Senate GOP Puts $1,600,000,000,000 In Spending On Chopping Block

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Senate Republicans are nearing a vote to slash more than $1.6 trillion in government spending over a decade within President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” bill — and the conference could enact more cuts in the final hours before a vote on final passage.

Trump and Senate Republicans are touting the largest cut to mandatory spending in American history within the upper chamber’s budget bill. The Senate proposal notably exceeds the initial House draft’s estimated savings by $200 billion over a ten-year period, surpassing Senate Republicans’ goal of slashing spending by $1.5 trillion over a ten-year period.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune has also backed an effort to secure more cuts within the president’s sweeping tax relief and immigration legislation.

The deficit-reducing measure is sponsored by Republican Florida Sen. Rick Scott and would lower the 90% federal match rate for new Medicaid enrollees in states that expanded coverage under the Affordable Care Act. A group of deficit-concerned senators, including Scott, helped secure a vote on the amendment, which will occur during an anticipated marathon session of voting, known as a “vote-a-rama,” before senators will vote on final passage of the bill.

“We think it’s really good policy,” Thune told reporters Sunday. “We’re going to do what we can to support that effort.” (Read more from “Senate GOP Puts $1,600,000,000,000 In Spending On Chopping Block” HERE)

Millions of 4th of July Travelers Face Potential Storm-Related Delays Across U.S.

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Fourth of July travelers are in for traffic and flight delays this week as a cold front pushing across the US is forecast to bring storms to the eastern half of the country, which could culminate in a washout on July Fourth for the Southeast.

AAA is predicting a record-breaking 72.2 million Americans will travel for the holiday, due in part to America’s birthday falling on a Friday this year, creating a three-day weekend.

The FOX Forecast Center is tracking unsettled weather ahead of a cold front moving across the country early this week. For those hoping to get an early start on the celebration, travel disruptions are possible early this week from the Ohio Valley to the Southeast.

On Monday, as the cold front sags across New England, some stronger thunderstorms are possible across major cities from Tampa in Florida to Cleveland in Ohio to Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. These storms could cause ripple-effect delays across the country for airline travelers.

By Tuesday, the tough travel conditions will extend to the Northeast flight hubs as storms fire along the Interstate 95 corridor. Thunderstorms could impact travel up and down this region, including cities such as New York, Boston, Washington, Baltimore, Atlanta and Tallahassee, Florida. (Read more from “Millions of 4th of July Travelers Face Potential Storm-Related Delays Across U.S.” HERE)

Dem Senator Can’t Bring Himself To Give Trump Any Credit For Record-Low Border Numbers

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Democratic Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy refused to acknowledge on NBC News Sunday any positive impact from President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, despite record-low border crossings.

In May 2025, U.S. Border Patrol encountered about 8,725 illegal crossings, a 93% decrease from the 117,905 encounters in May 2024. During an appearance on “Meet The Press,” host Kristen Welker asked Murphy about the decline in border crossings with Murphy insisting that the drop was the result of the Trump administration’s alleged illegal actions rather than effective policy.

“I don’t give them credit for that because border crossings are low because they’re violating the law every day. So we have a law in this country that says if you are fleeing terror or torture from another country, you can come here and apply for asylum,” Murphy said.

Murphy claimed that the president suspended the asylum process altogether, preventing individuals from seeking refuge as prescribed by U.S. law. He also pointed to bipartisan legislative efforts from 2024 at reforming the asylum process to ensure that only those who qualify are allowed to apply while expediting the review of asylum cases at the border.

(Read more from “Dem Senator Can’t Bring Himself To Give Trump Any Credit For Record-Low Border Numbers” HERE)

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Trump Declares War On Deep State Leakers

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The Trump administration is cracking down on government leakers and curbing the flow of classified information to corporate media outlets, following the latest intelligence leak.

