The GOP-led House Oversight Committee voted on Tuesday in favor of subpoenaing <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ghislaine-maxwell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ghislaine Maxwell</a>, a longtime companion to deceased sex offender <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jeffrey-epstein" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jeffrey Epstein</a>, to appear for a deposition.
A <a href="https://x.com/mkraju/status/1947668776272679356" target="_blank" rel="noopener">motion</a> directing Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) to authorize and issue a subpoena passed by a voice vote.
“Today, I am proud to announce that the Oversight Committee approved my motion directing Chairman Comer to subpoena Ms. Ghislaine Maxwell to appear before the House Oversight Committee,&#8221; Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) <a href="https://burchett.house.gov/media/press-releases/burchetts-motion-subpoena-ghislaine-maxwell-approved-house-oversight-committee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement. &#8220;This deposition will help the American people understand how Jeffrey Epstein was able to carry out his evil actions for so long without being brought to justice.&#8221;
A House Oversight Committee spokesperson <a href="https://x.com/HouseInSession/status/1947673552754270434" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> reporters, &#8220;The Committee will seek to subpoena Ms. Maxwell as expeditiously as possible. Since Ms. Maxwell is in federal prison, the Committee will work with the Department of Justice and Bureau of Prisons to identify a date when&#8221; she can be deposed.
Maxwell is serving <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/ghislaine-maxwell-sentenced-20-years-prison-conspiring-jeffrey-epstein-sexually-abuse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a 20-year prison sentence</a> after being found guilty of conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse underage girls.
The voice vote happened shortly after the Department of Justice <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/justice-dept-anticipates-ghislaine-maxwell-meeting-in-coming-days-amid-epstein-fallout" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed</a> that it anticipated a meeting with Maxwell in the &#8220;coming days.&#8221; That followed Attorney General Pam Bondi filing a formal <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/doj-requests-judge-unseal-grand-jury-testimony-in-epstein-maxwell-cases-at-trumps-behest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">request</a> last week for a federal judge to unseal grand jury testimony from the cases against Epstein and Maxwell at President Donald Trump&#8217;s behest.
A growing number of lawmakers want to push the Trump administration to reveal more information it has on Epstein, a wealthy financier and convicted sex offender who was found dead at the age of 66 in his New York City jail cell in 2019 after being arrested on sex trafficking charges involving young girls.
However, efforts to try and pass a disclosure measure have hit a roadblock with the Rules Committee not passing a rule for bills this week, and with the House expected to depart this week for its August recess. A <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-resolution/581/cosponsors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">discharge petition</a> from Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) that would force leadership&#8217;s hand likely will not get a vote until at least September, assuming they have a sufficient number of signatures.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) <a href="https://x.com/mkraju/status/1947371871776731167" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> reporters on Monday that lawmakers need to give the Trump administration &#8220;space&#8221; and would consider further congressional action if it becomes necessary. On Tuesday, Johnson <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JVI9uLRFwo">said</a> House Republicans want &#8220;maximum transparency,&#8221; but he also stressed the need to be &#8220;very judicious and careful about protecting&#8221; innocent victims.

Ghislaine Maxwell

House Panel Votes To Subpoena Ghislaine Maxwell

Congress

House of Representatives

House Oversight Committee

Jeffrey Epstein

Mike Johnson

U.S.

In the wake of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s assertion that former President Barack Obama was part of a group that created an intelligence community assessment to vilify President Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson stated that he had “no concern” about bringing Obama in for a deposition before the House.
Gabbard had said Obama, former FBI Director James Comey, former CIA Director John Brennan, and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper were all involved in the conspiracy to allege that Trump had colluded with Russia in the 2016 election. That conspiracy allegedly collaborated to create the assessment released in early 2017. Gabbard has referred the issue to the Department of Justice.
“There’s no question in my mind that this intelligence community assessment that President Obama ordered be published which contained a manufactured intelligence document — it’s worse than even politicization of intelligence,” Gabbard <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/video/6375881194112">told</a> Fox News host Maria Bartiromo. “It was manufactured intelligence that sought to achieve President Obama and his team’s objective, which was undermining President Trump’s presidency and subverting the will of the American people.”
CBN host David Brody asked Johnson, “I’ve heard Stephen Miller call this a ‘seditious conspiracy.’ I’ve heard Tulsi Gabbard call it a ‘treasonous conspiracy.’ You’re a constitutional guy; what do you see in this exactly? How do you term it?”
“Well, I don’t know how to summarize it in — by way of description — in a snappy phrase, but I will tell you it is deeply problematic,” Johnson replied. “Before I became Speaker of the House I served on the House Judiciary Committee, which had jurisdiction over a lot of this, and we knew what was happening. We knew intuitively and we were gathering the evidence as we were investigating all of this ourselves. We knew the Russia collusion thing was a hoax. They used it as a basis to attack the president mercilessly.”
Noting that he had served on Trump’s impeachment defense teams twice, Johnson recalled, “As we were preparing for those defenses, as we were investigating with our oversight responsibility in the Judiciary, we recognized that the people who are being called out now were involved in a scheme. We knew that it was a shameless, false, set of accusations, and yet, they perpetuated the lie on the American people. And they looked right under the camera and just lied, clearly. And they knew what they were up to the whole time so there must be accountability for that.”
Pointing out the most significant threat was the diminution of the American people’s people’s faith in our system of justice itself, Johnson continued,  “We’re in the process of restoring trust and rebuilding the people’s belief in our system of justice itself, and it’s an extraordinary challenge. It was brought about because people were involved in a sinister plot. So there must be accountability.”
“People want to see subpoenas; they want to see depositions,” Brody posited. “They want to see, whether it be Brennan, Clapper, potentially the former President of the United States. Are you willing to go down that route? Cause a lot of people want to see some of these folks questioned under oath.”
“Of course,” Johnson answered immediately. “I think we have a responsibility to follow the truth where it leads and to do it in an unbiased fashion, to do effectively the opposite of what that other team did.”
“Does it get tricky at all with the former president, President Obama, looking at what his role in this is and bringing him in for some sort of deposition, potential subpoena?” Brody asked.
“Well, listen, we have no concern about that,” Johnson said bluntly. “If it’s uncomfortable for him, he shouldn’t have been involved in overseeing this, which is what it appears to us has happened. There’s a lot of allegations on the table. Our job is to go and follow each of those trails and to find out the truth. And so those are very serious allegations with very serious implications, but we’re gonna have very serious people working on it and we will get the answers.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
JUST IN: Speaker Johnson tells me says he has no concern at all about bringing Former President Barack Obama in for a congressional deposition or subpoena over the newly declassified documents bombshell. &#8220;If it&#8217;s uncomfortable for him, he shouldn&#8217;t have been involved in… <a href="https://t.co/hAeVHdYt4m">pic.twitter.com/hAeVHdYt4m</a>
— David Brody (@DBrodyReports) <a href="https://twitter.com/DBrodyReports/status/1947471736091361510?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Trump Wins Broad Economic Policy Shift As House Passes Tax Bill

