New book exposes how top Biden comms staffer was ‘tip of the spear’ covering up Biden’s cognitive decline
A new book sheds light on former White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates’ role in defending President Joe Biden‘s mental acuity, which the book alleges was done without the White House staff having the full picture of the president’s actual condition. “Some of Bates’s colleagues believed that Biden’s inner circle took advantage of his loyalty and told him to deny things they knew were true,” Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson wrote in their new book “Original Sin,” detailing the inner workings of the Biden White House and attempts to downplay concerns about the president’s mental and physical fitness. “He, along with most of the press team, rarely met with the president and didn’t have firsthand knowledge of the president’s wherewithal,” the book continued. “They relied on senior staff for answers. Still, risking his own credibility, Bates willingly became the White House’s tip of the spear when it came to fighting off any reporting on Biden’s acuity.” Outside of White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, Bates was perhaps the most prominent face of the public-facing defense of Biden during his administration, often handling requests for comment from reporters and is mentioned about half a dozen times in the book. ‘THE VIEW’ MELTS DOWN OVER LATEST BIDEN BOOK, SLAMS CNN FOR ‘HAWKING’ IT The book goes into detail about an alleged “modus operandi” from the Biden campaign and the White House for “attacking any journalist who covered any questions about the president’s age” with the goal to “shame journalists and create a disincentive structure for those curious about the president’s condition.” “To answer the question on everyone’s minds: No, Joe Biden does not have a doctorate in foreign affairs. He’s just that f—ing good,” Bates posted on X following a Biden press conference two weeks after the debate performance that many believe was the beginning of the end of his campaign. The book looked back on that remark and stated that it “reflected the views of the Politburo but among professional Democrats, it became an instant legend for its sycophancy and tone-deafness.” Bates dismissed the book’s narrative about him, telling Fox News Digital it “is distorted, stretching select facts while excluding others.” A former Biden White House staffer also came to Bates’ defense, telling Fox News Digital, “This gets important facts wrong.” FORMER BIDEN MEDICAL ADVISOR SAYS HE ‘PROBABLY’ HAD CANCER AT BEGINNING OF PRESIDENCY “Bates served as a senior spokesperson who met with and traveled with the President, including in the Oval and on Air Force One, staffing him around the country and on Capitol Hill. That’s public information. He served as a point person in the press office on major legislative and political issues,” the former White House staffer continued. “He was known for being respectful and considerate if a colleague didn’t want to do an interview for a challenging story, whether it was about policy or anything else.” The book details one specific instance of the White House successfully killing a story when “weeks” before the explosive Wall Street Journal story detailing concern about Biden’s decline came out in June, Steve Ricchetti, former White House deputy chief of staff, strongly denied claims that the president was slipping to another journalist. “[A] reporter with a different national news outlet had been hearing from White House aides that behind the scenes the president was having serious and disturbing moments, forgetting names and facts, sometimes seeming seriously confused at meetings,” the book read. “The reporter reached out to members of the White House press office, which not only aggressively—and angrily—disputed her reporting but also took the unusual step of having Steve Ricchetti call her,” the book said. “He talked to her off the record, so she couldn’t use any of what he said or even attribute it to ‘a White House source.’ But he told her that everything the others were saying was false, and that he was at the meetings as a counselor to the president.” According to Tapper and Thompson, the Biden White House was going all out trying to control the perception of his health. “The message from the White House was clear, this reporter believed: If she went forward with the story from anonymous aides, the White House would aggressively dispute it, on the record, and portray her as a liar,” the book reads. “The tacit threat worked.” The book has sparked intense reactions from both sides of the aisle, leading many to slam the media’s coverage of Biden’s mental acuity and blame the media and Biden’s team for covering up the facts of the situation. Fox News Digital has written extensively dating back to the 2020 presidential campaign about Biden’s cognitive decline and his inner circle’s role in covering it up. Others have pushed back against the framing of the book, including Naomi Biden, Joe Biden’s granddaughter, who delivered a scathing rebuke to the new book, calling it “silly” and “political fairy smut.