The largest number of voters since 2011 say they are proud of the country, according to a new Fox News national survey.

Fifty-eight percent say they are proud of the country. That’s up 13 percentage points since June 2024 and the highest since 2011 when a record 69% were proud. By contrast, 41% are not proud. The survey was completed before recent events in the Middle East, including U.S. military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and President Donald Trump brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS THINK IRAN POSES A REAL THREAT TO US SECURITY, BUT SPLIT ON ISRAEL'S STRIKE 

The increase comes from an overwhelming majority of Republicans (85%) now being proud compared to last summer (36%). That makes Republicans 30 points prouder of the country today than Democrats were a year ago (55% of Democrats in 2024). In 2011, majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents were proud.

The new survey shows 36% of Democrats are proud (61% not proud) while Independents held relatively steady with roughly 4 in 10 expressing pride.

FOX NEWS POLL: ECONOMIC PESSIMISM ABATES SLIGHTLY AS VOTERS REFLECT ON THE ECONOMY

"Although pride in the U.S.A. seems like it should be above partisan wrangling, that’s only partially borne out by the data," says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducts the Fox News survey with Democrat Chris Anderson. "The reality is the out-party has become saltier in recent years when asked about the ‘land of the free.’ Democrats today (and Republicans last year) aren’t willing to express pride so long as the other side controls the White House."      

Majorities across most groups are proud, especially MAGA supporters (92%), Republican men (88%), and White evangelical Christians (80%). A lack of pride is highest among women with a college degree (51% not proud), voters under age 30 (57%), and Democrats (61%).

A 68% majority of voters also agrees the U.S. is the best country in the world to live in (30% disagree). While that’s roughly where sentiment has been for the last four years, it doesn’t match the 8 in 10 who felt the same in 2015 (83%) and 2011 (84%) when the question was first asked.

In 2011, 89% of Republicans, 84% of Democrats, and 73% of Independents thought living in America was the best.  For Republicans, that number held steady at 90% today, but has decreased by 34 points among Democrats (50%), and by 13 points among Independents (60%).

Overall, one-third trust the federal government compared to nearly two-thirds who distrust it. The only time more voters trusted than distrusted the government was in 2002 (54% vs. 36%), and that was also the first time the question was asked on a Fox News survey.

Most Democrats (73%) and Independents (80%) distrust the government, while Republicans are split (47% trust, 48% don’t trust).

Even as more are proud of the country, more than 8 in 10 (85% extremely or very) are concerned about the future of the country, the highest in a list of eight concerns, albeit by one point. Almost as many say inflation is a huge concern (84%), followed by government spending (80%), Iran getting a nuclear bomb (78%), antisemitism (69%), illegal immigration (67%), domestic use of U.S. military troops (66%), and protests in U.S. cities (63%).

The future of the country is the top issue for Democrats and Independents (90% each concerned). For Republicans, it comes in fourth at 79% behind illegal immigration, Iran getting a nuclear bomb, and government spending.

CLICK HERE FOR CROSSTABS AND TOPLINE

Conducted June 13-16, 2025, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,003 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (149) and cellphones (566) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (288). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education, and area variables to ensure the demographics of respondents are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing weight targets include the American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis and voter file data.

South Dakota Rep. Dusty Johnson, the state’s sole member of the House, has announced a run for governor.

Johnson is chair of the House GOP's Main Street Caucus and a member of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus. He has served in Congress since 2019, following a job as vice president at a South Dakota-based engineering and consulting firm. Prior to his role as an executive, Johnson also worked as South Dakota Public Utilities commissioner from 2005 to 2011, during which he was appointed chief of staff to former Gov. Dennis Daugaard.    

The announcement, deemed by local media as a "formality" after Johnson was already rumored to run, came Monday at a campaign event and was paired with a video the representative shared on social media.

KEY HOUSE GOP MODERATE DON BACON WON'T SEEK RE-ELECTION

"I's been such an honor to work for you in Congress. We rolled up our sleeves and got things moving in the right direction, cutting trillions in wasteful spending, standing with President Trump to secure our border and finally getting tough on China," Johnson said. 

"Those were important fights to build a better country for our kids, but their future doesn't begin in some far away place. It begins here, at home, in South Dakota. That's why we need to hit the gas and give them a clear path to a bright future."

TRUMP REACTS TO TILLIS NOT SEEKING RE-ELECTION, SENDS WARNING TO ‘COST CUTTING REPUBLICANS’

Following the announcement, criticism began popping up online that Johnson has not adequately supported President Donald Trump, and claims he is a "never-Trumper" are "lies of the desperate."

"Here are the facts," Johnson told Fox News Digital. "Donald Trump has had me down to Mar-a-Lago. I've gone to the Super Bowl with President Trump. I donated $10,000 to his re-election campaign years ago. He endorsed me in my 2020 race. I was his state campaign chairman for his re-elect." 

Johnson added that he is someone who has "a long-standing, multi-year history of being a partner" with Trump.

Johnson also said he has proven to be a "key ally" of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R–La., noting he was one of the members of Congress who "helped deliver the votes to get him elected speaker."

On the fight in the Senate over the Trump-endorsed One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Johnson said he supports the version of the bill passed by the House of Representatives and expressed optimism it will get passed by the Senate by the GOP's self-imposed July 4 deadline.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced sweeping charges Monday against more than 300 defendants, alleging they misled patients into paying for, and sometimes receiving, medical care that they did not need.

In turn, DOJ Criminal Division chief Matthew Galeotti said, the defendants also attempted to swindle Medicare and other taxpayer-funded and private health insurance programs out of about $14.6 billion.

The announcement marked the "largest coordinated healthcare fraud takedown in the history of the Department of Justice," Galeotti said during a press conference.

One set of charges included, for example, an indictment against three defendants in Arizona who allegedly conspired to purchase and give elderly Medicare recipients skin grafts known as "amniotic wound allografts." The defendants allegedly reaped millions of dollars from the practice.

5.4 MILLION PATIENT RECORDS EXPOSED IN HEALTHCARE DATA BREACH

One of the defendants, a nurse practitioner, applied the grafts to patients even though they were "medically unreasonable and unnecessary," the indictment said. The nurse allegedly applied them to terminally ill patients in hospice, including some who were days away from dying.

While that specific medical practice is typically non-invasive, Galeotti noted it was part of a $1 billion healthcare fraud scheme that stripped patients of "dignity and peace" in their final days. 

"That conduct is exactly as callous and disturbing as it sounds," Galeotti said. "Patients and their families trusted these providers with their lives. Instead of receiving care, they became victims of elaborate criminal schemes."

One DOJ official said in response to a question from Fox News Digital that skin grafts were an "emerging area" of healthcare fraud, "especially given the significant amount of money that they can bill for sometimes in excess of $1,000 a square centimeter." 

The healthcare fraud cases, all of which were shared publicly online, spanned the country and globe. Defendants included medical supply company owners and medical professionals, including 25 doctors.

TEXAS DOCTOR SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS IN PRISON IN ONE OF THE ‘MOST SIGNIFICANT’ CASES OF PATIENT HARM

An FBI official announced at the press conference that one scheme, called "Operation Gold Rush," resulted in at least 20 members of a transnational criminal organization, including defendants based in Russia, being charged as part of a $10 billion Medicare and money laundering operation that centered on catheters.

