• House Republicans on Monday released a draft of the huge tax bill that Trump wants Congress to pass.
• Included in the draft is a pilot program for "MAGA accounts," essentially savings accounts for kids.
• Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas has been a strong proponent of the idea.

The "big, beautiful bill" that aligns with President Donald Trump's broader economic agenda and was unveiled by House Republicans on Monday includes a so-called "MAGA" savings accounts for kids.

Within the bill's draft is the creation of "Money account for growth and advancement" accounts, or "MAGA accounts," laying out a pilot program to launch the accounts with $1,000 each.

GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas recently talked about the plan with Semafor after he pushed the idea to his fellow Republicans as they attended a party retreat earlier this month.

"The case I made to my colleagues is: We should ask ourselves in this bill, what will be the legacy that people will remember and talk about 10 years from now, 20, 30, 40 years from now?" Cruz said at the time.

Unlike previous Democratic-led proposals, Cruz said his plan aims to encourage more Americans to invest in the stock market. He credited Brad Gerstner, CEO of the Altimeter Capital hedge fund, with helping create the idea.

"A 10-year-old can pull out an app on his phone and say, 'Hey, look, I own $50 worth of Apple, I own $75 worth of Boeing, I own $30 of McDonald's, I go to McDonald's, I'm an owner of McDonald's,'" Cruz told CNBC. "That changes a young person's attitude, I think when they are a stakeholder in our free market."

The high-profile conservative and onetime Republican presidential candidate also told Semafor that such accounts could "begin the journey of savings" for many Americans, with those individuals reaping the advantages of compound interest years later.

In the House bill, the item is listed as the "MAGA Accounts Contribution Pilot Program." The plan would give parents with a qualifying child a "one-time credit of $1,000" that'd be payable into the child's account.

To be eligible for the program, the child must be a US citizen "at birth," possess a Social Security number, and have a birthdate after December 31, 2024, and prior to January 1, 2029.

In the House bill's draft, the MAGA accounts are specified as being "exempt from taxation."

The program is reminiscent of the "baby bonds" proposal from Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, who pitched the idea of granting $1,000 to US babies in savings accounts in order to help create a financial foothold for them early in life. Booker advanced the idea as part of his 2020 presidential campaign.

Alongside Booker, Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts was also a strong advocate of the "baby bonds" plan, which was pitched as a way to close the racial wealth gap.

Unlike Cruz's proposal, Booker's plan also had hard cutoffs for wealthier families.

• On Monday, one of the most highly consequential antitrust trials in years began in Washington.
• In Federal Trade Commission v. Meta Platforms, the FTC says the social media giant boxed out competitors.
• Meta argues that it is a source of innovation and has not violated US antitrust laws.

Meta's lawyer on Monday mounted a boisterous defense ahead of Mark Zuckerberg's testimony, mixing in animated graphics and colorful asides to undermine the US government's blockbuster antitrust case against the social media empire.

The Federal Trade Commission argues in its case that Meta, then called Facebook, violated US competition laws when it acquired Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014.

"This is a grab bag of FTC theories at war with the facts and at war with the law," Meta lawyer Mark Hansen said during his opening statement as the trial kicked off in a Washington, DC, federal courtroom.

Hansen said that Meta and its apps, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, cannot be considered an unfair monopoly if users don't have to spend even a cent for their services.

"Meta has not raised the price at all, ever," Hansen said. "Meta has not restricted output at all, ever. Meta has not reduced output at all, ever."

Meta repeatedly used moving graphics and phone screenshots to illustrate its claims.

"If you don't like an ad, you look at the screen, your honor, you just scroll past it," Hansen said, addressing US District Judge James Boasberg, who is presiding over the bench trial and will be the sole decider on whether Meta violated competition laws.

Hansen interlaced humor through his argument, jokingly offering to quiz Boasberg over the differences between Reels and TikTok. He later showed a slide depicting a boxing ring with app logos for companies including Facebook, Instagram, Snap, and MeWe.

The FTC claims that Meta monopolizes apps that share content with friends and family. Daniel Matheson, the lead lawyer in the FTC's lawsuit against Meta, said the company specifically acquired Instagram and WhatsApp to limit competition.

The government argues these acquisitions were part of Meta's "buy or bury" strategy to maintain market dominance.

Hansen said that the emergence of TikTok shows that Americans have a range of platforms available to them. He focused on user data during the roughly 12 hours ByteDance's popular video-sharing app went down in January due to uncertainty over a US ban.

"People went to Instagram," Hansen said, pointing to a graph of active users, "boom almost instantly."

The government's case against Meta comes after a yearslong probe into whether the social media behemoth violated US competition laws when it acquired Instagram and WhatsApp.

In the trial, FTC regulators want to force Meta to spin off the two services. If it succeeds, it would be a major blow to Meta's business. Instagram and WhatsApp both have over 2 billion active users, according to the latest available data from those companies.

Meta boss, Zuckerberg, took the stand as the first witness in the case on Monday. The FTC plans to question him for up to seven hours.

The government also plans to call former Meta Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg to the witness stand, along with Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram.

Matheson, the FTC attorney, said that he would ask Zuckerberg about a 2012 message he sent to Sandberg. Matheson said the email shows Zuckerberg's unfiltered thinking about the social media marketplace.

