Today in one sentence: Senate Republicans’ current version of Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” would be the largest rollback of the U.S. safety net in decades, cutting Medicaid by 18% and food assistance by up to 22%; Senate Republicans adopted a new budget method to reduce the "official" cost of their tax and spending bill by simply excluding the $3.8 trillion cost of extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts; the Senate began voting on amendments to Trump’s 940-page, $3.3 trillion tax and spending bill; Canada dropped its digital services tax two days after Trump suspended trade talks and threatened new tariffs; U.S. intelligence intercepted Iranian officials privately saying Trump’s airstrikes caused less damage than expected; Trump threatened to sue The New York Times and CNN for reporting on a preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment that contradicted his claim that airstrikes had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program; Trump sent a handwritten note to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell demanding interest rate cuts; and 58% of Americans say they are extremely or very proud to be an American – a record low.

1/ Senate Republicans’ current version of Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” would be the largest rollback of the U.S. safety net in decades, cutting Medicaid by 18% and food assistance by up to 22%. The Congressional Budget Office estimated 11.8 million Americans would lose health insurance and over 2 million would lose food assistance, with up to 17 million people affected by the broader cuts. The bill cuts more than $1 trillion from federal health programs, imposes new work rules, and shifts costs to states, while delivering $1 trillion in tax cuts to millionaires and billionaires. The bill also repeals all major clean energy tax credits and ends consumer rebates for electric vehicles, rooftop solar, and heat pumps, while adding a new tax in 2027 on wind and solar projects using Chinese-linked parts – even those not receiving federal subsidies. Elon Musk called the plan “utterly insane and destructive,” warning it “destroys millions of jobs” and props up “industries of the past.” The Rhodium Group said the changes would raise renewable project costs by 10–20%, cut new installations by 72%, and raise household electricity bills by up to 18%. Industry groups said the bill would also eliminate millions of construction and manufacturing jobs, freeze private investment, and give China and India a global edge in energy and AI infrastructure. The clean energy rollback, however, now faces resistance in the Senate with some Republicans, who call Trump’s energy plan “disastrous” for their states. Even with the deep cuts, Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” would still add at least $3.3 trillion to the national debt over the next decade. (Washington Post / Associated Press / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post / NBC News / Politico / Washington Post / New York Times / Politico / Reuters / Bloomberg / Noahpinion)

2/ Senate Republicans adopted a new budget method to reduce the “official” cost of their tax and spending bill by simply excluding the $3.8 trillion cost of extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts. The method, known as the “current policy” baseline, treats expiring tax cuts as permanent, so extending them counts as costing nothing. Under traditional rules, the bill would add at least $3.3 trillion to the deficit over 10 years – more than $1 trillion higher than the House version – according to the Congressional Budget Office. The estimate doesn’t include added interest costs, which could push the total near $4 trillion. Under the new accounting method, however, it appears to reduce the deficit by $508 billion. Republicans used the change to qualify the bill for reconciliation, bypassing the 60-vote filibuster threshold. While Democrats objected to the change, Republicans ignored a parliamentarian ruling by asserting that Budget Chair Lindsey Graham had authority to set the baseline himself. “Republicans are doing something the Senate has never done before,” Chuck Schumer said, calling the move “fake math” that would “dramatically further erode the Senate.” (Washington Post / Bloomberg / New York Times / Politico / Politico / New York Times / Axios / Associated Press)

3/ The Senate began voting on amendments to Trump’s 940-page, $3.3 trillion tax and spending bill. The “vote-a-rama” – an open-ended series of votes on amendments – started shortly after 9 a.m. ET and is expected to continue into early Tuesday. The bill must pass with a simple majority under reconciliation rules, but at least six Republicans remain undecided, while Rand Paul and Thom Tillis have pledged to vote no. Trump has demanded the bill reach his desk by July 4, though Senate Majority Leader John Thune acknowledged that “This may take a little while,” and House Speaker Mike Johnson warned that major changes could derail final passage. (CNN / Associated Press / Washington Post / New York Times / Politico / NBC News / CNN / NPR / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post)

