Today in Politics, Bulletin 136. 5/22/25

… DHS Sec Kristi Noem sent a letter to Harvard today revoking their Foreign Exchange Student Program effective immediately. That would prevent Harvard from enrolling any additional students going forward and states that any foreign students currently enrolled must transfer to another school or be forced to leave the country. Scary authoritarian shit.

… Noem in the letter: “This action should not surprise you and is the unfortunate result of Harvard’s failure to comply with simple reporting requirements.”

… She previously demanded that Harvard provide her with records of all disciplinary actions taken by the University against foreign students. Harvard refused, so this was Noem’s response. Expect this to be in federal court in Boston immediately.

… Noem then went on Fox: "Today, I sent them a letter that said they will no longer be allowed to participate in this student exchange visitor program, and that's up to 27% of their enrolled students. So it's significant. They will have to find some other university to go to. This should be a warning to every other university to get your act together."

… Economist and Univ of Michigan Prof Justin Wolfers: “It's a rich irony that a President who is obsessed by the trade balance is blocking one of our best exports: American higher ed. International students pay fees, create high-paying jobs, learn ideas, and spread them globally. But they can't come without reliable visas.”

… The House passed the Budget Reconciliation Bill 215-214. Republicans Thomas Massie and Warren Davidson voted no. Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris very courageously voted present. Rep. Andrew Gabarino (R-NY) missed the vote.

… Garbarino missed the vote because he was sleeping: “I fell asleep in the back. No kidding.”

… Democrats were also short three votes because 3 Reps recently died in office while serving with terminal illnesses (Gerry Connolly, Sylvester Turner and Raúl Grijalva). 8 members of Congress have died in office in the last 3 years - all Democrats.

… Of course, this still has to pass the Senate and many Republicans senators have said they will not vote for it. We will see. But the fact that this passed by only one vote means that every Democratic candidate in 2026 for the House can say that their opponent cast the deciding vote on this monstrosity.

… Davidson explained why he voted against it: “Promising someone else will cut spending in the future does not cut spending. Deficits do matter and this bill grows them now. The only Congress we can control is the one we’re in. Consequently, I cannot support this big deficit plan. NO.”

… Davidson is talking about how ALL the serious projected spending cuts in this bill are supposed to happen in 2029, the year after Trump leaves office. So the Republican plan is for all the tax cuts to happen while Trump is president, exploding the deficit to record levels, with promises to start cutting spending in 4 years. He posted this chart to illustrate that.

… Massie responded: “I agree with Warren Davidson. If we were serious, we’d be cutting spending now, instead of promising to cut spending years from now. I’d love to stand here and tell the American people, we can cut your taxes and we can increase spending and everything’s going to be just fine. But I can’t do that because I’m here to deliver a dose of reality. This bill dramatically increases deficits in the near term, but promises our govt will be fiscally responsible 5 years from now. Where have we heard that before? How do you bind a future Congress to these promises? This bill is a debt bomb ticking.“

… Massie also opposed the bill on the floor: “Congress can do funny math, fantasy math, if it wants. But bond investors don’t. We’re not rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic tonight. We’re putting coal in the boiler and setting a course for the iceberg. If something is beautiful, you don’t do it after midnight.”

… Economist Justin Wolfers: “This is the largest redistribution from poor to rich in American history.”

… Sen. Rand Paul seems as dug in to oppose the bill in the Senate as Massie was in the House. To Punchbowl: “Once the Republicans vote for this, Republicans are going to own the deficit. I’m a conservative who's not voting for a 4 or 5 trillion dollar increase in the deficit.”

… Daniel Horowitz, Editor of conservative The Blaze: “The One Big Bill is actually a perfect name for this legislation. It has no coherent vision that people can even wrap their arms around or come away with anything inspirational. It's just a random assortment of provisions, some good, some really bad, some just random and bizarre, but fundamentally fails to meet the moment. Just a random big bill.”

… CNN asked Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) if the bill will increase the deficit by trillions despite Trump’s claims to the contrary: “That’s accurate. I don't like that one bit, but I don't know what the other option is right now.”

… MAGA influencer Matt Van Swol, who has 267K followers, got 38,000 likes on this post from his MAGA followers: “I'm done with the GOP. You've lost me. You had your chance and you fucking blew it. I was SO excited for this admin because of the promise of DOGE. But then I watched as the GOP do NOTHING. We are now AT THE END OF MAY AND WE STILL HAVE NOT HAD A SINGLE FUCKING VOTE ON THE DOGE CUTS!!! THE END OF MAY! My only conclusion can be that the GOP does not WANT to end the waste and fraud. This is a sobering realization for everyone who was STOKED for Elon and DOGE.

