INTERNACIONAL
Mike Johnson punts House vote on Trump tax agenda after GOP rebellion threatened defeat
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is delaying a key vote on legislation aimed at advancing President Donald Trump’s agenda in the face of a likely rebellion on Wednesday evening.
It comes as fiscal hawks in the lower chamber have raised alarms at the Senate’s version of the plan, which guarantees far fewer spending cuts than the House’s initial offering.
Johnson told reporters he would aim to hold the vote Thursday, the last scheduled day in session for House lawmakers before a two-week recess. He added, however, that lawmakers could be kept in session next week if needed to pass the legislation.
«I don’t think we’ll have a vote on this tonight, but probably in the morning,» the speaker said. «We want everybody to have a high degree of comfort about what is happening here, and we have a small subset of members who weren’t totally satisfied with the product as it stands. So we’re going to we’re going to talk about maybe going to conference with the Senate or add an amendment, but we’re going to make that decision.»
HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS CHAIR URGES JOHNSON TO CHANGE COURSE ON SENATE VERSION OF TRUMP BUDGET BILL
A split of Mike Johnson and Donald Trump. (Getty Images)
He also said there were multiple ways the House could move forward and Republicans would look at each one. Johnson said, «Everything is moving along just fine. We have a little bit of room here to work, and we’re going to use that.»
The House floor was paralyzed for over an hour during an earlier unrelated vote as Johnson met with Republican holdouts behind closed doors.
Two sources in the room said the holdouts did not speak with Trump, though it’s not clear if he called people individually.
Outside that room, in the cavernous House chamber, lawmakers began filtering out or impatiently pacing as time went by with little information.
Democrats, meanwhile, began calling for Republican leaders to close the lingering vote.
Tensions were high for those GOP lawmakers who remained on the House floor, Fox News Digital was told – and much of that frustration is aimed at Johnson.
«I think he’s quickly losing faith from the rest of us. I mean, he kept the entire conference out on the floor for 80 minutes while you play grab-a– with these people,» one House Republican fumed. «And all day it was like, ‘Oh, we’re going to get this done.’»
That House Republican said, «All the chatter we were hearing was [holdouts were] down to single digits. But 17, 20 people were in that room. So clearly there was a much bigger problem than they were letting on all day.»
The gap between the House and Senate versions is significant; the House version that passed in late February calls for at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts, while the Senate’s plan mandates at least $4 billion.
Some conservatives are also wary of congressional leaders looking to use the current policy baseline to factor the total amount of dollars the bill will add to the federal deficit. The current policy baseline allows lawmakers to essentially zero out the cost of extending Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) because they are already in effect.
«We’ve got to have something more substantive out of the Senate. If you were going to sell your house, and I offered you a third of the price, you would laugh,» Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., one of the earliest holdouts, told reporters on Wednesday.
MEET THE TRUMP-PICKED LAWMAKERS GIVING SPEAKER JOHNSON A FULL HOUSE GOP CONFERENCE
Senate Majority Leader Sen. John Thune of South Dakota speaks to reporters, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, after a Senate policy luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Trump has directed Republicans to work on «one big, beautiful bill» to advance his agenda on border security, defense, energy and taxes.
Such a measure is largely only possible via the budget reconciliation process. Traditionally used when one party controls all three branches of government, reconciliation lowers the Senate’s threshold for passage of certain fiscal measures from 60 votes to 51. As a result, it has been used to pass broad policy changes in one or two massive pieces of legislation.
The first step traditionally involves both chambers of Congress passing an identical «framework» with instructions for relevant committees to hash out policy priorities in line with the spending levels in the initial legislation.
The House passed its own version of the reconciliation framework earlier this year, while the Senate passed an amended version last week. House GOP leaders now believe that voting on the Senate’s plan will allow Republicans to enter the next step of crafting policy.
«Why does President Trump call it one big, beautiful bill? Because it does a lot of critically important things, all in one bill, that help get this country back on a strong footing. And what else it does is it produces incredibly needed savings,» House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said during debate on the bill.
