Senate Republicans vote to take up Trump’s tax bill, overcoming resistance in their ranks
Majority Leader John Thune. (Getty Images)
By Jacob Bogage and Theodoric Meyer
Read more at Washington Post
Senate Republicans put megabill on track for likely Monday passage
“Senate Republicans on Saturday took a crucial step toward passing their sweeping domestic policy bill, voting 51-49 to start debate on the legislation.
Two GOP senators — Rand Paul of Kentucky and Thom Tillis of North Carolina — joined Democrats to oppose advancing the cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda. But several others came around after hours of last-ditch negotiations to keep the bill moving forward.
The vote came after a daylong scramble by GOP leaders to win over several Republican senators who were viewed as undecided or had vowed to block debate over their opposition to pieces of the bill — including an extended negotiating session that unfolded with various senators while the vote was underway.
Now the chamber is on track to pass the bill sometime Monday. Democrats are forcing Senate clerks to first read the legislation out loud, which is expected to happen overnight, before a maximum 20 hours of debate plus a marathon series of amendment votes.”
Read the latest at POLITICO
Warning signs emerge for Trump with independent voters
BY JARED GANS
“President Trump is seeing warning signs emerge from independent voters as his approval rating weakens with the key voting bloc.
Trump’s net approval among unaffiliated voters reached its lowest level of his second term on Tuesday, according to an aggregate from Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ), with his disapproval rating surpassing 60 percent for the first time since he took office. This has accompanied a wider decline in his overall approval rating throughout June.”
Read the full story here at The Hill
Senate’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ faces serious headwinds in the House
BY MYCHAEL SCHNELL
“The Senate’s version of the “big, beautiful bill” is facing serious headwinds in the House with The Hill learning that at least six House Republicans are currently a “no” on the framework, a daunting sign for GOP leadership as the Senate races towards a vote.
Those six House Republicans, some of whom requested anonymity, are enough opposition to tank the package, as GOP leaders grapple with a razor-thin majority. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who was one of two GOP lawmakers to oppose the House version of the bill last month, is also likely to oppose the Senate’s edition, deepening the pocket of resistance in the lower chamber.”
Read the full story here at The Hill
Trump’s Policy Bill
“The Senate voted 51-49 to begin debating Trump’s policy bill. It’s still unclear whether Republican leaders can find enough votes to pass the measure and send it back to the House.
The bill would extend Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and add new ones, while slashing spending on safety-net programs like Medicaid. Experts estimate it would add around $3 trillion to the federal debt over the next decade.
The House and Senate versions of the bill differ in important ways. See a comparison.
Instead of explicitly reducing benefits for the poor under the bill, Republicans are making them harder to get and to keep by piling on paperwork.
Weeks after a spat with Trump, Elon Musk criticized the bill again. He called it ‘utterly insane and destructive.’” [New York Times]
Senate removes provision that would sell off public lands from megabill
BY RACHEL FRAZIN
“The Senate removed a controversial provision from its megabill that would have sold off hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who was leading the push on the measure, announced late Saturday that the measure would be stripped from the bill.”
Read the full story here at The Hill
Schumer to force reading of 1,000-page GOP mega bill, delaying it by half a day
BY ALEXANDER BOLTON
“Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) told Democratic senators Saturday that he will force the clerks to read the 1,000-page Republican megabill on the Senate floor once Republicans vote to proceed to the legislation, a procedural act of defiance that will take an estimated 12 hours and delay final passage of President Trump’s agenda by half a day — at least.
Schumer told his caucus to prepare to force a full reading of the bill, according to a Democratic source familiar with the internal discussion over floor strategy.”
Read the full story here at The Hill
“Gov. Tim Walz gave a eulogy at the funeral of the assassinated Minnesota lawmaker, Melissa Hortman, and her husband, Mark. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were there.” [New York Times]
“Catholic bishops across the U.S. are expressing opposition to Trump’s immigration agenda. Some have showed up at courthouses to deter ICE agents.” [New York Times]
New York Mayor’s Race
“One key to Zohran Mamdani’s success in the Democratic primary for mayor New York City: a visually rich social media campaign.
Mamdani drew tens of thousands of new voters to the polls with the help of an army of volunteers and small donors.
After Mamdani’s victory over Andrew Cuomo, The Times’s Emma Goldberg asked: Have Millennials finally figured out how to topple boomer bosses?” [New York Times]
Marjorie Taylor Greene, Tucker Carlson praise Mamdani campaign
BY ASHLEIGH FIELDS
“Political commentator Tucker Carlson and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Friday both praised New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani after his victory in the Democratic primary this week.
‘That guy was the only person in the New York City mayor’s debate to say he wanted to focus on New York City. They were, all the candidates were asked if you could visit a foreign country, what would it be? And they all, of course, all had an answer. I think most said Israel,’ Carlson said during the Friday episode of “The Tucker Carlson Show.”
Read the full story here at The Hill
Inside ICE's superpowers
Photo illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Photos: Adam Gray/Getty Images and Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
“The images of masked, heavily armed immigration agents snatching people off the streets and taking them away in unmarked cars have shocked many Americans — and led to a simple question: Is all of this legal?
It is — at least for now.
Why it matters: Since Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was created after the 9/11 attacks, its agents have operated with vastly more enforcement power, less transparency and fewer guardrails than local police, Axios' Russell Contreras reports.
ICE's rules were designed largely to give the agency broad leeway in helping the FBI identify and arrest domestic terror suspects.
Now the Trump administration is using that power to go after unauthorized immigrants — potentially millions of them — with a frequency and aggressiveness that has sent ripples through communities nationwide.
