#Rep. Brendan Boyle

[gwydionmisha]

This is a bribe and also a national security risk.

[mariacallous]

House Republican leaders keep saying the budget plan they passed last week doesn’t envision big cuts to Medicaid.

The Congressional Budget Office doesn’t agree.

On Wednesday, the official scorekeeper for legislation issued an analysis showing that Republicans can’t possibly hit their budget targets without taking hundreds of billions of dollars out of government health programs.

And if Republicans are true to their word about not touching Medicare, the program for seniors and some people with disabilities, that means some of the reductions would have to come from Medicaid, the joint federal-state program that primarily serves low-income Americans, and CHIP, the program that targets lower- and middle-income children.

“This is an instruction to take health coverage away from people,” Bobby Kogan, a veteran Democratic budget analyst who is now at the Center for American Progress, told HuffPost.

The focus of the new CBO analysis is the part of the House budget that instructs one particular committee, Energy and Commerce, to find $880 billion in spending reductions over the next 10 years. The budget document says nothing about where the Committee should find those cuts, as Republican leaders have pointed out.

“Go do a word search of the budget resolution,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Sunday. “There is not one mention of Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security. It’s not in the bill because we haven’t set the policy.”

Even President Donald Trump himself has said Republicans aren’t going to touch Medicaid.

But, like any congressional committee, Energy and Commerce has a clearly defined jurisdiction covering a limited set of government functions. That makes it possible to figure out where the cuts would have to be.

And that is precisely what CBO did.

At the request of Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, and Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), the top Democrat on Energy and Commerce, CBO looked at all the programs that fall under the purview of Energy and Commerce, and determined that the only way to hit the $880 billion target is with hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to federal health programs — mainly Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP, though Republicans have said Medicare is off the table.

“This analysis from the nonpartisan CBO confirms what we’ve been saying all along: Republicans are lying about their budget,” Boyle said in a statement. “Their plan would force the largest Medicaid cuts in American history — all to pay for more tax giveaways to billionaires.”

Democrats and their allies have been warning about this possibility since the 2024 campaign, arguing that Republican plans to cut taxes by trillions of dollars would require massive spending cuts, with many of those cuts likely to come from Medicaid.

It’s a politically potent argument, because Medicaid today covers medical bills for more than 70 million Americans. It pays for more than 40% of all births, and is the single-largest financier of nursing home care as well.

And past efforts to cut Medicaid, including ones that were part of Republican proposals to repeal the Affordable Care Act, proved highly unpopular.

“The CBO letter just confirms what we and others have been saying all along,” Edwin Park, a Georgetown University research professor who has been warning about GOP interest in Medicaid cuts, told HuffPost.

Republicans have sometimes clashed with their in-house budget experts. Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, has previously proposed eliminating a portion of the CBO’s staff. He said that when the CBO scored the proposal, they determined it would have no effect on the federal budget.

“If they think they have no value, why should I?” Griffith told HuffPost on Thursday.

As for Medicaid, Griffith allowed that the committee would seek reforms to the program, but that they could still find savings elsewhere, and that the conversation was premature anyway, since the Senate hasn’t yet adopted the House-approved budget.

“I think we’re going to do work requirements, but you know, there’s lots of things we can do that don’t impact the patient,” Griffith said. “There are thousands of things that we can take a look at and revamp If need be.”

Exactly what form cuts to Medicaid might take ― and what those cuts would mean for real people ― is an open question.

Insofar as Republican leaders have acknowledged an interest in cutting Medicaid, they have said they are interested merely in reducing waste, fraud and abuse — both in order to reduce federal spending generally, and to rein in a program that has grown substantially in the last few years.

But “waste, fraud and abuse” is a broad category that could include anything from going after “improper payments” and state financing gimmicks, to adding “work requirements” that would require beneficiaries to demonstrate that they are either employed or have good reason why they are not.

Curbing those improper payments and state financing schemes has been a bipartisan cause in the past, though getting rid of the wasteful spending without getting rid of the legitimate spending is difficult in the famously convoluted U.S. health care system. Many “improper” payments are simply instances of documentation error.

As for work requirements, most people on Medicaid are already working. Putting them through the bureaucratic process of verifying their status has, in past experiments, led to large numbers of eligible people losing their benefits ― with negative consequences for their medical and financial well-being. But Republicans might characterize such cutbacks as mere reductions in waste, fraud or abuse.

No cuts to Medicaid, or any other federal health plans, have taken place yet. The House and Senate still have to agree on a budget plan. Once they do, each chamber has to write tax and spending bills that fit within the budget outline, and come to agreement on those.

Already some Republicans in the Senate have said cutting Medicaid would be a bad idea. Whether that’s enough to stop the cuts from becoming law — especially given the determination of some Republicans to offset their big tax cuts — remains to be seen.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Jonathan Cohn and Arthur Delaney at HuffPost:

House Republican leaders keep saying the budget plan they passed last week doesn’t envision big cuts to Medicaid. The Congressional Budget Office doesn’t agree. On Wednesday, the official scorekeeper for legislation issued an analysis showing that Republicans can’t possibly hit their budget targets without taking hundreds of billions of dollars out of government health programs. And if Republicans are true to their word about not touching Medicare, the program for seniors and some people with disabilities, that means some of the reductions would have to come from Medicaid, the joint federal-state program that primarily serves low-income Americans, and CHIP, the program that targets lower- and middle-income children. “This is an instruction to take health coverage away from people,” Bobby Kogan, a veteran Democratic budget analyst who is now at the Center for American Progress, told HuffPost. The focus of the new CBO analysis is the part of the House budget that instructs one particular committee, Energy and Commerce, to find $880 billion in spending reductions over the next 10 years. The budget document says nothing about where the Committee should find those cuts, as Republican leaders have pointed out. “Go do a word search of the budget resolution,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Sunday. “There is not one mention of Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security. It’s not in the bill because we haven’t set the policy.” Even President Donald Trump himself has said Republicans aren’t going to touch Medicaid. But, like any congressional committee, Energy and Commerce has a clearly defined jurisdiction covering a limited set of government functions. That makes it possible to figure out where the cuts would have to be. And that is precisely what CBO did. At the request of Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, and Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), the top Democrat on Energy and Commerce, CBO looked at all the programs that fall under the purview of Energy and Commerce, and determined that the only way to hit the $880 billion target is with hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to federal health programs — mainly Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP, though Republicans have said Medicare is off the table.

Republicans are indeed coming for your health care.

See Also:

MMFA: CBO contradicts Fox pundits, finding GOP budget requires slashing Medicaid to cover tax cuts for the rich

[theculturedmarxist]

A few minutes earlier, Walz had been onstage in Washington at a Center for American Progress event, chiding a crowd of engaged but worried Democrats, “Everybody who says, ‘I wish he was younger.’ I wish I was skinnier! [Florida Gov. Ron] DeSantis wishes he was more likable! It’s not going to happen. … There’s a responsibility for us not to buy into that.”

STOP EXPECTING THINGS OF US!

Or as Pennsylvania Rep. Brendan Boyle told CNN more bluntly, “People should shut the hell up.”

STOP DEMANDING WE DO ANY BETTER!

“I deal in the real world,” said the Philadelphia-area Democrat, who has been proudly supporting Biden for years. “He is going to be the nominee, regardless of whether people think they can construct on paper a more attractive nominee or not.”

IT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN!!!

“Every time Democrats go on TV and say, ‘The president’s done a great job, but he’s 80 years old,’ all they’re doing is feeding this appetite out there by some for a third-party run,” said Missouri Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Kansas City-area Democrat. “And that could be the worst thing that happens in a century.”

WE LIVE IN THE BEST OF ALL POSSIBLE WORLDS DON'T LOOK FOR ALTERNATIVES AND RUIN EVERYTHING NOW!

