by Mike LaChance, The Gateway Pundit: The liberal ‘sanctuary city’ of Denver, Colorado is experiencing an outbreak of law and order, following the deportation of criminal illegal immigrants by ICE. Who knew such a thing could happen? Homicides in Denver and other Colorado cities are down by a whopping 60 percent. Are liberals still going […]

from The People’s Voice: TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/

Even if you’re not into finance, you probably know the name Moody’s, one of the most established credit rating agencies alongside the S&P and Fitch. And until this very day, May 16, 2025, Moody’s has NEVER rated U.S. Credit lower than a AAA rating. Today that all changed, as Moody’s dropped the U.S. rating to AA1 for the first time ever. NEW: Moody’s downgrades U.S. credit rating from Aaa to Aa1, citing the budgetary burden the government faces amid high interest rates. https://t.co/pdYbLi0laL — NBC News (@NBCNews) May 16, 2025 While unprecedented for Moody’s, it was actually not unprecedented for the other agencies, as they had cut the rating earlier: Historical Context of Moody’s Ratings for the U.S. Moody’s Aaa Rating Until 2025:Prior to this event, Moody’s had consistently maintained the U.S. at its top Aaa rating for over a century. According to the web results from moodys.com, Moody’s has been assigning sovereign credit ratings for over 100 years, and the U.S. had held the Aaa rating throughout that period until this downgrade. Even when Moody’s shifted its outlook on the U.S. to “negative” in November 2023 (as noted in the pgpf.org web result), it still reaffirmed the Aaa rating at that time. No Previous Downgrades by Moody’s:Unlike the other major credit rating agencies—Standard & Poor’s (S&P) and Fitch—Moody’s had not previously downgraded the U.S. below Aaa. S&P downgraded the U.S. from AAA to AA+ in 2011, and Fitch followed suit in August 2023, also moving from AAA to AA+. However, Moody’s had held firm with its Aaa rating until this point in 2025. The web result from pgpf.org explicitly states that while S&P and Fitch had already downgraded the U.S., Moody’s had maintained the top rating until the negative outlook in 2023 signaled a potential future downgrade, which has now occurred. Why This Downgrade Matters The 2025 downgrade to Aa1 is significant because it ends Moody’s long-standing tradition of rating the U.S. at Aaa, a rating that symbolized the country’s unparalleled creditworthiness. Moody’s cited the rising debt and interest payments, which are now “significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns,” as the primary reasons for the downgrade (per the Reuters web result). This aligns with broader fiscal concerns: the U.S. debt is projected to exceed 160% of GDP by mid-century, and interest payments are increasingly crowding out other budgetary priorities, as noted in earlier analyses like those from the Congressional Budget Office and Econofact. Any way you slice it folks, this is bad. REALLY bad. President Trump inherited a complete mess, and it looks more and more likely every day that he will need to do his version of a “Great Reset” to save this thing.  Reforming the system simply may not be possible at this point. In other words…. Got Bitcoin? Got XRP? Got Gold and Silver? I do! CNBC had more details on the massive move: Moody’s Ratings cut the United States’ sovereign credit rating down a notch to Aa1 from the Aaa, the highest possible, citing the growing burden of financing the federal government’s budget deficit and the rising cost of rolling over existing debt amid high interest rates. “This one-notch downgrade on our 21-notch rating scale reflects the increase over more than a decade in government debt and interest payment ratios to levels that are significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns,” the ratings agency said in a statement. The decision to lower the United States credit profile would be expected, at the margin, to lift the yield that investors demand in order to buy U.S. Treasury debt to reflect more risk, and could dampen sentiment toward owning U.S. assets, including stocks. That said, all the major credit rating agencies continue to give the United States their second-highest available rating. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note climbed 3 basis points in after-hours trading, trading at 4.48%. The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF fell about 1% in extended trading, while the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust fell 0.4%. Moody’s had been a holdout in keeping U.S. sovereign debt at the highest credit rating possible, and brings the 116-year-old agency into line with its rivals. Standard & Poor’s downgraded the U.S. to AA+ from AAA in August 2011, and Fitch Ratings also cut the U.S. rating to AA+ from AAA, in August 2023. “Successive U.S. administrations and Congress have failed to agree on measures to reverse the trend of large annual fiscal deficits and growing interest costs,” Moody’s analysts said in a statement. “We do not believe that material multi-year reductions