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‘Get a job’: Medicaid work requirements included in Trump’s megabill sparks partisan debate on Capitol Hill

‘Get a job’: Medicaid work requirements included in Trump’s megabill sparks partisan debate on Capitol Hill

Democrats have railed against potential Medicaid cuts since President Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election. Now that his “big, beautiful bill” has passed through Congress, they are making Medicaid a top talking point ahead of competitive midterm elections expected in 2026.  Republicans, meanwhile, are doubling down on Medicaid reform included in Trump’s megabill, which also includes sweeping legislation on taxes, immigration and energy.  “My policy is if you’re an able-bodied worker, get a damn job,” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital. “If you want government benefits, go to work and get a job.” A provision in the megabill requires able-bodied, childless adults between the ages of 18 and 64 to work at least 80 hours a month to be eligible to receive Medicaid benefits. Individuals can also meet the requirement by ​​participating in community service, going to school or engaging in a work program. REPUBLICANS PRAISE ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’S’ WORK REQUIREMENT FOR MEDICAID: ‘WE’VE GOT TO GET BACK TO WORK’ Fox News Digital asked lawmakers on Capitol Hill if taxpayers should have to pay for Medicaid bills for able-bodied workers who are under 65 and unemployed.  ‘RIGHT DOWN THE LINE’: MEDICAID REFORM IN ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ DIVIDES LAWMAKERS BY PARTY Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine, said in both Arkansas and Georgia, where work requirements have already been imposed, it ended up costing taxpayers more money to administer the work requirements.  “We’re talking about a very small population, and in the two cases where they tried it, it ended up, number one, disqualifying people who met all the requirements but gave up on the paperwork. These aren’t people that are used to filling out a lot of paperwork every month. And it also cost the state a lot to administer,” King said.  The New England Journal of Medicine found that Arkansas’ Medicaid work requirement from 2018 to 2019 “found no evidence of increased employment … and a significant loss of Medicaid coverage among low-income adults.” Similarly, the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute (GBPI) reported that 80% of the $58 million spent in the first year of Georgia’s Pathways to Coverage program went toward administrative costs.  But Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., emphasized that Republicans “want these programs to be around for the people who need them.” She said Medicaid reform is about “strengthening and preserving these programs at the rate that they’re growing.” “These programs were intended to be safety nets, not hammocks that people stay in, and the success of these programs should be measured by how many people we get off of them,” Britt said.  Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., agreed, telling Fox News Digital, “What you don’t want is for somebody to become dependent. I’d tell people: safety nets should bounce you to your feet. They shouldn’t be like flypaper in which you stick and can never get off.” “We’re not saying, ‘Hey, we’re not throwing you out.’ All right, but you gotta go get a job. You either get a job, or actually you can even volunteer, all right? And that will satisfy the requirements for work,” Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., explained.  But Democrats who spoke to Fox News Digital continued to push back against the work requirements included in the “big, beautiful bill.”  “I think people [who] are able to work, trust me, they’d rather work than to get the piddling dollars that they get from Medicaid. It’s insulting to suggest that a person would rather sit at home rather than work and get this meager amount of money. All of this has just been totally expanded to fit a narrative that allows them to cut into those people who really deserve Medicaid,” Rep. Troy Carter, D-La., said.  And Rep. Lateefah Simon, D-Calif., said, “We need to be able to have an infrastructure in this country that supports the elderly and the sick and the widows and the child. This bill, it violates all those basic principles.” Fox News’ Peter Pinedo contributed to this report. 

