After weeks of talks, the House passed the "big beautiful bill" that is at the center of the president's plan in a close vote just before 7 a.m.
Early in the morning on May 22, the House of Representatives passed a bill to carry out President Donald Trump's executive and economic agenda. This ended weeks of talks and uncertainty in the House Republican conference, as The Daily Caller reported.
The House barely passed the bill by a vote of 215-214, largely along party lines. The vote happened just before 7 a.m., after the lower house had been debating all night.
The bill is now on its way to the Senate, where changes are likely to be made. If there are any disagreements, they will have to be worked out in a meeting before going to Trump's desk.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) applauded the bill after it made it through the lower chamber of Congress, saying: “It’s a great day to be an American. It’s great to be a Republican.”
Johnson said he believes the law is a strong reflection of the conservative party's principles, including fiscal discipline, personal liberty, and limited government.
The speaker said that he had doubts about the party's ability to come together on the bill.
“I give glory to God,” he said. “There’s a lot of prayer that brought this together.”
Some Republicans were less than positive about the bill, however, and declined to support the legislation over spending concerns.
“It’s a debt bomb,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) told reporters about the recently passed legislation.
Two Republicans from Ohio, Massie and Warren Davidson, voted against the measure. The House Freedom Caucus chair, Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), did not cast a vote.
Those holdouts plus the close margins in the House caused the long-term debates over the bill.
Trump offered his thanks for the bill’s passage, calling the package “arguably the most significant piece of Legislation” in the country’s history.
“Now, it’s time for our friends in the United States Senate to get to work, and send this Bill to my desk AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!” he wrote on Truth Social.
House members finally returned to work at approximately 11:00 p.m. on Wednesday following a 21-hour hearing in the House Rules Committee. That marathon cleared the package for a vote on the floor.
In the evening of May 21, Republican leaders released an addition to the megabill that was made to address concerns from moderates and fiscal conservatives in the Republican conference.
According to the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey, Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver is facing assault charges following a confrontation with federal officers outside of an immigration detention facility.
According to a social media post by Interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba, McIver is facing charges of assault, obstruction, and interference with law enforcement. However, the court documents that would provide more details regarding these charges were not immediately made public or released online.
Rarely do federal criminal charges other than fraud or corruption land a sitting congressman in court, as in the case of McIver, as The Hill reported.
"It’s political intimidation, and I’m looking forward to my day in court,” she said Tuesday. McIver had called the charges “purely political” in a statement on Monday night and said she looked forward “to the truth being laid out clearly in court.”
She continued by stating that she and her coworkers were reacting to inappropriate behavior by law enforcement.
“Earlier this month, I joined my colleagues to inspect the treatment of ICE detainees at Delaney Hall in my district. We were fulfilling our lawful oversight responsibilities, as members of Congress have done many times before, and our visit should have been peaceful and short," the lawmaker said.
"Instead, ICE agents created an unnecessary and unsafe confrontation when they chose to arrest Mayor Baraka,” she said.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche came to Habba’s aid in a statement on X, saying that “assaults on federal law enforcement will not be tolerated.”
Newark mayoral candidate Ras Baraka was arrested on May 9, along with McIver and two other House Democrats, but Habba says her office has withdrawn the trespassing charges against him.
"After extensive consideration, we have agreed to dismiss Mayor Baraka's misdemeanor charge of trespass for the sake of moving forward," Habba said.
I echo what @USAttyHabba has made clear: assaults on federal law enforcement will not be tolerated. This Administration will always protect those who work tirelessly to keep America safe. https://t.co/v8bMYwtY7i
— Todd Blanche (@DAGToddBlanche) May 20, 2025
After the DOJ filed the charges against the Democrat for her alleged assault on police officers, Republican Representative Nancy Mace made the announcement that she had submitted a resolution to oust McIver from Congress.
According to Mace, "Mclver didn't just break the law, she attacked the very people who defend it.
"Attacking Homeland Security and ICE agents isn't just disgraceful, it's assault. If any other American did what she did, they'd be in handcuffs.
