WASHINGTON (AP) — The sprawling Republican budget bill approved by the Senate Tuesday removes a proposed tax on solar and wind energy projects but quickly phases out tax credits for wind, solar and other renewable energy.

The Senate approved the bill 51-50 as President Donald Trump and GOP lawmakers move to dismantle the 2022 climate law passed by Democrats under former President Joe Biden. Vice President JD Vance broke a tie after three Republican senators voted no.

The bill now moves to the House for final legislative approval.

The excise tax on solar and wind generation projects was added to the Senate bill over the weekend, prompting bipartisan pushback from lawmakers as well as clean energy developers and advocates.

The final bill removes the tax but mostly sticks with legislative language released late Friday night and would end incentives for clean energy sooner than a draft version unveiled two weeks ago.

Some warn of spike in utility bills

Democrats and environmental groups said the GOP plan would crush growth in the wind and solar industry and lead to a spike in Americans’ utility bills. The measure jeopardizes hundreds of renewable energy projects slated to boost the nation’s electric grid, they said.

“Despite limited improvements, this legislation undermines the very foundation of America’s manufacturing comeback and global energy leadership,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association. If the bill becomes law, “families will face higher electric bills, factories will shut down, Americans will lose their jobs, and our electric grid will grow weaker,” she said.

The American Petroleum Institute, the top lobbying group for the oil and gas industry, applauded the bill’s passage.

“This historic legislation will help usher in a new era of energy dominance by unlocking opportunities for investment, opening lease sales and expanding access to oil and natural gas development,” said Mike Sommers, the group’s president and CEO.

While Democrats complained that the bill would make it harder to get renewable energy to the electric grid, Republicans said the measure represents historic savings for taxpayers and supports production of traditional energy sources such as oil, natural gas and coal, as well as nuclear power, increasing reliability.

In a compromise approved overnight, the bill allows wind and solar projects that begin construction within a year of the law’s enactment to get a full tax credit without a deadline for when the projects are “placed in service,” or plugged into the grid. Wind and solar projects that begin later must be placed in service by the end of 2027 to get a credit.

The bill retains incentives for technologies such as advanced nuclear, geothermal and hydropower through 2032.

Changes to the renewable energy language — including removal of the excise tax on wind and solar — were negotiated by a group of Republican senators, including Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Iowa Sens. Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley. Iowa is a top producer of wind power, while Murkowski is a longtime supporter of renewable energy as crucial for achieving energy independence, particularly for isolated rural communities in Alaska.

Murkowski, who voted in favor of the final bill, called her decision-making process “agonizing.”

“I had to look on balance, because the people in my state are the ones that I put first,” she told reporters after Tuesday’s vote. “We do not have a perfect bill by any stretch of the imagination.”

GOP bill said to be ‘massively destructive’

Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, the top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, called the bill a “massively destructive piece of legislation” that “increases costs for everyone by walloping the health care system, making families go hungry and sending utility bills through the roof.”

The bill “saddles our children and grandchildren with trillions and trillions of dollars in debt — all to serve giant corporations, fossil fuel polluters and billionaire Republican megadonors who are already among the richest people on the planet,” Whitehouse said.

Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, a Republican and former chairman of the Senate Energy panel, hailed the bill for rescinding many elements of what he called the Biden administration’s “green new scam,” including electric vehicle tax credits that have allowed car owners to lower the purchase price of EVs by $7,500. The bill also blocks a first-ever fee on excess methane emissions from oil and gas production that industry groups fiercely opposed, increases oil and gas leases on public lands and revives coal leasing in Wyoming and other states.

“Today, the Senate moved President Trump’s agenda forward,” said West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican who chairs the Senate environment committee.

Clean energy advocates were deeply disappointed by the bill, which they argue undoes much of the 2022 climate law approved by Democrats.

“By eliminating a number of clean energy incentives and slashing others, this bill represents a significant step backward for America’s energy future,” said Nathaniel Keohane, president of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, a nonprofit that seeks to accelerate the global transition to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.

“Curtailing incentives for electricity generated from wind and solar power is particularly shortsighted” and will raise energy prices for households and businesses and threaten reliability of the electric grid, Keohane said.

___

Associated Press writer Alexa St. John in Detroit contributed to this story.

Matthew Daly, The Associated Press

Social media users are falsely claiming that President Donald Trump’s sprawling tax bill, which passed the Senate Tuesday after a turbulent overnight session, will give Trump undue influence over U.S. elections.

“The reason the GOP isn’t concerned about the midterms and why they are pushing this bill is because it gives Trump power to cancel elections,” reads one X post. “If this bill passes — it’s the end of the country. Democracy is over.”

The bill contains no such provision. Here’s a closer look at the facts.

CLAIM: President Donald Trump’s tax bill will allow him to delay or cancel elections.

