Big Beautiful Work in Progress
House Republicans are getting closer to nailing down the components of the “big beautiful bill” that President Donald Trump wants, combining government borrowing authority with tax breaks, more military spending and a lot less spending overall.
Our budget team will be watching over the weekend for the thorniest part of that package: the segment dealing with spending on Medicaid, the government’s health program for the lowest-income Americans.
One of the puzzles for lawmakers has been how to provide some tax cuts without handing Democrats a campaign cudgel by cutting too deeply into the social safety net. Those optics might be addressed by Trump’s proposal to write into the package a new top tax bracket for the richest Americans — boosting the income tax rate to 39.6% for individuals earning at least $2.5 million, or couples making $5 million. Read More
Also part of next week’s committee action: potential changes to the deduction for state and local taxes, which was restricted in Trump’s 2017 tax law. Read More BGOV subscribers, there’s a lot more detail in today’s Budget Brief
See also:
- US House Committees to Begin Debate on Trump Tax Cuts on Tuesday
- Trump Slow-Walks Funding Cut Request
Food Decisions
On Capitol Hill, food aid is an ecosystem that includes help for children born into low-income families and for the producers who provide a reliable supply of crops and meat. Politics is part of the mix, too, with lawmakers in swing districts motivated to avoid campaign attack ads about hungry babies and destitute grandmothers.
Those intertwined relationships will be tested next week when House Republicans formalize their plan to dramatically trim food aid spending, Skye Witley reports.
Cutting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which used to be known as food stamps, “will make it much, much harder for us to get a five-year Farm Bill across the finish line,” House Agriculture ranking member Angie Craig (D-Minn.) said.
That committee was directed to find $230 billion in savings to help offset the proposed tax cuts and increases in border and defense spending. While specific provisions haven’t been released, Republicans have floated several ideas, including limits on future benefit increases and making states bear some of the cost.
The committee plans to meet Tuesday for opening statements and start working through amendments on Wednesday. Catch up with this BGOV OnPoint.
Long Day for RFK Jr.
By comparison, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent may have had it easy when they appeared before congressional committees twice this week.
On Wednesday, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is scheduled to be questioned on the House side in the morning, and on the Senate side in the afternoon. We’ll be especially interested in how the hearing goes at the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, where Charmain Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) — who’s practiced medicine — showed again this week that vaccine policy is front-of-mind.
“What can the department do to actually promote immunizations?” Cassidy asked a nominee to be Kennedy’s deputy secretary. “We’re having people die from vaccine-preventable diseases.”
In an interview with Erin Durkin, Cassidy opted for an olive branch when asked about Kennedy and vaccines: “I think it’s fair to say sometimes there’s been a little bit of a mixed message but he certainly has said that people should be immunized.”
See also: Democratic Senators Urge RFK Jr. to Reinstate IVF Tracking Team
Another Q&A to watch next week: VA Secretary Doug Collins will testify before the House Veterans Affairs Committee. Jonathan Tamari reports that Democrats are eager to press him on how the administration’s spending cuts are affecting care for veterans.
ProPublica reported this week that trials for cancer treatment are among the disrupted services. Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), a veteran who served in Iraq, gathered Democrats to respond to the ProPublica story and set their priorities for questioning Collins (he’s not on the committee, so Deluzio won’t be among the inquisitors).
“We’re going to continue like bulldogs demanding answers and finding out exactly what has happened to the veterans who this country has an obligation to,” Deluzio said. There’s more about what to expect next week on the Hill in this morning’s Congress Tracker.
POTUS Airborne
Air Force One will be wheels up next week for Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, including a Saudi-US Investment Forum.
Choosing the Middle East for the first foreign trip of his new administration shows the importance of the region both as an economic power and a diplomatic partner — Saudi Arabia has facilitated talks on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine.
There also are Trump business ties there, including a deal for a Trump-branded golf course to be built in Qatar.
A couple more global stops for your morning reading:
- Merz Tells Trump He Can’t Do Side Deals With EU Nations on Trade
- US Unveils Plans to Fast-Track Deals as Trump Eyes Mideast Funds
- Trump Says ‘Substantive’ China Talks Could Yield Tariff Cut
- Putin Targets ‘Victory’ in Ukraine as Trump Pushes for Truce
Consequential Day in Court
Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship for some US-born children landed the issue back in front of the Supreme Court, which will hear arguments Thursday.
It’s one of the most consequential cases of the term because the justices are being asked to settle the question of whether lower courts can impose injunctions that apply across the whole country, as judges did in challenges of Trump’s citizenship executive order.
Justice Department lawyers will explain their argument that temporary pauses should apply just to particular people connected to the cases, or to the states and other jurisdictions that sued.
Critics say Trump is trying to unilaterally overturn part of the 14th Amendment, which confers citizenship on anyone who is born in the US and “subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” Trump said “It’s all about slavery, and if you look at it that way, we should win that case.” Read More
Also See: Judge Says Trump Can’t Make End Run Around Sanctuary Cities Order
Eye on the Economy
Following this weekend’s high-level trade talks with China, the next key date for economy-watchers will be Tuesday, when the government updates the consumer price index.
It’s a closely watched measurement of inflation that showed a cooling of upward momentum in last month’s installment. Next week’s numbers will show the impact of the first weeks under Trump’s tariff regime.
See also:
- Three-Year Inflation Views at Highest Since 2022 in Fed Survey
- Lutnick Says US Is Focused on Big Countries for Next Trade Deals
- Trump’s Scant UK Deal Shows Limits of Frenzied Trade Strategy
Before You Go
“On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as the Librarian of Congress is terminated effective immediately. Thank you for your service.” That’s how Carla Hayden was told last night — after most members of Congress were gone for the weekend — that her tenure is over, the New York Timesand Washington Post report.
Just last week, the conservative advocacy organization American Accountability Foundation had criticized Hayden as “woke” on social media. The first woman and first African American to hold the position, she had one year left on her 10-year term.
And a little more news to know as the Washington workday begins:
- Trump Picks Fox News Host Pirro as Interim US Attorney for DC
- Homeland Chief Rules Out Return of Wrongly Deported Immigrant
- ‘Shiny Object’ Harvard Masks Trump Threats to Howard, HBCUs
- Trump to End Biden-Era Program to Bridge Digital Divide
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