McIver thinks being a member of Congress puts her above the law. It doesn't. She should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
GOP Rep. Nancy Mace files a resolution to expel Rep. LaMonica McIver after the DOJ charged the Democrat with allegedly assaulting law enforcement: pic.twitter.com/Zfa3CrMLsG
— Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) May 21, 2025
The Senate on Monday confirmed real estate mogul Charles Kushner, pardoned by President Donald Trump during his first term in office, as the U.S. Ambassador to France and Monaco in a 51-45 vote.
Kushner is the father-in-law to Ivanka Trump. He was convicted in 2005 of tax evasion, illegal campaign contributions, and retaliating against a cooperating witness.
He served two years in a minimum security prison and had stayed out of trouble since then.
Kushner, who lived in New Jersey, made many philanthropic contributions during his life. There is a wing named after his family in St. Barnabas Hospital in Essex County, New Jersey; he also gave large donations to Yeshiva University in Washington Heights, Manhattan.
If all he wanted to do was give away too much money, that would be one thing. But he also schemed to get back at a witness against him--his sister--by arranging for a prostitute to seduce her husband and filming it.
That's a really slimy thing to do, and he admitted it when he pled guilty to the charges against him.
He said during his confirmation hearing that he learned from his mistakes of almost two decades ago.
"I think that my past mistakes actually make me… better in my values to really make me more qualified to do this job," he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Let's hope he's learned his lesson. Not only will he be representing the U.S. in France and Monaco, but he is also intertwined in Trump's family because he's Jared Kushner's father and the other grandfather to some of Trump's grandkids.
Trump seems to think he learned. During his nomination announcement in November, he called Kushner a "tremendous business leader, philanthropist, & dealmaker, who will be a strong advocate representing our country & its interests."
"He was recognized as New Jersey Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young, appointed to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, & served as a commissioner, & chairman, of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, as well as on the boards of our top institutions, including NYU," Trump said.
"Congratulations to Charlie, his wonderful wife Seryl, their 4 children, & 14 grandchildren," Trump continued. "His son, Jared, worked closely with me in the White House, in particular on Operation Warp Speed, Criminal Justice Reform, & the Abraham Accords."
Rewarding a convicted felon with an ambassadorship doesn't seem like the best move for Trump to make--although after the pardon, Kushner isn't a convicted felon anymore.
Guess we'll find out how Kushner does as the liaison to one of our biggest allies.
Donald Trump Jr. became the first public figure on Sunday to break an hours-old "truce" between Republicans and Democrats that began after former President Joe Biden's metastatic prostate cancer diagnosis when he called out 'Dr. Jill Biden' for missing the fact that her husband was ill with cancer.
"What I want to know is how did Dr. Jill Biden miss stage five metastatic cancer or is this yet another coverup???" Trump Jr. captioned a repost of a doctor's post calling the missed diagnosis "malpractice."
What I want to know is how did Dr. Jill Biden miss stage five metastatic cancer or is this yet another coverup??? pic.twitter.com/fSqtDmcX4p
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) May 18, 2025
The post came just hours after President Donald Trump wished Biden well on Sunday, publicly confirming the diagnosis that was apparently first made on Friday.
"Melania and I are saddened to hear about Joe Biden’s recent medical diagnosis," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. "We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery."
Trump Jr. posted a similar message on X right after the announcement: "BREAKING: Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Politics aside, we wish him a speedy recovery!"
But it didn't take long for politics to creep back in, after a number of medical professionals questioned how the cancer could have gotten so bad without anyone catching it.
The questions are valid. Apparently, anyone over 80 is tested for prostate cancer. Why wasn't Biden tested?
Like Dr. Quay posted, "It is highly likely he was carrying a diagnosis of prostate cancer throughout his White House tenure and the American people were uninformed."
Another post by Trump Jr. hearkened back to two years ago when Biden said during a speech that he had cancer.
At the time, the White House and the media called it a "gaffe" and said that he misspoke, but questions linger about whether he just said what was true but that was being covered up until now.
It was further suggested in the comments of Trump Jr.'s post that the breaking news of the diagnosis may have been a "Wag the Dog" attempt to distract from increasing reports that Biden had dementia while president.
It's not completely inappropriate to ask these questions when the facts seem incongruous and don't seem to make sense.