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP CNN, Tapper’s network, has also faced pushback for its promotion of the book, including from “The View” and Daily Show host Jon Stewart, who took issue with the network promoting the book under the backdrop of Biden’s recent cancer diagnosis. In a statement to Fox News Digital, a Biden spokesperson said, “There is nothing in this book that shows Joe Biden failed to do his job, as the authors have alleged, nor did they prove their allegation that there was a cover up or conspiracy.” “Nowhere do they show that our national security was threatened or where the President wasn’t otherwise engaged in the important matters of the Presidency. In fact, Joe Biden was an effective President who led our country with empathy and skill.” Fox News Digital’s Hanna Panreck and Rachel del Guidice contributed to this report
Trump’s 2nd-term approval ratings dip despite border security gains
Four months into his second tour of duty in the White House, President Donald Trump’s approval ratings remain slightly underwater. The president stands at 46% approval and 54% disapproval in a new national survey by Marquette Law School. And Trump is at 42% approval and 52% disapproval in a Reuters/Ipsos poll. Most, but not all, of the latest national surveys place the president’s approval rating in negative territory, with a handful indicating Trump is above water. Trump has aggressively asserted executive authority in his second term, overturning longstanding government policy and aiming to make major cuts to the federal workforce through an avalanche of sweeping and controversial executive orders and actions, with some aimed at addressing grievances he has held since his first term. TRUMP’S APPROVAL RATINGS ARE UNDERWATER, BUT DEMOCRATS FACE RECORD-LOW POLLING NUMBERS Trump started his second administration with poll numbers in positive territory, but his poll numbers started to slide soon after his late-January inauguration. But two issues where the president remains at or above water in some surveys are border security and immigration, which were front and center in Trump’s successful 2024 campaign to win back the White House. HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING Trump stands at 56% approval on border security and 50% approval on immigration in the Marquette Law School poll, which was conducted May 5-15. But Trump’s muscular moves on border security and immigration, which have sparked controversy and legal pushback, don’t appear to be helping his overall approval ratings. “Immigration is declining now as a salient issue,” said Daron Shaw, who serves as a member of the Fox News Decision Team and is the Republican partner on the Fox News poll. Shaw, a politics professor and chair at the University of Texas, said “immigration and especially border security are beginning to lose steam as one of the top-three issues facing the country. Republicans still rate them fairly highly, but Democrats and independents, who had kind of joined the chorus in 2024, have moved on and in particular moved back to the economy as a focal point.” Pointing to Trump, Shaw added that “when you have success on an issue, it tends to move to the back burner.” Contributing to the slide over the past couple of months in Trump’s overall approval ratings was his performance on the economy and, in particular, inflation, which were pressing issues that kept former President Joe Biden’s approval ratings well below water for most of his presidency. Trump’s blockbuster tariff announcement in early April sparked a trade war with some of the nation’s top trading partners and triggered a massive sell-off in the financial markets and increased concerns about a recession. But the markets have rebounded, thanks in part to a truce between the U.S. and China in their tariff standoff as Trump tapped the brakes on his controversial tariff implementation. Trump stood at 37% approval on tariffs and 34% on inflation/cost of living in the Marquette Law School poll. And he stood at 39% on the economy and 33% on cost of living in the Reuters/Ipsos poll, which was conducted May 16-18. Doug Heye, a longtime GOP strategist and former RNC and Bush administration official, pointed to last year’s election, saying, “The main reason Trump won was to lower prices. Prices haven’t lowered, and polls are reflecting that.” “With the exception of gas prices, there hasn’t been much of a reduction in prices,” Shaw said. “Prices haven’t come down, and it’s not clear that people will say the absence of inflation is an economic victory. They still feel that an appreciable portion of their money is going to pay for basic things,” he added. “What Trump is realizing is that prices have to come down for him to be able to declare success.”