"Messenger isn't beating WhatsApp. Instagram was growing so much faster than us that we had to buy them for $1 billion… That's not exactly killing it," Zuckerberg wrote, according to a slide presented by the FTC.

Appearing to address this point later on, Hansen said that Meta executives were worried about any number of apps. He showed a 2012 email Zuckerberg sent that expressed fear of Path, a now-defunct social network app.

"Only the paranoid survive," Hansen said, quoting a popular Silicon Valley phrase for the way companies view their competitors.

Matheson, in his opening statements, said that Meta has for many years "reaped massive economic profits beyond what you would expect to see in a competitive environment."

The FTC lawyer added, "We're going to show contemporaneous records, they are going to show self-interested executives and paid experts."

Regulators say Meta's business strategy breaches existing antitrust laws, and the FTC is hoping to force Meta to divest both Instagram and WhatsApp to ease the company's grip on the industry and afford smaller companies the opportunities to attract more users and potential advertising dollars.

Meta argues that the company has been a fair actor and a beacon of innovation in the social media marketplace.

"The evidence at trial will show what every 17-year-old in the world knows: Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp compete with Chinese-owned TikTok, YouTube, X, iMessage, and many others," Meta spokesperson Christopher Sgro said in a statement. "More than 10 years after the FTC reviewed and cleared our acquisitions, the Commission's action in this case sends the message that no deal is ever truly final."

FTC case against Meta began in 2020

The FTC's case first began at the end of President Donald Trump's first term in 2020 and forged ahead under former President Joe Biden's antitrust team.

The dynamic between Trump and Zuckerberg has shifted demonstrably since 2020, however.

After the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, Trump railed against Meta's decision to "indefinitely" suspend his Facebook account. In January 2023, Meta reinstated Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts, and in July 2024, the company lifted "heightened suspension penalties" that had also been in place.

In the 2024 election cycle, Trump gained increased political influence within Silicon Valley. After Trump won a second term in November 2024, Zuckerberg quickly congratulated him on his victory.

Meta also donated $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund, and Zuckerberg was a high-profile guest at the president's January 2025 inauguration. The Meta CEO has visited the White House multiple times since Trump began his second term.

• Elon Musk's super PAC poured more than $12 million into the Wisconsin Supreme Court race.
• In the end, the liberal candidate, Judge Susan Crawford, defeated Judge Brad Schimel, a conservative.
• The loss is a blow for Musk, who held a town hall in Wisconsin and urged voters to back Schimel.

For Wisconsin Republicans, regaining a conservative majority on the state's highest court was a top priority.

Elon Musk, the world's richest man, funneled more than $12 million via his America PAC to sway the pivotal judicial race in one of the country's premier swing states.

It wasn't enough.

On Tuesday, Musk's big bet on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race fell apart, with outlets including NBC News and CNN projecting that Susan Crawford, a liberal judge in Dane County, had defeated Brad Schimel, a conservative judge in Waukesha County, in the most expensive judicial race in US history.

Musk, the face of President Donald Trump's White House DOGE office, has been met with increasingly vocal opposition by voters over the task force's cost-cutting efforts. And the fallout from DOGE is also affecting Tesla, the company that catapulted Musk to international prominence.

Crawford's victory is a significant blow for Musk as DOGE's work continues to face increased scrutiny from the public and could lead to electoral gains for Democrats in the 2026 midterm elections.

Here's how Crawford's win is set to upend Musk's political playbook:

Musk is caught in the DOGE-house

For weeks, scenes of frustrated voters sharply questioning and booing GOP members of Congress have become a defining narrative of DOGE, as many lawmakers have had to defend waves of staffing cuts.

As a guiding force behind efforts to cut costs at critical federal departments — along with efforts to eliminate the US Agency for International Development — Musk has faced mounting pushback over the task force's aggressive tactics to rein in spending.

Musk went all in for Schimel, arguing that the Wisconsin race was "important for the future of civilization."

Referring to the potential for Democrats to make gains through a new congressional map, Musk argued that if the Wisconsin Supreme Court "is able to redraw the districts, they will gerrymander the district and deprive Wisconsin of two seats on the Republican side."

"Then they will try to stop all the government reforms we are getting done for you, the American people," he added.

In a state that narrowly backed Trump over Kamala Harris in November, voters this week made a new choice.

Crawford's win keeps the liberal bloc in the majority. The court could revisit the state's congressional maps, with a redraw likely to offer Democrats an opportunity to pick up additional seats.

With Republicans clinging to a razor-thin 218-213 majority in the US House ahead of what could be a tough midterm cycle, holding the lower chamber will be key for Musk and Trump — especially as it relates to future oversight over DOGE's work.

Musk may approach other races differently

Musk campaigned heavily for Trump in Pennsylvania in last year's election, with America PAC pouring millions of dollars into the state, much of it for canvassing and other digital-related efforts.

The tech mogul's decision to hand out $1 million checks to select voters who signed petitions at town hall events — similar to what he employed in Wisconsin this time around — drew many people out as he criticized Harris and the media. Trump would go on to win Pennsylvania in the 2024 general election.

Schimel's loss, on the other hand, is a setback for Musk.

