Today in Politics, Bulletin 162. 6/30/25

… Elon Musk declared war on the Republican Party today and trashed Trump’s budget again: “Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame! And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.”

… He then posted another: “It is obvious with the insane spending of this bill, which increases the debt ceiling by a record FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS that we live in a one-party country – the PORKY PIG PARTY!! Time for a new political party that actually cares about the people.”

… Then the grand finale: “If this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be formed the next day. Our country needs an alternative to the Democrat-Republican uniparty so that the people actually have a VOICE.”

… Can’t wait for Trump’s reaction to Musk’s latest attacks.

… Politico: “Philip Low, an award-winning neuroscientist learned that the hard way in 2021 when he fired Musk, one of his early investors, from the advisory board of the Silicon Valley startup he founded. Low has known him for 14 years but doesn’t believe Musk has matured over time, and he’s convinced he never will. Though the two continued to speak for years after Low fired him, Low felt that Musk carried a grudge and their bond was permanently altered.”

… Low: “I’ve had my share of blowouts with Elon over the years. Knowing Elon the way I know him, I do think he’s going to do everything he can to damage the president. He has been humiliated. Deep down, it’s over.”

… After announcing that he is leaving the Senate after his spat with Trump, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) gave a fiery speech denouncing his budget: “What do I tell 663,000 people in two years, three years, when President Trump breaks his promise by pushing them off of Medicaid because the funding's not there anymore? The people in the WH advising the president, they're not telling him that the effect of this bill is to break a promise he made.”

… WSJ Editorial Board: “A common feature of Donald Trump’s two terms as President is that he can’t stand political prosperity. When events are going in his direction, he has an uncanny habit of handing his opponents a sword. Even if Tillis had already been contemplating retirement, his withdrawal opens a seat that is another pickup opportunity for Democrats next year.”

… “The GOP has a 53-47 majority now, but Susan Collins always has a tough race in ME if she decides to run again. Dems are targeting Joni Ernst in IA. In the suicide-isn’t-painless department, TX AG Ken Paxton is challenging GOP incumbent Sen. John Cornyn. Paxton may be the only Republican who could lose in TX given his record harassing business with lawsuits, impeachment, and other embarrassments.”

… “The GOP pickup opportunities are few, so with Tillis’s departure the Senate is in play for 2026. Oh, and on Saturday GOP Rep. Don Bacon said he won’t run for re-election in his swing Omaha seat. That’s a likely gain for Democrats in the House. GOP legislative reforms will have no chance if Dems take the House in 2026. And if they also take the Senate, forget about confirming another Supreme Court nominee. The Trump Presidency will be dead in the water.”

… Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who is also on his way out: “Sen. Tillis is one of the most effective and collegial members that I have ever served with in the Senate. His announcement is a big setback for the Senate and the Republican Conference. I want to thank him for his service in this institution representing the people of NC and our nation.”

… WRAL (NC): “Former Dem Gov. Roy Cooper, who has not lost an election since entering politics in 1987, was reported to have been considering challenging Tillis for the seat. Dem Wiley Nickel, a former congressman from Wake County, is in the race and has raised more than $2.4 million: “No matter which MAGA loyalist Trump hand-picks to run in NC, I’m the Democrat who’s ready to take them on and win. I’ve flipped a tough seat before and we’re going to do it again.”

… Sahil Kapur, NBC: “Senate votes 53-47 to adopt ‘current policy baseline’ to treat $3.8 trillion in Trump tax cut extensions as costing $0. Every Republican votes YES. This hasn’t been used before in filibuster-proof process to meet targets, and will change how future Senate majorities use it. If ‘current policy’ becomes the norm in reconciliation, one (very) hypothetical example of how Democrats could wield it: Pass a $10 trillion Medicare For All bill for 1 yr at a $1T sticker price and extend it permanently the next year at a $0 cost. All without nuking the filibuster.”