President Donald Trump is reportedly limiting the sharing of classified information with Congress after CNN published details from a leaked preliminary Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) report assessing the aftermath of recent U.S. strikes on Iran that suggested the damage was minimal. While some Democrats have expressed outrage, others contend that such a move has long been overdue in light of leaks that influenced situations like the “Russiagate” probe and allegations of influence peddling surrounding Hunter Biden.

“We are declaring a war on leakers,” a senior White House official told Axios on Wednesday. “The intelligence community is figuring out how to tighten up their processes so we don’t have ‘Deep State’ actors leaking parts of intel analysis that have ‘low confidence’ to the media.”

The leaked DIA report supposedly indicated that the strikes on Iran’s Fordow and Natanz nuclear sites only set the regime’s nuclear ambitions back by months rather than being “obliterated” as Trump suggested. Among the contributors to the CNN article was national security reporter Natasha Bertrand, who had previously published an article amplifying the now-debunked claims from U.S. intelligence officials that suggested the Hunter Biden laptop was likely an instrument of “Russian disinformation,” just weeks before the 2020 election.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday that the source of the leak is believed to be someone on Capitol Hill or within the intelligence community, though the FBI is still investigating the details. (Read more from “Trump Declares War On Deep State Leakers” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Senate Advances Big Beautiful Bill in Dramatic Saturday Night Vote

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The Senate voted to proceed on President Donald Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill in a rare drama-packed Saturday night vote.

They key procedural vote on the motion to proceed is a significant victory for the President and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and clears the path for amendment votes to begin, likely late Monday night.

The bill contains many of Trump’s key campaign promises and addresses immigration and border security, energy, national security and defense, and taxes – notably extending the bulk of Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and instituting no tax on tips and overtime.

The vote was 51 to 49. Vice President JD Vance led negotiations with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and a handful of conservative holdouts.

Vance arrived at the Capitol with the expectation his vote would be needed. Although his vote proved unnecessary, his role in negotiations on behalf of the White House ensured the bill advanced. (Read more from “Senate Advances Big Beautiful Bill in Dramatic Saturday Night Vote” HERE)

Poll: Majority Favor Chaplains in Public Schools

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A recent poll found a majority of adults think public schools should allow chaplains to support students.

The news is according to an Associated Press (AP) NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll, the outlet reported Thursday.

The poll showed 58 percent of adults surveyed think “religious chaplains providing support services in public schools should be allowed,” the survey said.

It noted that “Republicans are more likely than Democrats to think religious chaplains providing support services in public schools (70% v. 47%), teacher led prayers (60% v. 29%), and mandatory school prayer periods (49% v. 27%) should be allowed.”

The AP article also pointed to the debate on how religion should play a role on public school campuses and highlighted examples such as “a lawsuit against a new Arkansas measure that requires the display of the Ten Commandments in classrooms, a push by lawmakers in multiple states to allow religious chaplains to serve in student support roles in public schools, and the U.S. Supreme Court’s 4-4 decision that blocked plans for a publicly funded Catholic charter school in Oklahoma.” (Read more from “Poll: Majority Favor Chaplains in Public Schools” HERE)

Massie Warns Trump, AIPAC to Think Twice Before Trying to Take Him Out

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Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie warned that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and President Donald Trump’s attempts to primary him in the upcoming midterms could backfire in an exclusive interview with the Daily Caller.

“The political calculus that both the president and AIPAC have to consider is, if they go after me and lose, they’ve lost a lot of credibility — both of them,” Massie told the Caller.

The Caller reported exclusively Thursday that AIPAC is fielding primary challengers to take on Massie in the 2026 midterm elections.

“I’m aware that foreign lobbyists have conducted a push poll and are trying to recruit another candidate to run against me, due to my opposition to foreign aid and forever wars,” Massie told the Caller in a statement.

Trump’s political allies are also gearing up to replace Massie, Axios reported, as the president attacked him for his positions on the Israel-Iran war and the “Big Beautiful Bill.”