Wisconsin Supreme Court races in recent years have become increasingly polarized, with issues like abortion rights, union collective bargaining rights, and voting regulations being used to drive up turnout among base voters. This week, conservatives fell short in their efforts to take the court in a different direction.

Musk is poised to wade into other contests ahead of the midterms, especially with Trump's agenda on the line. But the latest results in Wisconsin show that there's a limit to such an influence.

• It's not difficult to find wealthy lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
• Some members have amassed considerable levels of wealth from business ventures and investments.
• And it's not a partisan affair: Democrats and Republicans both have several ultra-rich members.

When many Americans think of Capitol Hill, the image of well-heeled politicians often comes to mind.

Sure, you don't have to be a multimillionaire to win a congressional race, but having an abundance of wealth doesn't hurt. That's especially the case for candidates who can self-fund, which allows parties to divert critical dollars to nominees in competitive races.

While every lawmaker isn't rich — even as some have leveraged their profiles to attain lucrative book deals — there are many members who have net worths of at least $1 million.

And then there are the lawmakers who are considerably wealthy, even by congressional standards.

Here's a look at some of the richest members of Congress:

Sen. Rick Scott of Florida

Scott — a former two-term Florida Republican governor who won a second term in the Senate in November 2024 — was a cofounder of both the Columbia Hospital Corporation and Solantic.

The corporation merged with HCA in 1994, which created Columbia/HCA, a highly-recognizable operator of hospitals and health care facilities. (It's now known as HCA Healthcare).

The senator has a reliably conservative voting record on Capitol Hill.

Business Insider estimates Scott's net worth to be at least $296.3 million. Quiver Quantitative, a firm that tracks lawmakers' stock trades and estimates their total net worths, estimates that Scott is worth roughly $550.7 million.

Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma

Hern, the current chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, has served in the lower chamber since November 2018.

The congressman, who was once a manager at McDonald's, would eventually own 18 franchise locations in the Tulsa metropolitan area. He was also the cofounder of Firstar Bank, a community banking institution.

BI estimates that Hern is worth at least $64.7 million. Quiver Quantitative's live estimate pegs Hern at $109.4 million.

Rep. Darrell Issa of California

Issa has represented parts of the San Diego area for more than two decades, with stints in the House from 2001 to 2019 and from 2021 to the present.

An ex-chairman of the powerful Oversight Committee during much of former President Barack Obama's administration, BI estimates that Issa is worth at least roughly $309.4 million. Quiver's estimate is slightly lower at $234.7 million.

The GOP congressman amassed much of his fortune from vehicle anti-theft products.

According to his disclosure, Issa has an investment account worth over $50 million. He also has a line of credit at UBS tied to the account, but nothing was borrowed from it in 2023.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California

Pelosi, who has served in the House since 1987, rose through the ranks to become the first female speaker in US history in 2007.

When Democrats lost their House majority following the 2010 midterms, Pelosi stayed on as the party's leader in the lower chamber. She went on to reclaim the speaker's gavel in 2019, and Democrats retained control of the chamber until 2023.

BI estimates that Pelosi is worth at least $50.9 million, while Quiver Quantitative places her at $285.05 million.

Pelosi has drawn criticism over the years for enacting stock transactions where she and her husband, Paul Pelosi, have made significant profits.

In 2021, Pelosi pushed back against pursuing a stock-trading ban for members when questioned by BI, but later said she'd consider such proposals. (A Democratic-backed bill never came up for a vote in the 117th Congress.)

Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia

Warner, a former Virginia governor now in his third term in the Senate, was a cofounder of the Capital Cellular Corporation in the late 1980s and made his fortune through early investments in the cellular telephone business.

BI estimates Warner's worth at least $131.1 million, while Quiver estimates his worth at roughly $245.4 million.

The Democratic lawmaker currently serves as the vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee and also sits on the Banking, Budget, Finance, and Rules committees.

Rep. Dan Goldman of New York

In 2022, Goldman, an heir to the Levi Strauss & Co. fortune, catapulted to the top of a crowded Democratic Party primary to represent New York's 10th Congressional District. He went on to easily win the general election race that year.

Goldman ranks as one of the House's wealthiest members. BI estimates he is worth at least $158.1 million, while Quiver estimates that the Levi Strauss heir is roughly $183.6 million.

The congressman previously served as an assistant US attorney for the Southern District of New York and was lead counsel in President Donald Trump's first impeachment trial.

Sen. Pete Ricketts of Nebraska

Ricketts, an ex-Nebraska governor and current US senator, is the son of billionaire businessman and TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts.

Ricketts — also a part owner of the Chicago Cubs alongside several members of his family — is worth at least $79.4 million. Quiver estimates he is worth about $172.9 million.

Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington

DelBene has deep expertise in the world of tech, having served as an executive at Microsoft before jumping into politics and winning her first House race in 2012.

The congresswoman, who currently chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, is worth at least $70.9 million. Quiver estimates she is worth roughly $126.3 million.

Sen. Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania

McCormick, the former chief executive of the hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, first sought the GOP nomination for US Senate in 2022 — but narrowly fell short to celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz. (Oz went on to lose to Democrat John Fetterman.)

Two years later, McCormick won the Republican Senate nomination and a highly-competitive general election race against Democratic Sen. Bob Casey Jr., an institution in Pennsylvania politics.

