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Year: 2025

FLASHBACK: Musk accused Trump, GOP leaders of not wanting to cut spending — here’s where they said they would

FLASHBACK: Musk accused Trump, GOP leaders of not wanting to cut spending — here’s where they said they would

Elon Musk’s fiery feud with President Donald Trump spilled onto the top Republicans in Congress, where the tech billionaire questioned if their zeal to cut spending had disappeared.  Musk launched into a social media assault this week against Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” and accused Republicans of crafting a “disgusting abomination” full of wasteful spending.  What started as a rant against the bill turned into pointed attacks against Trump, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.  ‘HE’S NOT A BIG FACTOR’: TRUMP’S SENATE ALLIES DISMISS ELON MUSK’S CALLS TO ‘KILL THE BILL’ The tech billionaire and former head of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) lamented the bill as not cutting deep enough into Washington’s spending addiction. The House GOP’s offering, which is now being modified in the Senate, set a goal of $1.5 trillion in spending cuts.  Musk set a benchmark of finding $2 trillion in waste, fraud and abuse to slash with his DOGE initiative, but fell far short, hitting only $160 billion in his four-month stint as a special government employee.  ELON MUSK WARPATH AGAINST TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ RATTLES HOUSE GOP Still, he came with receipts, questioning whether Trump, Thune and Johnson were actually committed to making deep cuts.  Below are moments from the campaign trail and recent months compiled by Fox News Digital where the trio affirmed their commitment to putting a dent in the nation’s nearly $37 trillion debt.  A common theme for Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign was to go after the Biden administration, and his opponent, former Vice President Kamala Harris, for “throwing billions of dollars out the window.”  The then-presidential candidate vowed that should he win a second term, his incoming administration would halt wasteful spending.  “We will stop wasteful spending and big government special interest giveaways, and finally stand up for the American taxpayer, which hasn’t happened since I was president,” he said. “We stood up. Our current massive deficits will be reduced to practically nothing. Our country will be powered by growth. Our country, will be powered by growth, will pay off our debt, will have all this income coming in.” GOP SENATORS EXPRESS ‘CONCERNS,’ ‘SKEPTICISM’ OVER TRUMP’S SPENDING BILL AFTER MUSK RANT Thune has agreed with his colleagues in the House GOP that the tax cut package needs to achieve steep savings, and believes that the Senate GOP could take those cuts a step further. After the bill advanced from the House last month, the top Senate Republican re-upped his vow to slash federal funding.  “It does everything that we set out to do. It modernizes our military, secures our border, extends tax relief and makes permanent tax relief that will lead to economic growth and better jobs in this country, and makes America energy dominant, coupled with the biggest spending reduction in American history,” he said. “So those are our agenda items, and that’s what we campaigned on. That’s what we’re going to do.” Johnson had to strike a balancing act in the House to cobble together enough support behind the legislation, and struck deals and satisfied concerned lawmakers across the spectrum of the House GOP while still setting a goal of $1.5 trillion in spending cuts. Rooting out waste, fraud and abuse has been a continued mantra of the speaker and his allies.  “I said this is the beginning of a process, and what you’re going to see is a continuing theme of us identifying waste, fraud and abuse in government, which is our pledge of common sense, restoring common sense and fiscal sanity,” Johnson said.  

‘Right down the line’: Medicaid reform in ‘big, beautiful bill’ divides lawmakers by party

‘Right down the line’: Medicaid reform in ‘big, beautiful bill’ divides lawmakers by party

Medicaid reform in President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” has drawn a partisan line through Congress.  Democrats have railed against potential Medicaid cuts since Trump was elected, while Republicans have celebrated Medicaid reform through the reconciliation process as an efficient way to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in the welfare program.  Fox News Digital asked lawmakers from both ends of the political spectrum to react to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s Medicaid reform. The results were as expectedly divided.  “This is all B.S., what the Democrats are doing,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., told Fox News Digital. “They’re pushing the agenda that we’re cutting 10 million people off Medicaid. It’s people that actually shouldn’t be on it, illegals that shouldn’t be on it. We’re reforming it.” GOP RAILS AGAINST ‘BLATANTLY FALSE’ DEM CLAIMS ABOUT MEDICAID REFORM IN TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a nonpartisan federal agency that has been ridiculed by Republicans, estimated this week that Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” would leave 10.9 million people without health insurance, including 1.4 million who are in the country without legal status in state-funded programs. But Republicans are holding firm in their defense of Medicaid reform, which Republicans say only cuts benefits to illegal immigrants, those ineligible to receive benefits who are currently receiving benefits, duplicate enrollees in one or more states and those who are able but choosing not to work.  “The people who would not continue to get Medicaid benefits under this bill were not qualified to get them in the first place,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told Fox News Digital.  TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ FACES RESISTANCE FROM REPUBLICAN SENATORS OVER DEBT FEARS Democrats continue to sound off on the healthcare threat of eliminating 10 million people from Medicaid. Not a single House Democrat voted to pass Trump’s championed legislation, which includes fulfilling key campaign promises like cutting taxes, immigration reform and American energy production.  “These burdensome regulatory requirements for proving that somebody has obtained or sought work are going to mean millions of people will go without healthcare, and the restrictions on food assistance are equally an obstacle to people meeting their everyday needs,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said.  Blumenthal added he is “very, very concerned about these seemingly cruel and unproductive ways of raising money simply to finance tax cuts” for “wealthy billionaires.” New Jersey Democratic Sen. Andy Kim said he is happy to have an “honest conversation” about government efficiency and saving taxpayer dollars, but that’s not the reality of this bill.  “People are struggling, and I feel like, in the richest, most powerful country in the world, we should be able to make sure that people can have the basic needs they need to be able to survive,” Kim said of Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.  Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., told Fox News Digital there is “nothing beautiful” about Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” “This is horrific, and it adds massive amounts to our debt, compromising our ability to [fund] the fundamentals in the future, foundations for families to thrive — health care, housing, education, good-paying jobs. That’s what we should be doing here, not doing massive tax cuts for billionaires and paying for them by tearing down programs for ordinary families,” Merkley said.  The national debt stands at more than $36.2 trillion as of June 5, according to the Fox Business, based on data from the Treasury Department. The CBO’s report this week also estimated Trump’s bill will cut taxes by $3.7 trillion while raising deficits by $2.4 trillion over a decade.  Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom and Eric Revell contributed to this report. 