Zoom in: Under Trump, critics say, ICE has become the closest thing the U.S. has to a secret police force.
ICE agents aren't required to wear body cameras, can cover their faces, don't have to provide badge numbers or identify themselves, can arrive in unmarked cars and don't need a warrant from a judge to detain someone.
They can arrest anyone they suspect of being in the U.S. illegally. Agents can arrest U.S. citizens only if they see them breaking laws, and they aren't supposed to place them in immigration detention units. Even so, a few U.S. citizens have been detained in recent ICE raids because of agents' mistakes or negligence.
What ICE can't do: Agents can't enter a private home unless they have a judicial warrant.
ICE also can't force a local law enforcement agency to join an operation, though police are obligated to keep order if protesters surround an ICE operation.” [Axios]
International
Trump puts thumb on scale for Bibi
President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in the Oval Office on April 7. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
“President Trump is pressuring Israel to halt Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's corruption trial, dangling an implicit threat to suspend military assistance if the ‘witch hunt’ continues.
Why it matters: U.S. presidents have long treated aid to Israel as a sacrosanct, bipartisan commitment. Trump's unprecedented intervention appeared to tie the security of 10 million Israelis to the criminal prosecution of one man, Axios' Barak Ravid reports.
‘It is terrible what they are doing in Israel to Bibi Netanyahu,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social. ‘He is a War Hero, and a Prime Minister who did a fabulous job working with the United States to bring Great Success in getting rid of the dangerous Nuclear threat in Iran.’
Trump claimed Netanyahu is ‘in the process of negotiating a Deal with Hamas, which will include getting the Hostages back,’ and questioned how Israel could force its leader ‘to sit in a Courtroom all day long, over NOTHING.’
He then warned: ‘The United States of America spends Billions of Dollar [sic] a year, far more than on any other Nation, protecting and supporting Israel. We are not going to stand for this.’
The extraordinary statement was widely interpreted as an effort to leverage U.S. military assistance to pressure Israel to cancel the trial.
Reality check: The negotiations between Israel and Hamas remain stalled — in part because Netanyahu refuses to commit to ending the war in Gaza.
Iran, meanwhile, has yet to indicate it's ready for direct talks with the U.S. It's unclear how Netanyahu's trial would meaningfully interfere with either track.
Catch up quick: Netanyahu is standing trial for charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three separate cases.
He's accused of accepting more than $200,000 in gifts from wealthy businessmen, and of granting regulatory benefits worth hundreds of millions of dollars to a telecom tycoon in exchange for favorable news coverage.
The trial has stretched on for four years, in part due to Netanyahu's repeated legal delay tactics. The former head of Israel's Shin Bet has accused the prime minister of trying to use executive powers to stall the case.
Behind the scenes: A White House official told Axios that Trump's first post on Wednesday — written aboard Air Force One — was prompted by a news article he read on his way back to Washington from the NATO summit in The Hague.
‘The president read in the article that Bibi has to be in court on Monday and thought it's crazy,’ the official said. ‘He identified with what Bibi is going through and decided to write something about it.’” [Axios]
“The Israeli military issued broad evacuation orders for neighborhoods of Gaza City, amid growing calls by Trump for a cease-fire deal.
Iran’s leaders are at odds over how to address the crisis brought on by the 12-day war with Israel and the U.S., Roger Cohen writes.
McDonald’s thrives in Ukraine, a testament to the country’s rebounding economy.
Two assassins killed a Nicaraguan human rights activist in Costa Rica, increasing suspicions that Nicaragua’s government is targeting its enemies on foreign soil.” [New York Times]
THE WEEK IN CULTURE
Television
FX
“The award-winning FX drama “The Bear” is back for Season 4. If you haven’t binged it yet, here’s a primer; if you have, here is our recap of the season.
“Squid Game” has also returned, for what is probably its final round. Read the review.
Shane Gillis endured quasi-cancellation to become one of the biggest stand-up comedians working today. With his Netflix sitcom, “Tires,” he’s trying to map a leap to the mainstream.
Film
“M3gan,” a horror movie about a killer robotic doll, became an instant camp classic. Its sequel has just as much silliness — but also some serious (and smart) things to say about A.I.
Denis Villeneuve, the director behind the “Dune” series, will direct the next James Bond film.
In a new documentary, the actress Mariska Hargitay sets out to learn about her mother, the Hollywood legend Jayne Mansfield, through intimate conversations with her siblings.
Music
Rhian Teasdale of Wet Leg. Meghan Marin for The New York Times
Wet Leg, a British indie rock band, blew up overnight with witty, sharp-edged songs. Now they’re ready for stardom.
Dr. Demento is retiring after more than 50 years on the radio. He introduced listeners to countless novelty and parody artists, including Allan Sherman, Stan Freberg and Weird Al Yankovic.
Mick Ralphs, a guitarist and songwriter behind two formative bands of the 1970s, Mott the Hoople and Bad Company, died at 81.
Art & Design
From monumental reopenings — an expanded Frick Collection and the Met’s Rockefeller wing — to solo showcases like “Amy Sherald: American Sublime,” these are our critics’ favorite art shows of 2025.
The Getty Villa, which narrowly escaped the flames of the Los Angeles fires, has reopened its doors. The museum purposely left the charred stumps around its property as a reminder of what happened.” [New York Times]
Mother and daughter.
“In the 1970s, when courts tended to deny custody to lesbian mothers, an underground network helped them seize back their children.
Jurors in the federal trial of Sean Combs are set to begin deliberating tomorrow. Here are takeaways from the closing arguments.” [New York Times]
