BOTH PARTIES ARE SCRAMBLING to define the narrative around the “big, beautiful bill,” as President Trump’s signature legislative achievement is sure to play a central role in the 2026 midterm elections. Republicans are gearing up to sell the mammoth tax and policy legislation to voters back home after accomplishing the unlikely feat of getting the bill passed and signed into law by July 4. Still, it was a wrenching process that exposed deep divisions within the GOP over spending, debt, taxes and Medicaid cuts.
The Hill’s Al Weaver reports that the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) sent a memo urging members to use the August recess to get the word out about popular provisions in the bill, including no taxes on tips and the permanent extension of the 2017 tax cuts.
“Communicating the widely popular provisions within the OBBB effectively will be essential to turning out the coalition Republicans need to win in next year’s midterm election,” the NRSC wrote. Democrats have already signaled they intend to make the Trump agenda bill a cornerstone of their midterms strategy, with the party’s House and Senate campaign arms rolling out their first ads since the bill’s passage focusing on Medicaid cuts.
“This is a rare policy gift to Democrats in that it was perpetrated by Republicans, harms almost everybody, and it’s actually relatively easy to talk about,” Democratic strategist Christy Setzer told The Hill.
Republicans don’t have to look far back into history to see the potential electoral ramifications of passing ambitious and polarizing legislation. The cycle after Democrats passed ObamaCare in 2010, the party lost 63 House seats and Republicans gained six seats in the Senate.
That legislation has since become popular, and The Hill’s Nathaniel Weixel writes that the GOP’s decision not to extend enhanced ObamaCare subsidies in the Trump agenda bill might be a part of the story Democrats tell in 2026.
“The absence of an extension in the 'big, beautiful bill' was especially notable given the sweeping changes the legislation makes to the health care system, and it gives Democrats an easy message: If Republicans in Congress let the subsidies expire at the end of the year, premiums will spike, and millions of people across the country could lose health insurance.” Democrats are favored to retake the House, although the party faces a steeper climb to reclaiming a majority in the Senate. Democrats got a boost in the quest to retake the Senate with Sen. Thom Tillis’s (R-N.C.) surprise retirement announcement. Tillis voted against the Trump agenda bill, citing cuts to Medicaid. “It’s going to be a challenge,” Tillis told The Hill, likening it to 2010. |
Senate Republicans have until mid-July to approve about $9.5 billion in funding clawbacks recommended by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Most of the cuts are centered on public media and foreign aid.
There are some misgivings about the rescissions among Senate Republicans after the bruising battle over spending cuts in the Trump agenda bill.
The Hill’s Aris Folley writes:
“It’s been decades since Congress has approved a request to yank back funds previously approved by lawmakers. Trump tried to use the same process to rescind funds in his first term but was unsuccessful, despite Republicans controlling the House, Senate and White House at the time.” |
Meanwhile, elected Democrats are already stoking speculation about their 2028 presidential ambitions.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom launched a two-day tour of South Carolina this week, where he called on voters to exercise their “moral authority” by voting Republicans out of office in the next election cycle. South Carolina is an early-voting state in the Democratic presidential primaries.
And Sen. Ruben Gallego (Ariz.) is headed to Iowa next month, another early-voting primary state. Gallego will attend the state fair in Des Moines, and he’ll hold a town hall event in the Quad Cities.
“Iowa, I’m headed your way,” Gallego posted on X. “Republicans in Congress slashed your health care and hiked your costs to bankroll billionaires. Join me August 8-9. Let's fight back.”
Democrats, however, have not been able to escape the vortex of the 2024 election. On Wednesday, former President Biden’s White House doctor Kevin O’Connor declined to answer questions at a deposition with the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which is investigating efforts by Biden’s inner circle to hide his decline while he was in office.
In a statement, O’Connor’s legal counsel cited physician-patient privilege and constitutional rights against self-incrimination. House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.), who had subpoenaed O’Connor to compel his testimony, blasted the doctor and promised to “interview more Biden White House aides to get the answers Americans deserve.”
“It’s clear there was a conspiracy to cover up President Biden’s cognitive decline after Dr. Kevin O’Connor … refused to answer any questions and chose to hide behind the Fifth Amendment,” Comer said. “The American people demand transparency, but Dr. O’Connor would rather conceal the truth. Dr. O’Connor took the Fifth when asked if he was told to lie about President Biden’s health and whether he was fit to be President of the United States. Congress must assess legislative solutions to prevent such a coverup from happening again.”
