By:&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/author/zachwendling/">Zach Wendling</a> <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/03/17/lincoln-senators-clash-over-nebraska-school-retirement-bill-as-school-leaders-weigh-in/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — A new state law that took effect this week authorizes emergency medical services crews to provide care or transportation to Nebraska K-9s if one is ever injured in the line of duty.

Lawmakers, by a&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_votes.php?KeyID=10969" target="_blank">47-0 vote</a>&nbsp;in April 2024, approved a&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=54730&amp;docnum=LB910&amp;leg=108" target="_blank">measure</a>&nbsp;from State Sen. Merv Riepe of Ralston allowing&nbsp;<a href="https://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/EHS-Emergency-Medical-Services.aspx" target="_blank">emergency medical services</a>&nbsp;for K-9s after July 1, 2025. It covers law enforcement canines owned or employed by state or local law enforcement, the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, local fire departments or the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

K-9s aiding in the detection of criminal activity, flammable materials or missing persons; enforcement of laws; investigation of fires or apprehending criminal offenders would be covered.

Riepe said K-9s have proven beneficial and he hopes the law works out well.

“I think most people have a real kind spot in their heart for both dogs, cats, and probably some other animals that I’m not even aware of,” Riepe said this week.

Cody Thomas, a spokesperson for the Nebraska State Patrol, which&nbsp;<a href="https://statepatrol.nebraska.gov/divisions/field-services/police-service-dog-division" target="_blank">employs and trains police service dogs</a>, said the canines are “an extension of the officers they work with every day.” Such work can be dangerous for K-9s, with at least 10 killed in the line of duty nationwide already in 2025, he said.

“In the event one of our K-9 partners is injured in the line of duty, we would be grateful for any assistance provided by EMS teams, including transportation to an emergency veterinary hospital,” Thomas said in an email to the Nebraska Examiner.

At least&nbsp;<a href="https://www.odmp.org/k9/1844-k9-nitro-ii" target="_blank">two</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.odmp.org/k9/1592-k9-kobus" target="_blank">Nebraska K-9s</a>&nbsp;have been killed in the past decade:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ketv.com/article/police-bullet-proof-vest-would-not-have-saved-k-9-killed-during-standoff-1/7657717" target="_blank">K-9 Kobus for the Omaha Police Department in 2016</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ketv.com/article/omaha-law-enforcement-procession-york-county-sheriff-k9/39092743" target="_blank">K-9 Nitro II for the York County Sheriff’s Department in 2022</a>.

More than a dozen states have similar laws.

Riepe’s legislation began at the&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/04/02/lawmakers-to-debate-authorizing-ems-care-transportation-for-injured-nebraska-k-9s/">initiative of Nebraska City Police Department Sgt. Christopher Richardson</a>. Richardson sought to get around a state law forbidding any emergency care for an animal, including the bandaging of a minor cut.

“These dogs are alone and untreated, wasting valuable time and preventing lifesaving measures from being performed,” Richardson testified at a February 2024 hearing.

Richardson, who has taken multiple K-9s under his wing, told the Examiner in 2024 that in the case of Nebraska City, it can be a 45-minute delay to the nearest applicable care facility should his K-9 be harmed. He had said K-9 handlers spend more one-on-one time with their dogs, who he said can save an officer’s life without hesitation, than with their families.

“They’re not just another tool that’s on our duty belt,” Richardson previously told the Examiner.

The new law still gives humans priority in the need of medical care or transport. EMS teams, including volunteer departments, would not be required to implement the new law. Any EMS workers operating in “good faith” to care for the dogs would be given civil and criminal immunity.

“We just want to make sure we don’t leave a dog that was injured in duty behind, which seems like a very common-sense thing,” Riepe told the Examiner in 2024.

The law authorized the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services to implement additional regulations. Instead, DHHS and the state’s Board of Emergency Medical Services and Board of Veterinary Medicine adopted&nbsp;<a href="https://dhhs.ne.gov/OEHS%20Program%20Documents/CanineTreatandTransportRecommendations.pdf" target="_blank">multiple recommendations</a>.

Among the recommendations for EMS teams that take on the new law:

“We don’t want to have to transport our dogs in an ambulance,” Richardson said last year. “But if it comes to that, having that ability is huge.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1751806184300.png" alt=" Nebraska City Police Department Sgt. Christopher Richardson with retired K-9 Mack. Richardson championed legislation to authorize emergency medical services care and transportation in the event a K-9 is injured in the line of duty, a bill that passed the Nebraska Legislature in 2024. (Courtesy of Sgt. Christopher Richardson)" />
 <figcaption> Nebraska City Police Department Sgt. Christopher Richardson with retired K-9 Mack. Richardson championed legislation to authorize emergency medical services care and transportation in the event a K-9 is injured in the line of duty, a bill that passed the Nebraska Legislature in 2024. (Courtesy of Sgt. Christopher Richardson)</figcaption>
 </figure>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/author/zachwendling/">Zach Wendling</a> <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/03/17/lincoln-senators-clash-over-nebraska-school-retirement-bill-as-school-leaders-weigh-in/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN — A new state law that took effect this week authorizes emergency medical services crews to provide care or transportation to Nebraska K-9s if one is ever injured in the line of duty.Lawmakers, by a&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_votes.php?KeyID=10969" target="_blank">47-0 vote</a>&nbsp;in April 2024, approved a&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=54730&amp;docnum=LB910&amp;leg=108" target="_blank">measure</a>&nbsp;from State Sen. Merv Riepe of Ralston allowing&nbsp;<a href="https://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/EHS-Emergency-Medical-Services.aspx" target="_blank">emergency medical services</a>&nbsp;for K-9s after July 1, 2025. It covers law enforcement canines owned or employed by state or local law enforcement, the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, local fire departments or the State Fire Marshal’s Office.K-9s aiding in the detection of criminal activity, flammable materials or missing persons; enforcement of laws; investigation of fires or apprehending criminal offenders would be covered.Riepe said K-9s have proven beneficial and he hopes the law works out well.“I think most people have a real kind spot in their heart for both dogs, cats, and probably some other animals that I’m not even aware of,” Riepe said this week.Cody Thomas, a spokesperson for the Nebraska State Patrol, which&nbsp;<a href="https://statepatrol.nebraska.gov/divisions/field-services/police-service-dog-division" target="_blank">employs and trains police service dogs</a>, said the canines are “an extension of the officers they work with every day.” Such work can be dangerous for K-9s, with at least 10 killed in the line of duty nationwide already in 2025, he said.“In the event one of our K-9 partners is injured in the line of duty, we would be grateful for any assistance provided by EMS teams, including transportation to an emergency veterinary hospital,” Thomas said in an email to the Nebraska Examiner.At least&nbsp;<a href="https://www.odmp.org/k9/1844-k9-nitro-ii" target="_blank">two</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.odmp.org/k9/1592-k9-kobus" target="_blank">Nebraska K-9s</a>&nbsp;have been killed in the past decade:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ketv.com/article/police-bullet-proof-vest-would-not-have-saved-k-9-killed-during-standoff-1/7657717" target="_blank">K-9 Kobus for the Omaha Police Department in 2016</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ketv.com/article/omaha-law-enforcement-procession-york-county-sheriff-k9/39092743" target="_blank">K-9 Nitro II for the York County Sheriff’s Department in 2022</a>.More than a dozen states have similar laws.Riepe’s legislation began at the&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/04/02/lawmakers-to-debate-authorizing-ems-care-transportation-for-injured-nebraska-k-9s/">initiative of Nebraska City Police Department Sgt. Christopher Richardson</a>. Richardson sought to get around a state law forbidding any emergency care for an animal, including the bandaging of a minor cut.“These dogs are alone and untreated, wasting valuable time and preventing lifesaving measures from being performed,” Richardson testified at a February 2024 hearing.Richardson, who has taken multiple K-9s under his wing, told the Examiner in 2024 that in the case of Nebraska City, it can be a 45-minute delay to the nearest applicable care facility should his K-9 be harmed. He had said K-9 handlers spend more one-on-one time with their dogs, who he said can save an officer’s life without hesitation, than with their families.“They’re not just another tool that’s on our duty belt,” Richardson previously told the Examiner.The new law still gives humans priority in the need of medical care or transport. EMS teams, including volunteer departments, would not be required to implement the new law. Any EMS workers operating in “good faith” to care for the dogs would be given civil and criminal immunity.“We just want to make sure we don’t leave a dog that was injured in duty behind, which seems like a very common-sense thing,” Riepe told the Examiner in 2024.The law authorized the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services to implement additional regulations. Instead, DHHS and the state’s Board of Emergency Medical Services and Board of Veterinary Medicine adopted&nbsp;<a href="https://dhhs.ne.gov/OEHS%20Program%20Documents/CanineTreatandTransportRecommendations.pdf" target="_blank">multiple recommendations</a>.Among the recommendations for EMS teams that take on the new law:<ul>
 <li>Have a backup ambulance or plan to respond to emergency calls while caring for or transporting a K-9.</li><li>Certification in basic life support through the&nbsp;<a href="https://recoverinitiative.org/how-certification-works/" target="_blank">RECOVER initiative</a>.</li><li>Specific training in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.k9medic.com/" target="_blank">K-9 care</a>.</li><li>Close alignment with a local veterinary or pet care facility that would continue K-9 care after transport..</li><li>Medical equipment suitable for animal use, including oxygen masks and/or respiratory barrier masks for “mouth to snout” use.”</li><li>Written policies and procedures crafted with a local veterinarian for appropriate training, including safe handling for injured K-9s, such as muzzles, response coordination with a law enforcement officer trained in handling police dogs and decontamination procedures after K-9 transportation.</li>
 </ul>“We don’t want to have to transport our dogs in an ambulance,” Richardson said last year. “But if it comes to that, having that ability is huge.”

Nebraska K-9s injured in line of duty newly authorized for EMS care, transportation

By&nbsp;<a href="https://www.texastribune.org/about/staff/uriel-j-garcia/">Uriel J. García</a>, The Texas Tribune, and Hannah Fingerhut

State officials said Friday night that at least 24 people have died in the catastrophic flood that swept through Kerr County early Friday morning, and 23 girls from Camp Mystic, a private Christian girls’ camp, are still unaccounted for.

In a news conference in Kerrville, Gov. Greg Abbott signed an emergency disaster declaration, which allows numerous counties affected by the floods to get the state resources needed to help with ongoing search-and-rescue efforts.

Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said one other person was found dead in nearby Kendall County but it’s unclear if that person was a flood victim.

Nim Kidd, the chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, said local officials were caught off guard by the volume of rain, adding that the National Weather Service advisory issued Thursday “did not predict the amount of rain that we saw.”

Gen. Thomas Suelzer, the head of the Texas Military Department, said 237 people have been rescued and evacuated so far. Officials said they couldn’t provide the number of people who are unaccounted for, but they include the 23 girls from Camp Mystic.

In an earlier press conference Friday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said the dead include adults and children, and some were found in cars “that were washed out upstream.” He said officials aren't sure whether any of the bodies were children from Camp Mystic, and stressed that the campers are only considered missing at this point.

