Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed reporting of a highly publicized clash between himself and Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte last year, although he said that such confrontations happen when working on a team. During a Wednesday hearing before the Senate Finance Committee to testify on President Donald Trump’s proposed budget, Bessent faced questions […]
After widespread bipartisan outcry, the Justice Department says it is permanently abandoning plans for a $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund. Widely branded as a “slush fund,” it was expected to reward President Donald Trump’s supporters, including those who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The fund was announced in May as part of a settlement in Trump’s personal lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax data. That case was recently reopened, after dozens of former federal judges filed a motion alleging that Trump’s actions were “collusive.” As Nancy Gertner, one of the judges who joined the motion, explains, “What happened in this case was, essentially, Trump was suing himself. There was no question that Trump was on both sides of the 'v.'” Gertner and her fellow judges are represented by attorney Matt Platkin, who says, “It is illegal for the president to ask for any IRS audit to be opened or closed. That is a federal crime.”
A new rule explaining how states need to implement Medicaid work requirements may make it much harder for low-income sick people to maintain health coverage next year. The long-anticipated rule issued Monday is meant to guide 42 states and the District of Columbia in carrying out the work rules implemented by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. GOP lawmakers and…
President Donald Trump received immediate backlash Tuesday over his pick to replace outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard – and just hours later, the nominee may already be in trouble after a GOP senator ousted by Trump last week voiced concerns, according to one Senate reporter.Trump’s nominee was Bill Pulte, currently the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Pulte has no prior intelligence or national security experience, and his nomination was immediately scrutinized by liberal and conservative critics alike.Pulte will need to be confirmed as National Intelligence director by the Senate, but according to NOTUS Senate reporter Igor Bobic, one GOP senator – Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who lost his primary election last week to his Trump-backed opponent — is already skeptical.“YOLO watch,” Bobic wrote in a social media post on X, referencing the abbreviation for the slang term “you only live once.” “Cornyn says he doesn’t believe Bill Pulte is qualified to serve [as National Intelligence director]. And he says he has ‘serious concerns’ with the reconciliation bill.”Cornyn is just one of several outgoing GOP lawmakers who, after either resigning or losing their re-election bid due in part to Trump’s interference or threats of interference, may feel less compelled to go along with the president’s agenda.YOLO watchCornyn says he doesn’t believe Bill Pulte is qualified to serve at DNIAnd he says he has “serious concerns” with the reconciliation bill— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) June 2, 2026
Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), will lead the White House press briefing on Tuesday afternoon. Oz’s turn at the podium comes a day after the Trump administration issued a final rule requiring most Medicaid beneficiaries ages 19-64 to provide proof they are working, complete community service or…
The number of young children without health insurance in the US rose sharply between 2022 and 2024 and is set to continue surging as the Trump administration implements work reporting requirements and other changes expected to kick millions—adults and kids—off Medicaid.A report published Monday by the Center for Children and Families (CCF) at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy found that nearly 220,000 additional children under the age of six were uninsured in 2024, a 23% increase from 2022. During that period, the total share of young children without health insurance rose to 5.3%—the highest rate in almost a decade.The new report argues the rising uninsured rate among young children is “at least in part” attributable to the unwinding of pandemic-era protections that allowed people to remain on Medicaid without undergoing routine eligibility checks. The analysis found that Texas, Florida, and Georgia accounted for more than half of the increase in young children without insurance between 2022 and 2024.Elisabeth Wright Burak and Aubrianna Osorio, researchers at CCF, wrote that “these data provide a major warning sign for what’s to come, as states grapple with the onslaught of Medicaid cuts from [the 2025 Republican budget law] and new coverage restrictions.”“One in 4 children in the US have at least one parent who was born abroad,” the researchers wrote. “For these children, the vast majority of whom are citizens, harsh anti-immigration policies and rhetoric are already leading to missed doctor appointments, on top of the ongoing fear, uncertainty, and overall stress that can compromise healthy development of young children. Fears of safety and separation have made more parents afraid to enroll their eligible, citizen children in programs like Medicaid and [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program], exposing children and families to additional financial risk and food insecurity.”“Many more parents of young children enrolled in Medicaid themselves will be at higher risk of losing coverage as work reporting requirements and added red tape come along in 2027,” they added. “We know as parents lose coverage, their children are also at grave risk of losing access to health care through the ‘unwelcome mat’ effect.”CCF’s report came as the Trump administration rolled out a new rule that will dictate how states implement Medicaid work reporting requirements included in the 2025 Republican budget law, which contains around $900 billion in cuts to Medicaid over the next decade.Advocates warned the rule will result in millions of people, including many children, losing coverage by creating onerous bureaucratic barriers to obtaining and keeping Medicaid coverage. CCF estimated last week that, as of April 2026, roughly 2 million fewer children were enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program compared to January 2025, the start of President Donald Trump’s second White House term.“This is terrible news because when child enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP goes down, the child uninsured rate goes up,” wrote Joan Alker, CCF’s executive director. “And the child uninsured rate was already going up when President Trump took office, yet we have heard nothing about this from them. Federal officials should be scrambling to figure out the root cause of this coverage loss for children as income eligibility levels did not change and the unemployment rate has been inching upward since President Trump took office.”
California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton this week promised he would investigate Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) for fraud if he wins his Republican bid to become the Golden State’s next leader. Hilton is one of three candidates viewed as the top contenders heading into Tuesday’s nonpartisan primary. Two Democrats, former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier […]
Texas is helping the Trump administration keep non-English speakers from driving commercial vehicles with new standards, the state announced Monday. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) will […]