Federal judge blocks Trump admin from firing 2 Dem members of privacy oversight board
A federal judge blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from firing two Democratic members of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board on Wednesday. Trump fired all three Democratic members of the five-person board in February, resulting in two of them filing a lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton found that allowing unilateral firings would prevent the board from carrying out its purpose. Walton wrote that allowing at-will removals would make the board “beholden to the very authority it is supposed to oversee on behalf of Congress and the American people.” The oversight board was initially created by Congress to ensure that federal counterterrorism policies were in line with privacy and civil liberties law. ‘ACTIVIST’ JUDGES KEEP TRYING TO CURB TRUMP’S AGENDA – HERE’S HOW HE COULD PUSH BACK “To hold otherwise would be to bless the President’s obvious attempt to exercise power beyond that granted to him by the Constitution and shield the Executive Branch’s counterterrorism actions from independent oversight, public scrutiny, and bipartisan congressional insight regarding those actions,” Walton wrote. Trump’s firings left just one Republican on the board. The third Democratic member had just two days left in her term when she was removed, and she did not sue the administration. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION GUTS INSTITUTE OF PEACE OF ‘ROGUE BUREAUCRATS’ AFTER DOGE STANDOFF IN GOVERNMENT OFFICE The two plaintiffs, Travis LeBlanc and Edward Felten, argued in their lawsuit that members of the board cannot be fired without cause. Meanwhile, lawyers for Trump’s administration argued that members of other congressionally created boards do have explicit job protections, and it would therefore be wrong for Walton to create such protections where they are absent. “The Constitution gives President Trump the power to remove personnel who exercise his executive authority,” White House spokesman Harrison Fields told the Associated Press. “The Trump Administration looks forward to ultimate victory on the issue.” The plaintiffs also argued that their firings left just one member on the board, a Republican, and that falls short of the quorum required for the board to function. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Mike Johnson, Donald Trump get ‘big, ‘beautiful’ win as budget passes House
President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” passed the House of Representatives early on Thursday morning with few Republican defections. It is a significant victory for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who navigated deep inter-party friction within the House GOP Conference to deliver a product that few Republican lawmakers ultimately defected from. The bill passed 215 to 214 with just two Republicans, Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, voting against it. All Democrats voted against the bill as well, and House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris, R-Md., voted “present.” The bill is a sweeping multi-trillion-dollar piece of legislation that advances Trump’s agenda on taxes, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt. TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ PASSES KEY HOUSE HURDLE AFTER GOP REBEL MUTINY Republicans spent more than 48 hours continuously working on the bill from the time it came before the House Rules Committee – the final gatekeeper before a House-wide vote – at 1 a.m. on Wednesday to when it passed the chamber just after 7 a.m. on Thursday. “It quite literally is morning again in America,” Johnson said. “What we’re achieving today is nothing short of historic.” All the while, Democratic lawmakers attempted a variety of delay tactics, from introducing amendments targeting key Trump policies to forcing several procedural votes on the House floor ahead of debate on the legislation. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., notably spoke on the House floor for over 30 minutes just before the vote in a last-ditch effort to stretch out the seemingly endless day of debate and votes. “This bill represents a failed promise. Last year, Donald Trump and House Republicans spent all of their time to lower the high cost of living in the United States of America,” Jeffries said on the House floor. “We’re now more than 120 days past the inauguration. Costs aren’t going down, they’re going up.” Tensions flared at multiple points as visibly weary lawmakers continued to fight their ideological battle into the early morning. HOUSE GOP TARGETS ANOTHER DEM OFFICIAL ACCUSED OF BLOCKING ICE AMID DELANEY HALL FALLOUT Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., who was presiding over the House at the time, warned Jeffries multiple times to address the chair in his remarks rather than directly attacking Republicans sitting across the chamber. “Every time I’m interrupted, that’s going to add another 15 minutes to my remarks,” Jeffries said as Democrats sitting around him sounded off in support. The bill seeks to permanently extend Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) while also implementing newer Trump campaign promises like eliminating taxes on tips and overtime pay, and giving senior citizens a higher tax deduction for a period of four years. The legislation also included new funding for