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Game on: Republicans, Democrats trade fire over Big Beautiful Bill in 2026 battle for Congress

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President Donald Trump quickly took aim at Democrats for opposing his sweeping domestic policy bill.

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«Not one Democrat voted for us, and I think we use it in the campaign that’s coming up the midterms, because we’ve got to beat them,» 

The president spoke as he headlined a July 4th-eve event at the Iowa State Fairgrounds to kickoff celebrations of next year’s 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Hours earlier, the GOP-controlled House of Representatives, in a 218-214 vote on Thursday nearly entirely along party lines, lifted the so-called «One Big Beautiful Bill» to final congressional passage. Earlier in the week, Vice President JD Vance broke a tie in the Senate to advance the measure 51-50.

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TRUMP TOUTS ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’ IS ‘VERY POPULAR’ DESPITE POLLING

President Donald Trump speaks at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday, July 3, 2025.  (Photographer: Scott Morgan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The president is scheduled to sign the massive spending and tax cut bill into law Friday at 5pm, at a White House signing ceremony.

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With the legislative battle over the bill finished, and Trump and congressional Republican leaders victorious, the campaign trail war now begins over the controversial measure, which many of the most recent public opinion polls suggest is not very popular with Americans.

‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL ON WAY TO WHITE HOUSE AFTER NARROWLY PASSING FINAL HURDLE IN CONGRESS

«Every Democrat voted to hurt working families and to protect the status quo,» argued a memo from the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) released minutes after the final House passage of the bill.

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And the NRCC, which is the campaign arm of the House GOP, emphasized that «House Republicans will be relentless in making this vote the defining issue of 2026.»

House Republicans will be defending their razor-thin majority in the chamber (220-215 when the House is at full strength) when all 435 seats are up for grabs in next year’s midterm elections.

U.S. Capitol building

The US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. Republicans and Democrats will battle for the House and Senate majorities in next year’s midterm elections. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

NRCC chair Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, in an opinion piece published on Friday morning, charged that House Democrats «rejected common sense» by voting against the bill.

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«And we will make sure each one of them has to answer for it,» he vowed, as he pointed to next year’s congressional elections.

The bill is stuffed full of Trump’s 2024 campaign trail promises and second-term priorities on tax cuts, immigration, defense, energy and the debt limit. 

It includes extending his signature 2017 tax cuts and eliminating taxes on tips and overtime pay. 

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By making his first-termtax rates permanent – they were set to expire later this year – the bill will cut taxes by nearly $4.4 trillion over the next decade, according to analysis by the Congressional Budget Office and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. 

WHAT’S ACTUALLY IN TRUMP’S ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’

The measure also provides billions for border security and codifies the president’s controversial immigration crackdown.

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And the bill also restructures Medicaid — the nearly 60-year-old federal program that provides health coverage to roughly 71 million low-income Americans. Additionally, Senate Republicans increased cuts to Medicaid over what the House initially passed in late May.

The changes to Medicaid, as well as cuts to food stamps, another one of the nation’s major safety net programs, were drafted in part as an offset to pay for extending Trump’s tax cuts. The measure includes a slew of new rules and regulations, including work requirements for many of those seeking Medicaid coverage.

And the $3.4 trillion legislative package is also projected to surge the national debt by $4 trillion over the next decade.

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Democrats for a couple of months have blasted Republicans over the social safety net changes.

«BREAKING: House Republicans vote to kick 17 million people off health care,» screamed the headline in an email from the Democratic National Committee to supporters, moments after the bill passed the House on Thursday.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries charged that «extreme House Republicans just approved the largest cut to Medicaid and food assistance in American history to fund tax breaks for their billionaire donors.»

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And Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) chair Rep. Suzan DelBene pledged that «the DCCC will make sure every battleground voter knows how vulnerable House Republicans abandoned them by passing the most unpopular piece of legislation in modern American history, and we’re going to take back the House majority because of it.»  