THE FACTS: That’s false. There is nothing in the legislation that would allow Trump, or any future president, to stop an election from going forward. According to legal experts, a constitutional amendment would have to pass for anyone to have the ability to cancel a federal election. The timing of elections for federal offices is stipulated in federal law and it is highly unlikely that Congress would pass a bill allowing the president to change that timing, experts said.

“Although President Trump might like to cancel or postpone an upcoming election if he thought his party was going to fare poorly, the One Big Beautiful Bill does not actually grant him that power,” said Barry Burden, director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Elections Research Center and a political science professor.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson called the false claims “obviously fake news.”

Burden and other experts agree that these allegations may stem from a misunderstanding of a section of the bill on judicial enforcement that was included in the version passed by the House. That section was removed from the bill after Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled that it violates the so-called Byrd Rule, which essentially bars policy matters in budget reconciliation bills.

Section 70302 could have made it easier for Trump to disregard federal court rulings, requiring parties seeking preliminary injunctions or temporary restraining orders to put down a “security,” such as a cash bond, before the court could issue contempt penalties.

Regardless, such a provision would not allow Trump to delay or cancel elections, even if he tried.

“If Trump announced, I’m canceling the elections, that has as much power as my announcing I’m canceling the elections,” said Justin Levitt, a professor at Loyola Marymount University who specializes in constitutional law and the law of democracy.

Asked whether section 70302 would have given Trump power over whether elections occur, Richard Pildes, a professor of constitutional law at New York University, replied, “Obviously not.”

The U.S. Constitution gives state legislatures the power to set the time of elections, subject to any laws Congress enacts that “make or alter such Regulations.”

Congress set standard federal election dates with a series of laws, starting in 1845. That year, it was determined that states would choose presidential electors “the Tuesday next after the first Monday in the month of November.” Presidential elections have been held every four years on this day since 1848, including through the Civil War, World War I and World War II. Congress aligned House elections with presidential races in 1872 and in 1914 aligned the election of Senators with biennial House elections.

The Constitution states that the term for president and vice president is four years, the term for senators is six years and the term for representatives is two years. Unless they are reelected, there is no mechanism for any of these officials to remain in office after their term ends. Only a constitutional amendment could change this.

Some states have a provision that allows voting in federal races to continue after Election Day in “extraordinary and catastrophic” circumstances, such as a natural disaster. There is no other way to delay a federal election.

Levitt explained that theoretically Congress could pass a law giving the president the power to choose when a federal election happens, but that such a scenario is “extremely unlikely.” ___

Find AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.

Melissa Goldin, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans hauled President Donald Trump’s big tax breaks and spending cuts bill to passage Tuesday on the narrowest of margins, pushing past opposition from Democrats and their own GOP ranks after a turbulent overnight session.

The sudden outcome capped an unusually tense weekend of work at the Capitol, the president’s signature legislative priority teetering on the edge of approval or collapse. In the end that tally was 50-50, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote.

Three Republican senators — Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky — joined all Democrats in voting against it.

“In the end we got the job done,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota said afterward.

The difficulty for Republicans, who have the majority hold in Congress, to wrestle the bill to this point is not expected to let up. The package now goes back to the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson had warned senators not to overhaul what his chamber had already approved. But the Senate did make changes, particularly to Medicaid, risking more problems ahead. House GOP leaders vowed to put it on Trump’s desk by his Fourth of July deadline.

It’s a pivotal moment for the president and his party, as they have been consumed by the 940-page “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” as it was formally titled before Democrats filed an amendment to strip out the name, and invested their political capital in delivering on the GOP’s sweep of power in Washington.

Trump acknowledged it’s “very complicated stuff,” as he departed the White House for Florida.

“I don’t want to go too crazy with cuts,” he said. “I don’t like cuts.”

What started as a routine but laborious day of amendment voting, in a process called vote-a-rama, spiraled into a round-the-clock slog as Republican leaders were buying time to shore up support.

The droning roll calls in the chamber belied the frenzied action to steady the bill. Grim-faced scenes played out on and off the Senate floor, amid exhaustion.

Thune worked around the clock desperately reaching for last-minute agreements between those in his party worried the bill’s reductions to Medicaid will leave millions more people without care and his most conservative flank, which wants even steeper cuts to hold down deficits ballooning with the tax cuts.

The GOP leaders had no room to spare, with narrow majorities. Thune could lose no more than three Republican senators, and two — Tillis, who warned that millions of people will lose access to Medicaid health care, and Paul, who opposes raising the debt limit by $5 trillion — had already indicated opposition.

Attention quickly turned to two other key senators, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Collins, who also raised concerns about health care cuts, as well as a loose coalition of four conservative GOP senators pushing for even steeper reductions.

Murkowski in particular became the subject of the GOP leadership’s attention, as they sat beside her for talks. She was huddled intensely for more than an hour in the back of the chamber with others, scribbling notes on papers.

Then all eyes were on Paul after he returned from a visit to Thune’s office with a stunning offer that could win his vote. He had suggested substantially lowering the bill’s increase in the debt ceiling, according to two people familiar with the private meeting and granted anonymity to discuss it.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said “Republicans are in shambles because they know the bill is so unpopular.”

An analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found 11.8 million more Americans would become uninsured by 2034 if the bill became law. The CBO said the package would increase the deficit by nearly $3.3 trillion over the decade.

Pressure built from all sides. Billionaire Elon Musk said those who voted for the package should “hang their head in shame” and warned he would campaign against them. But Trump had also lashed out against the GOP holdouts including Tillis, who abruptly announced his own decision over the weekend not to seek reelection.

Senators insist on changes

Few Republicans appeared fully satisfied as the final package emerged, in either the House or the Senate.

Collins fought to include $50 billion for a new rural hospital fund, among the GOP senators worried that the bill’s Medicaid provider cuts would be devastating and force them to close.

While her amendment for the fund was rejected, the provision was inserted into the final bill. Still she voted no.

The Maine senator said she’s happy the bolstered funding was added, “but my difficulties with the bill go far beyond that.”

And Murkowski called the decision-making process “agonizing.”

She secured provisions to spare Alaska and other states from some food stamp cuts, but her efforts to bolster Medicaid reimbursements fell short. She voted yes.

What’s in the big bill

All told, the Senate bill includes $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, according to the latest CBO analysis, making permanent Trump’s 2017 rates, which would expire at the end of the year if Congress fails to act, while adding the new ones he campaigned on, including no taxes on tips.

The Senate package would roll back billions of dollars in green energy tax credits, which Democrats warn will wipe out wind and solar investments nationwide. It would impose $1.2 trillion in cuts, largely to Medicaid and food stamps, by imposing work requirements on able-bodied people, including some parents and older Americans, making sign-up eligibility more stringent and changing federal reimbursements to states.

Additionally, the bill would provide a $350 billion infusion for border and national security, including for deportations, some of it paid for with new fees charged to immigrants.

“The big not so beautiful bill has passed,” said Paul.

Democrats fighting all day and night

Unable to stop the march toward passage, the Democrats tried to drag out the process, including with a weekend reading of the full bill.

A few of the Democratic amendments won support from a few Republicans, though almost none passed. More were considered in one of the longer such sessions in modern times.

Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, raised particular concern about the accounting method being used by the Republicans, which says the tax breaks from Trump’s first term are now “current policy” and the cost of extending them should not be counted toward deficits.

She said that kind of “magic math” won’t fly with Americans trying to balance their own household books.

___

Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti, Darlene Superville, Seung Min Kim and Kevin Freking contributed to this report.

Lisa Mascaro, Mary Clare Jalonick And Matt Brown, The Associated Press

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has signed a two-year, $60 billion operating budget that flattens the state’s income tax and sets aside $600 million in unclaimed funds for a new Cleveland Browns stadium.

The Republican governor signed the budget late Monday night, about 45 minutes before the midnight deadline. He also issued 67 line-item vetoes, including one that would have cut funding for homeless shelters “that promote or affirm social gender transition” and another that would have forced public libraries to keep materials on sexual orientation and gender identity away from those under 18.

He also rejected lawmakers’ plan to limit how much money school districts could carry over to 40% and another that would have required candidates for local school board races to be identified with partisan labels on the ballot.

The moves mark the largest number of vetoes DeWine has issued since becoming governor in 2019. His previous record was 44 in 2023. The governor defended his decisions during a news conference Tuesday, noting that state lawmakers can now vote to override the vetoes and put the items back in the budget if they desire.

The budget had been approved by the Republican-controlled state Legislature last week. GOP leaders touted its $1 billion in income tax relief, pathways to address Ohio’s property tax crisis, and that it trims spending at administrative agencies and curtails regulations.

Democrats voted uniformly against the bill, alongside a handful of Republicans, casting it as a collection of misguided policy tradeoffs that prioritize the wealthy over the middle class.

The budget phases in a single flat-tax rate of 2.75% over two years, affecting anyone making over $26,050 annually. Those making less would continue to pay nothing. The plan eliminates the existing 3.5% rate for those making over $100,000 annually by the 2026 tax year.

It also includes the $600 million Haslam Sports Group, owner of the Browns, which requested that the state help build a new domed stadium in suburban Brook Park south of Cleveland. DeWine had proposed doubling taxes on sports betting to help the Browns, as well as the Cincinnati Bengals and other teams who might seek facility upgrades. But the Legislature used some of the $4.8 billion in unclaimed funds the state is holding on to — in small sums, residents left behind from dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks and forgotten utility deposits. Currently, there’s a 10-year time limit before that money reverts to the state.

“This is a win for taxpayers, and it will provide significant money to things that improve the quality of life in Ohio,” DeWine said of the stadium money.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the Browns called the budget approval a “tremendous milestone for our organization” and said DeWine and the Legislature worked together “to find a responsible way to support such a transformative project.”