the border and defense, including more money for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations and $25 billion to kick-start construction of a “Golden Dome” defense system over the U.S. At the same time, the legislation seeks to make a dent in the federal government’s spending trajectory by cutting roughly $1.5 trillion in government spending elsewhere. The U.S. government is more than $36 trillion in debt. Cuts include new work requirements for able-bodied Medicaid recipients, as well as putting more of the cost-sharing burden on states that took advantage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)’s expanded Medicaid enrollment by giving illegal immigrants access to the healthcare program. The legislation would also roll back a host of green energy tax credits awarded in former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) – which Trump vowed to repeal in its entirety on the campaign trail. It also would cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by roughly 20% by introducing some cost-sharing burdens on the states and increasing the amount of able-bodied Americans facing work requirements to be eligible for food stamps. All House Democrats rejected the bill, accusing Republicans of disproportionately favoring the wealthy at the expense of critical programs for working Americans. Republicans, on the other hand, have contended that they are preserving tax cuts that prevent a 22% tax increase on Americans next year if TCJA was allowed to expire, as well as streamlining programs like Medicaid and SNAP for vulnerable Americans who need it most. Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, chair of the House’s 189 member-strong Republican Study Committee, told Fox News Digital, “This transformational legislation permanently extends President Trump’s historic tax cuts, provides unprecedented funding for border security, and obliterates the last four years of catastrophic Democratic policies.” And while most GOP lawmakers united on the final bill, divisions appeared to persist until the final moments. Conservatives had pushed for more aggressive targeting of Medicaid waste and Biden green energy subsidies, while blue state Republicans pushed for tax relief for Americans in high-cost-of-living areas. To resolve outstanding differences, House Republican leaders released a list of eleventh-hour changes to President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill,” hours before their full chamber is expected to consider the legislation. New provisions in the bill include a ban on federal funding for transgender adults’ medical care, and $12 billion in new funding to reimburse states for money they spent countering the former Biden administration’s border policies. MEET THE TRUMP-PICKED LAWMAKERS GIVING SPEAKER JOHNSON A FULL HOUSE GOP CONFERENCE A key request from fiscal conservatives was also honored, with House GOP leaders apparently agreeing to speed up the implementation of work requirements for certain able-bodied recipients of Medicaid. The bill initially had Medicaid work requirements going into effect in 2029. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, one of the fiscal hawks leading GOP opposition to the bill, told Fox News Digital just after midnight Thursday that he was not sure if the legislation went far enough – but suggested the White House could persuade him with other avenues for change. “There are things in the executive space, executive actions that we think could take care of … some of our concerns on the Medicaid expansion,” Roy said. The legislative update also included a victory for blue state Republicans who have been pushing
Mom of girl allegedly killed by illegals says wildlife refuge renaming ‘means the world’ to family
EXCLUSIVE: Alexis Nungaray, the mother of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, whose murder authorities say was at the hands of two illegal immigrants suspected to be Tren de Aragua gang members, told Fox News Digital that renaming a local wildlife refuge in her daughter’s honor would mean “the world” to her family. Jocelyn Nungaray was sexually assaulted and strangled to death, allegedly by two Venezuelan illegals, Franklin Jose Pena Ramos and Johan Jose Rangel Martinez, who were let through the southern border during the Biden administration. Her body was found tied up in a bayou in Houston. Since her daughter’s murder, Alexis Nungaray has become a vocal advocate for increased border security and a supporter of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Nungaray said the tragic manner of Jocelyn’s death “takes away [from] who she was as a person.” However, she said that the renaming of a 39,000-acre wildlife refuge on the Texas Gulf Coast preserves Jocelyn’s memory for what she loved in life. TRUMP HONORS LIVES OF LAKEN RILEY, JOCELYN NUNGARAY WHILE CELEBRATING STRIDES ON SECURING BORDER Trump issued an executive order on March 5 renaming the former Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge in southeast Houston to the Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, have since introduced bills to enshrine Trump’s executive order into law, making it more difficult for a future president to change the name of the refuge back. The Senate has already passed the bill, and Babin is working to pass it in the House. Babin told Fox News Digital that his bill to codify Trump’s renaming of the refuge after Jocelyn is receiving