Following news that the House Rules Committee will convene at 1 a.m. on Wednesday morning to take the next steps in advancing President Trump's "big, beautiful" budget bill, Democrats are accusing Republicans of cowardice for advancing the monumental bill "in the dead of night."

The House Budget Committee reached an initial consensus to pass the bill to the Rules Committee late Sunday evening, after gaveling in at approximately 10:00 p.m. The Rules Committee must now take up the matter to set out the rules for debate and markup that are expected to take place next in the GOP-controlled House of Representatives. 

Shortly after, the House Budget Committee passed the bill in a late-Sunday night vote, the House Rules Committee announced it would be considering the One Big Beautiful Bill Act at 1 a.m. on Wednesday morning. The announcement, followed by the late-night Sunday vote, has stirred up criticism from Democrats who argue the late-night legislative sessions are the result of GOP cowardice.

"Republicans are scheduling votes in the DEAD OF NIGHT on Trump's ‘big, beautiful bill.’ They advanced their bill last night at 10:30PM. The next vote is scheduled for 1AM on Wednesday. Why hide?" questioned Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. "Maybe because this bill rips away health care from babies, new moms, and seniors."

NEW PROJECTION SIGNALS GOOD NEWS FOR FAMILIES, WORKERS IN TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL'

The legislative negotiations over the GOP's budget bill have circulated around what federal programs, or funding, will need to be cut in order to extend the president's tax cuts from his first term, which are set to expire. Among those cuts are new provisions to federal healthcare programs, like Medicaid, which Democrats have slammed as a move to take away public healthcare programs from those who need them the most.   

"Republicans know that their efforts to take away health care from millions of Americans is deeply unpopular. Republicans know that the effort to enact the largest cut to nutritional assistance in American history, which will literally take food from the mouths of children, veterans and seniors, is deeply unpopular. Republicans know that providing billionaire donors with a massive tax break for people, like Elon Musk, and at the same time, exploding the deficit by trillions of dollars is deeply unpopular," the Democrats' House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said during a Monday afternoon press conference. 

"That's why Republicans are going to try to advance this bill in the dead of night at 1 a.m. in the morning."

HAROLD FORD, JR. ARGUES TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' CUTS ONLY THE RICHEST PEOPLE'S TAXES

Republicans, however, have indicated their hope to pass their new budget bill by Memorial Day, and, in order to do that, the lengthy reconciliation process Republicans are using to get the bill passed must move quickly as the date is fast approaching. 

As a result of the looming Memorial Day deadline, Republicans appear to be moving the bill forward as quickly as possible, and, to do so, it is reportedly requiring the House Rules Committee to convene early Wednesday morning.  

"Under the rules, Budget Dems get two calendar days to file minority views after last night's markup. That could take until midnight Tuesday. Rules then has a one hour notice requirement, hence starting at 1 am," political commentator Brendan Buck said on X, citing someone with expert knowledge of the legislative process. 

BUDGET OFFICE WITH 'FUNDAMENTALLY PROGRESSIVE ROOTS' USED BY DEMS AS LATEST TOOL IN ANTI-TRUMP RESISTANCE

But that hasn't stopped Democrats from claiming Republicans are engaging in late-night votes to somehow keep the budget bill process out of the limelight.

"Remember when Republicans said late-night sessions were ‘not what the country needs or deserves’ during the American Rescue Plan? Now they’re getting ready to make dramatic cuts to Medicaid and SNAP so they can give tax breaks for billionaires - in the dead of night," Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., said following news of the Wednesday morning Rules Committee session. "Hypocrisy on full display."

President Donald Trump will descend on Capitol Hill Tuesday morning where he’s expected to meet with House Republicans on his "one, big, beautiful bill."

Trump is attending the House GOP’s weekly conference meeting, three House GOP sources and two White House officials confirmed to Fox News Digital and Fox News Radio, respectively. It’s normally an hour-long session behind closed doors in which Republicans discuss the week’s agenda and any outstanding issues.

The president is expected to rally Republicans around the massive piece of legislation designed to advance his agenda on tax, immigration, defense, energy, and raising the debt limit.

It’s a significant escalation in the president’s involvement in the process so far.

TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' PASSES KEY HOUSE HURDLE AFTER GOP REBEL MUTINY

House Republicans, meanwhile, have several critical differences to resolve before their self-imposed deadline to pass the bill by Memorial Day.

Conservatives are pushing for the bill to be more aggressive on cutting waste, fraud, and abuse in the Medicaid system, including a faster timeline for implementing work requirements for able-bodied recipients. Currently, the legislation has work requirements kicking in 2029.

Moderates, meanwhile, have been wary of making significant cuts to the program.

Fiscal hawks are also pushing for a total and near-immediate repeal of the former Biden administration’s green energy subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), noting it was a Trump campaign promise — while other Republicans have pointed out businesses in their districts are benefiting from the tax relief.

HOUSE GOP TARGETS ANOTHER DEM OFFICIAL ACCUSED OF BLOCKING ICE AMID DELANEY HALL FALLOUT

There’s also disagreement over raising the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap, a critical issue for blue state Republicans representing high-cost-of-living districts. GOP lawmakers in lower-tax states have dismissed it as a giveaway to high-tax Democrat-controlled areas, however.

News of Trump’s likely appearance on Capitol Hill comes after Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said on a lawmaker-only call on Monday morning that the president is ready and willing to play an active role in discussions.

"He wants to be involved as much as we need him," Johnson told House GOP colleagues.

The speaker also said he spoke with Trump by phone on Monday morning, and the president was "very excited, very encouraged."

Republicans are working to pass Trump’s policies on tax, immigration, energy, defense, and the national debt all in one massive bill via the budget reconciliation process.

GOP lawmakers also see it as an opportunity to put the country on a better fiscal path, with the national debt already having surpassed $36 trillion.

Budget reconciliation lowers the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51, thereby allowing the party in power to skirt the minority — in this case, Democrats — to pass sweeping pieces of legislation, provided they deal with the federal budget, taxation, or the national debt.

House Republicans are hoping to advance Trump’s bill through the House by the end of this week, with a goal of a final bill on the president’s desk by Fourth of July.

The House Rules Committee, the final gatekeeper before a House-wide vote, is set to take up the bill at 1 a.m. on Wednesday.

FIRST ON FOX: A key U.S. economic agency is projecting that President Donald Trump's tax policy in his "one big, beautiful bill" will lead to increased take-home pay for American families and higher wages for U.S. workers.

The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), which advises the White House on economic policy, released a report on Monday morning that said, "Taken as a whole, the CEA estimates that the tax cuts in the President’s proposals and the One Big Beautiful Bill will substantially boost investment and GDP relative to if expiring provisions from the [Tax Cuts and Jobs Act] are not extended."

Congressional Republicans are working to permanently extend Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), as well as implement a list of new, shorter-term Trump tax policies, like eliminating penalties on tipped and overtime wages, while granting seniors an added tax deduction.

Republican leaders have warned that failure to extend TCJA could lead to a tax increase of up to 22% for millions of families.

MEET THE TRUMP-PICKED LAWMAKERS GIVING SPEAKER JOHNSON A FULL HOUSE GOP CONFERENCE

However, extending them could lead to more money in people’s pockets in the long run, the CEA said.

"For workers and families, the CEA forecasts that wages will be about $6,100 to $11,600 higher, with family take-home pay $7,800 to $13,300 higher because of the increase in wages and reduction in tax obligations," the new analysis said.

The CEA said the added deduction for seniors, meanwhile, would increase the average take-home pay for qualifying seniors by approximately $400 to $450 per year.

If passed, the policies would also boost U.S. investment in the long run from 4.9% to 7.5%, according to the projection, and could save or create as many as 4.2 million full-time equivalent jobs in the long run.

It also estimated that Trump’s "no tax on tips" proposal alone would increase tipped workers’ pay by an average $1,675 per year, while eliminating the tax on overtime wages "will cause overtime workers to increase their overtime hours by 4.7 percent, leading to a 0.2 percent increase in aggregate labor supply while the provision is in effect."

"As a result, the level of GDP increases by 0.1 to 0.2 percent in the short run. The average overtime worker receives a tax cut of between $1,400 and $1,750 per year," the projection said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a Monday morning briefing, "This bill will give Americans the largest tax cuts in our nation's history. When Republicans pass the bill, Americans will be keeping more of their hard-earned money and taking home much bigger paychecks."