Lawmakers who represent Cleveland and surrounding communities, mostly Democrats, have blasted the proposal as a gift to the team’s billionaire owners. Democrats outside the Legislature have threatened to sue if DeWine signed the plan, arguing it would be unconstitutionally raiding the unclaimed funds without due process.

Bruce Shipkowski, The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — State Assembly Member Harvey Epstein has won the Democratic primary for a New York City Council seat in lower Manhattan, thwarting former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner’s long-shot attempt to return to the political stage.

Voting concluded June 24, but the winner wasn’t established until Tuesday when ranked choice voting results were released. Epstein now moves to the city’s general election in the fall.

Weiner had entered the race in the hopes of restarting his political career after it was derailed by sexting scandals. He was eventually sent to prison for sending sexually explicit messages to a 15-year-old girl. He finished far behind Epstein and some other candidates.

While Weiner’s candidacy brought a spotlight to the primary, Epstein also captured some unexpected attention.

Late last year, a “Saturday Night Live” sketch spoofed his name’s similarity to sex offenders Harvey Weinstein and Jeffery Epstein, with comedian John Mulaney playing the part of a candidate struggling to make clear to voters that he was not, in fact, one of the notorious sex criminals.

Harvey Epstein took the bit in stride, reposting it on his Instagram account.

The former lawyer and tenant organizer has been in the state legislature since 2018.

Weiner had been a strong Democratic voice in Congress before his political star plummeted in 2011 after he sent a lewd picture of himself to a college student on Twitter. He resigned from Congress, tried a comeback by running for New York City mayor, then got caught up in another sexting scandal. In 2017, prosecutors said he had engaged in illicit online contact with a high school student. Weiner pleaded guilty to transferring obscene material to a minor.

During the campaign, Weiner did not shy away from his past scandal, but told The Associated Press he struggled with how best to address what he had done when talking to voters.

Anthony Izaguirre, The Associated Press

Senate Republicans hauled President Donald Trump’s big tax breaks and spending cuts bill to passage Tuesday on the narrowest of votes, pushing past opposition from Democrats and their own GOP ranks after a turbulent overnight session.

Vice President JD Vance broke a 50-50 tie to push it over the top.

The outcome capped an unusually tense weekend of work at the Capitol, the president’s signature legislative priority teetering on the edge of approval, or collapse.

Here’s the latest:

Dems make displeasure known in roll call vote

Tensions were high on the Democratic side of the aisle during Tuesday’s final vote on the big tax and spending cut bill.

Several yelled their “No” as the roll call ensued. Others filtered out almost immediately and before a final tally could be announced.

Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine, walked over to the Republican side of the chamber upon exiting and could be heard from the gallery admonishing GOP colleagues: “Shame on you guys,” he said in a loud voice.

Trump repeats hope for forging an Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal next week

Asked if it’s time to put pressure on Netanyahu to get a ceasefire deal done, Trump said the Israeli prime minister is ready to come to an agreement. The president is set to host Netanyahu on Monday at the White House for talks.

“He wants to,” Trump said of Netanyahu. “I think we’ll have a deal next week.”

Talks between Israel and Hamas have repeatedly faltered over a major sticking point — whether the war should end as part of any ceasefire agreement. About 50 hostages remain captive in Gaza, with less than half believed to be alive.

These GOP senators opposed Trump’s bill

Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine

Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky

Senate Republicans haul Trump’s big bill to passage after a turbulent all-night session

Senate Republicans hauled President Trump’s big tax breaks and spending cuts bill to passage Tuesday on the narrowest of votes, pushing past opposition from Democrats and their own GOP ranks after a turbulent overnight session.

Vice President JD Vance broke a 50-50 tie to push it over the top.

The outcome capped an unusually tense weekend of work at the Capitol, the president’s signature legislative priority teetering on the edge of approval, or collapse.

The difficulty it took for Republicans, who have the majority hold in Congress, to wrestle the bill to this point isn’t expected to let up. The package now goes back to the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson had warned senators not to deviate too far from what his chamber had already approved. But the Senate did make changes, particularly to Medicaid, risking more problems as they race to finish by Trump’s Fourth of July deadline.

International students reach agreement with federal government over legal status

The group of international students had filed a lawsuit in Atlanta challenging the termination of their legal status earlier this year.

The terms of the settlement were filed in federal court Monday and a judge still needs to sign off on them. The legal status for the 358 plaintiffs in the case had already been temporarily restored while the litigation was pending.

Charles Kuck, a lawyer who represented the students, called the settlement with Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials a “major victory.”

“We are grateful for the opportunity to right the wrong committed by ICE and DHS,” he said. “We will now seek to right the wrong committed by the State Department in revoking student visas for these same students.”

Some of the students also had their entry visas revoked when their legal status was terminated, and the agreement doesn’t change that. Visas are the jurisdiction of the State Department, not DHS and ICE.

Trump rates his relationship with DeSantis as a ‘10’ or ‘maybe a 9.9’

Once close political allies, their relationship became strained after DeSantis challenged Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, but the pair lately have been on good terms.

