With no further road to kick the can down, we’ve been on the lookout this week for how exactly President Trump will get involved with badgering the House Republican conference into line behind the ridiculously named piece of legislation that will kickstart his fiscal agenda. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has set an almost comically aggressive timeline for getting the bill passed in his chamber — Memorial Day — and, so, it’s been a question of when, not if, Trump surfaces in Congress.
On cue, that moment may have arrived. News broke this afternoon that Trump will be on the Hill tomorrow, speaking to members of the Republican conference about the legislation.
The President has served as, essentially, the House Majority Whip throughout the entirety of his second term thus far, as he has successfully strong-armed anxious and obstinate House Republicans into taking action to move along the reconciliation package even as they profess to constituents that they don’t actually support it. His main tactic for bullying Republicans — both moderates unnerved about what cuts to Medicaid could mean for their electoral fortunates and more extreme, far-right members who have built a following with performative austerity — is convincing members that all of their concerns will be addressed before the final vote.
It’s a promise that will ring hollow for those paying attention over the past several months. We are currently at the point that Trump has alluded to — the final vote, at least on this House version of the legislation — and there is no magical solution like what’s been promised. As my colleague Emine Yücel reported today, the intra-party heartburn about the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is sprinkled throughout the conference. Some members don’t want their constituents to feel the ramifications of just how bad the Medicaid cuts will be until after the 2026 midterms. Others want the cuts, which include work requirements, to be implemented sooner, so they can prove how deeply invested they are in trimming the federal deficit (even though their bill will, ultimately, do the opposite).
So, again, it was only a matter of time before Trump stepped in to whip his conference into line. Perhaps this time he will assuage all concerns with an old trick that he pulled when the House was trying to pass a bill to keep the government open: None of this matters, Trump insisted then, because you all know I’m not going to respect Congress’ authority to appropriate federal funding in the first place.
MAGA Wants Conspiracy Theories Or Else
For MAGA influencers and online followers, there’s been little about Trump II as disappointing as FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino’s admission about Jeffrey Epstein this week. In a Twitter post Sunday, he lamented that there is no secret Clinton world conspiracy theory behind the convicted sex trafficker’s jailhouse death: “I have reviewed the case. Jeffrey Epstein killed himself,” he wrote.
The MAGA backlash has been profound, per CNN.
More from Media Matters: Alex Jones says Kash Patel and Dan Bongino are “making fools out of themselves” over Jeffrey Epstein
Trump Back To Threatening ABC
This time, Trump is upset about the news network’s coverage of the luxury jet that the government of Qatar gifted him to be retrofitted into a new Air Force One for his second term. The move has both Democrats and Republicans in Congress on the alert about corruption, national security and safety concerns. Trump is particularly angered by the ABC’s use of the term “free” to describe the multi-million dollar gift from the nation.
“Why doesn’t Chairman Bob Iger do something about ABC Fake News,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Saturday, before claiming his lawyers had reached out to ABC News to tell them to stop using the term “free.”
ABC “fully knows and understands, this highly respected country is donating the plane to the United States Air Force/ Defense Department, AND NOT TO ME,” he continued.
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Frist!
And cat.
Trump Hasn’t Yet Been Whipping Votes, And The House Can’t Function Without Him
Why does the House need to function? I mean, he owns them already, right?
Cult finds it hard to operate without its daily ingestion of poisonous propaganda as its fix. So, they really do not take well to antidotes.
Come on. It’s too hard to whip votes in a golf cart.
Is there a more ridiculous scowl on the First Felon’s face than that as displayed on the headline of this particular post? Good Lord, it’s like dealing with recalcitrant two year old that won’t eat his spinach.