“We will do anything humanly possible to find your daughter,” Patrick said, adding that search and rescue teams are looking for survivors, along with 14 state helicopters, 12 drones and 400 to 500 people on the ground helping with the search. He added that if parents haven't been personally contacted by the camp, they can assume their daughters have been accounted for.

As much as 10 inches of heavy rain fell in just a few hours overnight in central Kerr County, causing flash flooding of the Guadalupe River. Patrick said the river, which winds through Kerr County in Central Texas, rose 26 feet in 45 minutes during torrential rains overnight.

“It’s going to be a mass casualty event,” said Freeman Martin, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Patrick added that San Antonio and Waco also could see flash flooding in the next 24 to 48 hours.

Judge Rob Kelly, the chief elected official in Kerr County, said authorities are still working to identify those whose lives were lost.

“Most of them, we don’t know who they are,” Kelly said during a news conference. “One of them was completely naked, he didn’t have any ID on him at all. We’re trying to get the identity of these folks, but we don’t have it yet.”

A flood watch issued Thursday afternoon estimated isolated amounts up to 7 inches of rising water. That shifted to a flood warning for at least 30,000 people overnight.

According to the National Weather Service website, the flash flood watch, which included Kerr County, was issued at 1:18 p.m. Thursday. Nearly 12 hours later, a "life threatening" flash flood warning was issued at 1:14 a.m., according to the website.

When asked about the suddenness of the flash flooding overnight, Kelly said “we do not have a warning system” and that “we didn’t know this flood was coming,” even as local reporters pointed to the warnings and pushed him for answers about why more precautions weren’t taken.

“Rest assured, no one knew this kind of flood was coming,” he said. “We have floods all the time. This is the most dangerous river valley in the United States.”

Abbott said the state was providing resources to Hill Country communities dealing with the flooding, including in Kerrville, Ingram and Hunt.

“I urge Texans to heed guidance from state and local officials and monitor local forecasts to avoid driving into flooded areas,” Abbott said in a statement.

The Guadalupe’s river gauge at the unincorporated community of Hunt, where the river forks, recorded a 22 foot rise in just about two hours, according to Bob Fogarty, meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Austin/San Antonio office. Fogarty said the gauge failed after recording a level of 29 and a half feet.

“We think the river’s higher than that,” Fogarty said. “The gauge is completely underwater.”

The riverfront communities include several camps, wildlife habitats and campgrounds. Texas Game Wardens, part of the state parks and wildlife agency, said on Facebook that search and rescue teams are conducting rescues throughout the region and sending more boats to help.

“This is the kind of thing that will catch you unaware,” Fogarty said. “The water’s moving so fast, you’re not going to recognize how bad it is until it’s on top of you.”

Erin Burgess’ home sits directly across from the river in the Bumble Bee Hills neighborhood, west of Ingram. When she woke up to thunder at 3:30 a.m. Friday morning, “it was raining pretty heavy, but no big deal,” she said.

Just 20 minutes later, Burgess said water was coming in through the walls and rushing through the front and back doors. She described an agonizing hour clinging to a tree and waiting for the water to recede enough that they were able to walk up the hill to a neighbor's.

“My son and I floated to a tree where we hung onto it, and my boyfriend and my dog floated away. He was lost for a while, but we found them,” she said, becoming emotional.

Of her 19-year-old son, Burgess said: “Thankfully he’s over 6 feet tall. That’s the only thing that saved me, was hanging on to him.”

Dozens of people posted on Facebook asking for any information on their children, nieces and nephews attending one of the many camps in the area, or family members that went camping during the holiday weekend.

Ingram Fire Department posted a photo of a statement from Camp Mystic, saying the private Christian summer camp for girls experienced “catastrophic level floods.” Parents with a daughter not accounted for were directly contacted, the camp said.

Another camp on the river located east of Hunt, Camp Waldemar, said in an Instagram post that “we are all safe and sound.”

Disclosure: Facebook has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete&nbsp;<a href="https://www.texastribune.org/support-us/corporate-sponsors/">list of them here</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1751724125124.png" alt="Heavy rains in Kerr County and elsewhere in Central Texas have caused severe flooding and loss of life. Credit: City of Kerrville Facebook page" />
 <figcaption>Heavy rains in Kerr County and elsewhere in Central Texas have caused severe flooding and loss of life. Credit: City of Kerrville Facebook page</figcaption>
 </figure>By&nbsp;<a href="https://www.texastribune.org/about/staff/uriel-j-garcia/">Uriel J. García</a>, The Texas Tribune, and Hannah FingerhutState officials said Friday night that at least 24 people have died in the catastrophic flood that swept through Kerr County early Friday morning, and 23 girls from Camp Mystic, a private Christian girls’ camp, are still unaccounted for.In a news conference in Kerrville, Gov. Greg Abbott signed an emergency disaster declaration, which allows numerous counties affected by the floods to get the state resources needed to help with ongoing search-and-rescue efforts.Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said one other person was found dead in nearby Kendall County but it’s unclear if that person was a flood victim.Nim Kidd, the chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, said local officials were caught off guard by the volume of rain, adding that the National Weather Service advisory issued Thursday “did not predict the amount of rain that we saw.”Gen. Thomas Suelzer, the head of the Texas Military Department, said 237 people have been rescued and evacuated so far. Officials said they couldn’t provide the number of people who are unaccounted for, but they include the 23 girls from Camp Mystic.In an earlier press conference Friday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said the dead include adults and children, and some were found in cars “that were washed out upstream.” He said officials aren't sure whether any of the bodies were children from Camp Mystic, and stressed that the campers are only considered missing at this point.“We will do anything humanly possible to find your daughter,” Patrick said, adding that search and rescue teams are looking for survivors, along with 14 state helicopters, 12 drones and 400 to 500 people on the ground helping with the search. He added that if parents haven't been personally contacted by the camp, they can assume their daughters have been accounted for.As much as 10 inches of heavy rain fell in just a few hours overnight in central Kerr County, causing flash flooding of the Guadalupe River. Patrick said the river, which winds through Kerr County in Central Texas, rose 26 feet in 45 minutes during torrential rains overnight.“It’s going to be a mass casualty event,” said Freeman Martin, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety.Patrick added that San Antonio and Waco also could see flash flooding in the next 24 to 48 hours.Judge Rob Kelly, the chief elected official in Kerr County, said authorities are still working to identify those whose lives were lost.“Most of them, we don’t know who they are,” Kelly said during a news conference. “One of them was completely naked, he didn’t have any ID on him at all. We’re trying to get the identity of these folks, but we don’t have it yet.”<h2>Flood warning came after 1 a.m.</h2>A flood watch issued Thursday afternoon estimated isolated amounts up to 7 inches of rising water. That shifted to a flood warning for at least 30,000 people overnight.According to the National Weather Service website, the flash flood watch, which included Kerr County, was issued at 1:18 p.m. Thursday. Nearly 12 hours later, a "life threatening" flash flood warning was issued at 1:14 a.m., according to the website.When asked about the suddenness of the flash flooding overnight, Kelly said “we do not have a warning system” and that “we didn’t know this flood was coming,” even as local reporters pointed to the warnings and pushed him for answers about why more precautions weren’t taken.“Rest assured, no one knew this kind of flood was coming,” he said. “We have floods all the time. This is the most dangerous river valley in the United States.”Abbott said the state was providing resources to Hill Country communities dealing with the flooding, including in Kerrville, Ingram and Hunt.“I urge Texans to heed guidance from state and local officials and monitor local forecasts to avoid driving into flooded areas,” Abbott said in a statement.The Guadalupe’s river gauge at the unincorporated community of Hunt, where the river forks, recorded a 22 foot rise in just about two hours, according to Bob Fogarty, meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Austin/San Antonio office. Fogarty said the gauge failed after recording a level of 29 and a half feet.“We think the river’s higher than that,” Fogarty said. “The gauge is completely underwater.”The riverfront communities include several camps, wildlife habitats and campgrounds. Texas Game Wardens, part of the state parks and wildlife agency, said on Facebook that search and rescue teams are conducting rescues throughout the region and sending more boats to help.“This is the kind of thing that will catch you unaware,” Fogarty said. “The water’s moving so fast, you’re not going to recognize how bad it is until it’s on top of you.”<h2>Survivors describe overnight ordeal</h2>Erin Burgess’ home sits directly across from the river in the Bumble Bee Hills neighborhood, west of Ingram. When she woke up to thunder at 3:30 a.m. Friday morning, “it was raining pretty heavy, but no big deal,” she said.Just 20 minutes later, Burgess said water was coming in through the walls and rushing through the front and back doors. She described an agonizing hour clinging to a tree and waiting for the water to recede enough that they were able to walk up the hill to a neighbor's.“My son and I floated to a tree where we hung onto it, and my boyfriend and my dog floated away. He was lost for a while, but we found them,” she said, becoming emotional.Of her 19-year-old son, Burgess said: “Thankfully he’s over 6 feet tall. That’s the only thing that saved me, was hanging on to him.”Dozens of people posted on Facebook asking for any information on their children, nieces and nephews attending one of the many camps in the area, or family members that went camping during the holiday weekend.Ingram Fire Department posted a photo of a statement from Camp Mystic, saying the private Christian summer camp for girls experienced “catastrophic level floods.” Parents with a daughter not accounted for were directly contacted, the camp said.Another camp on the river located east of Hunt, Camp Waldemar, said in an Instagram post that “we are all safe and sound.”Disclosure: Facebook has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete&nbsp;<a href="https://www.texastribune.org/support-us/corporate-sponsors/">list of them here</a>.

Death toll from Texas flash floods rises to 24 as rescue efforts continue

PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo.&nbsp;– Approximately 200 Marines from Marine Wing Support Squadron 272, Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina, are conducting a movement to Florida, to augment U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) interior immigration enforcement mission with critical administrative and logistical capabilities at locations as directed by ICE, according to a statement from the U.S. Northern Command.

Responding to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) request received May 9, 2025, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/4218703/statement-by-chief-pentagon-spokesman-sean-parnell-on-dod-administrative-and-lo">Secretary of Defense</a>&nbsp;approved a mobilization of up to 700 Active, National Guard, and Reserve component forces operating under Title 10 authority.

These Marines are the first wave of U.S. Northern Command’s (USNORTHCOM’s) support of this ICE mission. Other support locations will include Louisiana and Texas. Service members participating in this mission will perform&nbsp;strictly non-law enforcement&nbsp;duties within ICE facilities. Their roles will focus on administrative and logistical tasks, and they are&nbsp;specifically prohibited&nbsp;from direct contact with individuals in ICE custody or involvement in any aspect of the custody chain.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1733965183962.png" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo.&nbsp;– Approximately 200 Marines from Marine Wing Support Squadron 272, Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina, are conducting a movement to Florida, to augment U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) interior immigration enforcement mission with critical administrative and logistical capabilities at locations as directed by ICE, according to a statement from the U.S. Northern Command.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1740147958319.png" alt="File photo (Courtesy of Miami ICE Enforcement &amp; Removal Operations office)" />
 <figcaption>File photo (Courtesy of Miami ICE Enforcement &amp; Removal Operations office)</figcaption>
 </figure>Responding to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) request received May 9, 2025, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/4218703/statement-by-chief-pentagon-spokesman-sean-parnell-on-dod-administrative-and-lo">Secretary of Defense</a>&nbsp;approved a mobilization of up to 700 Active, National Guard, and Reserve component forces operating under Title 10 authority.These Marines are the first wave of U.S. Northern Command’s (USNORTHCOM’s) support of this ICE mission. Other support locations will include Louisiana and Texas. Service members participating in this mission will perform&nbsp;strictly non-law enforcement&nbsp;duties within ICE facilities. Their roles will focus on administrative and logistical tasks, and they are&nbsp;specifically prohibited&nbsp;from direct contact with individuals in ICE custody or involvement in any aspect of the custody chain.