bipartisan support and that he expects it will be passed by the House soon and be immediately signed by the president. “This is a beautiful place. And if we name it after her, I think we will preserve her legacy,” he said. “The main thing we need to remember is that this can never be allowed to happen again,” he added. “We get this thing in law, codified, no future president can ever undo this. And so, we will have a memory of what happens when you have bad policies that can create a system that will allow this to happen to innocent people like Jocelyn.” TEXAS LAWMAKERS SEEK TO GET FEDERAL REIMBURSEMENT FOR BIDEN-ERA BORDER CONTROL EXPENSES Nungaray said the effort to rename the refuge “touches every part of my heart and my family’s heart.” “Everyone who knew Jocelyn knew she loved animals so much, knew she loved nature, wildlife,” explained Nungaray. “She truly loved all animals and all creatures, and she wanted every animal to have a place to call home.” “Knowing that this national wildlife refuge is a place for a bunch of wild animals that travel through the country, and it is somewhere that they can call home, and it is somewhere that they can find a place of safety for them. I just know it would absolutely mean the world to her to know she has something in honor of her in that nature.” She said that seeing the signs going up around Houston bearing her daughter’s name is “bittersweet.” TEXAS GANG MEMBERS SENTENCED FOR HUMAN SMUGGLING AFTER HIGH-SPEED BORDER CHASES “I went out there to just go see what it was about, what it was like, and the amount of peace I felt just being there, it was just so pure and so peaceful,” said Nungaray. “Immediately I thought Jocelyn would love this. She would love to be out here.” CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE “She wasn’t just a 12-year-old girl who was strangled and left in a bayou of water,” Nungaray went on. “She was a very creative, talented, free-spirited 12-year-old girl.” Smiling, Nungaray added that Jocelyn “was very quirky” and “an old soul.” She liked dressing in 1990s-style cargo jeans and Converse and loved listening to music from as far back as the 1940s and 1950s. “She was very different and unique. She was an amazing friend,” said Nungaray. TED CRUZ MOCKS ‘CRAZY TOWN’ DEMS AS MARYLAND SENATOR GETS DEFENSIVE ABOUT ADVOCACY FOR ALLEGED MS-13 MEMBER Nungaray said she is very grateful to Trump for both his support and for “keeping his promises” regarding immigration enforcement. “I support immigration, but I say there’s just a right way and a wrong way to do it,” she explained. “He’s protecting the people, and he’s taking consideration to the people, us the citizens and making sure we’re safe and our kids are safe, women are safe, that we’re all safe in our communities.” “We’ve still got a long way to go,” she went on. “But I will always advocate for her and be her voice and stand up for better border control and immigration laws. Because I know one-million percent Jocelyn’s death should have been preventable.”
AI Melania: First lady embarks on ‘new frontier’ in publishing with audiobook of memoir
EXCLUSIVE: First lady Melania Trump is launching an audiobook of her memoir using artificial intelligence (AI) audio technology in multiple languages, Fox News Digital has learned. The first lady released her first memoir, “Melania,” last year. This week, she is breaking new ground by releasing “Melania, the Audiobook,” which has been “created entirely” with AI. “I am proud to be at the forefront of publishing’s new frontier – the intersection of artificial intelligence technology and audio,” Trump told Fox News Digital. MELANIA TRUMP TO RELEASE ‘COLLECTOR’S EDITION’ OF MEMOIR FEATURING IMAGES PHOTOGRAPHED BY FORMER FIRST LADY The first lady said ElevenLabs AI developed “an AI-generated replica of my voice under strict supervision, which will establish an unforgettable connection with my personal story, in multiple languages for listeners worldwide.” ElevenLabs AI CEO Mati Staniszewski told Fox News Digital that they are “excited that Melania Trump trusted our technology to power this first-of-its-kind audiobook project.” “We look forward to helping bring this book to the public in many other languages, in the first lady’s own voice, soon,” Staniszewski said. MELANIA TRUMP’S MEMOIR SOARS TO TOP SPOT ON SEVERAL AMAZON ‘BEST SELLERS’ LISTS WEEKS BEFORE ITS RELEASE The English version of the audiobook is expected to be available on MelaniaTrump.com. Later this year, it will be released in multiple languages, including Spanish, Hindi and Portuguese. Meanwhile, billboards to promote the audiobook will be up in Times Square in New York City as well as in Los Angeles and Miami; the billboards will be up for one month in all three cities. The Times Square billboard will feature the video below. Upon the release of the memoir last year, the first lady told Fox News Digital that writing her story was “an amazing journey filled with emotional highs and lows.” “Each story shaped me into who I am today,” she said. “Although daunting at times, the process has been incredibly rewarding, reminding me of my strength, and the beauty of sharing my truth.” “Melania” is the first lady’s first book. She released the original book along with a special collector’s edition that includes photos hand-selected by the first lady, many she photographed herself of her home and of various trips she has taken around the world.
