Free Republic

Friday on FNC’s “Jesse Watters Primetime,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) dismissed the possibility of the so-called “big, beautiful” spending bill stalling out on Capitol Hill because of Tesla CEO and former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk’s critique. “All right, Speaker,” host Jesse Watters said. “Is Elon going to derail the big, beautiful bill?” “Absolutely not,” Johnson replied. “Look, we are feeling the same energy that the President is. He’s leading. He’s delivering on his promises, and we all are. The big, beautiful bill is basically all those campaign speeches reduced to legislation. That’s what it is,...

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said Wednesday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that President Donald Trump’s budget bill will not pass because it has a “grotesque” level of spending. Johnson said, “The president and Senate leadership has to understand that we’re serious. They all say, ‘Oh, we can pressure these guys.’ No, you can’t. Again we’re we’re being very respectful. You know, I ran 2010 as part of the Tea Party Movement. We were mortgaging children’s future. We were $14 trillion in debt then now we’re over $37 trillion. We’re serious about this. They need to take us seriously. Don’t insult us....

President Donald Trump wants the “big, beautiful bill” at his desk by the Fourth of July he made clear Monday evening ahead of the U.S. Senate reconvening. Passing the bill, which received approval in the U.S. House of Representatives in a 215-214-1 vote on May 22, is what Trump described as a “Historic Opportunity to turn our Country around after four disastrous years under Joe Biden.” Trump touted a few of the benefits, including balancing the budget by “enacting the largest mandatory Spending Cut, EVER,” and the tax cuts, which will result in more Americans keeping their own hard-earned money....

Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that if the so-called “big, beautiful” spending bill became law, it would “throw poor people away.” Host Kristen Welker said, “One of the big issues in what is now called the big, beautiful bill act is Medicaid, and he makes the argument people should have to work in er to get Medicaid benefits. What’s wrong with that argument? Why shouldn’t people have to go to work in ER to get Medicaid?” Warnock said, “This is what the legislation does; they’ll throw poor people away. I believe in work. I...

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Republicans’ so-called “big, beautiful” spending bill does not include Medicaid cuts. Johnson said, “No. You can underscore what I am about to tell you: there are no Medicaid cuts in the big, beautiful bill. We are not cutting Medicaid. What we are doing is reducing the program wrought with fraud, waste and abuse to make sure that that program is essential to so many people and ensure that it is available for the most vulnerable. It’s intended for young, single pregnant women, the disabled and elderly. ”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) predicted Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that if the so-called “big, beautiful” spending bill becomes law, “people will literally die.” Jeffries said, “Trump’s one big ugly bill narrowly escaped the House of Representatives, and we’re going to continue to press our case across the country, partner with Senate Democrats in making clear to the American people the type of damage that this bill would do if it ever became law. This bill actually hurts everyday Americans in order to reward billionaires. It would strip away health care from approximately 14 million Americans...

Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “All In” that if Republicans passed President Donald Trump’s spending bill as is, they would “get smoked” in the 2026 midterm elections. Host Chris Hayes said, “Josh Hawley, Republican, Missouri, wrote a big op-ed in The New York Times saying Medicaid cuts are a bad idea. Does that end up mattering in the Senate?” Murphy said, “I think it’s a great question, Chris because the Republican Party still does essentially operate like a cult. And that’s not fundamentally different in the Senate than it is in the House. I mean, yes, you’ve...

A BILL To provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``One Big Beautiful Bill Act''. SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. The table of contents for this Act is as follows: Sec. 1. Short title. Sec. 2. Table of contents. TITLE I--COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE Subtitle A--Nutrition Sec. 10001. Thrifty food plan. Sec. 10002. Able bodied adults without dependents work requirements. Sec. 10003. Able bodied adults without...

@RandPaul Only in Washington does a “budget” mean spending more. [Video linked in Tweet] Paraphrasing/Notes: I supported the tax cuts. I support making them permanent I support spending cuts even though they're wimpy [in the bill]. The problem is the math doesn't add up. They're exploding the debt... The deficit will be $2.2 trillion. We used to say that's Biden spending, Biden-omics. There has to be someone left in Washington that says debts and deficits are Wrong. This is just not a serious proposal. Regarding the 'free' stuff (Medicare, Medicaid and SNAP), we're borrowing the money, which means more inflation....

Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that there were “enough” Republican senators who would not vote for the so-called “big, beautiful” spending bill without significant changes. Host Jake Tapper said, “How determined are you to be that guy if it actually means telling President Trump you are going to vote against the bill and you’re going to try to get other Republican senators to join you, unless there are major, major changes?” Johnson said, “Well, in 2010, I sprang out of the Tea Party movement and as I did parades I would shout, this...

