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Today — 22 May 2025Main stream

GOP holdouts sound alarm on $36T debt crisis as Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' passes House vote

House Republicans passed President Donald Trump's "one big, beautiful bill" on Thursday morning, working through overnight committee meetings, last-minute huddles in the speaker's office and even a last-minute assist from the president. 

But while House GOP leadership preached party unity as they passed The One Big Beautiful Bill Act by just one vote, two House Republican holdouts were unwavering in their concerns about the $36 trillion national debt crisis and ultimately voted "no." 

Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, took their concerns to social media on Thursday, telling their constituents exactly why they bucked the Republican Party on Trump's key legislative agenda. 

"While I love many things in the bill, promising someone else will cut spending in the future does not cut spending. Deficits do matter and this bill grows them now. The only Congress we can control is the one we’re in. Consequently, I cannot support this big deficit plan. NO," Davidson said early this morning before the vote was final. 

MIKE JOHNSON, DONALD TRUMP GET ‘BIG, 'BEAUTIFUL’ WIN AS BUDGET PASSES HOUSE

Massie responded soon after, telling Davidson he agreed and "if we were serious, we’d be cutting spending now, instead of promising to cut spending years from now."

HOUSE GOP LEADERSHIP TAKES VICTORY LAP AFTER PASSING TRUMP'S 'ONE BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL'

"I’d love to stand here and tell the American people, ‘We can cut your taxes and increase spending and everything is going to be just fine.’ But I can’t do that because I'm here to deliver a dose of reality. This bill dramatically increases deficits in the near-term, but promises our government will be fiscally responsible five years from now. Where have we heard that before?" Massie said on the House floor

The Kentucky congressman, who regularly sports a national debt clock pin, presented a bleak reality for Trump's "big, beautiful bill" on Thursday as most Republican holdouts rallied behind the final manager's amendment. "This bill is a debt bomb ticking," Massie said. 

When White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about Massie and Davidson voting against the bill, she said the president believes they should be primaried. 

"I don't think he likes to see grandstanders in Congress. What's the alternative? I would ask those members of Congress. Did they want to see a tax hike? Did they want to see our country go bankrupt? That's the alternative by them trying to vote ‘no.’ The president believes the Republican Party needs to be unified," Leavitt said. 

GOP HOLDOUTS UNMOVED BY TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL' TRIP TO CAPITOL HILL

Massie, who has been campaigning on Trump calling him a grandstander, even fundraised on Leavitt's comments, writing on X, "The big beautiful bill has issues. I chose to vote against it because it’s going to blow up our debt. For voting on principle, I now have the President AND his press Secretary campaigning against me from the White House podium. Can you help me by donating?"

Former Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., who served as Chair of the House Freedom Caucus, has spoken out against the country's debt crisis amid House negotiations, piled on the national debt criticism on Thursday, writing, "The Big Ugly Truth is that the Big Ugly Bill will push the Big Ugly Debt over $60 trillion."

Good found himself out of the job when he lost the Republican primary to now-Rep. John McGuire of Virginia last year. 

He was one of just a handful of House Republicans who endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the 2024 GOP presidential primaries, and then Trump threw his political might behind McGuire.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act is a multi-trillion-dollar piece of legislation that advances Trump's agenda on taxes, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt. 

While the bill seeks to make a dent in the national debt crisis by cutting roughly $1.5 trillion in government spending, the United States still has over $36 trillion in debt and has spent $1.05 trillion more than it has collected in fiscal year 2025, according to the Treasury Department.

"I think the most essential truth in American politics is that nobody actually really cares about the national debt or deficit. It’s too abstract to saturate public sentiment," Fox News Digital columnist David Marcus said after the bill passed

Fox News Digital's Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report. 

Bids for Pope Leo XIV's childhood home start at $250,000, but there's a catch

22 May 2025 at 14:22
Small brick home with grass in front.
The childhood home of Pope Leo XIV is in Dolton, Illinois.

Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty Images

  • The owners of Pope Leo XIV's childhood home in Illinois are trying to sell it via private auction.
  • The home was listed for $199,900 before the pope's appointment. Now, bids start at $250,000.
  • The auction winner may not get to enjoy it because the local government wants to acquire the home.

People bidding to buy Pope Leo XIV's modest childhood home in Illinois could face some stiff competition — from the local government.

The innocuous three-bedroom, three-bathroom home in the Village of Dolton was thrust into the spotlight when Pope Leo XIV became the leader of the Catholic Church.

The current homeowner purchased the property in May 2024 for $66,000, listed it for $219,000 in January, and dropped the price to $199,900 in February.

After the pope's appointment on May 8, the owner, inundated with offers and new options, delisted the home until last week when it was put up for auction through Paramount Realty USA. The reserve price is $250,000, and potential buyers have until June 18 to bid.

"It's like a collectible car they only made one of," Steve Budzik, the homeowner's real estate agent, told BI earlier this month.

Potential buyers, however, will be going up against the Village of Dolton, which has said through its attorney that it plans to acquire the home either through direct purchase or eminent domain laws. Eminent domain laws allow governments to make private property available for public use.

"If a direct purchase from the seller cannot be negotiated, the Village will cause Eminent Domain proceedings to be filed in Court and take the property through the legal process," Burton S. Odelson wrote in an email to BI. "The Village hopes a direct purchase is completed without court action."

Odelson, who's been in contact with the listing broker, said the Village of Dolton is working with the Chicago Archdiocese to determine the best use of the space.

Although relying on local eminent domain laws is an option, Odelson said it's a last resort. That process involves litigation, which means attorney fees, court costs, appraisal costs, and time.

Under eminent domain laws, the Village of Dolton would have to compensate the owners for the home. Negotiations between the Village of Dolton and the current owner are ongoing.

The hype around Pope Leo XIV's childhood home spurred immediate fanfare, prompting news trucks and curious locals to visit. One woman even told a local news outlet that she made the four-hour drive from Louisville, Kentucky, just to visit the impromptu holy site.

Representatives for Paramount Realty USA and the homeowner did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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