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Year: 2025

‘One more’: Senate Republicans eye tackling another reconciliation bill

‘One more’: Senate Republicans eye tackling another reconciliation bill

Senate Republicans are planning to take another crack at the budget reconciliation process after narrowly passing President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” earlier this month. The $3.3 trillion legislative behemoth, which permanently extended many of the provisions of the president’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and included reforms and work requirements for Medicaid and food assistance programs, and billions in spending for defense and border security, only passed the Senate with the aid of Vice President JD Vance. Now, lawmakers are eying another shot at the grueling process. ‘GUT CHECK TIME’: DISSENT AMONG SENATE GOP RANKS THREATENS TO REDUCE TRUMP’S SPENDING CUT DEMAND Sen. Ron Johnson, one of the key holdouts that eventually backed the bill, said he gained a fair amount of confidence from the White House, Trump and Senate GOP leadership that Republicans would “have a second bite of the apple.” “I think I pretty well have a commitment,” the Wisconsin Republican said. “They’re going to do that, and we’re going to set a process, line by line, program by program.” “Another reason why I definitely had to vote ‘yes’ is I would have just dealt myself out of being involved in that process, and I want to be highly involved in that for the next process,” he continued. And Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., another fiscal hawk that was wary of supporting the bill but ultimately voted for it, told Fox News Digital, “I think we still have to definitely do one more this year, so we’ll see if that’s what happens.” Johnson speculated that lawmakers could tackle the process, which allows Republicans to skirt the 60-vote filibuster threshold in the Senate but must comply with stringent Senate rules, in the upcoming fiscal year, which begins in October.   ‘BAIT AND SWITCH’: SCHUMER WARNS OF BITTER FUNDING FIGHT OVER GOP CUTS PLAN The senator has an ally in House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who shortly after the “big, beautiful bill” passed out of the House and onto Trump’s desk said, “We’re going to do this again.”   “We’re gonna have a second reconciliation package in the fall and a third in the spring of next year,” Johnson said on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle.” Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., another fiscal hawk who criticized the Senate’s changes to the initial reconciliation bill but voted for it in the end, said another reconciliation bill was “absolutely” feasible. He’s gunning for more spending cuts and more ends to “government giveaways,” but noted the looming 2026 election season put them on a short timeline, however. “[Trump will] have a better chance now, because you don’t have to deal with the filibuster, where you can get 50% plus one. If there’s ever a chance to do it, we need to do it now, because the midterms are coming up in the middle of next year. So really we need to push for the next eight months,” Norman said. Initially, Senate Republicans had pushed for a two-bill track, something that the speaker said would not be feasible in the House because of the varying factions, and red lines, throughout the conference. But now Senate leadership may be more cautious given the series of hurdles facing the upper chamber in the coming months, including advancing a $9.4 billion clawback package this week which is already facing headwinds among pockets of Senate Republicans.   TAX CUTS, WORK REQUIREMENTS AND ASYLUM FEES: HERE’S WHAT’S INSIDE THE SENATE’S VERSION OF TRUMP’S BILL A senior GOP aide told Fox News Digital that Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., was open to another reconciliation package, but “is heavily focused on selling the last bill and highlighting all it does.” “At this point it’s premature to even think of what could be in a second one,” the aide said. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., told Fox News Digital that “we want to do one more reconciliation package,” and echoed the speaker’s sentiment that more could be done. First, however, lawmakers have to get through the looming government funding fight with Senate Democrats. Currently, Senate spending panels are going through mark-ups on the dozen funding bills needed to keep the government’s lights on, but Mullin, who chairs the Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee, believed that another government funding extension was on the horizon. “It looks like we’re screaming straight toward a [continuing resolution], and we have to have, we’re going to have to figure out how to avoid a Schumer shutdown, because they’re not going to be helpful in passing it,” he said. Getting every Senate Republican, or even a majority, to go forward with reconciliation once more may be a challenge. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, was the key vote that advanced the Senate’s first crack at reconciliation back to the House, after hours of floor negotiations and rewritten provisions that would give a boost to Alaska were added to the package. But she seemed disinterested in taking another crack at the intensive process. “No, no,” Murkowski told Fox News Digital. “I want to legislate.” 

