INTERNACIONAL
Horse Sense: House Republicans work to pass ‘big, beautiful bill’
We’re in the interlude between the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness.
Derby winner Sovereignty won’t run in the Preakness coming up in Baltimore.
But House Republicans aren’t skipping out on trying to finish the big, beautiful bill. And if this were a horse race, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., would dare the pony players to bet against House Republicans when it comes to wrapping things up.
«Stop doubting us. We’re going to get this job done,» said Johnson about the plan to renew tax cuts and slash spending.
REPUBLICANS SQUABBLE OVER TRUMP SPENDING PLAN AS FISCAL YEAR 2026 LOOMS: ‘STAY UNTIL WE PASS IT’
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is pictured next to the U.S. Capitol. (Getty Images)
House Republicans aren’t exactly maidens here. But the morning line might suggest House Republicans are due to lose in this sweepstakes.
Like the Triple Crown, there are three steps to this legislative tournament. And Republicans are now on to the final leg of a legislative trifecta.
It was a photo finish in February when House Republicans barely adopted the framework for the tax cut and spending reduction measure. The House GOP leadership appeared to make the vote a late scratch – with Members fleeing the Capitol, only to have them recalled to the House chamber moments later. The Republican leadership brass shored up support for the plan and the House passed it.
It was a repeat in April when House Republicans tried to align with the Senate on their version of the blueprint. Republicans managed to lug the framework across the finish line by a nose, 216-214. Flip one vote and that would have produced a tie. A tie vote would have sent the big, beautiful bill out to a big, beautiful pasture.
House Republicans were only in the money on the Senate framework after conservatives secured some commitments from Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., that senators would make substantial spending cuts.
But when it comes to actually finishing this version of the bill, House Republicans are barely a furlong into the race.
A debate rages about what Republicans should address in the bill. Passage hinges on what’s in or out.
«Everybody’s going to have to give, including, the SALT provision,» said Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., referring to a potential deduction for state and local taxes, known as SALT. «There’s a happy medium that will have to be met to get the cuts.»
Moderate Republicans from high tax states like New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey will demand the deduction in order to secure their votes for the entire plan. Norman noted that «each individual state’s going to have to have some pain» before this goes to the finish line.
«We’re going to find the equilibrium point on SALT that no one will be totally delighted with,» said Johnson. «But it’ll solve the equation and we’ll get it done.»
USER’S MANUAL TO WALTZ’S NSA EXIT AND ITS REVERBERATIONS ON CAPITOL HILL
«We’re in a very good place as it relates to not just the SALT deduction,» said Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., «The people like the ones I represent in Staten Island and Brooklyn desperately need this relief because our mayor and our governor keep hammering us over the head with high taxes.»
There are also items President Trump insists that lawmakers tuck into the bill.
«No tax on tips. No tax on overtime,» echoed House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.
But the toughest decisions of all center around changes – or cuts – to entitlement programs. Republicans have bandied around the idea that they could save up to $550 billion from waste and fraud in Medicaid over a decade. But there’s evidence that figure is markedly lower. Republicans disagree.
«Some of the information we’ve uncovered would indicate that (the improper payments figure) is much higher,» said Johnson. «We’re going to try to eliminate that. And I think we owe that to the taxpayers.»
But Democrats aren’t buying that.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., speaks during a news conference at the Capitol, in Washington, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
«They’re lying to the American people,» said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
Democrats argue Republicans might cook the books to cover the cost of the tax breaks and shore up possible holes in the deficit.
«They’re going to make up whatever numbers they want,» said Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., the ranking Democrat on Energy and Commerce Committee. «They know they can’t reach these numbers.»
One item expected in the bill: a major hike in the debt ceiling.
«When is X date?» asked Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing.
The «X date» refers to when the federal government exhausts its ability to cover its obligations.
«As an outfielder running for a fly ball, we are on the warning track. When you’re on the warning track, it means the wall is not that far away,» replied Bessent.
Or, coming up the side rail.
But Bessent added that the government «will not default.»
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: WHERE WE STAND WITH TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’
Lawmakers grilled cabinet members about trimming departments at hearings this week. Such was the case when Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins appeared before a Senate panel.
«You are taking a meat cleaver approach. There’s that old adage. Measure twice. Cut once. You guys have been cutting without measuring,» charged Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H.
«I’ve not cut anything yet,» responded Collins.
The Secretary added that there was a «goal» to restructure his department and cut significant numbers of jobs.
