The real-life consequences of these foreign policy decisions are cruel, devastating and shortsighted.
Senate Republicans removed $1 billion in Secret Service security funding for the White House and President Donald Trump’s yet-to-be-built East Wing ballroom from the party’s immigration enforcement bill, according to new legislative text released Wednesday. The move was in response to Republican opposition over the optics of taxpayers footing the $220 million bill for ballroom […]
While appearing before the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent struggled and failed to justify a recent assertion by his boss, President Donald Trump, leading to a tense back and forth. The exchange began when Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) asked Bessent about Trump’s recent assertion that he doesn’t “think about Americans’ financial situation” when considering his conduct regarding the war with Iran. The president made this statement in mid-May — which he later defended as “perfect” — prompting outrage from Americans struggling with rising prices. When asked about the comments on Wednesday, Bessent attempted to dodge, saying, “I believe his remarks were taken out of context.”But Hassan would not be dissuaded so easily, saying, “Here's what he said. He said, quote, ‘I don't think about Americans' financial situation. I don't think about anybody.’ So I'm asking you… Do you think about how the American people are paying more for gas, groceries, and utilities since the president clearly said he didn't? And you speak with the president regularly. Are you trying to tell him the truth about how much costs have increased for the American people?”“Well, senator,” Bessent argued, “I'm going to have to disagree with you on some of that, because I have groceries are going down. Since President Trump took office, food prices — or as many people like to call them, ‘groceries’ — food at home in the statistical data is up 2.5 percent.”“When's the last time you were in a grocery store?” Hassan asked. “Because my husband and I were just in one, and look: the average Granite Stater has paid $3,000 more since Donald Trump took office for basic goods and services. Meanwhile, the country lost 100,000 manufacturing jobs in 2025. So do you tell the president this information or not?”“Again, senator,” Bessent stammered, “The… except for inflation, which is, I believe, going to be a short-term blip, the economic data is very strong. The jobs data has been very strong. The manufacturing has been very strong.”“No, actually that's incorrect,” asserted Hassan. “So let's move on, because what is very clear to me is that neither you nor the president nor this administration are willing to acknowledge how much more people are paying at the gas pump, at the grocery store, in utilities, for health care, for all aspects of American life.”Try as he might, Bessent could not squirm past hard numbers. Hassan is right. When Trump made the controversial statement, the war had been going on for over two months, over the course of which the price of gas rose by roughly 50 percent. The latest numbers show that Americans have spent an extra $500 per household on gas alone since the war began, with Fortune reporting that the war has put a $100 billion burden on taxpayers overall, and prices are not expected to ease for months to come. What’s more, since Trump returned to office, the U.S. has lost between 80,000 and 110,000 manufacturing jobs, while healthcare premiums and other costs have increased precipitously.
Voters in half a dozen states on Tuesday cast primary ballots in races that could determine control of Congress this fall, with the marquee primaries for California governor and Los Angeles mayor still up in the air. In Iowa, voters set the stage for a critical Senate race, while the governor’s race saw the winning…
Senate Republicans removed funding for security upgrades to President Trump's White House ballroom from their immigration package after the provision threatened the entire legislative effort, according to revised text released WednesdayThe Senate parliamentarian had determined the ballroom language violated specific budgetary requirements, which would have allowed Democrats to filibuster the bill and block $70 billion in ICE and border patrol funding, and Senate GOP leaders acknowledged the provision was procedurally problematic and politically risky, reported CNN.Some Republican senators also expressed concern that allocating funds for the ballroom while Americans faced cost-of-living pressures ahead of midterm elections would project an out-of-touch image.The original Senate GOP text included nearly $1 billion for "security adjustments and upgrades" to the White House ballroom and related security measures following the spring assassination attempt against Trump.Administration officials attempted to clarify that approximately $200 million would fund the East Wing project, with remaining funds directed toward other security initiatives.The revised bill now proceeds without the controversial ballroom security provision.
President Trump said Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio should split a ticket, without mentioning who should be at the top.
Normalization of diplomatic and commercial relations between the US and Russia has stalled – but it’s not dead. The post Russian Foreign Ministry Says Moscow and Washington Avoided ‘Fatal Breakdown’ in Relations With Secret Talks Last Week appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Rubio, in back-to-back hearings before a House and Senate panel on Tuesday, faced Democrats’ ire.
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calf.) hammered Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he appeared in a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Tuesday over questions about President Donald Trump's fitness for office. Rubio's reactions led Lieu to claim he was lying under oath. Lieu showed the footage of the December Cabinet meeting in which Trump appeared to doze off next to Rubio. "Oh my God," Rubio could be heard saying.Lieu asked whether Rubio had "been at more than one meeting where President Trump was asleep.""That's false," Rubio said. "That's false. I've never seen him fall asleep. On the contrary, the guy doesn't sleep, which is a big problem because he calls me at two in the morning. He calls me at five in the morning. And, you know, I like to sleep a little bit. You know, not 12 hours, but at least six."Trump's insomnia was addressed by CNN medical expert Dr. Jonathan Reiner. Reiner said that chronic insomnia can be “a severe illness," in large part because it can add "about 3-1/2 years to one’s age and [contribute] to a decline in mental functions.""Secretary Rubio, I'm going to show you in a moment that you just lied to Congress," Lieu cut in."Oh, ok," Rubio said. "This is a Cabinet meeting from last month where Donald Trump is sleeping while you are talking. Please show this video," Lieu said. "You are literally talking about issues of war and peace, and Donald Trump is sleeping right next to you."Rubio denied it again. Trump's disappearance from public view is raising questions, as he hasn't held any events or press conferences in about a week. Trump did speak to the New York Post on Tuesday in a interview that revealed a new medical malady."If Donald Trump cannot stay awake at these important meetings where the cameras are rolling, can you imagine what he is like when the cameras are not there? Have you been at classified meanings were Donald Trump has fallen asleep?" the congressman asked. Rubio replied again that he'd never been in any meeting in which Trump fell asleep. "So, you are lying again? Lying consistently to Congress," Lieu responded.He went on to say that Trump's drowsiness "caused other countries to perceive him differently." He claimed that Trump is mocked as "weak and feeble."Lieu then showed a clip from the French News in which Trump appears to fall asleep at a Memorial Day ceremony last month. His eyes appeared to be closed for a large portion of the ceremony. "There's something wrong with his cognitive acts, and the fact that on a number of occasions Donald Trump will contradict himself and literally — in literally the same meeting or interview," Lieu continued. He showed another clip in which Trump "says the Iranian military is both destroyed and not destroyed at the same time."Lieu closed by praising Rubio, saying that he's done a lot to travel around the world and trying to clean up the "mess that was left to you."