"If Democrats get their way and the Trump tax cuts are not extended, Americans will face the largest tax hike in history to the tune of $4 trillion. Republicans must not side with Democrats in helping them raise taxes," Leavitt added.

It comes as Democrats accuse Republicans of trying to gut critical programs like Medicaid and Social Security to secure tax increases for wealthy Americans.

They have pointed to projections like those by the Joint Committee on Taxation, which said people making less than $50,000 per year would get $263 in tax relief, and those making over $1 million would get more than $81,000.

ANTI-ABORTION PROVIDER MEASURE IN TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' COULD SPARK HOUSE GOP REBELLION

However, Republicans have argued they are focused on aiding the working and middle classes with Trump’s tax bill – while not raising taxes on any Americans.

Rep. Mike Haridopolos, R-Fla., also pointed out last week that the Republicans’ bill does not touch the top income tax bracket.

"I kept hearing this idea that we’re cutting taxes on the rich," Haridopolos said, referring to conversations by his Democratic colleagues on the House floor last week.

"The current rate is 37%. Under our new proposed bill, it’s still 37%. We’re keeping that rate static, we’re not cutting taxes for the rich. What we need to do, of course, is invest in the people again – the best way you do that is offer tax relief."

Republicans are working to pass Trump’s policies on tax, immigration, energy, defense, and the national debt all in one massive bill via the budget reconciliation process.

Budget reconciliation lowers the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51, thereby allowing the party in power to skirt the minority – in this case, Democrats – to pass sweeping pieces of legislation, provided they deal with the federal budget, taxation, or the national debt.

House Republicans are hoping to advance Trump’s bill through the House by the end of this week, with a goal of a final bill on the president’s desk by Fourth of July.

President Donald Trump’s "one big, beautiful bill" survived a key hurdle in the House of Representatives on Sunday night, putting it one step closer to a chamber-wide vote later this week.

Lawmakers on the House Budget Committee were summoned back to Washington for a 10 p.m. meeting to vote on advancing the legislation, which passed the panel in a nearly party-line vote.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., made a surprise appearance at the committee room shortly before the vote began, telling reporters, "We think this is going to go well tonight. We're about to find out."

He said there would likely be "minor modifications" to the final bill.

ANTI-ABORTION PROVIDER MEASURE IN TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' COULD SPARK HOUSE GOP REBELLION

It comes after a rebellion by four conservative House Freedom Caucus members on the committee blocked the bill from advancing on Friday, with the fiscal hawks seeking assurances that stricter crackdowns on Medicaid and green energy subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) would be in the final bill before a House-wide vote.

Advancing the legislation through the House Budget Committee is a largely procedural move. Any likely changes will be introduced as amendments in the House Rules Committee, the final gatekeeper before a House-wide vote, sometime early this week.

Notably, two of the Budget Committee fiscal hawks who demanded further changes – Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Ralph Norman, R-S.C. – also sit on the House Rules Committee.

Nevertheless Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., signaled confidence on Fox News Sunday that his chamber was "on track" to hold that House-wide vote toward the end of this week.

The House Budget Committee passed a framework earlier this year with "instructions" for various other committees to enact Trump policies under their jurisdictions. 

Following House and Senate-wide votes on their frameworks, House committees began crafting those policies, which have now been put back together into the massive bill the House Budget Committee advanced on Sunday night.

BROWN UNIVERSITY IN GOP CROSSHAIRS AFTER STUDENT'S DOGE-LIKE EMAIL KICKS OFF FRENZY

Republicans are working to pass Trump’s agenda via the budget reconciliation process, which allows the party controlling both Congress and the White House to pass vast pieces of legislation while completely sidelining the minority – in this case, Democrats.

It does so by lowering the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51, lining up with the House’s own simple majority. The legislation must adhere to a specific set of rules, however, including only items related to federal spending, tax, and the national debt.

Trump is having Republicans use the legislation to enact his campaign promises on tax cuts, immigration, energy, defense, and raising the debt limit.

And while quelling Friday’s GOP mutiny is a victory for House Republican leaders, lawmakers will still have to sit through high-stakes negotiations on any changes made to the bill before the House Rules Committee considers it.

Conservatives are opposed to aspects of the legislation’s crackdown on Medicaid, which Republicans have said they are only trimming for waste, fraud, and abuse. But Medicaid work requirements for able-bodied people are not set to kick in until 2029, and conservatives have argued that it was a large window of time for those changes to be undone, among other concerns.

They’re also pushing for a more aggressive effort to repeal green energy tax subsidies passed in the former Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). 

The respective pushes have pitted them against moderates wary of significant Medicaid cuts, and Republican lawmakers whose districts have businesses that have benefited from the tax relief.

Meanwhile, moderates in high-cost-of-living areas have also pushed for larger state and local tax (SALT) deduction caps, which red state Republicans have largely dismissed as subsidies to high-tax blue states.

The Republicans in those seats, however, have argued that it’s an existential issue for their districts, where GOP victories were critical to winning and holding the House majority.

But even after it passes the House, Republicans there likely won’t be done with the "big, beautiful bill" – Republican senators have already signaled they are likely going to make changes to the bill.

Johnson said Sunday that House and Senate leaders were "in close coordination" on the final product, adding, "we hope that they don’t make many modifications to it."

Any changes will have to go through the House again; identical bills must pass both chambers before getting signed into law by Trump.

Republican leaders have said they hope to get a bill on the president’s desk by Fourth of July.

Multiple conversations are ongoing on Sunday — some in person but most on the phone — as House Republicans try to lock in agreements for the big, beautiful bill.

Three areas are outstanding overall. Two are specific to the Budget Committee, which reconvenes Sunday night.

Republicans are trying to work out a final pact on green energy tax credits, which could be a major payfor in the bill. The other item is work requirements for Medicaid recipients — and when those kick in.

Fox News is told that prospective deals on this front will likely be handshake pacts or "gentlemen’s agreements," as it was phrased to Fox News.

REPUBLICANS READY LATE-NIGHT SESSION ON TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' AFTER GOP MUTINY

The other issue in question is the SALT deduction. That refers to state and local tax breaks for high-tax states. That provision is of the utmost importance to court the votes of moderate Republicans from New York and California.

The "SALT caucus" wanted a tax write-off, which might cost as much as $600 billion. The new proposal only costs $230 billion. Fox News is told they are trying to forge a compromise which grants a higher SALT deduction at the beginning of the bill’s implementation — and then dials that back over the 10-year budgetary window for the bill.

Remember, this measure must not add to the deficit over that decade-long budgetary timeframe in order to qualify for a special process to avoid a filibuster in the Senate.

Fox is told that nothing will change in the bill before the Budget Committee on Sunday night. The White House is currently addressing how to implement possible changes with a "manager’s amendment" before the Rules Committee later this week. That would finalize and lock in stone the actual text of the bill.

Fox is told that the GOP leadership believes they are certainly within range. The GOP brass is generally feeling good at where they stand, "so long as people don’t start adding things," said one senior House Republican leadership source.

HOUSE GOP UNVEILS MEDICAID WORK REQUIREMENTS IN TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL'

The overall goal is to post the text of the bill early this week and go to the Rules Committee on Wednesday with a possible vote on Thursday. But one senior GOP source told Fox the timetable could be expedited with a Tuesday Rules Committee meeting — where changes would be made — and maybe go to the floor on Wednesday.

Now, on to what will likely happen on Sunday night in the Budget Committee:

The resolution, mashing together the text from all the other committees, failed on Friday afternoon. The process can’t move forward unless they get the measure out of the Budget Committee. Hence, Sunday's 10 p.m. ET meeting.

There will be little if any debate — it’s only about that math. Either the GOP leadership and the White House have satisfied the concerns of those who voted nay or they haven’t. In fact, if things go swimmingly, this could be wrapped up after 20 minutes or so.

Here’s what it will look like:

The first vote is the "motion to reconsider" the failed Friday vote. If that fails, they are stuck.

But if they get over that hurdle, it’s on to an actual re-vote of what failed on Friday. This is the key vote. If the Budget Committee greenlights the package at this stage, it’s on to the Rules Committee this week and then the floor.

There will be five non-binding votes after that key vote on issues we don’t need to worry about.

House lawmakers are being summoned to Capitol Hill late Sunday night as Republicans’ self-imposed deadline to pass President Donald Trump’s "big, beautiful bill" looms just days away. 