House Speaker Has ‘No Concern’ About Calling Obama To Testify On Russia Collusion Hoax

Barack Obama

Department of Justice

House Judiciary Committee

Politics

Russia Collusion Hoax

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Monday released a supercut of Democrats defending Joe Biden&#8217;s mental acuity as Republicans investigate an alleged &#8220;cover-up&#8221; of the former president&#8217;s decline while in office.
The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euaBtI7F3xQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a>, which is more than 14 minutes long, comes on the one-year anniversary of Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-drops-out-of-presidential-race" target="_blank" rel="noopener">abandoning</a> his 2024 re-election bid following a faltering presidential debate against now-President Donald Trump that led to immense pressure from allies for the incumbent to drop out of the race. It features clips of congressional Democrats, officials in the Biden administration, and others in various media interviews, press conferences, and public events. Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost to Trump in the November election and is reportedly considering a run for California governor, is among them.
&#8220;One year ago today, President Biden&#8217;s disastrous debate performance made history by ending his re-election campaign and exposing the largest political cover-up in U.S. history,&#8221; Johnson said in a statement. &#8220;As House Republicans investigate the scandal to bring accountability, the American people should never forget how far Democrats and the media went to hide the truth about the mental decline of the man holding the most powerful position on earth. Our video compilation shows just a small sample of the countless receipts.&#8221;
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Over 14 minutes of Democrats Defending Joe Biden&#039;s Obvious Mental Decline" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/euaBtI7F3xQ?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Biden, now 82, and his health have become a focus of increased scrutiny over the past several months. A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jake-tapper-flails-when-confronted-with-his-role-in-biden-cover-up" target="_blank" rel="noopener">book</a> by journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson on Biden&#8217;s &#8220;deterioration&#8221; and efforts to &#8220;hide&#8221; it, his recent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/joe-biden-diagnosed-with-aggressive-form-of-prostate-cancer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;aggressive&#8221;</a> prostate cancer diagnosis, and the release of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/audio-of-bidens-special-counsel-interview-is-out-and-its-painful-to-listen-to" target="_blank" rel="noopener">audio</a> from an interview with special counsel Robert Hur in which the former president struggled to recall simple facts has further stoked the flames of speculation.
House Republicans are calling in former Biden administration staffers to interview for an inquiry looking for any efforts to conceal issues with the former president&#8217;s mental state and whether he authorized the use of autopen signatures for pardons and other major executive actions. Some <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-jill-biden-aide-joins-white-house-doc-takes-the-fifth-in-biden-health-cover-up-probe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pleaded</a> the Fifth.
Senate Republicans are also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrats-duck-biden-mental-fitness-hearing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">looking into</a> Biden&#8217;s mental fitness. And Trump has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-orders-investigation-into-biden-autopen-scandal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ordered</a> a probe into whether aides improperly used an autopen for executive actions in an effort to conceal Biden&#8217;s health issues, suggesting there could be &#8220;implications&#8221; for the legality and validity of the presidential acts in question.
Democrats have largely shrugged off the investigations into Biden. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, took the opportunity to swipe at GOP colleagues over the &#8220;One Big, Beautiful Bill&#8221; that recently passed through Congress.
&#8220;The only person&#8217;s health that Republicans care about is Joe Biden&#8217;s – even as 17 million Americans lose access to health care thanks to their budget betrayal,&#8221; Garcia <a href="https://x.com/RepRobertGarcia/status/1942986945216549149" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X.
Biden pushed back on the notion that he did not dictate his executive actions.
&#8220;Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn&#8217;t is ridiculous and false,&#8221; Biden said in a <a href="https://x.com/brittanys/status/1930450375699583244" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. &#8220;This is nothing more than a distraction by Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans.&#8221;
However, Biden later conceded to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/13/us/politics/biden-pardon-autopen-trump.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&amp;referringSource=articleShare" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a> that he did not personally sign off on each of a large number of pardons before he left office.

Former President Joe Biden

A Year After Biden Quit Race, Mike Johnson Drops 14-Minute Video Exposing Dem ‘Cover-Up’ Of His Decline

Democrats

Joe Biden

U.S. House of Representatives

President Donald Trump struck a victorious tone on Sunday as he marked the first six months of his second term.
In a <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114885422115933668" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a> on Truth Social, Trump alluded to some of his accomplishments on the foreign policy and tariff fronts since returning to the White House after defeating then-Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.
&#8220;Wow, time flies! Today is [the] Sixth Month Anniversary of my Second Term. Importantly, it’s being hailed as one of the most consequential periods of any President,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;In other words, we got a lot of good and great things done, including ending numerous wars of Countries not related to us other than through Trade and/or, in certain cases, friendship.&#8221;
He added, &#8220;Six months is not a long time to have totally revived a major Country. &#8216;One year ago our Country was DEAD, with almost no hope of revival. Today the USA is the &#8216;hottest&#8217; and most respected Country anywhere in the World.&#8217; Happy Anniversary!!!&#8221;
Trump notched legislative victories, most notably with the recent passage of the measure he dubbed the &#8220;One Big, Beautiful Bill&#8221; that included many of his spending and tax cut goals.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
JUST SIX MONTHS into President Trump’s second term, America is safer, stronger, and more prosperous.
We’ve cut taxes, secured the border, ignited the economy, and put America First at home and on the world stage.
And we’re just getting started. 🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/pvlHwGaaEk">pic.twitter.com/pvlHwGaaEk</a>
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerJohnson/status/1946932526825849127?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 20, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;JUST SIX MONTHS into President Trump’s second term, America is safer, stronger, and more prosperous,&#8221; House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) <a href="https://x.com/SpeakerJohnson/status/1946932526825849127" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a post on X, marking the occasion. &#8220;We’ve cut taxes, secured the border, ignited the economy, and put America First at home and on the world stage. And we’re just getting started.&#8221;
Also on X, the White House&#8217;s &#8220;Rapid Response&#8221; account shared clips of Sunday talk show hosts remarking on the whirlwind of events during the first half year of Trump&#8217;s second term.
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&#8220;Wow, a lot can happen in just six months,&#8221; says CNN&#8217;s Jake Tapper.
&#8220;Today marks half a year since President Trump took office again — and already, his second term is shaping up to be even more consequential than his first.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/O9knuo6FSW">pic.twitter.com/O9knuo6FSW</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1946920402338410794?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 20, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;The state of our union is thinking, &#8216;Wow, a lot can happen in just six months,'&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1946920402338410794" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declared</a> CNN&#8217;s Jake Tapper. &#8220;Today marks half a year since President Trump took office, again — and already, his second term is shaping up to be even more consequential than his first. The president has followed through on promises to ramp up deportations, impose tariffs, target his political enemies — including the news media, reduce the federal bureaucracy, and slash U.S. aid to foreign countries.&#8221;
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ABC: &#8220;Today marks six months since President Trump returned to office for his second term &#8230; The President promised changes — and there is no question he has made them.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/63mbt4HrIQ">pic.twitter.com/63mbt4HrIQ</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1946922182493213051?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 20, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Martha Raddatz, co-anchor of ABC&#8217;s &#8220;This Week,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1946922182493213051" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, &#8220;Today marks six months since President Trump returned to office for his second term. It has been a head-spinning half year, from sweeping changes in the federal government, to mass deportations, and bombs dropped on Iran. The president promised changes — and there is no question he has made them.&#8221;