in mandatory spending and deficits will result from current fiscal proposals under consideration.” Moody’s follows on the heels of Morgan Stanley: Morgan Stanley DOWNGRADES U.S. Dollar Rating — Bad Times Ahead? Not only that, but recently Moody's downgraded U.S. Banks as well. Do you remember this? Moody’s DOWNGRADES Top U.S. Banks—Is YOUR Bank On The List? Look, I can't tell you what to do, I'm not a financial advisor. But me personally? I have a big chunk of my assets in crypto and another big chunk in precious metals. I keep as little as possible in the banks. That's just what helps me sleep best at night. Here's more on gold: Here's Why Central Banks Are Buying All the Gold They Can -- And What YOU Can Do! For the last year, central banks across the globe have been buying up as much gold (and often silver) as they can acquire without raising alarm bells. Now, we see why. The recent bank runs and ongoing collapse of the U.S. banking system was anticipated by the "elites" and the central bankers who run things behind the scenes. They saw it coming and knew the best way to protect their assets was through physical precious metals. If you've been waiting for me to bring you a solution about what YOU can do to protect yourself and you're family, I'm happy to introduce you to something I absolutely love! Precious metals. I just talked about precious metals this week with Bo Polny and now I'm bringing you a solution that you can utilize right away if you're so inclined... 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When the writing on the wall is this clear, it's understandable why these governments are moving quickly to get ahead of any potential economic catastrophes in store. Working with Genesis is the best way our readers can explore the physical precious metals market through self-directed IRAs. It benefits us as well when our readers work with this America-First company. Visit genesiswlt.com or call 866-292-0443 today. Don't wait too long, we might have more bank failures right around the corner. You know what has NEVER "failed"? Gold.  Precious metals.  Indestructible. There's a reason they call it "God's money". Watch this for more: Share!

So, who are the RINOs? A better question might be: “Who AREN’T the RINOs?” The House Budget Committee voted down the budget reconciliation bill just after noon Friday. Once again, a bill from President Trump’s was stopped by “Republicans”. And let’s be honest, we’re not too surprised. We know there are traitors in the mix. It’s moments like this that we take note and REMOVE them, via primaries and prayer. House spending bill just failed in committee 16-21 pic.twitter.com/CceaWvcngT — Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) May 16, 2025 Let’s look some of these RINOs: BOMBSHELLRINOS in the US Senate voted against codifying Trump legislation. We have RINOS siding with Democrats and radical Islamists. This is not OK! Follow: @Carlos__Turcios pic.twitter.com/kyBo8MG0JT — Carlos Turcios (@Carlos__Turcios) May 14, 2025 Breitbart reports: The House Budget Committee voted down a budget reconciliation bill just after noon Friday in a temporary roadblock for President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” The defeat of the bill is another expected — if unnecessary — bump in the often messy negotiating process of the massive piece of legislation. Still, the embarrassing headlines could easily have been avoided. Conservatives on the committee made clear before the committee markup they were against the bill in its current form, stating it felt short of fully realizing Trump’s transformative agenda. Yet Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) chose to go ahead with the scheduled markup. Four conservatives, along with another Republican who changed his vote for procedural reasons, opposed the bill, which went down 16 to 21. The four were Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX), Ralph Norman (R-SC), Josh Brecheen (R-OK), and Andrew Clyde (R-SC). House conservatives requested more changes in order to make a bigger, more beautiful bill. Their concerns varied from spending and taxes to Second Amendment provisions, but they also raised concerns that many of the reforms in the legislation were postponed for years and would likely be eliminated in future legislation before taking effect. I wonder what all these guys have in common? Do they share a membership in any kind of secret organizations? Four Republican Congressmen just voted AGAINST President Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” — causing it to FAIL to pass through the House Budget Committee. Representative Norman Representative Clyde Representative Smucker Representative Brecheen pic.twitter.com/2ENcZFGuzK — Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 16, 2025 THE HOUSE BUDGET COMMITTEE has voted down the reconciliation bill. Vote was 16-21 NO Votes: •Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia•Rep. Chip Roy of Texas•Rep. Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma•Rep. Ralph Norman of SC•Rep. Lloyd Smucker of Pennsylvania PRIMARY: @Rep_Clyde @RepChipRoy… pic.twitter.com/jKXDnx7Tm4 — USCongressionalWatch (@CongressionalUS) May 16, 2025 There needs to be some serious rules put in place to deter Democrats from slithering in and pretending to be Republicans. Banning Congress & their immediate family members from owning stocks would do wonders to clear out RINOs from Congress. https://t.co/kHP8o88VJq — Life of Gratitude (@4homeandwork) May 16, 2025 Here’s a whole crew of RINOs celebrating: TEXAS HOUSERINOS and Democrats celebrated as the clock struck midnight marking the deadline for House Bills. Republican Priority bills died and LGBTQ, Islamic and left-wing bills passed. RINOS are destroying Texas! WHY IS THIS HAPPENING IN TEXAS?! Follow: @Carlos__Turcios pic.twitter.com/Qwj69bTg3l — Carlos Turcios (@Carlos__Turcios) May 16, 2025

There’s been a lot of debate in recent days about whether President Donald Trump should accept a nearly half-billion jet to be used as a replacement to the aging Air Force One. But that’s not the only executive-branch aircraft getting old. For her part, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is requesting a new jet for her agency. Of course, it didn’t take Democrats like Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL) to cry foul. According to The Hill: “I was horrified last Friday when we received a last minute addition to your spend plan for fiscal ’25, a new $50 million Gulfstream 5 for Secretary Noem’s personal travel coming from the Coast Guard budget. She already has a Gulfstream 5, by the way, this is a new one,” Underwood said during a Wednesday hearing. The Department of Homeland Security has defended the request. “The current CG-101 G550 is over twenty years old, outside of Gulfstream’s service life, and well beyond operational usage hours for a corporate aircraft,” Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs, said in a statement. “This is a matter of safety. Much like the Coast Guard’s ships that are well beyond their service life and safe operational usage, Coast Guard’s aircraft are too,” she added. “This Administration is taking action to restore our Nation’s finest maritime Armed Service to a capable fighting force.” Leftist lawmakers throw $50 million in taxpayer cash around like it’s nothing, but they suddenly become fiscal hawks when a Trump administration official wants to spend it. And it’s worth noting that Trump’s critics aren’t even happy if the White House manages to score a free plane: Trump crushes ABC when they grill him about Qatar’s gift of a free jet: “You’re ABC fake news, right?…You should be embarrassed asking that question. They’re giving us a free jet…It’s not a gift to me—it’s a gift to the Department of Defense. And you should know better… pic.twitter.com/xy0xHG5NYG — Julia (@Jules31415) May 12, 2025 PLOT THICKENS: Democrats whining about Trump’s Qatar jet gift? —Funny, they were silent when it was accepted under Biden! Trump’s just taking it home like a champ. pic.twitter.com/ux9bOSkW8p — AGNEWSLIVE (@AMErikaNGIRLLL) May 16, 2025 Hillary Clinton says “No one gives someone a $400M jet for free without expecting something in return.” Oh really, Uranium Queen? Let’s talk about what you got in return: Saudi Arabia: $14.5M Qatar, UAE, Kuwait: $1–$5M each Algeria: $500K while you were Sec of State —… pic.twitter.com/d416gQI079 — Barron (@_NewsBarron) May 15, 2025 USA Today covered Trump’s recent remarks about the Qatari gift: Ahead of his trip to Qatar and the Middle East this week, President Donald Trump cooed over Qatar’s planned gift of a Boeing 747 jet, saying he would be “stupid” not to accept a “free, very expensive airplane.” Aboard Air Force One, Trump lamented to Fox News host Sean Hannity of the U.S. government plane’s comparative old age of 40 years and lackluster appearance next to Qatar’s, Saudi Arabia’s and the United Arab Emirates’ “brand new Boeing 747s.” “You see ours next to it. This is like a totally different plane,” Trump said. Here’s some additional coverage of the developing story:

The L.A. County Sheriff’s Special Victims Bureau launched a criminal probe into Smokey Robinson. The claim? Rape and sexual assault. Four former housekeepers allege he repeatedly assaulted and raped them on the job. The investigation is in its early stages, and the department isn’t spilling any more details. Guess Smokey’s classic tunes won’t drown out these serious allegations. BREAKING: Smokey Robinson Under Criminal Investigation Following Sexual Assault Allegations by Housekeepers pic.twitter.com/dVO8wemlQU — MAGAgeddon (@MAGAgeddon) May 15, 2025 Breitbart reports: LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said Thursday that it has opened a criminal investigation into rape and sexual assault allegations against Smokey Robinson. The department said in a statement that its Special Victims Bureau is “actively investigating criminal allegations” against Robinson. The statement said the probe is in its early stages, and no other details would be provided. Last week, four former housekeepers of Robinson filed a lawsuit alleging that the