… WSJ’s Richard Rubin: “Republicans are waving a $3.8 trillion magic wand over their tax-and-spending megabill, declaring that their extensions of expiring tax cuts have no effect on the federal budget. Congress could create huge new programs, schedule them to expire and then declare any extensions to be free.”

… Congressional reporter Jamie Dupree: “If the new way to do things in the Senate is to just 'not ask the Parliamentarian' if it's legit under the rules, then what's to stop Democrats from adding everything from a ban on assault weapons to abortion rights to (fill in the blank) on a reconciliation bill?”

… Bobby Kogan, Center for American Progress: “For the first time, reconciliation will be used to enact huge permanent deficits, in violation of the Byrd rule. The method was the presiding officer just asserted there was no point of order, without consulting the parliamentarian, to pretend Republicans weren’t ignoring her. There is no going back from this.”

… Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA): “Republicans are nuking Senate rules to pass their disastrous, billionaire-first tax bill. The filibuster can’t only apply to Democrats and not to Republicans. We won’t forget.”

… Jordan Weissmann, Yahoo Finance: “Judging by Trump’s rhetoric and the bill’s wind and solar tax, stopping renewable development is now actually the core of the GOP’s energy policy. There’s very little of consequence otherwise, given the unlikelihood of serious permitting reforms.”

… Former Rep. Tom Malinowski: “Just absolute suicidal ideological insanity. 24% of our electricity comes from renewables. The fastest growing occupations in the US are solar and wind turbine technicians. Yet the Senate GOP slipped a tax into their bill designed to kill this industry, while subsidizing coal!”

… Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) on CNN: "In order to grow the American economy, we have to grow the electric grid. The best, cheapest and fastest way to do that is solar energy. In 2024, 90% of new electricity generation in the US was clean energy. 60% of it is solar. And Republicans are proposing to defund solar and battery storage and wind, which are the leading sources of new electricity generations in the US. It is an act of strategic self-sabotage."

… Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI) warned that we could all die in a nuclear war if the bill isn’t passed: “Failing to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act means no Golden Dome to protect the homeland.”

… Punchbowl: “The House will filter back into town tomorrow and Wednesday. The Freedom Caucus is already up in arms. The spending-cut-to-tax-cut ratio (from the Senate) is not what Speaker Johnson promised. Medicaid cuts harsher than House. SALT in tact. All sorts of problems that will make passing the bill this week very hard — albeit not impossible.”

… Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) to CBS: “Oh my God, I just want to go home. I've already my I've missed our entire trip to to the beach ... There's no drama that we know the votes are going to go. And I don't think it's really helpful to put people here till some ungodly hour.”

… Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) was asked by CNN about Fetterman’s comments: “I disagree. We should be here fighting for the American people. I don't care if it takes a month—if we have to stay straight through. So, I disagree with my colleague from Pennsylvania.”

… Former Fetterman aid Joe Calvello: “This bill is the biggest transfer of wealth from the working class to the 1% in history and Fetterman’s message to voters is that he just wants to go home.”

… One Democratic Senate aide to HuffPost reporter Igor Bobic: “Does Fetterman think his job is beach like Ken from Barbie?! He’s a United States Senator! You’re expected to work long hours and take hard votes."

… House Freedom Caucus posted: “The House budget framework was clear: no new deficit spending in the Bill. The Senate’s version adds $651 billion to the deficit — and that’s before interest costs, which nearly double the total. That’s not fiscal responsibility. It’s not what we agreed to. The Senate must make major changes and should at least be in the ballpark of compliance with the agreed upon House budget framework. Republicans must do better.”

… Freedom Caucus: “HERE ARE THE FACTS: The House bill added $72 billion to the deficit with interest costs included. The Senate version adds $1.3 trillion to the deficit. That’s 1,705% more. Even without interest costs, it is $651 billion over our agreed budget framework.”

… Musk then responded to Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris: “How can you call yourself the Freedom Caucus if you vote for a DEBT SLAVERY bill with the biggest debt ceiling increase in history?”