Military sending 200 Marines to help ICE in Florida

Fighter jets and stealth bombers streaked through the sky over the annual White House Fourth of July picnic on Friday.

“America's winning, winning, winning like never before,” Trump said, noting last month's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-nuclear-sites-bombing-hegseth-trump-4014575fca3923cf29772d1c0b876206">bombing campaign</a>&nbsp;against Iran's nuclear program, which he said the flyover was meant to honor. “Promises made, promises kept, and we've kept them.”

The White House was hung with red, white and blue bunting for the Independence Day festivities. The U.S. Marine Band played patriotic marches.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1751672721412.png" alt="The fighter jets and B2 bomber over the Washington monument on Friday-Image from White House video" />
 <figcaption>The fighter jets and B2 bomber over the Washington monument on Friday-Image from White House video</figcaption>
 </figure>Fighter jets and stealth bombers streaked through the sky over the annual White House Fourth of July picnic on Friday.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">White House B-2 bomber flyover. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/4thofJuly?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#4thofJuly</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/July4th?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#July4th</a> <a href="https://t.co/aFcSxASKpM">pic.twitter.com/aFcSxASKpM</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1941279537704096154?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“America's winning, winning, winning like never before,” Trump said, noting last month's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-nuclear-sites-bombing-hegseth-trump-4014575fca3923cf29772d1c0b876206">bombing campaign</a>&nbsp;against Iran's nuclear program, which he said the flyover was meant to honor. “Promises made, promises kept, and we've kept them.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1751740938382.jpeg" alt="photo White House" />
 <figcaption>photo White House</figcaption>
 </figure>The White House was hung with red, white and blue bunting for the Independence Day festivities. The U.S. Marine Band played patriotic marches.

🎥 Dramatic flyover at White House Fourth of July picnic

<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">🚨 THE ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL IS NOW OFFICIALLY THE LAW OF THE LAND! <a href="https://t.co/mOpYN0tiZ0">pic.twitter.com/mOpYN0tiZ0</a>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1941253557665321187?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥 Trump signs Big, Beautiful Bill into law

By:&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/author/cindygonzalez/">Cindy Gonzalez</a> <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/fortenberry-seeks-two-month-delay-of-re-trial-to-wait-for-trump-justice-department/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN —&nbsp;Gov. Jim Pillen on Thursday announced an interim director for the Nebraska Department of Economic Development: Maureen Larsen, who currently serves as the governor’s general counsel.

Larsen, who earned her law degree from the University of Nebraska College of Law, also serves as Pillen’s deputy director of policy research. The policy division serves as the governor’s personal lobbying arm.

She is to transition from her current role July 21, replacing K.C. Belitz, whose resignation was announced suddenly last month after serving two years on the job. Belitz’s final day as DED director is July 18.

Larsen earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont.&nbsp;

The DED director has been a rather high-profile position, overseeing grants and funding for economic development ventures and attending related ribbon-cuttings for projects across the state.

Larsen’s general counsel and policy research position has been more behind the scenes. She was quoted in a 2023 Flatwater Free Press story about an apparent unprecedented move by the Pillen administration to shield the governor’s communications.

Larsen, in a response to the news outlet’s request for email, said certain communication of the governor was “protected by executive privilege” or “deliberative process privilege,” the FFP reported.&nbsp;

Several former and current officials and advocates told the FFP they couldn’t recall any other Nebraska governors invoking that privilege to deny access to records.

Pillen’s media statement thanked Belitz for his service. It did not indicate when a permanent DED director might be named.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1751668482431.png" alt=" Gov. Jim Pillen tapped Maureen Larsen, his office’s general counsel, as the interim director of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development beginning July 21, 2025. (Capitol photo by Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner | Larsen photo courtesy of Office of Gov. Jim Pillen)" />
 <figcaption> Gov. Jim Pillen tapped Maureen Larsen, his office’s general counsel, as the interim director of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development beginning July 21, 2025. (Capitol photo by Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner | Larsen photo courtesy of Office of Gov. Jim Pillen)</figcaption>
 </figure>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/author/cindygonzalez/">Cindy Gonzalez</a> <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/fortenberry-seeks-two-month-delay-of-re-trial-to-wait-for-trump-justice-department/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN —&nbsp;Gov. Jim Pillen on Thursday announced an interim director for the Nebraska Department of Economic Development: Maureen Larsen, who currently serves as the governor’s general counsel.Larsen, who earned her law degree from the University of Nebraska College of Law, also serves as Pillen’s deputy director of policy research. The policy division serves as the governor’s personal lobbying arm.She is to transition from her current role July 21, replacing K.C. Belitz, whose resignation was announced suddenly last month after serving two years on the job. Belitz’s final day as DED director is July 18.Larsen earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont.&nbsp;The DED director has been a rather high-profile position, overseeing grants and funding for economic development ventures and attending related ribbon-cuttings for projects across the state.Larsen’s general counsel and policy research position has been more behind the scenes. She was quoted in a 2023 Flatwater Free Press story about an apparent unprecedented move by the Pillen administration to shield the governor’s communications.Larsen, in a response to the news outlet’s request for email, said certain communication of the governor was “protected by executive privilege” or “deliberative process privilege,” the FFP reported.&nbsp;Several former and current officials and advocates told the FFP they couldn’t recall any other Nebraska governors invoking that privilege to deny access to records.Pillen’s media statement thanked Belitz for his service. It did not indicate when a permanent DED director might be named.

Pillen announces interim director of Nebraska economic development 

<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">“We’re going to have a UFC fight, think of this, on the grounds of the White House. We have a lot of land there. We&#39;re gonna build a little - Dana&#39;s gonna do it... Championship fight, full fight, like 20, 25,000 people. And we&#39;re going to do that as part of A250&quot; - Trump in Iowa <a href="https://t.co/5Dkam2IFWU">pic.twitter.com/5Dkam2IFWU</a>&mdash; Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) <a href="https://twitter.com/HowardMortman/status/1941078076903043230?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥Trump says he plans to host UFC fight at the White House

Despite political posturing, Rep. Don Bacon ultimately follows along to give Trump his domestic agenda

By:&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/author/jsalinas/">Juan Salinas II</a> <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — Republican leadership on the Hill successfully wrangled enough Senate and House Republicans, including the Nebraska federal delegation, into supporting President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill.”&nbsp;

The bill passed the U.S. House along party lines, 218-214, and will now be sent to the president to be signed into law. There was no political surprise from the all-Republican Nebraska federal delegation, who spent the week defending the GOP mega bill through national interviews on the Hill.

“We’re delivering on President Trump’s growth agenda,” Rep. Mike Flood, who represents eastern Nebraska’s 1st District, told Fox Business. “This is about growth.”&nbsp;

The only two House Republicans to vote against the bill were Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick and Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie.

Earlier this week, the GOP mega bill<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-senate-narrowly-passes-gop-megabill-after-overnight-session-sending-it-house" target="_blank">&nbsp;passed the Senate</a>&nbsp;after an overnight session, with a tie-breaking vote by Vice President JD Vance. U.S. Sens. Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts have been interviewed about what they said is the importance of preserving Trump’s tax cuts.

In a trend, Nebraska’s Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District Rep.&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/06/29/nebraska-u-s-rep-don-bacon-again-in-middle-of-fight-for-big-trump-bill/">Don Bacon vocally pushed back</a>, expressing concerns about the Senate version of the bill’s proposed cuts to Medicaid, emphasizing that he had received reassurances the bill would not degrade the quality of healthcare for people covered by Medicaid.&nbsp;

He even said he&nbsp;<a href="https://www.notus.org/congress/the-senates-reconciliation-bill-is-running-into-a-new-problem-house-moderates" target="_blank">won’t support the Senate’s reconciliation bill</a>&nbsp;if it cut the Medicaid provider tax rate.&nbsp;

But in the end, he voted for it. Bacon defended his vote, like the rest of the delegation, by emphasizing the preservation of the Trump tax cuts.&nbsp;

“I wish they had done the house … version,” Bacon told CNN, “But I have an opportunity to protect taxpayers … from a 20% tax increase.”&nbsp;

Rep. Adrian Smith, who represents Nebraska’s largely rural 3rd District, said&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/WaysandMeansGOP/status/1940688121751851097" target="_blank">on the House floor</a>, “We’re stopping a tax increase on the average middle class household.”&nbsp;

Trump and Republican leadership in Congress successfully made their self-imposed deadline of July 4 to get the “big beautiful bill” to the president’s desk. Now the delegation will try to sell the bill to Nebraskans, as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/06/25/donald-trump-big-beautiful-bill-polls-republicans-senate/84353553007/" target="_blank">multiple polls</a>&nbsp;indicate that Trump’s signature piece of legislation is unpopular among Americans who are aware of it.

The bill would make tax cuts from the first Trump administration permanent, cementing most of its benefits for high earners. It also introduces some new temporary tax breaks for workers earning less, boosts funding for immigration enforcement, starts funding Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defense program and accomplishes other goals from Trump’s domestic agenda.

To offset the cost of the mega bill, the plan is to reduce spending on the social safety net by adding work requirements for Medicaid and food stamps. Also, by&nbsp;lowering provider taxes, a tax nearly every state uses to help fund Medicaid programs.&nbsp;

Congressional experts have estimated that the package would add $3.253 trillion to the debt during the next decade. An analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office also estimates that 5.2 million adults would lose Medicaid coverage due to the stricter requirements, which are expected to save the federal government $280 billion over the next six years.

The bill would require able-bodied people and working-aged individuals to show the government proof of employment to remain on the program every six months.&nbsp;For months, state lawmakers, left-leaning political advocacy organizations, medical professionals, activists and some everyday Nebraskans have expressed concerns about the&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/06/23/nebraskans-raise-concerns-about-health-care-cuts-in-fed-budget-reconciliation/">“disastrous” consequences</a>&nbsp;of the mega bill’s Medicaid cuts for healthcare access and to rural hospitals.