WATCH: Nancy Pelosi silent on why Biden did not release Epstein files

WATCH: Nancy Pelosi silent on why Biden did not release Epstein files

Leading Democrat Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., says President Donald Trump should release the Epstein files, but is silent on why former President Joe Biden did not anytime in his four years in the Oval Office. Democrats have seized on the issue since the case became a political controversy for the Trump administration. However, despite their current calls for transparency on the case, the Biden Justice Department also failed to release additional documents on Epstein.  Asked by Fox News Digital whether she thought the Trump administration should release the Epstein files, former House Speaker Pelosi responded, “Absolutely.” Fox News Digital then asked, “Why do you think Biden didn’t do it for four years?” to which Pelosi simply turned around and began walking away.  TRUMP DIRECTS AG BONDI TO WORK ON UNSEALING GRAND JURY TRANSCRIPTS IN EPSTEIN CASE: ‘WE ARE READY’ Fox News Digital pressed, “Do you know why they didn’t do it? Do you think they should have?” However, Pelosi ignored the reporter and stepped into a car. Pelosi served as House speaker, one of the most powerful positions in the country, from 2019 to 2023, two of those years occurring when Biden was in the Oval Office. Other Democrats have similarly struggled to answer why a president of their party did not release the files as they demand action now. On Thursday, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., was pressed on the issue by “Morning Joe” co-host Joe Scarborough, but he could not give an answer. “But, Congressman, you could have gotten that from ’21 to ’25, when Democrats controlled the DOJ. Why — it was a crisis then. It’s a crisis now. Why didn’t Democrats call for it from ’21 to ’25?” Scarborough asked.  “So, I mean, you’d have to go back and look specifically at particular prosecutorial decisions and what was taking place in terms of the other cases. So, I don’t know, we could try to reconstruct that record,” Raskin replied.  DEMOCRATS HIT ROCK BOTTOM AS PARTY PLUMMETS TO ALL-TIME LOW: POLL Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., was also caught off guard when a CNN anchor challenged her on why she never called for transparency on Epstein while Biden was president, despite her hammering the Trump administration over the case. “I would have been happy to raise it then as well. Frankly, we were focused on so many different pieces,” Jayapal replied.  Meanwhile, Republican Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas told Fox News Digital, “What I think is really rich is this, Epstein dies in 2019 and the Biden administration does nothing for four years, absolutely nothing.” “I didn’t hear any Democrats call for it. And, you know, I never heard the legacy media on TV saying one thing about it either. And suddenly, it’s a code blue. Suddenly, every Democrat and the legacy media wants to see these reports. I think that’s hypocritical,” he said. Marshall went on to say that “beyond that, there may be a lot more going on than meets the eye.” TWICE-DEPORTED MIGRANT RAPIST FREED AS DEMS FACE HEAT FOR SANCTUARY POLICIES While noting that he does not have any special information, he said, “I think something else is going on that may be affecting national security,” and “I think President Trump deserves a little bit of grace here. But hopefully, at the end of the day, everything will be released. I’m all for the transparency.” Rep. Scott DesJarlais, R-Tenn., said that while U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi may not need to release all the files, “if there’s information in those files that shows that somebody committed a crime, that there’s somebody that she has knowledge of that knowingly had sex with an underage girl, they need to be prosecuted and I would hope that she would be doing that.” “Pam Bondi made quite a show out of what she had, and we need a better explanation than what we’ve got,” said DesJarlais. He suggested that a bipartisan panel be given access to the files for review. “Do you need to release everything? I don’t know. But anything that’s criminal, I think, needs to be exposed,” he said. TRUMP DIRECTS AG BONDI TO WORK ON UNSEALING GRAND JURY TRANSCRIPTS IN EPSTEIN CASE: ‘WE ARE READY’ Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told Fox News Digital, “I’m sure that the president is going to want to release whatever he can release.” Johnson went on to say, “I am concerned about the chain of custody” of the files. “The Democrats have had control of these files. What have they added? What have they deleted? I don’t know. I have no idea. I’m as curious as anybody else,” he said, adding, “I’ll trust the Trump Justice Department to do what is right.”

Trump has now been in office for six months, for the second time. Here are the highlights

Trump has now been in office for six months, for the second time. Here are the highlights

