July 2, 2025. The Senate's passage of its version of the Budget Reconciliation Bill yesterday

sent House members rushing back to Washington today to debate passing what the Senate had sent

them.

The bill is hugely unpopular.

It cuts taxes for the wealthiest Americans and corporations and slashes Medicaid, the Supplemental

Nutrition Assistance Program, energy credits, and other programs that help the American

people, while also pouring money into immigration

and customs enforcement and detention facilities for migrants.

While Democratic representatives are united against the measure, people from across the country

are flooding lawmakers with calls and demonstrations against the bill in hopes of swaying Republicans.

At the office of Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican of Pennsylvania,

hundreds of his constituents held a die-in to demonstrate how cuts to health care in the bill would affect them.

Far-right Republicans think the bill doesn't make steep enough cuts.

Republicans from swing districts recognize that supporting it will badly hurt both their constituents

and their hopes of re-election. But Trump has demanded Congress pass the measure before July 4th,

an arbitrary date he seems to have chosen because of its historical

significance. A new element in the Republicans' calculation emerged a few days ago, as billionaire Elon

Musk re-entered the fight over the measure, warning he would start a new political party over it.

He has threatened to run primary challengers against lawmakers who vote yes,

a threat that is a counterweight to Trump's threat to run primary challengers against lawmakers

who vote no.

Already, Musk has claimed to be donating to the re-election campaign of Representative Thomas

...