WATCH: Rubio on Dems saying they regret voting for him: ‘Confirmation I’m doing a good job’
Marco Rubio told Fox News that far-left Democrats espousing regret over voting to confirm him as secretary of state is likely just “confirmation” that he is doing a good job. Democrat Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen told Rubio during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing yesterday that he “regret[ted] voting” to confirm him as secretary of state after indicating as much on “Fox News Sunday” in March. Rubio shot back at the hearing that Van Hollen’s regret just proves he is doing a good job, and he subsequently told Fox News that the same goes for other Democrats who are expressing regret over their nod of approval to him earlier this year when he was confirmed by the Senate 99-0. “In some cases, depending on … whoever you’re talking about and what they stand for, the fact that they don’t like what I’m doing is a confirmation I’m doing a good job,” Rubio said. “That’s how I feel about it.” ADAM SCHIFF TELLS EPA’S LEE ZELDIN HE’LL CAUSE CANCER AFTER SHOUTFEST: ‘COULD GIVE A RAT’S A–‘ A growing number of Democrats are coming out against Rubio despite voting to confirm him, with the bulk of the criticism describing him as a sell-out to the Trump administration. “I don’t recognize Secretary Rubio,” Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., added during the Tuesday Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing with Van Hollen, noting that in the past she had viewed him as “a bipartisan” and “pragmatic” person. “I’m not even mad anymore about your complicity in this administration’s destruction of U.S. global leadership. I’m simply disappointed,” Rosen said. DEMS WARN HOUSE REPUBLICANS WILL PAY PRICE AT BALLOT BOX FOR PASSING TRUMP’S ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’ Last week, Democrat Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz lamented that Rubio has aligned himself “so closely” with President Donald Trump. “President Trump’s narrow and transactional view of the world is not news to anybody. But what is genuinely surprising to me is that Secretary Rubio is aligning himself so closely with it,” Schatz said during a live event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations last week. “This is someone who, up until four months ago, was an internationalist. Someone who believed in America flexing its powers in all manners, but especially through foreign assistance,” Schatz continued. “And yet, he is now responsible for the evisceration of the whole enterprise. He’s a colleague. I voted for him. We talk all the time. But what I’m trying to understand is: What happened?” Schatz noted that he hopes to see Rubio “reemerge, reassert himself and save the enterprise.” Rubio’s supportive stance on Trump’s foreign aid cuts, his defense of the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia and his alleged lack of action to help get him back to the U.S., his approach to the Russia-Ukraine war, and Rubio’s decision to pull visas from foreign college students in the U.S. for stoking anti-Israel sentiment on university campuses are all issues Democrats have pointed to for why they regret voting to confirm Rubio. The secretary’s alleged role in bringing white South African refugees to the U.S. was also something for which Rubio was chastised by Democrats during his Tuesday testimony on Capitol Hill. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “I think a lot of us thought that Marco Rubio was going to stand up to Donald Trump,” Democrat Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy said in March during an interview on CNN. “Marco Rubio has not, and that’s been a great disappointment to many of his former colleagues in the Senate.”
Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ heads to House-wide vote after key committee victory
President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” could be headed for a House-wide vote as soon as Wednesday night after its approval by a key committee in an 8-4 vote. The House Rules Committee, the gatekeeper for most legislation before it gets to the full chamber, first met at 1 a.m. Wednesday to advance the massive bill in time for Speaker Mike Johnson’s Memorial Day deadline for sending it to the Senate. The panel adjourned shortly before 11 p.m. Wednesday after all four Democrats voted against the measure and all present Republicans voted for it. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, was the lone lawmaker to miss the vote. Proceedings crept on for hours as Democrats on the committee repeatedly accursed Republicans of trying to move the bill “in the dead of night” and of trying to raise costs for working class families at the expense of the wealthy. WHITE HOUSE URGES IMMEDIATE VOTE ON GOP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ Democratic lawmakers also dragged out the process with dozens of amendments that stretched from early Tuesday well into Wednesday. Republicans, meanwhile, contended the bill is aimed at boosting small businesses, farmers, and low- and middle-income families, while reducing waste, fraud, and abuse in the government safety net. In a sign of the meeting’s high stakes, Johnson, R-La., himself visited with committee Republicans shortly before 1 a.m. and then again just after sunrise. But the committee kicked off its meeting to advance the bill with several key outstanding issues – blue state Republicans pushing for a raise in state and local tax (SALT) deduction caps, and conservatives demanding stricter work requirement rules for Medicaid as well as a full repeal of green energy subsidies granted in former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). A long-awaited amendment to the legislation aimed at fixing those issues debuted around 9 p.m. on Wednesday evening. HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS HEADING TO WHITE HOUSE AFTER DELAY PLAY ON TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ The amendment would speed up the implementation of Medicaid work requirements for certain able-bodied recipients from 2029 to December 2026, and award states that did