President Trump has been in office for six months, delivering on campaign promises, securing his “big beautiful bill” by his self-imposed deadline and taking decisive action on the world stage. The president was sworn into office Jan. 20, and the Trump administration has operated at warp speed since Day One. Key tenets of Trump’s first 100 days included imposing harsh tariffs on Chinese imports, starting and continuing peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, and cracking down on border security amid a mass deportation initiative.  CONGRESS SENDS $9B SPENDING CUTS PACKAGE TO TRUMP’S DESK AFTER LATE-NIGHT HOUSE VOTE The next chapter of the second Trump administration began, with the House of Representatives, as promised, passing Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” before Memorial Day, sending it to the Senate for weeks of negotiations. The Senate made its changes, approved the legislation and kicked it back to the House just in time for the lower chamber to pass the bill before Trump’s self-imposed Fourth of July deadline.  The president welcomed House and Senate Republican leadership to the White House July 4 for a signing ceremony on his landmark legislation, which included key provisions that would permanently establish individual and business tax breaks included in his 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and incorporate new tax deductions to cut duties on tips and overtime pay.  Trump’s second administration has also focused on the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which was run by Elon Musk. DOGE proposed cuts to programs that the Trump administration chalked up to wasteful and excessive government spending. Congressional lawmakers prepped a rescissions package — a bill to codify those DOGE cuts into law. Congress passed that package by its deadline.  TRUMP JUGGLES CHINA FRAMEWORK TRADE DEAL, LA’S ANTI-ICE RIOTS AND ISRAEL’S IRAN STRIKE IN 21ST WEEK IN OFFICE Trump signed the package Friday, which blocks $8 billion in funding to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and $1 billion to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for the remainder of the fiscal year. The dollars had been allocated by Congress for the duration of fiscal year 2025. As for Musk, his “special government employee” window expired, and he returned to the private sector. Shortly after, Musk started a short-lived feud with the president, who chose not to prolong the tensions. Trump only hit his former ally briefly, and carried on with business as usual, leaving Musk to a lonely rant on social media. Meanwhile, on the world stage, the president ordered strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.  Trump’s historic precision strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites in June hit their targets and “destroyed” and “badly damaged” the facilities’ critical infrastructure — an assessment agreed upon by Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Israel and the United States.  But Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei recently issued his latest threat against the U.S. and “its dog on a leash, the Zionist regime (Israel),” saying that Iran’s attack on U.S. Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar was just the beginning of what Tehran could throw at Washington. He warned that “an even bigger blow could be inflicted on the U.S. and others.” Iran has until the end of August to agree to a nuclear deal with the United States and its allies, Fox News has learned.  Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the United Kingdom set the de facto deadline, according to three sources with knowledge of a call Wednesday among the officials.  If Iran fails to agree to a deal, it would trigger the “snapback” mechanism that automatically reimposes all sanctions previously imposed by the United Nations Security Council.  The sanctions were lifted under the 2015 Iran deal.  IRAN FACES AUGUST DEADLINE TO ACCEPT COMPREHENSIVE NUCLEAR DEAL OR FACE RENEWED UN SANCTIONS In his first six months as president, Trump also signed a sweeping order blocking travel to the U.S. from nearly 20 countries identified as high-risk for terrorism, visa abuse and failure to share security information. The travel restrictions — announced under executive order 14161 — apply to nationals from 12 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia, Libya and Yemen, all deemed “very high risk” due to terrorist activity, weak or hostile governments, and high visa overstay rates.  Domestically, the president has focused efforts on securing the border, with border crossings at a record low. U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported the lowest number of border crossings in recorded history in June. Nationwide, there were 25,228 CBP encounters, the lowest monthly number the agency has recorded, including a “historical low” of 8,024 apprehensions. Encounters include legal ports of entry, whereas apprehensions are arrests of those coming into the United States illegally.  As for tariffs, the Trump administration had leveled tariffs as high as 145% on Chinese goods following the president’s reciprocal tariff plans in April, when China retaliated against the U.S. with tariffs of its own. China and the U.S. reached a preliminary trade agreement in May, which Trump said China violated in a Truth Social post at the end of May.   An agreement was reached between the U.S. and China in June, which includes China supplying rare earth materials to the U.S., and that Trump will “work closely” with Chinese President Xi Jinping “to open up China to American Trade.” “Full magnets, and any necessary rare earths, will be supplied, up front, by China,” Trump said in June. “Likewise, we will provide to China what was agreed to, including Chinese students using our colleges and universities (which has always been good with me!). We are getting a total of 55% tariffs, China is getting 10%. Relationship is excellent!”  The president also celebrated the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday with a massive parade in Washington June 14 — kicking off a yearlong extravaganza leading up to America’s 250th birthday. Outside the White House, Trump administration agencies have delivered on promises.  OBAMA ADMIN ‘MANUFACTURED’ INTELLIGENCE TO CREATE 2016 RUSSIAN ELECTION INTERFERENCE NARRATIVE, DOCUMENTS SHOW The Department of Education unveiled plans to scale down its workforce, terminating nearly 1,400 Education