Expect to see ads from Democrats as early as this holiday weekend taking aim at Republicans over their passage of the bill. And the Democrats are expected to turn up the volume on the messaging campaign next month, during the August congressional break.

HOW MUCH THE ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’ WILL CUT YOUR TAXES

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But Republicans are also going on offense, targeting Democrats for voting against tax cuts.

Republicans are shining a spotlight on a poll conducted by a GOP-aligned public policy group that indicates strong support for the bill due to the tax cut provisions.

A release earlier this week from the group, One Nation, argued that «polling shows that the public supports the Republican plan to cut taxes for families, eliminate taxes on Social Security, overtime, and tips, and reign in waste and abuse in the federal budget.»

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President Donald Trump speaks during the American 250 kickoff event on July 3, 2025, at the Iowa State Fairgrouds.

President Donald Trump speaks during the American 250 kickoff event on July 3, 2025, at the Iowa State Fairgrouds. (Getty Images)

The president, as he returned to the nation’s capital early Friday after his event in Iowa, touted his bill.

«I think it’s very popular. It does many things, but one of them is the biggest tax cuts in our country’s history. And that alone makes it very popular,» Trump said.

But Democrats spotlighted a slew of national polls conducted last month that indicate the bill’s popularity in negative territory.

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By a 21-point margin, voters questioned in the most recent Fox News national poll opposed the bill (38% favored vs. 59% opposed).

HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING 

The bill was also underwater in other national surveys conducted last month by the Washington Post (minus 19 points), Pew Research (minus 20 points) and Quinnipiac University (minus 26 points).

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About half of respondents questioned in the Fox News poll said the bill would hurt their family (49%), while one quarter thought it would help (23%), and another quarter didn’t think it would make a difference (26%).

Chart shows support for One Big Beautiful Bill based on Fox News poll data

Voters surveyed by Fox News, in a poll conducted last month, opposed the «One Big Beautiful Bill» by a margin of 59% to 38%. (Fox News )

Sixty percent felt they had a good understanding of what is in the measure, and while those voters were more likely to favor the legislation than those who are unfamiliar with it, more still think it will hurt rather than help their family (45% vs. 34%).

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The latest surveys all indicated a wide partisan divide over the measure.

According to the Fox News poll, which was conducted June 13-16, nearly three-quarters of Republicans (73%) favored the bill, while nearly nine in ten Democrats (89%) and nearly three-quarters of independents (73%) opposed the measure.

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Maine Dem Senate hopeful backed by Bernie Sanders apologizes for Nazi-style tattoo, vows to stay in race

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Maine Democrat Graham Platner, a first-time Senate candidate backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., says he has covered up a tattoo widely recognized as a Nazi symbol after critics unearthed old social media posts and demanded he quit the race.

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Platner’s campaign is facing intense scrutiny after it was revealed he once had a skull-and-crossbones tattoo resembling the Totenkopf used by Hitler’s SS paramilitary forces. 

Platner said he got the tattoo in 2007 during a «night of drinking» while on leave in Croatia in the Marine Corps and claimed he did not know its historical associations at the time. He has since covered the image with another tattoo.

DELETED POSTS URGING VIOLENCE HAUNT DEMOCRATIC SENATE HOPEFUL IN MAINE RACE

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In a video posted to Instagram Wednesday afternoon, Platner elaborated that the design was chosen from a flash tattoo wall while «carousing» with fellow Marines in Split, Croatia. 

«We thought it looked cool,» he said. 

He claimed he had «lived a life dedicated to anti-fascism, anti-racism and anti-Nazism» and was «appalled» to learn it resembled a hate symbol.

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Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine, points to a covered tattoo that had previously been an image recognized as a Nazi symbol, during an interview Wednesday in Portland, Maine. (WGME via AP)

Platner said he had never been questioned about the tattoo during his service and passed Army background checks.

He told The Associated Press he chose to cover rather than remove the tattoo due to a lack of removal services near his home in rural Maine.

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«Going to a tattoo removal place is going to take a while,» Platner said. «I wanted this thing off my body.»