«Do you want to reach your goal or not?» asked Hassan.
«The goal is not a fact,» replied Collins.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins also found herself testifying about efforts to shrink her department before another Senate panel. She conceded that slimming government is hard.
«Have we done it perfectly? No. Any type of scale change and big effort to basically realign an entire government agency is difficult,» said Rollins.
Democrats warn that Republicans will rue the day when they approve deep cuts.
Scott Bessent, US treasury secretary, during a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
«Each Republican who votes for reconciliation and bad budgets will be left holding that hot potato,» said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer,» D-N.Y.
One senior House conservative told Fox they thought passing the bill would be «easy» compared to the other two rounds. Another conservative and a moderate Republican argued it would be harder. Much harder.
The best gamblers know that it’s best to quit when you’re ahead. House Republicans managed to eke out victories in the first two rounds. One argument is that they have momentum. Horse sense would tell you that the odds are against them.
But this is Capitol Hill. And you never know how things are going to turn out.
Mike Johnson and Republicans have no other choice. They promised the public they would pass the bill. President Trump expects it. There are no other options.
Pacing is everything in horseracing. A good jockey knows how to coax a burst of energy out of their horse at the right minute. When to give them the whip.
We’re looking at you, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn.
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So the crowd is roaring. The hooves are thundering. Mud and dirt are flying. The stewards are watching.
Johnson contends the House isn’t off the pace with its goal of passing the package by Memorial Day. But Republicans are trying to pass a very complex bill with a tiny majority. It’s like running on a sloppy track. Republicans gallop down the homestretch soon.
The next few weeks will be a wild ride.
Politics,House Of Representatives,Congress,Republicans,Democratic Party,Mike Johnson
INTERNACIONAL
Tensión Estados Unidos-Colombia: Donald Trump ahora dice que Gustavo Petro es un «matón» y un «mal tipo» que fabrica «muchas drogas»
El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, aseguró este miércoles que su homólogo colombiano, Gustavo Petro, es un «matón y un mal tipo» y lo acusó de fabricar «muchas drogas», días después de imputarle ser un «líder del narcotráfico».
«Es un matón y un mal tipo. Es un tipo que fabrica muchas drogas», declaró Trump a los reporteros en el Despacho Oval. «Ha hecho mucho daño a su país. Les está yendo muy mal».
El mandatario estadounidense se refirió al colombiano días después de anunciar el fin de la ayuda financiera a Colombia por su inacción en la lucha contra el narcotráfico y señalar a Petro como un «líder del narcotráfico».
«Tienen fábricas de cocaína. Cultivan todo tipo de porquerías y las drogas malas que entran en Estados Unidos generalmente pasan por México, y más le vale tener cuidado y tomar medidas muy serias contra él y su país», añadió Trump.
El magnate republicano aseguró que lo que Petro le «ha hecho a su país es una trampa mortal».
Estas declaraciones y el anuncio del fin de las ayudas se producen en medio de la escalada de las tensiones entre Bogotá y Washington por la guerra que EE.UU. ha declarado contra el narcotráfico.
Video
Dos muertos tras el ataque de EE.UU. contra otro supuesto barco con drogas.
La presencia de navíos y aeronaves militares estadounidenses en aguas del mar caribe han provocado el rechazo de gobiernos como el colombiano y el venezolana, elevando aún más las tensiones con Trump.
Este miércoles, el Pentágono anunció un nuevo ataque contra una supuesta narcolancha, esta vez en aguas del Pacífico frente a Colombia.
El lunes, Colombia llamó a consultas a su embajador en Washington y denunció una amenaza de invasión por parte de Estados Unidos luego del anuncio de Donald Trump de que retirará la ayuda financiera a Bogotá por «fomentar» la producción de drogas.
El ministro del Interior de Colombia, Armando Benedetti, denunció una «amenaza» de «invasión» de Trump, quien pareció sugerir algún tipo de intervención de Washington contra la producción de droga en el país sudamericano.
Trump detuvo el domingo el apoyo económico a Bogotá por supuestamente «fomentar» el narcotráfico y afirmó que debería «cerrar» los narcocultivos de «inmediato, o Estados Unidos se los cerrará».
La relación entre ambos países, que históricamente fueron aliados, entró en su peor momento con la llegada de Trump a la Casa Blanca mientras en Colombia gobierna el primer presidente izquierdista de su historia. Esa mala tensión creció en el último mes.
