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House Freedom Caucus targets Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ with concerns about budget deficit
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Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus are warning they have serious issues with the Senate’s version of President Donald Trump’s «big, beautiful bill» as it’s currently written.
The group of GOP rebels argued in a public statement on Sunday that the Senate bill adds $1.3 trillion to the federal deficit, whereas the House-passed bill would increase the federal deficit by $72 billion.
«Even without interest costs, it is $651 billion over our agreed budget framework,» the statement read.
The Senate is currently working through the bill and is expected to finish sometime later Monday or even on Tuesday.
SENATE REPUBLICANS RAM TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ THROUGH KEY TEST VOTE
The House Freedom Caucus is criticizing President Donald Trump’s tax bill. (Getty Images)
The Senate bill would add an extra $1 trillion to raise the debt limit, compared to the House version and permanently extend certain corporate tax cuts in President Donald Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that the House only extended temporarily.
It also includes several specific new additions aimed at easing Senate Republicans’ own concerns with the bill, including a $25 billion rural hospital fund to offset issues with Medicaid cuts, and a tax break for whalers that appears aimed at Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.
The Senate is operating under a mechanism called «current policy baseline,» which would effectively zero-out the cost of extending TCJA tax cuts by calculating them as the de facto operational policy rather than calculating the cost as if they were not in place.
Absent congressional action, TCJA tax cuts expire at the end of 2025.
DEM DELAY TACTIC ENDS, DEBATE BEGINS ON TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’
Conservatives in the House have warned they have serious issues with the bill, however.
Reps. Ralph Norman, R-Texas, and Eric Burlison, R-Mo., both House Freedom Caucus members, said the bill could face steep odds — even fail — in the lower chamber if changes were not made.
Both said it could fail in a House-wide procedural vote before lawmakers could even contend with the measure itself. A rule vote is traditionally taken to allow for debate on legislation before lawmakers weigh in on it.
«If it gets through [the House Rules Committee], I don’t think it survives on the floor in the current form it’s in. You know, we told the senators that,» Norman told Fox News Digital. «They knew this all along.»
President Donald Trump is pushing Republicans to pass his agenda (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)
Norman said Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., had done a «good job,» but added of the Senate, «They’ve got fighters… but we’ve just got to have certain things that comply with our House version.»
The legislation could still change before it gets to the House, however, as the Senate works through a parade of amendments from both Democrats and Republicans.
Burlison said it could depend on the fate of an amendment by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., which would significantly hike the Medicaid financial burden for states that expanded their Medicaid population under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
The change, if passed, would roll back the current 90% rate that the government pays for the Medicaid expansion population through the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) back down to the non-expansion rate, which hovers as low as 50%.
Scott’s proposal could add hundreds of billions in savings to the plan, in addition to the nearly $1 trillion the Senate plan already saves in Medicaid spending.
«I don’t see how what the Senate is doing will pass the House if [Rick Scott’s amendment] does not pass at the minimum. It’s probably going to take more spending reductions than that, but that would get the majority of us there,» Burlison told Fox News Digital, without commenting on House GOP leaders.
He predicted the bill could be «killed» in the House-wide rule vote otherwise.
Indeed, several House Freedom Caucus members have taken to X to publicly urge Senate Republicans to approve Scott’s amendment.
«All Republican Senators should vote YES on Senator Rick Scott’s very reasonable ‘elimination of theft from Medicaid’ FMAP amendment,» Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., posted.
Fox News Digital reached out to Speaker Mike Johnson’s office for comment on House Freedom Caucus members’ comments.
Notably, key provisions originally in the House bill were stripped out of the legislation for not being «Byrd-compliant.»
NATIONAL DEBT TRACKER: AMERICAN TAXPAYERS (YOU) ARE NOW ON THE HOOK FOR $36,215,806,064,740.36 AS OF 6/27/25
The «Byrd Bath» is a process during the budget reconciliation process in which the Senate parliamentarian, a non-partisan, unelected official tasked with advising on Senate policy, combs through the bill for whether it adheres to the strict budgetary guidelines of the reconciliation process.
Republicans are using the budget reconciliation process to advance Trump’s agenda on taxes, the border, energy, defense, and the debt limit via one massive piece of legislation.
Budget reconciliation allows Republicans to bypass any Democratic opposition to pass their bill by lowering the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51.
Rep. Eric Burlison said some support could hinge on an amendment by Sen. Rick Scott. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
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They’re aiming to have a bill on Trump’s desk by the Fourth of July.
A GOP aide told Fox News Digital, «The Senate version contains more in Byrd-compliant savings than the House, and correctly scores extending current tax policy as revenue-neutral — and assumes the kind of growth that was also massively underestimated last time around.»