Trump’s mega bill includes $50 billion for rural hospitals as an attempt to offset Medicaid cuts, but according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kff.org/policy-watch/how-might-federal-medicaid-cuts-in-the-senate-passed-reconciliation-bill-affect-rural-areas/" target="_blank">KFF, a health research organization, analysis</a>, those cuts could decrease Medicaid spending in rural areas by $155 billion over the next decade.&nbsp;&nbsp;

In Nebraska, it’s estimated that the state would lose between $3 billion and $5 billion in Medicaid federal funding over the next 10 years,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/allocating-cbos-estimates-of-federal-medicaid-spending-reductions-across-the-states-senate-reconciliation-bill/" target="_blank">according to KKF</a>.&nbsp;The director of the Nebraska Rural Health Association&nbsp;<a href="https://journalstar.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/article_b8494b09-3f88-4d9d-98f2-f23e241b1477.html#tracking-source=home-top-story" target="_blank">stated that six rural Nebraska hospitals</a>&nbsp;would likely close as a result.&nbsp;

<a href="https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/southwest-nebraska-hospital-announces-plans-to-close-blames-uncertainty-over-funding/" target="_blank">A rural hospital</a>&nbsp;in southwest Nebraska, Curtis Medical Center, has already announced plans to close in the coming months because of the anticipated Medicaid cuts.&nbsp;

“Unfortunately, the current financial environment, driven by anticipated federal budget cuts to Medicaid, has made it impossible for us to continue operating all of our services, many of which have faced significant financial challenges for years,” Troy Bruntz, president and CEO of Community Hospital, said in a news release.

Gov. Jim Pillen, shortly following the House vote, said in a statement that he believes Nebraska supports Trump’s vision for “the America First Agenda.”

“Nebraska’s Congressional delegation deserves a lot of credit for working day and night to deliver policy that puts our state and country on a trajectory of great growth,” Pillen said. He said the legislation “extends tax cuts for families, boosts our military, secures our border, and grows agriculture.”

Jeremy Nordquist, president of the Nebraska Hospital Association, said, that Nebraska hospitals have been “clear” throughout this debate: “This package will undermine health care in our state, hurt patients, and drive up insurance premiums.”

A Nebraska Appleseed spokesperson said the bill “will cause irreparable harm to Nebraskans for decades to come.” The advocacy group said, for example, 40,000 Nebraskans are at risk of losing their Medicaid healthcare by imposing the work requirements.

Nebraska Farm Bureau President Mark McHargue said Trump’s mega bill is “a win for Nebraska’s farm and ranch families, and we look forward to continuing to work with our stellar congressional delegation on legislation to improve the lives of our state’s food, fuel, and fiber producers.”&nbsp;&nbsp;

Nebraska Republican Party chair Mary Jane Truemper said it’s “a win for everyone who believes in a strong work ethic, limited government, and opportunity for all.”&nbsp;

Nebraska Democratic Party chair Jane Kleeb said the Republican Party has delivered a “devastating” blow to that American’s “promise of opportunity.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1751590039305.png" alt="There was no political surprise from the all-Republican Nebraska federal delegation" />
 <figcaption>There was no political surprise from the all-Republican Nebraska federal delegation</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Despite political posturing, Rep. Don Bacon ultimately follows along to give Trump his domestic agenda</h2>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/author/jsalinas/">Juan Salinas II</a> <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN — Republican leadership on the Hill successfully wrangled enough Senate and House Republicans, including the Nebraska federal delegation, into supporting President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill.”&nbsp;The bill passed the U.S. House along party lines, 218-214, and will now be sent to the president to be signed into law. There was no political surprise from the all-Republican Nebraska federal delegation, who spent the week defending the GOP mega bill through national interviews on the Hill.“We’re delivering on President Trump’s growth agenda,” Rep. Mike Flood, who represents eastern Nebraska’s 1st District, told Fox Business. “This is about growth.”&nbsp;The only two House Republicans to vote against the bill were Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick and Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie.Earlier this week, the GOP mega bill<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-senate-narrowly-passes-gop-megabill-after-overnight-session-sending-it-house" target="_blank">&nbsp;passed the Senate</a>&nbsp;after an overnight session, with a tie-breaking vote by Vice President JD Vance. U.S. Sens. Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts have been interviewed about what they said is the importance of preserving Trump’s tax cuts.In a trend, Nebraska’s Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District Rep.&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/06/29/nebraska-u-s-rep-don-bacon-again-in-middle-of-fight-for-big-trump-bill/">Don Bacon vocally pushed back</a>, expressing concerns about the Senate version of the bill’s proposed cuts to Medicaid, emphasizing that he had received reassurances the bill would not degrade the quality of healthcare for people covered by Medicaid.&nbsp;He even said he&nbsp;<a href="https://www.notus.org/congress/the-senates-reconciliation-bill-is-running-into-a-new-problem-house-moderates" target="_blank">won’t support the Senate’s reconciliation bill</a>&nbsp;if it cut the Medicaid provider tax rate.&nbsp;But in the end, he voted for it. Bacon defended his vote, like the rest of the delegation, by emphasizing the preservation of the Trump tax cuts.&nbsp;“I wish they had done the house … version,” Bacon told CNN, “But I have an opportunity to protect taxpayers … from a 20% tax increase.”&nbsp;Rep. Adrian Smith, who represents Nebraska’s largely rural 3rd District, said&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/WaysandMeansGOP/status/1940688121751851097" target="_blank">on the House floor</a>, “We’re stopping a tax increase on the average middle class household.”&nbsp;Trump and Republican leadership in Congress successfully made their self-imposed deadline of July 4 to get the “big beautiful bill” to the president’s desk. Now the delegation will try to sell the bill to Nebraskans, as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/06/25/donald-trump-big-beautiful-bill-polls-republicans-senate/84353553007/" target="_blank">multiple polls</a>&nbsp;indicate that Trump’s signature piece of legislation is unpopular among Americans who are aware of it.The bill would make tax cuts from the first Trump administration permanent, cementing most of its benefits for high earners. It also introduces some new temporary tax breaks for workers earning less, boosts funding for immigration enforcement, starts funding Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defense program and accomplishes other goals from Trump’s domestic agenda.To offset the cost of the mega bill, the plan is to reduce spending on the social safety net by adding work requirements for Medicaid and food stamps. Also, by&nbsp;lowering provider taxes, a tax nearly every state uses to help fund Medicaid programs.&nbsp;Congressional experts have estimated that the package would add $3.253 trillion to the debt during the next decade. An analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office also estimates that 5.2 million adults would lose Medicaid coverage due to the stricter requirements, which are expected to save the federal government $280 billion over the next six years.The bill would require able-bodied people and working-aged individuals to show the government proof of employment to remain on the program every six months.&nbsp;For months, state lawmakers, left-leaning political advocacy organizations, medical professionals, activists and some everyday Nebraskans have expressed concerns about the&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/06/23/nebraskans-raise-concerns-about-health-care-cuts-in-fed-budget-reconciliation/">“disastrous” consequences</a>&nbsp;of the mega bill’s Medicaid cuts for healthcare access and to rural hospitals.Trump’s mega bill includes $50 billion for rural hospitals as an attempt to offset Medicaid cuts, but according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kff.org/policy-watch/how-might-federal-medicaid-cuts-in-the-senate-passed-reconciliation-bill-affect-rural-areas/" target="_blank">KFF, a health research organization, analysis</a>, those cuts could decrease Medicaid spending in rural areas by $155 billion over the next decade.&nbsp;&nbsp;In Nebraska, it’s estimated that the state would lose between $3 billion and $5 billion in Medicaid federal funding over the next 10 years,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/allocating-cbos-estimates-of-federal-medicaid-spending-reductions-across-the-states-senate-reconciliation-bill/" target="_blank">according to KKF</a>.&nbsp;The director of the Nebraska Rural Health Association&nbsp;<a href="https://journalstar.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/article_b8494b09-3f88-4d9d-98f2-f23e241b1477.html#tracking-source=home-top-story" target="_blank">stated that six rural Nebraska hospitals</a>&nbsp;would likely close as a result.&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/southwest-nebraska-hospital-announces-plans-to-close-blames-uncertainty-over-funding/" target="_blank">A rural hospital</a>&nbsp;in southwest Nebraska, Curtis Medical Center, has already announced plans to close in the coming months because of the anticipated Medicaid cuts.&nbsp;“Unfortunately, the current financial environment, driven by anticipated federal budget cuts to Medicaid, has made it impossible for us to continue operating all of our services, many of which have faced significant financial challenges for years,” Troy Bruntz, president and CEO of Community Hospital, said in a news release.<h2>Local Nebraska reactions:</h2>Gov. Jim Pillen, shortly following the House vote, said in a statement that he believes Nebraska supports Trump’s vision for “the America First Agenda.”“Nebraska’s Congressional delegation deserves a lot of credit for working day and night to deliver policy that puts our state and country on a trajectory of great growth,” Pillen said. He said the legislation “extends tax cuts for families, boosts our military, secures our border, and grows agriculture.”Jeremy Nordquist, president of the Nebraska Hospital Association, said, that Nebraska hospitals have been “clear” throughout this debate: “This package will undermine health care in our state, hurt patients, and drive up insurance premiums.”A Nebraska Appleseed spokesperson said the bill “will cause irreparable harm to Nebraskans for decades to come.” The advocacy group said, for example, 40,000 Nebraskans are at risk of losing their Medicaid healthcare by imposing the work requirements.Nebraska Farm Bureau President Mark McHargue said Trump’s mega bill is “a win for Nebraska’s farm and ranch families, and we look forward to continuing to work with our stellar congressional delegation on legislation to improve the lives of our state’s food, fuel, and fiber producers.”&nbsp;&nbsp;Nebraska Republican Party chair Mary Jane Truemper said it’s “a win for everyone who believes in a strong work ethic, limited government, and opportunity for all.”&nbsp;Nebraska Democratic Party chair Jane Kleeb said the Republican Party has delivered a “devastating” blow to that American’s “promise of opportunity.”

Nebraska federal delegation lockstep on big Trump bill

<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: “From 1776 all the way through today, American patriots have won triumph after triumph, we’ve had victory after victory, and let nothing stand in the way of the USA.” 🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/hfq0JoVIgu">pic.twitter.com/hfq0JoVIgu</a>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1940947450841518461?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: Exactly one year from tomorrow, we will celebrate the 250th anniversary of America&#39;s founding... This evening, we are officially launching &quot;AMERICA 250&quot; — an enormous, year-long, nationwide celebration of our heritage, our flag, and our glorious American freedom. 🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/ffQuiio1WY">pic.twitter.com/ffQuiio1WY</a>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1940938639464452197?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: &quot;As we prepare to celebrate two and a half centuries of freedom, I am inviting America’s great religious communities to pray for our nation and for our people... as we chart our course toward the next 250 years, let us rededicate ourselves to ONE NATION UNDER GOD.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/ooso9kLNZf">pic.twitter.com/ooso9kLNZf</a>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1940945209661043064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> announces the &quot;Patriot Games&quot; as part of the America 250 celebration — in which top high school athletes from all 50 states participate in a nationally televised sporting event. <a href="https://t.co/02rnXtfgzV">pic.twitter.com/02rnXtfgzV</a>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1940942910167326808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥Trump kicks off yearlong celebration of America's 250th anniversary 

A Clackamas County, Oregon jury found former University of Kansas star and Portland Trail Blazer Ben McLemore guilty Thursday of raping and sexually assaulting a 21-year-old woman in 2021, according to a media release from Clackamas County.