El primer episodio ocurrió a fines de septiembre en Nueva York, cuando el presidente Gustavo Petro -que había viajado a Estados Unidos para asistir a la Asamblea General de Naciones Unidas- participó de una manifestación por Gaza que se llevó a cabo en esa ciudad en la que instó a los soldados norteamericanos a desobedecer al líder de la Casa Blanca.
Como consecuencia de esa participación, Washington decidió revocarle el visado de ingreso al país, acusándolo de «actos temerarios e incendiarios» durante la protesta.
Las tensiones se agudizaron por el despliegue militar de Estados Unidos en aguas del Caribe. Petro ha denunciado que los ataques letales contra embarcaciones acusadas de transportar drogas son desproporcionados y constituyen un “asesinato”.
Con una publicación en redes sociales, el presidente estadounidense tildó a su par colombiano de “capo de las drogas” que tiene «bajos índices de aprobación y es muy impopular». Y le advirtió además que “más le vale” frenar operaciones del narcotráfico «o Estados Unidos las cerrará por él, y no lo hará de manera amable».
Petro, quien puede ser tan expresivo en redes sociales como su homólogo estadounidense, rechazó las acusaciones de Trump y defendió su trabajo para combatir el narcotráfico en Colombia, el mayor exportador mundial de cocaína.
“Tratar de impulsar la paz de Colombia no es ser narcotraficante”, escribió Petro. Insinuó que Trump estaba siendo engañado por sus asesores y dijo que Trump estaba siendo “grosero e ignorante con Colombia”.
INTERNACIONAL
Expert warns critical hours slipping away as kidnappers likely to move US missionary in Niger
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A security expert told Fox News Digital the first 48 hours are critical in the search for an American Christian missionary kidnapped in the West African nation of Niger, who may have already been moved between Islamic State-controlled areas where an ISIS offshoot operates.
Bryan Stern, founder of the crisis response group Grey Bull Rescue, said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital that in most organized kidnappings, those who seize a hostage are rarely the same people who hold them.
«What happens in most of these cases is whoever took the hostage isn’t who’s holding on to the hostage,» Stern said. «The people who hold hostages generally are a lot smarter, a lot more capable, less disposable… so getting to them as soon as possible does matter in a very demonstrable way.»
Stern said every passing hour reduces the chance of recovery. In many cases, hostages are quickly traded or sold between groups with differing motives — from ransom to propaganda — making it difficult to know what the captors want.
AMERICAN MISSIONARY KIDNAPPED IN NIGER BY SUSPECTED ISLAMIST MILITANTS, SOURCES SAY
This picture taken on Sept. 7, 2023, shows Niger’s presidential palace in Niamey. The building has remained under the control of the military junta since President Mohamed Bazoum was ousted in a 2023 coup. (AFP via Getty Images)
«It’s easy to understand who took somebody, but once people start getting traded around like cards and stuff, it’s hard to then understand what the current holding party wants,» he said.
The groups often operate with their own chain of command and pecking order, each with different goals and levels of influence.
«All those different things play into how you’re gonna get somebody back, and the most dangerous thing to do is send ninjas in and shoot everybody,» Stern said. «That’s the most highest-risk thing that we do because there’s no margin for error.»
I WAS KIDNAPPED BY BOKO HARAM, AND SURVIVED. NO THANKS TO THE WEST’S SILENCE
Niger’s junta leader Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani salutes during an official ceremony in Niamey, Niger, on Aug. 26, 2023. Tchiani seized power in a July 2023 coup that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum and has ruled the West African nation since. (AFP via Getty Images)
U.S. officials confirmed they are aware of the kidnapping, which took place in Niamey, about 100 yards from Niger’s presidential palace. The missionary, a pilot for the evangelical group Serving in Mission, was reportedly taken north toward an area controlled by an ISIS offshoot.
A State Department spokesperson said embassy officials are working closely with local authorities and that the Trump administration views the safe return of the U.S. citizen as a top priority. The U.S. Embassy has also restricted staff movements to armored vehicles and prohibited visits to restaurants and open-air markets.
Stern described the region as «31 flavors,» meaning there is everything from Russian proxies to criminal gangs and Islamic fundamentalists running around.
