US Economy Adds 147,000 Jobs – More good economic news for the Trump White House, as 147,000 jobs were added to the economy in June, the Labor Department reports. Not surprisingly, the federal government lost jobs while state government picked some of them up. Health care also added jobs, as unemployment ticked down slightly to 4.1%, from 4.2% in April and May. [CHART: Bureau of Labor Statistics]
THURSDAY 7/3/25
UPDATE: The House passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act for tax and spending in the 2026 fiscal year, 218-214, NPR reports. On to the Resolute Desk in time for President Trump's Sharpie-intensive Independence Day celebration.
Rules of the Game – The House approved rules governing floor debate early Thursday for the Big Vote on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the Trump White House-endorsed tax and spending bill the president wants to sign by Independence Day, tomorrow, NPR’s Morning Edition reports. The 219-213 passage of this procedural hurdle followed 20 hours of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) cajoling Republican holdouts – with President Trump intervening -- nearly all of them hardline budget hawks and some of whom wanted material payoffs in the form of amendments favorable to their individual districts, though they were told it was too late in the process for that.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), a “surprise centrist defector,” was the sole Republican “no” on the procedural vote, Roll Call reports.
In addition to increasing the federal deficit by $3.3 billion over the next 10 years according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the tax and spending bill raises the debt ceiling by $5 trillion in order to avoid yet another potential government shutdown this summer, according to NPR.
Democrats contend the bill extends Trump’s 2017 tax cuts for the rich while taking from the poor and middle class. The CBO also calculates that 11.8 million Americans will lose health care coverage from Medicaid cuts in the bill, which includes work requirements for some recipients.
“People in America will die,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), who was continuing to speak and hold up the final vote for more than five hours by mid-morning Thursday, said.
MAGA Republicans say the CBO should use “dynamic” calculations instead of its “static” calculations, which would take into consideration the way tax cuts for the rich will stimulate investment and job growth.
When a reporter asked President Trump after his tour of Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) whether the Medicaid cuts target 11.8 million citizens for waste, fraud and abuse, Trump had this reply, according to PolitiFact:
“No, I’m saying that. I’m saying it’s going to be a very much smaller number than that, and that number will be waste, fraud and abuse.”
--TL
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It's Not Over Yet
WEDNESDAY 7/2/25
Needs More Cuts – But wait, there’s more.
President Trump hopes to sign the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the budget reconciliation bill that contains pretty much all his legislative agenda, by Independence Day. And wouldn’t Trump’s Big Beautiful Sharpie Signature be a nice Fourth of July birthday celebration, huh?
But shortly after the Senate’s passage of the bill early Tuesday, 51-50 with Vice President Vance needed to break the tie, Rep. Andy Harris (R-TN), chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, and Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), a member of the caucus, announced they would vote against a key procedural vote set for Wednesday to move the reconciliation bill forward, The Hill reports.
All Reps. Harris and Norman need is a third congressmember to sink the bill’s progression, and they say they have several more allies in the House. The procedural involves setting parameters on the bill’s debate.
“Look, Mr. Musk is right, we cannot sustain these deficits, he understands finance, he understands debts and deficits, and we have to make further progress,” Harris told Fox News Tuesday, referring to Tesla/SpaceX/Starlink CEO/exiled DOGE-founder Elon’s criticism of the bill (and plans to “primary” its congressional supporters). “And I believe the Freedom Caucus will take the lead in making further progress.”
Regression? … What, exactly is “progress” given that the Congressional Budget Office has scored the House’s hit on the federal deficit at $2.4 trillion over the next decade only to be topped by the Senate version’s $3.3 trillion cost.
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Trump Wins Lawsuit Settlement – Paramount Global will pay $16 million to Donald J. Trump’s presidential library fund in an out-of-court settlement over his lawsuit regarding a CBS News 60 Minutes interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris prior to last November’s elections. Under the settlement, Paramount will not admit any wrongdoing.
Trump’s lawsuit regarded the editing of an answer Harris, his opponent in the presidential election, gave in the interview. Her answer was edited differently for the 60 Minutes broadcast and for Face the Nation earlier.
Trump’s attorneys argued the edits made Harris look less confused than she was while causing anguish and confusion for his supporters. Though Trump’s lawsuit clearly was without merit, in the end, the settlement is good for Paramount controlling shareholder Shari Redstone’s efforts to sell the company to Skydance Media without resistance from the Trump administration’s Federal Communications Commission.
--TL
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One Big Passed Budget
TUESDAY 7/1/25
Senate Passes OBBB – The Senate passed its version of the One Big Beautiful Bill reconciliation budget, 51-50, with Vice President Vance casting the tiebreaker. The vote came after Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) held overnight discussions with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and other GOP leaders to discuss changes softening the effect of Medicare and nutritional assistance cuts to Alaska, and for slower phase-out of clean energy tax credits, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Thom Tillis of North Carolina – who announced days ago he will not seek re-election in 2026 – voted with Democrats.
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Defunding Planned Parenthood – As the Senate proceeded through its vote-a-rama Monday its parliamentarian handed the Republicans a win in determining eligible for budget reconciliation One Big Beautiful Bill language that would block Planned Parenthood from Medicaid funding for services in addition to abortion, Roll Call reports, which already is outlawed by the annual Hyde amendment appropriations rider. This follows a Supreme Court ruling last week that Planned Parenthood and its patients could not sue to challenge a state’s decision to exclude the provider from federal Medicaid funds because of its abortion services.
Democrats had tried to block the OBBB provision, citing the so-called Byrd rule restricting what can be included in reconciliation.