DeSantis is at Trump’s side as the president visits a new immigration detention center near the Florida Everglades.

Asked to rate the relationship, Trump said, “It’s a 10. Maybe a 9.9.”

He said a few minutes later that he and DeSantis had a little “off period” but “it didn’t last long.”

First migrants at Florida detention center could arrive tomorrow

During a tour, Trump saw a dormitory building with rows of bunk beds surrounded by chain link fencing.

Gov. DeSantis and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the first detainees could arrive Wednesday. DeSantis said Homeland Security has “people in the queue.”

Noem said people can voluntarily leave the country to avoid ending up in facilities like this one.

Trump says visit by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu will be ‘great celebration’ of Iran strikes

The Israeli prime minister is set to visit the White House on Monday for talks as Trump also steps up his push on Israel and Hamas to forge a ceasefire and hostage agreement in Gaza.

Trump once again scoffed at questions raised by Democratic lawmakers and others about just how big an impact the operations had in setting back Iran’s nuclear program as demeaning to the U.S. pilots who carried out strikes on three key nuclear facilities.

“We should celebrate these heroes,” Trump said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio meeting with counterparts from India, Japan and Australia

It comes as the Trump administration seeks to expand its influence in the Indo-Pacific to compete with a rising China amid tensions among the so-called “Quad” grouping over trade and defense issues.

In a joint meeting with his three colleagues, Rubio said the Quad must be a “vehicle for action” that goes beyond statements of intent and stressed that commerce and trade will be critical to ensuring the group’s relevance in the future.

After meeting with the foreign ministers together, Rubio will host the three in separate bilateral meetings followed by a session with several dozen private companies doing business in the region.

Trump’s tariff policies have rankled all three as has his stated desire to reduce U.S. military spending in favor of greater domestic investment in the region while at the same time arguing that countering China remains his administration’s top priority.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says migrants can start arriving at the new facility soon

The governor spoke to reporters alongside President Trump after he disembarked from Air Force One at the airstrip where detainees will be housed.

DeSantis said migrants can be relocated there soon once Trump finishes his tour.

Trump said it could be a model for future detention centers.

“You have a lot of body guards and a lot of cops that are in the form of alligators,” he said. “You don’t have to pay them so much.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune says he believes a deal is in place to pass Trump’s bill

After more than 24 hours of voting on the floor, however, Thune added that he’s a “realist.”

Other Republicans echoed his sentiment — without sounding overly confident. GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin said “as of right now” they had the necessary votes.

“I mean, anybody is welcome to change. You know, we’ve been changing by the minute,” said Mullin. He said “it’s been a process, but we’re in good shape.”

GOP Sen. John Hoeven added that he expects Vice President JD Vance “will be our 51st,” indicating that several Republican senators will still vote against the package and Vance will break the tie.

Trump arrives in Florida to visit new immigration detention center

Air Force One touched down at Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport and Trump will tour the facility built in a remote area of the Everglades.

He’s also participating in a roundtable discussion with state and local officials. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump will also take questions from reporters afterward.

Wall Street drifts as Tesla drops and yields rise following economic updates

The S&P 500 was 0.1% lower in morning trading and potentially on track for its first loss in four days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up by 153 points, or 0.3%, as of 10:15 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% lower.

Tesla tugged on the market as the relationship between its CEO, Elon Musk, and President Trump soured even further. Once allies, the two have clashed recently, and Trump suggested there’s potentially “BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED” by scrutinizing subsidies, contracts or other government spending going to Musk’s companies.

Tesla fell 4.1% and was one of the heaviest weights on the S&P 500. It had already dropped a little more than 21% for the year so far coming into the day, in part because of Musk’s and Trump’s feud.

▶ Read more about the financial markets

Despite Trump criticism, Powell says Federal Reserve will ‘wait and see’ before reducing rates

Fed Chair Jerome Powell says the central bank wants to see how the economy responds to Trump’s tariffs before cutting rates, despite the steady stream of criticism from the White House, which wants lower borrowing costs.

Powell repeated his view that U.S. inflation is likely to pick up later this summer, though he acknowledged the timing and magnitude of any price increase from the duties is uncertain. But he said the Fed will stay on hold while it evaluates how the economy evolves.

“As long as the economy is in solid shape, we think the prudent thing to do is to wait and see what those effects might be,” Powell said, referring to the sweeping duties Trump has imposed this year.

On Monday, Trump continued his attacks on Powell for not cutting the Fed’s key rate, which Trump says would save U.S. taxpayers on interest costs on the federal government’s massive debt.

Trump gives questionable advice on running from alligators

The president suggested migrants would need to move in a zigzag fashion to escape from any hungry reptiles if they were trying to escape from a new detention facility in the Florida Everglades.

However, that doesn’t seem to be good advice for anyone who has a close encounter with an alligator. According to a website run by the University of Florida, it’s “a common misconception” that erratic running is the best defense.

