May 20, 2025 at 8:01 PM EDT
Trump's struggle to pass major bill may 'reveal the limits of his power': report

President Donald Trump held a meeting Tuesday with House Republicans aiming to rally support for his "big, beautiful bill," which is central to his domestic agenda. However, divisions within the party remained unresolved. Budget conservatives pushed for measures to reduce the deficit, while other GOP members advocated for additions that could raise the bill's overall cost.

May 20, 2025 at 5:52 PM EDT
'Shameless liar and insane conspiracy theorist': Senator blasts RFK Jr. in tense exchange

After Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. blamed a lone lawmaker for what he described as the nation's public health crisis, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) struck back. "You've presided here, I think, for 32 years," Secretary Kennedy told Senator Murray, the Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, on Tuesday. "You presided over the destruction of the health of the American people. Our people are now the sickest people in the world," he alleged in his sweeping indictment.

May 20, 2025 at 5:14 PM EDT
'Crashed to the ground': How Ron DeSantis' 'luster' has been replaced by 'temper tantrums'

In a handful of years, Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has gone from heir apparent of the GOP to a pariah even within the Florida Republican Party. That's according to a Tuesday article in the Guardian, which delved into how and why DeSantis' reputation has been all but destroyed since his unsuccessful run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. The outlet remarked that DeSantis has gone from being dubbed "DeFuture" by the conservative New York Post after his landslide reelection in 2022, to losing the faith of the Florida legislature and being unable to pass his agenda through a Republican-dominated statehouse.

May 20, 2025 at 4:35 PM EDT
Settling scores: Nancy Mace presents nude photo of herself during House hearing

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) presented what she claimed was a non-consensual nude photo of herself during a House oversight subcommittee hearing on "surveillance in private spaces." Mace has alleged that her former fiance', Patrick Bryant, recorded her without her knowledge or approval. Bryant has "categorically denied" this accusation.

May 20, 2025 at 3:50 PM EDT
'Will my check be there?' Seniors are panicking again as MAGA threatens Social Security

Democrat Martin O'Malley, who served as commissioner of the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) under former President Joe Biden, is warning that the Trump Administration's mass layoffs at the SSA will threaten the agency's ability to function -- and likely result in Social Security payments being delayed. According to O'Malley, the Trump Administration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are laying off workers who are essential to SSA and have deep knowledge of how the agency works.

May 20, 2025 at 3:44 PM EDT
'We are desperate': Josh Hawley begs Trump admin to send federal disaster aid

After a spate of tornadoes ravaged the Midwest and caused billions of dollars in damage, many state governments are stll clamoring for President Donald Trump's administration to send federal disaster aid. This apparently includes Missouri, and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is drawing attention to the fact that his ruby-red state is still waiting for federal help. Rolling Stone reported Tuesday that Hawley used his time for questioning during a hearing with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to ask her directly for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to get critically needed resources to the Show Me State. Hawley pointed out that in addition to the recent tornadoes, Missouri is still waiting for help recovering from extreme weather that caused havoc across the state earlier this spring.

May 20, 2025 at 11:00 AM EDT
'Cruelty is the point': Trump's Capitol Hill rant panned as MAGA warns 'Johnson hasn't done his job'

President Donald Trump is still pushing for an expansive "big, beautiful bill" that will combine his legislative priorities, but the bill remains stalled in Congress as GOP lawmakers fight over the particulars. House Republicans have strong disagreements over proposed Medicaid cuts, and some Senate Republicans -- including Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) -- believe that trying to pass an expansive megabill is unrealistic, and that Republicans would be better off passing a series of smaller bills.

May 20, 2025 at 10:46 AM EDT
Oklahoma superintendent: $3 million worth of Trump Bibles still 'going to happen' despite no funds

The Oklahoman reports state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters is insisting every Oklahoma public school classroom will have 'Trump Bibles' by fall, despite the Republican-controlled Legislature making no room in the state budget to give him the $3 million he needs to purchase the books. Gov. Kevin Stitt announced the state's 2026 budget, and while it does increase funding for Walters' Oklahoma State Department of Education, there is no mention of Walters' $3 million request for Bibles. Despite this, Walters says he is confident the books are inbound.

May 20, 2025 at 10:00 AM EDT
'Shock and awe': Why anti-Trump 'celebrations' are 'premature' -- and 'ignore' key facts

Four months into Donald Trump's second presidency, some of his critics are applauding recent developments they view as positive -- for example, ultra-conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett showing that she isn't in lockstep with him, and judges in the lower federal courts continuing to block some of Trump's executive orders. But Salon's Chauncey DeVega, in an article published on May 20, lays out some reasons why he regards expressions of optimism from fellow Trump critics as "premature."

May 20, 2025 at 9:41 AM EDT
'Who's going to tell' him? Trump mocked as Kennedy Center lineup featuring notorious drag productions

In early February, President Donald Trump fired the board of trustees at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and named himself chair. Then he installed former acting director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell to serve as the center's executive director. By April, The New York Times was reporting at least a half-dozen government relations, marketing and social media staff members at the center were dismissed as Trump tightened his grip on the institution.

May 20, 2025 at 8:29 AM EDT
'No precedent': Experts warn Trump is 'destroying the American presidency'

Donald Trump is now four months into his second presidency, and some of his critics are commenting that Joe Biden's presidency now seems like a lifetime ago. Trump's cheerleaders in right-wing media are applauding his "record of achievement," claiming that he has accomplished a great deal in a short period of time. But the New York Times' Thomas B. Edsall has a very different view.

May 20, 2025 at 6:04 AM EDT
Busted: Fact-checker says Trump exaggerated certainty of prescription drug price cuts

President Donald Trump expressed high hopes for an executive order to reduce drug prices. On May 11, the day before he held a White House event to sign the executive order, Trump posted on Truth Social, "Prescription Drug and Pharmaceutical prices will be REDUCED, almost immediately, by 30% to 80%."