The House Budget Committee is meeting at 10 p.m. for a vote on advancing the wide-ranging legislation toward a chamber-wide vote later this week.

Initial plans to advance the bill on Friday morning were upended in a mutiny by four members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus – Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, Ralph Norman, R-S.C., Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., and Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., all joined Democrats in voting against the bill.

The fiscal hawks are opposed to aspects of the legislation’s crackdown on Medicaid, which Republicans have said they are only trimming for waste, fraud, and abuse. But Medicaid work requirements for able-bodied people are not set to kick in until 2029, and conservatives have argued that it was a large window of time for those changes to be undone, among other concerns.

ANTI-ABORTION PROVIDER MEASURE IN TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' COULD SPARK HOUSE GOP REBELLION

They’re also pushing for a more aggressive effort to repeal green energy tax subsidies passed in the former Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). That push has pitted them against Republican lawmakers whose districts have businesses that have benefited from the tax relief.

Meanwhile House GOP leaders and the White House have held the bill up as the most significant fiscal reform in decades.

Holdouts were expected to negotiate with GOP leaders in Congress and the White House through the weekend.

"I really need to see something in writing. You know, we’ve talked enough. They know where we are. And you know, before, if it's just if it's the same old thing, that we can't get [a majority], we're going to have to pretty much stick with what we have, I’ve got a problem," Norman told Fox News Digital on Sunday morning

He said he and other critics of the legislation were asked to meet with House GOP leaders at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.

BROWN UNIVERSITY IN GOP CROSSHAIRS AFTER STUDENT'S DOGE-LIKE EMAIL KICKS OFF FRENZY

Republicans are working to pass Trump’s agenda via the budget reconciliation process, which allows the party controlling both Congress and the White House to pass vast pieces of legislation while completely sidelining the minority – in this case, Democrats.

It does so by lowering the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51, lining up with the House’s own simple majority. The legislation must adhere to a specific set of rules, however, including only items related to federal spending, tax, and the national debt.

Both the House and Senate are dealing with razor-thin margins. That extends to the House Budget Committee as well, where Republicans can only lose two of their own to still advance the legislation.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was confident that Republicans could overcome their differences and stick to their timeline during an appearance on Fox News Sunday.

"The plan is to move it to the Rules Committee by midweek, and to the House floor by the end of the week, as we meet our initial, our original Memorial Day deadline," Johnson said.

Johnson said Republicans also "have got to compromise" on Medicaid work requirements, adding he was in contact with states "to make sure what the earliest possible date is."

"This is the biggest spending reduction in three decades, maybe longer," Johnson said.

Norman signaled that significant compromise was going to have to be made on leaders’ parts.

"Let’s say they want it to kick in, in a year or six months. It ought to be now, but we'll look at that. We're not inflexible," he said. "But the main thing I want to relay, this isn't the end-all-catch-all-be-all. Nobody would disagree that the tax cuts are good policy, and nobody would disagree with President Trump's wanting to phase out Green New Deal scam credits. Anyone we want to do it on day one. So we're carrying out his policies."

Meanwhile Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought, a close ally of Roy’s, took to X in support of the bill after it failed Friday.

"Critics have attacked the House's One Big Beautiful reconciliation bill on fiscal grounds, but I think they are profoundly wrong. It is truly historic," Vought said. "The bill satisfies the very red-line test that House fiscal hawks laid out a few weeks ago that stated that the cost of any tax cut could be paid for with $2.5 trillion in assumed economic growth, but the rest had to be covered with savings from reform."

Trump blasted the people holding up the legislation as grandstanders in a Truth Social post Friday.

Those rebels and their allies, however, have argued that they are only pushing to fully enact Trump’s agenda.

"He campaigned on cutting the Green New Deal. But it's really a scam…. But this bill to postpone phase-out for seven years, it's just money we don't have," Norman said.

Economic Policy Innovation Center founder Paul Winfree wrote on X Saturday, "Several of the Members of Congress negotiating on the OBBB this weekend are trying to make it even better. In fact, there is a significant group that has been fighting all along to make sure that [Trump] gets the biggest win possible."

Moving ahead with Sunday night’s vote is a sign of confidence by House GOP leaders, but it’s not yet clear how it will play out. In addition to the Medicaid and IRA differences, Republicans must also reconcile current disagreements with blue state GOP lawmakers over State and Local tax (SALT) deduction caps. 

The legislation raised the current $10,000 cap to $30,000, but a handful of blue state Republicans rejected the compromise as insufficient.

Meanwhile, conservatives in redder districts are demanding deeper pay cuts if the SALT deduction cap was raised.

SALT Caucus member Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., suggested raising taxes on the highest earners to offset the cost – it would likely be an uphill battle to enact, though some conservatives have also signaled openness to the idea.

"The One Big Beautiful Bill has stalled—and it needs wind in its sails. Allowing the top tax rate to expire—returning from 37% to 39.6% for individuals earning over $609,350 and married couples earning over $731,200—breathes $300 billion of new life into the effort," LaLota wrote on X Saturday.

"It’s a fiscally responsible move that reflects the priorities of the new Republican Party: protect working families, address the deficit, fix the unfair SALT cap, and safeguard programs like Medicaid and SNAP—without raising taxes on the middle class."

• I live in a house with four roommates, and we're all in our 30s.
• There are some frustrating things about my living situation, but there are pros, too.
• It fits my budget, and the company is nice, but I don't love having to fight for fridge space.

About once a week, I down my coffee and sprint to the bathroom, moments later, only to find the door locked. Someone beat me to it. I pace in the hallway for a minute or two, imagining that they must be almost done.

But time is not on my side, so I take two flights of stairs to the basement to do my business in the spider-infested half bathroom, ripe with annoyance. On my long climb back up to my bedroom, I ask myself why I live in a five-bedroom, three-bathroom house with four roommates.

Sometimes, I wonder why I'm still living here

When the pandemic started, I was living with just one roommate. Then, I moved in with a partner. Our breakup led to a swift life change, and I landed in a big Denver house with a small army of companions after friends invited me to snag their spare room.

It wasn't really a conscious decision to move back into a college-like environment; it was more like I slid over a cascading waterfall and into my current bedroom and found my accommodations reasonable enough.

I've been here ever since.

Though sometimes I wonder about my choice of housing, there are a few reasons I stay: A noisy house feels comforting to me, we're half a mile away from the train that takes me to the airport (which is extra convenient, as I'm an avid traveler), and rent control doesn't exist in Colorado, so there aren't a lot of places that fit my budget in the first place.

I thought my life would look different by this point

If you had asked me where I'd be by the time I was 33 years ago, I would have told you I'd be living out of a backpack somewhere in Europe or South America with a smile plastered on my face. I thought that right now, I'd be traveling around, filthy, with a map in one hand and a baguette in the other. And for much of the year, I do, in fact, live this way (albeit it's usually an espresso instead of a baguette, and a smartphone instead of a map).

What I didn't realize all those years ago, while I was dreaming up my ideal life, is that sometimes I'd crave the comfort of a home, too. I couldn't have predicted that after a few weeks on the road, I'd grow weary of red-eye flights and begin to crave my bed, a familiar ultra-processed diet, and my guitar. And I definitely couldn't have imagined that travel was going to be lonely.

There are pros to my living situation

We're all friends in addition to being roommates, which means we often share meals and socialize while we're home. Having the company is nice, and I knew coming into the situation that it'd be a fit since I was already close with two of my new roommates.

All of us are in our 30s, and we've adapted to pitch in with chores to keep the house feeling like a home. Our landlord — another friend — determined the cost of rent, so thankfully, it's fair or may even be under market value. That's really helpful as a self-employed writer who's never quite sure where my next check is going to come from

There are definite pros to living with four roommates, and my vision for myself never included a cookie-cutter life, with a white picket fence and a baby on either hip. But there are still times when I'd gladly pay double the rent for a place of my own.

I'd like to crap in peace whenever the urge arises. I'd also love to have my own parking space and not have to go to war for space in the fridge when I come home from a trip. But most of the time, the inconvenience of a home full of 30-something-year-olds is worth the freedom it affords me. And the laughter across the house is reason enough to stay.

With the abrupt withdrawal of the US, the World Health Organization is grappling with a brutal funding shortfall, leaving the United Nations health agency to slash top leadership and run global programs on a budget similar to that of a local hospital system.

In remarks at a budget committee meeting Wednesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus laid out the daunting budget numbers and announced a slimmed structure, cutting senior management from 14 to seven and the number of departments from 76 to 34.