… “Mark my words, this betrayal will haunt the GOP forever. I will remember you choose to do nothing. You took photos with Elon - you talked about DOGE - you said you loved cutting waste and fraud. But when it came time to do something, none of you did, NONE OF YOU. So, you've lost me. You've lost my trust. I thought you'd be different than the Democrats. But I guess the GOP lies too. And the only difference between the GOP and the Democrats seems to be that Democrats actually pass legislation, and the GOP does not.”

… Propaganda Barbie Karoline Leavitt: “The one big beautiful bill also helps get our fiscal house in order by carrying out the largest deficit reduction in nearly 30 years, with $1.6 trillion in mandatory savings.”

… Leavitt was asked if Trump thought that Massie and Davidson should now be voted out of office: “I believe he does and I don't think he likes to see grandstanders in Congress. The vast majority of Republicans are listening to the president. They are trusting in President Trump, as they should.”

… Massie and Trump have never liked each other. Trump tried to primary Massie before and his endorsed candidate got destroyed. Massie is the only House Republican who never endorsed Trump for president in 2024. But Davidson is about as loyal a MAGA Republican as you can find. But now Trump wants him out for defying him. Trump went after former Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good last year for the same reason. That’s why Bob Good is “former” sitting at home.

… The bond market did not find the bill so beautiful. CNBC: “A sell-off in global bonds is accelerating as Moody’s downgrade of US credit rating and Trump’s tax bill has brought to the fore investors’ fiscal concerns globally. While Trump was unable to sway GOP dissenters to support his broad tax bill that could drive US debt higher by a projected $3-5 trillion, it appears to have triggered a global bond rout.”

… Vishnu Varathan, Mizuho Securities: “Markets do not find Trump’s ‘big, beautiful tax bill’ beautiful at all. USTs were beaten up in an ugly sell-off.”

… Peter Schiff, Chief Economist of Europac: “The bond market is sending a clear signal that the Big, Beautiful Bill may be big, but it's anything but beautiful. 10-year Treasury yields are up to 4.62% & 30-year yields are up to 5.14%. Rates are going much higher, compounding the cost of financing the soaring national debt.”

… CNN: “Long-term Treasuries fell further Thurs; and yields, which trade in opposite direction to prices, continued to surge. The rate on the 10-year Treasury rose above 4.61%, and the 30-year eclipsed 5.14% — its highest level since October 2023.”

… George Saravelos with Deutsche Bank: ‘The most troubling part of the market reaction is that the dollar is weakening at the same time. To us this is a clear signal of a foreign buyer’s strike on US assets and the associated US fiscal risks we have been warning for some time. At the core of the problem is that foreign investors are simply no longer willing to finance US twin deficits at current level of prices.”

… “Ultimately, there are only two ‘solutions’ to this problem. Either the US has to sharply revise the current reconciliation bill currently sitting in Congress to result in credibly tighter fiscal policy; or, the non-dollar value of US debt has to decline materially until it becomes cheap enough for foreign investors to return. Brace for more volatility.”

… Economist Steve Rattner on MSNBC: "If you're in the top 20%, you're gonna get 3.7% increase in after-tax income from tax cuts. If you're in the bottom, you lose $800. You get a small tax cut and a large cut in Medicaid and other benefits. This is a highly regressive bill that favors the wealthy, doesn't do much for the middle class, and hurts the poor."

… Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) slipped in a provision to the budget bill to legalize silencers: “They're firearms and protected by a law enacted in 1791 called the 2nd Amendment. The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed and neither shall it be taxed. My Democrat colleagues asked how did it get in the bill and who asked for it? Me. I asked for it.”

… Clyde owns gun shops in Georgia.

… Rep. Hakeem Jeffries to Meidas: “We know that this presidency has already been a failure. Filled with crisis and chaos, cruelty and corruption. And the American people know it. Which is why Trump at the 100-day mark was the most unpopular president in American history. The American people understand. It's unfolding right before their eyes.”

… Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX): “Breaking yet another promise, Republicans are cutting Medicare by $500B. On Oct 1, every Medicare provider will see a 4% cut and that will occur year after year after year as seniors try to find someone who will accept Medicare. On Jan 1, millions of Americans who rely on the ACA lose their access to a family physician. Meanwhile, our national debt will soar by trillions from Republicans who talk fiscal responsibility but serving their cult leader, the deficit hawks have become chicken hawks in submission to Trump, the self-described king of debt, all to award billionaires with even more tax breaks.”

If you missed my podcast Uncovered yesterday where we did a deep dive into the Top 10 stories of the week, you can find it here. If you missed the last Bulletin, that is here.

… Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD): “It's telling that Trump and his cult followers chose to name its bill on its size and looks instead of its contents and values. There's nothing beautiful or big about stripping 14 million Americans of their health care or removing food security from 4 million kids. That's ugly. That's small.”

… AOC: “When you wake up in the morning, you will realize that you voted to defund Planned Parenthood and take away health care from 13.7 million Americans and when this country wakes up there will be consequences to pay for this.”

… Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA): “Not even during the Great Depression did so many people lose their health care as will lose it in this bill. It will affect interest rates. In fact, it already is. Mortgage rates have gone back up over 7% and set to rise by more. Not just mortgage rates, auto loan rates, the rate your credit card company charges you. This is class warfare. It makes the poor poorer, the rich richer, and the middle class left behind.”

… Boyle: “The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found the bottom 10% will be 4% poorer in household wealth under this bill, with most of the benefits going to the top 10% of Americans. And of that top 10%, of course, it's the top 1% that will get the most benefit of all, robbing the poor to reward the rich.”

… Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) to Rep. Hauchin (R-IN): “My state of MA funds states like IN. We get back less than we give. So how dare you or anybody else vote to steal our tax money and give it to billionaires? So no, we will not go quietly, and no, we will not give up. We will fight this cruel, corrupt, immoral bill every step of the way because the people we represent are counting on us. And we will never stop fighting for them. Hell no, never, absolutely not on this terrible disgrace of a bill.”

… Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-CT) to Meidas: “Every provision in this program is cruel and they know it. That's why none of them spoke on it in committee. That's why they have nothing to say. That's why they don't hold town halls. That's why they don't answer questions. All they do is tweet, repeat, and hide in the back until they vote yes.”

… Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL): “America, we got to be very clear and truthful about this budget. Laws for gun manufacturers to make more money off of death, yes. Food for children to eat, no. Health care for seniors, disabled Americans and millions more, no. Resources to help working families, no. This is why they've been told not to host any town halls in their districts and why this debate is happening in the middle of the night. It’s nothing short of theft.”

… WSJ: “Private clubs have emerged as a moneymaking venture for the president’s second term, and a hub for donors and favor-seekers alike. It now costs a record $1 million to join Mar-a-Lago, up from about $500,000 during his first term. The initiation fee at Trump’s golf club in Bedminster rose to $125,000, surging from $75,000 in recent years. Another Trump golf club in FL now charges more than $300,000 to join.”

… “Trump has encouraged Republican Party officials to hold events at his clubs, where he headlines official dinners and cocktail parties. The clubs have in turn also attracted a new clientele of donors seeking to influence policy in the WH, including cryptocurrency executives pushing for deregulation, advocates seeking pardons for allies, and business leaders looking for exemptions from tariffs, among others.”

… “One of the biggest such events yet is set to take place Thursday at Trump’s golf course outside DC, when his cryptocurrency venture is hosting a gala dinner for his $TRUMP meme coin’s biggest holders. Many of the investors are foreign, and some of the top givers have been promised official tours of the WH.”

… NBC: “More than 200 wealthy, mostly anonymous crypto buyers are coming to Washington to have dinner with President Trump. The price of admission: $55,000 to $37.7 million. That’s how much the 220 winners of a contest to meet Trump spent on his volatile cryptocurrency token, $TRUMP.”

… Leavitt was asked about it today: “The American public believes it's absurd to insinuate that this President is profiting off of the presidency. Not only has he lost wealth but he almost lost his life. He sacrificed a lot to be here and to suggest otherwise is absurd. This president was extremely successful before giving it all up to serve our country."

… Reporter: Will the WH at least commit to making a list of the attendees public so people can see who's paying for that kind of access to the president? LEAVITT: “The president is attending it in his personal time.”

… But Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) says Trump’s sudden interest in crypto is really to benefit the poor and working class: “President Trump said on the campaign trail that America will be the crypto capital of the world. This is a major part of his legacy when we make it easier for struggling Americans working paycheck to paycheck to have more access at a lower price point. This is good news for the American people, especially the ones living in poverty."

For 18 hours straight, Acyn with Meidas was up all night covering Congress. He posted 32 clips of Democrats opposing the budget on the floor, 24 clips of Democrats in the Rules Committee, and 18 clips of interviews that Ben did of Democrats off the floor.

All of us left other careers and jobs to do this. I was a trial lawyer for 29 years. We did it because we felt that the media was failing to meet the moment at this crucial time in our history. Rather than just complain about it, we decided to do something about it and step into the vacuum to cover what we felt they were missing. As a result, our audience has growth every month at a rapid pace while theirs has shrunk.

We all work extremely hard and long hours. That is because we care passionately about this cause to defeat the MAGA movement. We never thought this was going to be quick or easy. It is a long term project that isn’t just about defeating a man, but an entire toxic political movement. We aren’t able to do it without your help, and we thank all of you for your support. Whenever, I get really tired doing this towards the end of the day, I think about you.

… Good news for Democrats as former US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink, who resigned her position to protest Trump’s treatment of Zelensky, is strongly leaning towards a run to challenge vulnerable Republican Tom Barrett in a toss-up district in