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Republicans struggle with Trump’s mixed signals on ‘big, beautiful bill’

It’s hard enough to know what you want. It’s even harder to know what others want. But what if what you want hinges on what somebody else wants…and they aren’t sure what they want?
Hence the conundrum now facing Congressional Republicans as they try to approve the «big, beautiful bill.»
GOPers are waiting for President Trump to push for very specific items to be in the bill – or fall by the wayside.
Congressional Republicans are aligned closely with the President and willing to bend to his wishes. But it complicates things when Trump calls for what he termed a «tiny» tax increase for the super wealthy.
TRUMP SAYS TAX RAISES ARE ‘GOOD POLITICS,’ DISMISSING GOP CRITICS
Members of the House Ways and Means Committee participate a markup hearing in the Longworth House Building on Capitol Hill on May 13, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
«People would love to do it. Rich people. I would love to do it, frankly. Giving us something up top in order to make people in the middle income and the lower income brackets [have] more. So, it’s really a redistribution,» said the president.
First, President Trump suggested a form of rations, limiting how many pencils kids need or how many dolls a little girl should have. That puzzled free marketeers in the GOP.
Now, to use his phrase, «redistribution.»
You understand how much heartburn this gives capitalists in Congress. But what’s worse is the mixed messaging.
When writing on Truth Social about creating a higher tax bracket for the wealthy, the president muddled his instructions for lawmakers:
«Republicans should probably not do it, but I’m OK if they do!!!» declared President Trump.
CIVIL WAR THREATENS GOP OVER MILLIONAIRE TAX HIKES IN TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’
This exasperated Congressional Republicans who oppose raising any taxes – a long-held tenet of the Republican Party.
In another political universe, taxing the wealthy would be – at best – a trial balloon. So, most Congressional Republicans decided it was time for this to pop.
«No, we are not going to do tax increases,» said Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., on Fox Business.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., attends the third day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 17, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
«We don’t want to raise taxes on anybody. I mean, we’re about lowering taxes on Americans,» said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., on Fox.
But President Trump’s Republican Party is very different from the Reagan Republican Party. The GOP shifts to where Trump wants it. Just consider the approach to tariffs compared to free trade.
TRUMP PUSHES TAX HIKES FOR WEALTHY AS ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ DEADLINE LOOMS
President Trump broadened the party’s base in the last election. The GOP is no longer dominated by big business, titans of commerce and the well-to-do. Part of the president’s appeal was the blue-collar coalition he cobbled together. And his fundamental economic message on taxes resonated with millions of voters. That’s why his top advisers say Trump is sticking to campaign promises.
«President Trump has made it clear that he has his priorities, like no tax on tips. No tax on overtime. No tax on Social Security,» said National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett on Fox.
However, revenue generated from new taxes on the wealthy could help cover the cost of spending cuts.
«We need to see what we need to do with the math to make sure that we are doing the country well fiscally and that we don’t just add to the debt,» said Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb.
But Republicans are frustrated after House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., shrank the size of the tax cuts and spending reductions.
The tax breaks were supposed to be around $4.5 trillion at one point. They dwindled to $4 trillion. They were angling to lock in $2 trillion in tax cuts. They’re scaled back to $1.5 trillion.
‘HARD NO’: MILLIONAIRE TAX HIKE PROPOSAL HAS HOUSE REPUBLICANS DIVIDED
«Republicans talk a big game in campaigns,» lamented House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas. «If we’re not able to bend the curve on mandatory spending, then we will send a very bad signal to the bond markets.»
But regardless of what’s in the package, the White House is expecting Congressional Republicans to ultimately vote yes on the «big, beautiful bill.»
«The president has great political instincts. That’s why he’s back in the Oval Office,» said White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt.
But that’s what Congressional Republicans found so vexing. The president may have great political instincts. But the marching orders were far from clear.
Trump conceded that a tax hike may be controversial politically.
Congressional Republicans suffer from political PTSD. They remember another Republican President who made one of the most famous political promises of all time. And then broke it.

