Tag Archives: Medicaid

Independent: Not so fast, sir … One Capitol Hill bureaucrat stands in the way of Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful’ Fourth of July

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But on Thursday, the Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, said the Republicans’ plan to cap a tax that states use to raise money for Medicaid did not pass the narrow rules of budget reconciliation, known as the “Byrd rule,” which determines what can be included in a reconciliation bill.

To make matters worse for Republicans, MacDonough’s office struck key parts of the immigration provisions in the bill. Specifically, she killed a $1,000 fee for anyone applying for asylum, a $100 minimum fee to advance a continuance in an immigration court, a $250 minimum fee to apply for the diversity visa lottery, a mandatory $400 processing fee for the same visa, a $5,000 minimum fee to sponsor a child who comes to the United States unaccompanied and money to expand the expedited removal of noncitizen immigrants arrested for crimes.

Oops! But somehow it did pass the Senate on July 2. 🙁

Not so fast, sir … One Capitol Hill bureaucrat stands in the way of Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful’ Fourth of July
Not so fast, sir … One Capitol Hill bureaucrat stands in the way of Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful’ Fourth of July – Republicans now have to rewrite a key part of their plan for Medicaid with vacation clock ticking

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/not-so-fast-sir-one-capitol-hill-bureaucrat-stands-in-the-way-of-trump-s-big-beautiful-fourth-of-july/ar-AA1HyLPz

Daily Beast: Trump Drives GOP Senator to Quit in Shock Announcement

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Trump attacked the senator as “NOT A DOER” amid an internal GOP battle over his “big, beautiful, bill.”

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, 64, announced that he won’t seek re-election Sunday after President Donald Trump attacked him for not voting to advance his “big, beautiful bill.”

Trump directed his fury at Tillis after Senate Republicans narrowly voted to advance the MAGA figurehead’s sprawling spending package in a 51-49 vote Saturday night.

Tillis joined GOP Sens. Ron Johnson and Rand Paul with Democrats to vote against advancing the bill, enraging Trump and his followers, Al Jazeera reported.

Kudos to Sen. Tillis for following his conscience instead of sucking up to King Donald!

Trump Drives GOP Senator to Quit in Shock Announcement
Trump attacked the senator as “NOT A DOER” amid an internal GOP battle over his “big, beautiful, bill.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-drives-gop-senator-thom-tillis-to-quit-in-shock-announcement

Kansas City Star: ‘More Guts Than You’: Hegseth Faces Growing Scrutiny

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During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was questioned by Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) regarding the deployment of several thousand troops to Los Angeles and the alleged detention of protesters. The hearing highlighted concerns over military involvement in domestic affairs, during which Slotkin criticized Hegseth’s leadership.

Slotkin compared Hegseth’s actions to those of President Donald Trump’s former Defense Secretary Mark Esper. Esper allegedly resisted Trump’s order to deploy active-duty troops against unarmed protesters. She noted that Hegseth previously referred to the order as “theoretical.”

Slotkin said, “Here we are, a few months later, you’ve deployed 4,700 troops to Los Angeles and against the wishes of the governor.” She later asked, “How do you authorize the uniform military to detain or arrest protesters in Los Angeles?”

Hegseth defended the deployment, saying troops were ordered to support law enforcement but did not clarify if lethal force was authorized. Hegseth said, “You’re not a protester if you’re throwing concrete.”

Slotkin compared Hegseth to Esper, stating, “He had more guts and balls than you because he said, ‘I’m not going to send in the uniform military to do something that I know in my gut isn’t right.'”

‘More Guts Than You’: Hegseth Faces Growing Scrutiny
More for You

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/more-guts-than-you-hegseth-faces-growing-scrutiny/ss-AA1HB3f5

Newsweek: Former HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra: They Created a Crisis in LA To Cover for a Catastrophe in D.C. | Opinion

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This month, Californians filled the streets of Los Angeles to peacefully demand justice for SEIU President David Huerta—who was violently detained by ICE during an immigration protest—and for so many hardworking immigrant families across our state. The response? Tear gas. Rubber bullets. National Guard troops unnecessarily deployed to flex federal muscle. And a United States senator literally wrestled to the ground for daring to ask basic questions.