McCormick is now a freshman senator, and he's among the body's wealthiest members. According to BI's estimates, McCormick is worth at least $123 million.

A note about our methodology: Business Insider calculated lawmakers' net worth based on their most recent financial disclosures. Members of Congress only have to estimate broad ranges over their assets. BI's estimates are based on the combined value of the lowest range of these estimates minus any liabilities lawmakers might have. Lawmakers are not required to report the value of their residence.

Based on this conservative approach, BI's estimates will likely be significantly less than others, including Quiver Qualitative's. Unlike Quiver, BI did not calculate the live value of lawmakers' stock holdings. Quiver's live estimates are as of March 25, 2025.

• President Trump is steering the federal government in a distinctly conservative direction.
• Upon entering office for his second term, he signed a slew of executive orders to achieve this goal.
• There are many key dates to look out for as the administration continues to roll out its agenda.

Nearly three months into his second term, President Donald Trump's sweeping agenda continues to take shape. The president has signed executive orders on everything from return-to-office mandates to strict immigration measures.

For weeks, the threat of tariffs loomed, with Trump early on reserving his focus on Canada, China, and Mexico.

Then, on April 2, which the president dubbed "Liberation Day," he signed an executive order putting into place a 10% baseline tariff on imports from all countries. And some countries, including Cambodia and Lesotho, were slapped with some of the highest "reciprocal" tariff rates.

Here's a look at some of the key dates for initiatives and plans put into place by the Trump administration:

February 1: Tariffs enacted for Canada, China, and Mexico

Shortly after the November general election, Trump vowed to impose 25% tariffs on imported goods from Canada and Mexico, two of the United States' leading trading partners.

Trump said both countries have allowed drugs and migrants to pour into the US, which ties squarely into the president's hard-line stance on immigration issues.

Trump also floated a 10% across-the-board tariff on Chinese goods.

On February 1, the president followed through on his pledge, enacting the tariffs for all three countries.

As part of his executive orders, Canadian energy products would have a 10% tariff rate.

February 3: Trump paused tariffs for Canada and Mexico

Trump, on February 3, agreed to a 30-day pause on his administration's tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods.

Then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum both said they'd enact security plans at their respective borders with the United States.

Sheinbaum said she'd send 10,000 of her country's national guard troops to the border to stop the flow of fentanyl into the United States. Trudeau said that Canada would appoint a fentanyl czar and bolster intelligence-gathering efforts regarding the flow of illicit drugs, among other directives.

February 4: China responds with tariffs on select US imports

Beijing responded to Trump's tariffs on China on February 4 by imposing a 10% tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery, pickup trucks, and some large cars.

China is also targeting the United States by imposing an additional 15% tariff on coal and natural gas.

February 6: Deadline for federal workers to accept buyout

The Office of Personnel Management issued a letter on January 28 offering all federal employees payouts and giving them a February 6 deadline to accept the offer.

Federal employees who accepted the administration's offer by the deadline "will retain all pay and benefits regardless of your daily workload and will be exempted from all applicable in-person work requirements until September 30 (or earlier if you choose to accelerate your resignation for any reason)," the letter on the OPM's website read.

The buyout offer came as Trump has quickly sought to not only reduce the size of the federal workforce but also install loyalists in key positions within the government.

The Trump administration in February announced that roughly 77,000 federal workers accepted the offer.

On February 12, a federal judge in Massachusetts ruled that the administration could proceed with its buyout offer after three federal employee unions filed a lawsuit on behalf of their members to halt the buyout program.

The administration then promptly closed the window for any additional federal employees to accept the offer.

February 7: First jobs report under Trump

The first employment situation report for Trump's second term was released on February 7. At the time, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 143,000 jobs were created in January 2025.

In March 2025, the total nonfarm payroll employment for December 2024 was revised up, with the number of jobs created increasing from 307,000 to 323,000.

However, in April 2025, the number of jobs created in January 2025 was revised down to 111,000.

Trump's second term began on January 20, so the report mostly featured employment data from former President Joe Biden's last month in office.

February 7: Deadline for agencies to have plans for federal workers to return to the office

The Trump administration set February 7 as the date for federal agencies to develop plans for adhering to the president's return-to-work order for employees.

The implementation plans are expected to be vetted and approved by the Office of Personnel Management and the Office of Management and Budget.

March 4: Tariffs announced for Canada, China, and Mexico

Trump placed 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico.

The president also bumped the tariff on Chinese goods to 20%.

March 6: Tariffs on most imports from Canada and Mexico are suspended

Trump temporarily suspended the 25% tariffs that he imposed on most goods from Canada and Mexico just days earlier.

March 7: Jobs report released for the first full month of Trump's second term

The initial February 2025 jobs report, which included Trump's first full month in office, showed that 151,000 jobs were created.

That month, the unemployment rate sat at 4.1%.

In April 2025, the February numbers were revised to reflect that 117,000 jobs were created that month.

During the 2024 presidential race, Trump ran on promises to reduce inflation and lower food costs, as well as to make the broader economy more prosperous for a wide swath of Americans.

Trump enjoyed a critical advantage on the economy during the campaign, but within weeks of taking office, he began to see some erosion on this issue. In a CNN/SSRS poll released in March, most US adults expressed disapproval of his handling of tariffs.

