THE BIG VOTE: Happy Fourth!

  The House of representatives yesterday by a margin of only four votes passed President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” the 940-page tax, spending, and policy bill that Republican leaders hope will transform America and its economy. … into what, remains to be seen. In the 218-214 vote, two Republicans joined the unified Democrats in voting “no.”

  The action meets President Trump’s deadline for making a Fourth of July show of signing it.

  The bill extends Trump’s first-term tax cuts that were scheduled to expire at the end of the year while adding new ones, including no tax on tips and overtime pay, while adding $4.5 trillion to federal spending. The bill increases spending for defense and border security and bill cuts nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid, and reduces food assistance for the poor as well as other government aid. It phases out clean-energy tax credits.

  Speaking in Iowa, President Trump said that, “With this bill every major promise I’ve made to the people of Iowa in 2024 became a promise kept.” One of his promises had been no cuts to Medicaid or Medicare in the bill, although the reality according to the Congressional Budget Office is that close to 12 million people will lose all or part of their medical coverage in the next few years. 

  In a politicization of a major agency, the Social Security Administration sent out a message praising the Big, Beautiful Bill, calling it “a landmark piece of legislation that delivers long-awaited tax relief to millions of older Americans.” The statement claims that, “nearly 90% of Social Security beneficiaries will no longer pay federal income taxes on their benefits.”

  Before the bill was passed, Rep. Seth Magaziner of Rhode Island said, “Our Republican colleagues are pushing a bill that would throw their constituents under the bus, a bill that flies in the face of everything they claim to stand for, all because Donald Trump wants a bill signing photo-op by the Fourth of July.”

 Starting at 5am yesterday, House minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, spoke in objection for nearly nine hours. Among the things he said:  “Budgets are moral documents, and in our view, Mr. Speaker, budgets should be designed to lift people up. This reckless Republican budget that we are debating right now on the floor of the House of Representatives tears people down. This reckless Republican budget is an amoral document, and everybody should vote no against it because of how it attacks children and seniors and everyday Americans and people with disabilities.”  

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE: 

— The federal Environmental Protection Agency yesterday put 144 employees on leave for signing a letter with their job titles accusing the Trump administration of politicizing the agency.

  “The Environmental Protection Agency has a zero-tolerance policy for career bureaucrats unlawfully undermining, sabotaging and undercutting the administration’s agenda as voted for by the great people of this country last November,”  EPA press secretary, Brigit Hirsch, wrote in an email to The NY Times.

  The employee letter  had expressed concern that the agency is making decisions based on a political agenda rather than science and the law.

— Attorney General Pam Bondi sent out a letter to major tech companies claiming that Donald Trump has the power to nullify laws he believes are getting in the way of his better judgement. The letter is in regard to Trump allowing the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok to keep operating despite the law passed by Congress requiring that it be shut down or sold.

— President Trump rules by boldface lie. Yesterday he posted the following on his Truth Social feed: “We brought the price of Eggs back to what they were supposed to be. When I took over on January 20th, the Fake News was screaming that, ‘Egg prices have gone through the roof, quadrupled,’ they said. Now they’re plentiful, and inexpensive. ‘Thank you President Trump!’”

  The average price of eggs was $1.46 in January of 2021 when Joe Biden took office. Prices rocketed in particular because of bird flu decimating chicken flocks. Eggs peaked at $6.22 under President Trump and are now an average of $4.54.

THE OBIT PAGE: Actor Michael Madsen, a dramatic actor who appeared in several of the Quentin Tarantino’s films, including “Reservoir Dogs,” “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood,” and the “Kill Bill” films, was found dead of apparent cardiac arrest in Malibu. He was 67.

  Madsen had strong tough-guy features. He played Mr. Blonde in the violent “Reservoir Dogs.”  The NY Times said he had a  “knack for demented villains.”

  Madsen had troubles in later life with drugs, alcohol, and domestic violence. His son Hudson died by suicide in 2022.

  “Fame is not what it’s cracked up to be,” Madsen told The Independent in 2020. “I’m not complaining, because I’ve had a great life. But it can wreak havoc on you if you’re not protected.”

THE SPIN RACK: Russia launched a record 539 drones as well as 11 cruise and ballistic missiles at Ukraine following a phone call between President Trump and Vladimir Putin. Ukraine says it intercepted 476 of the drones, 60 of them with their new interceptor drones. — The University of Pennsylvania this week apologized to female swimmers on their 2021-2022 team who had to share their locker room with the transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, who still had male equipment. The university also voided also any school records broken by Thomas, who became the first transgender athlete to win a division 1 NCAA title. The action came in part as the result of campaigning by swimmers Paula Scanlan and Riley Gaines. 

BELOW THE FOLD:  President Trump declared on his Truth Social that “As President of the United States, I am proclaiming here and now that America is NEVER going Communist in any way, shape, form — and that includes New York City.”

  Rest easy, America.

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