Motown music luminary repeatedly sexually assaulted and raped them while they worked for him. The suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court seeks at least $50 million in damages over the alleged assaults, which the women say took place between 2007 and 2024. Robinson’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the criminal investigation, but previously called the allegations “vile” and “false ” and said the women’s lawsuit was “simply an ugly method of trying to extract money from an 85-year-old American icon.” John Harris and Herbert Hayden, the lawyers for the women, say they are pleased to learn that law enforcement is looking into the allegations. “Our clients intend to fully cooperate with LASD’s ongoing investigation in the pursuit of seeking justice for themselves and others that may have been similarly assaulted by him,” the lawyers said. Robinson’s lawyer Chris Frost said last week that the allegations “defy credulity” and are full of inconsistencies. The four women, whose names have not been made public, each allege that Smokey Robinson would wait until he was alone with them in his Los Angeles house and then sexually assault and rape them, in some cases repeatedly over many years. One woman said she worked for Robinson from 2012 until 2024 and was assaulted at least 20 times. Another said she worked for him from 2014 until 2020 and was assaulted at least 23 times. Harris called Robinson a “serial and sick rapist” who must be stopped. The Trump Curse is real Smokey Robinson shot a video endorsing Kamala Harris last year, mocking Trump as a “criminal” for the one lawfare case that stuck Now, the singer is under criminal investigation for s*xual assault pic.twitter.com/VNm7pT7pqX — Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) May 16, 2025 Is he destined to go the way of Bill Cosby? 85-year-old Smokey Robinson is officially under criminal investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department after 4 of his former housekeepers accused him of s*xual assault — these are the same 4 women who have already filed a $50 million lawsuit against Smokey Robinson.… pic.twitter.com/eWlw6dES9T — The Art Of Dialogue (@ArtOfDialogue_) May 16, 2025 Maybe his connections will help him out.

As we reported yesterday, Speaker Mike Johnson CANCELLED all voting on the House floor originally scheduled for Friday — but today has brought a new problem. That cancellation drew all the fire you would expect, considering it’s not the FIRST time the Speaker has pulled that stunt while simultaneously touting ‘success’ and blaming House Democrats. Now, five Republicans in the Budget Committee are drawing even more fire for creating ANOTHER hurdle for the President’s agenda. Yesterday’s cancellation only effected floor voting on House-wide issues… like a final vote on President Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’. But it didn’t stop the individual Committee votes from moving forward, as each Committee sets their own agenda and schedule. The ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ has “passed” through 11 different Committees with each one tweaking and modifying the bill, setting up a tough job for the Speaker in making ultimate peace between the warring Republican factions. That was the problem as we left it yesterday, with our report on Friday’s vote cancellation. Today, those 5 Republicans I alluded to have kicked up a new problem, even after President Trump pressed House Republicans to UNITED behind his agenda for the good of America in this post shared by Charlie Kirk: President Trump calls on Republicans to unite behind the One Big Beautiful Bill. “STOP TALKING, AND GET IT DONE!” pic.twitter.com/JEZZ5Akumv — Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) May 16, 2025 Here’s the full text of the President’s Truth Social post: Republicans MUST UNITE behind, “THE ONE, BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL!” Not only does it cut Taxes for ALL Americans, but it will kick millions of Illegal Aliens off of Medicaid to PROTECT it for those who are the ones in real need. The Country will suffer greatly without this Legislation, with their Taxes going up 65%. It will be blamed on the Democrats, but that doesn’t help our Voters. We don’t need “GRANDSTANDERS” in the Republican Party. STOP TALKING, AND GET IT DONE! It is time to fix the MESS that Biden and the Democrats gave us. Thank you for your attention to this matter! Even with the President’s clear direction for House Republicans to “STOP TALKING, AND GET IT DONE!”… The bill FAILED to pass through the House Budget Committee today by a 16-21 vote. Five Republicans on the Budget Committee voted “No”, even though several Committee members expressed SUPPORT for the President’s agenda; just not in it’s current fiscal form. That sets up a looming tax hike which would be the single biggest increase in taxes levied against Americans in HISTORY — among other problems that it’s failure would bring. That is, if the Speaker can’t figure out how to ‘pull a rabbit out of a hat’, as one anonymous House Republican put it. Here’s the breaking news on today’s failed vote as reported by Fox News: BREAKING: President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” has failed in the House Budget Committee by a vote of 16-21, according to Fox News. The five Republicans who voted against the reconciliation bill were: Rep. Chip Roy (TX) Rep. Ralph Norman (SC) Rep. Andrew Clyde (GA) Rep.