The aide noted that the White House Council of Economic Advisers said the bill will generate $4.1 trillion in economic growth thanks to tax permanence, which is more than the House version.
Senate Republicans argue the bill would lead to $1.6 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years — above the House Freedom Caucus’ demanded $1.5 trillion threshold.
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Rubio defends US operation in Venezuela, calls out reporter for trying to start a fight
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the U.S. capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday, going on to call out a reporter for supposedly trying to stir up tension during a press conference.
Rubio made the statement during a joint appearance with Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico. A reporter referenced Fico’s previous criticism of the U.S. operation against Maduro and asked whether he stood by it, leading Rubio to address the issue first while he was answering other questions from the same reporter.
«I think you asked him a question in order to, like, see if you can get him against us, or something… A lot of countries didn’t like what we did in Venezuela. That’s okay. That was in our national interest,» Rubio said.
«I’m sure there’s something you may do one day that we don’t like, and we’ll say we didn’t like that you did this,» Rubio continued, while turning to Fico. «So what? That doesn’t mean we’re not going to be friends, we’re not going to be partners,» Rubio said.
TRUMP ANNOUNCES VENEZUELA TURNING OVER MILLIONS OF BARRELS OF OIL TO US GOVERNMENT ‘IMMEDIATELY’
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) and Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico shake hands at the end of a joint press conference in Bratislava, Slovakia, on February 15, 2026. (Photo by Alex Brandon / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)
«We have very close allies that didn’t like what we did in that regard. I can tell you what, it was successful. It was necessary, because the guy was a narco-terrorist, and we made him a bunch of offers,» the secretary continued.
«And look what’s happened in Venezuela in the six weeks since he’s been gone,» Rubio said acknowledging that the country still has «a long way to go.»
«There’s still much work that needs to be done, but I can tell you Venezuela is much better off today than it was six weeks ago. So we’re very proud of that project. And I know some will disagree … I think everyone can now agree that Venezuela has an opportunity at a new future that wasn’t there six weeks ago,» he added.
Rubio’s statement comes days after President Donald Trump recounted the military’s strength during the operation to capture Maduro. Trump, speaking in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, honored U.S. special forces and their families for their roles in the operation.
STATE DEPT CONFIRMS ‘LIMITED NUMBER’ OF PERSONNEL IN CARACAS WORKING TO RESUME VENEZUELA DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS
Nicolas Maduro is seen in handcuffs after landing at a Manhattan helipad, escorted by heavily armed federal agents as they make their way into an armored car en route to a Federal courthouse in Manhattan on January 5, 2026 in New York City. (XNY/Star Max/GC Images via Getty Images)
«It was in a matter of minutes before (Maduro) was on a helicopter being taken out of there. They had to go through steel doors,» Trump said Friday afternoon. «The steels were like it was like paper-maché. You know what paper-maché is? That’s weak paper.»
U.S. special operations forces carried out the successful capture of Maduro and his wife on sweeping narcotics charges. Trump celebrated that there wasn’t single U.S. casualty during the operation, despite Maduro being housed on a heavily-armed military base.
«These guys blasted through every door,» Trump continued Friday. «They got up to him before he got to the big safe. But that wouldn’t have worked either, because they had equipment that was going to knock that out in a matter of minutes, but he never got there. It went so fast.»
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Maduro was whisked off on a helicopter, before he was brought to the U.S., where he faces federal charges, including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine-trafficking conspiracy and weapons-related offenses. He is being held in federal custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York City.
Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.
marco rubio,venezuelan political crisis,politics,nicolas maduro
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El papa León XIV pidió que el Año Nuevo Lunar sirva para construir “paz y prosperidad para todos los pueblos”
El papa León XIV instó este domingo a que el Año Nuevo Lunar, que comienza el próximo 17 de febrero, sea una ocasión para mirar al futuro y construir “paz y prosperidad para todos los pueblos”, tras el rezo del Ángelus dominical.
“En los próximos días se celebra el Año Nuevo lunar, festejado por miles de millones de personas en Asia Oriental y en otras partes del mundo”, señaló el pontífice desde la ventana del Palacio Apostólico.
León XIV expresó su deseo de que esta “alegre fiesta” aliente a los ciudadanos a “vivir con más intensidad las relaciones familiares y la amistad”, y que la celebración traiga “serenidad a los hogares y a la sociedad”.
Y añadió: “Que sea una ocasión para mirar juntos al futuro, construyendo paz y prosperidad para todos los pueblos”.
El Año Nuevo Lunar es la fiesta más importante del calendario asiático y cada año en estas fechas millones de personas se trasladan a diversas partes del continente para encontrarse con sus familias, lo que causa uno de los mayores movimientos de población del planeta.
“Con los mejores deseos para el nuevo Año, expreso a todos mi afecto”, concluyó el papa.