•••
Twitter Feud – President Trump and Elon Musk split up without having a prenup, and now it’s coming back to haunt the GOP. After the Tesla/SpaceX/Starlink CEO spent about $275 million to get Trump elected and appoint himself DOGE chief, Musk now is trying to stop the Senate from passing the One Big Beautiful Bill budget built around the president’s own agenda.
Musk says that if the bill passes the Senate, he will form a new “America Party” toot suite and “primary” Republicans, The New York Times reports. Never mind that if it’s a new, distinct party, it seems Musk’s candidates would have to wait to next November’s general election to challenge Republican House and Senate members.
“Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame!” Musk tweeted on his X-Twitter. “And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.”
So maybe it means Musk will fund candidates under something called the America Party and run them in GOP primaries? Whatever the case, it’s a potential windfall for Democrats who think they probably do, but given they will be going up against MAGA acolytes might not, have an advantage in taking back the House and Senate in 2026.
By late Monday, according to the NYT Musk had endorsed Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), a budget hawk who joined 213 Democrats in voting against the House version of the bill, which passed 215-214 late last month.
Trump, being one who never backs down from a social media war, whether on his own Truth Social or in this case on X-Twitter, where he easily out-capitalized Musk, tweeted back; “Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa. No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!—DJT” –TL
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MONDAY 6/30/25
SCOTUS Rules – The Supreme Court on Friday handed President Trump a big victory by ruling a single federal district court cannot hold up an executive order for the entire nation. The ruling entails Trump’s attempts to end birthright citizenship but did not rule directly on the 14th Amendment issue. Scroll down this column for details.
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Vote-a-Rama – Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Rand Paul (R-KY) and Thom Tillis (R-SC) appear to be the only three remaining holdouts against the Senate’s version of the One Big Beautiful Bill, which Roll Call says is likely to reach a vote Monday. President Trump says he would like to sign the bill by July 4th, but before it even gets to a Senate floor vote, the Vote-a-rama will allow its members to propose unlimited amendments.
In the latest version of the Senate bill released early Saturday, provisions that would benefit Alaskan whaling captains and support rural hospitals may be swaying Murkowski to Trump’s side, The New York Times reports. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) needs just one of the three to help pass OBBB, and Murkowski already has joined the majority to move the bill forward through a couple of procedural votes.
But on Sunday the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office scored the hit the federal deficit would take from the Senate version at a minimum of $3.3 trillion over the next decade, which is $900 billion more than its score for the OBBB passed by the House 215-214 last month.
Two other key holdouts, Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) announced their support for the Senate bill by late Friday. The president spent a rare weekend in Washington and played golf Saturday with Sens. Paul, Tillis, Eric Schmidt (R-MO) and Budget Chair Lindsey Graham (R-SC), according to Roll Call.
If Murkowski folds on the budget, Rand seems to be the holdout that opponents of the bill can count on, though erstwhile über-MAGA and budget hawk Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) also is not a certainty for either side. As for fellow budget hawk Tillis, Trump has threatened him with a primary challenge for his 2026 election campaign and Tillis has since announced he will not run for re-election next year, The Hill reports.
Democrats did what they could to gum up the works by calling for a full reading of the 940-page bill, which went on into Sunday. Then Democrats challenged Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) use of a “current policy” baseline scoring the 2017 tax cut extensions, according to The Hill.
“This is the nuclear option,” ranking Budget Committee Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), said. “It’s just hidden behind a whole lot of Washington, D.C. lingo.”
And Republicans are going beyond nuclear. Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) and other Republican hardliners called on the Senate Sunday to ignore rulings from Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough that would remove several key provisions of the bill.
“Great Congressman Steube’s 100% correct,” Trump Truth Socialed. “An unelected Senate Staffer (Parliamentarian) should not be allowed to hurt the Republicans (sic) Bill. Wants many fantastic things out. NO! DJT.”
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Nuclear Argument – Rafael Grossi, head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency, is contradicting President Trump’s assertion US strikes on Iran have “obliterated” the country’s nuclear weapons capabilities, saying that Iran could produce enriched uranium in months, Semafor reports. Trump meanwhile on Fox News Sunday Morning Futures refuted Iran’s claims that it had moved its enriched uranium stockpiles ahead of the attacks.
--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa
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FRIDAY 6/27/25
Victory for Trump – The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that district courts likely exceeded their authority in blocking President Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship, NPR reports. The ruling, with the court’s three liberal justices dissenting, does not rule on the 14th Amendment regarding birthright citizenship, but essentially says that district courts cannot make decisions for the entire nation. The ruling does take power from district courts in issuing injunctions to restrict executive branch actions.
The ruling is the first of six to be issued by SCOTUS on the final day of its 2024-25 term. More to come.
•••
You Say ‘Obliterated,’ They Say ‘Not Quite’ – Thursday morning’s Pentagon press conference in which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reiterated the Trump White House’s claim that it had thoroughly wiped out Iran’s nuclear weapons program in the US Air Force attack last weekend has done little to tamper the debate over the bombings’ effect. Thursday afternoon, the administration briefed the Senate Subcommittee on Homeland Security, in this case, to members from both sides of the aisle.
“I walk away from that briefing still under the belief that we have not obliterated the program,” said ranking member Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), per Daily Beast. “The president was deliberately misleading the public when he said the program was ‘obliterated’ because it is certain that there is still significant capability and significant equipment that remain.”
Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) accepts the Trump White House’s assessment.
“By destroying Iran’s nuclear facilities, by using B-2 bombers, helping Israel, but delivering a decisive blow, which was bold and brilliant, President Trump let every other adversary in the world know Joe Biden doesn’t live in the White House anymore,” Graham said on Fox News’ Hannity. “There’s a new sheriff in town. … He’s been strong, he’s been measured. … He wants peace, but it takes two people to have peace. …”
--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa