Big Bill and Tariffs 

On Wednesday, the House approved President Donald Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill on a razor-thin vote of 215 Yes to 214 No.  Two House Republicans joined all Democrats in voting NO, one House Republican voted Present, and two missed the vote.  The House margin was changed by one vote with the death of a House Democrat from Virginia.   

The victory was a tribute to the leadership of President Trump.  Early in the week he came up to Capitol Hill and joined a meeting of all House Republicans to emphasize that a victory was central to his program. The day before the vote, wavering conservatives were summoned to the White House for a meeting with the President, and in the end, all but three voted for the bill.  The final product secured the vote of blue-state Republican House Members with a $40,000 deduction for state and local taxes, and the conservatives came around after the Oval Office meeting when the President gave assurances that he would secure more budget cuts via Executive Orders. 

Obviously, with a margin of only one vote there was no room for error, and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and his team won a big victory for the President.  Now on to the Senate. 

The Senate adjourned on Thursday for the Memorial Day break and will return on June 3. Senate Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has set the Independence Day (July 4) break as his deadline to get the bill through the House.  Since the Senate is unlikely to pass the House bill with no changes, the two bodies will need to approve a compromise between the two chambers. The bill that goes to the President must pass both the House and Senate with identical language. 

Tariffs 

On Friday, Trump posted on Truth Social that he would place a 25% tariff on iPhones if Apple doesn’t move production to the U.S.  Additionally, on Friday, the President threatened a 50% tariff on most goods coming in from EU Member States if quick progress isn’t made in the trade talks.  The President declared on Truth Social that “the European Union has been very difficult to deal with.” Big threats have been central to President Trump’s negotiating strategy, and the holiday weekend may be busy for trade negotiators as they talk about next steps with both Apple and the EU. 

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