Heritage Foundation founder Edwin J. Feulner dies at 83

Heritage Foundation founder Edwin J. Feulner dies at 83

Edwin J. Feulner, a prominent figure in the American conservative movement and co-founder and former president of the Heritage Foundation, died on Friday at the age of 83. Feulner served as the organization’s president from 1977 to 2013 and again from 2017 to 2018. He was well known for transforming the once-obscure think tank into one of the most influential policy powerhouses in Washington, D.C. He was its longest-serving president after helping to create the Washington, D.C.-based think tank in 1973. “Ed Feulner was more than a leader—he was a visionary, a builder, and a patriot of the highest order,” Heritage President Kevin Roberts and Board of Trustees Chairman Barb Van Andel-Gaby said in a joint statement. “His unwavering love of country and his determination to safeguard the principles that made America the freest, most prosperous nation in human history shaped every fiber of the conservative movement—and still do.” DAVID GERGEN, TRUSTED WHITE HOUSE ADVISOR TO 4 US PRESIDENTS ACROSS DECADES, DIES AT 83 The group had organized Project 2025, a controversial initiative that offered right-wing policy recommendations for the second Trump administration. Feulner co-wrote the initiative’s afterward and he and Roberts met with President Donald Trump ahead of last year’s election. Feulner was also on Trump’s transition team ahead of his first term. Under his leadership, Heritage instituted a new model of conservative policy advocacy. This helped shape Reagan-era reforms and pushed market-based ideas into political mainstream. Feulner has remained active through Project 2025 and a transition plan for a second Trump term which is drawing praise and criticism for its hardline policy proposals. An author of nine books and a former congressional aide, he was also involved in various other conservative organizations. “Whether he was bringing together the various corners of the conservative movement at meetings of the Philadelphia Society, or launching what is now the Heritage Strategy Forum, Ed championed a bold, ‘big-tent conservatism,’” Roberts and Andel-Gaby wrote. “He believed in addition, not subtraction. Unity, not uniformity. One of his favorite mantras was ‘You win through multiplication and addition, not through division and subtraction.’ His legacy is not just the institution he built, but the movement he helped grow—a movement rooted in faith, family, freedom, and the founding. “ “His ‘Feulnerisms’ still resonate in the halls of Heritage—where they will always be remembered. ‘People are policy,’ for instance— the heartbeat of his mission—to equip, encourage, and elevate a new generation of conservative leaders, not just in Washington, but across this great country,” the statement continued. “And we still remember his adjuration to never be complacent or discouraged: ‘In Washington, there are no permanent victories and no permanent defeats.’” ‘DUCK DYNASTY’ STAR MISS KAY MAKES ‘UNBELIEVABLE’ HEALTH TURNAROUND AFTER BELOVED HUSBAND’S DEATH CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Roberts and Andel-Gaby vowed to honor Feulner’s life by “carrying his mission forward with courage, integrity, and determination.” “Thank you for showing us what one faithful, fearless man can do when he refuses to cede ground in the fight for self-governance,” the leaders said of Feulner. Heritage did not disclose Feulner’s cause of death. Feulner is survived by his wife Lina, as well as their children and grandchildren.