It is possible to wish Biden well in his recovery while at the same time wondering if the truth about the diagnosis had been covered up for Democrats' political advantage.
President Donald Trump can't stop winning, and his approval ratings are climbing thanks to his successful diplomacy that has resulted in multiple massive trade deals.
After some economic turbulence in reaction to Trump's radical new trade policies, the market is stabilizing, and the economic outlook is vastly improved, just five months into Trump's 2nd term in the White House.
Thanks to massive trade deals signed with the United Kingdom and China, Americans' economic prospects are rising, and voters are happy with Trump's performance in righting the ship after the disastrous Biden years.
According to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, Trump stands at a 44% approval rating, which is up two points from last month at the height of market chaos caused by Trump's massive tariffs.
Trump's bold tariffs may have caused market chaos, but they brought multiple countries to the negotiating table, resulting in long-term trade deals.
Democrats distorted the reality of Trump's trade policy to score quick wins, which led to Trump's approval numbers dropping. However, now that the fruit of Trump's policies is manifesting, Trump's approval numbers are climbing, and Democrats are fuming.
The poll found that 39% of adults nationwide give Trump a thumbs up for his handling of the economy, which is three points higher than it was from last month's poll.
Republican strategist Colin Reed told Fox News that Trump has "been very clear-eyed about the fact that you are going to have to break some eggs to make an omelet and his voters will give him the latitude to do so."
That omelet that Trump made was a trade deal with China, resulting in a reduction in China’s tariffs and eliminating retaliation while retaining a U.S. baseline tariff on China that will benefit American businesses.
Trump's trade deal with the U.K. also eliminated substantial tariffs going both ways, putting the U.K. and the U.S. on equal footing, which has been a big objective for Trump's foreign economic policy.
Trump is working hard to fix decades of inequality that have allowed foreign trade partners to take advantage of American economic dominance. So far, Trump is making good on his promises to equalize the playing field and put America first.
Aside from trade deals with the U.K. and China, Trump has also succeeded in securing hundreds of billions in foreign investment.
A deal signed with the United Arab Emirates will see over $200 billion invested in the United States, boosting investment from Gulf countries to over $2 trillion. Saudi Arabia and Qatar will also be investing massive sums over the coming years.
After months of hearing about how Trump would ruin America's image on the world stage, the truth is finally out. Trump is commanding respect on the world stage and signing massive deals to spur economic growth, something that many doubt former Vice President Kamala Harris would have been able to do.
Hunter Biden, the scandal-plagued son of former President Joe Biden, reportedly threatened to "knock out" CNN anchor Jake Tapper.
The Daily Mail reported that Tapper, who is promoting his new book titled "Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again," has reportedly been beefing with Hunter Biden for years.
Tapper and Biden reportedly almost came to blows during a bizarre incident at Super Bowl LII in 2018 in Minneapolis.
The Super Bowl is a destination for America's elite to mingle and wave to the masses and as such politicos like Biden and Tapper can be found in abundence.
Reportedly, Tapper went to meet Hunter Biden after shaking hands with former Congressman Kevin McCarthy, but the meeting was hostile, and Biden told Tapper that under different circumstances, 'I would knock you out."
Tapper, as an anchor for CNN and a journalist, has covered Hunter Biden's many scandals, and some theorize that Hunter Biden was particularly angry with his coverage of scandals ranging from Biden's drug use to his divorce in 2017.
Another theory is that the bad blood stems from when Tapper had called Biden to inform him from an unknown number that his brother Beau had died.
Tapper has denied that latter theory extensively stating that "at no point in my life have I ever called Hunter Biden—I've never even had his phone number—and I would never have contacted a person's immediate family during such a challenging and personal time."
Addressing the Super Bowl incident, Tapper stated that "Hunter did once confront me at a Super Bowl party, but it was over an unrelated issue - coverage he wrongly believed I had done regarding divorce allegations of drug use and using prostitutes, which I actually had never done."
Of course, it's possible that Biden would disagree with Tapper's explanation of the incident, but he has remained silent on the issue.
Hunter Biden has been working to keep a low profile these past few months after receiving a presidential pardon from his father back in January to cover his many criminal indictments.
Prior to his father's last-minute pardon, Hunter Biden was in a world of legal trouble. In December, Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to three felony tax offenses and six misdemeanor tax offenses.
Had he been convicted for his crimes, Biden was facing a maximum penalty of 17 years in prison. Of course, that all changed when his father gave him a pardon that he told Americans he would never give in the name of ensuring no one was above the law.
Of course, the Biden family is most definitely above the law, and Tapper is lucky that Biden didn't rough him up knowing that he would face little legal repurcussion for it.
House Democrats have indicated that they will open an investigation into President Donald Trump's acceptance of a $400 million jet from Qatar on the grounds that it might not be legal for him to do so, even on behalf of the Defense Department.
Ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) led his panel in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House counsel David Warrington on Thursday, asking for a reported legal memo she wrote arguing that the gift was legal.
"Any legal memo purporting to make such a claim would obviously fly in the face of the text of the Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause, which explicitly prohibits the President from accepting any ‘present [or] Emolument... of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State’ unless he has ‘the Consent of Congress,'" the letter read.
But Trump wasn't accepting the gift for himself, exactly. Technically, he was accepting it for the country as a whole.
Kind of like the Statue of Liberty, which certainly wasn't unconstitutional.
Detractors did point out that Qatar was a sponsor of terror in the Middle East and supports Palestine and Hamas.
Also, Trump apparently plans to have the plane donated to his presidential library after he's out of office, so in that way it is rather more personal than some gifts might be.
But Democrats went all in on their accusations, saying that it's entirely possible that the "gift" was actually a bribe.
"President Trump’s statements expressing displeasure with delays in the delivery of his new Boeing aircraft to serve as Air Force One and the timing of this ‘gift’ suggest that President Trump or a member of his Administration may have improperly solicited this 'nice gesture' from the Qatari government," the Democrats said.
"The fact that, according to President Trump, the plane would not remain in service to the United States but would rather be donated to his presidential library after his term concludes further raises the possibility that this ‘nice gesture’ is intended as a bribe to Donald Trump."
I'm sure they'll end up impeaching him over it, because of course they will.
Never mind that their guy, former President Joe Biden, reportedly extorted every foreign nation he could for the better part of 15 years for money that went directly into his pocket or the pockets of his kids and other family members.
Like the great Rush Limbaugh always said, if you want to know what the other side is doing, just look at what they are accusing Republicans of.
In this case, they've managed to muddy the waters enough to make it look bad, even if it isn't.
Bolivian presidential election, President Luis Arce, who took office in 2020, took steps to avoid a humiliating loss, and stepped away from the election.
Bolivia's governing party is in turmoil as Arce and former President Evo Morales fight for leadership of their leftist bloc. The decision was made in a late-night televised address, as Breitbart News reported.
“I will not be a factor in dividing the popular vote,” Arce said in his speech, warning that a fragmented base would give Bolivia’s right-wing and centrist parties a shot at power after nearly two decades of socialist rule.
“Much less will I facilitate the realization of a fascist right-wing project ... that seeks to destroy the productive social economic model.”
The long-running animosity between Arce and Morales has been hastening an already-in-the-works economic disaster, which has MAS's working-class base of support in a frenzy.
After claiming one of the lowest inflation rates in the region, Bolivia is now battling with one of the highest, and the country has gone from exporting natural gas to importing fuel.
Bolivian pesos are now worth half as much as they are on the official exchange rate. The nation has come to a standstill due to fuel scarcity and the fact that the nation has run out of money in the central bank.
Even though Morales was part of the foundation of many of the issues the nation faces today, the majority of voters hold Arce responsible for the economic mayhem.
Morales, along with Senate President Andronico Rodríguez, are both on the left, and have been gaining in the polls on the president.
Morales felt he had no choice but to secede from the MAS once Arce took control, so he formed his own party to run for office.
The politically ambitious 36-year-old Rodríguez is from Morales' rural coca-growing area and is thus far undecided about joining the MAS ticket.
Arce's resignation on Tuesday was allegedly seen as a new chapter in his growing animosity toward Morales, whose revived campaign platform appeals to the public looking for ways to obtain fuel and investment and declining poverty rates.
“I challenge former President Evo Morales not to insist on running,” Arce said, “because constitutionally he cannot do so and because the dispersion and fragmentation of the vote would favor the right.”
Six years after his attempt for an unlawful fourth term sparked widespread protests and self-exile in response to pressure from the military, Bolivia's first Indigenous president, Evo Morales, encounters multiple challenges on his path back to his nation's highest office.
In an effort to undo what the Biden administration did while the last president was in office, the current administration is cutting deep, taking on the president's pardons.
On May 13, the newly appointed pardon attorney for President Trump stated that one of his responsibilities will be to review the pardons that former President Joe Biden granted shortly before he left office in January, as The Daily Caller reported.
“I do think that the Biden pardons need some scrutiny. And they need scrutiny because we want pardons to matter and to be accepted and to be something that’s used correctly,” Ed Martin, the pardon attorney, told reporters during a press briefing in Washington.
“So I do think we’re going to take a hard look at how they went and what they did and if they’re, I don’t know, but null and void, I’m not sure how that operates.”
Former Wyoming Republican Liz Cheney was one of several recipients of pardons awarded by Vice President Joe Biden during his final hours in office. Pardons were granted for actions that did not result in charges against the individuals in question, raising more than a few eyebrows.
Individuals "do not deserve to be the targets of unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions," Biden remarked at the time.
In March, Trump asserted that the pardons null and void on the grounds that they were signed using an autopen, which is a tool that allows someone to sign documents using preloaded signatures.
Even if the pardons were unreasonable, Martin said he did not believe that an autopen would render them null and void during his May 13 comments.
This came just a day before Martin's departure from his position as acting United States attorney for the District of Columbia.
Following loud and persistent opposition from several senators to Martin's candidacy to permanently assume the position of U.S. attorney, Trump appointed Martin pardon attorney and head of the DOJ's weaponization working group on May 8.
When questioned later on May 13 regarding Denise Cheung's resignation as chief of the DC Criminal Division of the US Attorney's Office, Martin stated that he had requested Cheung to investigate what he deemed as extraordinary behavior, specifically the transfer of $6.7 billion from the government to a nonprofit that had been established only six months earlier.
“That’s what you’re supposed to do, is pause, just like if the Biden pardons are unprecedented in their extent,” he said. “Right back to when Hunter Biden was whatever age you say: ‘That’s uncommon. We ought to take a look at that.'”
Even Biden's son, Hunter Biden, was pardoned by the former president.
The prosecution of individuals involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol, among other steps done during the Biden administration, are among the issues and arrests being examined by the weaponization working group, according to Martin.
Under his leadership, the group plans to increase its transparency regarding its progress and is considering opening a tip-sharing webpage, he said.
A senior staffer for Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA) had her car stolen in an armed carjacking on Friday in a Washington, D.C. neighborhood where many congressional staffers live.
Katie Heller was carjacked at a Harris Teeter in Navy Yard. Her work laptop, phone, iPad, staff identification, and bag were all stolen along with her car.
Two males ages 14 and 15 were arrested Saturday for the crime, and two firearms were recovered. It is not known whether the car or other items were also recovered.
The 15-year-old was charged with carjacking, and the 14-year-old was charged with carrying a pistol without a license and unauthorized use of a vehicle.
Jacobs's office has not commented on the incident so far.
Navy Yard has been the scene of a number of high-profile crimes in recent months.
While overall violent crime is down 22%, vehicle crimes are up 10%.
Residents have been documenting the crimes on an X account called Navy Yard Crime.
The most recent post on the account said there were a large number of car break-ins on April 29. The carjacking was not included in the posts.
In 2025 so far, there have been 104 carjackings in D.C., and 79% of them involved guns.
More than half of arrests this year were of juveniles, with most of them living at a D.C. address.
In 2023 and 2024, there were two carjacking incidents involving politicians.
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) was carjacked at gunpoint near his home in Navy Yard in 2023, and in 2024, former Trump administration official Michael Gill died from his injuries after being shot during a carjacking.
In other crimes, Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) was assaulted in her D.C. apartment. Most people have long known that D.C. was out of control due to longtime Democrat-dominated government, but it seems like things are getting worse than ever.