The Senate parliamentarian has advised that a Medicaid provider tax overhaul central to President Donald Trump’s tax cut and spending bill doesn’t adhere to the chamber’s procedural rules, delivering a crucial blow as Republicans rush to finish the package this week. Republicans were counting on big cuts to Medicaid and other programs to offset trillions of dollars in Trump tax breaks, their top priority.
The attention falling on Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough’s ruling reflects a broader change in Congress: Lawmakers are increasingly trying to wedge top policy priorities into bills that can’t be filibustered. That process comes with special rules designed to deter provisions unrelated to spending or taxes, and that’s where the parliamentarian comes in, offering analysis of what does and doesn’t qualify.
Trump wants the legislation, which includes tax reductions, Medicaid cuts, and border enforcement, passed by July 4.
Here’s the latest:
Trump says US has signed a deal with China on trade, without giving details
And Trump said he expects to soon have a deal with India.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Bloomberg TV the deal was signed earlier this week. Neither Lutnick nor Trump provided any details about the agreement.
“We just signed with China the other day,” Trump said late Thursday.
Lutnick said the deal was “signed and sealed” two days earlier.
It was unclear if the latest agreement was different from the one Trump announced two weeks earlier that he said would make it easier for American industries to obtain much-needed needed magnets and rare earth minerals. That pact cleared the way for the trade talks to continue, while the U.S. agreed to stop trying to revoke visas of Chinese nationals on U.S. college campuses.
China’s Commerce Ministry said Friday the two sides had “further confirmed the details of the framework.” But its statement didn’t explicitly mention U.S. access to rare earths.
▶ Read more about trade between the U.S. and China
A key inflation move higher in May while Americans cut back on their spending
It’s the latest sign that prices remain stubbornly elevated.
Prices rose 2.3% in May compared with a year ago, up from just 2.1% in April, the Commerce Department said Friday. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 2.7% from a year earlier, an increase from 2.5% the previous month. Both figures are modestly above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.
At the same time, Americans cut back on spending for the first time since January, as overall spending fell 0.1%.
The inflation figures suggest President Trump’s broad-based tariffsare still having only a modest effect on prices. The costs of some goods, such as toys and sporting goods, have risen, but those increases have been partly offset by falling prices for new cars, airline fares, and apartment rentals, among other items.
▶ Read more about consumer spending
Pardon applications are being crafted with one man in mind: Donald Trump
The White House and the Justice Department have received a wave of clemency requests — all carefully crafted to capture the attention and fancy of Trump or those who know his inclinations.
The flurry, legal experts said, has been sparked by Trump’s frequent and eyebrow-raising grants of clemency since retaking office in January. The Republican president has pardoned and commuted the sentences of more than 1,600 people, including many political allies, former GOP officeholders and hundreds charged or convicted in the 2021 Capitol riot. He even pardoned a pair of reality TV stars who were serving time for bank fraud and tax evasion.
In doing so, Trump has largely cast aside a process that historically has been overseen by nonpolitical personnel at the Justice Department who spent their days poring over clemency applications.
▶ Read more about pardon applications to Trump
Trump’s schedule, according to the White House
11 a.m. — Trump receives an intelligence briefing in the Oval Office
3 p.m. — Trump will meet with foreign ministers from Congo and Rwanda in the Oval Office