This wasn’t just an overreaction. It was a message: fall in line—or face the consequences.

At the same time, in Washington, the Trump administration is dismantling the very systems that keep our families safe and healthy. They’re firing scientists, defunding cancer research, slashing Medicaid, and replacing trusted experts with conspiracy theorists. It’s not just policy failure. It’s a campaign of calculated neglect—and political retribution aimed at states like ours that dare to push back.

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In just six months, the Trump administration has launched a full-scale assault on these safeguards. They’ve gutted funding, laid off thousands of career scientists, and shuttered key public health teams—all while claiming these cuts are about “efficiency.”

Let’s be clear: this isn’t streamlining. It’s sabotage.

This administration didn’t just fire the experts tracking avian flu, which has now infected dozens of people in California and is spreading rapidly through livestock. They disbanded the FDA team investigating the lead-contaminated applesauce that poisoned more than 500 children. They cut NIH programs working to prevent cancer and Alzheimer’s. They even fired the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel—weeks after a measles outbreak, as pregnant women and children remain vulnerable to viruses like COVID-19—only to replace them with vaccine skeptics.

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They Created a Crisis in LA To Cover for a Catastrophe in D.C. | Opinion
We can’t stand by while Washington plays politics with our health, our future, and our hardest-working families.

https://www.newsweek.com/former-hhs-secretary-xavier-becerra-they-created-crisis-la-cover-catastrophe-dc-opinion-2089591

Newsweek: Anti-Trump Protests Update: ‘National Day of Action’ Planned for July 17

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Another round of national anti-Trump demonstrations is being planned across the U.S. for July 17 under the banner of Good Trouble Lives On, a reference to the late civil rights icon, Congressman John Lewis.

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Good Trouble Lives On demonstrations are being planned for dozens of American cities on July 17 including the likes of New York, Washington D.C, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco with attendees invited to “March in Peace, Act in Power.”

The name is a reference to Lewis, a Georgia Democrat and an advocate of peaceful protests, who famously called for “good trouble” during the civil rights era.

According to its downloadable “Host Toolkit” for organizers, the protests have three main goals. These are demanding an end to “the extreme crackdown on civil rights by the Trump administration,” “the attacks on Black and brown Americans, immigrants, trans people, and other communities,” and “the slashing of programs that working people rely on, including Medicaid, SNAP, and Social Security.”

Good Trouble Lives On is being supported by a range of other groups including the 50501 Movement, which also helped organize the “No Kings” demonstrations.

Anti-Trump protests update: “National day of action” planned for July 17
There have been a series of national anti-Trump demonstrations since the president’s inauguration in January.

https://www.newsweek.com/anti-trump-protests-update-national-day-action-planned-july-17-2088233

Slate: Trump Promises to Keep Terrorizing Blue Cities. It Might Come Back to Haunt Him.

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Donald Trump won the presidency in part on promises to deport immigrants who have criminal records and lack permanent legal status. But his earliest executive orders—trying to undo birthright citizenship, suspending critical refugee programs—made clear he wants to attack immigrants with permanent legal status too. In our series Who Gets to Be American This Week?, we’ll track the Trump administration’s attempts to exclude an ever-growing number of people from the American experiment.

President Donald Trump’s immigration raids have disrupted life in Los Angeles in a way the mayor is comparing to COVID; they’ve created a climate of fear that’s driving people into hiding and hurting local businesses. This week, the president promised to expand those raids in blue cities, all in a futile attempt to hit 1 million deportations by the end of the year. After suggesting last week that ICE would stop targeting the agriculture and hotel industries, which disproportionately rely on immigrant labor, the administration also walked back that guidance.

And a troubling trend is emerging: As Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts get more aggressive and reckless, several elected officials who attempted to conduct oversight or question what is being done have been arrested.

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“Overwhelmingly, Americans do not want ICE raids that focus on those without criminal records. That’s why polls show that Trump is losing voter approval on these key issues,” Mukherjee said.

Trump Promises to Keep Terrorizing Blue Cities. It Might Come Back to Haunt Him.
And Democrats keep getting arrested while trying to hold ICE accountable.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/06/donald-trump-brad-lander-ice-raid-los-angeles.html

Associated Press: California senators demand Trump immigration officials stop using Medicaid data

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California’s two U.S. senators demanded on Wednesday that the Trump administration stop using personal data of millions of Medicaid enrollees — including their immigration status — as part of its sweeping deportation campaign.