"The loss of US funding, combined with reductions in official development assistance by some other countries, mean we are facing a salary gap for the next biennium of more than US$ 500 million," Tedros said.

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EXCLUSIVE: Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is hosting a day of action on Saturday in competitive congressional districts as House Republicans iron out the details of President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill."

AFP is teaming up with GOP Reps. David Schweikert and Juan Ciscomani of Arizona, Ashley Hinson of Iowa, Tom Barrett of Michigan and Ryan Mackenzie of Pennsylvania for door-knocking, phone banks and grassroots organizing in a show of support for extending Trump's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). 

Canvassers will encourage constituents in Arizona, Iowa, Michigan and Pennsylvania to urge their senators and representatives to extend Trump's tax cuts as a key component of his "big, beautiful bill."

"Working families and small businesses throughout the country are counting on Congress to act as soon as possible to renew President Trump’s tax cuts," AFP Managing Director Kent Strang said in a statement to Fox News Digital ahead of the day of action. 

CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS TARGETING DOZENS OF HOUSE REPUBLICAN-HELD SEATS IN 2026 MIDTERM BATTLE FOR MAJORITY

"With support from AFP’s activists bringing their unmatched energy and drive this weekend, we can ensure we extend pro-growth tax policy and help Republicans prevent the largest tax hike in history from crushing the middle class."

REPUBLICANS TO TAKE AIM AT THESE 26 DEMOCRAT-HELD HOUSE SEATS IN 2026 MIDTERMS

AFP is launching their day of action in conjunction with their $20 million "Protect Prosperity" campaign, which the conservative advocacy group has called the single largest investment of any outside group dedicated to preserving the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

As House Republicans searched for alternative ways to offset an extension of the 2017 tax cuts and Trump's ambitious goals to cut taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security, AFP urged Republicans to offset budget cuts by eliminating former President Joe Biden's "Green New Deal giveaways." 

The House Energy and Commerce Committee debated green energy cuts during their lengthy markup on Capitol Hill this week as part of the House budget reconciliation process. 

Meanwhile, House Republicans debated potentially raising taxes as Trump indicated his support for a small tax hike to fund his "big, beautiful bill." While rumors swirled among House Republicans for weeks that the White House was floating a tax hike on millionaires, Trump confirmed on Friday he would be "OK if they do."

However, House Republicans seemed to drop their plans for a new millionaire's tax hike as the reconciliation began. The House Ways and Means Committee released nearly 400 pages of legislation on Monday that did not include a tax hike. 

It's no coincidence that AFP is focusing its attention on competitive districts in Arizona, Iowa, Michigan and Pennsylvania, as contentious races are expected in 2026. 

In Arizona's sixth congressional district, Ciscomani won his House seat in 2022 with just over 50% of the vote. Schweikert narrowly won Arizona's first congressional district by less than 2% of the vote in 2022 and 2024, as one of the most expensive House races in the country last year. 

And while Hinson won by a much larger margin in Iowa's second congressional district, Democrat Kevin Techau has already announced his campaign to unseat Hinson. 

Both Barrett in Michigan and Mackenzie in Pennsylvania managed to pick up Republican House seats in 2024, flipping their congressional districts from blue to red. Democrats will likely seek to win those seats back in 2026. 

The House of Representatives' tax-writing panel took a key step in advancing President Donald Trump's tax agenda on Wednesday morning, finishing a marathon session that began with lawmakers entering a cavernous and chilly room in the Longworth House Office building just after 2 p.m. on Tuesday.

The House Ways & Means Committee advanced its portion of Trump's "one big, beautiful bill," one of 11 committees working on the effort that will then be part of one massive piece of legislation.

It happened despite a barrage of protest amendments lobbed by Democratic lawmakers in a bid to slow proceedings down and make Republicans take politically tricky votes.

The Energy & Commerce Committee and the Ways & Means Committee both held meetings through the night to debate and advance key parts of Trump’s bill.

ANTI-ABORTION PROVIDER MEASURE IN TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' COULD SPARK HOUSE GOP REBELLION

The former's meeting is expected to go into Wednesday afternoon after beginning Tuesday at 2 p.m. The Ways & Means Committee advanced its portion early on Wednesday morning in a party-line 26 to 19 vote.

The House Agriculture Committee, another critical panel, began working on its portion on Tuesday evening and paused proceedings around midnight. That committee is expected to resume later Wednesday morning.

Democrats on each committee, meanwhile, have prepared a barrage of attacks and accusations against GOP lawmakers looking to gut critical welfare programs. The committee meetings have lasted hours because of left-wing lawmakers offering what seemed at times to be an endless stream of amendments that Republicans routinely shot down.

Sparks flew early at the Energy & Commerce Committee meeting with protesters both inside and outside the room repeatedly attempting to disrupt proceedings – with 26 people arrested by Capitol Police.

Protesters against Medicaid cuts, predominately in wheelchairs, remained outside the budget markup for several hours as representatives inside debated that and other critical facets under the committee’s broad jurisdiction.

Inside the budget markup, Democrats and Republicans sparred along party lines over Medicaid cuts. Democrats repeatedly claimed the Republican budget proposal will cut vital Medicaid services. 

Many Democrats shared how Medicaid services have saved their constituents’ lives and argued that millions of Americans could lose coverage under the current proposal.

Meanwhile, Republicans accused Democrats of lying to the American people about Medicaid cuts – a word Kentucky Republican Rep. Brett Guthrie, Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, deterred his colleagues from using. Tensions arose when the word was repeated as Democrats called it a mischaracterization of their testimonies.

Republicans have contended that their bill only seeks to cut waste, fraud, and abuse of the Medicaid system, leaving more of its resources for vulnerable populations that truly need it. 

That committee was tasked with finding $880 billion in spending cuts to offset Trump’s other funding priorities. Guthrie told House Republicans on a call Sunday night that they’d found upwards of $900 billion in cuts.

Democrats have seized on Republican reforms to Medicaid, including heightened work requirements and shifting more costs to certain states, as a political cudgel. 

At one point late in the evening, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., made an appearance at the Energy & Commerce panel’s meeting.

"I just want to mention our Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is here because of his concern about Medicaid. Thank you," the committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., said.

But tensions remain between moderate Republicans and conservatives about the level of cuts the committee is seeking to the former Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) green energy tax subsidies.

Several Democratic amendments were also offered throughout the night to preserve the green energy bill, but all were shot down.

By early Tuesday morning, the Energy & Commerce Committee had advanced portions of its bill, rolling back significant chunks of the IRA and setting standards for telecommunication – including a decade-long moratorium on state-level laws dealing with artificial intelligence (AI).

The meeting at the Ways & Means Committee had relatively little fanfare but was equally contentious as Democrats attempted to offer amendments to preserve Affordable Care Act tax credits, cap tax cuts for the wealthy, and changes to the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap.

At one point, Reps. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, and Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., got into a heated exchange over SALT, with Suozzi pushing Van Duyne on whether she’d ever been to New York.

Van Duyne earlier called Texas a "donor state" in terms of taxes, arguing, "We should not have to pay to make up for the rich folks in New York who are getting raped by their local and state governments."

Suozzi later pointed out Van Duyne was born and went to college in upstate New York – leading to audible gasps in the room.

Van Duyne said there was "a reason" she left.

BROWN UNIVERSITY IN GOP CROSSHAIRS AFTER STUDENT'S DOGE-LIKE EMAIL KICKS OFF FRENZY

"We’re sorry you left New York, but in some ways it may have worked out better for all of us," Suozzi said.

The SALT deduction cap, however, is still a politically tricky issue even as House lawmakers debate what Republicans hoped would be the final bill.

The legislation would raise the $10,000 SALT deduction cap to $30,000 for most single and married tax filers – a figure that Republicans in higher cost-of-living areas said was not enough.

Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., threatened to vote against the final bill if the new cap remains.

As the committee’s marathon meeting continued, a group of blue state Republicans huddled with House GOP leaders to find a compromise on a way forward.

Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., hinted at tensions in the meeting when he posted on X that Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., a member of the SALT Caucus and Ways & Means Committee, "wasn’t involved in today’s meeting" because her district required "something different than mine and the other most SALTY five."

Malliotakis previously told Fox News Digital she was supportive of the $30,000 cap. She’s also the only member of the SALT Caucus on the critical tax-writing panel.

