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GOP megabill would add $2.4 trillion to deficit: CBO Senate GOP and Trump talk SALT, Medicare Transgender troops face Friday exit deadline Putin tells Trump Russia will hit back at UkraineThe nation’s rising debt, barely more than a talking point in the Capitol in recent years, suddenly poses an ominous risk to President Trump’s sprawling legislative agenda.
Republican debate in Washington about deficits, debt and lower taxes took a new turn on Wednesday after the Congressional Budget Office released its finding that the mammoth House bill backed by Trump and now pending in the Senate would add $2.4 trillion to the national debt over a decade.
Some Senate Republicans insist they cannot support a bill that explodes the debt, which currently totals nearly $37 trillion. Others balk at spending reductions that impact Medicaid and food assistance for the poor to pay for GOP-favored tax cuts. Such legislation, if enacted, would raise annual deficits and pile up levels of debt that, on paper, at least, swallow America’s economic output and drag down the economy, according to fiscal hawks and Wall Street investors.
Nonpartisan budget experts, examining the House-passed version of Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” have yet to gauge what the Senate has in mind for its own version of legislation this summer.
Some Republicans are trying to discredit economists and budget experts who warn that Trump’s agenda would inflate the debt by trillions of dollars over nine or 10 years, while others are rattled by the potential election risks of failure to deliver a measure Trump can sign.
Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) told reporters as he departed a White House meeting among Trump and GOP leaders on Wednesday that assertions the bill would increase deficits are “absolutely wrong.”
The self-imposed Senate legislative deadline is a month away, on July 4, and the clamor to cut federal spending more deeply to trim the long-term budgetary costs of tax cuts shifted lawmakers’ conversation on Wednesday to Medicare, a program Trump promised voters he would not touch. “I won’t do it,” he told NBC’s “Meet the Press” in December.
Some Senate Republicans make a distinction between cutting benefit payments and what they call Medicare “waste, fraud and abuse.”
Complicating the endeavor is a GOP plan to use a budget reconciliation procedure that relies solely on Republican votes to simultaneously allow up to $4 trillion in borrowing to cover existing U.S. obligations.
The Treasury Department wants Congress to raise the debt limit before August or September, but Trump on Wednesday called for the statutory limit to be abolished altogether, throwing in with progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who also wants to revoke it. The president’s newest debt ceiling argument: “It is too devastating to be put in the hands of political people that may want to use it despite the horrendous effect.”
SMART TAKE with NewsNation’s BLAKE BURMAN:
With the focus on the White House’s tariff talks with China, you might have missed an issue between the two countries that’s playing out in our backyards — U.S. land owned by citizens of our adversaries.
The Texas Legislature just passed a bill that would prevent Texas land sales to people from certain countries. Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham told me the state took up the issue when a Chinese official purchased property too close to a U.S. military site.
“We realized that that was really a mechanism for destabilizing our grid, causing problems for our bases,” Buckingham told me.
Think this concern is bipartisan? Not necessarily. A couple states away in Arizona, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs just rejected a similar bill. While we watch President Trump deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping, this is a reminder that issues involving China rest in the states, as well.
Burman hosts “The Hill” weeknights, 6p/5c on NewsNation.
3 THINGS TO KNOW TODAY:
▪ Individuals from a dozen targeted countries in the Middle East and Africa are banned from traveling into the U.S. beginning Monday, Trump announced, citing national security concerns amid his immigration crackdown. Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen were listed in Wednesday’s order. Travelers from seven other nations face restrictions. The Supreme Court in 2018 upheld an amended Trump travel ban.
▪ The administration is considering a premium service fee of $1,000 to fast-track tourist and nonimmigrant visas to jump to the head of the line. The hitch? Supreme Court precedent.
▪ The Trump administration returned a Guatemalan migrant to the U.S. who was wrongly flown to Mexico. And separately, deported Venezuelan migrants held in a Salvadoran megaprison must be allowed to contest U.S. assertions they are gang members, a U.S. federal judge ruled on Wednesday.
LEADING THE DAY
© Associated Press | J. Scott Applewhite
MEDICAID CUTS: Senate Republicans on Wednesday discussed the need to cut out “waste, fraud and abuse” in Medicare to achieve more deficit reduction in Trump’s landmark bill to extend the 2017 tax cuts, provide new tax relief, secure the border and boost defense spending.
The House-passed bill would cut more than $800 billion from Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, but some GOP lawmakers argue that other mandatory spending programs, such as Medicare, should also be reviewed for “waste” to further reduce the cost of the bill.
“There’s a legitimate debate about, ‘Can we do more with Medicaid? Are we doing too much with Medicaid? How much waste, fraud and abuse is there in Medicare? Why don’t we go after that?’ I think we should,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said after meeting with colleagues to discuss changes to the House-passed bill. “Some people are afraid of the topics. I’m not. In my view, this is our moment as Republicans in control of all three branches and we ought to be going after more fiscal responsibility.”
Talk of cuts comes after Trump campaigned that he would not “cut one penny” from Medicare, which currently benefits 68.2 million people 65 and older, but the White House has tried to argue that going after “waste, fraud and abuse” is not the same as cutting benefits.
Members of the Senate Finance Committee — including Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) — met with Trump at the White House on Wednesday to discuss the budget bill. Thune said his colleagues are moving “in the same direction” and agree “failure is not an option.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), a harsh critic of the bill, said Wednesday that the legislation needs to be overhauled and won’t get through the Senate by Trump’s July 4 deadline.
“It won’t happen,” Johnson said of Trump’s goal.
SALT: Senate Republicans held a special conference meeting this afternoon to hash out their disagreements over Trump's “big, beautiful bill.” Senate conservatives, led by Johnson, will use the session as an opportunity to demand deeper spending cuts. The big problem, however, is that they have yet to agree on what deficit reduction measures need to be added.
An obvious target is the deal the Speaker struck with blue state Republicans to raise the state and local tax deduction, or SALT, cap. The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports there's growing momentum in the Senate GOP conference to roll Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and other members of the SALT Caucus.
The Hill: House Republicans warn Senate not to touch the SALT deal.
MUSK’S DIGS: Republicans perceive a threat as they push Trump's megabill: Musk — who contributed hundreds of millions of dollars in 2024 to bolster GOP political fortunes — is now a prominent critic of the president’s centerpiece second-term legislation. The tensions press Republican lawmakers to toggle between Trump’s instructions and debt-focused critiques of the endeavor by the world's richest man, who claims his own public following.
Musk, who recently departed the administration with Trump’s good wishes, rubbed a number of senior administration officials the wrong way with his criticism of the bill, which he dubbed an “abomination.”
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Wednesday that Trump is “not delighted” with Musk’s shift to oppose the megabill.
“He’s not delighted that Elon did a 180 on that,” Johnson said.
The Wall Street Journal: Musk’s attacks on Trump’s tax bill are fraying his relationship with the president.
WHERE AND WHEN
The House will convene at 10 a.m. The Senate today will meet at 10 a.m. The president will welcome German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to the White House at 11:30 a.m. before the two hold a bilateral meeting at 11:45 p.m., and a working lunch at 12:15 p.m. Here’s what to watch. Trump at 4 p.m. will convene a roundtable in the State Dining Room with members of the Fraternal Order of Police.ZOOM IN
© Associated Press | Carolyn Kaster
TRANSGENDER TROOPS: Transgender active-duty service members must decide whether to leave the military on their own or be forced out by June 6 under a Pentagon policy announced last month by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a life-altering decision that trans troops interviewed by The Hill’s Brooke Migdon said felt nearly impossible to make.
“It’s crushing,” said Cmdr. Emily Shilling, who has served in the Navy for almost two decades. “It’s heartbreaking.”
CBS News: This Army document outlines plans for expelling transgender troops from the military.
MALE VOTERS: Democrats are increasingly frustrated by their party's approach to luring back men who supported Trump in November's election. In more than a dozen interviews with The Hill’s Amie Parnes, Democrats griped that while it's still early, they have been underwhelmed by the initial efforts of their party to understand what went wrong and how they can rebuild.
“We have to refocus the party on what it once was and the reason I joined it 30 years ago which was because it was the party of the working class and working families," said Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha, who served as a senior adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) during his 2020 presidential campaign. "When you're not talking about the working family, you're never going to get these men back."
?HIGHER ED: The Education Department on Wednesday said Columbia University in New York appears to have failed to meet an accreditation standard by violating federal antidiscrimination law, which puts it at risk of losing federal student loans and Pell Grants. The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights and the Department of Health and Human Services's (HHS) Office for Civil Rights "determined that Columbia University acted with deliberate indifference towards the harassment of Jewish students, thereby violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964," according to a department statement.
The university in April conceded to a $400 million deal with the administration to try to dodge additional discord focused on last year’s student protests on campus about the war in Gaza, described by the administration as antisemitic.
? HARVARD: Trump wants to prevent Harvard University’s international students from entering the country, he said in a Wednesday proclamation. Trump urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to consider revoking current visas for Harvard’s international students, who make up nearly a quarter of enrollment.
Stay or go? Trump has aggressively sought to punish Harvard after it publicly refused several of his administration’s demands, with the White House targeting the school’s federal funding and launching a slew of investigations, writes The Hill’s Lexi Lonas Cochran. Two students interviewed by The Hill say Harvard should do more to make international scholars feel safe on campus, pointing out that some of those involved have gotten crucial information from the media or court filings instead of from administration communication.
? HHS TURNSTILE: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lost the co-leader of a working group on Tuesday when pediatric infectious disease expert Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos resigned as co-leader that advises outside experts on COVID-19 vaccines. Her departure from the agency came a week after HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a long-time vaccine skeptic, said the COVID vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women had been removed from the CDC's recommended immunization schedule.
?Health research grants cancellation tracker: The New York Times compiled a list of the thousands of research grants ended or delayed by the Trump administration to date, actions that erased $1.6 billion in support for research on Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, substance abuse and many other diseases and conditions. The changes impact public institutions across the country, including in red states that backed Trump in the 2024 election.
ELSEWHERE
© Associated Press | Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik
UKRAINE: Trump said Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to retaliate against Kyiv for drone strikes that targeted Moscow’s strategic bomber fleet. Following a call with Putin, Trump said on social media that the two leaders had a good conversation, “but not a conversation that will lead to immediate Peace. President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields.”
The call comes as Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traded accusations just days after heavy strikes by both sides — as well as a second round of peace talks on Monday, during which a truce remained far out of reach.
Ukraine’s audacious drone attack on Russian warplanes has shown Kyiv has a few cards up its sleeve to combat Moscow’s aggression, even as Trump pressures hard concessions to achieve a ceasefire. But it’s not yet clear whether Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb achieved new leverage with Trump, who views the country as on the brink of defeat.
▪ The Wall Street Journal: The U.S. is redirecting critical antidrone technology from Ukraine to U.S. forces.
▪ NBC News: Satellite images of destroyed and damaged military aircraft on Russian bases have provided fresh detail into Ukraine’s unprecedented drone attack.
▪ The Washington Post: A drone strike devastated Russia’s air force. The U.S. is vulnerable to unconventional, asymmetric warfare, too.
GAZA: The Israeli military announced roads leading to Gaza’s aid distribution centers were considered “combat zones” Wednesday, shortly after the controversial organization tasked with running the sites announced they would close for the day.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military launched strikes on weapons belonging to the Syrian government in southern Syria, hours after two projectiles were fired from Syria into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
▪ NBC News: Israeli forces have recovered the bodies of two hostages with dual Israeli-U.S. citizenship, Judith Weinstein-Haggai and Gad Haggai.
▪ CNN: The U.S. on Wednesday vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate and permanent Gaza ceasefire because it was not linked to the release of hostages or disarming Hamas.
▪ Reuters: What could happen if Israel's parliament votes on dissolution next week?
OPINION
■ A $4.5 trillion tax increase, or not? by The Wall Street Journal editorial board.
■ The GOP budget courts disaster, and for what? by Mark Mellman, opinion contributor, The Hill.
THE CLOSER
© Associated Press | Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Maxwell Orlosky, U.S. Navy
Take Our Morning Report Quiz
And finally … It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for this week’s Morning Report Quiz! Alert to the Pentagon’s proposal to change the names of some Navy ships, we’re eager for some smart guesses about White House renaming policies.
Be sure to email your responses to asimendinger@thehill.com and kkarisch@thehill.com — please add “Quiz” to your subject line. Winners who submit correct answers will enjoy some richly deserved newsletter fame on Friday.
Hegseth ordered one Navy ship to be renamed, and the Pentagon is “considering renaming multiple naval ships named after civil rights leaders and prominent American voices.” Which ships are on the lists?
USNS Harvey Milk USNS Harriet Tubman USNS Cesar Chavez All of the aboveTrump made waves in the first few days of his second term when he renamed which body of water the Gulf of America?
Gulf of Mexico Persian Gulf Gulf of California Gulf of AlaskaTrump wants North America’s tallest peak, Denali, to revert to its prior name, which honored what president?
John Tyler Abraham Lincoln William McKinley Lyndon B. JohnsonTrump proposed — and then the White House said the suggestion was abandoned — renaming Veterans Day, observed on Nov. 11, as what?
Trump Day Freedom Day Armed Forces Day Victory Day for World War IStay Engaged
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