Hochul hauls in big bucks amid lackluster poll numbers and calls to endorse Mamdani

Hochul hauls in big bucks amid lackluster poll numbers and calls to endorse Mamdani

Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York brought in nearly $12 million in fundraising during the first half of this year, an impressive haul as she bids next year for a second four-term term steering the nation’s fourth most populous state. But Hochul’s fundraising report, released on Monday, comes as the governor continues to face lackluster poll numbers and regular attacks from two of her potential Republican challengers in next year’s election. And the fundraising report also comes amid calls from far-left leaders in her party to endorse democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, who topped former three-term Gov. Andrew Cuomo and nine other candidates last month to capture the New York City Democratic mayoral nomination. Hochul hauled in more than $11.8 million, according to her campaign, with the July filing showing grassroots donations from all the state’s 62 counties. POLL POSITION: WHERE NEW YORK GOV. KATHY HOCHUL STANDS  Of the money raised, more than $4 million will go to Hochul’s re-election campaign, with over $7 million headed to the New York State Democratic Committee, according to a campaign aide. The latest fundraising haul marks a slight increase from the $10 million Hochul raised in the second half of last year for her re-election campaign and the state Democratic Party committee. “In the last 6 months, Governor Kathy Hochul has seen grassroots support pour in from every single county in the state as she fights back against Donald Trump and delivers real progress toward a safer, more affordable New York,” campaign manager Preston Elliott said in a statement. COULD THIS TOP TRUMP ALLY BREAK THE REPUBLICAN PARTY’S TWO-DECADE LOSING STREAK IN THIS KEY STATE “While D.C. Republicans rip away New Yorkers’ health care, our campaign is building an operation not just to re-elect Governor Hochul, but to take back the House and elect leaders who stand up for New York families instead of caving to Trump,” Elliott added. Hochul, who at the time was the state’s lieutenant governor, in August 2021 was sworn in as New York’s first female governor, after Cuomo resigned in disgrace amid multiple scandals. She defeated then-Rep. Lee Zeldin by just over six points in 2022 to win a full four-year term steering New York. Zeldin’s showing was the best by a Republican gubernatorial nominee in blue-state New York since GOP Gov. George Pataki won re-election to a third term in 2002. In July of last year, Hochul announced her intention to run for re-election in 2026, but polling suggests New Yorkers are far from thrilled with the state of their state. A majority of New York state voters continue to want “someone else” other than Hochul elected governor next year, according to a Siena College poll conducted late last month. HOCHUL FACING PRIMARY CHALLENGE FROM HER OWN LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR Half of those questioned in the survey said New York was headed in the wrong direction, with just 37% saying the Empire State was on the right track. According to the poll, Hochul’s favorability rating remained underwater at 42%-47%, while her job approval rating continued to hover slightly in positive territory at 50%-45%. The poll also indicated Hochul topping her potential Republican challengers by 20 points or more in potential 2026 gubernatorial showdowns in blue-leaning New York state. However, Hochul failed to top 50% in any of the matchups. The survey also continues to indicate that Rep. Elise Stefanik is the polling frontrunner among three major Republicans considering a run for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, in the race to challenge Hochul next year. Rep. Mike Lawler was in second place, according to the poll. Both Stefanik and Lawler have been very vocal in their criticism of Hochul as they both mull launching gubernatorial runs.  Hochul’s lieutenant governor – Antonio Delgado – last month launched a Democratic Party primary challenge against the governor. But the most recent polling indicates Delgado is facing a steep uphill climb to win the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING, ANALYSIS, AND OPINION ON NEW YORK GOV. KATHY HOCHUL Meanwhile, progressive leaders are urging Hochul, and other top Democrcatic officials in New York state, to endorse Mamdani, the 33-year-old Ugandan-born state assembly member from Queens. Mamdani’s primary victory last month stunned the political world and pushed him a big step closer to becoming the first Muslim mayor of the nation’s most populous city. Hochul has praised Mamdani’s primary victory and his emphasis on the campaign trail on affordability. The governor also defended Mamdani recently against President Donald Trump’s threat to take over New York City if the democratic socialist is elected mayor. “Voters decide who runs New York City. Not Washington and certainly not wannabe kings,” Hochul wrote in a social media post. But she continues to voice concerns over Mamdani’s anti-Israel rhetoric and his stance on policing. The governor, at a news conference on Friday, highlighted that the business community “is concerned about what will happen with the police department” if Mamdani becomes New York City’s next mayor. “Everybody’s concerned what will happen to the policing of the city,” Hochul said.