US attorney general paves way for more convicted criminals to own guns

US attorney general paves way for more convicted criminals to own guns

Pam Bondi says the proposed change will give her discretion over who can own firearms, in a move opposed by gun control groups. Washington, DC – United States Attorney General Pam Bondi has begun a process to make it easier for individuals with criminal convictions to own guns. The move on Friday comes amid a wider push by the administration of President Donald Trump to make good on campaign promises to gun rights groups, which criticise restrictions on firearm ownership as violations of the Constitution’s Second Amendment. Trump ordered a review of government gun policies in February. Gun control advocates, meanwhile, have voiced concerns over the administration’s ability to adequately assess which convicted individuals would not pose a public safety risk. In a statement released on Friday, Bondi said individuals with serious criminal convictions have been “disenfranchised from exercising the right to keep and bear arms — a right every bit as constitutionally enshrined as the right to vote, the right to free speech, and the right to free exercise of religion — irrespective of whether they actually pose a threat”. “No longer,” she added. Under the plan, Bondi seeks to return the power to determine which individuals convicted of crimes can own firearms directly to her office. That exemption process has currently been overseen by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. However, Congress has, for decades, used its spending approval powers to stem the processing of exemption requests. The Department of Justice said the proposed change “will provide citizens whose firearm rights are currently under legal disability with an avenue to restore those rights, while keeping firearms out of the hands of dangerous criminals and illegal aliens”. Advertisement The US attorney general would have “ultimate discretion to grant relief”, according to the department. It added that, “absent extraordinary circumstances”, certain individuals would be “presumptively ineligible” for the restoration of their gun rights. They include “violent felons, registered sex offenders, and illegal aliens”. The plan was outlined in a “proposed rule” submitted to the Federal Register on Friday. It will undergo a final public comment period before it is adopted. In Friday’s statement, US Pardon Attorney Edward Martin Jr said that his team was already developing a “landing page with a sophisticated, user-friendly platform for Americans petitioning for the return of their gun rights, which will make the process easier for them”. When details of Bondi’s plan initially emerged in March, the gun control group Brady was among those who voiced opposition. “If and when gun rights are restored to an individual, it needs to be through a robust and thoughtful system that minimizes the risk to public safety,” the group’s president, Kris Brown, said in a statement. She added that Trump’s restoration of gun rights to those who were convicted — and later pardoned — for their role in the storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, raised concerns over how the administration would exercise its discretion. “This would be a unilateral system to give gun rights back to those who are dangerous and high risk, and we will all be at greater risk of gun violence,” she said. Adblock test (Why?)

Syria, Israel agree US-brokered ceasefire amid Suwayda clashes, envoy says

Syria, Israel agree US-brokered ceasefire amid Suwayda clashes, envoy says

US ambassador says truce was ‘supported’ by the US and ’embraced’ by Turkiye, Jordan and Syria’s neighbours. Syria and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire, US ambassador to Turkiye, Tom Barrack, has announced, drawing an uneasy truce between the neighbours after days of air strikes and sectarian bloodshed in Syria’s southwestern Suwayda region. Barrack said in a post on X early on Saturday that the ceasefire between Syria and Israel was “supported” by Washington and “embraced” by Turkiye, Jordan and Syria’s neighbours. In his post announcing the ceasefire, Barrack said the US called “upon Druze, Bedouins, and Sunnis to put down their weapons and together with other minorities build a new and united Syrian identity in peace and prosperity with its neighbors “. There has been no comment yet from Syrian or Israeli officials. An Israeli official, who declined to be named, told reporters on Friday that in light of the “ongoing instability in southwest Syria”, Israel had agreed to allow the “limited entry of the [Syrian] internal security forces into Suwayda district for the next 48 hours”. On Wednesday, Israel launched heavy air strikes targeting Syria’s Ministry of Defence in the heart of Damascus, and also hit Syrian government forces in the country’s Suwayda region. Israel claims it has launched attacks to protect Syria’s Druze minority in Suwayda, where ethnically charged clashes between Druze and Bedouin armed groups and government forces have reportedly left hundreds dead. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described the Druze, who number about one million in Syria – mostly concentrated in Suwayda – and 150,000 in Israel, as “brothers”. Advertisement A ceasefire agreement mediated by the US, Turkiye and Arab countries was reached between Druze leaders and the Syrian government on Wednesday. Israel, however, launched air strikes on Syria the same day, killing at least three people and wounding 34 others. Following the Israeli attacks, Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said in a televised speech early on Thursday that protecting the country’s Druze citizens and their rights was a priority, and though Syria would prefer to avoid a conflict with Israel, it was not afraid of war. Al-Sharaa added that Syria would overcome attempts by Israel to tear the country apart through its aggression. Heavy fighting again flared up between the Druze and Bedouin tribes in Suwayda on Friday, and Damascus has redeployed a dedicated force to restore calm in the Druze-majority governorate. Adblock test (Why?)