  • EARLIER: Senate Republicans narrowly advanced Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” on Saturday with a 51-49 procedural vote. Republicans spent hours negotiating with holdouts to secure the support needed to begin debate. The White House, meanwhile, called the vote essential and warned that “failure to pass this bill would be the ultimate betrayal.” Trump called it a “GREAT VICTORY” and praised senators who flipped their votes, while threatening Sen. Thom Tillis with a primary challenge after he voted against the bill. Tillis, who opposed the bill over Medicaid cuts, announced the next day he won’t run for re-election in 2026, citing the toxic political climate. On the Senate floor, Tillis accused Trump of breaking his Medicaid promises, asking, “What do I tell 663,000 people […] when President Trump pushes them off of Medicaid?” He told colleagues the bill “betrays the very promise that Donald J. Trump made in the Oval Office.” Directing his remarks at Trump, Tillis added: “I’m telling the president, you have been misinformed.” (CNN / NBC News / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / NBC News / Politico / Wall Street Journal / Axios / Bloomberg / Axios)

4/ Canada dropped its digital services tax two days after Trump suspended trade talks and threatened new tariffs. The tax targeted U.S. tech firms like Google, Meta, and Amazon and was expected to raise billions. Trump said Canada was “very nasty to deal with” and accused it of copying Europe’s anti-U.S. rules. In response, Ottawa said it would stop collections and repeal the law “in anticipation of a mutually beneficial” trade deal. Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Carney agreed to resume negotiations and aim for a deal by July 21. (Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / Axios / Washington Post / Politico)

5/ The Trump administration accused Harvard of a “violent violation” of civil rights law and warned it could lose all federal funding for failing to protect Jewish and Israeli students from harassment. The findings came from a 57-page report by the Department of Health and Human Services, which said Harvard acted with “deliberate indifference” and at times was a “willful participant” in antisemitic conduct, citing assaults, hateful symbols, and chants like “Heil Hitler.” The administration wrote, “Failure to institute adequate changes immediately will result in the loss of all federal financial resources.” It has already frozen more than $2.6 billion in research funding and is now threatening Harvard’s ability to accept federal student aid. Harvard rejected the findings, said it “strongly disagrees,” and accused the government of retaliation, while talks over a possible settlement appear to have collapsed. (Associated Press / Wall Street Journal / Politico / CNN / New York Times / Bloomberg / Washington Post)

poll/ 58% of Americans say they are extremely or very proud to be an American – a record low, down nine percentage points from last year. The drop came almost entirely from Democrats, with pride falling from 62% last year to 36%. American pride among independents also hit a new low at 53%, while Republican pride rose to 92%. Younger generations expressed the least pride, with just 41% of Gen Z adults saying they were proud to be an American. More Gen Z Democrats said they had “little or no pride” than said they were proud. (Gallup)

The midterm elections are in 491 days.

🧐 Supreme Court Notables.

  1. The Supreme Court ruled 6–3 to limit the power of federal judges to block Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship, saying nationwide injunctions “likely exceed” their authority. The decision paused enforcement of the order for 30 days, but opened the door for it to take effect in 28 states that haven’t joined the lawsuits. The court, however, didn’t rule on the constitutionality of the order, which seeks to deny citizenship to children born in the U.S. to undocumented immigrants and short-term visa holders. Trump, however, called the ruling “monumental” and said it would let his administration “promptly file to proceed” with stalled policies. (New York Times / Washington Post / NPR / Politico / ABC News / Axios / Associated Press)

  2. The Supreme Court upheld a key provision of the Affordable Care Act requiring insurers to cover preventive care, rejecting a conservative-led challenge to how a federal health panel is appointed. In a 6–3 decision, the justices ruled that the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force doesn’t violate the Constitution, because its members are “inferior officers” who can be hired and fired by the health secretary. The plaintiffs claimed the task force had “unreviewable power” and objected to covering HIV drugs, which they claim promote “homosexual behavior” and drug use. (NBC News / NPR / Politico / Washington Post / New York Times)

  3. The Supreme Court ruled that parents in Maryland can pull their children from public school lessons that include LGBTQ storybooks if they claim religious objections. The 6–3 decision ordered Montgomery County schools to reinstate opt-outs and notify families in advance when these books are used. Justice Alito wrote that forcing children to attend these lessons places “an unconstitutional burden” on their parents’ religious rights. Justice Sotomayor, meanwhile, called the ruling a threat to civic education, warning that “The result will be chaos for this nation’s public schools.” (Washington Post / Reuters / New York Times / Associated Press / NBC News)