President Donald Trump

Six Months In: Trump Celebrates Revival of ‘Hottest’ Country In The World

Donald Trump

White House

The GOP-led House sent a $9 billion rescissions package to President Donald Trump&#8217;s desk just after midnight on Friday, a victory for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) drive to defund programs that many Republicans deem wasteful and ideologically driven.
Lawmakers in the lower chamber voted <a href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2025203" target="_blank" rel="noopener">216-213</a>, largely along party lines, in favor of the rescissions measure, which claws back funds allocated to foreign aid projects and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a funding source for NPR and PBS.
&#8220;President Trump and House Republicans promised fiscal responsibility and government efficiency. Today, we’re once again delivering on that promise,&#8221; House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said. &#8220;This package eliminates $9 billion in unnecessary and wasteful spending at the State Department, USAID, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.&#8221;
He added, &#8220;The American people will no longer be forced to fund politically biased media and more than $8 billion in outrageous expenses overseas. While Republicans continue to deliver real accountability, restore fiscal discipline, and protect taxpayer dollars, Democrats continue to defend waste, fraud, and abuse. This isn’t the end, it’s the beginning. We look forward to passing additional rescissions bills throughout the 119th Congress.&#8221;
Previously, the House passed a $9.4 billion rescissions package in line with the White House&#8217;s request in early June. However, the GOP-led Senate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-republicans-drop-aids-relief-cuts-from-rescissions-package" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pulled</a> $400 million in cuts to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program as some members had voiced dismay with that part of the proposal.
Under the Impoundment Control Act, any rescissions measure requires only a simple majority in the House and Senate, meaning the filibuster threshold could be ignored. But it also gave Congress just 45 days to deliver legislation in response to a president&#8217;s request. The deadline, in this case, was the end of the day on Friday.
A continuation of the spending reductions is possible if they make it into fiscal 2026 legislation that is being put together now. Sources on Capitol Hill and the White House previously said they expected more requests from the Trump administration to implement so-called DOGE cuts as part of a wider effort to reduce the deficit, which has ballooned past a trillion dollars in recent years, so long as the first bill passed.
Critics of the rescissions package raised <a href="https://x.com/bresreports/status/1945297767649435793" target="_blank" rel="noopener">concerns</a> about how defunding public broadcasting could <a href="https://x.com/lisamurkowski/status/1945637668479479894" target="_blank" rel="noopener">diminish</a> helpful services to Americans, lamented a lack of clarity on the Trump administration&#8217;s plan to implement the cuts, and <a href="https://x.com/SenatorDurbin/status/1945919451678875833" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decried</a> the prospect of cutting back on food and medicine for people in poor countries.
&#8220;Instead of protecting the health, safety and well-being of the American people, House Republicans have once again rubber stamped Donald Trump’s extreme, reckless rescissions legislation,&#8221; Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and other Democrat leaders in the House said in a joint statement.
Upon announcing its request, the White House&#8217;s budget office <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dei-insect-powder-and-trans-resilience-trump-unveils-woke-spending-cuts-request" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that it wanted to claw back funds steeped in &#8220;waste, fraud, and abuse&#8221; from the CPB, which Trump singled out in an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/05/ending-taxpayer-subsidization-of-biased-media/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">executive order</a> seeking to defund NPR and PBS amid claims they were biased, as well as money for foreign aid programs.
Johnson&#8217;s office said the final product &#8220;rescinds $9 billion of wasteful spending uncovered by DOGE,&#8221; including: $1.1 billion for the CPB, $135 million in contributions to the corrupt and dangerous World Health Organization, $18 million to improve gender diversity in Mexican street lighting, $4.4 million for a Melanesian Youth Climate Corps, $3.9 million for LGBTQI+ advocacy programs in the Western Balkans, $2.5 million to teach children how to make environmentally friendly “reproductive health” decisions, $300,000 to fund a Pride parade in Lesotho, $500,000 for electric buses in Rwanda, $500,000 for a gender equality and empowerment hub, and $8,000 for promoting vegan food in Zambia.
Trump had <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-warns-republican-senators-defund-npr-and-pbs-or-lose-my-endorsement" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> GOP lawmakers that there would be political consequences for opposing the rescissions effort, particularly when it came to PBS and NPR. Among the Senate Republicans who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/taking-back-control-senate-votes-to-claw-back-9b-from-foreign-aid-public-broadcasting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted</a> against the measure with the Democrats and independents were Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. The GOP lawmakers in the House who <a href="https://x.com/CraigCaplan/status/1946059570570281055" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted</a> against it, via a rule, were Reps. Mike Turner (R-OH) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA).
In an early Friday morning post on Truth Social, Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114872393229075156" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exclaimed</a> in all caps, &#8220;HOUSE APPROVES NINE BILLION DOLLAR CUTS PACKAGE, INCLUDING ATROCIOUS NPR AND PUBLIC BROADCASTING, WHERE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS A YEAR WERE WASTED. REPUBLICANS HAVE TRIED DOING THIS FOR 40 YEARS, AND FAILED….BUT NO MORE. THIS IS BIG!!!&#8221;

Speaker Johnson Holds Weekly Press Conference On Capitol Hill

The House Delivers: Trump’s $9B Cut To Global Aid And Public Broadcasting Gets Final Approval

Spending Bill

House Republicans say there is &#8220;a misunderstanding&#8221; about the failed vote on Tuesday that Democrats linked to demanding the Department of Justice compile and release files regarding Jeffrey Epstein.
Democrats <a href="https://x.com/nicholaswu12/status/1945161060954062859" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pledged</a> to revive an Epstein disclosure amendment from Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) that was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-republicans-block-democrat-push-to-release-epstein-files" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shot down</a> Monday in the House Rules Committee after he sought to merge his measure with an unrelated crypto bill — if a procedural floor vote went their way. But it <a href="https://x.com/jamiedupree/status/1945185474164793543" target="_blank" rel="noopener">did not succeed</a>.
While the result has been widely cast as the House Republicans uniting to prevent the release of the Epstein files, some GOP members pushed back on that narrative.
&#8220;I gotta correct something real quick,&#8221; Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) <a href="https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/1945205224232112334" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a &#8220;Benny Show&#8221; interview. &#8220;It&#8217;s being reported that House Republicans unanimously voted to block the release of the Epstein files, and I want to straighten out the record right now. That is not true. If I could vote &#8230; to release the Epstein files, guys, you would have my vote. I would vote &#8216;yes.'&#8221;
Greene spoke about the mechanics of what happened.
&#8220;It was a procedural vote. And we have these all the time. It&#8217;s called a &#8216;PQ.&#8217; It&#8217;s voting on the previous question,&#8221; Greene said. &#8220;If the Democrats had won the previous question, which I know sounds insane — it&#8217;s one of these crazy rules in the House that are hard to understand — that means they would control the House floor.&#8221;
The congresswoman then contended that if Democrats had gotten their way, it could have paved the way to all sorts of votes beyond the Epstein issue.
&#8220;And that means they could bring up anything,&#8221; Greene said. &#8220;They could bring up impeachment articles against President Trump. They could bring up a whole package of insane Democrat agenda items and force votes on the House floor on these things. That&#8217;s what we voted against. We never allow Democrats to have control of the House floor because we control the House floor. So, it&#8217;s a misunderstanding that I just wanted to straighten that out.&#8221;
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) <a href="https://x.com/RepLuna/status/1945223846585622659" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> a similar explanation in a post on X.
&#8220;The House GOP conference as a whole did not vote to block the release of the Epstein files,&#8221; Luna said. &#8220;There was a procedural vote that, if failed, would have given Democrats control of the House. If you pull up the &#8216;previous question&#8217; language you will not find anything re: Epstein. Liars never cease to disgust me.&#8221;
In response, Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) <a href="https://x.com/RepMcGovern/status/1945261045808832954" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> Luna was not entirely correct.
&#8220;Respectfully, [Luna], this is not accurate. If you pull up the &#8216;previous question&#8217; language in tomorrow’s congressional record you will find the following, which you voted against,&#8221; McGovern said, sharing a screenshot of text on the Epstein files amendment.
Khanna&#8217;s amendment did get the support of a single Republican — Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) — in the House Rules Committee, but the rest of the Republicans voted &#8220;nay&#8221; and it was defeated.
The California Democrat later <a href="https://x.com/RoKhanna/status/1945142704091906495" target="_blank" rel="noopener">clarified</a> that his measure pertaining to Epstein, a wealthy financier and convicted sex offender who was found dead at the age of 66 in his New York City jail cell in 2019 after being arrested on sex trafficking charges involving young girls, would &#8220;of course protect&#8221; the identity of any victims.
President Donald Trump has expressed support for Attorney General Pam Bondi and seemed to dismiss the uproar within the “Make America Great Again” movement after the Department of Justice claimed it had no evidence that Epstein had a client list, blackmailed powerful people, or was murdered.
&#8220;One year ago our Country was DEAD, now it’s the ‘HOTTEST’ Country anywhere in the World. Let’s keep it that way, and not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about,&#8221; Trump said on Truth Social.
Still, there are many people who remain skeptical that the Department of Justice is being completely forthcoming.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) <a href="https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/1945181783567319432" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a separate &#8220;Benny Show&#8221; interview on Tuesday that he supports &#8220;transparency&#8221; with regard to the Epstein issue and called on Bondi to be more forthcoming to inform the American public what happened after she <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/shes-great-trump-backs-bondi-wants-top-officials-to-end-conflict-over-epstein" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hinted</a> earlier this year that major bombshells were about to be revealed that never materialized.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene

House GOP Rejects Claims of Blocking Epstein Files: ‘A Misunderstanding’

Marjorie Taylor Greene

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Sunday outlined a roadmap for congressional Republicans over the next years and a half, following their successful passage of the &#8220;One Big, Beautiful Bill&#8221; championed by President Donald Trump.
During an <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/video/6375610110112" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> on &#8220;Sunday Morning Futures&#8221; with Fox News anchor Maria Bartiromo, Johnson said Republicans have a &#8220;responsibility of fixing every metric of public policy&#8221; that the Democrats &#8220;destroyed&#8221; over the four years of the Biden-Harris administration. The speaker also contended that members of his party are &#8220;implementing a playbook&#8221; designed to take advantage of the GOP controlling the House, Senate, and White House using the budget reconciliation process that allows them to bypass the filibuster.
&#8220;So, the &#8216;Big, Beautiful Bill&#8217; was the first big step in that. But we have multiple steps ahead of us. We have long planned for at least two, possibly three reconciliation bills, one in the fall and one next spring that would continue to allow us to do this on a partisan basis, where we only need Republican votes and we don&#8217;t have to drag Democrats along. They are in no appetite to fix any of the mess. We have to do it ourselves. So yes, that&#8217;s next,&#8221; Johnson said.
He added, &#8220;In addition to that, we will continue to get the country back on a path to fiscal responsibility by rescissions packages that will come from the White House that we’ll enact, and claw back spending and eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse, in the multiple reconciliation packages, and in appropriating at lower levels of funding. All these things will be done while we&#8217;re codifying more of President Trump&#8217;s executive orders. He&#8217;s been very busy. We will be as well. We have a lot more work ahead of us.&#8221;
Congress passed the final version of the &#8220;One Big, Beautiful Bill,&#8221; which aims to fulfill many of Trump’s spending and tax-cut goals of his second term, by narrow margins. It did so without the support of any Democrats and a couple of GOP holdouts who begrudged its cuts to Medicaid and raised concerns about the debt. Within the legislation&#8217;s hundreds of pages, Johnson said, were provisions that already cemented dozens of the president&#8217;s executive orders.
&#8220;Almost 30 of them were included in the &#8216;Big, Beautiful Bill.&#8217; So that was a lawmaking exercise; the president has now signed them into law and they&#8217;re codified. So it&#8217;s not a temporary thing, they&#8217;ll be permanent in the law. And we&#8217;ve done a number, about 15 or 20 additional executive orders that we&#8217;ve already codified in the House. We&#8217;ll continue that process. We wanted to get as many of them as we could into the reconciliation package because we knew that we were certain that that would actually be signed into law and it wouldn&#8217;t just be a feel-good exercise,&#8221; Johnson said.
He continued, &#8220;So more of that will continue going forward. The president&#8217;s been one of the most prolific, I think arguably the most successful president in the first six months of this term than any previous president. Look how many things have been accomplished. A lot of it has been done through executive order, so Congress has its role to play now as well.&#8221;
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Speaker Johnson Joins Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/w7MG26LVEAc?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson

Speaker Johnson Maps Out Republican ‘Playbook’ After ‘Big, Beautiful’ Victory

Republicans

After his key role in getting President Trump’s “big, beautiful” budget bill passed, House Speaker Mike Johnson <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/johnson-says-megabill-jet-fuel-economy-teases-2-future-bills-within-next-year">outlined his plans</a> for the future, with more reconciliation bills on the way, and offered a succinct, caustic response to Democrats claiming they were happy to run against the bill in 2026.
“What deals were made?” Fox News Sunday&#8217;s Shannon Bream asked Johnson on Sunday. “There a couple of members who’ve said they were given assurances outside of this bill of other things  that they would get down the line.”
“I don’t make deals,” Johnson replied bluntly. “Never have since I became Speaker, which is why I’m still surviving with the gavel. You have to find out where people’s red lines are and navigate through that, with what we’ve had is the smallest margin in US history at most points along the way, but we got it done.”
“No side deals,” he reiterated. “What the extra time was, we needed that for people to process. Remember, we got the Senate bill on a Tuesday. They modified a lot of what we did in the House. We worked on it for over a year, so we needed a couple of days there or everybody to process what all those changes were and ensure that they knew exactly how that was gonna be implemented by the administration.”
Dean referred to rumored “promises” that had been made outside the bill. Johnson explained, “We’ve been talking about that publicly and privately for a year and a half. We had always planned to do the first big reconciliation bill, which is the big beautiful bill — now it’s done, a huge leap forward for our priorities — but then also we’ve been planning a second reconciliation bill for the fall — it would be attached to the next fiscal year — and then potentially one in the spring. That’s my plan: three reconciliation bills before this Congress is over. I think we can do that, and so you’ll see more of us advancing these common sense principles to deliver that America First agenda for the people. That’s what they elected us to do. This was a huge leap forward.”
“Democrats say they are excited to run on this bill,” Bream said, prompting Johnson to gibe, “Yeah, right.”
Bream then quoted a DCCC memo saying that Republicans would lose the majority in 2026 because of the big, beautiful bill and the more people knew about it, the less popular it became. “They’re also talking about Democrats holding rallies outside of rural hospitals  and nursing homes this summer to tell people they are going to lose their care,” she stated.
“As I said on the House floor the other day, it takes a lot longer to build a lie than to tell the simple truth,” Johnson said. “Our Republicans are going to be out across the country telling the simple truth, and guess what? It will be demonstrated. Everyone will have more take home pay. They’ll have more jobs and opportunity. The economy will be doing better. And we will be able to point to that as the obvious result of what we did.”

Capitol Hill

‘Yeah, Right’:  Johnson Drags Dems Who Claim They’re Happy To Run Against Big Beautiful Bill

Budget Bill

President Donald Trump signed the One Big, Beautiful Bill into law on Independence Day, meeting his self-imposed deadline for the monumental budget bill after a long legislative struggle.
Trump — who had urged Congress to pass the bill and send it to his desk by July 4 — walked out onto the South Portico of the White House with First Lady Melania Trump and stood for the national anthem and a military flyover, after which he approached the microphone to offer a few words.
&#8220;I want to wish you a very happy Independence Day, happy Fourth of July. This is gonna be something special. There&#8217;s spirit in this country, we haven&#8217;t seen anything like it in many, many years,&#8221; the president said, later mentioning Operation Midnight Hammer and the military personnel who participated in the operation to destroy Iran&#8217;s nuclear capabilities.
Trump continued, noting his administration&#8217;s successes in recent months.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨 THE ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL IS NOW OFFICIALLY THE LAW OF THE LAND! <a href="https://t.co/mOpYN0tiZ0">pic.twitter.com/mOpYN0tiZ0</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1941253557665321187?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;The American people gave us a historic mandate in November&#8230;We made promises, and it&#8217;s really promises made, promises kept. This is a triumph of democracy on the birthday of democracy,&#8221; Trump added, going on to enumerate the details of the Big, Beautiful Bill, and thanking prominent Republicans who helped get the legislation across the finish line.
&#8220;The Golden Age of America is upon us. We are in the Golden Age,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;It&#8217;s going to be a period of time the likes of which I don&#8217;t think this country has ever experienced before.&#8221;
Trump then descended the stairs, shook hands with various figures, took his pen, and — flanked by House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise — signed the Big, Beautiful Bill.
<a class="c-link" href="https://get.dailywire.com/freedom/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=freedom&amp;utm_content=freedomeditorial" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/freedom/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=freedom&amp;utm_content=freedomeditorial" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-2388">JULY 4 SALE: Get Six Months Of DW+ Free</a>
The bill makes permanent Trump&#8217;s 2017 tax cuts, increases funding for border security, enacts work requirements for able-bodied recipients of Medicaid and food stamps, defunds Planned Parenthood for a year, funds the “Golden Dome” missile defense program, and ends taxes on tips and overtime.
The legislation was sent to Trump’s desk after being passed by both houses of Congress, where Republicans <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/big-beautiful-and-on-the-way-to-trumps-desk-congress-passes-historic-spending-bill?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=17&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Big%2C+Beautiful%2C+And+On+The+Way+To+Trump’s+Desk%3A+Congress+Passes+Historic+Spending+Bill">overcame</a> significant Democratic opposition and internal Republican hesitancy to hand the president a major legislative victory.
The Republican-controlled House voted 218-214 to pass the measure shortly after Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) wrapped up an hours-long speech delaying the bill’s advancement. To reach the final vote, Johnson spent hours working with Republican holdouts to get them to back the measure.
The Senate vote was even closer, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote.
Following the bill&#8217;s passage on July 3, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-will-sign-one-big-beautiful-bill-at-fourth-of-july-celebration?author=Mary+Margaret+Olohan&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=15&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Trump+Will+Sign+One+Big%2C+Beautiful+Bill+At+Fourth+Of+July+Celebration">said</a> &#8220;President Trump delivered win after win for the American people, and House Republicans and Senate Republicans delivered these wins with the passage of the One Big, Beautiful Bill into law.”
Leif Le Mahieu contributed to this report.