On the White House’s South Lawn, U.S. President George H.W. Bush speaks prior to the signing ceremony of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (or ADA), Washington DC, July 26, 1990. (Ron Sachs/CNP/Getty Images)
«No new taxes,» intoned the late President George H.W. Bush in his address to a Joint Session of Congress in 1989.
But Bush famously reversed himself as part of a 1990 budget pact. That was not necessarily the reason «Bush 41» lost reelection in 1992 to former President Clinton. And President Trump was sure enough to point that out on social media.
TRUMP SLAMS REPUBLICAN ‘GRANDSTANDERS’ OPPOSING BUDGET BILL, PREDICTS MASSIVE US TAX INCREASES IF IT FAILS
«The Radical Left Democrat Lunatics would go around screaming, ‘Read my lips,’ the fabled Quote by George Bush the Elder that is said to have cost him the Election. NO, Ross Perot cost him the Election!» wrote Trump.

Presidential candidate Ross Perot speaks during the 1992 Presidential Debates. (Wally McNamee/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
The «Perot Effect» certainly deprived George H.W. Bush of a second term more than breaking the «no new taxes» promise. But that doesn’t mean that Republicans aren’t skittish about voting for tax increases.
And regardless, the legislative product that emerged from the Ways and Means Committee markup this week lacked the type of tax hike dangled by President Trump.
That said, Congressional Republicans certainly have their opinions about what they think of the developing «big, beautiful bill.»
«A growing number of us, we don’t want smoke and mirrors. We want real cuts,» said Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C. «$2 trillion (in cuts) is really a teardrop in the ocean.»
«You’ve got front-loaded tax [cuts]. Backloaded spending restraint,» groused Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas. «Medicaid reforms and work requirements don’t kick in for four years.»
«It’ll be ironic and sad in a way that conservatives will be voting for the largest increase in the debt ceiling,» mused Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. «I have a feeling it’s going to be wimpy on the spending cuts and maybe a little wimpy on the taxes, too.»
So, at least some Republicans grasp what they want in the bill. And they’re willing to take direction from the president. That’s why clear direction from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. will be key next week as the House tries to pass the measure.
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Members will say they can’t vote for the bill because it has this or excludes that. But they just might be able to vote yea if President Trump knows what he wants – and makes that clear to lawmakers.
Politics,Republicans,Taxes,Economic Policy,Donald Trump
INTERNACIONAL
Columbia student says Mamdani becoming mayor would be ‘scary’ for Jewish students in New York

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A Jewish student at Columbia University is speaking out against New York City Democratic Socialist and mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani, telling Fox News Digital a Mamdani victory would be «scary» for Jewish students at Columbia and across the city.
TJ Katz, a sophomore at the Ivy League school, sat down with Fox to discuss how Mamdani leading New York City might impact Columbia and other universities, as the 33-year-old assemblyman and mayoral candidate leads the pack in the race.
«For my own beliefs and my own safety on campus, it’s scary,» Katz told Fox. «I think that as an individual serving as the mayor of New York, I don’t think he’ll, all of a sudden, turn this in a 180-degree direction where I’m going to be on the streets worried that my mayor is against me for who I am.»
A New York Times report discovered that NYC Mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani identified as Black on his application to the prestigious Columbia University in 2009. (Getty Images)
MAMDANI VOWS TO BE DONALD TRUMP’S ‘WORST NIGHTMARE’ AS PRESIDENT WEIGHS WORKING WITH RIVAL IN NYC MAYOR RACE
«What I’m far more worried about is if he takes such a weak approach in condemning hate, that will then inspire others to go on and do terrible things,» Katz added.
Mamdani, a practicing Twelver Shia Muslim born in Kampala, Uganda, won an upset Democratic primary election in June, defeating former New York governor Andrew Cuomo among other candidates.
As the race stands today, Cuomo, now running as an independent, and sitting Mayor Eric Adams will face off with Mamdani in the November election.
New York City makes up the largest population of practicing Jews outside the nation of Israel. And Katz described Mamdani’s attitude toward the community as «definitely worrisome.»