The DOJ Criminal Division’s healthcare fraud unit led the effort. Galeotti said Monday the DOJ also launched a "fusion center" in which it would join forces with other agencies to consolidate healthcare data as part of its investigations into fraud.

Galeotti and Dr. Mehmet Oz, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator, also used the press conference to make a plea for more tips.

"We need your help, the American people," Oz said. "Why? Over half of the whistleblower tips that we get are for healthcare fraud and over half of the fraud against our government is in healthcare."

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here's what's happening…

- Americans weigh in on Trump's Big, Beautiful Bill: polls

- Trump may look to his daughter-in-law to defend Senate seat in key battleground

- Mamdani’s public grocery stores may have devastating effects on the city’s food supply

FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration is suing the city of Los Angeles, alleging that the policies interfere with federal immigration authorities from doing their jobs.

"Sanctuary policies were the driving cause of the violence, chaos, and attacks on law enforcement that Americans recently witnessed in Los Angeles," Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News in an exclusive statement.

"Jurisdictions like Los Angeles that flout federal law by prioritizing illegal aliens over American citizens are undermining law enforcement at every level – it ends under President Trump," Bondi added… READ MORE.

UNPOPULAR: Americans weigh in on Trump's Big, Beautiful Bill: polls

'CHERISH OUR FARMERS': Trump urges 'temporary pass' from immigration crackdown for key industries: 'I cherish our farmers'

FAMILY IN THE FRAY: Trump may look to his daughter-in-law to defend Senate seat in key battleground

'CIRCLE OF PEACE': Trump pressures Israel to end Gaza conflict as he eyes Abraham Accords expansion

MIDDLE EAST SHAKEUP: Trump to sign order lifting sanctions on Syria

FREE SPEECH FIGHT: Supreme Court to hear Republican challenge that could shake up US elections

RETAIL RISK RISING: Mamdani’s public grocery stores may have devastating effects on city’s food supply

Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

President Donald Trump calls Sen. Thom Tillis' announcement that the two-term Republican senator won't see re-election next year in battleground North Carolina "Great News."

And with Tillis — who Trump torched this past weekend for not supporting his so-called "big, beautiful" spending and tax cut bill in a key test vote — now out of the picture in the midterms, it's likely the president and his political team will be the kingmakers in the selection of the 2026 GOP nominee in North Carolina.

"It’s the president’s choice. The president and his team will have those conversations," a Republican operative, pointing to Trump's immense sway over the GOP, told Fox News.

TILLIS DENOUNCES TRUMP'S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL ’ HOURS AFTER SURPRISE RETIREMENT ANNOUNCEMENT

"Does he have great choices? Absolutely," said the strategist, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely.

Likely at the top of the list is Lara Trump, the president's daughter-in-law who served last year, amid the 2024 presidential campaign, as co-chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC).

TRUMP REACTS TO TILLIS NOT SEEKING RE-ELECTION, SENDS WARNING TO 'COST CUTTING REPUBLICANS'

Lara Trump, who grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina, and attended undergraduate studies at North Carolina State University, is married to the president's son, Eric.

She stepped down from her post at the RNC late last year and currently hosts "My View with Lara Trump" on the Fox News Channel.

The Republican strategist highlighted that Lara Trump "has the name, but beyond that she is a fundraising powerhouse, and she has the discipline to be an incredible candidate and senator if she chooses to."

"She’s probably the only person who should have ‘considering’ in the same sentence because she is the president’s daughter-in-law and that will be a consideration," the operative added.

Four years ago, Lara Trump considered making a bid for an open Senate seat in North Carolina in the 2022 midterm elections.

"It would be an incredible thing. It’s my home state, a state I love so much, and look, I think we need some strong Republicans in Washington, D.C.," she told Fox News at the time.

She ultimately decided against launching a campaign, citing her two young children as the main reason for her decision. But she did leave open the possibility of a future run for office in her home state.

Lara and Eric Trump own a home in Florida, and Lara Trump's name was briefly mentioned late last year as a potential successor to Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who was nominated by Trump to serve as Secretary of State in his second administration.

"After an incredible amount of thought, contemplation, and encouragement from so many, I have decided to remove my name from consideration for the United States Senate, she said in a statement near the end of December.

Another name being floated in North Carolina is RNC Chair Michael Whatley.

Whatley served five years as chair of the North Carolina GOP before Trump early last year picked him to succeed Ronna McDaniel as RNC chair.

"Chairman Whatley is honored to have been asked by President Trump to serve as Chair of the Republican National Committee following a hugely successful 2025, and is focused on grown Republican majorities in Congress," an RNC adviser told Fox News when asked about the North Carolina Senate race.

WHAT MIKE WHATLEY TOLD FOX NEWS DIGITAL

Another name that comes up is Rep. Richard Hudson, who for a second straight cycle is chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Along with Whatley, Hudson, who for over a decade has represented a congressional district in the central section of North Carolina, is a strong Trump ally.

A source familiar told Fox News that Hudson "is tight with Trump world, and if they really wanted him to run, he wouldn't tell them no."

A trio of first-term Republican congressmen in North Carolina may also have interest in the race to succeed Tillis.

Sources confirmed to Fox News that Rep. Pat Harrigan is eyeing a bid. Reps. Tim Moore and Brad Knott may also have interest. And four-term GOP Rep. Murphy may consider a run.

SCOOP: HOUSE REPUBLICAN EYES BID FOR THOM TILLIS SENATE SEAT AFTER TRUMP ATTACK

Some national Republicans are relieved that Tillis isn't seeking re-election. Tillis, who has long been an independent thinker who crossed the political aisle to seek compromise, doesn't poll well with the MAGA base.

Some Republican operatives familiar with Senate races suggested that the GOP would have an easier time energizing base voters in a smaller midterm electorate with a more conservative candidate than Tillis on the 2026 ballot as the GOP's nominee in North Carolina.

And Trump loyalists saw the Tillis announcement as further proof of the president's immense hold over the GOP.

Tillis, in a statement, noted that "in Washington over the last few years, it's become increasingly evident that leaders who are willing to embrace bipartisanship, compromise, and demonstrate independent thinking are becoming an endangered species."

In the race for the Democratic Senate nomination, former Rep. Wiley Nickel, a trial lawyer and former state senator, launched a bid earlier this year. 

But all eyes are on former two-term Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who is mulling a run. Cooper is viewed as the most formidable and prominent potential Democratic candidate for a seat his party is aiming to flip from red to blue.

But no Democrat has won a Senate race in North Carolina since 2008.

Hours after Tillis' announcement on Sunday, a top non-partisan political handicapper shifted their rating on the North Carolina Senate race from Lean Republican to Toss Up.

"The surprise move from Tillis moves this race into the Toss Up category and officially makes the Tar Heel State Democrats’ top pickup opportunity," the Cook Report's Jessica Walter said.

The State Department has revoked the visas for members of the Bob Vylan band, after the British punk-rap duo called for "death to the IDF" during a Saturday performance in England's Glastonbury Music Festival. 

The band Bob Vylan, made up of two musicians with the stage names Bobby Vylan and Bobbie Vylan, is slated to tour the U.S. later in 2025. But the State Department announced Monday it had pulled the visas for the band’s members after the group led chants calling for the end of the Israel Defense Forces. 