… pic.twitter.com/jgpsJMtU1O — RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) May 16, 2025 As reported, Rep. Lloyd Smucker out of Pennsylvania was originally a “Yes” vote. He actually switched his vote at a point in the process that would procedurally allow a REVOTE to happen in the committee at a later point. Smucker was quick to take to social media, concerned that his “No” vote would cast him alongside the Republican holdouts: To be clear—I fully support the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB). My vote today in the Budget Committee is a procedural requirement to preserve the committee’s opportunity to reconsider the motion to advance OBBB. — Rep. Lloyd Smucker (@RepSmucker) May 16, 2025 The other four holdouts besides Smucker’s procedural “No” vote are: Rep. Chip Roy Rep. Ralph Normal Rep. Josh Brecheen Rep. Andrew Clyde Smucker indicated there would likely be another Budget Committee vote on Monday, according to The Hill: Fiscal hawks on the House Budget Committee on Friday sunk a key vote on advancing the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” that encompasses President Trump’s legislative agenda, marking a stunning setback for the legislation. The 16-21 vote throws up a hurdle for leaders hoping to send the bill to the Senate by Memorial Day — but are still haggling over last minute changes to appease not only the fiscal hawks but moderates seeking bigger blue-state tax breaks. Five Republicans voted no: Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas), Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.), Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) and Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.). Republicans could only afford to lose two of their members and still advance the legislation. Smucker changed his vote from yes to no in a procedural move. “To be clear—I fully support the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB). My vote today in the Budget Committee is a procedural requirement to preserve the committee’s opportunity to reconsider the motion to advance OBBB,” Smucker wrote on X. House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) called the committee into recess after the vote. He told members after the markup that he did not expect the committee to come back on Friday, to “go home,” and that he would let members know if they would resume first thing Monday. Smucker said the panel will “ideally” vote to advance the bill Monday. “We’re working through some remaining issues here, there are just a few outstanding issues I think everyone will get to yes, and we’re going to l resolve this as quick as we can and hopefully have a vote, ideally on Monday, and we can advance this bill,” he said. As The Hill reported, Rep. Jodey Arrington told members to ‘go home’ after the vote failed. Here’s a clip showing all the emotion of that moment: HOUSE BUDGET CHAIR: “I do not anticipate us coming back today…go home.” pic.twitter.com/sy3mgUX32J — Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) May 16, 2025 One of President Trump’s most vocal supporters in the House spoke out about the Budget Committee’s failure to advance the President’s agenda. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene invoked a widely held principle that many of President Trump’s supporters agree with — in spite of his ‘Big Beautiful Bill’. Her option would be to take individual components of the President’s agenda week-by-week, and pass them separately. Rather than waiting on a big comprehensive bill and all it’s hurdles, she said that would allow the President’s agenda to move forward with an “easy, easy win”, much faster. Here’s her response while appearing on Real America’s Voice earlier today: The American people gave President Trump a clear mandate in November, but certain House Republicans are refusing to even vote for his One Big, Beautiful Bill. Voters didn’t send us here to play games. They sent us to pass his agenda. pic.twitter.com/oaflFmSEgc — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) May 16, 2025 MTG’s continued push to approach this legislation in bite-sized chunks rather than one enormous stand-alone bill rings true for much of the MAGA movement. Not only would it avoid the endless squabbling over tiny details, but it would push back against the unprincipled COMPROMISES that are almost certainly necessary when trying to pass an enormous piece of legislation. But with President Trump — and his Treasury Secretary — pushing hard for this bill in it’s current ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL’ form… it’s unlikely at this state to be broken up into single-issue legislation. Here was Scott Bessent’s post earlier this