In the video, Platner said he had the symbol inked over with a Celtic knot and imagery of dogs, a tribute to his family pets. 

«This far more represents who I am now than even the skull and crossbones did,» he said, lifting his shirt to reveal the new tattoo.

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REPUBLICAN LAWMAKER DIRECTS INVESTIGATION AFTER SWASTIKA VANDALISM DISCOVERED IN DC OFFICE

U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner, D-Maine, speaks at a town hall in Lewiston, Me., Oct. 15, 2025.

U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner, D-Maine, speaks at a town hall at the Franco Center Oct. 15, in Lewiston, Maine. (Libby Kenny/Sun Journal via AP)

The controversy comes on the heels of deleted Reddit posts in which Platner appeared to mock military sexual assault victims, criticize police and make racially-charged comments about tipping. 

Platner since apologized and blamed the posts on depression and PTSD after his military service in Afghanistan. He has vowed to stay in the race and has the backing of Sanders.

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Jordan Wood, a Democratic rival in the primary and former chief of staff to Rep. Katie Porter, is calling on Platner to drop out.

«Graham Platner’s Reddit comments and Nazi SS Totenkopf tattoo are disqualifying and not who we are as Mainers or as Democrats,» Wood said in a statement. «With Donald Trump and his sycophants demonizing Americans, spewing hate and running roughshod over the Constitution, Democrats need to be able to condemn Trump’s actions with moral clarity. Graham Platner no longer can.»

Platner said he believes the controversy is part of his life story, not disqualifying.

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U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner, D-Maine, acknowledges a large crowd in Portland, Me.

U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner, D-Maine, acknowledges a large crowd during a town hall Sept. 25, in Portland, Maine. (Daryn Slover/Portland Press Herald via AP)

«I don’t look at this as a liability. I look at this as a life that I have lived, a journey that has been difficult, that has been full of struggle, that has also gotten me to where I am today,» Platner told the AP. «And I’m very proud of who I am.»

He blamed «establishment» forces for amplifying the backlash to derail his campaign. 

«Every second we spend talking about a tattoo I got in the Marine Corps is a second we don’t talk about Medicare for all,» Platner said in the video.

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He is running in a packed Democratic primary against Wood and two-term Gov. Janet Mills. 

GOP Sen. Susan Collins, who has held the seat for three decades, has not yet commented on the controversy.

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Sanders and Collins did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Cómo fue el ingreso de Nicolás Sarkozy a la cárcel de Francia

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Nicolás Sarkozy hizo historia, pero no por un logro político: se convirtió en el primer exjefe de Estado francés en ir a prisión desde el fin de la Segunda Guerra Mundial.

El expresidente, que gobernó Francia entre 2007 y 2012, ingresó poco antes de las 10 de la mañana a la cárcel parisina de la Santé para cumplir una condena de cinco años por asociación ilícita, tras ser encontrado culpable de financiar ilegalmente su campaña electoral de 2007 con fondos provenientes del dictador libio Muamar Gadafi.

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Minutos antes de entregarse, Sarkozy escribió en la red social X: “Esta mañana encierran a un inocente”. Denunció un “escándalo judicial” y un “viacrucis”, y aseguró: “La verdad triunfará, pero el precio a pagar habrá sido abrumador”.

Nicolás Sarkozy junto a su esposa, la modelo y cantante Carla Bruni. (Foto: AFP/Julien De Rosa).

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Un ingreso a prisión rodeado de polémica y apoyo

El tribunal que lo condenó en septiembre ordenó su ingreso inmediato en prisión, sin esperar el resultado del recurso presentado por su defensa. El juicio en apelación se celebrará en los próximos meses, pero la decisión ya generó un fuerte revuelo en la sociedad francesa.

Al grito de “¡Nicolas! ¡Nicolas!”, decenas de personas se acercaron para mostrarle su apoyo cuando salió de su casa en un exclusivo barrio del oeste de París rumbo a la prisión, seguido de cerca por cámaras y fotógrafos. Entre los manifestantes, algunos lloraron y otros denunciaron un “juicio político”. “¡Estamos en la Unión Soviética!”, gritó uno de ellos, mientras dos banderas francesas flameaban en la valla de seguridad.

