by ICE, 95 had prior criminal convictions or pending charges, and 31 had illegally re-entered the United States after previously being deported.
A Daily Wire investigation found that one of the illegal aliens captured is a 60-year-old Iraqi national who was convicted of rape and failed to register as a sex offender. Another is a 33-year-old from El Salvador believed to be affiliated with MS-13, a violent gang that was recently designated a foreign terror organization by the Trump administration. The government of El Salvador also suspects the man of committing aggravated murder. There’s also a Haitian male convicted of possessing meth with the intent to distribute, a Salvadoran convicted of possessing cocaine with the intent to manufacture and sell the drug, and a Guatemalan national with a conviction for aggravated assault.
Nashville Democratic Mayor Freddie O’Connell said that ICE’s immigration enforcement raids caused “deep community harms” and added that he was “heartbroken” over the federal law enforcement agency’s actions. O’Connell announced the creation of the “belonging fund,” a joint project between the city of Nashville and a local foundation to support organizations that assist illegal aliens with their childcare, transportation, and food needs. The mayor also signed an executive order requiring city employees and police to report any communications with ICE to his office.
But Nashville Legal Director Wally Dietz said that the city government can do nothing to prevent ICE from carrying out enforcement operations in Nashville. “We are powerless. We have absolutely no authority to instruct ICE not to carry out their enforcement actions…we have no authority to tell [Tennessee Highway Patrol] they cannot cooperate with ICE.”
Tricia McLaughlin, the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, called O’Connell a “pro-open borders politician&#8221; who would “rather protect illegal aliens than American citizens.” O’Connell was also slammed by ICE acting director Todd Lyons, who said that the Nashville mayor should be thanking the federal law enforcement agency for protecting his city.

MRN 5.15.25 Thu Thumbnail_V1

Morning Brief: Budget Battles, Billion-Dollar Bets & ICE Busts

Department of Transportation

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

Illegal Immigation

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Nashville

House Republicans took major step on Wednesday afternoon towards codifying President Donald Trump&#8217;s efforts to protect children from transgender procedures during a marathon markup session for the &#8220;one, big, beautiful bill&#8221; working its way through Congress.
After a 26-hour budget hearing, the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed a provision from Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) that would block federal dollars funding transgender procedures. This means that Medicaid, Affordable Care Act, and Children&#8217;s Health Insurance Program money will no longer be allowed to fund procedures like removing the breasts of girls who identify as boys or putting children on cross-sex hormones, if the provision makes it through the rest of the reconciliation process.
The provision was included in the committee&#8217;s portion of the Trump-backed budget bill. In a video shared with The Daily Wire, Crenshaw said he believed that ultimately his proposal would become law.
&#8220;I think it will pass the House, I think it will pass the Senate. I think President Trump will sign it into law. Keep in mind, President Trump has already done an executive action on this, but it needs to be codified for it to really take effect. This is a huge win,&#8221; he said. &#8220;You got to protect these kids, the science is clear at this point.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Dan Crenshaw just made sure a ban on federal funding for any transgender procedure on kids is in the House budget bill.
Here’s what he had to say—after 26 hours of debate with Democrats: <a href="https://t.co/Yi4aP7heCs">pic.twitter.com/Yi4aP7heCs</a>
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/1922768711389188573?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
He added that it was &#8220;interesting&#8221; that Democrats did not introduce any amendments to block his provision while they did for every other GOP-backed proposal.
&#8220;They know it&#8217;s a losing issue, they know we won this issue. They know to stay away from it. Stay away from kids. Stop doing pseudo-science, scientific experiments on children who would be better off in therapy. We&#8217;re winning.&#8221;
Crenshaw introduced his provision at around 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, roughly 25 hours after the committee began its meeting at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
&#8220;This will become law and I couldn&#8217;t be happier about it,&#8221; Crenshaw said. &#8220;Gender transition procedures are the lobotomy of our generation. People will look back on this period, I think with disbelief, I guarantee it. &#8216;Gender-affirming care&#8217; isn&#8217;t healthcare, it&#8217;s fringe science with no proven benefit and enormous risks.&#8221;
Democrat Rep. Nanette Díaz Barragán (CA) referred to Crenshaw&#8217;s comments as &#8220;gibberish&#8221; and attacked Republicans over provisions meant to reform Medicaid.
Crenshaw proposed a similar bill in January. Now, the proposal from the House Energy Committee will go to the House Budget Committee, which will then combine each of the House committee&#8217;s budget proposals into one piece of legislation that will then go to the full House for a vote.
The Texas Republican&#8217;s provision was part of the House Energy Committee&#8217;s commitment to identify $880 billion in spending cuts. Another proposal from Crenshaw was an 80-hour-per-month work, training, or volunteer requirement for able-bodied, working-age adults without dependents to get Medicaid. Exceptions for seniors, pregnant women, caregivers, students, and those with disabilities were given.
If Crenshaw&#8217;s transgender procedures proposal makes it across the finish line, it would cement in law President Donald Trump&#8217;s executive order on &#8220;Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation.&#8221; Trump directed his cabinet to ensure that no federal dollars were going toward hospitals or institutions that promote or perform transgender procedures on children.
Trump&#8217;s executive order called for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to look at ways to &#8220;take all appropriate actions to end the chemical and surgical mutilation of children&#8221; including by examining Medicaid funding. The Department of Health and Human Services <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hhs-releases-damning-review-of-gender-treatments-for-minors-the-risks-cannot-be-ignored" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released a report</a> earlier this month documenting the risks of transgender procedures for children, including infertility, sexual dysfunction, and cardiovascular disease.
In the other chamber, Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) is pushing for his “No Subsidies for Gender Transition Procedures Act,&#8221; which would prohibit federal dollars from funding any transgender medical procedure, to be included in the reconciliation process.