“First, it is rare for an alligator to pursue a human because humans are too large to be suitable prey,” the website said. “However, if an alligator does make an aggressive charge, run fast and straight (away from the alligator, of course). They usually do not run very far.”

Trump-Musk feud is heating up again and Tesla shares are tanking

The war of words between billionaire Elon Musk and President Trump over the big bill of tax breaks and spending cuts is heating up again, with Musk claiming he may form a new political party.

The resumption of hostilities between Trump and Musk, also the CEO of SpaceX, is always bad news for investors in Musk’s companies.

Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives says the spat is now a soap opera and warned investors of potential damage ahead.

Shares of Tesla have already tumbled 20% this year as sales erode amid a backlash against Musk and his association with the Trump. They fell another 7% at the opening bell Tuesday.

▶ Read more about the feud between Trump and Musk

CISA: Pro-Iranian hackers threaten to release material stolen from Trump insiders

Hackers supporting Iran have threatened to release emails supposedly stolen from people connected to President Trump, according to federal authorities who vowed to track down the hackers.

Marci McCarthy, a spokesperson for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, called the threat a “smear campaign” intended to discredit Trump and the U.S. government following U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

The threat was first reported Monday by Reuters.

Following the U.S. strikes, pro-Iranian hackers attacked U.S. banks, energy companies and defense contractors but have not caused any significant disruptions. Officials say the threat of attacks continues despite a ceasefire between Iran and Israel.

Trump stumbles climbing the stairs to Air Force One

He was boarding the plane for a flight to Florida to attend the opening of a new detention center for people who are in the country illegally when he stumbled, according to a photographer watching from the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews.

It’s the second time in recent weeks that the Republican president has stumbled on the airplane stairs. He and other Republicans often poked fun at Democrat Joe Biden’s stumbles, and Trump did so in a recent interview with Fox Business.

Speaking of foreign leaders, Trump said, “They respect America again. They laughed at us. They thought we were a joke. You had a president that kept falling down stairs and falling on stages.”

‘I truly don’t know what’s going to happen’

Asked Tuesday morning if Senate Republicans were close to passing Trump’s big bill, Sen. Susan Collins, a key Republican vote, said: “I truly don’t know what’s going to happen.”

“I just canceled my third flight,” Collins told The Associated Press. “I’m trying to rework my schedule.”

Asked if she’ll support the bill, Collins said she continues to have a “lot of serious reservations about the bill.”

Local officials prepare for Trump’s arrival in the Florida Everglades

They were standing by the entrance of the airport in a remote stretch of the Everglades in Ochopee, Florida, where Trump is expected to tour a new migrant detention site.

Media vans and other vehicles were parked along the highway lined by cypress trees as they waited for the president’s arrival.

All eyes on Alaska’s Sen. Lisa Murkowski

It’s been 24 hours since the Senate began voting on Trump’s major bill, much of that time spent rejecting Democratic amendments as Republicans work privately to secure the necessary votes to pass it.

With a 53-47 majority, Republicans can afford to lose only three votes — Vice President JD Vance holds the power to break a tie.

All eyes are on Murkowski, a Republican who’s emerged as the pivotal swing vote in the chamber. On Tuesday morning, she spent over an hour in deep conversation with fellow Republicans on the Senate floor as speculation swirled about how she might vote.

How some Republicans are looking to amend Trump’s big bill

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine had proposed bolstering the $25 billion proposed rural hospital fund to $50 billion, offset with a higher tax rate on those earning more than $25 million a year, but her amendment failed.

And Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski tried to secure provisions to spare people in her state from some food stamp cuts, which appeared to be accepted, while also working to beef up federal reimbursements to hospitals in Alaska and others states, that failed to comply with parliamentary rules.

Conservative Senate Republicans insisting on a vote on their plan for health care cuts, including Rick Scott of Florida, Mike Lee of Utah, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, filed into Senate Leader John Thune’s office for a near-midnight meeting.

Trump says New Yorkers would be ‘crazy’ to elect Zohran Mamdani as mayor

Trump called the Democrat a “communist” and said, “the last thing we need is a communist.”

Mamdani claimed victory over former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on election night last week in the Democratic mayoral primary. Final results will be announced Tuesday.

The 33-year-old democratic socialist and New York state assemblyman would be the city’s first Muslim mayor and its first of Indian American descent if elected.

The Republican president, who grew up in New York, also mentioned Mamdani’s campaign promise to open government-run grocery stores.

Trump said that if New Yorkers elect Mamdani as the next mayor, “I think they’re crazy.”

Trump has advice on running away from alligators

The president is visiting a new immigration detention facility in the Florida Everglades that’s been nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz.” While leaving the White House, a reporter asked Trump if the idea was for any escaping migrants to get attacked by wildlife.

“I guess that’s the concept,” he said. “This is not a nice business.”

Then Trump joked that “we’re going to teach them how to run away from an alligator if they escape prison.”