"Bob Vylan’s visas have been revoked," a senior State Department official told Fox News Digital Monday. "The Secretary of State has been clear — the U.S. will not approve visas for terrorist sympathizers."

UK PUNK-RAP DUO SPARKS OUTRAGE WITH ANTI-ISRAEL CHANTS AT MAJOR MUSIC FESTIVAL

Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously has issued multiple warnings that the State Department will rescind visas for "terrorists" and those affiliated with them. 

For example, Rubio said in June 2 X post after the antisemitic terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, that all "terrorists, their family members, and terrorist sympathizers" in the U.S. on a visa would have their visa revoked and face deportation. 

During the Glastonbury, England, performance, Bobby Vylan also led the crowd with chants of "Free, Free, Free Palestine," and wrapped up the chant saying "Hell yeah, from the river to the sea. Palestine must be, will be inshallah, it will be free."

In response, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that "there is no excuse for this kind of appalling hate speech," according to the BBC. 

Meanwhile, Bobby Vylan appeared to double down on his statements during the Glastonbury performance, and wrote in a social media post Sunday: "I said what I said."

EX-MUMFORD & SONS GUITARIST CRITICIZES MUSIC INDUSTRY FOR SILENCE AFTER BOULDER ANTISEMITIC ATTACK

"It is incredibly important that we encourage and inspire future generations to pick up the torch that was passed to us," Bobby Vylan said in a Sunday Instagram post. "Let us display to them loudly and visibly the right thing to do when we want and need change. Let them see us marching in the streets, campaigning on ground level, organizing online and shouting about it on any and every stage that we are offered."

Additionally, the BBC issued a Monday statement apologizing for continuing to air Bob Vylan’s performance live, and condemned the antisemitic chants during the performance. 

RETIRED UK POLICE OFFICER SUING AFTER BEING ARRESTED OVER 'THOUGHT CRIME' POST ON SOCIAL MEDIA

"The team were dealing with a live situation but with hindsight we should have pulled the stream during the performance. We regret this did not happen," the BBC said in a Monday statement. "The BBC respects freedom of expression but stands firmly against incitement to violence. The antisemitic sentiments expressed by Bob Vylan were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves."

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. 

President Donald Trump is confident that democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani would "crush" New York City if he is elected mayor, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says.

Leavitt made the statement during a Monday press briefing while fielding multiple questions from reporters about Mamdani's victory in the democratic mayoral primary.

Fox News' White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked Leavitt about recent calls for Mamdani to be deported, citing calls from one lawmaker who said Mamdani should be denaturalized.

"I haven't heard him say that. I haven't heard him call for that. But certainly he does not want this individual to be elected. I was just speaking to him about it and [Mamdani's] radical policies that will completely crush New York City, which is obviously a city that the president holds near and dear to his heart," Leavitt responded.

HAKEEM JEFFRIES SAYS NYC HOPEFUL MAMDANI NEEDS TO 'CLARIFY' HIS POSITION ON 'GLOBALIZE THE INTIFADA'

Leavitt went on to say that Trump would be willing to work with Mamdani if he is elected, though she predicted that the relationship would be difficult.

"Look, the president is always willing to work with everyone. He's working with Democrats across the country, Democrat governors. And he said he'll work with people on the far left. He works with Republicans. He works with people in the middle. He wants to do what's right for America," Leavitt said.

"But surely someone who holds these values and is quite literally a communist and condemns every value that makes this country great: common sense, law and order, low taxes, working hard, and earning your keep in this country. He's against all of that. And I think the president would find it difficult to work with someone like that, if he is elected. I'm sure you'll hear more from the president on that, but we'll have to see. Hopefully, the voters of New York City choose wisely," she finished.

Mamdani, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, defeated establishment favorite and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and a crowded field of other candidates, in the Democratic mayoral primary last week.

Liberal podcast host Donny Deutsch called out Mamdani on Monday for refusing to condemn the phrase "globalize the intifada" during an appearance on MSNBC.

"I’m outraged that we have a candidate for mayor of New York, Mr. Mamdani, that cannot walk back or cannot condemn the words ‘globalize the intifada’ and his nuance of, ‘Well, it means different things for different people.' Well, let me tell you what it means to a Jew — it means violence," Deutsch said, citing the October 7 terrorist attacks, as well as the Boulder, Colorado, attacks.

SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND URGES ZOHRAN MAMDANI TO DENOUNCE 'GLOBALIZE THE INTIFADA' RHETORIC

"That's the connotation. That's the essence of it, and that's what it means to Jewish people. And if any other group came forward and said, ‘You know these words are offensive to us. It means violence. It frightens us,' I think there would be a response, but for some reason, if Jewish people find it offensive, it's not offensive," Deutsch continued. 

Mamdani had several opportunities to condemn the "globalize the intifada" phrase during an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, but he refused.

Fox News' Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order to formally lift all sanctions on Syria on Monday afternoon. 

"The United States is committed to supporting a Syria that is stable, unified, and at peace with itself and its neighbors," the order stated, while directing the secretaries of State, Commerce and Treasury to relieve sanctions and waive export controls. 

"This is in an effort to promote and support the country's path to stability and peace. The order will remove sanctions on Syria while maintaining sanctions on the former president Assad or his associates, human rights abusers, drug traffickers, persons linked to chemical weapons activities, ISIS and their affiliates, and Iranian proxies," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. 

Trump is "committed to supporting a Syria that is stable, unified and at peace with itself and its neighbors," Leavitt said. 

TRUMP’S GAMBLE IN NORMALIZING RELATIONS WITH SYRIA IN THE FACE OF IRAN: ‘HIGH-RISK, HIGH-REWARD’

Ambassador Tom Barrack, Trump's envoy to Syria, called the new order a "tedious, detailed, excruciating process" of unraveling the sanctions that had been in place for decades on the regime of Bashar al-Assad, who oversaw a nation at civil war for more than a decade. 

Brad Smith, the Treasury Department's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said sanctions would remain "where appropriate," including on Assad and his associates and any other destabilizing regional actors. 

Smith said the fall of Assad represented a "new beginning" for the Syrian people and Trump had decided U.S. sanctions "would not stand in the way of what could be a brighter future for the country."

But he warned: "The United States will remain ever vigilant where our interests and security are threatened, and Treasury will not hesitate to use our authorities to protect us and international financial systems."

Some sanctions will still need to be lifted by Congress, and others date to 1979, when Syria was designated a state sponsor of terrorism. The administration has not yet lifted that designation. 

Trump met last month with Syria’s new interim leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, during a Middle East visit. 

From having a $10 million bounty on his head to sitting down with the U.S. president, the turnaround of the Syrian leader has been remarkable.

Al-Sharaa’s group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a Syrian militant organization founded as an offshoot of al Qaeda, overthrew Assad in March. 

TRUMP ASKS SYRIA TO JOIN ABRAHAM ACCORDS, NORMALIZE TIES WITH ISRAEL IN RETURN FOR SANCTIONS RELIEF

Al-Sharaa had been campaigning hard for a relationship with Washington and sanctions relief: he offered to build a Trump Tower in Damascus, détente with Israel, and U.S. access to Syria's oil and gas. He worked to soften the image of HTS and promised an inclusive governing structure. 

U.S. sanctions have included financial penalties on any foreign individual or company that provided material support to the Syrian government and prohibited anyone in the U.S. from dealing in any Syrian entity, including oil and gas. Syrian banks also were effectively cut off from global financial systems. 