As morning rose on House lawmakers, Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., quipped at the tax meeting, "I see the light coming in from the East…I think it's going to be a Disney day."

The Agriculture Committee, which began its meeting on Tuesday evening, saw Democrats waste no time in accusing Republicans of trying to gut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), colloquially known as food stamps.

Rep. Adam Gray, D-Calif., accused Republicans of worrying that "somebody is getting a meal they didn’t deserve or kids are getting too fat" instead of more critical issues.

Republicans, like Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, touted the bill’s inclusion of crop insurance for young farmers, increasing opportunity for export markets, and helping invest in national animal disaster centers aimed at preventing and mitigating livestock illness.

He also said Republicans were working to "secure" SNAP from waste and abuse.

House and Senate Republicans are working on Trump's agenda via the budget reconciliation process, which allows the party in power to sideline the minority by lowering the Senate's threshold for passage to a simple majority, provided the legislation at hand deals with spending, taxes or the national debt.

Trump wants Republicans to use the maneuver for a sweeping bill on his tax, border, immigration, energy and defense priorities.

Two sources familiar with the plan said the House Budget Committee intends to advance the full bill, the first step to getting the legislation to a House-wide vote, on Friday.

Wednesday will be a critical day to see if that timeline holds. Eleven different House committees, seven of which have already finished their work, must each pass portions of the legislation before they're all fitted into a massive bill that must pass the House and Senate before getting to Trump's desk.

Three key committees in the process of putting together President Donald Trump’s "one big, beautiful bill" are expected to work through the night to advance their respective portions of the Republican agenda.

The House Agriculture Committee, the Energy & Commerce Committee and the Ways & Means Committee are all holding meetings aimed at advancing key parts of Trump’s bill.

Sources told Fox News Digital they expected the Energy & Commerce and Ways & Means meetings, which began on Tuesday afternoon, to last upwards of 20 hours each. The Agriculture panel’s markup is also expected to last into Wednesday.

Democrats on each committee, meanwhile, have prepared a barrage of attacks and accusations against GOP lawmakers looking to gut critical welfare programs.

ANTI-ABORTION PROVIDER MEASURE IN TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' COULD SPARK HOUSE GOP REBELLION

Sparks flew early at the Energy & Commerce Committee meeting with protesters both inside and outside the room repeatedly attempting to disrupt proceedings – with 26 people arrested by Capitol Police.

Protesters against Medicaid cuts, predominately in wheelchairs, remained outside the budget markup for several hours as representatives inside debated that and other critical facets under the committee’s broad jurisdiction.

Inside the budget markup, Democrats and Republicans sparred along party lines over Medicaid cuts. Democrats repeatedly claimed the Republican budget proposal will cut vital Medicaid services. 

Many Democrats shared how Medicaid services have saved their constituents’ lives and argued that millions of Americans could lose coverage under the current proposal.

Meanwhile, Republicans accused Democrats of lying to the American people about Medicaid cuts – a word Kentucky Republican Rep. Brett Guthrie, Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, deterred his colleagues from using. Tensions arose when the word was repeated as Democrats called it a mischaracterization of their testimonies.

Republicans have contended that their bill only seeks to cut waste, fraud, and abuse of the Medicaid system, leaving more of its resources for vulnerable populations that truly need it. 

That committee was tasked with finding $880 billion in spending cuts to offset Trump’s other funding priorities. Guthrie told House Republicans on a call Sunday night that they’d found upwards of $900 billion in cuts.

Democrats have seized on Republican reforms to Medicaid, including heightened work requirements and shifting more costs to certain states, as a political cudgel. 

At one point late in the evening, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., made an appearance at the Energy & Commerce panel’s meeting.

"I just want to mention our Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is here because of his concern about Medicaid. Thank you," the committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., said.

But tensions remain between moderate Republicans and conservatives about the level of cuts the committee is seeking to the former Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act green energy tax subsidies.

The meeting at the Ways & Means Committee, the House’s tax-writing panel, had relatively little fanfare but was equally contentious as Democrats attempted to offer amendments to preserve Affordable Care Act tax credits and changes to the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap.

At one point, Reps. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, and Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., got into a heated exchange over SALT, with Suozzi pushing Van Duyne on whether she’d ever been to New York.

Van Duyne earlier called Texas a "donor state" in terms of taxes, arguing, "We should not have to pay to make up for the rich folks in New York who are getting raped by their local and state governments."

Suozzi later pointed out Van Duyne was born and went to college in upstate New York – leading to audible gasps in the room.

Van Duyne said there was "a reason" she left.

BROWN UNIVERSITY IN GOP CROSSHAIRS AFTER STUDENT'S DOGE-LIKE EMAIL KICKS OFF FRENZY

"We’re sorry you left New York, but in some ways it may have worked out better for all of us," Suozzi said.

The SALT deduction cap, however, is still a politically tricky issue even as House lawmakers debate what Republicans hoped would be the final bill.

The legislation would raise the $10,000 SALT deduction cap to $30,000 for most single and married tax filers – a figure that Republicans in higher cost-of-living areas said was not enough.

Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., threatened to vote against the final bill if the new cap remains.

As the committee’s marathon meeting continued, a group of blue state Republicans are huddling with House GOP leaders to find a compromise on a way forward.

Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., hinted at tensions in the meeting when he posted on X that Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., a member of the SALT Caucus and Ways & Means Committee, "wasn’t involved in today’s meeting" because her district required "something different than mine and the other most SALTY five."

Malliotakis had told Fox News Digital she was supportive of the $30,000 cap. She’s also the only member of the SALT Caucus on the critical tax-writing panel.

The Agriculture Committee, which began its meeting on Tuesday evening, saw Democrats waste no time in accusing Republicans of trying to gut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), colloquially known as food stamps.

Rep. Adam Gray, D-Calif., accused Republicans of worrying that "somebody is getting a meal they didn’t deserve or kids are getting too fat" instead of more critical issues.

Republicans, like Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, touted the bill’s inclusion of crop insurance for young farmers, increasing opportunity for export markets, and helping invest in national animal disaster centers aimed at preventing and mitigating livestock illness.

He also said Republicans were working to "secure" SNAP from waste and abuse.

House and Senate Republicans are working on Trump's agenda via the budget reconciliation process, which allows the party in power to sideline the minority by lowering the Senate's threshold for passage to a simple majority, provided the legislation at hand deals with spending, taxes or the national debt.

Trump wants Republicans to use the maneuver for a sweeping bill on his tax, border, immigration, energy and defense priorities.

Two sources familiar with the plan said the House Budget Committee intends to advance the full bill, the first step to getting the legislation to a House-wide vote, on Friday.

• Sabel Bezet's parents are entrepreneurs who are multimillionaires.
• She married a pastor when she was 20, and today their household income is modest.
• She's content being able to spend more time with her kids.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Sabel Bezet. It has been edited for length and clarity.

When I was growing up, my parents were focused on building their business. They overcame bankruptcy when I was young and went on to found a debt settlement company that's now valued at $50 million.

My siblings and I had access to things other kids didn't have, like family trips to Europe and luxury items in our home. But my parents invested so much time in the business that they sacrificed quality time with us. Often, we spent more time with the nanny than with Mom and Dad.

I don't feel that I lacked anything as a child. Still, I've taken a different approach to life as an adult, especially now that I'm a mom to two kids, a 6-month-old and a 2-year-old. I want to focus on spending quality time with my kids every day, even if that comes at the expense of monetary wealth.

My husband and I talked about money from the start

I met my now-husband, Jordan, when we were teenagers. We went to the same church, and our parents were close. We started dating in my senior year of high school, when Jordan was in college.

Jordan knew, even then, that he wanted to be a pastor. He was never intimidated by my family's financial status, but he did bring it up early on while we were dating. He warned me that, as his wife, my lifestyle might look different from what I was accustomed to.

I didn't mind — I've never been motivated by money, and I didn't let fear lead me. I knew a life with Jordan would be rich in currencies like love and purpose.

I'm middle-class these days

Today, Jordan is a pastor. Just over 18 months ago, I quit my job to focus on my family. Our household income is just below the median income for US households.

Growing up, my family never budgeted because they didn't have to. When Jordan and I were first married, he taught me about budgeting. He explained that we had a set income and bills that absolutely had to be paid. There wasn't a lot of wiggle room.