CRUZ CLASHES WITH NIGERIA OVER HIS CLAIMS 50,000 CHRISTIANS KILLED SINCE 2009 IN RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE
A general view of a crowded street market in Niamey, Niger, on May 17, 2023. The capital city has faced rising instability since the 2023 military coup that toppled President Mohamed Bazoum. (Michele Cattani / AFP via Getty Images)
While it’s easy to assume Islamist militants were behind the abduction, Stern cautioned, «until you know…it becomes speculation.»
«At some point, somebody will ask for something, you hope,» he said. «It’s very scary when they don’t ask for anything… the worst case scenario is a hostage taken by someone who doesn’t want anything. Then there’s no play to be made other than find them and kill them, and hopefully you survive that process.»
For now, the focus is on finding proof of life and establishing communication.
U.S. special operations units are likely monitoring surveillance and communications from the region, but Stern cautioned that a rescue attempt would be «the most dangerous thing special operations does.»
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Officials have not said whether any group has claimed responsibility or issued any demands.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan and Paul Tilsley contributed to this report.
africa,missing persons,terrorism,isis
INTERNACIONAL
Merkley nearly breaks Booker’s filibuster record, wins his praise for fighting ‘Trump’s authoritarian tactics’
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Democrats pulled out all the stops on Wednesday to delay the vote on a short-term spending bill to reopen the government — the 12th time the Senate has considered the measure since the government entered a shutdown on Oct. 1.
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., embarked on a nearly 24-hour speech at 6:23 p.m. on Tuesday, concluding his remarks at 5:00 p.m. the next day. Merkley, 68, warned viewers of the authoritarianism he said had become a facet of the Trump administration.
«Be aware and worried about the possibility of the use of an emergency in order to expand authoritarian power. That’s the position we’re in now in the United States of America. Authoritarianism with a rubber-stamp Congress, a court that’s delivering more and more power to the executive and an executive who has a well-planned strategy,» Merkley said in his remarks.
JOHNSON WARNS US ‘BARRELING TOWARD ONE OF THE LONGEST SHUTDOWNS’ IN HISTORY
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., speaks to reporters following a weekly Senate Democratic policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Feb. 19, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
«Republicans have shut down the government to continue the strategy of slashing Americans’ healthcare,» he said.
His speech comes as lawmakers remain gridlocked over federal funding for 2026. Whereas Republicans in the House of Representatives have passed a short-term funding bill to keep the government open through Nov. 21, Democrats in the Senate have voted a dozen times to defeat the package.
The Senate once again failed to advance the package on Wednesday. It failed in a 54-46 vote.
Democrats, led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., have demanded an extension of COVID-era supplemental funding for Obamacare healthcare subsidies that are set to sunset in 2025.
SCREAMING MATCH ERUPTS BETWEEN HAKEEM JEFFRIES, MIKE LAWLER AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CHAOS CONTINUES
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., right, update reporters following their face-to-face meeting with President Donald Trump and Republican leaders on the government funding crisis, at the Capitol in Washington, Sept. 29, 2025. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)
Republicans need the support of seven Democrats to overcome the 60-vote threshold to overcome a filibuster. The GOP holds 53 seats in the chamber.
Merkley, who came close to breaking Sen. Cory Booker’s 25-hour and 4-minute record that was set earlier this year, put the shutdown blame on Republicans throughout his discourse.
Booker praised Merkley’s stalling efforts online.
«Listening to Senator Jeff Merkley for over 22 hours, it is clear that we need to stand up for our democracy. We must continue to call out and counter Trump’s authoritarian tactics. Thank you, Jeff!» Booker said in a post on X.
BOOKER CONCLUDES RECORD 25-HOUR SPEECH AGAINST TRUMP, MUSK, MARKING THE LONGEST EVER ON THE SENATE FLOOR
On the issue of authoritarianism, which comprised the bulk of Merkley’s remarks, Merkley decried what he saw as the Trump administration’s attempts to push the limits on executive power — like its deployment of the National Guard to urban areas.
«If you remove a clear standard as to whether there is a rebellion and just say a president can deploy the military on a whim in places he doesn’t like against peaceful protesters to distract Americans or to exercise a suppression of dissent, then you have flung the doors open to tyranny. To a strongman state,» Merkley said.
National Guard members began patrolling Memphis in October as part of a federal task force established by President Donald Trump to combat what the administration says is violent crime in the city. (Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
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President Donald Trump has deployed the National Guard to Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Chicago, Memphis, and Portland, Oregon, citing a need to protect law enforcement and government operations in those cities.
politics,congress,senate
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