McLemore, 32, was convicted in Clackamas County Circuit Court of Rape in the First Degree, Unlawful Sexual Penetration in the First Degree and Sexual Abuse in the Second Degree. He will be sentenced at 9:30 a.m. on July 9.

"We recognize there are those who fear individuals with celebrity status or a position of prominence can avoid prosecution. Not in Clackamas County. This case demonstrates my office prosecutes criminal acts regardless of the offender's community status," said District Attorney John Wentworth.

The sexual assault occurred on October 3, 2021, after a party at the Lake Oswego home of Robert Covington, another former Trail Blazer. Covington and McLemore were teammates at the time.

The victim had been drinking heavily and was "hammered unconscious drunk" that night, prosecutor Scott Healy told jurors. It's the most alcohol the woman ever had to drink in her life and the most intoxicated she's ever been, Healy said.

The victim vomited earlier in the evening and witnesses said she had difficulty walking, slurred speech and could barely lift her head, Healy said.

The victim passed out on a large living room couch around 2 a.m. Sometime later McLemore later began sleeping on the same couch.

Around 6 a.m., the victim regained partial consciousness when McLemore sexually penetrated her with his fingers then began having sexual intercourse with her.

The victim was "fading in and out" of consciousness, frightened and traumatized, Healy said. Later that day she sought a specialized medical examination for victims of sexual assault.

"(The defendant) needs to be held accountable for what he did. You can't do that to somebody, let alone somebody that you don't know either. You don't do that to people and just be able to get away with it. I don't care who you are," the victim said during her trial testimony.

Defense attorneys for McLemore disputed the victim's account of events. They claimed she initiated sexual contact and consented to it.

McLemore's attorneys asserted that although the victim and McLemore were both intoxicated and at the time of the encounter, the victim was sober enough to consent.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1751586386443.png" alt="McLemore- photo Clackamas County " />
 <figcaption>McLemore- photo Clackamas County </figcaption>
 </figure>A Clackamas County, Oregon jury found former University of Kansas star and Portland Trail Blazer Ben McLemore guilty Thursday of raping and sexually assaulting a 21-year-old woman in 2021, according to a media release from Clackamas County.McLemore, 32, was convicted in Clackamas County Circuit Court of Rape in the First Degree, Unlawful Sexual Penetration in the First Degree and Sexual Abuse in the Second Degree. He will be sentenced at 9:30 a.m. on July 9."We recognize there are those who fear individuals with celebrity status or a position of prominence can avoid prosecution. Not in Clackamas County. This case demonstrates my office prosecutes criminal acts regardless of the offender's community status," said District Attorney John Wentworth.The sexual assault occurred on October 3, 2021, after a party at the Lake Oswego home of Robert Covington, another former Trail Blazer. Covington and McLemore were teammates at the time.The victim had been drinking heavily and was "hammered unconscious drunk" that night, prosecutor Scott Healy told jurors. It's the most alcohol the woman ever had to drink in her life and the most intoxicated she's ever been, Healy said.The victim vomited earlier in the evening and witnesses said she had difficulty walking, slurred speech and could barely lift her head, Healy said.The victim passed out on a large living room couch around 2 a.m. Sometime later McLemore later began sleeping on the same couch.Around 6 a.m., the victim regained partial consciousness when McLemore sexually penetrated her with his fingers then began having sexual intercourse with her.The victim was "fading in and out" of consciousness, frightened and traumatized, Healy said. Later that day she sought a specialized medical examination for victims of sexual assault."(The defendant) needs to be held accountable for what he did. You can't do that to somebody, let alone somebody that you don't know either. You don't do that to people and just be able to get away with it. I don't care who you are," the victim said during her trial testimony.Defense attorneys for McLemore disputed the victim's account of events. They claimed she initiated sexual contact and consented to it.McLemore's attorneys asserted that although the victim and McLemore were both intoxicated and at the time of the encounter, the victim was sober enough to consent.

Former KU player convicted of rape, sexual assault in Oregon

By:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">Jennifer Shutt</a>

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans cleared the “big, beautiful bill” for President Donald Trump’s signature Thursday, marking an end to the painstaking months-long negotiations that began just after voters gave the GOP unified control of Washington during last year’s elections.

The final 218-214 vote on the expansive tax and spending cuts package marked a significant victory for Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., who were able to unify centrist and far-right members of the party against long odds and narrow majorities.

But the legislation’s real-world impacts include millions of Americans expected to lose access to Medicaid through new requirements and slashed spending, and state governments taking on a share of costs for a key nutrition program for low-income families. If voters oppose Republicans at the ballot box in return, it could mean the GOP loses the House during next year’s midterm elections.

In the end just two Republicans in the House and three in the Senate opposed the measure, which&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-senate-narrowly-passes-gop-megabill-after-overnight-session-sending-it-house" target="_blank">the Senate approved</a>&nbsp;earlier in the week with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote.

Trump posted on social media numerous times in the days leading up to the vote, thanking supportive Republicans who were praising the bill during interviews and threatening to back primary challenges against GOP lawmakers who stood in the way of passage.

“Largest Tax Cuts in History and a Booming Economy vs. Biggest Tax Increase in History, and a Failed Economy,” Trump posted just after midnight when it wasn’t yet clear the bill would pass. “What are the Republicans waiting for??? What are you trying to prove??? MAGA IS NOT HAPPY, AND IT’S COSTING YOU VOTES!!!”

Johnson said during a floor speech the legislation is a direct result of the November elections, when voters gave the GOP control of the House, Senate and the White House.

“That election was decisive. It was a bellwether. It was a time for choosing,” Johnson said. “And I tell you what — the American people chose, overwhelmingly, they chose the Republican Party.”

The package, he said, would make the country “stronger, safer and more prosperous than ever before.”

“We’ve had spirited debates, we’ve had months of deliberation and now we are finally ready to fulfill our promise to the American people,” Johnson said.

Republicans were spurred to write the tax provisions in the legislation to avoid a cliff at the end of the year, created by the party’s 2017 tax law. But the legislation holds dozens of other provisions as well, spanning border security, defense, energy production, health care and higher education aid.

The bill raises the country’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-senate-gop-wants-hike-debt-limit-5-trillion-mega-bill" target="_blank">debt limit by $5 trillion</a>, a staggering figure that many fiscal hawks would have once balked at, but is enough to get Republicans past the midterm elections before they’ll have to negotiate another deal to raise the country’s borrowing limit.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2025-07/61537-hr1-Senate-passed-additional-info7-1-25.pdf" target="_blank">latest analysis</a>&nbsp;of the measure projects it would add $3.4 trillion to deficits during the next decade compared to current law.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., called the health care provisions “reckless” during a speech that lasted nearly nine hours, forcing the vote to take place in the afternoon rather than early morning, and said the “bill represents the largest cut to health care in American history.”

“Almost $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid,” Jeffries said. “This runs directly contrary to what President Trump indicated in January, which was that he was going to love and cherish Medicaid. Nothing about this bill loves and cherishes Medicaid. It guts Medicaid.”

The speech broke the eight-hour-and-32-minute record that then-Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., set in 2021 when he sought to delay Democrats from passing a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. House leaders are allowed to exceed normal speaking limits through a privilege called the “magic minute.”

The nonpartisan health research organization KFF’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/allocating-cbos-estimates-of-federal-medicaid-spending-reductions-across-the-states-senate-reconciliation-bill/" target="_blank">analysis</a>&nbsp;of the package shows it would reduce federal spending on Medicaid by nearly $1 trillion during the next decade and lead to 11.8 million people becoming uninsured.

Republicans made numerous changes to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/gop-tax-cut-plans-may-depend-savings-medicaid-what-it-and-who-relies-it" target="_blank">the state-federal health program</a>&nbsp;for lower income people and some people with disabilities, including a requirement that some enrollees work, participate in community service, or attend an educational program for at least 80 hours a month.

Medicaid patients will no longer be able to have their care covered at Planned Parenthood for routine appointments, like annual physicals and cancer screenings, for one year. Congress has barred federal taxpayer dollars from going to abortions with limited exceptions for decades, but the new provision will block all Medicaid funding from going to Planned Parenthood, likely leading some of its clinics to close.

House passage followed several frenzied days on Capitol Hill as congressional leaders and Trump sought to sway holdouts to their side ahead of a self-imposed Fourth of July deadline.

The Senate, and then later the House, held overnight sessions followed by dramatic votes where several Republicans, who said publicly they didn’t actually like the bill, voted to approve it anyway.&nbsp;

GOP leaders didn’t have much room for error amid a narrow 53-seat Senate majority and a 220-212 advantage in the House. That delicate balance hovered in the background during the last several months, as talks over dozens of policy changes and spending cuts in the bill appeared deadlocked.

Any modifications meant to bring on board far-right members of the party had to be weighed against the policy goals of centrist lawmakers, who are most at risk of losing their seats during next year’s elections.

The House&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-house-republicans-push-through-massive-tax-and-spending-bill-slashing-medicaid" target="_blank">passed its first version of the bill</a>&nbsp;following a 215-214 vote in May, sending the legislation to the Senate, where Republicans in that chamber spent several weeks deciding which policies they could support and which they wanted to remove or rework.

The measure changed substantially to comply with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/five-questions-and-answers-about-reconciliation-us-senate" target="_blank">the complex rules for moving a budget reconciliation bill</a>&nbsp;through the upper chamber. GOP leaders chose to use that process, instead of moving the package through the regular legislative pathway, to avoid having to negotiate with Democrats to get past the Senate’s 60-vote legislative filibuster.

In the end nearly every one of the 273 Republicans in Congress approved the behemoth&nbsp;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1/text?s=6&amp;r=1&amp;q=%7B%22search%22%3A%22H.R.+1%22%7D" target="_blank">870-page bill.</a>

Floor debate on the bill in the House, which began around 3:30 a.m. Eastern Thursday and lasted 11 hours, was along party lines, with Democrats voicing strong opposition to changes in the package and GOP lawmakers arguing it puts the country on a better path.

GOP leaders didn’t originally plan to begin debate in the middle of the night while most of the country slept, but were forced to after&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-house-gop-struggles-advance-megabill-against-freedom-caucus-resistance" target="_blank">holdouts refused to give their votes</a>&nbsp;to a procedural step.

When the House did finally adopt the rule, Pennsylvania’s Brian Fitzpatrick was the sole member of his party to vote against moving onto floor debate and a final passage vote.

Fitzpatrick had&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/RepBrianFitz/status/1940451015125246089" target="_blank">posted on social media</a>&nbsp;earlier in the day that he wanted Trump “to address my serious concern regarding reports the United States is withholding critical defense material pledged to Ukraine.”

“Ukrainian forces are not only safeguarding their homeland—they are holding the front line of freedom itself,” he wrote. “There can be no half-measures in the defense of liberty. We must, as we always have, stand for peace through strength.”