Still, we're able to manage our money well, in part because of lessons I've learned from my parents. Though I didn't learn budgeting from them, my parents taught me other financial lessons, like the importance of giving. They always tithe 10% of their income, and Jordan and I do the same. We save another 10% for retirement and investing, and live off the remaining 80%.

We live in Florida, in a nice four-bedroom, three-bathroom house. We have a mortgage on it, but were able to afford a bigger house after making a profit when we sold our starter home. Overall, we don't want for much.

We still have some access to wealth

I can still access many of the nice things wealth brings because of my parents. They don't support us financially — it was important for me and Jordan to have our family stand as its own unit. Still, their wealth impacts us in other ways.

In March, my parents flew us to Vail, Colorado, to stay with them in the Ritz and go skiing. It was definitely ritzy, pun intended. In August, we're planning a trip to their vacation home in Montana. We can also consult their wealth advisors whenever we want, which is useful even though our limited investment portfolio looks very different from my parents'.

Because of how I was raised, I have expensive tastes. I appreciate quality items, even though my wallet doesn't always support them. I might have to save a bit longer, but I try to shop intentionally and choose items I love.

My mom's love language is gift giving, so she spoils me and my daughters. For my birthday, she got me a Lola Blanket, which can cost $250 or more. I wouldn't have spent that money on a blanket that will be on the couch in a home with two kids, but it has brought me so much joy.

I believe richness isn't just about money

I'm incredibly content with my modest life. Watching my parents' entrepreneurship journey showed me that quality time with loved ones is important. Money is too, but I'm conscious about balancing both. Recently, I started a Substack, which may eventually create income. If it does, that's an efficient way for me to make some money, without sacrificing quality time with my daughters.

To me, the word "rich" is multifaceted. Richness isn't just dollars, but quality time and love. Sometimes, those things go further than money ever could.

NASA is considering scaling back its activities on the International Space Station, according to multiple sources. The changes, which are being considered primarily due to shortfalls in the space station budget, include:

• Reducing the size of the crew complement of Crew Dragon missions from four to three, starting with Crew-12 in February 2026
• Extending the duration of space station missions from six to eight months
• Canceling all upgrades to the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer science instrument attached to the station

The changes align with a desire that was reflected in the Trump administration's "skinny budget" proposal for NASA, released last Friday, which seeks to have the US space agency reduce its activities on the ISS.

"The Budget reduces the space station’s crew size and onboard research, preparing for a safe decommissioning of the station by 2030 and replacement by commercial space stations," stated the budget request for fiscal year 2026. "Crew and cargo flights to the station would be significantly reduced. The station’s reduced research capacity would be focused on efforts critical to the Moon and Mars exploration programs."

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• Barrett and Shiraine McLeod spent $18,000 on IVF, which they paid for with insurance and an HSA.
• The McLeods said fertility treatments have become more expensive with their second child.
• IVF costs in the US range from $15,000 to $30,000, with insurance coverage varying by state.

Shiraine and Barrett McLeod love being parents. They live in western Connecticut with their toddler, Lejend, who asks them constant questions about spaceships, gravity, and the fish in "Finding Nemo."

"This kid blows our mind every day, and he's only two," Shiraine said.

The couple, who are in their late 30s, experienced an increasingly common path to parenthood: in vitro fertilization. Over 86,000 infants were conceived through assistive reproductive technology like IVF in 2021, the latest data available from the US Department of Health and Human Services shows. The number of Americans using fertility treatments to conceive is rising, but the procedure is costly. One round of IVF without insurance can range from $15,000 to over $30,000.

This comes as reproductive healthcare access is caught in political crosshairs. Barrett said they were undergoing fertility treatments around the time that the Alabama Supreme Court declared that frozen embryos are people, a ruling that threatened IVF access nationwide: "It was scary," he said.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February aimed at "aggressively reducing out-of-pocket" IVF costs for Americans, although the White House has not provided additional details on how the policy would work. Separately, the Trump administration has slashed women's and maternal healthcare programs across the US. And, in April, the administration floated policies to encourage people to have more children, including a potential $5,000 baby bonus for every American at the time of delivery.

Even with the federal policy limbo, the McLeods said IVF is an important resource for millions of families like theirs.

"There's a lot of people out there who really, really want kids, and they don't believe that they'll ever get to have them, because IVF is probably the only option and they believe that they can't afford it," Shiraine said.

The McLeods told BI about their experience navigating fertility treatments and their top tips for others. They recently found out that Shiraine is pregnant with their second baby via IVF — a little girl — and they couldn't be more excited.

An HSA and insurance helped the McLeods pay for IVF

The McLeods knew fertility treatments would be expensive. Embryo implantation might not work on the first round, and the cost of doctor's visits, blood screenings, genetic testing, and embryo storage quickly adds up.

Shiraine works for the New York state government and is their household's primary source of health insurance. Barrett works remotely in management and consulting and takes care of Lejend when he isn't at daycare. Together, the couple said they make a comfortable, six-figure income.

"We were just so excited about the possibility of having a child, we didn't really think too long and hard about how much it would cost us at the end of the day after insurance," Shiraine said.

While Shiraine said her insurance covered about 90% of their roughly $18,000 in medical bills to conceive Lejend, the couple had to add regular doctor and testing copays into their monthly budget. She added that some of the procedures she's undergone this year to conceive their daughter have been noticeably more expensive than when she and Barrett first started IVF in 2021: "Initially it was $50 a month to continue freezing the eggs," she said. "Fast forward to today, it's now $75 a month."

Shiraine would tell other Americans thinking about IVF to open a health savings account. Saving $266 a month of pre-tax money in an HSA has helped her cover out-of-pocket costs without stress, she said. She also encouraged others to ask both their insurer and fertility clinic for a potential price breakdown before beginning the IVF process.

"There's certain general things that everyone does with IVF, and there's things that are tailored to your situation," Shiraine said. "If you can get a breakdown from both your insurer and clinic, it helps you plan out what could be covered and what might not be covered."

Dr. Cynthia Murdock, a Connecticut-based reproductive endocrinologist, and the McLeods' provider, added that many of her patients are surprised to learn that they have fertility coverage through their employer or state insurance. In Connecticut and New York, for example, insurers are required to cover some IVF treatments.

"We try to do as much as we can to help people navigate the insurance so they don't have to be stressed about that in addition to being stressed about not getting pregnant," Murdock said.

Beyond finances, Shiraine and Barrett told BI about the emotional impact of fertility treatments. As Caribbean Americans, the couple said they faced some stigma from family members about pursuing IVF because it is outside cultural norms. Shiraine said her mother was skeptical of them publicly talking about their "private" infertility experience. Between the ages 25 and 44, 15% of white women seek infertility treatment, compared to 8% of Black women, per the most recently available National Institute of Health data.

But, after seeing the positive reactions the McLeods were receiving from friends and on social media, Shiraine said her mom praised her for being so open about IVF, adding that it was a "beautiful" moment for their family. The couple said that they continue to share their story to help others experiencing infertility feel less alone, and they're thrilled for Lejend to become a big brother later this year.

"As a woman, in terms of reproducing, I doubted my body a lot," Shiraine said. "I'm so happy to finally have a kid. Going through this process gave me that opportunity."

Do you have a story to share? Reach out to this reporter at [email protected].

President Donald Trump is proposing staggering spending cuts.

In his budget request for fiscal year 2026, the president demands that Congress slash an eye-popping 20% of spending which lawmakers allocate each year.

"You're going to see $150 billion (in cuts) passed in the House and the Senate. That is real money," said Budget Director Russ Vought on Fox News. "I think for the first time, this budget is not dead on arrival."

To be clear, the budget which Mr. Trump sent to Capitol Hill is aspirational. All presidential budgets are. It’s what a president proposes that lawmakers – and his administration – aim to spend for the upcoming fiscal year. Congress is still charged with voting on the 12 annual spending bills which fund the government. The 20% cut proposed by President Trump deals with that area of spending.

REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK: WHERE WE STAND WITH TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL'

The Trump administration characterized this blueprint as a "skinny" budget. That’s because it included nothing about Medicare and Medicaid. Those social programs consume exorbitant chunks of federal spending – far exceeding what Congress appropriates each year. Congressional Republicans aim to make alterations of some kind to these programs in their so-called "big, beautiful bill." Republicans insist those programs won’t endure cuts. But a "cut" is in the eye of the beholder.

"We're going to move towards a long-term balanced budget. I like how we're thinking long-term instead of short-term," said Rep. Mike Haridopolos, R-Fla., on Fox News.