In a letter to top administration officials, Democratic Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla expressed alarm over an Associated Press report last week that detailed how deportation officials had obtained the sensitive data over the objections of career health officials. They wrote that health officials needed to stop sharing the information and that the Department of Homeland Security should “destroy any and all such data” it had obtained.

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The AP reported that CMS transferred the data last week to DHS officials. Internal CMS records obtained by the AP showed the Medicaid agency fought the request, arguing that sharing the data would violate rules and federal law. Trump appointees overruled them, giving CMS a 54-minute deadline to share the information with DHS, according to emails obtained by AP.

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“We are deeply troubled that this administration intends to use individuals’ private health information for the unrelated purpose of possible enforcement actions targeting lawful noncitizens and mixed status families,” the senators wrote.

California senators demand Trump immigration officials stop using Medicaid data
The Trump administration’s decision to provide deportation officials with personal data — including the immigration status — on millions of Medicaid enrollees prompted two California U.S. senators on Wednesday to demand that the data sharing “cease” and for Homeland Security officials to “destroy” t

https://apnews.com/article/immigration-medicaid-trump-deportation-padilla-schiff-california-a7a701026de1f954cfbdf545a7d91cb8

Daily Beast: Trump Is Using the L.A. Crisis in Ultimatum to GOP Lawmakers

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The White House aims to tie the disorder to a show of support for Democrats’ agenda.

President Donald Trump is hoping to turn a crisis into an opportunity by using the Los Angeles protests to persuade on-the-fence GOP lawmakers to back his spending bill.

White House officials and Trump allies believe the optics of the protests could ultimately benefit the president as he seeks funding for the hardline immigration proposals outlined in his “Big, Beautiful Bill,” including expanded deportations of migrants.

“We see the riots in L.A. as laden with political opportunity—a fight between what Republicans say they want vs. the radical left and protesters waving the Mexican flag in front of burning cars—and the Democrats supporting them,” a senior White House adviser told Axios.

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Trump also agreed it would be a “great thing” if his border czar, Tom Homan, authorized the arrest of California Gov. Gavin Newsom amid the partisan tensions surrounding the protests.

“I don’t care if you’re a Democrat or a Republican—this is a line we cannot cross as a nation. This is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism,” Newsom posted while sharing a clip of Trump’s remarks.

Trump Is Using the L.A. Crisis in Ultimatum to GOP Lawmakers
The White House aims to tie the disorder to a show of support for Democrats’ agenda.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-is-using-the-la-crisis-in-ultimatum-to-gop-lawmakers

Bloomberg: US Borrowers Face Higher Interest If Trump’s ‘Revenge Tax’ Becomes Law

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A measure in President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill that’s meant to penalize foreign investors may also raise interest costs for some US borrowers.

The so-called Section 899 provision takes aim at nations such as Canada, the UK and France that have digital services taxes or other corporate tax rules the US deems unfair. Investors and companies from those countries may see gradually higher tax rates on income they earn from US assets — which some analysts have called a “revenge tax.” 

But Section 899 would affect loan interest payments in a way that would hurt some US companies, according to legal experts. Many lending agreements require borrowers to cover such tax hikes if they’re enacted after the deal is signed. 

These requirements are known as withholding tax gross-up obligations. Borrowers remit the withholding tax to the US government, but they must “gross up” their payment to ensure the lender still receives the full amount of interest owed.

US Borrowers Face Higher Interest If Trump’s ‘Revenge Tax’ Becomes Law

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-06-04/section-899-us-borrowers-face-higher-interest-if-trump-tax-plan-wins

You’re going to die anyway, so who cares about your Medicaid?

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Republican Senator Tells Constituents Worried About Medicaid Cuts: “You’re Going to Die Anyways”
Republican Senator Tells Constituents Worried About Medicaid Cuts: “You’re Going to Die Anyways”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/other/republican-senator-tells-constituents-worried-about-medicaid-cuts-you-re-going-to-die-anyways/vi-AA1FNAlG