The new order comes as Israeli and Syrian officials are engaged in back-channel talks on a potential security and normalization deal. 

Israel and Syria have long been foes, and some Israeli officials worry that lifting all sanctions on Syria means giving up "leverage" to pressure them into a deal to normalize ties with Israel. 

To that point, one senior administration official shot back: "We have consistently said we’re not nation-building. It’s to Syria’s benefit to lean toward Israel." 

"The president ripped off the sanctions without any preconditions," the official said. "Leverage is not what we’re interested in doing." 

War between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has complicated any movement on normalization deals between Israel and its neighbors. But the official predicted: "There’s going to be peace in Gaza." 

Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus are warning they have serious issues with the Senate's version of President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" as it's currently written.

The group of GOP rebels argued in a public statement on Sunday that the Senate bill adds $1.3 trillion to the federal deficit, whereas the House-passed bill would increase the federal deficit by $72 billion.

"Even without interest costs, it is $651 billion over our agreed budget framework," the statement read.

The Senate is currently working through the bill and is expected to finish sometime later Monday or even on Tuesday. 

SENATE REPUBLICANS RAM TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' THROUGH KEY TEST VOTE

The Senate bill would add an extra $1 trillion to raise the debt limit, compared to the House version and permanently extend certain corporate tax cuts in President Donald Trump's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that the House only extended temporarily.

It also includes several specific new additions aimed at easing Senate Republicans' own concerns with the bill, including a $25 billion rural hospital fund to offset issues with Medicaid cuts, and a tax break for whalers that appears aimed at Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.

The Senate is operating under a mechanism called "current policy baseline," which would effectively zero-out the cost of extending TCJA tax cuts by calculating them as the de facto operational policy rather than calculating the cost as if they were not in place.

Absent congressional action, TCJA tax cuts expire at the end of 2025.

DEM DELAY TACTIC ENDS, DEBATE BEGINS ON TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL'

Conservatives in the House have warned they have serious issues with the bill, however. 

Reps. Ralph Norman, R-Texas, and Eric Burlison, R-Mo., both House Freedom Caucus members, said the bill could face steep odds — even fail — in the lower chamber if changes were not made.

Both said it could fail in a House-wide procedural vote before lawmakers could even contend with the measure itself. A rule vote is traditionally taken to allow for debate on legislation before lawmakers weigh in on it.

"If it gets through [the House Rules Committee], I don't think it survives on the floor in the current form it's in. You know, we told the senators that," Norman told Fox News Digital. "They knew this all along."

Norman said Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., had done a "good job," but added of the Senate, "They've got fighters... but we've just got to have certain things that comply with our House version."

The legislation could still change before it gets to the House, however, as the Senate works through a parade of amendments from both Democrats and Republicans.

Burlison said it could depend on the fate of an amendment by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., which would significantly hike the Medicaid financial burden for states that expanded their Medicaid population under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). 

The change, if passed, would roll back the current 90% rate that the government pays for the Medicaid expansion population through the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) back down to the non-expansion rate, which hovers as low as 50%.

Scott's proposal could add hundreds of billions in savings to the plan, in addition to the nearly $1 trillion the Senate plan already saves in Medicaid spending.

"I don't see how what the Senate is doing will pass the House if [Rick Scott's amendment] does not pass at the minimum. It's probably going to take more spending reductions than that, but that would get the majority of us there," Burlison told Fox News Digital, without commenting on House GOP leaders.

He predicted the bill could be "killed" in the House-wide rule vote otherwise.

Indeed, several House Freedom Caucus members have taken to X to publicly urge Senate Republicans to approve Scott's amendment.

"All Republican Senators should vote YES on Senator Rick Scott’s very reasonable 'elimination of theft from Medicaid' FMAP amendment," Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., posted.

Fox News Digital reached out to Speaker Mike Johnson's office for comment on House Freedom Caucus members' comments.

Notably, key provisions originally in the House bill were stripped out of the legislation for not being "Byrd-compliant."

NATIONAL DEBT TRACKER: AMERICAN TAXPAYERS (YOU) ARE NOW ON THE HOOK FOR $36,215,806,064,740.36 AS OF 6/27/25

The "Byrd Bath" is a process during the budget reconciliation process in which the Senate parliamentarian, a non-partisan, unelected official tasked with advising on Senate policy, combs through the bill for whether it adheres to the strict budgetary guidelines of the reconciliation process.

Republicans are using the budget reconciliation process to advance Trump's agenda on taxes, the border, energy, defense, and the debt limit via one massive piece of legislation.

Budget reconciliation allows Republicans to bypass any Democratic opposition to pass their bill by lowering the Senate's threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51.

They're aiming to have a bill on Trump's desk by the Fourth of July.

A GOP aide told Fox News Digital, "The Senate version contains more in Byrd-compliant savings than the House, and correctly scores extending current tax policy as revenue-neutral — and assumes the kind of growth that was also massively underestimated last time around."

The aide noted that the White House Council of Economic Advisers said the bill will generate $4.1 trillion in economic growth thanks to tax permanence, which is more than the House version.

Senate Republicans argue the bill would lead to $1.6 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years — above the House Freedom Caucus' demanded $1.5 trillion threshold.

FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration is suing the city of Los Angeles, alleging that the policies interfere with federal immigration authorities from doing their jobs.

"Sanctuary policies were the driving cause of the violence, chaos, and attacks on law enforcement that Americans recently witnessed in Los Angeles," Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News in an exclusive statement.

"Jurisdictions like Los Angeles that flout federal law by prioritizing illegal aliens over American citizens are undermining law enforcement at every level – it ends under President Trump," Bondi added.

'SOCIAL CHAOS': GOP, DEM LAWMAKERS SOUND OFF ON LOS ANGELES UNREST

The lawsuit says that the city is discriminating against federal authorities by treating ICE differently than other types of law enforcement.

The Department of Justice argues that the Supremacy Clause in the U.S. Constitution prohibits this, so they are asking a judge to block the enforcement of the policies.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

"Sanctuary City laws and policies are designed to deliberately impede federal immigration officers’ ability to carry out their responsibilities in those jurisdictions," the lawsuit filed on Monday stated. "The Los Angeles Ordinance and other policies intentionally discriminate against the Federal Government by treating federal immigration authorities differently than other law enforcement agents through access restrictions both to property and to individual detainees, by prohibiting contractors and sub-contractors from providing information, and by disfavoring federal criminal laws that the City of Los Angeles has decided not to comply with," the lawsuit continues. 

ANTI-ICE RIOTS REVEAL THE LEFT HAS LEARNED NOTHING. IT'S JUST HANDED TRUMP A GIFT

"The Supremacy Clause prohibits the City of Los Angeles and its officials from singling out the Federal Government for adverse treatment — as the challenged law and policies do — thereby discriminating against the Federal Government. Accordingly, the law and policies challenged here are invalid and should be enjoined," it added. 

Los Angeles faced protests and riots earlier this month as ICE conducted operations throughout the region, resulting in a legally challenged deployment of the National Guard by President Donald Trump. Mayor Karen Bass spoke out against the violence in the city at the time but said that Trump’s deployment of troops acted as an instigator. 

"Last Thursday, ICE entered our city and provoked the city by chasing people through Home Depots and car washes and showing up at schools and, today, showing up at emergency rooms and homeless shelters," Bass said earlier this month.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SUES FOUR NEW JERSEY CITIES OVER SANCTUARY POLICIES

"ICE intervened as a pretext to federalize the National Guard, and then, in the White House, the National Guard was complimented for the work that they did to keep peace in the city Saturday night. But I will tell you, the Guard didn't even arrive here until Sunday. They used this as a pretext to send the U.S. Marines into an American city, which will target our own citizens," the Democrat continued.

Fox News reached out to the city for comment, but they did not immediately respond. 

The Trump administration is working on a way to allow farmers and the hospitality industry to have a "temporary pass" to avoid a negative impact from Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, he said on "Sunday Morning Futures."

"I don’t back away. What I do have, I cherish our farmers," the president said when asked by host Maria Bartiromo about the issue. "And when we go into a farm and we take away people that have been working there for 15 and 20 years, who were good, who possibly came in incorrectly. And what we’re going to do is we’re going to do something for farmers where we can let the farmer sort of be in charge. The farmer knows he’s not going to hire a murderer."

"But you know, when you go into a farm and you set somebody working with them for nine years doing this kind of work, which is hard work to do and a lot of people aren’t going to do it, and you end up destroying a farmer because you took all the people away," he said.

TRUMP DIRECTS ICE TO EXPAND DEPORTATION EFFORTS IN AMERICA'S LARGEST CITIES

"It’s a problem. You know, I’m on both sides of the thing. I’m the strongest immigration guy that there’s ever been, but I’m also the strongest farmer guy that there’s ever been, and that includes also hotels and, you know, places where people work, a certain group of people work," the president added.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

"We’re working on it right now. We’re going to work it so that, some kind of a temporary pass, where people pay taxes, where the farmer can have a little control as opposed to you walk in and take everybody away," he continued, emphasizing that "criminals are going out of this country."

On June 12, the president made similar comments about hotels and farms potentially running into issues as the result of federal immigration enforcement.

SEN CHUCK GRASSLEY: HOW SENATE REPUBLICANS ARE RESTORING RULE OF LAW AND SECURING BORDER FOR YEARS TO COME

"Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace," Trump posted to Truth Social.

"In many cases the Criminals allowed into our Country by the VERY Stupid Biden Open Borders Policy are applying for those jobs. This is not good. We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!"

On June 19, border czar Tom Homan signaled that those operations would still continue, but it’s not a major focus.

ICE DEPORTATION EFFORTS COULD BE DERAILED IF CONGRESS DOESN'T ACT SOON

"The message is clear that we’re going to continue to do worksite enforcement operations – even on farms and hotels but based on a prioritized basis. Criminals come first," Homan said, according to Axios.

ICE and DHS referred to the White House, and the White House deferred to the president’s remarks when Fox News Digital reached out. The comments from the president come as the administration aims to ramp up deportation efforts, whether it’s those with criminal charges and convictions or who entered the country illegally under the Biden administration. At the border itself, apprehensions and gotaway figures have taken a nosedive since Trump took office.

DHS is also encouraging those without a criminal history to self-deport by offering $1,000 and free travel outside the United States. ICE operations have been the subject of protests and even riots, including in Los Angeles. 

The State Department has revoked the visas for members of the Bob Vylan band, after the British punk-rap duo called for "death to the IDF" during a Saturday performance in England's Glastonbury Music Festival. 

The band Bob Vylan, made up of two musicians with the stage names Bobby Vylan and Bobbie Vylan, is slated to tour the U.S. later in 2025. But the State Department announced Monday it had pulled the visas for the band’s members after the group led chants calling for the end of the Israel Defense Forces. 

"Bob Vylan’s visas have been revoked," a senior State Department official told Fox News Digital Monday. "The Secretary of State has been clear — the U.S. will not approve visas for terrorist sympathizers."

Meanwhile, Bobby Vylan appeared to double down on his statements during the Glastonbury performance, and wrote in a social media post on Sunday: "I said what I said."

"It is incredibly important that we encourage and inspire future generations to pick up the torch that was passed to us," Bobby Vylan said in an Instagram post on Sunday. "Let us display to them loudly and visibly the right thing to do when we want and need change. Let them see us marching in the streets, campaigning on ground level, organizing online and shouting about it on any and every stage that we are offered."

Meanwhile, the BBC issued a Monday statement apologizing for continuing to air Bob Vylan’s performance live, and condemned the antisemitic chants during the performance. 

"The team were dealing with a live situation but with hindsight we should have pulled the stream during the performance. We regret this did not happen," the BBC said in a Monday statement. "The BBC respects freedom of expression but stands firmly against incitement to violence. The antisemitic sentiments expressed by Bob Vylan were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves."

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. 

President Donald Trump will head to Florida Tuesday for the official opening of an immigration detention camp in the Everglades that is surrounded by alligators and aptly dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday. 

"We have the president of the United States coming down tomorrow to tout what Florida has done," DeSantis said at a Monday news conference, according to the Miami Herald. 

"I think by tomorrow it will be open for business," he added. 

DeSantis authorized the construction of an illegal immigrant detention center on a 30-square-mile property in the Everglades' swamplands in Miami–Dade County under an emergency order. The property is a former airport that has been outfitted with sturdy tent structures to house 5,000 illegal immigrants amid the Trump administration's deportation blitz to remove the millions of illegal migrants who flooded the nation under the Biden era. 

FLORIDA BUILDING 'ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ' WHERE ICE DETAINEES FACE NATURE'S OWN SECURITY SYSTEM

The detention center earned its name due to its location in the heart of the Everglades, which is home to massive reptiles such as alligators and pythons. 

"This is an airport that's already there," DeSantis said Wednesday during an event with the media. "Clearly, from a security perspective, if someone escapes, you know, there are a lot of alligators you're going to have to contend with. No one's going anywhere once you do that. It's a safe and secure as can be." 

Environmentalists and Democrats have come out against the detention center, including by lining up along Highway 41, which runs through the Everglades, to protest its construction Saturday. Protesters held signs declaring, "Another stupid plan to abuse people & the Everglades," "No Alligator Alcatraz" or signs demanding ICE is pushed "out of Florida," photos show. 

ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS TRY BLOCKING TRUMP'S 'ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ' WITH LAST-MINUTE LAWSUIT

Various federal and state agencies, such as the Department of Homeland Security and Florida's Division of Emergency Management, were additionally hit with a lawsuit Friday spearheaded by a pair of environmentalist groups that claim the detention facility will disrupt and threaten the Everglades ecosystem, the Associated Press reported. 

"The state of Florida is all in on President Trump’s mission," DeSantis said on a tour of the facility Friday on "Fox & Friends." "There needs to be more ability to intake, process and deport."

ICE ACCELERATING REMOVAL OPERATIONS BY ADDING 500 MORE BEDS IN FLORIDA JAIL

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem also endorsed the detention center as an ideal facility for "some of the worst scumbags" who illegally entered the U.S. under the Biden administration. 

"Alligator Alcatraz, and other facilities like it, will give us the capability to lock up some of the worst scumbags who entered our country under the previous administration. I will continue to stand alongside our officers as they protect and defend our homeland. Make America Safe," Noem posted to X Friday. 

President Donald Trump is cheering on the GOP's landmark spending and tax cut bill, as it faces judgment day in the Senate.