Rep. Dan Crenshaw

Republicans Take Big Step To Codify Trump’s Battle Against Gender Insanity

gender ideology

One of the biggest victories of President Donald Trump&#8217;s first 100 days <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hold-trump-scores-big-beautiful-victory-house-budget-vote" target="_blank" rel="noopener">came</a> when Congress passed a budget reconciliation framework, paving the way for his domestic agenda in a single, comprehensive bill. The measure — which the president has dubbed &#8220;one big, beautiful bill&#8221; — aims to extend tax cuts, enhance border security, and boost national defense.
The budget reconciliation process allows for more streamlined consideration of legislation pertaining to the federal budget. With it, the Senate requires only a simple majority — 51 votes — to pass a bill that gets developed after Congress passes a blueprint for how to proceed, bypassing the three-fifths majority threshold needed to overcome a filibuster. Currently, Senate Republicans hold a 53-seat majority.
Before taking office in January, Trump expressed his preference for passing a single bill, <a href="https://x.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1876089056817455175?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1876089056817455175%7Ctwgr%5E00f92e1a263f9d2933e2e879f4433950b013a16b%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newsweek.com%2Fdonald-trump-vows-one-powerful-bill-pass-major-maga-policies-2010106" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arguing</a> that such a &#8220;powerful&#8221; measure would &#8220;bring our Country back, and make it greater than ever before,&#8221; and would be offset by tariffs in response to countries he says have been taking advantage of the United States for years.
Each chamber of Congress charted a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/two-ways-about-it-house-and-senate-chart-different-paths-for-trump-budget-priorities-and-tax-cuts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">different</a> course, at least initially.
The Senate took a two-step approach, wherein one bill would address budget priorities while leaving tax cuts for a future measure. But House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) opted to pursue legislation with everything in one package.
Reaching the finish line first, the Senate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-passes-late-night-budget-bill-focused-on-border-defense-spending" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed</a> a $340 billion budget resolution tackling immigration and border security, defense, and energy in early February. The House ignored the Senate framework and later that month <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trumps-one-big-beautiful-budget-vision-clears-house-in-massive-victory-for-mike-johnson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">advanced</a> its own plan that would not leave the tax cuts for a future piece of legislation.
In the weeks that followed, the Senate essentially abandoned its two-step plan and pressed ahead with taking up the House resolution. Unlike the House, the Senate has to contend with the <a href="https://x.com/AndrewDesiderio/status/1905623315378471013" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Byrd Rule</a> for budget reconciliation, which constrains the upper chamber to focus solely on fiscal measures such as extending tax cuts and raising the debt ceiling while stripping out non-budgetary provisions.
What ultimately passed through the Senate was an amended framework that seeks to retain the 2017 tax cuts set to expire this year, raise the debt ceiling by $5 trillion, and increase spending on border security and defense. It also includes several billion dollars in spending reductions — far less than the more than $2 trillion goal in the original House resolution.
The lesser spending-reduction goals that made it into the Senate&#8217;s version proved to be disagreeable for several House conservatives, though Republican leadership managed to overcome the resistance. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) had offered his assurances that the upper chamber would strive to become &#8220;aligned&#8221; with the House in terms of savings. And, on April 10, the framework narrowly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hold-trump-scores-big-beautiful-victory-house-budget-vote" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed</a> the House, with two Republicans casting their no votes alongside 212 Democrats.
