“As Republicans began to consider their bill in January, Trump promised to “love and cherish” Medicaid. But he ultimately embraced the cuts as necessary to get the bill passed and lobbied reluctant GOP representatives and senators to go along.”
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“Other entitlements like Medicare and Social Security, which both serve elderly people, were deemed too politically risky to touch. Trump has been even more adamant about not reducing benefits in Medicare and Social Security, a cornerstone of his first campaign in 2016, than he was about Medicaid.”
“The Pentagon has halted shipments of some air defense missiles and other precision munitions to Ukraine due to worries that U.S. weapons stockpiles have fallen too low.
The decision was driven by the Pentagon’s policy chief, Elbridge Colby, and was made after a review of Pentagon munitions stockpiles, leading to concerns that the total number of artillery rounds, air defense missiles and precision munitions was sinking, according to three people familiar with the issue.”
“That unwillingness to significantly budge on his array of tariffs has bogged down trade negotiations and hindered the administration from crafting substantial trade deals. As the U.S. has set out to negotiate deals with more than 60 trading partners, world leaders have grown increasingly frustrated with what they say are unbalanced demands from the U.S.
Other trading partners, including the European Union, have bristled at the terms of the UK framework and said they would not agree to a similar deal. That arrangement left a 10 percent so-called baseline tariff in place, while laying out a path to slash sector-specific tariffs.
The bloc isn’t alone, and Trump’s numerous demands and “do-it-or-else” approach have made it challenging for countries to corral the domestic political support they’ll need in order to sell any deal at home.”
“Trump’s all-sticks-and-no-carrot approach to trade talks is making it difficult for even friendly foreign governments to reach an agreement they fear could be political suicide back home — no matter how much the White House threatens their economies.”
“Corporations are betting they will benefit from the legislation making permanent the tax breaks in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
The package would restore a tax break from the 2017 tax package that allowed businesses to fully write off the cost of equipment in the first year it was purchased. The incentive has been phasing out since 2023.
Also, the legislation would once again allow businesses to write off the cost of research and development in the year it was incurred. The TCJA required that companies deduct those expenses over five years, starting in 2022.”
“If the bill passes, businesses would be allowed to fully and immediately deduct the cost of building new manufacturing facilities. This temporary provision is retroactive to January 19, 2025 and continues for construction that begins before January 1, 2029.
And in a bid to incentivize more chipmaking in America, the legislation would enhance tax credits for semiconductor firms building manufacturing facilities in the United States.”
“The National Federation of Independent Business, the leading small business lobbying group, praised the legislation for making permanent a special deduction for the owners of certain pass-through entities who pay businesses taxes on their individual tax returns.
That deduction, which applies to small businesses and partnerships formed by lawyers, doctors and investors, would get increased in the House version of the bill from 20% to 23%. The Senate bill kept it at 20%.”
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“The net income for the top 20% of earners would increase by nearly $13,000 per year, after taxes and transfers, according to an analysis of a near-final version of the Senate bill by Penn Wharton Budget Model.
That amounts to a 3% average increase in income for those households.
For the top 0.1% of earners, the average annual income gain would amount to more than $290,000, according to Penn Wharton.”
“Employees who work in jobs that traditionally receive tips could deduct up to $25,000 in tip income from their federal income taxes, while workers who receive overtime could deduct up to $12,500 of that extra pay.
However, highly compensated individuals, who make more than $160,000 in 2025, would not qualify.”
“Many people at the lowest end of the income ladder would be worse off because the package would enact historic cuts to the nation’s safety net program, particularly Medicaid and food stamps.
Among the many changes to these programs would be the addition of federally mandated work requirements to Medicaid for the first time in its 60-year history and the expansion of the work mandate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, the formal name for food stamps. Parents of children ages 14 and up are among those who would have to work, volunteer, take classes or participate in job training to keep their benefits.
Millions of low-income Americans are expected to lose their benefits because of the work requirements and the bill’s other measures affecting Medicaid and food stamps. Notably, few of those dropped from Medicaid coverage would have access to job-based health insurance, according to a Congressional Budget Office report about the House version of the package.
The health provisions won’t only hit low-income Americans. The Senate is also tightening verification requirements for the Affordable Care Act’s federal premium subsidies, which could also leave some middle-income Americans uninsured.”
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“Hospitals are not happy with the health care provisions of the bill, which would reduce the support they receive from states to care for Medicaid enrollees and leave them with more uncompensated care costs for treating uninsured patients.”
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“The Senate version of the package would increase the deficit by about $3.4 trillion over the next decade, according to CBO.”
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“The CBO expects US federal government interest costs to surpass $1 trillion per year.”
“Think about the timeline in Martin’s case. The feds invaded her home and held her at gunpoint while her terrified seven-year-old son cowered in a different room, all because the officers could not be bothered to perform basic due diligence—are we actually at the right house?—before breaking down the (wrong) door and detonating a flash grenade. This deplorable and entirely avoidable misdeed occurred eight years ago, which means that this family has been fighting an uphill battle for redress and accountability from the government for the better part of a decade. And their fight is still not over yet, even after securing an important win at the highest court in the land.
To say the least, it should not be so hard—and it should definitely not take so long—to hold the government to account for such blatant wrongdoing.”