"ONE GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL, is moving along nicely!" the president wrote in a social media post hours before the Senate on Monday began to take a slew of votes on the Republican-crafted measure.

The bill, which the president is insisting pass Congress and reach his desk by this Friday, July 4, is stuffed full of Trump's campaign trail promises and second-term priorities on tax cuts, immigration, defense, energy and the debt limit. 

It includes extending his signature 2017 tax cuts and eliminating taxes on tips and overtime pay, providing billions for border security and codifying his controversial immigration crackdown.

SENATOR'S ENTER VOTE-A-RAMA ON TRUMP'S MASSIVE BUDGET BILL

However, many of the latest national surveys indicate that Americans are far from thrilled with the measure.

By a 21-point margin, voters questioned in the most recent Fox News national poll opposed the federal budget legislation (38% favored vs. 59% opposed), which passed by the House of Representatives by just one vote last month.

HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING 

The bill was also underwater in national surveys conducted this month by the Washington Post (minus 19 points), Pew Research (minus 20 points) and Quinnipiac University (minus 26 points).

As Democrats attack the bill, they’re highlighting the GOP’s proposed restructuring of Medicaid — the nearly 60-year-old federal program that provides health coverage to roughly 71 million low-income Americans. Additionally, Senate Republicans increased cuts to Medicaid over what the House passed.

DEMOCATS' DELAY TACTIC ENDS, DEBATE BEGINS ON TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL'

The changes to Medicaid, as well as cuts to food stamps, another one of the nation's major safety net programs, were drafted in part as an offset to pay for extending Trump's 2017 tax cuts, which are set to expire later this year. The measure includes a slew of new rules and regulations, including work requirements for many of those seeking Medicaid coverage.

Meanwhile, Republicans criticize Democrats opposing the bill for voting to increase taxes on most Americans.

About half of respondents questioned in the Fox News poll said the bill would hurt their family (49%), while one quarter thought it would help (23%), and another quarter didn't think it would make a difference (26%).

Sixty percent felt they had a good understanding of what is in the measure, formally known as the One, Big, Beautiful Bill, and while those voters were more likely to favor the legislation than those who are unfamiliar with it, more still think it will hurt rather than help their family (45% vs. 34%).

The latest surveys all indicate a wide partisan divide over the measure.

According to the Fox News poll, which was conducted June 13-16, nearly three-quarters of Republicans (73%) favored the bill, while nearly nine in ten Democrats (89%) and nearly three-quarters of independents (73%) opposed the measure.

Fox News' Dana Blanton contributed to this report.

A House GOP centrist from a key battleground district, Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., announced Monday that he will not seek re-election next year. 

"After 30 years in the Air Force and 10 years in Congress, it’s time to spend my future with the love of my life, our four kids, and our wonderful grandchildren. Thank you, Nebraska!" Bacon announced Monday. 

Bacon's announcement comes as Congress works overtime to pass President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" by their self-imposed July 4 deadline. Through the reconciliation process, the megabill seeks to deliver on the president's key campaign promises, including tax cuts, immigration reform and energy production. 

The moderate Republican has built a reputation for bucking Trump's agenda in the House. While Bacon ultimately voted with his Republican colleagues to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last month, the Nebraska Republican had concerns about the impact of proposed Medicaid cuts. 

THOM TILLIS ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT FROM SENATE AFTER CLASH WITH TRUMP

Bacon indicated earlier this month that he would vote against the White House's rescission proposal if it cuts an AIDS relief program. Last month, he was the only Republican who voted against a House bill to make Trump's name change for the Gulf of America permanent. Bacon, a loyal Ukraine supporter, has also criticized Trump's position on its war with Russia. 

REPUBLICAN REP INDICATES HE'S 'A NO' ON TRUMP-BACKED RESCISSIONS MEASURE

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., announced Sunday he would also not seek re-election next year. Like Bacon, Tillis has been willing to buck Trump and the Republican Party on key issues, including the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Tillis was one of just two Republicans who voted against a procedural vote on the bill in the Senate this weekend. 

Bacon has represented Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District since 2017. He won re-election in 2024 by less than two percentage points. 

Former Vice President Kamala Harris won his district by almost five percentage points in 2024. Nebraska is one of just two states that splits its Electoral College votes in presidential elections by congressional district. 

Bacon's congressional district was already a high-target House seat for Democrats ahead of the competitive 2026 midterm elections. 

"The writing has been on the wall for months," Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) spokesperson Madison Andrus said on Friday. 

"Nebraskans are tired of the false promises that Republicans are trying to sell, and they want real results. Don Bacon’s decision to not seek re-election in 2026 is the latest vote of no-confidence for House Republicans and their electoral prospects. Next November, Nebraskans are going to elect a Democrat who will actually deliver for them," Andrus added. 

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to take up a Republican-led challenge to U.S. campaign finance restrictions that limit the amount of money that political parties can spend on behalf of certain candidates— a case that could have major implications for the 2026 midterm elections.

The case, National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission, was originally appealed to the court by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), and on behalf of two Senate Republican candidates running for election in 2022— among them, now-Vice President J.D. Vance.

It centers on whether federal limits on campaign spending from political parties runs afoul of First Amendment protections, including free speech, under the U.S. Constitution.

CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS SOUNDS ALARM ON DANGEROUS RHETORIC AIMED AT JUDGES FROM POLITICIANS

The case comes as federal election spending has reached record highs. Presidential candidates in 2024 raised at least $2 billion and spent roughly $1.8 billion in 2024, according to FEC figures.

Oral arguments will be held in the fall.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.

The Trump administration has issued Harvard a "Notice of Violation" under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act for its handling of alleged discrimination against Jewish students on campus, emphasizing that it must adopt changes or lose all federal funding.

In a letter to Harvard President Alan Garber, obtained by Fox News Digital, the multi-agency Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism wrote that the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has finished its investigation into alleged antisemitism at the university.

"After a thorough investigation, HHS OCR finds that Harvard University is in violent violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin," the letter reads.

"The enclosed Notice of Violation details the findings of fact supporting a conclusion that Harvard has been in some cases deliberately indifferent, and in others has been a willful participant in anti-Semitic harassment of Jewish students, faculty, and staff," it continued.

HARVARD KENNEDY SCHOOL ANNOUNCES LAYOFFS AFTER TRUMP CUT BILLIONS IN FUNDING

The OCR investigation found that "specific and repeated examples" it uncovered establish a pattern of "unlawful and unchecked discrimination" at Harvard through direct student-on-student harassment, targeted harassment by student groups, exclusion from campus spaces and institutional-level acceptance of antisemitism, according to the notice obtained by Fox News Digital.

The letter said, as an example of harassment and discrimination, that the majority of Jewish students reported experiencing negative bias or discrimination on campus, while a quarter felt physically unsafe.

Other examples cited were Jewish and Israeli students reporting that they were assaulted and spit on and that they concealed their Jewish identity from classmates over fear of ostracization.

An image circulated across the campus community that showed a dollar sign inside a Star of David and the campus was vandalized with various stickers, including one that showed the Israeli flag with a swastika in place of the Star of David, the letter states.

The letter also pointed to the anti-Israel demonstrations on campus in the aftermath of Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack on the Jewish State.