To be clear, the framework for the GOP’s big, beautiful bill does not balance the budget. In fact, it increases the budget deficit. And Mr. Trump’s budget package doesn’t balance either. There’s no way to understand such a path unless you include Medicare and Medicaid.

But here’s what Mr. Trump’s budget request does do:

It eliminates dollars from every federal department and agency, except the Departments of Transportation and Veterans Affairs. Space programs and NASA are also safe, too.

"This is how you break the Swamp," declared the House Freedom Caucus. "The FY ‘26 budget is a paradigm shift."

The president’s proposal knifes the Department of Housing and Urban Development by 40%. It axes the Departments of Labor and Interior by 30%.

TOP SENATE ARMED SERVICES REPUBLICAN SAYS TRUMP OMB'S BUDGET 'SHREDS TO THE BONE' MILITARY CAPABILITIES

However, dollars for the Pentagon are essentially flat.

Defense hawks were apoplectic.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., torched Mr. Trump’s outline.

"Trump successfully campaigned on a Peace Through Strength agenda. But his advisers at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) were apparently not listening," fumed Wicker. "For the defense budget, OMB has requested a fifth year straight of Biden administration funding, leaving military spending flat, which is a cut in real terms."

Wicker accused OMB of trying to "shred to the bone" the nation’s military.

Former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., chairs the Senate defense appropriations panel, charged with funding the Pentagon.

"It is peculiar how much time the President’s advisors spend talking about restoring peace through strength, given how apparently unwilling they’ve been to invest accordingly in the national defense or in other critical instruments of national power," said McConnell.

"I am very concerned the requested base budget for defense does not reflect a realistic path to building the military capability we need to achieve President Trump’s Peace Through Strength agenda," said House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala.

With friends like these…

TRUMP SLAMS REPUBLICAN ‘GRANDSTANDERS’ OPPOSING BUDGET BILL, PREDICTS MASSIVE US TAX INCREASES IF IT FAILS

Vought fired back at Congressional defense advocates and their allegations that the budget request undercut the military.

"It’s an inaccurate charge. We provide a trillion dollars in national defense spending. 13% increase. We do it in two components," said Vought. "We use discretionary spending. And then we put in a historic paradigm all of our increases on defense and Homeland Security. We use it in reconciliation so that we only need to use Republican votes. We don't want Democrats to have the filibuster as a veto to then hijack the appropriations process and say no to the Homeland Security spending."

Let me fillet that statement for you.

In other words, Vought asserts that some of the funding increases for the Pentagon will come through "budget reconciliation," the process Republicans are now using to pass the big, beautiful bill. Republicans intend to pass that package with only GOP votes. But if Republicans included that military money in a "regular" appropriations bill, Democrats may demand "parity." They would insist that non-defense programs score the same increase in exchange for advancing those bills – and voting to overcome a filibuster. So Vought argues his approach keeps Democrats from holding Pentagon dollars hostage in exchange for money targeted toward other programs.

But Democrats are focused on what Republicans may try to do with Medicare and Medicaid. They argue that Republicans are teeing up cuts.

"Hospitals will close. Nursing homes will shut down. Communities will be hurt. And Americans will die," said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.

Republicans insist those programs won’t face cuts.

"The question is, will we be susceptible to the fear-mongering and the false rhetoric that you just heard from the Democrat Minority Leader in the House? And this is the same tired play they run," said House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, on Fox News. "We will be rewarded because we're doing this for the sustainability of these programs for the most vulnerable."

TRUMP SAYS PUBLIC ENTITLEMENTS LIKE SOCIAL SECURITY, MEDICAID WON'T BE TOUCHED IN GOP BUDGET BILL

Still, even some remain apprehensive about how the GOP will handle those programs.

"If you want to be in the minority forever, then go ahead and do Medicaid cuts," said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. "That would be catastrophically stupid."

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., and Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., met President Trump at the White House late last week to discuss the big, beautiful bill. The White House gave Congressional leaders a wish list of items it wants in the bill – and what can fall by the wayside.

Tax credits for electric vehicles are out.

"I don't have a problem if somebody wants to go buy an electric vehicle. I just don't think hardworking Americans should be subsidizing that," said House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wisc., on Fox News.

Republicans hope to use money generated from the sale of EVs to shore up the Highway Trust Fund. The government used the federal gas tax to pay for construction of roads and bridges. But Congress hasn’t adjusted the gas tax since the mid-1990s. Plus, more EVs and hybrids are now on the road. And conventional vehicles which rely on gas are more fuel efficient. So this shores up some of those depleted coffers.

HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS EMBRACES TRUMP BUDGET PROPOSAL 'PARADIGM SHIFT'

Johnson is sticking by his goal to pass the bill through the House by Memorial Day. But some Republicans doubt that timeline.

"There's no way," said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., on Fox Business. "Unfortunately, President Trump chose the one big, beautiful (bill). What he should have done is the multiple-step process."

In other words, lawmakers could have addressed the border, tax cuts and spending cuts in individual chunks. Loading everything onto one legislative truck makes this hard.

So can the House approve this in two weeks? There’s not a lot of consensus yet. But maybe they’ll try to wear Members down.

"We will stay until we pass it," said one senior House GOP leadership source.

EXCLUSIVE: An audit by Mississippi state auditor Shad White found several instances of "incredibly wasteful" expenditures of state HIV/AIDS grants, as President Donald Trump has been criticized for cutting similar funding via the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

White said his report shows funds meant for HIV/AIDS issues were spent by some recipients on a "Queer-ceanara" – a "Latinx pride month event" based off the Spanish term "Quinceañera" for a girl’s 15th birthday celebration.

"We've been following the model that President Trump and DOGE set in digging into taxpayer funds here in Mississippi," White told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview about updates to what is being called "MOGE," or Mississippi's version of Elon Musk's DOGE government efficiency work.

"We're particularly looking now at grants that are being passed from state agencies over to nonprofits, and our latest findings are really just a slap in the face to taxpayers, unfortunately," he said.

MISSISSIPPI MUSK: STATE AUDITOR'S ‘MOGE’ REPORT FINDS $400M IN GOVERNMENT WASTE

"So what we started doing is digging into grants that were designed to pay for tests, to test people for HIV/AID – and so those grants were flowing through the Mississippi Department of Health… And when you dig into how [some] nonprofits are spending the money, you see that it's incredibly wasteful."

White said taxpayer funds meant for constructive means were also spent on cab rides in the overnight hours 1,000 miles away in New York City over a several-day period.

"[That] looked like bar-hopping," he said.

COST CUTTING: 2 STATES AIM TO ELIMINATE PERSONAL INCOME TAXES

White remarked that if that kind of funding "abuse" could happen in a red state like the Magnolia State, it may only be the tip of the iceberg compared to more financially permissive blue states.

"Our audit shows that when you dig into how this money is actually being spent, it's not actually helping people with HIV/AIDS. It's not helping to test folks for HIV. It's instead just being wasted."

At the same time, the Trump administration’s National Institutes of Health has been under fire for similar cuts in its own DOGE efforts, with one CNN report citing a critic claiming "people will die."

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The network looked into changes made in a Health and Human Services database, and one source said they had been getting texts from concerned people.

Back in Jackson, White said the HIV/AIDS funding audit is only the latest in his office’s wide-ranging efforts to curb waste or fraud in terms of state taxpayer monies.

"DOGE has highlighted in particular how grants passed down from the federal government to state governments, and then to non-profits, are really a massive, massive fraud risk," he said.

"Our audit here proves that the craziest kind of stuff that you see at the federal level and the craziest stuff that may see in California or New York is happening in red states too. Every single state needs to be following President Trump's lead."

Some Republican leaders are hoping they can pass a massive bill codifying President Donald Trump's agenda into federal law by the Fourth of July.

It means the sweeping policy overhaul could reach Trump’s desk for a signature by the 250th anniversary of the United States’ founding.

"I’ve said all along, my goal is, is for the president to sign this one big, beautiful bill on July 4th," House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., told "Fox News Sunday."

It comes as House Republicans struggle to reconcile differences on clean energy and Medicaid in talks to find at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts to pay for Trump’s tax policies.

SCOOP: REPUBLICANS DISCUSS DEFUNDING 'BIG ABORTION' LIKE PLANNED PARENTHOOD IN TRUMP AGENDA BILL

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters days earlier on Capitol Hill, "We’ve got three legs to the President’s economic agenda: trade, tax and deregulation, and we hope that we can have this tax portion done by Fourth of July."