Nicolás Sarkozy pedirá la lbertad condicional por su edad, ya que tiene 70 años. (Foto:   REUTERS/Benoit Tessier).

Nicolás Sarkozy pedirá la lbertad condicional por su edad, ya que tiene 70 años. (Foto: REUTERS/Benoit Tessier).

El propio Sarkozy, casado con la cantante Carla Bruni, contó al diario Le Figaro que entraría “con la cabeza alta”, acompañado por una biografía de Jesús y el libro “El Conde de Montecristo”, símbolo de los inocentes injustamente condenados.

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Condiciones de detención y antecedentes históricos

Para evitar el contacto con otros presos y posibles fotos, Sarkozy ocupará probablemente una de las 15 celdas de aislamiento de la Santé, de nueve metros cuadrados cada una, según fuentes penitenciarias. Su llegada no pasó desapercibida: “¡Oh, bienvenido Sarkozy!”, gritaron algunos internos desde sus celdas.

El expresidente francés Nicolás Sarkozy se despide de su espos,a la cantante y modelo Carla Bruni, antes de ir a la cárcel. (Foto REUTERS/Benoit Tessier).

El expresidente francés Nicolás Sarkozy se despide de su espos,a la cantante y modelo Carla Bruni, antes de ir a la cárcel. (Foto REUTERS/Benoit Tessier).

Nacido el 28 de enero de 1955, Sarkozy sigue así los pasos de otros famosos reclusos de la Santé, como el venezolano Carlos “El Chacal” o el dictador panameño Manuel Noriega. Pero es el primer exjefe de Estado francés encarcelado desde Philippe Pétain, quien fue condenado tras la Segunda Guerra Mundial por colaborar con la Alemania nazi.

El pedido de libertad condicional y el impacto político

Sus abogados ya solicitaron la libertad condicional, un beneficio posible para los presos mayores de 70 años. La justicia tiene dos meses para resolver el pedido.

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“Sarko”, como lo llaman en Francia, es el primer exmandatario de un país miembro de la Unión Europea en ir a prisión. Su encarcelamiento contrasta con la imagen de “mano dura” que construyó como ministro del Interior entre 2005 y 2007, antes de llegar a la presidencia.

Sarkozy saluda a policías al salir de su casa. (Foto: AFP/Julien de Rosa).

Sarkozy saluda a policías al salir de su casa. (Foto: AFP/Julien de Rosa).

La condena se basa en que permitió que allegados suyos buscaran fondos en la Libia de Muamar al Gadafi para financiar su campaña de 2007. Aunque no se probó que el dinero se usara “en última instancia”, el tribunal determinó que sí salió de Libia y lo condenó por la “excepcional gravedad de los hechos”.

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Más causas y una sociedad dividida

No es la primera vez que Sarkozy enfrenta a la justicia: ya usó una tobillera electrónica a principios de año y acumula otras dos condenas por corrupción, tráfico de influencias y financiación ilegal de campaña en 2012. Además, tiene otras causas abiertas.

Según una encuesta reciente, seis de cada diez franceses consideran “justa” su entrada en prisión. Sin embargo, sus críticas a la supuesta politización de los jueces le valieron apoyos en sectores de la derecha y la ultraderecha.

Un hombre saluda a Sarkozy cerca de la cárcel de La Santé. (Foto:  REUTERS/Tom Nicholson).

Un hombre saluda a Sarkozy cerca de la cárcel de La Santé. (Foto: REUTERS/Tom Nicholson).

La fiscalía abrió una investigación por amenazas en redes sociales contra la magistrada del caso. Incluso el presidente Emmanuel Macron se vio obligado a defender la independencia judicial, aunque el viernes recibió a Sarkozy en el Palacio del Elíseo. “Era normal que, en el plano humano, recibiera a uno de mis predecesores en este contexto”, explicó Macron.