House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., made significant promises to middle-class Americans during floor debate about the tax provisions in the bill that many voters will be watching for in the months ahead.&nbsp;

“Households making under $100,000 will see a 12% tax cut compared to what they pay today. The average family of four will see nearly 11,000 more in their pockets each year,” Smith said. “Real wages for workers will rise by as much as $7,200 a year. A waitress working for tips will keep an extra $1,300, a lineman working overtime after a storm will keep an extra $1,400.”

Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Richard Neal, ranking member on the tax writing panel, said the legislation’s benefits skew largely toward the very wealthy.

“If you made a million dollars last year, you’re going to make a plus of $96,000 in the next tax filing season,” Neal said. “If you made under $50,000 last year, you’re going to get 68 cents a day in terms of your tax relief.”

The extension of the 2017 tax law would predominantly benefit high-income earners. The top 1% would receive a tax cut three times the size of those with incomes in the bottom 60% of after-tax income,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/house-republican-tax-bill-is-skewed-to-wealthy-costs-more-than-extending-2017" target="_blank">according to analysis</a>&nbsp;from the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/1000-trump-accounts-babies-skewed-toward-wealthy-critics-say" target="_blank">Some other tax incentives</a>&nbsp;that critics say skew toward wealthier families include a $1,000 deposit from the federal government for babies born between 2024 and 2028, known as a “Trump account.” The program&nbsp;would track a stock index and gain interest accordingly and families with disposable income could contribute additional funding.

And while Republicans included an extension of the child tax credit to $2,200 per child, it requires the parents to have a Social Security number to claim the tax credit.

The bill will give the president more than $170 billion to carry out his campaign promise of mass deportations of people in the country without permanent legal status. The package would give the Department of Homeland Security $45 billion for the detention of immigrants and give its immigration enforcement arm another $30 billion to hire up to 10,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

The legislation will overhaul federal loans for higher education and how states pay for food assistance that roughly 42 million low-income people rely on, known as the&nbsp;Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

The bill would cap federal graduate loans to $100,000 per borrower and $200,000 per borrower who is attending law school or medical school. It would also cap the ParentPLUS loans to $65,000.

Under the SNAP changes, the package would require states to shoulder more of the burden in food assistance. Currently, the federal government covers 100% of the cost. The legislation tightens eligibility for SNAP, requiring parents with children aged 6 and older to meet the work requirements when they were previously exempt.

The SNAP changes would reduce federal spending on the program by $230 billion over 10 years.

The GOP megabill cuts clean energy tax credits and claws back some of the funding in former president Joe Biden’s signature climate bill, known as the Inflation Reduction Act.

Some of those cuts to clean energy tax credits include terminating at the end of September a nearly $8,000 rebate for the purchase of an electric vehicle, ending a tax credit by December for energy efficient home upgrades such as solar roof panels and heat pumps.

The package rescinds funds to help local governments and states adopt zero emission standards, and eliminates environmental justice block grants that communities used to address health impacts due to environmental pollution, among other things.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1751568967015.png" alt="The U.S. Capitol as lawmakers worked into the night on the “big beautiful bill” on July 2, 2025. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)" />
 <figcaption>The U.S. Capitol as lawmakers worked into the night on the “big beautiful bill” on July 2, 2025. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)</figcaption>
 </figure>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">Jennifer Shutt</a>WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans cleared the “big, beautiful bill” for President Donald Trump’s signature Thursday, marking an end to the painstaking months-long negotiations that began just after voters gave the GOP unified control of Washington during last year’s elections.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">✅ The House of Representatives just officially PASSED the One Big Beautiful Bill. The largest middle-class tax cut in American history — and so much more — is on its way to President Trump&#39;s desk. MAGA! <a href="https://t.co/V3U8xhenrS">pic.twitter.com/V3U8xhenrS</a>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1940841386305319258?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The final 218-214 vote on the expansive tax and spending cuts package marked a significant victory for Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., who were able to unify centrist and far-right members of the party against long odds and narrow majorities.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">VICTORY: The One Big Beautiful Bill Passes U.S. Congress, Heads to President Trump’s Desk 🇺🇸🎉 <a href="https://t.co/d1nbOlL21G">pic.twitter.com/d1nbOlL21G</a>&mdash; The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1940840879075611037?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>But the legislation’s real-world impacts include millions of Americans expected to lose access to Medicaid through new requirements and slashed spending, and state governments taking on a share of costs for a key nutrition program for low-income families. If voters oppose Republicans at the ballot box in return, it could mean the GOP loses the House during next year’s midterm elections.In the end just two Republicans in the House and three in the Senate opposed the measure, which&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-senate-narrowly-passes-gop-megabill-after-overnight-session-sending-it-house" target="_blank">the Senate approved</a>&nbsp;earlier in the week with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote.Trump posted on social media numerous times in the days leading up to the vote, thanking supportive Republicans who were praising the bill during interviews and threatening to back primary challenges against GOP lawmakers who stood in the way of passage.“Largest Tax Cuts in History and a Booming Economy vs. Biggest Tax Increase in History, and a Failed Economy,” Trump posted just after midnight when it wasn’t yet clear the bill would pass. “What are the Republicans waiting for??? What are you trying to prove??? MAGA IS NOT HAPPY, AND IT’S COSTING YOU VOTES!!!”Johnson said during a floor speech the legislation is a direct result of the November elections, when voters gave the GOP control of the House, Senate and the White House.“That election was decisive. It was a bellwether. It was a time for choosing,” Johnson said. “And I tell you what — the American people chose, overwhelmingly, they chose the Republican Party.”The package, he said, would make the country “stronger, safer and more prosperous than ever before.”“We’ve had spirited debates, we’ve had months of deliberation and now we are finally ready to fulfill our promise to the American people,” Johnson said.Republicans were spurred to write the tax provisions in the legislation to avoid a cliff at the end of the year, created by the party’s 2017 tax law. But the legislation holds dozens of other provisions as well, spanning border security, defense, energy production, health care and higher education aid.The bill raises the country’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-senate-gop-wants-hike-debt-limit-5-trillion-mega-bill" target="_blank">debt limit by $5 trillion</a>, a staggering figure that many fiscal hawks would have once balked at, but is enough to get Republicans past the midterm elections before they’ll have to negotiate another deal to raise the country’s borrowing limit.The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2025-07/61537-hr1-Senate-passed-additional-info7-1-25.pdf" target="_blank">latest analysis</a>&nbsp;of the measure projects it would add $3.4 trillion to deficits during the next decade compared to current law.<h2>Jeffries: “It guts Medicaid’</h2>House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., called the health care provisions “reckless” during a speech that lasted nearly nine hours, forcing the vote to take place in the afternoon rather than early morning, and said the “bill represents the largest cut to health care in American history.”“Almost $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid,” Jeffries said. “This runs directly contrary to what President Trump indicated in January, which was that he was going to love and cherish Medicaid. Nothing about this bill loves and cherishes Medicaid. It guts Medicaid.”The speech broke the eight-hour-and-32-minute record that then-Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., set in 2021 when he sought to delay Democrats from passing a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. House leaders are allowed to exceed normal speaking limits through a privilege called the “magic minute.”The nonpartisan health research organization KFF’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/allocating-cbos-estimates-of-federal-medicaid-spending-reductions-across-the-states-senate-reconciliation-bill/" target="_blank">analysis</a>&nbsp;of the package shows it would reduce federal spending on Medicaid by nearly $1 trillion during the next decade and lead to 11.8 million people becoming uninsured.Republicans made numerous changes to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/gop-tax-cut-plans-may-depend-savings-medicaid-what-it-and-who-relies-it" target="_blank">the state-federal health program</a>&nbsp;for lower income people and some people with disabilities, including a requirement that some enrollees work, participate in community service, or attend an educational program for at least 80 hours a month.Medicaid patients will no longer be able to have their care covered at Planned Parenthood for routine appointments, like annual physicals and cancer screenings, for one year. Congress has barred federal taxpayer dollars from going to abortions with limited exceptions for decades, but the new provision will block all Medicaid funding from going to Planned Parenthood, likely leading some of its clinics to close.<h2>Overnight drama</h2>House passage followed several frenzied days on Capitol Hill as congressional leaders and Trump sought to sway holdouts to their side ahead of a self-imposed Fourth of July deadline.The Senate, and then later the House, held overnight sessions followed by dramatic votes where several Republicans, who said publicly they didn’t actually like the bill, voted to approve it anyway.&nbsp;GOP leaders didn’t have much room for error amid a narrow 53-seat Senate majority and a 220-212 advantage in the House. That delicate balance hovered in the background during the last several months, as talks over dozens of policy changes and spending cuts in the bill appeared deadlocked.Any modifications meant to bring on board far-right members of the party had to be weighed against the policy goals of centrist lawmakers, who are most at risk of losing their seats during next year’s elections.The House&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-house-republicans-push-through-massive-tax-and-spending-bill-slashing-medicaid" target="_blank">passed its first version of the bill</a>&nbsp;following a 215-214 vote in May, sending the legislation to the Senate, where Republicans in that chamber spent several weeks deciding which policies they could support and which they wanted to remove or rework.The measure changed substantially to comply with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/five-questions-and-answers-about-reconciliation-us-senate" target="_blank">the complex rules for moving a budget reconciliation bill</a>&nbsp;through the upper chamber. GOP leaders chose to use that process, instead of moving the package through the regular legislative pathway, to avoid having to negotiate with Democrats to get past the Senate’s 60-vote legislative filibuster.In the end nearly every one of the 273 Republicans in Congress approved the behemoth&nbsp;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1/text?s=6&amp;r=1&amp;q=%7B%22search%22%3A%22H.R.+1%22%7D" target="_blank">870-page bill.</a><h2>GOP holdouts delay passage</h2>Floor debate on the bill in the House, which began around 3:30 a.m. Eastern Thursday and lasted 11 hours, was along party lines, with Democrats voicing strong opposition to changes in the package and GOP lawmakers arguing it puts the country on a better path.GOP leaders didn’t originally plan to begin debate in the middle of the night while most of the country slept, but were forced to after&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-house-gop-struggles-advance-megabill-against-freedom-caucus-resistance" target="_blank">holdouts refused to give their votes</a>&nbsp;to a procedural step.When the House did finally adopt the rule, Pennsylvania’s Brian Fitzpatrick was the sole member of his party to vote against moving onto floor debate and a final passage vote.Fitzpatrick had&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/RepBrianFitz/status/1940451015125246089" target="_blank">posted on social media</a>&nbsp;earlier in the day that he wanted Trump “to address my serious concern regarding reports the United States is withholding critical defense material pledged to Ukraine.”“Ukrainian forces are not only safeguarding their homeland—they are holding the front line of freedom itself,” he wrote. “There can be no half-measures in the defense of liberty. We must, as we always have, stand for peace through strength.”<h2>Tax breaks and so much more</h2>House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., made significant promises to middle-class Americans during floor debate about the tax provisions in the bill that many voters will be watching for in the months ahead.&nbsp;“Households making under $100,000 will see a 12% tax cut compared to what they pay today. The average family of four will see nearly 11,000 more in their pockets each year,” Smith said. “Real wages for workers will rise by as much as $7,200 a year. A waitress working for tips will keep an extra $1,300, a lineman working overtime after a storm will keep an extra $1,400.”Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Richard Neal, ranking member on the tax writing panel, said the legislation’s benefits skew largely toward the very wealthy.“If you made a million dollars last year, you’re going to make a plus of $96,000 in the next tax filing season,” Neal said. “If you made under $50,000 last year, you’re going to get 68 cents a day in terms of your tax relief.”The extension of the 2017 tax law would predominantly benefit high-income earners. The top 1% would receive a tax cut three times the size of those with incomes in the bottom 60% of after-tax income,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/house-republican-tax-bill-is-skewed-to-wealthy-costs-more-than-extending-2017" target="_blank">according to analysis</a>&nbsp;from the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/1000-trump-accounts-babies-skewed-toward-wealthy-critics-say" target="_blank">Some other tax incentives</a>&nbsp;that critics say skew toward wealthier families include a $1,000 deposit from the federal government for babies born between 2024 and 2028, known as a “Trump account.” The program&nbsp;would track a stock index and gain interest accordingly and families with disposable income could contribute additional funding.And while Republicans included an extension of the child tax credit to $2,200 per child, it requires the parents to have a Social Security number to claim the tax credit.The bill will give the president more than $170 billion to carry out his campaign promise of mass deportations of people in the country without permanent legal status. The package would give the Department of Homeland Security $45 billion for the detention of immigrants and give its immigration enforcement arm another $30 billion to hire up to 10,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.<h2>Food aid, higher education</h2>The legislation will overhaul federal loans for higher education and how states pay for food assistance that roughly 42 million low-income people rely on, known as the&nbsp;Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.The bill would cap federal graduate loans to $100,000 per borrower and $200,000 per borrower who is attending law school or medical school. It would also cap the ParentPLUS loans to $65,000.Under the SNAP changes, the package would require states to shoulder more of the burden in food assistance. Currently, the federal government covers 100% of the cost. The legislation tightens eligibility for SNAP, requiring parents with children aged 6 and older to meet the work requirements when they were previously exempt.The SNAP changes would reduce federal spending on the program by $230 billion over 10 years.The GOP megabill cuts clean energy tax credits and claws back some of the funding in former president Joe Biden’s signature climate bill, known as the Inflation Reduction Act.Some of those cuts to clean energy tax credits include terminating at the end of September a nearly $8,000 rebate for the purchase of an electric vehicle, ending a tax credit by December for energy efficient home upgrades such as solar roof panels and heat pumps.The package rescinds funds to help local governments and states adopt zero emission standards, and eliminates environmental justice block grants that communities used to address health impacts due to environmental pollution, among other things.

