President Donald Trump speaks at an event to promote his domestic policy and budget agenda in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, June 26, 2025, in Washington.
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:
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.
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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.
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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