The legislation as laid out would add more money for border security, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as well as some new funding for defense.
Republicans are also looking to repeal significant portions of former President Joe Biden’s green energy policies, and institute new Trump policies like eliminating taxes on tipped and overtime wages.
But House conservatives had demanded added assurances from the Senate to show they are serious about cutting spending.
U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., speaks to reporters following a House Republican caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 27, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The House and Senate must pass identical versions of the final bill before it can get to Trump’s desk to be signed into law.
They must do so before the end of this year, when Trump’s TCJA tax cuts expire – potentially raising taxes on millions of Americans.
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Trump himself worked to persuade holdouts both in a smaller-scale White House meeting on Tuesday and in public remarks at the National Republican Congressional Committee.
He also fired off multiple Truth Social posts pushing House Republicans to support the measure, even as conservatives argued it would not go far enough in fulfilling his own agenda.
«Republicans, it is more important now, than ever, that we pass THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL. The USA will Soar like never before!!!» one of the posts read.
House Of Representatives,House Budget,Donald Trump,Trump’s First 100 Days
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Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan announced he is leaving the GOP and joining the Democratic Party, a move he says has been a long time coming as he has bucked heads with the Republican Party.
Duncan, who served as lieutenant governor as a Republican from 2019 until 2023, wrote in an op-ed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday that his path to becoming a Democrat began before President Donald Trump attempted to overturn his loss to former President Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, which Duncan criticized at the time.
«My journey to becoming a Democrat started well before Donald Trump tried to steal the 2020 election in Georgia,» Duncan wrote in the newspaper.
«There’s no date on a calendar or line in the sand that points to the exact moment in time my political heart changed, but it has,» he continued. «My decision was centered around my daily struggle to love my neighbor, as a Republican.»
GEORGIA GOP EXPELS FORMER LT. GOV. GEOFF DUNCAN FROM PARTY, CITING ALLEGED DISLOYALTY
Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan announced he is leaving the GOP and joining the Democratic Party. (Getty Images)
Duncan pointed to several policy issues that played a part in his decision to change parties, criticizing Republicans for their handling of issues such as health care, Medicaid, gun safety, immigration and how to help poor people.
He said his time in office taught him the best way to «love my neighbor» is through public policy. Before his time as lieutenant governor, he served in the Georgia House from 2013 until 2017. He opted not to run for re-election as lieutenant governor in 2022.
The former Republican said GOP lawmakers have argued for decades that the solution to not having health insurance is to have a job, but noted that most uninsured people in the Peach State live in working households yet do not have insurance because of affordability or eligibility.
«So, the reality is they have a job, just the wrong job,» Duncan wrote. «One that doesn’t offer health insurance or generate enough spare money each month to afford their own health insurance plan.»
REPUBLICAN DOOLEY JUMPS INTO GEORGIA’S SENATE RACE WHILE TOUTING SUPPORT FOR TRUMP AND TAKING AIM AT OSSOFF
Duncan served as lieutenant governor as a Republican from 2019 until 2023. (Getty Images)
Duncan also said the Trump-backed spending bill that was signed into law last month will leave Medicaid funding «in shambles,» as it cuts hundreds of billions of dollars from the government program. He also criticized the measure for its cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, more commonly known as food stamps, and its impact on ensuring children do not go hungry at school.
Duncan pointed to polls showing support for gun control measures such as universal background checks and red-flag laws.
He also criticized the Trump administration’s mass deportation immigration policies that he said «have turned into a lesson on how not to love your neighbor.» He said that immigration policy should focus on securing the border, deporting those in the country illegally who have committed felonies, but that a path to citizenship should be created for other migrants in the U.S.
Duncan’s party switch comes after the Georgia Republican Party expelled him from the party earlier this year over alleged disloyalty. The party’s resolution cited his endorsement of Biden in the 2024 presidential election and, once he dropped out, his endorsement of former Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as alleged efforts to undermine and sabotage some Republican candidates, including current Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and failed 2022 Senate candidate Herschel Walker.