US House passes massive tax break and spending cut bill, sending it to Trump

<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY, <a href="https://twitter.com/RepJeffries?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RepJeffries</a>) concludes his record-setting floor speech (8 hrs. 44 min.): &quot;No matter the outcome on this single day, we&#39;re going to press on...we&#39;re going to press on for our children, press on for our seniors, press on for our… <a href="https://t.co/Q2I7YQnyaP">pic.twitter.com/Q2I7YQnyaP</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1940829573647663207?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Here&#39;s the moment Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) set the record for longest floor speech in the U.S. House of Representatives. <a href="https://t.co/2IT8Hwx2Ax">pic.twitter.com/2IT8Hwx2Ax</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1940826628784902333?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">&quot;MAGIC MINUTE&quot; RECORD: On Nov. 18-19, 2021, then Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy spoke on the House floor for a record 8 hours and 32 minutes. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries began his floor remarks at 4:53am ET – 8 hours and 33 minutes ago. <a href="https://t.co/jHjfBs6njh">pic.twitter.com/jHjfBs6njh</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1940824776798621849?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><a href="https://t.co/G3gpC9zbgi">pic.twitter.com/G3gpC9zbgi</a>&mdash; Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) <a href="https://twitter.com/HowardMortman/status/1940828336877719972?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥Rep. Jeffries sets record for longest House speech to delay Trump's tax bill

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) estimated 95.2 million acres of corn planted in the United States for 2025, up 5% from last year, according to the Acreage report released today. Soybean area planted is estimated at 83.4 million acres, down 4% from last year.

Following up on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nass.usda.gov/Newsroom/2025/03-31-2025.php">Prospective Plantings</a>&nbsp;report released in March, NASS surveyed approximately 67,700 farm operators during the first two weeks of June to gather information on what farmers actually planted. Key findings released in the Acreage report include:

NASS also released the quarterly Grain Stocks and Rice Stocks reports to provide estimates of on-farm and off-farm stocks as of June 1. Key findings in those reports include:

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1751542280454.jpeg" alt="NASS surveyed approximately 67,700 farm operators during the first two weeks of June. (Stock photo by Jenn Simpson on Unsplash)" />
 <figcaption>NASS surveyed approximately 67,700 farm operators during the first two weeks of June. (Stock photo by Jenn Simpson on Unsplash)</figcaption>
 </figure>By&nbsp;—USDA NASSWASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) estimated 95.2 million acres of corn planted in the United States for 2025, up 5% from last year, according to the Acreage report released today. Soybean area planted is estimated at 83.4 million acres, down 4% from last year.Following up on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nass.usda.gov/Newsroom/2025/03-31-2025.php">Prospective Plantings</a>&nbsp;report released in March, NASS surveyed approximately 67,700 farm operators during the first two weeks of June to gather information on what farmers actually planted. Key findings released in the Acreage report include:Corn<ul>
 <li>Growers expect to harvest 86.8 million acres of corn for grain, up 5% from 2024.</li><li>Ninety-four percent of all corn acres planted in the United States are biotech varieties, the same as 2024.</li>
 </ul>Soybeans<ul>
 <li><a href="https://www.morningagclips.com/tag/soybeans/">Soybean</a>&nbsp;harvested area for 2025 is estimated at 82.5 million acres, down 4% from last year.</li><li>Producers planted 96% of the soybean acreage using herbicide resistant seed varieties, the same as 2024.</li>
 </ul>Cotton<ul>
 <li>All cotton planted area for 2025 is estimated at 10.1 million acres, 10% below 2024.</li><li>Upland cotton planted is estimated at 9.95 million acres, down 9% from last year.</li><li>American Pima planted area is estimated at 171,000 acres, down 17% from 2024.</li><li>Ninety-seven percent of Upland cotton planted acres are biotech varieties, up 1% from last year.</li>
 </ul>Wheat<ul>
 <li>All wheat planted area for 2025 is estimated at 45.5 million acres, down 1% from last year.</li><li>Winter wheat planted area is estimated at 33.3 million acres, down less than 1% from 2024.</li><li>Other spring wheat planted area is estimated at 10.0 million acres, down 5% from 2024.</li><li>Durum wheat planted area is estimated at 2.11 million acres, up 2% from last year.</li>
 </ul>NASS also released the quarterly Grain Stocks and Rice Stocks reports to provide estimates of on-farm and off-farm stocks as of June 1. Key findings in those reports include:Grain Stocks<ul>
 <li>Corn stocks totaled 4.64 billion bushels, down 7% from the same time last year.</li><li>On-farm corn stocks were down 16% from a year ago, and off-farm stocks were up 6%.</li><li>Soybeans stored totaled 1.01 billion bushels, up 4% from June 1, 2024.</li><li>On-farm soybean stocks were down 12% from a year ago, while off-farm stocks were up 18%.</li><li>All wheat stored totaled 851 million bushels, up 22% from a year ago.</li><li>On-farm all wheat stocks were up 32% from last year, while off-farm stocks were up 20%.</li><li>Durum wheat stored totaled 27.9 million bushels, up 32% from June 1, 2024.</li><li>On-farm stocks of Durum wheat were up 41% from June 1, 2024.</li><li>Off-farm stocks of Durum wheat were up 25% from a year earlier.</li>
 </ul>Grain Stocks<ul>
 <li>Rough rice stocks totaled 69.7 million hundredweight, up 15% from June 1, 2024.</li><li>On-farm rice stocks were up 94% from a year ago, while off-farm stocks were up 7%.</li><li>Long grain rice varieties accounted for 69% of the total rough rice, medium grain accounted for 30%, and short grain varieties accounted for 1%.</li><li>Milled rice stocks totaled 6.09 million hundredweight, up 26% from a year ago.</li><li>Milled rice stocks were comprised of 4.01 million hundredweight of whole kernel rice and 2.08 million hundredweight of second heads, screenings, and brewers rice.</li>
 </ul>

Corn Planted Acreage Up 5% From 2024, Soybean Acreage Down 4% From Last Year

By:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">Jennifer Shutt</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/ashley-murray/">Ashley Murray</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/ariana-figueroa/">Ariana Figueroa</a>

WASHINGTON —&nbsp; U.S. House Republican efforts to pass the “big, beautiful bill” hit a roadblock Wednesday, when leaders left the chamber in a holding pattern for more than seven hours before calling a procedural vote that stalled amid opposition from hard-right members and others.

The House must adopt the rule in order to set up floor debate and a final passage vote for the tax break and spending cut package. But with four Republicans voting against it and nine withholding their votes, the House remained at a standstill around 11 p.m. Eastern.

GOP Reps. Andrew Clyde of Georgia, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Keith Self of Texas and Victoria Spartz of Indiana had cast votes against approving the rule, though they could flip since leadership hadn’t closed the vote. Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris of Maryland was among the members withholding their votes in protest.

Far-right members of the House GOP objected strongly to the Senate version passed Tuesday, which reflected changes made during the past month compared to an earlier version passed in the House. Members of the House Freedom Caucus&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/freedomcaucus/status/1940425177638002840" target="_blank">opposed</a>&nbsp;provisions dealing with immigration and the repeal of clean energy tax credits, as well as the measure’s increase in the deficit.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2025-07/61537-hr1-Senate-passed-additional-info7-1-25.pdf" target="_blank">released an analysis</a>&nbsp;after the Senate voted, showing the bill would increase deficits by $3.4 trillion during the next decade compared to current law.

‘We can’t make everyone 100% happy’

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said earlier in the day he felt ​​”very positive about the progress” made during ongoing negotiations, but didn’t commit to having the necessary votes.

“The thing about it is, when you have a piece of legislation that is this comprehensive and with so many agenda items involved, you’re going to have lots of different priorities and preferences among people because they represent different districts and they have different interests,” Johnson said. “But we can’t make everyone 100% happy. It’s impossible.”

Johnson said he would never ask lawmakers to “compromise core principles, but preferences must be yielded for the greater good.”

South Dakota Republican Rep. Dusty Johnson told reporters before the delay that “the rule going down would be a very unfortunate development.”

But he expressed confidence in Speaker Johnson’s ability to bring holdouts on board eventually, potentially by making commitments tied to future bills.

“Speaker Johnson has not made any promises. He has been really good about talking about legislative vehicles that will exist in the months to come,” Dusty Johnson said. “Reconciliation is not the only tool in the Republican, or I should say in the congressional toolbox. Mike Johnson’s done a good job of making people understand there are other ways we can get things done.”

Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy said a few hours before the rule vote began that holdouts were “exploring all of the options legislatively and through the executive.”