President Trump

Trump Signs Big, Beautiful Bill At Historic July 4 Ceremony: ‘A Triumph Of Democracy’

Economy

Executive

Fourth of July

President Donald Trump has promised an elaborate Independence Day signing ceremony for the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” recently approved by Congress.
The president teased plans for the ceremony while speaking to reporters on Thursday. Trump said that the ceremony would feature a number of United States military warplanes, including the B-2, F-22, and F-35.
Trump said the ceremony would start around 5 p.m. ET, and he would be joined by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), and most Republicans in Congress.
“At about 5:00 o’clock, we&#8217;re going to have B-2s and F-22s and F-35s flying right over the White House,” Trump said. “It’s going to be a great day, so we&#8217;ll be signing with those beautiful planes flying right over our heads.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> on tomorrow&#39;s One Big Beautiful Bill signing: &quot;We&#39;re signing at about 5:00p — and at about 5:00p, we&#39;re going to have B-2s and F-22s and F-35s flying right over the White House &#8230; so we&#39;ll be signing with those beautiful planes flying right over our heads.&quot; 🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/40CjzwfvF9">pic.twitter.com/40CjzwfvF9</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1940884169934156005?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The House gave final approval on Thursday to send the “Big, Beautiful Bill” to Trump’s desk in time for his July 4 deadline. Johnson and Trump whipped votes and met with holdouts in the hours leading up to the vote, securing a 218-214 majority to pass the legislation on Thursday afternoon.
&#8220;I think when you go over the bill, it was very easy to get them to a ‘Yes,’” Trump told reporters on Thursday after the bill’s passage. “You know, we went over that bill point after point: biggest tax cut in history, great for security, great on the southern border, immigration is covered – we covered just about everything. Again, it&#8217;s the biggest bill ever signed of its kind.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: &quot;I think when you go over the bill, it was very easy to get them to a &#39;Yes.&#39; &#8230; Biggest tax cut in history, great for security, great on the southern border &#8230; we covered just about everything. Again, it&#39;s the biggest bill ever signed of its kind.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/0nfeQ5IDuo">pic.twitter.com/0nfeQ5IDuo</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1940882245482676660?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Johnson <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/big-beautiful-and-on-the-way-to-trumps-desk-congress-passes-historic-spending-bill">secured</a> the votes to pass the massive package at around 3:30 a.m. Thursday morning. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) then held the House floor for over eight hours, speaking to delay the bill’s passage, but ultimately powerless to stop it.
“With one big, beautiful bill, we are going to make this country stronger, safer, and more prosperous than ever before. And every American is going to benefit from this,” Johnson said just before the vote. “Today we are laying a key cornerstone of America’s new Golden Age.”
The bill’s passage is just the latest landmark victory for the president that has seen a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-mentum-from-iran-to-big-beautiful-bill-prez-scores-landmark-victories-in-past-two-weeks?author=Tim+Pearce&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=TRUMP-MENTUM%3A+From+Iran+To+Big%2C+Beautiful+Bill%2C+Prez+Scores+Landmark+Victories+In+Past+Two+Weeks">cascade</a> of wins in recent weeks. Just under two weeks ago, Trump greenlit a bomb and missile strike targeting Iranian nuclear facilities that “obliterated” Tehran’s nuclear program at Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan.

‘B-2s And F-22s And F-35s’: Trump Teases Jet-Packed Signing Ceremony For Big, Beautiful Bill

John Thune

Washington D.C.

Speaker Mike Johnson has President Donald Trump&#8217;s signature bill at the finish line.
During a marathon overnight session that at times appeared doomed, Republicans voted 219-213 at about 3:30 a.m. to send the bill to a final vote.
The late hour was not due to procedure, but rather indecision on the Republican side of the aisle. After five Republicans voted against the rule to proceed, coupled with a handful of Republicans who were holding out, Johnson had to scramble to not only find votes, but also get Republicans to switch theirs.
Just before midnight, Johnson said he would hold the vote open for as long as it needed, and started to whip votes, with a helping hand from Trump.
&#8220;Largest Tax Cuts in History and a Booming Economy vs. Biggest Tax Increase in History, and a Failed Economy,&#8221; Trump posted as the legislation stalled. &#8220;What are Republicans waiting for??? What are you trying to prove? MAGA IS NOT HAPPY.&#8221;
Eventually, Johnson got enough votes to the House floor — and convinced one of the opponents, Kentucky&#8217;s Thomas Massie — to vote in favor of the rule. Johnson told reporters that Trump was intimately involved with getting the vote across the finish line, following the play-by-play as he whipped votes.
The final hurdle is a speech by the House&#8217;s top Democrat, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who began speaking just after the rule passed and, hours later, is still going. Though some expected him to speak for roughly an hour, Jeffries said in his speech: &#8220;I&#8217;m planning to take my sweet time.&#8221;
Jeffries is permitted to speak for as long as he wants, though all he can do is delay the vote, not stop a final vote from occurring. He&#8217;s filling his speech with testimonials from Americans on Medicaid and other social welfare programs that Democrats say would be imperiled by Trump&#8217;s spending legislation.
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Johnson had estimated that the final vote would take place at 8:30 a.m., but Jeffries was still going as the hour passed. Still, he appears set to meet Trump&#8217;s Independence Day deadline by a full day.
Passing the &#8220;One, Big, Beautiful Bill&#8221; — which includes not only a major tax cut championed by Trump but also funds his biggest campaign promises — would be a major victory for the president. He had urged Republicans in Congress to put all of their priorities into one piece of legislation, and has been intimately involved in getting it through with narrow majorities in both chambers.
Trump says his legislation, which has been criticized by even some of his allies for not doing enough to reduce the deficit, will lead to unprecedented economic growth.
READ MORE: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-white-house-promises-massive-economic-growth-in-final-push-to-pass-the-big-beautiful-bill?author=Mary+Margaret+Olohan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+White+House+Promises+Massive+Economic+Growth+In+Final+Push+To+Pass+The+%E2%80%98Big+Beautiful+Bill%E2%80%99">Trump White House Promises Massive Economic Growth In Final Push To Pass The ‘Big Beautiful Bill’</a>
“Nobody wants to talk about GROWTH, which will be the primary reason that the Big, Beautiful Bill will be one of the most successful pieces of legislation ever passed,” the president said on Wednesday. “THIS GROWTH has already begun at levels never seen before. Trillions of Dollars are now being invested into the USA, more than ever before.”
“Likewise,” he added, “hundreds of Billions of Dollars in Tariffs are filling up the coffers of Treasury. The Tariff money has already arrived and is setting new records! We are growing our way out of the Sleepy Joe Biden MESS that he and the Democrats left us, and it is happening much faster than anyone thought possible.”
As of 9:00 a.m., Jeffries was still talking on the House floor and again stated his intention to take his time. Vice President JD Vance wrote on X that Republicans who have been there overnight are falling further in line as they listen to his opposition.
&#8220;GOP Congressman just texted me: &#8216;I was undecided on the bill but then I watched Hakeem Jeffries performance and now I’m a firm yes,'&#8221; Vance wrote.
Trump in a Thursday morning post indicated that he was pleased with the effort to get things to the finish line.
&#8220;What a great night it was,&#8221; the president said. &#8220;One of the most consequential bills ever.&#8221;
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<a href="https://t.co/Z6bHoXPCQy">pic.twitter.com/Z6bHoXPCQy</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1940768183499346067?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
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US House Nears Passage Of Trump’s Tax Bill After All-Nighter

‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ At Finish Line After Trump And Johnson Rally Overnight Support

The Senate voted Tuesday to pass the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” bringing President Donald Trump&#8217;s chief legislative package one step closer to the finish line.
The bill, which the House of Representatives passed in May, underwent some changes in the Upper Chamber. The bill now returns to the House, which will either pass the amended bill and send it to the president&#8217;s desk, or further revise the text. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is hoping for the former.
&#8220;This bill is President Trump’s agenda, and we are making it law,&#8221; Johnson <a href="https://x.com/SpeakerJohnson/status/1940081814011367470" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;House Republicans are ready to finish the job and put the One Big Beautiful Bill on President Trump’s desk in time for Independence Day.&#8221;
Here are the biggest changes the Senate made to the bill.
<h3>The Name</h3>
Thanks to a last-second effort by Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is no longer called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
“I just got the name struck off this bill with a move on the floor of the Senate,&#8221; Schumer <a href="https://x.com/SenSchumer/status/1940080529413427340" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted </a>on X. &#8220;It is no longer named &#8216;One Big Beautiful Bill.&#8217; The bill is a BIG, UGLY BETRAYAL of the American people by the Republicans.”
<h3>The AI Moratorium</h3>
Senators also stripped a provision from the bill that would have paused all state regulations of artificial intelligence for 10 years.
The provision was an early sticking point for the legislation. After voting for the bill, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) <a href="https://x.com/RepMTG/status/1929946902566494653" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, “We have no idea what AI will be capable of in the next 10 years and giving it free rein and tying states&#8217; hands is potentially dangerous. … When the OBBB comes back to the House for approval after Senate changes, I will not vote for it with this in it.”
Senate Republicans originally tried to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/republicans-scrap-deal-big-beautiful-bill-lower-restrictions-states-ai-regulation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">amend</a> the provision, lowering the time to five years and scrapping the absolute moratorium in favor of a few listed restrictions. But the deal fell through when the Senate voted 99-1 to strike the AI provision from the bill.
<h3>Public Land Sales</h3>
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) voted to advance the bill after withdrawing a controversial provision that would have allowed the federal government to sell off public lands, largely in the West.
Lee said the provision — which had irked some <a href="https://x.com/TimSheehyMT/status/1939047707106038251" target="_blank" rel="noopener">other</a> Republican <a href="https://x.com/SenatorRisch/status/1939138126125113473" target="_blank" rel="noopener">senators</a> from Western states, and caused a stir among Democrats, too — had to be cut because the Senate&#8217;s strict budget reconciliation rules made it hard to guarantee that public land could not be sold to foreign countries or major companies instead of American families.
Still, Lee argued that the clause would have allowed for the federal government to sell off land for affordable housing and infrastructure.
&#8220;I continue to believe the federal government owns far too much land,&#8221; Lee said in a <a href="https://x.com/SenMikeLee/status/1939132778605388207" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. &#8220;Land it is mismanaging and in many cases ruining for the next generation.&#8221;
<h3>Murkowski&#8217;s Demands</h3>
The last Republican holdout, Senator Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/01/us/politics/murkowski-republican-bill.html?smid=url-share" target="_blank" rel="noopener">secured</a> major changes — which she argued were beneficial to her constituents — before agreeing to vote yes.
The bill seeks to impose spending cuts on food stamps and Medicaid. Murkowski was worried that the strict cuts would disproportionately affect Alaska, which relies heavily on federal funding for those programs. Senators eventually agreed to exempt Alaska from potential changes to food stamps, and to increase federal funding for <a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/07/01/congress/gop-boosts-rural-hospital-fund-00435147" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rural hospitals</a> by $25 billion over the next five years.
Senators also removed a controversial <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5379529-solar-wind-excise-tax-senate-gop-megabill/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">solar and wind tax</a> from the bill, hoping to appease Murkowski. The tax would have targeted solar and wind projects that used parts produced in China, among other things.
Despite the concessions, Murkowski walked away unhappy with the bill.
“My goal throughout the reconciliation process has been to make a bad bill better for Alaska, and in many ways, we have done that,” Murkowski <a href="https://x.com/lisamurkowski/status/1940124362625175934" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “But, let’s not kid ourselves. This has been an awful process.”

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