Republican lawmakers are working on a multitrillion-dollar piece of legislation aimed at advancing Trump’s policies on tax, defense, energy, immigration, border security and at raising the debt limit.

Trump’s tax policies, a cornerstone of his platform and the costliest portion of the bill, include extending the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and eliminating taxes on tips, overtime pay and retirees’ social security.

Republican leaders and tax hawks have warned that failing to extend TCJA by the time its provisions expire at the end of this year could result in a tax hike of over 20% for millions of families. 

House GOP leaders said in a letter to lawmakers dated April 5, "Immediately following House adoption of the budget resolution, our House and Senate committees will begin preparing together their respective titles of the reconciliation bill to be marked up in the next work period. As always, this will involve input from all Members and will keep us on track to send a bill to the President’s desk by Memorial Day."

BROWN UNIVERSITY IN GOP CROSSHAIRS AFTER STUDENT'S DOGE-LIKE EMAIL KICKS OFF FRENZY

However, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has since somewhat walked that goal back, telling reporters he believes the House can finish its portion by Memorial Day.

"We are on track to pass the bill out of the House. As we've said from the very beginning, and get it over, to the next stage by Memorial Day," Johnson said during a press conference last week.

He was optimistic about beating the early July goal after meeting with Bessent and other top lawmakers last Monday, however.

"He says July 4 because that’s a big, big birthday for us. And everybody knows that," Johnson said of Bessent’s comments. "But I think – and I hope, and believe – that we can get it done sooner than that."

A House GOP leadership aide told Fox News Digital that Johnson "stated his goal is to move the bill through the House by Memorial Day" and that it was "not in conflict" with sending a bill to Trump by July 4.

When asked if that goal was feasible, Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital, "It’s gonna have to be."

Others who spoke with Fox News Digital were more skeptical.

A senior House Republican aide told Fox News Digital, "Deadlines are so arbitrary in Congress. Passing the bill by Memorial Day was always a long shot, but moving the goalposts from Easter to Memorial Day to July 4 just shows weakness."

"We better stick with this one, because the next federal holiday isn’t until September!" the aide said.

Republicans are not only racing the clock on the TCJA deadline, but also the possibility of a national credit default. The U.S. is expected to run out of cash to pay its debts sometime this summer, according to several projections – a somewhat murky deadline based on a number of factors, including yearly tax filings.

MEET THE TRUMP-PICKED LAWMAKERS GIVING SPEAKER JOHNSON A FULL HOUSE GOP CONFERENCE

Hitting that date without acting on the debt limit would send domestic and global financial markets into turmoil.

Republicans are looking to move Trump’s agenda via the budget reconciliation process. By lowering the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51, it allows the party in power to sideline the opposition, in this case Democrats, while passing legislation focused on spending, taxes and debt.

After both the House and Senate passed budget "frameworks" earlier this year, the relevant committees named in the frameworks are working to write policy in line with the spending cut or surplus they are granted.

Seven of 11 House committees have completed their work so far. However, three critical panels – the committees on Ways & Means, Agriculture, and Energy & Commerce – had to delay initial tentative plans to advance their portions this week.

Republicans in blue states, who GOP leaders view as critical to keeping the majority, have raised alarms about cutting too deeply into Medicaid. It is under the jurisdiction of the Energy & Commerce Committee, which is tasked with finding $880 billion of the $1.5 trillion in spending cuts.

Negotiators have insisted they are only interested in going after waste, fraud and abuse in the system, but it has not stopped Democrats from accusing the GOP of trying to cut critical healthcare programs for millions of Americans.

Meanwhile, the committee is also going to have to decide on an ongoing battle between conservatives and blue state Republicans over whether to repeal some or all of the former Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) green energy tax subsidies.

In March, 21 House Republicans signed a letter urging their colleagues to preserve the green energy tax credit.

"Countless American companies are utilizing sector-wide energy tax credits – many of which have enjoyed broad support in Congress – to make major investments in domestic energy production and infrastructure for traditional and renewable energy sources alike," they wrote.

The anti-IRA Republicans, however, said in a letter last week that the U.S.' growing green energy sector was the product of government handouts rather than genuine sustainable growth.

"Leaving IRA subsidies intact will actively undermine America’s return to energy dominance and national security," they said. "They are the result of government subsidies that distort the U.S. energy sector, displace reliable coal and natural gas and the domestic jobs they produce, and put the stability and independence of our electric grid in jeopardy."

Negotiations are expected to continue this week.

When reached for comment on whether the Senate could meet the Independence Day goal, a spokesperson for Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., pointed Fox News Digital to a recent interview where he signaled openness to the idea.

"We have a similar target. And I think the House is, you know, they would like to, the speaker would like to have it out of the House by Memorial Day. And the Senate has a more complicated procedure that we have to go through when it comes to reconciliation that makes it harder and more complicated and takes a little bit longer time," Thune said.

"But there's been a ton of work done already, and we're working closely with our counterparts in the House on all the relevant authorizing committees that have been instructed."

Bloated bureaucracy and growing debt are holding back President Donald Trump’s economic "golden age," according to one House Republican who is urging lawmakers to have the "political courage" to execute Trump’s America First agenda and pass a budget reconciliation bill.

Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, appeared on "Fox News Sunday" where he was asked about his concerns over out-of-control spending and the rising national debt – a combination that he previously said is "the greatest threat to our country and our children's future."

"The question is, will we have the political courage to execute on that and right-size the bloated bureaucracy, as was reflected in the president's budget, and deal with this wartime-level debt, $2 trillion in annual deficit spending that's going to double, and interest payments that exceed not only national defense, but Medicare payments," said Arrington, who is chair of the House Budget Committee.

Arrington warned that this would prove to be a "pivotal" moment for America.

TRUMP SAYS PUBLIC ENTITLEMENTS LIKE SOCIAL SECURITY, MEDICAID WON'T BE TOUCHED IN GOP BUDGET BILL

"The wheels are coming off the wagon," he said. "We can't get to the president's rocket ship economy, we cannot usher in the golden age. In fact, we risk a sovereign debt crisis if we don't deal with the unsustainable deficits and national debt."

Arrington said that he believed the pro-growth policies in the budget reconciliation bill and a reduction in deficit spending, along with entitlement reform, "will bend the curve on debt to GDP and deficit to GDP."

"So if we follow the framework that we laid out in the budget resolution, then we will restore fiscal health," he said, though he did not provide specifics on the bill’s policies.

GOP FIRES BACK AT DNC'S ‘POLITICAL STUNT’ TARGETING ‘VULNERABLE’ REPUBLICANS OVER MEDICAID FIGHT

Democrats, however, have accused Republicans of trying to cut costs by slashing Medicaid, affecting America’s "most vulnerable."

The White House has maintained that public entitlements, including Social Security and Medicaid, will not be cut in the Republicans' budget bill. 

Arrington conceded that the bill alone would not solve America’s debt crisis.

"It won't get us out of the debt hole overnight, but it is a good first step and a down payment for our kids to actually be on good fiscal footing, a sustainable path, and enjoy the same opportunities and freedoms that we have," the lawmaker said.

On Friday, the US Office of Management and Budget sent Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), chair of the Senate's Appropriations Committee, an outline of what to expect from the Trump administration's 2026 budget proposal. As expected, the budget includes widespread cuts, affecting nearly every branch of the federal government.

In keeping with the administration's attacks on research agencies and the places research gets done, research funding will be taking an enormous hit, with the National Institutes of Health taking a 40 percent cut and the National Science Foundation losing 55 percent of its 2025 budget. But the budget goes well beyond those highlighted items, with nearly every place science gets done or funded targeted for cuts.

Perhaps even more shocking is the language used to justify the cuts, which reads more like a partisan rant than a serious budget document.

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The White House released a "skinny" version of its budget proposal for fiscal year 2026 on Friday, including financial information for all federal agencies. A "skinny" budget simply means that while the document contains top-line numbers for agencies and their programs, it does not provide much in the way of specific allocations.

The document was delivered to the Senate Committee on Appropriations on Friday and signed by Russell Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. A "full fiscal plan" will follow in the coming weeks. This is the first step in the budget process, in which Congress has the critical role of actually writing a budget.

"I look forward to working with you to achieve significant budgetary savings for the American people within the spending programs under your jurisdiction," Vought wrote.

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