“Don’t run in a straight line. Run like this,” and he moved his hand in a zigzag motion. “And you know what? Your chances go up about 1%.”

Trump responds to Elon Musk’s criticism of tax cut and spending bill

Trump said the billionaire could lose a lot more than the electrical vehicle subsidies that would be eliminated if the measure becomes law.

“We might have to put DOGE on Elon,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House for a trip to Florida. “DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon.”

DOGE is the Department of Government Efficiency. Trump put Musk in charge of DOGE to cut government spending. Musk owns an electric vehicle company and a space company and has lucrative federal government contracts.

Senate strikes AI provision from GOP bill after uproar from the states

The proposal to deter states from regulating artificial intelligence for a decade was soundly defeated in the Senate on Tuesday, thwarting attempts to insert the measure into President Trump’s big bill of tax breaks and spending cuts.

The Senate voted 99-1 to strike the AI provision from the legislation after weeks of criticism from both Republican and Democratic governors and state officials.

Originally proposed as a 10-year ban on states doing anything to regulate AI, lawmakers later tied it to federal funding so that only states that backed off on AI regulations would be able to get subsidies for broadband internet or AI infrastructure.

▶ Read more about the proposal on AI regulation

Senate ‘vote-o-rama’ for Trump’s big bill already among longest-running in modern times

The all-night session has been grinding on for nearly 24 hours, having started at roughly 9:30 a.m. on Monday.

Senators have voted on more than three dozen amendments so far. More voting is likely.

The marathon voting session is part of the cumbersome process Republicans are using to try and pass the bill with a simple majority.

Republicans are letting the process drag on as they try to lock up last-minute agreements to push the bill to passage. For now, the Senate floor is at a standstill.

The Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed into law a bill that will remake California’s landmark environmental protection rules, an overhaul that he says is essential to address the state’s housing shortage and resulting homelessness crisis.

Newsom had threatened to reject the state budget passed last Friday unless lawmakers overhauled the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, a 1970s law that requires strict examination of any new development for its impact on the environment.

The governor and housing advocates maintain that CEQA, while well-intentioned at the time, put up bureaucratic roadblocks that have made it increasingly difficult to build housing in the most populous state in the country.

Lawmakers passed the transformative measure despite opposition from environmental groups. Newsom called it a step toward solving the state’s housing affordability problem.

“This was too urgent, too important, to allow the process to unfold as it has for the last generation,” he told reporters at a news conference after signing the bill.

Earlier this year, Newsom waived some CEQA rules for victims of wildfires in Southern California, creating an opening for the state to reexamine the law that critics say hampers development and drives up building costs.

The state budget passed last week pares back a number of progressive priorities, including a landmark health care expansion for low-income adult immigrants without legal status, to close a $12 billion deficit.

The Associated Press

Elon Musk’s feud with President Donald Trump — and seemingly any congressional Republicans who support the president’s massive tax cuts and spending package — has reignited, with the tech billionaire threatening to launch a new political party, and Trump suggesting Musk could be punished for his opposition.

The dispute has laid bare not only the differences between the Republican president and one of his most vociferous one-time advocates, but also has reignited the possibility that the world’s richest man will — along with his billions — reenter the political spending arena.

Here’s a look at the latest in the Musk-Trump dispute:

Musk reenters the political fray

Musk — who spent at least $250 million supporting Trump in the 2024 presidential campaign as the main contributor to America PAC — said in May that he would likely spend “a lot less” on politics in the future. But his recent statements seem to indicate Musk might be rethinking that stance.

On Monday, the tech billionaire and former Department Of Government Efficiency chief lashed out multiple times at Republicans for backing Trump’s tax cuts bill, calling the GOP “the PORKY PIG PARTY!!” for including a provision that would raise the nation’s debt limit by $5 trillion and calling the bill “political suicide” for Republicans.

After a post pledging to work toward supporting primary challengers for members of Congress who backed the bill, Musk responded “I will” to a post in which former Michigan Rep. Justin Amash asked for Musk’s support of Rep. Thomas Massie. Trump and his aides are already targeting the Kentucky Republican for voting against the measure, launching a new super PAC devoted to defeating him.

Tuesday morning, Musk replied “You’re awesome” to an X post from Massie recirculating news coverage of Musk’s support of him.

Musk’s back and forth with Trump

Musk and Trump’s potent political alliance seemed to meet a dramatic end a month ago in an exchange of blistering epithets, with Trump threatening to go after Musk’s business interests, and Musk calling for Trump’s impeachment.

Much of it has boiled down to Musk’s criticism of the tax cuts and spending bill, which he has called a “disgusting abomination.” Both the House and Senate version propose a dramatic rollback of the Biden-era green energy tax breaks for electric vehicles and related technologies.

Musk is the chief executive of Tesla, the nation’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer, and SpaceX, which has massive defense contracts.