March 21: Deadline to eliminate most DEI offices and positions

On Inauguration Day, Trump signed an executive order to end "illegal and immoral discrimination" Biden-era programs implemented to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Trump and many of his Republican allies have rallied against DEI initiatives. Their pressure campaign has begun to spill over into corporate America, with top companies like Target rolling back some diversity-focused efforts.

Some agencies have already put employees on paid leave. Officials are also submitting lists of names to the White House, Government Executive reported.

By late March, Trump's executive order called for each agency head — to the maximum extent allowed by the law — to carry out the terminations of covered positions and programs.

April 2: Trump's "Liberation Day"

For months, Trump threatened to impose an array of tariffs on nations around the globe.

On April 2, which the president dubbed "Liberation Day," he announced a 10% baseline tariff rate on nearly all US trading partners, with higher levies for countries like Japan and Vietnam.

"Our country and its taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years, but it's not going to happen anymore," he claimed during his speech from the White House Rose Garden.

April 5: Trump's first 75-day extension of the TikTok ban ended

Trump signed an executive order in January to pause the TikTok ban for 75 days, which would allow further efforts to find a US buyer for the highly popular social media platform.

The end of the 75-day period was April 5.

However, on April 4, Trump announced that he was issuing another 75-day extension for the platform to adhere to a law that forces it to find a US buyer or be subject to a ban in the US.

"My Administration has been working very hard on a Deal to SAVE TIKTOK, and we have made tremendous progress," he said on Truth Social. "The Deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed, which is why I am signing an Executive Order to keep TikTok up and running for an additional 75 days."

April 9: Trump pauses higher tariffs on most countries for 90 days

Trump on April 9 issued a 90-day pause on higher tariff rates for most countries while keeping in place the 10% baseline tariff rates for nations around the globe.

The president also escalated his trade onslaught against China, issuing a 145% tariff on Chinese goods.

China has imposed a 125% tariff on US goods.

April 28: Liberals emerge victorious in the Canadian federal elections

Tensions between Canada and the United States have remained high for months. That dynamic spilled into the Canadian federal election, which saw the Liberals under Prime Minister Mark Carney retain their hold on government, with Conservatives making gains but falling short of a majority in Parliament.

Amid the ongoing trade battle, Trump became a huge campaign issue, and what had been a probable Conservative victory turned into a Liberal resurgence. It also didn't help that Trump has floated making Canada the 51st US state, an idea that Canadians overwhelmingly oppose.

May 4: The first step in creating a US sovereign wealth fund

Trump fulfilled another campaign promise on February 3 by taking the first step toward creating a US sovereign wealth fund.

His executive order gives the Treasury and Commerce secretaries 90 days to develop a plan for such a fund.

Billionaire investor Scott Bessent was confirmed to lead the Treasury Department in January. And Howard Lutnick, a billionaire businessman, was confirmed as Trump's commerce secretary the following month.

Trump said such a fund could be used to buy TikTok.

There has been bipartisan agreement for a state-owned investment fund in the past. Biden's advisors previously explored the idea.

June 19: Deadline for second TikTok extension

During an NBC interview in early May, Trump said he'd extend the deadline for TikTok to secure a US buyer if no deal is made by the June 19 deadline.

It's just one more piece of the puzzle in the ongoing TikTok saga, with Trump praising the social media app even as a bipartisan group of government officials in recent years have deemed it to be a national security threat.

2025: GOP aims to pass a reconciliation bill addressing tax cuts

Trump is pushing for Republicans to pass a massive reconciliation bill that would lower taxes, dramatically roll back green energy measures, and cut safety-net spending.

While cuts to Social Security or Medicare are very likely off limits in the plans, Democrats have pounced on the early details that emerged from GOP congressional leaders.

Republicans are divided in their approach to tackling Trump's legislative priorities.

House GOP leaders want to pass one big reconciliation bill that would allow for $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and include roughly $300 billion in additional border and defense spending. Meanwhile, Senate Republican leaders are aiming to pass a border security, military, and energy package first, with a second budget resolution focused on tax cuts to come later in 2025.

A plethora of House conservatives are pushing for deeper spending cuts, but that'll be an incredibly difficult proposition for Senate Republican leaders ahead of the 2026 elections.

July 4, 2026: DOGE will sunset

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk has grand plans for the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, as it aims to cut at least $1 trillion in spending from the federal budget.

While the White Houe DOGE office has already made huge waves in Washington, the task force isn't designed to be a permanent fixture of the Trump administration.

When Musk and onetime co-lead Vivek Ramaswamy wrote about DOGE in a Wall Street Journal op-ed in November 2024, they said it would be phased out on July 4, 2026.

"There is no better birthday gift to our nation on its 250th anniversary than to deliver a federal government that would make our Founders proud," the two men wrote at the time.

Musk, who has become a deeply polarizing figure since the beginning of Trump's second term, is set to dial back his work in the nation's capital in the coming weeks and focus on Tesla.

• As Donald Trump returns to the White House, loyalty will be a key aspect of his second term.
• Unlike 2017, Trump is no longer a political outsider adjusting to Washington for the first time.
• On Inauguration Day, Trump will be sworn in with a firm grip on the Republican Party.