Protest stickers were put on the doors at Butler Library at Columbia University’s campus on May 7, 2025, in New York City. Pro-Palestinian protesters held a demonstration inside the Butler Library on Columbia University’s campus, disrupting finals week. ( Indy Scholtens/Getty Images)
NYC MAYOR FLIPS SCRIPT ON MAMDANI AMID SCRAMBLE TO WALK BACK ANTI-POLICE RHETORIC
«For him not to protect the Jewish population of New York, which makes up such a strong and vibrant element of the community here, it is upsetting and definitely worrisome,» Katz continued.
Jewish students across the country and young Jewish voters have also shifted toward the Republican Party as candidates like Mamdani are endorsed by longstanding Democrat Senators like Elizabeth Warren. When a Fox News reporter asked if socialist candidates like Mamdani were the future of the Democrat Party, Warren replied «you bet.»
In the 2024 election, President Donald Trump saw a drastic increase in Jewish voters swinging to the GOP.

President Donald Trump is joined by Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Vice President JD Vance during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on February 4, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Jabin Botsford /The Washington Post via Getty Images)
FBI INVESTIGATING ‘HORRIFIC ANTISEMITIC ATTACK’ ON AMERICAN WHO SERVED IN ISRAELI ARMY
The Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC) recently hosted a national convention in Washington DC, which saw the largest collection of young pro-Israel voters this year. Hundreds of Jewish students from across the county flocked to nonpartisan event, voicing concerns about campus safety for Jews as we head into the upcoming school year.
A senior advisor to the ICC spoke to Fox News Digital, saying that there is a clear shift toward pro-Israel, conservative beliefs as Trump mitigates a volatile war in the Middle East and negotiates deals with top universities to combat the rise of antisemitism.
The ICC advisor also said students are more active than ever when it comes to standing up for pro-Israel beliefs on campus.
ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIVIST MAHMOUD KHALIL CLAIMS OCT. 7 TERROR ATTACK WAS ‘DESPERATE ATTEMPT’ FOR GAZA TO BE HEARD
Katz agreed with the notion that pro-Israeli students are seemingly more outspoken on campus and said Jewish students take their beliefs into account when voting at the polls.

President Donald Trump is pushing back on pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses, including Columbia University. (Getty Images)
«I think there’s no doubt from the most liberal young Jewish voter that exists all the way to the most conservative, that everyone sort of felt a little bit of this shift to the right,» Katz told Fox.
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«If one administration versus another is going to actually put the proof in the pudding and show that they’re going to come out, they’re going to make sure that Jewish students on campuses, Jewish people in every aspect of their life feel safe, then that’s undoubtedly where the Jewish voters are going to shift towards,» Katz added.
Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani but did not receive a response in time for publication.
Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News Digital covering breaking news. Story tips can be sent to Preston.Mizell@fox.com and on X @MizellPreston
new york city,politics,anti semitism,zohran mamdani
INTERNACIONAL
Emmanuel Macron afirmó que el futuro de Ucrania “no puede decidirse sin los ucranianos”