“We were not happy with what the Senate produced,” Roy said. “We thought there was a path forward as of late last week, even though I had concerns. I’ve been public about them. But then they jammed it through at the last minute in a way that we’re not overly excited about.”

Roy said that “everything is on the table at the moment,” when asked by States Newsroom if he hoped to get concessions from leaders on this package or deals struck for future bills.

Several House GOP lawmakers traveled to the White House earlier in the day to meet with President Donald Trump, who was also attempting to assuage concerns through several social media posts.

“It looks like the House is ready to vote tonight,’ Trump posted minutes before the rule vote began. “We had GREAT conversations all day, and the Republican House Majority is UNITED, for the Good of our Country, delivering the Biggest Tax Cuts in History and MASSIVE Growth. Let’s go Republicans, and everyone else – MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

House Rules Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., urged support for approving the rule during floor debate, arguing it was essential for GOP lawmakers to deliver on campaign promises.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1751546897594.png" alt="Missouri 8th District Rep. Jason Smith during the overnight debaate-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Missouri 8th District Rep. Jason Smith during the overnight debaate-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">Jennifer Shutt</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/ashley-murray/">Ashley Murray</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/ariana-figueroa/">Ariana Figueroa</a>WASHINGTON —&nbsp; U.S. House Republican efforts to pass the “big, beautiful bill” hit a roadblock Wednesday, when leaders left the chamber in a holding pattern for more than seven hours before calling a procedural vote that stalled amid opposition from hard-right members and others.The House must adopt the rule in order to set up floor debate and a final passage vote for the tax break and spending cut package. But with four Republicans voting against it and nine withholding their votes, the House remained at a standstill around 11 p.m. Eastern.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1751536826780.png" alt="As House Speaker Mike Johnson looks on, Kansas 4th District Rep. Ron Estes speaks during the overnight session in the House on the battle to pass the Big, Beautiful Bill-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>As House Speaker Mike Johnson looks on, Kansas 4th District Rep. Ron Estes speaks during the overnight session in the House on the battle to pass the Big, Beautiful Bill-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>GOP Reps. Andrew Clyde of Georgia, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Keith Self of Texas and Victoria Spartz of Indiana had cast votes against approving the rule, though they could flip since leadership hadn’t closed the vote. Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris of Maryland was among the members withholding their votes in protest.Far-right members of the House GOP objected strongly to the Senate version passed Tuesday, which reflected changes made during the past month compared to an earlier version passed in the House. Members of the House Freedom Caucus&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/freedomcaucus/status/1940425177638002840" target="_blank">opposed</a>&nbsp;provisions dealing with immigration and the repeal of clean energy tax credits, as well as the measure’s increase in the deficit.The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2025-07/61537-hr1-Senate-passed-additional-info7-1-25.pdf" target="_blank">released an analysis</a>&nbsp;after the Senate voted, showing the bill would increase deficits by $3.4 trillion during the next decade compared to current law.<h2>‘We can’t make everyone 100% happy’</h2>Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said earlier in the day he felt ​​”very positive about the progress” made during ongoing negotiations, but didn’t commit to having the necessary votes.“The thing about it is, when you have a piece of legislation that is this comprehensive and with so many agenda items involved, you’re going to have lots of different priorities and preferences among people because they represent different districts and they have different interests,” Johnson said. “But we can’t make everyone 100% happy. It’s impossible.”Johnson said he would never ask lawmakers to “compromise core principles, but preferences must be yielded for the greater good.”South Dakota Republican Rep. Dusty Johnson told reporters before the delay that “the rule going down would be a very unfortunate development.”But he expressed confidence in Speaker Johnson’s ability to bring holdouts on board eventually, potentially by making commitments tied to future bills.“Speaker Johnson has not made any promises. He has been really good about talking about legislative vehicles that will exist in the months to come,” Dusty Johnson said. “Reconciliation is not the only tool in the Republican, or I should say in the congressional toolbox. Mike Johnson’s done a good job of making people understand there are other ways we can get things done.”Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy said a few hours before the rule vote began that holdouts were “exploring all of the options legislatively and through the executive.”“We were not happy with what the Senate produced,” Roy said. “We thought there was a path forward as of late last week, even though I had concerns. I’ve been public about them. But then they jammed it through at the last minute in a way that we’re not overly excited about.”Roy said that “everything is on the table at the moment,” when asked by States Newsroom if he hoped to get concessions from leaders on this package or deals struck for future bills.<h2>Trump presses House GOP</h2>Several House GOP lawmakers traveled to the White House earlier in the day to meet with President Donald Trump, who was also attempting to assuage concerns through several social media posts.“It looks like the House is ready to vote tonight,’ Trump posted minutes before the rule vote began. “We had GREAT conversations all day, and the Republican House Majority is UNITED, for the Good of our Country, delivering the Biggest Tax Cuts in History and MASSIVE Growth. Let’s go Republicans, and everyone else – MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”House Rules Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., urged support for approving the rule during floor debate, arguing it was essential for GOP lawmakers to deliver on campaign promises.“This legislation is the embodiment of the America First agenda and we would all do well to remember that,” Foxx said. “Failure at this critical juncture is not an option. This clock is ticking, the president and the American people are waiting. ”Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern, ranking member on the panel, railed against the dozens of provisions Senate Republicans bundled together in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1/text?s=6&amp;r=1&amp;q=%7B%22search%22%3A%22H.R.+1%22%7D" target="_blank">870-page package</a>, including some added just Tuesday.“This process — an abomination, legislative malpractice,” McGovern said. “Final text of this bill came out less than 24 hours ago. We met in committee an hour after it was posted and now we’re here considering a rule that only allows for one hour of debate.“This bill is within the jurisdiction of 12 different committees. One hour is ridiculous. And every minute we’re finding out new things that were snuck into the bill: a tax cut for whalers and now we’re learning about a gambling tax.”<h2>Tax cuts favor higher incomes</h2>The bill — which underwent weeks of revisions in the Senate after a prior version&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-house-republicans-push-through-massive-tax-and-spending-bill-slashing-medicaid" target="_blank">barely passed the House</a>&nbsp;in May — will extend and expand the 2017 GOP tax law while overhauling several safety-net programs and slashing spending on Medicaid.Those tax cuts skew toward wealthier income earners. The top 1% would receive a cut three times the size of those with incomes in the bottom 60% of after-tax income,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/house-republican-tax-bill-is-skewed-to-wealthy-costs-more-than-extending-2017" target="_blank">according to analysis</a>&nbsp;from the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. It also makes permanent some tax breaks on business investments and research and development costs.The package makes substantial changes to Medicaid, including requiring some people on the program to work, participate in community service, or attend an educational program for at least 80 hours a month.It will block any Medicaid funding from going to Planned Parenthood for one year, essentially requiring enrollees to find other health care options for routine appointments such as cancer screenings, birth control and sexually transmitted infections treatment and screening. Using federal taxpayer dollars for abortion coverage has been restricted for decades, with limited exceptions.The legislation requires state governments to pay for a portion of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for the first time if they cannot get error payment rates under a certain percentage. SNAP is the primary federal nutrition program that feeds low-income people and roughly 42 million rely on it.It bolsters spending on border security and defense by hundreds of billions of dollars, including line items for the “golden dome” missile defense system and additional barriers along the southern border.The measure would provide a substantial funding increase to federal immigration enforcement for detention and removal of people without permanent legal status, aiding the president in carrying out his campaign promise of mass deportations.The bill would raise the debt limit by $5 trillion, a figure designed to get Congress past next year’s midterm elections before the country would once again bump up against the borrowing limit.Protesters&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/protesters-outside-us-house-make-last-stand-against-gop-megabill" target="_blank">milled about and held signs on street corners</a>&nbsp;outside the U.S. Capitol as Republicans worked to pass the megabill. Several spoke out against cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, as well as rollbacks to clean energy tax credits contained in the budget reconciliation package.<h2>Senate turmoil</h2>The House&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-house-republicans-push-through-massive-tax-and-spending-bill-slashing-medicaid" target="_blank">voted 215-214</a>&nbsp;mostly along party lines to approve the first version of the package in late May.Senate Republicans spent much of the last month reading through that, trying to determine what proposals their members supported and which elements would need to come out to comply with the strict rules that go along with writing a budget reconciliation bill.The parliamentarian, that chamber’s referee,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/gun-silencer-school-voucher-provisions-dropped-gop-mega-bill-us-senate" target="_blank">continued</a>&nbsp;to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-senate-votes-advance-republican-mega-bill-tense-late-night-session" target="_blank">issue rulings</a>&nbsp;on whether various policies in the legislation were in bounds for days before the Senate officially began debating the measure and even after they launched into vote-a-rama Monday morning.That “Byrd bath” process eventually wrapped up, allowing Senate GOP leaders to release updated text of the package shortly before the chamber took its final vote.Even with near-constant negotiations among Senate Republicans, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., was unable to get everyone on board.<h2>3 Senate Republicans voted no</h2>Maine Sen. Susan Collins, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis opposed the measure, which&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-senate-narrowly-passes-gop-megabill-after-overnight-session-sending-it-house" target="_blank">the Senate approved</a>&nbsp;on Tuesday with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote.Collins wrote in a statement that while she supported “extending the tax relief for families and small businesses,” her opposition to the legislation “stems primarily from the harmful impact it will have on Medicaid, affecting low-income families and rural health care providers like our hospitals and nursing homes.”Collins also cited “additional problems” with how the legislation addressed tax credits for certain forms of energy production, which she wrote “should have been gradually phased out so as not to waste the work that has already been put into these innovative new projects and prevent them from being completed.”Tills spoke about his opposition to the bill’s changes to Medicaid during a floor speech before the Senate’s vote, arguing its cuts to spending to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/gop-tax-cut-plans-may-depend-savings-medicaid-what-it-and-who-relies-it" target="_blank">the state-federal health program</a>&nbsp;for low-income people and some people with disabilities weren’t in the best interest of GOP voters.“I’m telling the president that you have been misinformed,” Tillis said. “You supporting the Senate mark will hurt people who are eligible and qualified for Medicaid.”Tillis said he supports a policy change in the bill that would require people on Medicaid to work, participate in community service, or attend an educational program. But he was critical of other changes implemented by his Senate colleagues, and announced&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/north-carolina-us-sen-thom-tillis-announces-retirement-after-drawing-trump-wrath" target="_blank">he won’t seek reelection</a>&nbsp;hours after voting against advancing the package.“I love the work requirement. I love the other reforms in this bill. They are necessary and I appreciate the leadership of the House for putting it in there,” Tillis said. “In fact, I like the work of the House so much that I wouldn’t be having to do this speech if we simply started with the House mark.”Paul said he decided to vote against the legislation because it will increase federal deficits during the next few years.&nbsp;“To me the most pertinent question is, how will the bill affect the deficit in the next year?” Paul said. “Currently our deficit is estimated to be a little under $2 trillion this year. What will happen to the (deficit) in 2026 if this bill passes? Well, using the math most favorable to the supporters of the bill, referred to as the policy baseline, the deficit in 2026 will still be $270 billion more than this year.”Paul added “that’s just not good if you profess to be fiscally conservative.”