"The campus was wracked by demonstrations that flagrantly violated the University’s rules of conduct. The demonstrations included calls for genocide and murder, and denied Jewish and Israeli students access to campus spaces," it reads, adding that students who participated in the encampment demonstrations "received lax and inconsistent discipline."

"By the end of the process, even accounting only for the students that were charged, only a fraction received some sort of discipline, and none were suspended," it added.

The letter said Harvard "did not dispute our findings of fact, nor could it" and that the school's "inaction in the face of these civil rights violations is a clear example of the demographic hierarchy that has taken hold of the University."

"Equal defense of the law demands that all groups, regardless of race or national origin, are protected," the letter reads. "Harvard’s commitment to racial hierarchies—where individuals are sorted and judged according to their membership in an oppressed group identity and not individual merit—has enabled anti-Semitism to fester on Harvard’s campus and has led a once great institution to humiliation, offering remedial math and forcing Jewish students to hide their identities and ancestral stories."

Harvard was informed that the failure to immediately institute adequate changes would lead to the loss of all federal financial resources and continue to affect its relationship with the federal government.

The university, the letter notes, "may of course continue to operate free of federal privileges, and perhaps such an opportunity will spur a commitment to excellence that will help Harvard thrive once again."

HARVARD WEIGHS HOW TO STRIKE DEAL WITH TRUMP ADMIN WITHOUT LOOKING LIKE IT CAVED: REPORT

The Trump administration has already moved to cut billions of dollars in federal research funding for Harvard, in part, over its handling of alleged antisemitism and violence on campus amid anti-Israel protests.

In a recent email to faculty and staff, Harvard Kennedy School Dean Jeremy Weinstein announced staff layoffs at Kennedy, citing "unprecedented new headwinds" creating "significant financial challenges," including a "substantial proposed increase in the endowment tax" and "massive cuts to federal funding of research."

"Harvard holds the regrettable distinction of being among the most prominent and visible breeding grounds for race discrimination," the letter to Harvard's president reads, noting the 2023 Supreme Court decision that found that race-based affirmative action programs in college admissions violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. "That legacy of discrimination persists with Harvard’s continued anti-Semitism. Any institution that refuses to meet its duties under federal law may not receive a wide range of federal privileges."

Senate Republicans are inching closer to a final vote on President Donald Trump’s "big, beautiful bill," but face one more obstacle before lawmakers go on record on the president’s ambitious agenda.

Lawmakers wrapped up several hours of debate on the megabill that began Sunday afternoon and petered out early Sunday morning. The next hurdle is the marathon "vote-a-rama," when lawmakers on either side of the aisle can submit an unlimited number of amendments to the bill.

DEM DELAY TACTIC ENDS, DEBATE BEGINS ON TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL'

Senate Republicans will use the time to further change and mold the bill to sate holdouts, while Democrats will inflict as much pain, and burn as much time as possible, with amendments designed to kneecap or outright kill the legislation.

The debate was largely a predictably partisan affair filled with floor charts, impassioned gesticulating fists and pleas to either pass or nuke the bill.

Senate Democrats railed against the bill for its slew of changes to Medicaid, green energy tax subsidies and how the bill, particularly its design to make Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Job act permanent, would balloon the federal deficit.

SENATE REPUBLICANS RAM TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' THROUGH KEY TEST VOTE

Republicans lauded the "big, beautiful bill" for the growth it could supercharge in the country, and in particular, how important it was to prevent the president’s first-term tax cuts from lapsing.

"I say to everybody in America who's been hearing all of the politics of fear, about what we're doing here and running up the deficit, [they] need to remember that only in Washington D.C. is the refusal to raise your taxes an increase in the deficit," Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said. "And we're not going to let that happen."

Lawmakers kicked off the debate with a back and forth on whether Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., or the Senate parliamentarian had the authority to dictate if Republicans could use the current policy baseline, the budget gimmick the GOP argues would negate their tax bill from ballooning the deficit, or current law, which would show the real cost of Trump’s tax package over the next decade.

"Republicans can use whatever budgetary gimmicks they want to try and make the math work on paper, but you can't paper over the real-life consequences of adding tens of trillions to the debt," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.  

TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' FACES REPUBLICAN FAMILY FEUD AS SENATE REVEALS ITS FINAL TEXT

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released two sets of scores Saturday and Sunday that reflected both current policy and current law. Under current policy, the bill would tack on just over $507 billion over the next decade. But under current law, the package would add roughly $3.3 trillion.

Graham countered that as budget chair, he has the right to set the numbers.

"The resolution we're operating under to get us here, we voted to make that the case so we're not doing anything sneaky," he said. "We actually voted to give me the authority to do this, and it passed."

Graham also went to bat for the GOP’s planned cuts to Medicaid, which they have presented as efforts to root out waste, fraud and abuse in the program by instilling work requirements, booting illegal migrants off the benefit rolls, and making changes to just how much the federal government would pay states.

NATIONAL DEBT TRACKER: AMERICAN TAXPAYERS (YOU) ARE NOW ON THE HOOK FOR $36,215,806,064,740.36 AS OF 6/27/25

He argued that since former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act became law, Medicaid has grown exponentially, largely because Obama "incentivized" states to opt in to the Medicaid expansion program and allowed for able-bodied working-age adults to get onto the benefit rolls, something he noted that Medicaid was "never intended" to do.  

"It's a good thing for the individual involved to be working," he said. "It's a good thing for the taxpayer, for them to be working. But that seems to be a crime on the other side, to ask somebody to work that can work."

Not all Republicans were aligned in their passion to pass Trump’s bill.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., torched the legislative behemoth in a fiery floor speech that railed against the deficit-adding effect the bill would have. He and Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., both voted against advancing the bill through a key procedural hurdle late Saturday night.

Tillis, who largely agrees with many of the tweaks to Medicaid, railed against the changes to the provider tax rate and accused the president of being duped by his health care advisors in the White House. 

He said that he would remain against the bill until lawmakers took the time to actually unpack what their Medicaid proposals would do to the states, and questioned "what's wrong with actually understanding what this bill does?" 

"Republicans are about to make a mistake on health care and betraying a promise," he warned.  "What do I tell 663,000 people in 2 or 3 years, when President Trump breaks his promise by pushing them off of Medicaid because the funding isn’t there anymore."

Paul, who has taken issue with the addition of a $5 trillion hike to the debt ceiling baked into the bill, reaffirmed that he would be voting against the megabill during final passage.

"In deciding whether to vote for the ‘big, not-so-beautiful bill,’ I've asked a very specific question: Will the deficit be more or less next year? The answer, without question, is this bill will grow the deficit," he said. 

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., denounced President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill," just hours after making the surprise announcement that he would not run for a third term in 2026. 

Tillis voted against a motion to proceed with the spending package on Saturday and then announced his retirement on Sunday, citing political polarization and a desire to spend more time with family.

He then took to the Senate floor later Sunday to warn that "Republicans are about to make a mistake on healthcare and betraying a promise" on Medicaid should the package clear the upper chamber. 

TRUMP REACTS TO TILLIS NOT SEEKING RE-ELECTION, SENDS WARNING TO 'COST CUTTING REPUBLICANS'

"It is inescapable that this bill in its current form will betray the very promise that Donald J. Trump made in the Oval Office or in the Cabinet room when I was there with finance. He said, ‘We can go after waste, fraud and abuse’ on any programs," Tillis said. "Now, those amateurs that are advising him, not Dr. Oz, I'm talking about White House healthcare experts, refuse to tell him that those instructions that were to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse, all of a sudden eliminates a government program that's called the provider tax. We have morphed a legal construct that admittedly has been abused and should be eliminated into waste, fraud and abuse, money laundering. Read the code. Look how long it's been there."