The former Republican also spoke at the Democratic National Convention in August in support of Harris.
The Georgia Republican Party expelled Duncan from the party earlier this year over alleged disloyalty. (Ben Hendren/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Duncan has been a fierce critic of Trump and the Republican Party in recent years, particularly since the president’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss and the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
«The list of reasons why I’m now a Democrat continues to grow,» Duncan wrote. «Most importantly, my decision puts me in the best possible position each day to love my neighbor.»
georgia,us,politics,republicans elections,democratic party,democratic convention
INTERNACIONAL
Trump celebró la entrada en vigor de sus nuevas tarifas y afirmó que “miles de millones” comenzarán a fluir hacia EEUU
El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, celebró este jueves la entrada en vigor de una nueva serie de aranceles dirigidos a decenas de países, consolidando su estrategia comercial basada en el proteccionismo y el uso de tarifas aduaneras como instrumento de presión económica.
La medida, efectiva desde la medianoche de EEUU, forma parte del nuevo esquema de comercio exterior con el que el mandatario busca, según ha expresado, “reestructurar el comercio en beneficio de los trabajadores estadounidenses”.
En un mensaje publicado en su red Truth Social, Trump escribió: “¡Es medianoche! ¡Miles de millones de dólares en aranceles fluyen hacia Estados Unidos ahora!”, subrayando el momento en que se activaron los recargos. Además, reiteró que los nuevos aranceles permitirán que “Estados Unidos vuelva a ser grande y rico”.
Las tarifas se aplican de forma diferenciada según la balanza comercial bilateral. Países con los que Estados Unidos mantiene superávit seguirán enfrentando un arancel mínimo del 10%, mientras que aquellos con déficit serán sujetos a recargos entre el 15% y el 41%.
Entre los más afectados figura India, que recibirá un 50% total: 25% aplicado desde este jueves y otro 25% dentro de tres semanas. Trump justificó la sanción por “la compra continua de petróleo ruso” por parte de Nueva Delhi.
El caso de Brasil también fue destacado. Pese a tener superávit con Washington, algunos productos, como el café y la carne, enfrentan un arancel adicional del 50%. El mandatario asoció esta decisión con el proceso judicial contra el ex presidente Jair Bolsonaro, a quien considera una víctima política. En julio, Trump afirmó: “Bolsonaro está siendo perseguido por defender la democracia. Es una caza de brujas”.
México, por su parte, obtuvo una prórroga de 90 días para renegociar sus términos comerciales. Mientras tanto, la mayoría de sus exportaciones están sujetas a un 25%, salvo los productos protegidos por el Tratado entre México, Estados Unidos y Canadá (T-MEC).
Trump también anunció nuevas medidas en sectores estratégicos. Este miércoles declaró que impondrá un arancel del 100% sobre chips y semiconductores, aunque aclaró que “si la compañía fabrica en estados unidos, no hay ningún recargo”.
Respecto a los productos farmacéuticos, adelantó que iniciarán con un arancel reducido que escalará gradualmente: “inicialmente vamos a colocar un pequeño arancel sobre los productos farmacéuticos, pero en un año, año y medio como máximo, subirá al 150% y luego al 250% porque queremos que los productos farmacéuticos se fabriquen en nuestro país”, dijo esta semana a la cadena CNBC.
La próxima fase de la ofensiva está marcada para el 12 de agosto, fecha en que expira la tregua comercial con China. Ambas potencias mantienen reducciones recíprocas —10% sobre productos estadounidenses y 30% sobre bienes chinos—. Trump indicó que la continuidad del acuerdo dependerá de su evaluación personal: “la decisión final está en mis manos”.