Massie suggested, however, that such efforts might be in vain. (Read more from “Massie Warns Trump, AIPAC to Think Twice Before Trying to Take Him Out” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

‘Direct And Blatant Attack On Our Country’: Trump Announces End To Trade Talks With Major Partner

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President Donald Trump announced Friday he is ending trade talks with Canada over the northern neighbor’s decision to impose a digital service tax on American technology companies.

Trump called Canada’s decision “a direct and blatant attack on our Country” in a Truth Social post.

“They are obviously copying the European Union, which has done the same thing, and is currently under discussion with us, also. Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately,” Trump also wrote.

Canada is reportedly going ahead with the tax despite its inclusion in the Group of Seven (G7) agreement in which President Trump agreed to remove Section 899, also known as the revenge tax proposal, from his “Big Beautiful” tax bill, according to Bloomberg.

The tax will require digital services companies like Meta to pay 3 percent of the digital services revenue they make on Canadian users above 20 million Canadian dollars ($14.6 million) in a calendar year, according to Bloomberg. (Read more from “‘Direct And Blatant Attack On Our Country’: Trump Announces End To Trade Talks With Major Partner” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

House Committee Demands Interviews With Jean-Pierre, Top Biden Staffers About Former Boss’s Decline

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House Republicans are demanding interviews with Biden Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and other top Biden White House staffers about the former president’s cognitive decline.

On Friday the House Oversight Committee sent a series of letters to Jean-Pierre, Ian Sams (special assistant to the president), Andrew Bates (senior deputy press secretary), and Jeff Zients (White House chief of staff) asking that they appear for transcribed interviews later this summer. According to Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., the requests are part of the body’s “aggressive investigation into the cover-up of [Biden’s] cognitive decline and potentially unauthorized executive actions” while serving as commander-in-chief.

“President Biden’s inner circle repeatedly told the American people that he was ‘sharp as ever,’ dismissing any commentary about his obvious mental decline as ‘gratuitous.’ They fed these false talking points to progressive allies and the media, who helped perpetuate that President Biden was fit to serve,” the Kentucky Republican said in a statement.

In their letter to Jean-Pierre, Oversight Republicans highlighted several examples of the former press secretary downplaying or dismissing times in which Biden showed signs of mental decline. In a press briefing following the Delaware Democrat’s disastrous June 2024 debate performance against Donald Trump, for example, Jean-Pierre claimed Biden was “as sharp as ever.”

“If White House staff carried out a strategy lasting months or even years to hide the chief executive’s condition — or to perform his duties — Congress may need to consider a legislative response,” the letter reads. (Read more from “House Committee Demands Interviews With Jean-Pierre, Top Biden Staffers About Former Boss’s Decline” HERE)

‘America Is Hot Again’: A Week Of Wins For The Trump White House

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President Donald Trump was in a great mood as he took the podium at a surprise White House press briefing on Friday.

His team called the briefing just after the Supreme Court upheld his executive order on birthright citizenship, ruling that lower courts do not have the authority to unilaterally block Trump’s agenda.

Not only that — the court also ruled Friday that schools violate religious liberty when they bar parents from opting their children out of classroom instruction involving LGBT-themed books, a major win for religious conservatives and for the Trump White House, which has championed parents and their right to decide what their children are taught.

Each ruling in and of itself would have been celebrated by the White House. But together, on the heels of Trump’s success negotiating a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, achieving a 5% defense pledge from NATO members, gas prices dropping to their lowest since 2021, and the stock market nearing record highs, the news made Friday “a really big day” for Trump.

“We’ve had a big week,” Trump told the clamoring reporters in the James Brady Briefing Room.”We’ve had a big week, we’ve had a lot of victories this week.”
The past week has indeed been full of wins for the president, both at home and abroad. After the United States bombed key Iranian nuclear sites with Tomahawk missiles and 30,000-pound “bunker buster” bombs on Saturday, the president announced a ceasefire on Monday, strong-arming the two countries into a cessation of attacks on one another with a rare, emphatic f-bomb. (Read more from “‘America Is Hot Again’: A Week Of Wins For The Trump White House” HERE)