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?Perspectives:
• The Hill: A new generation of Democrats takes center stage.
• The Free Press: Mamdani’s identity games.
• National Review: New economic plan, old economic folly.
• Vox: How the GOP beat Democrats to a child care win.
• Very Serious: Fights to come over Trump agenda bill. |
The death toll from the central Texas floods has risen to at least 119, including 36 children. More than 170 people are still missing in Kerr County and the surrounding region. Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of Elon Musk’s social media company X, will leave her role after two years with the company.
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© Kateryna Klochko, Associated Press |
Russia launches attacks as GOP preps sanctions |
Russia launched a record number of drone attacks against Ukraine a day after President Trump lashed out at Russian President Vladimir Putin for continuing to fight.
Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of missile and drone attacks, less than 24 hours after Trump told reporters he’s fed up with Putin’s “bulls---“ and would consider new sanctions.
It appears Senate Republicans are preparing to move on a new Russia sanctions bill, which Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said would “enhance President Trump’s leverage at the negotiating table and help end bloodshed in Ukraine.” Thune said the chamber has “made substantial progress” on the bipartisan bill and that it could be brought up for a vote before the August recess. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) signaled an openness to holding a vote on the bill. "I don’t know any details yet but I know there’s an interest in that in the House side, so we’ll have to see,” Johnson said.
“Vladimir Putin has shown an unwillingness to be reasonable and to talk seriously about brokering a peace, and I think we have to send them a message, that’s my view,” he added.
MEANWHILE…
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, said he hopes Israel and Hamas will agree to a 60-day truce “by the end of the week.”
The temporary ceasefire would open the door for negotiations to a permanent end to the war.
Witkoff will travel to Qatar for negotiations with Israeli and Hamas leaders later this week. |
Trump battles with Harvard, California reignited
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The Trump administration hit Harvard University again Wednesday.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it will subpoena Harvard for “relevant information” on international students. In a statement, DHS said Harvard “repeatedly refused past non-coercive requests to hand over the required information for its Student Visitor and Exchange Program certification.” DHS accused Harvard of allowing “foreign students to abuse their visa privileges and advocate for violence and terrorism on campus.”
“We tried to do things the easy way with Harvard," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. "Now, through their refusal to cooperate, we have to do things the hard way,”
“If Harvard won’t defend the interests of its students, then we will,” McLaughlin added.
In addition, the Education Department and Department of Health and Human Services told Harvard’s accreditor there is “strong evidence to suggest the school may no longer meet” accreditation standards because it was found to be in violation of anti-discrimination laws.
Loss of accreditation would mean Harvard could not receive federal student aid.
“By allowing anti-Semitic harassment and discrimination to persist unchecked on its campus, Harvard University has failed in its obligation to students, educators, and American taxpayers,” said Education Secretary Linda McMahon. “The Department of Education expects the New England Commission of Higher Education to enforce its policies and practices, and to keep the Department fully informed of its efforts to ensure that Harvard is in compliance with federal law and accreditor standards.”
Also on Wednesday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) sued California over the state’s refusal to comply with the Trump administration’s orders to ban transgender girls from girls’ school sports teams.
The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division sued the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation over what it said was a pattern of “illegal sex discrimination against female student athletes.”
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Trump takes to social media to impose new tariffs
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President Trump on Wednesday slapped new tariffs on more than a half-dozen countries, using his Truth Social account to post letters to foreign leaders informing them of new rates that will go into effect Aug. 1 if new trade deals aren’t reached with the U.S. by then. Trump hit Libya, Iraq, Algeria, Moldova, Brunei and the Philippines with new tariff rates of between 20 and 30 percent. The letters use the same language, such as in this one to the Philippines:
“It is a great honor for me to send you this letter in that it demonstrates the strength and commitment of our Trading Relationship, and the fact that the United States of America has agreed to continue working with the Philippines, despite having a significant Trade Deficit with your great country. Nevertheless, we have decided to move forward with you, but only with more balanced, and fair, TRADE. Therefore, we invite you to participate in the extraordinary Economy of the United States, the Number One Market in the World, by far.”
Here's a running list of the countries hit with new tariffs and their rates.
A day earlier, Trump floated new 200 percent tariffs on pharmaceutical imports and a 50 percent tariff on copper imports.
The president met Wednesday with the leaders of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania and Senegal to discuss trade, immigration and potential investment opportunities.
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