not follow Obamacare-era expansion plans with more federal dollars. It would also end a host of green energy tax subsidies by 2028 if they did not demonstrate relatively quick return on investment. Democrats, meanwhile, accused Republicans of hastily trying to change the legislation without proper notice. Johnson told Fox News Digital during his Wednesday 1 a.m. that he was “very close” to a deal with divided House GOP factions. Returning from that meeting, Johnson signaled the House would press ahead with its vote either late Wednesday or early Thursday. But the legislation’s passage through the House Rules Committee does not necessarily mean it will fare well in a House-wide vote. A pair of House Rules Committee members, Roy and Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., and were two of the conservative House Freedom Caucus members who had called for the House-wide vote to be delayed on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the White House bore down hard on those rebels, demanding a vote “immediately” in an official statement of policy that backed the House GOP bill. Several of those fiscal hawks were more optimistic after a meeting at the White House with Trump and Johnson, however. Republicans are working to pass Trump’s policies on tax, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt all in one massive bill via the budget reconciliation process. Budget reconciliation lowers the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51, thereby allowing the party in power to skirt the minority — in this case, Democrats — to pass sweeping pieces of legislation, provided they deal with the federal budget, taxation or the national debt. House Republicans are hoping to advance Trump’s bill through the House and Senate by the Fourth of July.
House Republicans nearing vote on Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’
House Republicans believe they are close to passing Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill. After the meeting at the White House, with the president and members of the Freedom Caucus, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) suggested that the House could vote in the overnight on the Big, Beautiful Bill. But it quickly became apparent that was a physical – and parliamentary – impossibility. GOP REBEL MUTINY THREATENS TO DERAIL TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ BEFORE KEY COMMITTEE HURDLE House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) later introduced a “manager’s amendment” to make final changes to the bill. Those alterations were designed to coax holdouts to vote yes. It’s now likely that the House debates the bill in the early hours of Thursday with a vote in perhaps the late morning. But Democratic dilatory tactics could further delay passage of the bill. It’s possible Democrats could engineer protest votes to “adjourn” the House. Calls to “adjourn” hold special privileges in the House and require immediate consideration. A USER’S MANUAL TO WHERE WE STAND WITH THE ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) could also take advantage of a special debate time on the floor to “filibuster” the measure. Top House leaders from both parties are afforded what’s called the “Magic Minute.” That’s where they are allotted a “minute” to speak on an issue. But the House really allows them to speak as long as they wish out of deference to their position. Then-House Minority Leader and future Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) set the record for the longest speech in November, 2021, delaying considering of former President Biden’s “Build Back Better” Act. McCarthy spoke for eight hours and 32 minutes. TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ FACES CRUCIAL HOURS AS JOHNSON COURTS FREEDOM CAUCUS The House Freedom Caucus seems much more satisfied with the upcoming changes to the bill. Especially after the meeting with the president. But here is the main reason the House wants to move this as quickly as possible: Republicans don’t want the bill to fester. Problems develop the longer this sits out there. So when you think you have the votes, you put it on the floor and force the issue. There could also be attendance problems later on Thursday or beyond. This subject has been jawboned to death for weeks. Johnson said weeks ago he wanted this passed by Memorial Day. So Johnson – and President Trump – want GOPers who are skeptical or holdouts to put up or shut up. You do that by putting the bill on the floor and requiring a vote. That said, it’s possible the GOP leadership might not have the votes ahead of the actual roll call vote. So calling a vote applies pressure on those holdouts. Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) used to “grow” the vote on the House floor. In other words, they would start the vote – not having all the ducks in order – and then “grow” the vote during the actual roll call and cajoling or twisting arms. The same may happen today. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Also, if the vote is a little shy of passage, Republican leaders could hold the vote open and then single out those Republicans who have either voted no or have not cast ballots. Then the leadership can really turn up the heat and accuse them of not supporting the president’s agenda. If push comes to shove, they can then have the President weigh in and use his powers to coax those holdouts to vote yes. Here’s the long-term outlook: If the House passes the bill, this goes to the Senate. This will be a project which will consume most of June. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) wants this done by July 4. But the question is what the Senate actually produces. The House and Senate must be on the same page. If the Senate crafts a different legislative product, then this must return to the House to sync up. Either the House eats what the Senate put together. Or the House and Senate must blend their differing versions together into a single, unified bill. That could take most of July. Remember that this bill includes an increase in the debt ceiling. The Treasury says Congress must lift the debt ceiling by early August.