Emmanuel Macron afirmó este sábado que “el futuro de Ucrania no puede decidirse sin los ucranianos”, tras la confirmación de la cumbre que sostendrán el próximo viernes 15 de agosto, en Alaska, el presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, y el jefe de Estado ruso, Vladimir Putin.
“Los europeos también formarán parte necesariamente de la solución porque su seguridad está en juego”, escribió el presidente francés su cuenta de la red social X, luego de una conversación con su homólogo ucraniano Volodimir Zelensky, y tras contactar además con el canciller alemán, Friedrich Merz, y el primer ministro británico, Keir Starmer.
Zelensky inició este sábado una serie de contactos con sus aliados más cercanos, incluidos Starmer y Macron, después de confirmarse la reunión entre Trump y Putin.
El presidente ucraniano anunció estos intercambios en X y recalcó que tanto Ucrania como sus aliados europeos “están dispuestos a trabajar de la forma más productiva posible por una paz real”, según comunicó tras su conversación con Macron.
El mandatario ucraniano insistió: “Es esencial que los rusos no consigan engañar a nadie nuevamente. Todos necesitamos un final auténtico para la guerra y bases sólidas de seguridad para Ucrania y el resto de naciones europeas”, aludiendo a las garantías exigidas por Kiev para una resolución negociada del conflicto.
Tras informar de una llamada con la primera ministra danesa, Mette Frederiksen, Zelensky señaló que ambos coinciden en que “hasta ahora no ha habido cambios en el comportamiento de Rusia”, pese a la expiración del ultimátum que Trump dio a Moscú para avanzar hacia el fin del conflicto.
“El gobierno ruso se niega a cesar las masacres, continúa invirtiendo en la guerra y promueve la idea de intercambiar territorio ucraniano por territorio ucraniano, lo que solo garantiza una posición más favorable para Rusia si la guerra se reanuda”, afirmó el mandatario ucraniano. Con ello, se refirió al rechazo de Moscú a aceptar un alto el fuego inmediato y a la posibilidad, insinuada por Trump, de que un acuerdo incluya un intercambio territorial, lo que supondría concesiones por parte de Kiev.
“Todas nuestras acciones deben acercarnos a un fin auténtico para la guerra, no a una simple reconfiguración. Las decisiones conjuntas con nuestros socios deben fortalecer nuestra seguridad común”, concluyó el presidente ucraniano.

Con Starmer, según Zelensky, ambos comparten “la misma visión acerca de la necesidad de una paz duradera para Ucrania y sobre el peligro del plan ruso de reducir el conflicto a un debate imposible”.
Además, el líder ucraniano se comunicó con el primer ministro estonio, Kristen Michal, continuando una intensa ronda de llamados que, el viernes, incluyó al presidente sudafricano Cyril Ramaphosa, al primer ministro checo Petr Fiala, al presidente letón Edgars Rinkevics y al presidente polaco Donald Tusk.
El jueves, Zelensky habló con Friedrich Merz y con la primera ministra italiana, Giorgia Meloni, después de que se supiera, tras el encuentro entre Putin y el enviado especial de Trump, que Ucrania no estará presente en la primera cumbre de líderes desde el inicio de la guerra en 2022.
Zelensky, declaró que el país está dispuesto a aceptar “soluciones reales” que garanticen la paz, pero advirtió que los ucranianos “no cederán sus tierras al ocupante”.
“Los ucranianos defienden a los suyos. Incluso quienes apoyan a Rusia saben que está haciendo el mal. Por supuesto, no recompensaremos a Rusia por lo que ha hecho. El pueblo ucraniano merece la paz. Pero todos los socios deben comprender lo que es una paz digna”, afirmó en sus redes sociales.
Zelensky sostuvo que la guerra debe finalizar por decisión de Rusia, ya que “Rusia la inició y la está prolongando”, e insistió en que la cuestión territorial está definida en la Constitución de Ucrania. “Nadie podrá desviarse de ella”, recalcó.
El mandatario advirtió que cualquier propuesta que no incluya a Ucrania “es al mismo tiempo una solución contra la paz” y la calificó como “muerta”. Añadió que el objetivo es lograr “una paz verdadera y viva que la gente respete”.
Europe,THE HAGUE
INTERNACIONAL
El enigma de Frances Garnett Orme: la muerte en el Hotel Savoy que habría inspirado la primera novela de Agatha Christie