Friday, in a clip that aired on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said President Donald Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Big” was unacceptable in its current form, as passed by the House of Representatives. Johnson told a reporter on Capitol Hill, “I couldn’t care less if he’s upset. I’m concerned about my children, my grandchildren, and the fact that we are stealing from them. We are stealing from our children and grandchildren. $37 trillion in debt, and we’re going to add to it as Republicans? That is unacceptable.” He added, “And that’s why there’s no way I’m going to...

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) tried to scold Republicans on Wednesday regarding their part in President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill.” During her speech on the House floor, Ocasio-Cortez claimed 13.7 million Americans would lose their healthcare as a result of the bill, according to video footage on the United States House of Representatives website. She then alleged Republicans would try everything to distract from that number: Republicans have put this bill together, rushed it together in a matter of hours on the back of a napkin, shaking it walking out of the White House and brought it right here to...

After holding the tax bill hostage, House Republicans from high-tax states have extorted an enormous increase in the state-and-local tax deduction—not that they will get much credit for it. Unlike the bill’s pro-growth provisions, this giveaway to the affluent will have no economic payoff and subsidizes profligate Democratic-run states. Speaker Mike Johnson late Tuesday greased the wheels for the reconciliation bill’s passage by cutting a deal with Republicans from New York, New Jersey and California to raise the state-and-local deduction to $40,000 with a 1% annual inflation adjustment over 10 years. The deduction would be phased out starting at $500,000...

By Scott Wong, Sahil Kapur, Kyle Stewart and Syedah Asghar WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives on Thursday morning narrowly passed a massive domestic policy package, a major victory for President Donald Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., after weeks of heated negotiations within the GOP. The multitrillion-dollar tax-cut and spending measure now heads to the Senate, where Republicans have vowed to change it. Following hours of overnight debate, the vote on final passage in the House was 215-214, with two Republicans — Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Warren Davidson of Ohio — joining all Democrats present in opposition....

During this week’s broadcast of “Fox News Sunday,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) insisted the so-called “big, beautiful” budget bill was still on track despite a setback in the House Budget Committee on Friday. Johnson reiterated his push to get the bill through while explaining its positive aspects. Partial transcript as follows: BREAM: OK. So, House Budget Committee, the vote failed on Friday. They’re back at it at 10:00 p.m. tonight. You heard what Maddie said. Part of the president’s posting on Friday: We don’t need grandstanders in the Republican Party. Stop talking and get it done. But you got...

President Donald Trump is calling on Republican lawmakers to support “The One Big Beautiful Bill” that would cut taxes and stop illegal aliens from receiving Medicaid. Trump took to Truth Social to urge Republicans to galvanize behind the bill. “Republicans MUST UNITE behind, ‘THE ONE, BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL!’ Not only does it cut Taxes for ALL Americans, but it will kick millions of Illegal Aliens off of Medicaid to PROTECT it for those who are the ones in real need,” he wrote. “The Country will suffer greatly without this Legislation, with their Taxes going up 65%. It will be blamed...

President Donald Trump on Monday endorsed the Senate-passed budget resolution, saying it will help advance the “one, big, beautiful bill” to cut taxes and secure the border. Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday night, calling on the House — and by extension, every House Republican — to vote to pass the Senate-passed budget resolution: The Budget Plan just passed by the United States Senate has my Complete and Total Endorsement and Support. All of the elements we need to secure the Border, enact Historic Spending Cuts, and make Tax Cuts PERMANENT, and much more, are strongly covered and represented...

Senate Republicans may not be able to pass President Donald Trump’s border security, energy, and tax agenda until July at the earliest due to internal differences, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) reportedly warned. Thune has told fellow Republicans in the Senate that he wants a budget resolution moved forward in the “next work period” before the April recess, but added that the “finished product” is still months out from completion, a source told the Hill. “Thune and others have said they don’t think it’s realistic we’ll move the finished product until the end of July,” another Republican senator said...

President Donald Trump has called for Congress to produce “One Big Beautiful Bill” and pass his legislative agenda. Trump took to Truth Social on Wednesday to push the House and Senate to bundle “all of our priorities” into a single piece of legislation. The bill would be passed through the reconciliation process, which allows the Senate to bypass the critical 60-vote threshold for a simple majority vote instead. The House has shown an inclination toward a single full agenda-encompassing bill, while Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham introduced a budget resolution on border security and energy. This legislation notably omits...

If you spend most of your life driving or taking public transportation from point A to point B, there's nothing quite like breaking from planes, trains, and automobiles and exploring a destination on foot. Doing so allows you to slow down and savor all the sites around you, no parking necessary. With that in mind, we have rounded up 12 of the most beautiful walkable cities around the world (with a few in the U.S.) to inspire your future travel plans. There are certainly many benefits to exploring with your own two feet, and we give all of the cities...