Although Democrats who oppose the budget plan <a href="https://x.com/HouseDemocrats/status/1909984102641512926" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claim</a> that it could lead to $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid and benefit the wealthy, Trump has <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/03/fact-check-president-trump-will-always-protect-social-security-medicare/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">insisted</a> he would not touch Medicaid, Medicare, or Social Security. He has, however, said fraud and illegal immigrants will be rooted out of the system. The president has also pushed for a number of tax cuts that could help Americans in the middle and lower-income brackets. Among his ideas are eliminating taxes on tips and <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114410073592204291" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reducing</a> income taxes for people making less than $200,000 a year.
The &#8220;big, beautiful bill&#8221; is coming together under the shadow of a national debt that is <a href="https://www.usdebtclock.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">approaching</a> $37 trillion.
Trump&#8217;s administration has engaged in a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effort led by tech executive Elon Musk, which <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-significantly-cut-back-doge-time" target="_blank" rel="noopener">says</a> its “estimated savings” have reached $160 billion amid cuts to programs and jobs across the federal bureaucracy. The White House also unleashed &#8220;Liberation Day&#8221; tariffs, with which the president contends he is trying to dismantle unfair trade practices. And yet another stopgap bill to avert a partial government shutdown — this one lasting for six months — was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-officially-sends-funding-bill-to-trumps-desk-after-dems-cave" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed</a> and signed by Trump in March.
Negotiators are now working on putting together the budget reconciliation legislation, using the amended resolution as a guide.
&#8220;It’s a complicated piece of legislation. I think it can be and probably will be one of the most consequential pieces of legislation ever passed by the United States Congress,&#8221; Speaker Johnson told host Will Cain in a Fox News <a href="https://x.com/SpeakerJohnson/status/1915179044288815247" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> last week, adding later, &#8220;Here&#8217;s the update. What you&#8217;ll see over the next four weeks is the pieces, the various components of that big bill, rolling out of these committees. You&#8217;ll have committee markups scheduled and all those 11 committees successively over the four weeks. And you&#8217;re going to see this thing come together.&#8221;
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested the legislation could be complete by Independence Day following a gathering on Monday of the so-called &#8220;Big Six,&#8221; which includes himself, White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, Johnson, Thune, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID), and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO).
&#8220;We had another successful &#8216;Big Six&#8217; meeting today, and we hope to have a tax bill done by the Fourth of July,&#8221; Bessent <a href="https://x.com/SecScottBessent/status/1916968595650695616" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a post on X. &#8220;The House is moving things along quickly, and the Senate is in lockstep. I&#8217;m happy to announce that they are in substantial agreement and that this is going to be a very big, pro-growth win for the American people.&#8221;

Donald Trump Delivers Joint Address To Congress

Trump 2.0 In 100 Days: ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ Comes Together