En septiembre de 1911, la muerte de Frances Garnett Orme, hallada sin vida en una habitación cerrada del hotel Savoy en Mussoorie, India, conmocionó a la opinión pública y trascendió fronteras. La autopsia determinó que había sido envenenada con ácido prúsico, un compuesto de cianuro, y las sospechas recayeron sobre su amiga y compañera de estadía, Eva Mount Stephens, en un caso que combinó misterio, acusaciones de interés económico y prácticas espiritistas.
Décadas más tarde, el episodio fue señalado como una posible inspiración para El misterioso caso de Styles, la primera novela de Agatha Christie, en la que la autora recreó una trama de envenenamiento en una habitación cerrada con paralelismos notorios con aquel hecho real.
En septiembre de 1911, Frances Garnett Orme, de 49 años, fue encontrada muerta en su habitación del hotel Savoy. Un informe post mortem, compartido por la BBC, indicó que había sido envenenada con ácido prúsico, un veneno a base de cianuro. Su amiga, Eva Mount Stephens, de 36 años, era la principal sospechosa.
Según la BBC, el caso llegó a medios de todo el mundo debido a la “peculiaridad de las circunstancias que lo rodearon”, tal como mencionó un periódico australiano en 1912. Medios británicos publicaron relatos del juicio con titulares como “Juicio por asesinato de Mussoorie” y “Misterio en el Hotel Savoy”.

Orme vivió en India más de una década, donde entabló amistad con Stephens, una espiritista de la ciudad de Lucknow. Según el informe, fue descrita como una “mujer solitaria” y aprendió de Stephens la cristalomancia, una forma de adivinación en la que el médium entra en trance mientras observa una bola de cristal.
Ambas permanecieron en el Savoy por un tiempo. Stephens afirmó que Orme estaba enferma en ese momento, pero la fiscalía la acusó de administrar veneno para beneficiarse del testamento, ya que le había dejado una suma considerable de dinero, tres collares y otras joyas.
Por su parte, la defensa sostuvo que Orme se quitó la vida debido al dolor que sentía por la muerte del hombre con el que había viajado para casarse en India y por su mala salud.
El caso generó confusión en la justicia. La investigación reveló que Stephens se había marchado antes de que Orme muriera. La habitación donde se halló el cuerpo estaba cerrada por dentro. La policía no encontró medicamentos en las habitaciones, salvo un frasco de somníferos y dos etiquetas con las leyendas “arsénico” y “ácido prúsico”.
A comienzos del siglo XX, quienes compraban en una farmacia debían firmar un registro. La fiscalía indicó que la firma asociada al ácido prúsico no coincidía con la de las cartas de Orme.

Los fiscales también señalaron que, en una conversación con un amigo, Stephens predijo la muerte de Orme seis meses antes. Añadieron que expresó temor de que la mujer se casara con un médico con quien estaba comprometida y le dejara su riqueza.
La defensa insistió en que Stephens era una “devota compañera” de Orme y que no había pruebas de que hubiera adquirido y administrado veneno a su amiga.
Finalmente, el tribunal la absolvió y el juez comentó que “las verdaderas circunstancias de la muerte de la señora Orme probablemente nunca saldrán a la luz”.
El libro de Christie presenta similitudes con el caso. El personaje principal, Emily, muere por envenenamiento y, al igual que Orme, su cuerpo aparece en una habitación cerrada por dentro.
En la trama se revela que su compañera, Evelyn, la envenenó. Adquirió el veneno disfrazada y utilizó una firma falsa. El motivo del crimen fue la herencia.
Según The Conversation, la publicación de la novela introdujo una metodología criminal poco frecuente hasta entonces, ya que la estricnina, elegida como veneno en la historia, apenas había figurado en la literatura como recurso homicida. Además, los lectores conocieron por primera vez al detective Hércules Poirot, quien debutó en esa obra.
Durante el Festival Internacional Agatha Christie de 2022, la escritora india especializada en crímenes Manjiri Prabhu destacó la “interesante conexión” entre el asesinato y la novela debut de Christie. Varias décadas después, el paralelismo entre ambos casos aún atrae la atención de los seguidores.
Entertainment and Lifestyle,Europe
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