When President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in for a second term on January 20, a lot will have changed since his 2017 inauguration, when he came into office as a political outsider who still elicited skepticism from many in Washington's Republican political class.

"They just weren't expecting to win," Peter Loge, an associate professor and the director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University, told Business Insider about Trump's victory in 2016. "This time, there's an entire infrastructure. He has plans. There's Project 2025. He's much more like a traditional candidate who's ready to start governing on Day One."

Here's a look at how Trump and the country have entered a whole new era as the start of the president-elect's second term approaches:

Trump has raked in post-election cash

From Meta and Amazon to Ford and GM, a wide range of businesses and CEOs have contributed to Trump's inaugural fund.

In 2017, Trump raised $107 million for his inaugural committee, a staggering sum at the time. Just four years earlier, then-President Barack Obama's inaugural committee raised roughly $43 million.

Trump has so far raised at least $170 million for his second inaugural, according to The Associated Press. A full accounting of his inaugural funds isn't due until after he takes office.

Trump's business and tech support has grown

Ahead of Trump's first term, there was optimism among many in the business community over what they saw as his pro-growth agenda.

Trump's $1.5 trillion tax bill, which cut the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, was applauded by leaders who had been vocal about the need for American businesses to remain competitive in a global marketplace.

However, Trump's relationships with many of these leaders fizzled after the August 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., where white nationalist groups unleashed a wave of violence. And many top leaders steered clear of Trump in the immediate aftermath of the January 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol, where legions of pro-Trump supporters stormed the complex in an effort to stop the certification of President Joe Biden's 2020 electoral victory.

After Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in November, though, many business and tech leaders actively began to renew or establish relationships with the incoming commander-in-chief.

Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla, was ahead of the curve. He spent lavishly to help elect Trump and other GOP candidates last year, and Musk is now seemingly never too far away from the president-elect during major public appearances.

Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Apple chief executive Tim Cook, and Musk will be guests at Trump's inaugural, according to NBC News and Bloomberg.

Loge told BI that many businesses have decided that it's "better to be on the Trump train than under it," pointing to the president-elect's penchant for dismissing the traditional workings of Washington and the desire for business leaders to have access to power.

"As a result, a lot of businesses are lining up behind Trump pretty rapidly," he said.

A Cabinet evolution

During Trump's first term, several high-profile members of his Cabinet, like onetime Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and ex-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, had turbulent tenures and were fired by the president.

This time around, Trump is leaning heavily on loyalists and longtime supporters in selecting his second-term Cabinet picks and other high-level appointees.

Many of the names stand out. Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York has been tapped to serve as US Ambassador to the United Nations, pending Senate confirmation. Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth underwent a tough confirmation hearing but is likely to win enough GOP votes to secure the post. And ex-presidential candidate and Health and Human Services secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — who backed Trump's campaign after ending his own candidacy — has emerged as a popular figure in Trumpworld over his stances on food and vaccine policies.

The million dollar question of Trump's second term is whether or not picking loyalists for his Cabinet will give him the sort of stability that he lacked in his first administration.

A less shocking win compared to 2016

Many Americans, who saw the multitude of national polls showing former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ahead of Trump in 2016, were genuinely surprised when he won that November.

Dan Schnur, who teaches political communication at the University of Southern California and the University of California-Berkeley, told BI that Trump's first election "caused much more disruption" than it did in November 2024.

"The idea of Trump beating Clinton was inconceivable to most of the political universe," Schnur said.

After Trump's tumultuous first term and his lonely exit from Washington after losing to Biden in 2020, a large segment of the public saw the president-elect's political career as finished.

Still, Trump retained his hold over the GOP base, which powered his dominant caucus and primary wins last year. This was the case despite his myriad legal problems, which threatened his general election campaign.

Even as Harris' presidential candidacy spiked enthusiasm among Democrats after Biden stepped aside as the party's nominee, Trump still retained an advantage on the economy — which was a top issue for voters last November.

So when Trump won, it wasn't a shock to many. And the results showed that Trump broadened his appeal, as he won every major swing state and even secured a plurality of the national popular vote.

Congress will be more obedient

Trump is entering his second term with perhaps his strongest influence over Republicans to date. Lawmakers who may have been reluctant to align themselves with Trump in the past have largely put old feelings aside, embracing the fact that Republicans will now control the levers of power in Washington.

Republicans who defy the party on critical votes are more likely to be met with swift repercussions this time around, mostly in the form of primary challenges and pressure campaigns on social media platforms like X.

Trump is also going to be reliant on GOP leaders in Congress — namely House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana and Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota — to get his ambitious immigration and tax legislation passed.

However, while Republicans will enjoy a 53-47 edge in the Senate, they currently have a razor-thin 219-215 House majority, which is set to shrink even further following the expected departures of two members for roles in the Trump administration.

The wind is at Trump's back

In 2017, Trump was still a political novice and leaned on the legislative relationships that then-Vice President Mike Pence had amassed during his years on Capitol Hill.

"Back then, he tended to rely on establishment figures whom he felt would give him the necessary credibility in Washington," Schnur told BI. "But he learned over the course of those four years that many of those figures weren't nearly as loyal to him as he had expected."

"This time, he's put much more of a premium on personal relationships and loyalty. He's much more confident that the team around him is motivated toward the same goals as he is," Schnur added.

