The Battle of the Budge

“New tax cuts. Massive spending on border security. Cuts to social safety net programs. Pullbacks on investments to fight climate change. New limits on student loans. If it becomes law, President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans’ massive bill will reshape much of the federal government — and the U.S. economy.” The House passed Trump’s spending bill by a single vote in the middle of the night. We’ll see how the Senate reacts to some of the provisions. For now, from WaPo (Gift Article): What’s in Trump and Republicans’ giant tax and immigration bill? And from NPR: Here’s what’s in the GOP megabill that’s just passed the House.

+ The Atlantic (Gift Article): “House Republicans worked through the night to advance a massive piece of legislation that might, if enacted, carry out the largest upward transfer of wealth in American history. That is not a side effect of the legislation, but its central purpose. The ‘big, beautiful bill’ would pair huge cuts to food assistance and health insurance for low-income Americans with even larger tax cuts for affluent ones.”

+ These bills always have small, unrelated items that are slipped into the tomes. Sometimes, those small, unrelated items are a really, really big deal. Robert Reich on how this spending bill actually prevents courts from holding the Trump administration in contempt when they refuse to follow rulings (a habit for which they’ve shown an enthusiastic proclivity). The hidden provision in the Big Ugly Bill that makes Trump king.

+ ‘Trump accounts’ for newborns passed the House. Here’s why financial experts don’t like them. (I wonder if newborns can invest their Trump Account money into meme coins in exchange for being able to drink formula at Mar-a-Lago with the president?)

+ One thing you don’t need to worry about in the new budget is pennies. The U.S. will soon mint its last penny. (Don’t worry, there are still more than 114 billion pennies currently in circulation.)