"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."

"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. "But what we're doing, because we have a view of an artificial deadline on July 4, that means nothing but another date in time. We could take the time to get this right if we lay down the House mark of the Medicaid bill and fix it." 

The two-term senator said he consulted with Republican experts in the state legislature, Democrats loyal to Gov. Josh Stein and an independent body from the hospitals' association to gain insight on how the provider tax cuts would impact North Carolinians. In the best-case scenario, he said, the findings showed a $26 billion cut in federal support for Medicaid. Tillis said he presented the report to the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Dr. Mehmet Oz. 

"After three different attempts for them to discredit our estimates, the day before yesterday they admitted that we were right," Tillis said. "They can’t find a hole in my estimate."

SCOOP: HOUSE REPUBLICAN EYES BID FOR THOM TILLIS SENATE SEAT AFTER TRUMP ATTACK

"So what do I tell 663,000 people in two years or three years when President Trump breaks his promise by pushing them off of Medicaid because the funding is not there anymore, guys?" Tillis said. "I think the people in the White House, those advising the president are not telling him that the effect of this bill is to break a promise, and do you know the last time I saw a promise broken around healthcare? With respect to my friends on the other side of the aisle, it’s when somebody said, ‘If you like your healthcare, you could keep it, if you like your doctor, you could keep it.’ We found out that wasn’t true." 

In promoting the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, from 2009 to 2010, former President Barack Obama repeatedly claimed, "If you like your healthcare plan, you can keep it. If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor." Tillis argued that it was the failures of that package that led to him becoming the second Republican Speaker of the North Carolina House since the Civil War and later to his election to the U.S. Senate. 

Trump celebrated Tillis' retirement announcement and issued a warning to other "cost-cutting Republicans." 

"For all cost-cutting Republicans, of which I am one, REMEMBER, you still have to get reelected. Don’t go too crazy!" Trump wrote Sunday night. "We will make it all up, times 10, with GROWTH, more than ever before." 

After his Senate speech, Tillis told reporters that he had told Trump that he "probably needed to start looking for a replacement."

"I told him I want to help him," Tillis said, according to Politico. "I hope that we get a good candidate that I can help and we can have a successful 2026."

The senator told reporters Trump is "getting a lot of advice from people who have never governed and all they’ve done is written white papers." He condemned "people from an ivory tower driving him into a box canyon."

In his retirement announcement, Tillis said that "it’s become increasingly evident that leaders who are willing to embrace bipartisanship, compromise, and demonstrate independent thinking are becoming an endangered species." 

EXCLUSIVE: A multi-year grant to a Washington-area nonprofit focused on promoting fishing, boating and outdoor activities was canceled by the Interior Department after Senate DOGE leadership flagged the original Fox News Digital report to the Cabinet agency.

More than $26 million has already been paid out – on top of $164 million since 2012 – to the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation (RBFF), based in Alexandria, Virginia.

From the government website USA Spending, the grant’s purpose highlights RBFF’s "Take Me Fishing" consumer campaign that includes a social and digital media component, as well as ads on Walt Disney Company-branded streaming services and "mobile fishing units" that cater to urban communities and "underserved audiences."

At least $40.5 million will be saved in the near-term, the Senate DOGE Caucus told Fox News Digital, citing Interior’s response.

DOGE SENATOR TELLS OUTDOORS GROUP TO 'GO FISH' AFTER DISCOVERING MASSIVE GRANT TIED TO HIGH SALARIES

"Today’s catch of the day is Washington waste," said Senate DOGE Caucus Chairwoman Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.

"I am proud to have exposed bloated overhead costs and worked with Secretary Burgum to ensure tax dollars collected to boost fishing are not siphoned into the pockets of slick D.C.-based consultants."

"There’s more pork in the sea, and I am going to keep fishing for it!"

Burgum’s office struck a similar tone, saying the agency is committed to fiscal responsibility, efficiency and accountability – while still fully supporting the recreational boating, fishing and outdoors industries.

A spokeswoman for the agency, which oversees the National Park Service that provides outlets for all of the above, said that "under President Donald J. Trump’s leadership, we are ensuring that every taxpayer dollar serves a clear purpose and aligns with our core mission."

"Following a review of discretionary spending, the Department determined that the use of this particular [RBFF] grant had not demonstrated sufficient alignment with program goals or responsible stewardship of taxpayer resources," Charlotte Taylor said.

The grant, largely funded by excise taxes on fishing poles, came under DOGE scrutiny when Ernst discovered an RBFF contract with Disney worth $1.99 million plus hundreds of thousands in "SEO consulting," and $5 million to a Minnesota creative media development agency. Several RBFF executives are paid from the mid-$100,000s on up.

DOGE CAUCUS SENATOR PUSHES FOR END TO SLUSH FUND FOR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES

In part of a lengthy response to the grant’s cancellation, RBFF officials told Fox News Digital the organization has "devised a plan we believe would meet the goals and priorities of the administration, which includes adjusted employee compensation, reduced headcount and updated investment priorities."

But the group claimed it has not been able to connect directly with DOGE or Interior during the grant review process "despite repeated outreach attempts during the past three months." 

A source familiar with the situation indicated the group had met with Ernst’s office, and Taylor said Burgum's office did meet with RBFF in Washington earlier this month and has been in contact "multiple" times: "Anything to say otherwise is inaccurate."

"Since 1998, [RBFF] has helped build what has become a $230.5 billion industry that supports 1.1 million American jobs, generates $263 million in tax revenue, and contributes $2 billion annually to fisheries and conservation efforts in all 50 states," RBFF's statement continued.

"Alarmingly, in just the past two months since RBFF's funding has been paused, fishing license sales are down 8.6% across 16 states, representing the loss of over $590 million in angler spending and 5,600 jobs."

Several other groups came to RBFF’s defense.

Matt Gruhn, president of the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, told Fox News Digital he was disappointed in Interior’s decision to terminate the grant.

"[RBFF’s] work was pivotal to enhancing the recreational boating and fishing industry’s recruitment, retention and reactivation efforts. Their training and resources vastly improved state agency processes and marketing and has made boating and fishing licensing and registration far easier for Americans," Gruhn said.

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"RBFF has been a responsible steward of these taxpayer dollars from the very beginning, with oversight from the very stakeholders that paid into the fund that RBFF's grant originates from, as well as passing every audit with flying colors."

Additionally, the head of the American Sportfishing Association warned of the "severe impact" the loss of grant money will have on the outdoors industry.

CEO Glenn Hughes said his organization’s members agreed in 1950 to self-impose a tax on fishing rods to reinvest back into the industry and bolster license sales, habitat conservation and more.

The RBFF’s "Take Me Fishing" campaign began in 1998 with congressional funding from the tackle tax. Hughes claimed the effort has generated a total of $230.5 billion in economic impact since.

"Without consultation and coordination with the recreational fishing industry, the Department of the Interior decided to withhold critical funding from RBFF, ultimately ending a 27-year history of increasing fishing participation and efforts to bolster the economic impact of the fishing industry."