Overnight, Trump posted on social media that Musk has long known of his opposition “against the EV Mandate,” which he called “ridiculous.” Saying that, without subsidies, the Tesla CEO “would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa,” Trump suggested that “Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!”

Trump went further at the White House on Tuesday, when asked by a reporter if he would consider deporting Musk.

“We might have to put DOGE on Elon,” Trump said, of the government-adjacent entity Musk once ran for him, slashing through federal agencies in a broad-based, cost-cutting spree. “You know what DOGE is. DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon.”

A new political party?

Several times, Musk has suggested that a new political party is needed to encapsulate the viewpoints he argues aren’t represented by the GOP.

Early last month, Musk posted a poll on his X feed, asking if the U.S. needs a political party “that actually represents the 80% in the middle?” Overnight Monday, Musk reposted the results of the survey — in which more than 5 million votes were cast — showing more than 80% of votes were in favor of a new party.

Monday afternoon, Musk suggested that the “America Party” would be formed if “this insane spending bill passes,” saying the U.S. “needs an alternative to the Democrat-Republican uniparty so that the people actually have a VOICE.”

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Darlene Superville contributed from Washington.

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Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP

Meg Kinnard, The Associated Press

The war of words between billionaire Elon Musk and President Donald Trump over the big bill of tax breaks and spending cuts is heating up again, with Musk claiming he may form a new political party and Trump blasting the Tesla CEO over electric vehicle subsidies.

The most prominent divide in the relationship between Musk and Trump is the president’s big bill. Musk ramped up his criticism of the bill just three days ago, arguing the legislation that Republican senators are scrambling to pass would kill jobs and bog down burgeoning industries.

Musk, who is also CEO of SpaceX, posted on X on Saturday that the bill would be “political suicide for the Republican Party.”

With the Senate working its way through a tense overnight session that dragged into Tuesday, Musk suggested he will work to get members of Congress who vote for the bill out of their seats next year.

“Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame,” he wrote on X. “And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.”

The post was viewed 26 million times on the social media platform.

A few hours later, Musk followed up with a post claiming he will create a new political party if the bill passes.

“If this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be formed the next day,” he wrote. “Our country needs an alternative to the Democrat-Republican uniparty so that the people actually have a VOICE.”

Musk’s post about the America Party was viewed 32 million times on X.

For his part, Trump focused some of his criticisms of Musk on EV mandates and subsidies. In a post on Truth Social early Tuesday morning, Trump said Musk has known that he’s against an EV mandate and that people should not be forced to own electric vehicles.

“Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa,” Trump wrote.

The President went on to say that there could be some cost savings for the nation.

“No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!” Trump posted.

Several hours later, while standing on the White House lawn before heading to Florida, Trump continued to discuss what he believes is Musk’s displeasure with potentially losing EV subsidies.

“He’s very upset. You know, he can lose a lot more than that, I’ll tell you right now,” Trump said. “Elon can lose a lot more than that.”

The President also cautioned Musk on the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which the billionaire used to lead.

“DOGE could be the monster that turns around and eats Elon,” Trump said.

Michelle Chapman, The Associated Press

The Senate slogged through a tense overnight session that has now dragged into Tuesday morning, with Republican leaders searching for ways to secure support for President Donald Trump’s big bill of tax breaks and spending cuts while fending off proposed amendments, mostly from Democrats trying to defeat the package.

An endgame appeared to be taking shape. Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota spent the night reaching for last-minute agreements between those in his party worried the bill’s reductions to Medicaid will leave millions without care and his most conservative flank, which wants even steeper cuts to hold down deficits ballooning with the tax cuts.

It’s a pivotal moment for the Republicans, who have control of Congress and are racing to wrap up work with just days to go before Trump’s self-imposed July 4 deadline. The 940-page “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” as it’s formally titled, has consumed Congress as its shared priority with the president.

Here’s the latest:

Senate strikes AI provision from GOP bill after uproar from the states

The proposal to deter states from regulating artificial intelligence for a decade was soundly defeated in the Senate on Tuesday, thwarting attempts to insert the measure into President Trump’s big bill of tax breaks and spending cuts.

The Senate voted 99-1 to strike the AI provision for the legislation after weeks of criticism from both Republican and Democratic governors and state officials.

Originally proposed as a 10-year ban on states doing anything to regulate AI, lawmakers later tied it to federal funding so that only states that backed off on AI regulations would be able to get subsidies for broadband internet or AI infrastructure.

▶ Read more about the proposal on AI regulation

Senate ‘vote-o-rama’ for Trump’s big bill already among longest-running in modern times

The all-night session has been grinding on for nearly 24 hours, having started at roughly 9:30 a.m. on Monday.

Senators have voted on more than three dozen amendments so far. More voting is likely.

The marathon voting session is part of the cumbersome process Republicans are using to try and pass the bill with a simple majority.

Republicans are letting the process drag on as they try to lock up last-minute agreements to push the bill to passage. For now, the Senate floor is at a standstill.

The Associated Press