TSA tells Americans their Costco cards won’t fly at airport security despite love for hot dogs

TSA tells Americans their Costco cards won’t fly at airport security despite love for hot dogs

The Transportation Security Administration clarified this week that a Costco membership card is not sufficient to present at airport security.  “We love hotdogs & rotisserie chickens as much as the next person but please stop telling people their Costco card counts as a REAL ID because it absolutely does not,” the TSA wrote on Facebook Wednesday.  The reminder comes less than a month after the U.S. began requiring a REAL ID driver’s license when flying domestically May 7.  REAL ID IS HERE: 5 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE FLYING Aside from REAL IDs, which have enhanced federal standards, domestic flyers can also use their passports or another federally-approved form of identification like Defense Department-issued IDs (but not a Costco card).  “Department of Defense IDs for active and retired military continue to be an acceptable form of ID at TSA checkpoints following the implementation of REAL ID last month,” the TSA wrote on Facebook Thursday.  REAL IDs were available for years before the requirement went into effect after a 2005 law passed based on recommendations from the 9/11 Commission report.  AIRLINE PASSENGER SHOCKED WHEN AGENT REJECTS CHECKED BAG FOR ‘BIZARRE’ REASON CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP With many procrastinating until shortly before the deadline, DMV centers were inundated with long lines in April and early May, and there was confusion about what forms of identification, such as a passport, birth certificate or Social Security card, were acceptable at a DMV to secure a REAL ID. 

Trump announces China will restart rare earth mineral shipments to US after productive call

Trump announces China will restart rare earth mineral shipments to US after productive call

President Donald Trump told reporters on Air Force One Friday that Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed to start sending rare earth minerals to the U.S. after halting the shipments in April. Trump held a gaggle on the presidential jet Friday evening, and one reporter asked him just before landing if Xi had agreed to restart the flow of rare earth minerals and magnets to the U.S. “Yes, he did,” Trump replied. “We’re very far advanced on the China deal.” The news comes about a month and a half after China effectively halted exports of seven precious minerals, vital for assembling cars, robotics and defense systems, to the U.S. in a direct strike on America’s manufacturing and defense supply chain. LIZ PEEK: TRUMP MUST STAY STRONG, US RELIANCE ON CHINESE MINERALS AND DRUGS PUTS AMERICANS AT RISK Overseas deliveries of magnets stopped April 4, when new licensing rules took effect, according to The New York Times. Companies are only allowed to export rare earth materials if they obtain special export licenses, which take 45 days to receive. The halt also threatened to undercut Trump’s tariff strategy because China produces about 60% of the world’s critical mineral supply and processes even more, up to 90%. PUTIN SAYS RUSSIA IS OPEN TO ECONOMIC COOPERATION WITH US ON RARE EARTH MINERALS China’s mineral halt to the U.S. Defense Department came after Beijing had already imposed sanctions on multiple U.S. military contractors late last year, according to Reuters. Chinese entities were prohibited from engaging or cooperating with them in response to an arms sale to Taiwan, the outlet reported. Trump and Xi had a lengthy call Thursday amid economic and national security friction regarding trade between the U.S. and China. TRUMP’S ‘RARE’ PRICE FOR US MILITARY AID TO UKRAINE CALLED ‘FAIR’ BY ZELENSKYY “I just concluded a very good phone call with President Xi, of China, discussing some of the intricacies of our recently made, and agreed to, Trade Deal,” Trump said Thursday in a Truth Social post. “The call lasted approximately one and a half hours and resulted in a very positive conclusion for both Countries.” Trump said the conversation focused mostly on trade. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The call came nearly a week after Trump condemned China for violating an initial trade agreement that the U.S. and China hashed out in May and a day after Trump said Xi was “extremely hard to make a deal with” in a Truth Social post.  Fox News’ Diana Stancy, Bonny Chu, Danielle Wallace, Morgan Phillips and Reuters contributed to this report.