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In a major triumph for President Donald Trump, the GOP-led House passed a budget plan on Thursday morning that lays the groundwork for his domestic priorities in &#8220;one big, beautiful bill,&#8221; overcoming resistance from a group of conservatives disappointed by a lack of deeper spending cuts.
The amended <a href="https://www.budget.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/senate_amendment_h_con_res_14.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resolution</a>, already cleared by the Senate, provides a blueprint for lawmakers to craft legislation via the budget reconciliation process. Negotiations with GOP holdouts in the House stretched to the last moment, and <a href="https://x.com/cspan/status/1910350835969638674" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ultimately,</a> 216 Republicans and no Democrats voted in favor of the measure. Two Republicans and 212 Democrats voted against it.
President Trump immediately <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114314374220244880">responded</a> on Truth Social: &#8220;Congratulations to the House on the passage of a Bill that sets the stage for one of the Greatest and Most Important Signings in the History of our Country,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;Among many other things, it will be the Largest Tax and Regulation Cuts ever even contemplated. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!&#8221;
The resolution seeks to retain the 2017 tax cuts set to expire this year, raise the debt ceiling by $5 trillion, and increase spending on border security and defense. It also includes several billion dollars in spending reductions — far less than the more than $2 trillion goal in the original resolution narrowly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trumps-one-big-beautiful-budget-vision-clears-house-in-massive-victory-for-mike-johnson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed</a> by the House in February.
When taking up the initial House resolution, the <a href="https://x.com/AndrewDesiderio/status/1905623315378471013" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Byrd Rule</a> constrained the Senate to focus solely on fiscal measures like extending tax cuts and raising the debt ceiling while stripping out non-budgetary provisions. The lesser spending-reduction goals that made it into the Senate&#8217;s amended version proved to be disagreeable for several House conservatives.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) held a joint press conference with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Thursday morning before the vote to assuage the concerns of the House GOP holdouts.
&#8220;Our ambition in the Senate is we are aligned with the House in terms of what their budget resolution outlined in terms of savings,&#8221; Thune <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlwW0Zf-l9w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;The speaker has talked about one and a half trillion dollars. We have a lot of United States senators who believe that is a minimum.&#8221;
On Tuesday evening, following a meeting at the White House with House Republicans, Trump chided the Republicans who still opposed the budget framework during remarks at the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) dinner in Washington, D.C.
&#8220;Just in case there are a couple of Republicans out there: you just gotta get there. Close your eyes and get there. It’s a phenomenal bill. Stop grandstanding,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/stop-grandstanding-trump-tells-gop-holdouts-in-budget-revolt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. He also <a href="https://grabien.com/story?id=522138" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> that those pushing for &#8220;a little bit more&#8221; would &#8220;end up getting a Democrat bill or worse.&#8221;
There had been as many as a few dozen GOP holdouts earlier in the week, but in the end, Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Victoria Spartz (R-IN) were the only House Republicans to vote against the Senate plan.
&#8220;If you were trying to hasten financial collapse of our country and bribe voters to go along with it, the strategy wouldn’t look much different than what Congress is doing today,&#8221; Massie <a href="https://x.com/RepThomasMassie/status/1910338145826091429" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a post on X. &#8220;The big beautiful bill cuts taxes while keeping spending on an increasingly unsustainable trajectory.&#8221;
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), one of the most vocal critics among House conservatives of the Senate’s budget resolution amendment, ended up supporting it.
In a lengthy <a href="https://x.com/RepChipRoy/status/1910376175450411382" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> posted on X, Roy said he &#8220;reluctantly&#8221; voted for the resolution &#8220;on the basis of three specific commitments&#8221; related to spending cuts. He alluded to Trump&#8217;s <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114304634655292901" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a> desire for more than $1 trillion in reductions as one assurance. Roy also noted the budget reconciliation effort provides &#8220;the opportunity for Congress to simply make a down payment on our $36 trillion national debt.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