morning, sharing the President’s call to unity and outlining his own hopes for the bill: With full GOP support, we’re pushing @POTUS’ “ONE BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL” across the finish line to deliver tax cuts, increase wages, and bring back U.S. manufacturing. With this bill, families could see between $4K to $5K more in take-home pay. Workers could get a boost in… pic.twitter.com/Dth3TArTUM — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) May 16, 2025 Here is the full text of the Treasury Secretary’s post: With full GOP support, we’re pushing @POTUS ‘ “ONE BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL” across the finish line to deliver tax cuts, increase wages, and bring back U.S. manufacturing. With this bill, families could see between $4K to $5K more in take-home pay. Workers could get a boost in real wages by $2.1K to $3.3K per worker. The proposal will restore 100% expensing for equipment and expand that incentive to new factory construction to accelerate reindustrialization. The deduction for auto loans on U.S.-made cars will spur more production, jobs, and tax relief. There was apparently no guarantee which way the wind was going to blow during this morning’s Budget Committee vote, judging from the details coming out. One Representative who wasn’t expected for the vote later showed up, increasing hopes that the bill would pass through the Committee — helping to clear the way for a full floor vote next week. But the same four House Republicans who warned they weren’t in favor of the bill prior to the vote never budged during this morning’s meetings, according to a report from Fox News with more details leading up to the failed vote: The committee met to mark up and debate the bill, a massive piece of legislation that’s a product of 11 different House committees’ individual efforts to craft policy under their jurisdictions. The result is a wide-ranging bill that advances Trump’s priorities on the border, immigration, taxes, energy, defense and raising the debt limit. Emotions ran high in the hallway outside the House Budget Committee’s meeting room from the outset, however, giving the media little indication of how events would transpire. Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, who had been at home with his wife and newborn baby, surprised reporters when he arrived at the Cannon House Office Building after he was initially expected to miss the committee meeting. His appearance gave House GOP leaders some added wiggle room, allowing the committee to lose two Republican votes and still pass the bill, rather than just one. But at least four House Republicans went into the meeting warning they were opposed to the bill. Shortly before the meeting was expected to begin, Roy, Norman, Clyde and Brecheen abruptly left the room while saying little to reporters on the way out. Each came back a short while later and criticized the legislation in their opening remarks. The fiscal hawks are frustrated about provisions curbing Medicaid in the bill not going into effect until 2029, and had similar issues with the delay in phasing out green energy subsidies from former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. At one point, Norman came out of the room and called for the committee to recess in order to work through the fiscal hawks’ concerns. “If they call for a vote now, it’s not going to end well,” he said, adding he was still waiting on commitments from House GOP leaders. Minutes later, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., who is not a member of the committee but had been meeting with holdouts, told reporters he wanted the legislation to advance through the Budget panel “as soon as possible.” When asked about Norman’s comments, he said, “I just walked out of the meeting with him a few minutes ago as well. We’re working on some questions that Ralph and others have, and we’re going to be getting them answers as soon as we get them back from the Trump administration.” Roy said on X, formerly Twitter, after the vote, “We were making progress, but the vote was called, and the problems were not resolved, so I voted no. I am staying in Washington this weekend to deliver.” Earlier, Trump took to Truth Social where he suggested those opposing the bill were “grandstanders” and he pressed Republicans to unite behind it. That disunity is unlikely to go over well with President Trump after his calls for Republican unity went unheeded. One ABC affiliate out of Chicago reported on that divide, in spite of the pressure applied by the President, in this (SURPRISINGLY… it’s ABC after all!) informative report: Regardless of Speaker Johnson’s public positivity on his ability to get this legislation passed, it remains to be seen if that will actually materialize. If not — that enormous tax hike will automatically kick in as President Trump’s tax cuts expire, originally enacted during his first term. If the Speaker didn’t already have his work cut out for him, this Committee-level revolt of House Republicans will only complicate his job over the coming week.