Trump now has a unified Congress, and he won a second term on the strength of his prior economic record, giving him a level of public support that he lacked early on in his first term.

Once he's is back in office, it'll clearly be a new day in Washington.

• Trump wouldn't rule out using military force to take Greenland and retake the Panama Canal.
• The president-elect made the remarks during a major press conference just days before his 2nd term.
• Denmark has emphatically stated that Greenland isn't for sale.

President-elect Donald Trump isn't ruling out using military force in an effort to gain control of Greenland and retake control of the Panama Canal.

During a Tuesday press conference, Trump was asked if he'd assure the world that he wouldn't use military or economic coercion to secure the sovereign territory and the vital waterway, respectively.

The president-elect in his response reinforced the critical economic importance that he sees in Greenland and the Panama Canal.

"I can't assure you," he said. "I'm not going to commit to that. It might be that you'll have to do something."

"We need Greenland for national security purposes," he continued. "People don't even know if Denmark has any legal right to it. But if they do, they should give it up."

Late last year, Trump spoke about possibly taking back control of the Panama Canal from Panama as well as his wish to secure Greenland from Denmark. He also floated buying Greenland in 2019.

Trump during Tuesday's press conference also threatened to "tariff Denmark at a very high level" if the country didn't give up control of Greenland.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark earlier on Tuesday said that "Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders," adding that the strategic Arctic island is "not for sale."

Greenland is a Danish colony, though it has had self-rule since 1979. Greenland could declare its independence but would need to hold a formal vote first. Greenlandic Prime Minister Múte Egede said recently that it was "time to take the next step for our country," hinting at the possibility of a referendum this year.

As for the Panama Canal, the Carter Administration signed a treaty in 1977 that began a process that led to Panama taking full control of the canal in 1999. Last month, Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino said in a statement that his nation controls "every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent area."

Shortly after, Trump responded on Truth Social by stating, "We'll see about that," and then posted a photo with the caption, "Welcome to the United States Canal!"

Business Insider has reached out to representatives of Trump for comment.

• Donald Trump successfully used podcasts to expand his reach during the 2024 presidential campaign.
• On Election day, Trump ended up boosting his support among men overall compared to 2020.
• A variety of podcast hosts are set to have a substantial level of influence in Trump's second term.

President-elect Donald Trump's love for the media is well-known — just look at how much Trump's early picks resemble a Fox News greenroom.

The president-elect made significant efforts during his campaign to get his message in front of podcasters and influencers. Now that he's set to return to power, these commentators will play a major role in setting and pushing his agenda. Or they'll just stream from the White House.

If Donald Trump Jr., who hosts his own podcast, gets his wish they might even be seated somewhere in the White House briefing room.

'The Joe Rogan Experience'

The UFC commentator and comedian Joe Rogan has become one of the biggest names in the podcast world. Rogan's persona and massive following (14.5 million followers on Spotify and nearly 19 million subscribers on YouTube) have given him the sort of platform that continues to attract a range of high-profile guests.

Trump's appearance on Rogan's podcast in October allowed him to reach a critical audience — which heavily skews male — ahead of an election where the president-elect boosted his performance with men compared to 2020. Rogan's reach is so substantial that Trump took a few hours off the campaign trail to travel to Austin, Texas, to sit in the studio with the podcast host.

Rogan, shortly before the election, endorsed Trump's candidacy, calling him "the biggest there is."

Many Democrats pushed for Vice President Kamala Harris to appear on the program before the election, but scheduling during the frenetic last weeks of the race precluded her from traveling to Austin to do so, according to a campaign statement at the time.

"My sincere wish is to just have a nice conversation and get to know her as a human being," Rogan said in October.

'Bannon's War Room'

One of the more seasoned podcasters in Trump's orbit, former White House strategist Steve Bannon, started his program during Trump's first impeachment. Trump has said he listens to "Bannon's War Room."

Bannon used the program to foment backlash to then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California. And Kash Patel, Trump's pick to lead the FBI, has made countless appearances on the show.

Former White House Trade Council director Peter Navarro, set to return to Trump's second administration, was among a handful of commentators who kept Bannon's show going while he was in prison. Like Navarro, Bannon was sentenced for his defiance of a subpoena from the House January 6 committee.

'Triggered with Don Jr.'

Donald Trump Jr., the president-elect's eldest son, has confirmed he won't be in the incoming administration. But he remains a key voice in his father's ear.

Trump Jr. pushes his message in multiple forms, including on his podcast, "Triggered With Don Jr.," which he has hosted for almost a year. He's frequently hosted some of Trump's congressional allies, along with top aides like Stephen Miller, who will return to the White House.

In a recent episode, Trump Jr. teased how the president-elect's transition team is eyeing ways to bring conservative podcasters into the White House briefing room.

'This Past Weekend with Theo Von'

In August, the comedian Theo Von hosted Trump on his podcast, "This Past Weekend with Theo Von." On the program, Von spoke openly with Trump about his recovery from drug addiction. It may not have been seen as a typical stop for a presidential candidate, but the conversation was heard by many Americans, providing Trump with another connection to a bloc of male voters who don't consume much mainstream media.

Von received a shout out from UFC president Dana White during Trump's election night victory speech in Florida.