🚨 REP. ROY STATEMENT ON THE PASSAGE OF THE BUDGET RESOLUTION🚨
&quot;Today, I reluctantly voted for the Senate amendment to the House Budget Resolution on the basis of three specific commitments that form the floor for my consideration of the final reconciliation package.
First,…
&mdash; Rep. Chip Roy Press Office (@RepChipRoy) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepChipRoy/status/1910376175450411382?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Democrats who oppose the budget plan have <a href="https://x.com/HouseDemocrats/status/1909984102641512926" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> that it could lead to $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid while benefiting the wealthy.
&#8220;House Republicans want to cut $880 billion from Medicaid to pay for tax breaks for billionaires,&#8221; the House Democrats <a href="https://x.com/HouseDemocrats/status/1909984102641512926" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a post on X. &#8220;One thing is clear: The Republican Budget will leave hardworking American families worse off.&#8221;
The resolution does call on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which oversees Medicaid, to work on reducing the deficit by at least $880 billion over the next 10 years. However, it does not have instructions that explicitly say Medicaid is a target for cutting.
&#8220;Democrats are purposefully terrifying the everyday Americans they profess to care about,&#8221; the GOP-led House Rules Committee <a href="https://x.com/RulesReps/status/1910056694236819894" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X. &#8220;Why? For political gain. We&#8217;d tell them to read the resolution, but they already know there isn&#8217;t any targeting of specific programs.&#8221;
A pair of Republicans, Reps. David Valadao (R-CA) and Bob Onder (R-MO), did not cast votes for the budget plan on Thursday. Rep. Donald Norcross (D-NJ), who recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-dem-suffers-emergency-medical-event" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suffered</a> an &#8220;emergency medical event,&#8221; also did not vote. Two seats remained vacant after Reps. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) and Sylvester Turner (D-TX) died last month. Special elections are scheduled for later this year.
The White House has <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/03/fact-check-president-trump-will-always-protect-social-security-medicare/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published</a> a &#8220;fact check&#8221; page on its website highlighting Trump saying on multiple occasions that he would not mess with Medicaid, along with Medicare and Social Security, while noting that fraud and illegal immigrants would be rooted out from the system.
Before the Senate <a href="https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1191/vote_119_1_00191.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed</a> its version of the budget framework over the weekend, it held an overnight &#8220;vote-a-rama&#8221; with several amendment votes. During that process, the upper chamber rejected a Democrat amendment to remove the section that has stoked concerns about a potential $880 billion cut to Medicaid. Three Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) — joined with Democrats and independents <a href="https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1191/vote_119_1_00189.htm#position" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voting</a> in favor of the change.
Now, with the budget framework approved by both chambers of Congress, lawmakers will work on developing legislation.
Under the budget reconciliation process, the Senate requires only a simple majority — or 51 votes — to pass whatever bill is devised, bypassing the three-fifths majority threshold needed to overcome a filibuster. Currently, the Senate GOP has a 53-47 majority.
Speaker Johnson <a href="https://x.com/SpeakerJohnson/status/1908619838915817864" target="_blank" rel="noopener">emphasized</a> in a post on X on Saturday that the budget resolution is not the law itself but only the &#8220;necessary kickoff&#8221; for the reconciliation process to begin. He said the &#8220;amended resolution in NO WAY prevents us from achieving our goals in the final reconciliation bill&#8221; and noted the process would &#8220;involve input from all Members and will keep us on track to send a bill to the President’s desk by Memorial Day.&#8221;
The White House released a policy <a href="https://x.com/WHOMB/status/1910050176787526124" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> that said Trump&#8217;s administration &#8220;strongly supports&#8221; the Senate plan, which it linked to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effort.
&#8220;President Trump has demonstrated through numerous concrete actions his firm commitment to cutting wasteful spending,&#8221; the statement said. &#8220;This resolution aligns with his mission by paving the way for historic cuts to root out rampant waste, fraud, and abuse across the Federal Government, while responsibly addressing the debt extension.&#8221;

Speaker Mike Johnson and President Trump

Trump Scores ‘Big, Beautiful’ Victory With House Budget Vote

Chip Roy

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