Mientras el gobierno proyecta ingresos adicionales por la vía de las tarifas, surgen interrogantes sobre su impacto en el consumo. Según una encuesta de Morning Consult/The Century Foundation, publicada el 31 de julio, el 83% de los estadounidenses expresó preocupación por el precio de los alimentos.
Trump, sin embargo, sostiene que los beneficios serán mayores a los costos. En declaraciones recientes afirmó: “Entra tanto dinero que consideramos un pequeño reembolso”, aunque no ofreció detalles sobre su implementación. También apuntó: “Lo más importante es saldar la deuda”, en referencia al pasivo público, que a comienzos de agosto superó los 36,8 billones de dólares.
(Con información de EFE)
Asia / Pacific,BEIJING
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A Senate Republican renewed his push to federalize Washington, D.C., following an attack on a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer and President Donald Trump’s threat to put the District under federal control.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, has long called for control of Washington to fall under Congress, going so far as to introduce the Bringing Oversight to Washington and Safety to Every Resident (BOWSER) Act, named after D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, in an effort to combat crime in the District.
REPUBLICAN BILL WOULD PUT ‘ANARCHIST JURISDICTIONS’ ON NOTICE, THREATEN FEDERAL FUNDING
President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he arrives at Glasgow Prestwick Airport on July 25, 2025, in Prestwick, Scotland. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
The bill, which Lee introduced alongside Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., has not made it out of committee since being dropped in February. But Trump’s highlight of an attack against former DOGE staffer Edward Coristine, also known as «Big Balls,» has resurrected the discussion.
«The Constitution already federalizes D.C.,» Lee said on X. «We just need Congress to do its job — and reassert its lawmaking power over our nation’s capital city. My bill, the BOWSER Act, would do that.»
Fox News Digital reached out to Lee for further comment.
SENATE REPUBLICANS LAUNCH CRACKDOWN ON DC PERMITTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, NONCITIZENS TO VOTE IN ELECTIONS
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah., arrives for the Senate Republicans leadership election in the Capitol on Nov. 13, 2024. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Lee’s bill would effectively repeal the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, a law passed in the 1970s that established a city council and mayor and reduced the amount of oversight that Congress has over the city and its affairs.
But calls have grown by lawmakers over the years to increase Congress’ oversight of the city, largely centered on concerns over increased crime and criticisms of attempts to rewrite the District’s criminal code.
And Trump jumped into the discourse, too, threatening that if «D.C. doesn’t get its act together, and quickly, we will have no choice but to take Federal control of the City.»
«Perhaps it should have been done a long time ago, then this incredible young man, and so many others, would not have had to go through the horrors of Violent Crime,» Trump said on his social media platform, Truth Social. «If this continues, I am going to exert my powers, and FEDERALIZE this City.»
Fox News reached out to Bowser’s office for comment but did not immediately hear back.
‘SHOULD HAVE BEEN PREPARED’: GOP SENATORS FIGHT FOR UNIFIED MESSAGE ON TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Zack Smith, a senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation and a former prosecutor, told Fox News Digital that in the past, the D.C. council has pushed «policies that have made it much more difficult for law enforcement, for prosecutors, to do their jobs and keep citizens safe.»
Bowser and the D.C. Council have, for several years, worked to update the District’s criminal code. However, changes to the code that would have severely lowered sentencing for a variety of crimes that were at first vetoed by Bowser were on the precipice of becoming law before Congress and former President Joe Biden overrode the reforms.
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Smith noted that Congress still has the authority to legislate the District, meaning that lawmakers and the federal government are «still the backstop,» and that both Trump and Lee were right to call for a «reevaluation of the District’s status.»
«That’s why Congress was able to step in and overturn that proposed radical rewrite of the Criminal Code,» he said. «And so what the BOWSER Act would actually do, if it repeals home rule, it would essentially change the way the local D.C. government functions. It might involve Congress and the Federal Government taking a more direct role.»
«I think there is broad and in some ways bipartisan consensus that the current system in D.C. is not working as it should,» he continued.
politics,doge,donald trump
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