El régimen de China estima que se realizarán 9.500 millones de desplazamientos durante el período de 40 días alrededor del festival, un récord histórico, según información de la Comisión Nacional de Desarrollo y Reforma. Aproximadamente540 millones de esos viajes se realizarán en tren, y 95 millones por aire. El resto será por carretera.
En un país donde se espera que los trabajadores hagan largas jornadas, incluidos los fines de semana, y tengan pocos días de vacaciones anuales, el festival del Año Nuevo Lunar es un tiempo valioso.
Ante la coyuntura, algunos jóvenes optan por no regresar al lugar de origen durante el Año Nuevo lunar, una práctica conocida en redes sociales como ‘esquivar el Año Nuevo’.
Esa decisión se traduce, relatan internautas, en aprovechar las vacaciones para viajar a otros destinos o en invitar a padres y parientes a desplazarse a las ciudades en las que residen.
Las reservas de billetes asociadas al llamado “Año Nuevo inverso” —cuando son los padres quienes viajan para reunirse con sus hijos— aumentaron un 84% interanual, y algunas aerolíneas han lanzado planes específicos para facilitar esos desplazamientos, según datos recogidos por la agencia estatal China News Service.
Esta tendencia se aprecia también en la decisión de algunos jóvenes de emplear sus vacaciones para viajar, en lugar de regresar a su lugar de origen.
“No dispongo de muchas vacaciones cada año y suelo pasar las del Año Nuevo lunar en Shaanxi con la familia”, explica a EFE Li, una oficinista en Pekín que añade que este año viajará a Filipinas durante las fechas festivas.
“Al principio mis padres no se lo tomaron bien porque supone una ruptura de la tradición”, indica Li, quien agrega sin embargo que “acabaron aceptándolo” porque saben que su hija “necesita relajarse y desconectar” de su trabajo en la capital.
El economista Peng Peng señaló al medio financiero Yicai que “las formas de celebración se están diversificando” y que, al tiempo que se preservan las tradiciones, también conviene fomentar otras modalidades que responden a la “importancia creciente” que se da a “buscar la felicidad personal y la relajación”.
(con información de EFE)
Religion,Europe,Religion / Belief
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US forces board sanctioned oil tanker after vessel tried to evade Trump quarantine, Department of War says
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The Department of War (DOW) said Sunday that U.S. forces interdicted a vessel in the Indo-Pacific after it attempted to evade a quarantine order issued by the Trump administration.
In a statement on X, the DOW said the Veronica III was boarded without incident while it was operating in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility.
«The vessel tried to defy President Trump’s quarantine — hoping to slip away. We tracked it from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, closed the distance, and shut it down. No other nation has the reach, endurance, or will to do this,» the government account wrote.
«International waters are not sanctuary. By land, air, or sea, we will find you and deliver justice,» it added. «The Department of War will deny illicit actors and their proxies freedom of movement in the maritime domain.»
US MILITARY SEIZES ANOTHER FUGITIVE OIL TANKER LINKED TO VENEZUELA
U.S. forces conduct a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding of the Veronica III without incident in the INDOPACOM area of responsibility after the vessel allegedly tried to defy President Trump’s quarantine, Feb. 15, 2026. (X/@DeptofWar)
The Veronica III is the latest in a series of high-profile maritime seizures by the U.S. military aimed at enforcing sanctions and curbing the export of Venezuelan oil.
President Donald Trump announced a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going in and out of Venezuela in mid-December, as Washington increased its naval presence in the Caribbean to put pressure on now-former Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.
According to OpenSanctions, the Veronica III is listed on the U.S. Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals sanctions list.
U.S. forces conduct a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction, and boarding of the Veronica III in the INDOPACOM area of responsibility after the vessel allegedly tried to defy President Trump’s quarantine, Feb. 15, 2026. (X/@DeptofWar)
US COAST GUARD PURSUES THIRD ‘DARK FLEET’ OIL TANKER AS TRUMP TARGETS VENEZUELAN SANCTIONS EVASION NETWORK
The tanker, a large crude oil carrier built in 2006 and flagged in Panama, has been linked to the transport of hundreds of thousands of metric tons of sanctioned Iranian oil and is affiliated with a Chinese ship-management company that has also been sanctioned.
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OpenSanctions notes that the ship has previously sailed under different names and flags as part of efforts to evade sanctions and disguise its activities at sea.
The Veronica III was among the vessels sanctioned by Treasury in December 2024 as part of a broader action targeting 35 other entities and tankers involved in transporting illicit Iranian oil to foreign markets.
military,pentagon defense,world,sanctions
Un cantante de folklore acusó a Victoria Villarruel de “negacionista” en su visita a La Rioja
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