'The Charlie Kirk Show'

Charlie Kirk, a cofounder of the conservative nonprofit Turning Point USA, has spent over a decade advocating for limited government and free markets among students on high school and college campuses.

Ahead of the 2024 general election, Kirk used Turning Point Action, the political advocacy arm of Turning Point USA, to boost Trump's bid for a second term and amplify his conservative message. Kirk appeared alongside Trump at campaign events in key swing states like Georgia and Nevada, which the president-elect went on to flip in November.

Kirk hosts "The Charlie Kirk Show" podcast, which serves as an influential vehicle for reaching the sort of young voters who were a key part of Trump's electoral gains.

'Full Send Podcast'

Few shows personify "the manosphere" that Trump spent the summer tapping into more than "Full Send," a podcast started by a group of influencers called the Nelk Boys. Trump has made multiple appearances on Full Send, even stumping with one of its members in Las Vegas. Unlike Bannon and some others on this list, the Nelk Boys are not explicitly political, which made their audience ripe for Trump's 2024 appeals but also means they're unlikely to engage in the day-to-day news cycle.

Adin Ross

Adin Ross, an internet personality and popular streamer, sat down with Trump this past August and in a departure from many interviews — gifted the Republican a gold Rolex watch and a customized Tesla Cybertruck.

Ross became a big name through his livestreams of video games, and Trump's interview with the streamer was one more way that he was able to connect with a male-skewing audience.

'The Dan Bongino Show'

Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent, is so firmly entrenched in the conservative space that he was selected to replace the late Rush Limbaugh in his coveted time slot. Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio and other influential leaders on the right have pushed Trump to name Bongino to run the agency tasked with protecting the president. In the meantime, Bongino has been a vocal proponent of Trump's other nominees and helped lead a pressure campaign to push Sen. Joni Ernst, an Iowa Republican, to back Trump's pick to lead the Pentagon.

'Verdict with Ted Cruz'

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas has repeatedly offered his full-throated support to Trump, a stark contrast to the bitter end to his 2016 GOP primary run. Like Bannon, Cruz launched his podcast amid Trump's first impeachment battle. He has since used his platform to shed light on Congress and to discuss the news of the day.

With a 53-47 Republican Senate majority beginning in January, Trump can't afford many defections if he wants to get his agenda through the upper chamber. Cruz is well-positioned to serve as a narrator for a far more supportive group than the one that repeatedly vexed Trump in his first term.

'The Megyn Kelly Show'

Many in Trump's orbit once detested former Fox News journalist Megyn Kelly after she asked him during a 2015 GOP presidential debate about past inflammatory comments directed toward women.

"You've called women you don't like fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals," she asked at the time. "Does that sound to you like the temperament of a man we should elect as president?"

Trump repeatedly blasted Kelly after the interview.

But in the intervening years, Kelly left Fox and was hired by NBC News before a tumultuous departure. She's since become a major conservative voice in the podcast world and interviewed Trump on her show in September 2023.

Ahead of the 2024 election, she appeared alongside Trump at a Pennsylvania rally, voicing her support for his campaign and calling him a "protector of women."

'All-In Podcast'

Key venture capitalists embraced Trump ahead of the 2024 election, including former PayPal executive David Sacks. Sacks and fellow venture capitalists, Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis, and David Friedberg, hold court on their podcast, "All-In," which was launched during the pandemic.

It remains to be seen how involved Sacks will be going forward on the podcast now that Trump has named him his AI and crypto czar. Trump made an appearance during a June episode.

• Trump has nominated Howard Lutnick for commerce secretary.
• It's a pivotal pick given that economic concerns helped fuel Trump's win.
• Lutnick had been viewed as a frontrunner for the position of treasury secretary.

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated billionaire finance executive Howard Lutnick as his next commerce secretary.

"He will lead our Tariff and Trade agenda, with additional direct responsibility for the Office of the United States Trade Representative," Trump said in a statement first posted on Truth Social and later released by his transition team.

"Howard has created the most sophisticated process and system to assist us in creating the greatest Administration America has ever seen," Trump said.

Lutnick, who is Trump's transition team cochair alongside the WWE chief Linda McMahon, had been seen as a frontrunner for the treasury secretary position.

Lutnick even garnered the support of Elon Musk for the role. Despite some powerful backing, Lutnick's private jockeying for the role wore on those around Trump, according to multiple reports.

Now, with Lutnick out of the picture, Trump is likely nearing his final decision for his last major Cabinet appointment.

Commerce secretary will be a pivotal role in the Trump administration, given economic concerns played a key role in fueling Trump's victory.

As the chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, Lutnick is a New York financial powerhouse. He's known Trump for decades and has hosted fundraisers for the president-elect and appeared on TV as a surrogate.

He spoke onstage at Trump's Madison Square Garden rally, touting the tariffs of yesteryear and Musk's forthcoming DOGE initiative alongside the Tesla billionaire.

Lutnick is known for steering Cantor Fitzgerald through the September 11, 2002, terrorist attacks.

The firm's offices were located at the top of one of the World Trade Center towers, and roughly two-thirds of its workforce was killed that day. It lost more workers on 9/11 than any other company.

Lutnick's brother was killed in the attack, but Lutnick survived because he happened to be taking his son to school that morning.