Mamdani’s failure to walk back these positions could cause reckoning in Democratic Party: ‘Five-alarm warning’

Mamdani’s failure to walk back these positions could cause reckoning in Democratic Party: ‘Five-alarm warning’

Socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has rocketed to frontrunner status in the race despite roughly half a dozen far-left positions that he has declined to walk back, which could prove problematic for the Democratic Party if he’s victorious. Mamdani has faced heated criticism for his support of socialist policies, perhaps most famously his 2021 remarks to a Young Democratic Socialists of America conference, where he urged attendees not to compromise on goals like “seizing the means of production.” “Right now, if we’re talking about the cancellation of student debt, if we’re talking about Medicare for all, you know, these are issues which have the groundswell of popular support across this country,” Mamdani said in a video to conference-goers. “But then there are also other issues that we firmly believe in, whether it’s BDS or whether it is the end goal of seizing the means of production, where we do not have the same level of support at this very moment.” Mamdani spokesperson Andrew Epstein told Politifact, “There is nothing in his platform or in his record regarding seizing the means of production,” but Mamdani has not walked back his original statement, saying that is his “end goal.” MAMDANI’S FATHER SITS ON COUNCIL OF ANTI-ISRAEL GROUP TIED TO TERROR, LEGITIMIZES ROLE OF SUICIDE BOMBERS Another controversial position Mamdani has taken came in the form of a campaign policy document that explicitly calls for shifting the city’s tax burden onto “richer and whiter neighborhoods.” “Shift the tax burden from overtaxed homeowners in the outer boroughs to more expensive homes in richer and whiter neighborhoods,” the proposal reads. “The property tax system is unbalanced because assessment levels are artificially capped, so homeowners in expensive neighborhoods pay less than their fair share.” Mamdani has not explicitly walked back on that policy item and has defended it in multiple interviews, including on “Meet the Press,” where he said, “That is just a description of what we see right now. It’s not driven by race. It’s more of an assessment of what neighborhoods are being under-taxed versus over-taxed.” Mamdani has made it clear he is not a fan of capitalism, including in an interview with CNN in June. “No, I have many critiques of capitalism,” he said in response to CNN’s Erin Burnett asking him if he likes it.  Mamdani has faced heated criticism from Jewish groups in New York City for a variety of past statements and positions dating back to his college days that are considered anti-Israel, several of which he is yet to walk back. Mamdani drew the ire of Jewish groups for a video posted in December 2024 that mocked Jewish Hanukkah traditions.  “Our holidays and traditions are sacred and not for your comedic pleasure, Zohran Mamdani – this is sick,” Stop Antisemitism said in response to the video, which Mamdani has not apologized for or deleted as of this publication.  The self-proclaimed democratic socialist has refused multiple times to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, and he has supported the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. ‘COMRADE CHRIS’ – REPUBLICANS AIM TO ANCHOR MAMDANI TO DEMOCRATS ACROSS THE COUNTRY “My support for BDS is consistent with my core of my politics, which is non-violence,” Mamdani said when pressed on his BDS support earlier this year.  BDS is described as “an international campaign to delegitimize the State of Israel as the expression of the Jewish people’s right to national self-determination by isolating the country economically through consumer boycotts, business and government withdrawal of investment, and legal sanctions,” according to Influence Watch.  Mamdani has also refused to condemn the term “globalize the intifada” despite it widely being accepted as a term justifying violence against Jewish people.  “My concern is, to start to walk down the line of language and making clear what language I believe is permissible or impermissible, takes me into a place similar to that of the president, who is looking to do those very kinds of things, putting people in jail for writing an op-ed, putting them in jail for protesting,” Mamdani told NBC News earlier this year. “Ultimately, it is not language that I use. It is language, I understand there are concerns about, and what I will do is showcase my vision for the city through my words and my actions.” Mamdani infuriated some in the Italian American community, a key voting bloc in New York City, by calling for a statue of Christopher Columbus to be torn down. In its place, Mamdani suggested a statue of Sacco and Vanzetti, two anarcho-communists executed in 1927, should be erected. Mamdani has not walked back or apologized for that position. One of the most highly-talked-about controversies from Mamdani’s campaign involved the revelation that he identified as “Black” and “Asian” on his college applications. Mamdani, born in Uganda to Indian parents, did not apologize for the move but said checking multiple boxes was an effort to reflect his “complex background,” not to gain an edge in the competitive admissions process. Many, including a GOP lawmaker in New York City and a Democratic strategist who spoke to Fox News Digital, have speculated that a Mamdani victory in November would put the Democratic Party in a tough position given the variety of positions Mamdani has not walked back, along with his past support of safe injection sites, free buses, city run grocery stores, and defunding the police. “His sudden rise isn’t just a crisis for Democrats — it’s a five-alarm warning for every New Yorker and every American who still believes in decency, democracy, and common sense, no matter their party,” New York GOP State Assemblyman Jake Blumencranz, who serves in the assembly with Mamdani, told Fox News Digital.  “If this is who the left chooses to elevate, it’s not just a sign they’ve lost their way — it’s proof they’ve abandoned the values that once held this nation together. This isn’t the future of the Democratic Party — it’s the unraveling of it.” Former House Judiciary Chief Counsel Julian Epstein, a Democrat, told Fox