  4. The Supreme Court ordered lower courts to reexamine rulings that had blocked state restrictions on transgender care and legal recognition, following its decision backing Tennessee’s ban on treatment for transgender minors. Cases from Idaho, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and North Carolina will now return to appeals courts, where previous rulings found the policies unconstitutional. The Court also let Kentucky’s ban on gender-affirming care take effect by rejecting a separate appeal. (Associated Press / CNN / Washington Post)

  5. The Supreme Court agreed to hear a Republican-backed challenge to federal limits on how much political parties can spend in coordination with candidates. The Trump administration declined to defend the law, calling it a “rare case” that violates the First Amendment. Spending limits now range from about $63,600 to nearly $4 million depending on the race. The National Republican Senate and House campaign committees, joined by JD Vance and Steve Chabot in 2022, argued the caps weaken parties and fuel reliance on super PACs. Democrats, however, warned that removing the limits would allow donors to funnel unlimited funds to candidates, calling it an attempt to “return us to the pre-Watergate era.” The court upheld the same law in 2001. (Politico / CNN / Associated Press / Washington Post / New York Times / NBC News)

✏️ Notables.

  1. U.S. intelligence intercepted Iranian officials privately saying Trump’s airstrikes caused less damage than expected. The White House called the claim “nonsense” and insisted the nuclear program was “obliterated.” But the UN nuclear watchdog said Iran could resume uranium enrichment “in a matter of months” and confirmed the sites were heavily damaged, but not destroyed. A preliminary Pentagon report also found the strikes set back Iran’s program by months, not years. In 2018, Trump withdrew from the Obama-era nuclear deal, which allowed Iran to restart key bomb-making work that he’s now trying to dismantle through military force. The Senate, meanwhile, rejected a Democratic push to require Trump to get congressional approval before any further action, with Republicans voting it down. (Washington Post / NPR / Politico / New York Times / The Guardian / NBC News)

  2. Trump threatened to sue The New York Times and CNN for reporting on a preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment that contradicted his claim that airstrikes had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program. Trump’s lawyer called the Times article “false,” “defamatory,” and “unpatriotic,” and demanded a retraction. The Times, however, refused: “We told the truth to the best of our ability. We will continue to do so.” Trump also demanded CNN fire reporter Natasha Bertrand, calling her “Fake News” and saying she tried to “destroy our Patriot Pilots.” Defense officials, however, haven’t denied the existence of the intelligence report, which found the strikes delayed Iran’s nuclear program by months, not years. (New York Times / The Hill)

  3. California Gov. Gavin Newsom sued Fox News for $787 million, accusing the network of defamation over claims he lied about a phone call with Trump. The lawsuit says host Jesse Watters falsely claimed Newsom denied speaking with Trump and aired a selectively edited clip to support the allegation. Newsom said the call happened June 6, while Trump mistakenly said is occurred “a day ago” on June 10. “If Fox News wants to lie to the American people on Donald Trump’s behalf, it should face consequences — just like it did in the Dominion case,” Newsom said. (Politico / New York Times)

  4. The Trump administration sued Los Angeles over its sanctuary city laws, claiming the city discriminated against federal immigration officers. The lawsuit named Mayor Karen Bass, the City Council, and Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, alleging their policies blocked immigration enforcement. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said, “Sanctuary policies were the driving cause of the violence, chaos, and attacks on law enforcement that Americans recently witnessed in Los Angeles.” (NBC News)

  5. Trump sent a handwritten note to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell demanding interest rate cuts. The note, written on a chart of global interest rates, accused Powell of costing the U.S. “hundreds of billions.” He wrote, “Jerome — You are, as usual, ‘too late,’” and demanded rates drop “by a lot.” Trump also said Powell and the Fed board should be “ashamed of themselves” and had “FAILED — And continue to do so.” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump believes rates should fall to around 1%, well below the current 4.25% to 4.50% level. Powell, whose term runs through 2026, has resisted cuts amid uncertainty over Trump’s trade and tariff policies. (The Hill / Axios / Washington Post)

Three years ago today: Day 527: "Running out of options."
Eight years ago today: Day 162: Fraud.