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El ministro de Justicia, Gérald Darmanin, también anunció que visitará a su mentor político en prisión, aunque el fiscal general de la Corte de Casación, Rémy Heitz, advirtió que esa visita podría “atentar contra la independencia de los magistrados”.

La carta de Sarkozy, antes de ingresar a prisión

Mientras me dispongo a atravesar los muros de la prisión de la Santé, mis pensamientos se dirigen al pueblo francés de todas las condiciones y opiniones.

Quiero decirles con la fuerza inquebrantable que es mía que no es un expresidente de la República el que está siendo encerrado esta mañana, es un hombre inocente.

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Seguiré denunciando este escándalo judicial, este sufrimiento que llevo soportando más de diez años. ¡He aquí un caso de financiación ilegal sin financiación! Una investigación judicial a largo plazo iniciada con base en un documento cuya falsedad ya ha sido demostrada.

No pido ninguna ventaja ni ningún favor. No debo tener lástima, porque mi voz se escucha. No debo tener lástima porque mi esposa y mis hijos están a mi lado, y mis amigos son innumerables.

Pero esta mañana, siento un profundo pesar por Francia, humillada por el afán de venganza que ha llevado el odio a un nivel desigual. No me cabe duda. La verdad triunfará. Pero el precio a pagar será desgarrador.

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North Korea launches ballistic missiles days before Trump’s visit to the peninsula

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North Korea test fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday, just days before President Donald Trump is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders in South Korea.

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South Korea’s military said the missiles, which were the first launched by its neighbor in five months, originated from an area south of Pyongyang and flew about 220 miles toward the northeast. The missiles did not land in the sea, the military added.

Trump is set to leave for Asia at the end of the week in what will be his first trip to the region during his second term. He plans to go to Malaysia first for a regional summit, and then head to Japan before traveling on to South Korea for an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting.

The president is expected to visit the South Korean city of Gyeongju ahead of the summit for bilateral meetings with leaders including Xi and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.

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TRUMP CLAIMS PUTIN, XI, KIM ARE CONSPIRING AGAINST THE US AFTER MILITARY PARADE IN CHINA

North Korea, whose leader Kim Jong Un is shown left, conducted missile launches just days ahead of a visit by President Donald Trump to South Korea. (China Daily via Reuters/Korea News Service via AP; Ahn Young-joon/AP; Alex Brandon/AP)

South Korea’s military said Wednesday that it remains ready to repel any provocations by North Korea based on its alliance with the United States.

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Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi also told reporters that Tokyo was closely communicating with Washington and Seoul, including by sharing real-time missile warning data.

Wednesday’s ballistic missile launches by North Korea were the first of their kind since the country tested short-range systems on May 8 that simulated nuclear counterstrikes against U.S. and South Korean forces.

NUCLEAR THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA LOOM QUIETLY BEHIND WARS IN GAZA AND UKRAINE AT UNGA

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A North Korean government photo shows what it says is a new intercontinental ballistic missile called the Hwasong-20, during a military parade Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in Pyongyang, North Korea.

A North Korean government photo shows what it says is a new intercontinental ballistic missile called the Hwasong-20 during a military parade on Oct. 10, 2025, in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

Earlier this month, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un displayed a new long-range intercontinental ballistic missile at a military parade in Pyongyang that included foreign leaders.

The yet-to-be-tested Hwasong-20 was described by the state-owned Korean Central News Agency as having the «most powerful nuclear strategic weapons system.»

The government also displayed shorter-range ballistic, cruise and supersonic missiles at the military parade, which marked 80 years since the founding of the Worker’s Party.

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Kim said at the parade that the military «must continue to evolve into an invincible force that eliminates all threats.»

People in South Korea watch news coverage of North Korea missile launch

A TV screen shows North Korea’s missile launch during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025.  (Ahn Young-joon/AP)

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The foreign dignitaries at the parade included Chinese Premier Li Qiang, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Vietnam’s Communist Party chief To Lam.

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Fox News Digital’s Brie Stimson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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