Trump Gold Card visa program to launch online within weeks, commerce secretary says
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Wednesday that the Trump Gold Card, which makes it possible for any foreigner to buy a visa for $5 million, will be available online within weeks. Lutnick was a guest at Axios’ streamed event, Building the Future, Wednesday, where he was interviewed by company co-founder Mike Allen about several topics, including President Donald Trump’s offering of a Gold Card. In March, Trump said the Gold Card would go on sale “very, very soon,” explaining it would be like a green card, “but better and more sophisticated.” He said the newest path to citizenship in the U.S. would allow the “most successful job-creating people from all over the world to buy a path to citizenship.” Allen asked Lutnick when the $5 million Gold Card would be available, and Lutnick said he expected a website called trumpcard.gov to be up and running in about a week. TRUMP VOWS TO REFUND, DEPORT ANY ‘UNSAVORY’ IMMIGRANTS WHO TRY FOR CITIZENSHIP UNDER POTENTIAL ‘GOLD CARD’ “The details of that will come soon after, but people can start to register. And all that will come over a matter of the next weeks — not month, weeks,” Lutnick said. He also shared a story about a recent “great dinner” in the Middle East with about 400 people. During the dinner, Lutnick said, he had his phone out when one of the senior leaders walked by and asked why his phone was out. “I go, ‘I am selling him cards,’” Lutnick said. “So, basically everyone I meet who’s not an American is going to want to buy the card if they have the fiscal capacity.” TRUMP CONTINUES TO PUSH ALTERNATIVE TO CONTROVERSIAL VISA AMID CONCERNS ABOUT CHINESE INFLUENCE He acknowledged that not everyone will be able to afford a Gold Card, but it will be available to those who can afford to help America pay off its debt. “Why wouldn’t they want a plan B that says God forbid something bad happens, you come to the airport in America and the person in immigration says, ‘Welcome home.’ Right? As opposed to, ‘Where the heck am I going if something bad’s happening in my country,’” Lutnick continued. He noted that everyone will be vetted for a card, adding those who come in with $5 million for a visa are going to be “great people who are going to come and bring businesses and opportunity to America. And they’re going to pay $5 million.” Lutnick offered one more hypothetical scenario, saying if 200,000 people purchase the Gold Card for $5 million, that’s $1 trillion. TRUMP TOUTS $5 MILLION ‘GOLD CARD’ AS NEW PATH TO CITIZENSHIP “Remember, we get 280,000 visas per year now for free, not counting the 20 million people who broke into this country for nothing under Biden,” Lutnick said. “And, so, I want you to think about that. We give it away for free and said Donald Trump’s gonna bring in a trillion dollars for what purpose? To make America better. And it makes perfect sense to me.” TRUMP’S ‘GOLD CARD’ VISA COULD INVITE FRAUD, NATIONAL SECURITY RISKS: EXPERT Trump has previously touted his plan before to attract the world’s wealthiest to become U.S. citizens, though it comes at a time when he is both clamping down on illegal migration and as universities are increasingly in the spotlight amid soaring school costs and crippling student loans. After Trump’s announcement in March, Lora Ries, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, warned it could invite fraud. “Any immigration benefit draws fraud. … People are willing to do anything and say just about anything to come to the U.S.,” Ries told Fox News Digital. In an interview in February with Fox News’ Chief Political Anchor Bret Baier on “Special Report,” Lutnick said all candidates will be “deeply vetted.” “These are vetted people,” Lutnick told Baier. “These are going to be great global citizens who are going to bring entrepreneurial spirit, capacity and growth to America. If one of them comes in, think of the jobs they are going to bring with them, the businesses they are going to bring with them, and they are going to pay American taxes as well. So, this is huge money for America.” Fox News Digital’s Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.