… But Trump posted that the Freedom Caucus members should learn to love massive debt because magically massive economic growth numbers in the future caused by his genius will take care of everything: “For all cost cutting Republicans, of which I am one, REMEMBER, you still have to get reelected. Don’t go too crazy! We will make it all up, times 10, with GROWTH, more than ever before.”

… Sen. Jim Justice (R-WV) to HuffPost: “We cannot cut into the bone. You're going to awaken to minority and at that point in time, a lot of great stuff that we put together is going to go up in smoke.”

… Former Treasury Sec Lawrence Summers: “We are making a debt sustainability crisis more likely with this bill. There is a surprising pattern that is remarkably robust in the data, it's one that I first noted almost 40 years ago, that the economy performed better when we have Democratic presidents than when we have Republican presidents. This kind of idea pushed by a Republican president is an important part of the reason why it's true.”

… Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) on Fox: “Two-thirds of the people in nursing homes are paid for with Medicaid. One-tenth of the veterans in the US are on Medicaid. There are 70 million Americans on Medicaid. The cuts have been reckless. You have to have a plan. You can’t just cut, cut, cut without having a plan.”

… Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) on Democrats striking the deal Thune made to get Murkowski’s vote to advance the bill by exempting AK from cuts: “Democrats challenged and successfully stripped a provision that would have significantly increased Medicaid funding to AK and HI. Someone needs to ask Sens. Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) why they worked to cut billions in Medicaid funds not only for AK, but for HI also.”

… HuffPost’s Igor Bobic: “I did ask Hirono about this. She said it wasn't fair to other states that only Alaska and Hawaii got a carve out.”

… Right answer. That is the REAL ‘America First’.

… Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) to MSNBC: "The only people that matter to Republicans right now are corporate CEOs and billionaires. Everybody else doesn't matter. If you don't belong to Mar-a-Lago, you aren't a human being according to this version of the Republican Party. And that is deeply sad. This is the most deeply immoral piece of legislation I have ever voted on in my entire time in Congress.”

… Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA): "We are engaged in Robin Hood in reverse - this is socialism for the rich.”

… Mike Madrid of The Latino Vote podcast: “There’s little evidence that Latino voters are becoming more conservative or progressive BUT there’s plenty of evidence Latinos are becoming more populist. From Bernie Sanders to Donald Trump, Latinos are responding to anti-establishment populism against the system AND the parties. Latinos are the moderate voters in both parties. But what does that mean when the right-left spectrum is broken? It means Latino politics is more top vs bottom, outsider vs insider and have vs have not. That’s the future of American politics.”

… Financial Times: “The US dollar is headed for its worst first half of the year since 1973, as Trump’s trade and economic policies prompt global investors to rethink their exposure to the world’s dominant currency. The dollar index, which measures the currency’s strength against a basket of 6 others including the pound, euro and yen, has slumped more than 10% so far in 2025, the worst start to the year since the end of the gold-backed Bretton Woods system.”

… Francesco Pesole, strategist at multinational banking firm ING: “The dollar has become the whipping boy of Trump 2.0’s erratic policies. The president’s stop-start tariff war, the US’s vast borrowing needs and worries about the independence of the Federal Reserve had undermined the appeal of the dollar as a safe haven for investors.”

… Trump blamed AT&T today for his inability to get his phone to work on a conference call. He posted on Truth Social: ”I’m doing a major Conference Call with Faith Leaders from all over the Country, and AT&T is totally unable to make their equipment work properly. This is the second time it’s happened. If the Boss of AT&T, whoever that may be, could get involved - It would be good. There are tens of thousands of people on the line!”

… I don’t understand why they all couldn’t just pray about it. Or maybe speak in tongues.

… Also, imagine if Joe Biden said something like that after being unable to get the phone to work.

If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can read it here.

… Gallup: A record-low 58% of US adults say they are proud to be an American, down 9% from last year and 5% below the prior record-low in 2020.

… Fox host Maria Bartiromo: “Big news on the border from my interview President Trump. The WH is working on a ‘temporary pass’ for workers on farms and in hotels