“Joe Biden is on the freedom, democracy and opportunity agenda that beat MAGA Republicans in 2020, in 2022, and will win again in 2024,” Ben Wikler, the Democratic party chair in the top battleground state of Wisconsin, told CNN. “Every hour that someone spends fantasizing about some other ticket is an hour they could have spent calling voters or raising money to help reelect President Biden and Vice President Harris.”

WE'RE GREAT! WE'RE DOING SUCH A GREAT JOB!! OUR POSITION IS COMPLETELY UNASSAILABLE AND WE'RE DEFINITELY GOING TO WIN EVEN THOUGH WE INSPIRE NO CONFIDENCE IN OURSELVES OR OUR SUPPORTERS.

“All these pundits will talk about polling, polling, polling — OK, fine, let’s talk about that,” Harris said, drawing an enthusiastic standing ovation during the DNC meeting in St. Louis. “What we did on the climate crisis: I think 80% popularity. Lowering the cost of prescription drugs to $35 a month, I think everyone loves that. $2,000 a year for seniors for prescription medication, hallelujah. Fighting for relief of student loan debt. 800,000 new manufacturing jobs. Popular, popular, popular.”

Delusional, delusional, delusional.

“That which doesn’t kill him,” the congressman said hopefully, “makes him stronger.”

lol, lmao

[darkmaga-returns]

Republican lawmakers are vowing to investigate President Biden’s last-minute pardons and question everyone involved in front of Congress.

Key Facts:

• President Biden issued pardons for Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley, and certain individuals tied to the now-disbanded House Jan. 6 committee. • Biden’s move came just hours before handing power to President-elect Donald Trump. • Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, wants to subpoena the pardoned individuals to learn “the truth” about their actions. • Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., promises to use his new position as chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to delve deeper into Fauci’s role in the COVID-19 response. • Democrats, including Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., are defending Biden’s decision as necessary protection against what they view as political vengeance.

The Rest of The Story:

Shortly before leaving office, President Biden announced another round of preemptive pardons for key figures who have faced pressure from President-elect Trump’s political circle.

Among them are Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley, and members tied to the former House committee investigating the events of Jan. 6 at the Capitol.

Biden’s official rationale is to protect these individuals from what he considers politically motivated retribution.

Republican lawmakers reacted swiftly.

Rep. Chip Roy labeled the move an admission of guilt and called on Congress to scrutinize everyone involved.

Sen. Rand Paul has also declared that he will keep pushing to uncover what he describes as serious missteps in the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Fauci, in turn, has reiterated that he followed the science and denies any wrongdoing.

Milley thanked the outgoing president, saying he has served the nation for decades and hopes to avoid an onslaught of what he believes would be politically charged attacks.

Opponents in the GOP continue to insist that important questions about the pandemic, the Jan. 6 inquiry, and the government’s internal communications remain unanswered.

Democratic lawmakers, on the other hand, say the pardons are necessary to protect public servants who performed their duties in good faith.

They accuse President-elect Trump of planning to investigate these individuals primarily for political gain.

History provides some precedent: President Gerald Ford famously granted a blanket pardon to Richard Nixon after the Watergate scandal, and many argue Biden’s choice is comparable.

[dailypulsenews]

Congressman Details How Trump Strong-Arms Votes In House, And It Sounds Spot-On

Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) on Wednesday described President Donald Trump’s tactics to bully Republican House members who don’t vote his way. (Watch the video below.) But Boyle’s version of how the president reverses the votes of recalcitrant Republicans is a must to check out. “I have seen time and time again House Republican members saying they’re a ‘no’ at the outset, and then suddenly they…

[juanabaloo]

The Laken Riley Law erodes the rights of undocumented immigrants. Mandatory detention for an accusation of a crime (not a conviction, just suspicion counts) is an erosion of rights.

And we have now seen the same erosion of rights extended to non citizens with documents and even US citizens. While this extension is illegal, let's remember that it started with a lot of politicians supporting the erosion of rights for undocumented immigrants. AND let's remember that a bunch of Dems voted for the Laken Riley Act, names and details are below.

in case you haven't heard of it, the Laken Riley Law is anti-immigrant and makes everybody less safe. it deprives people of basic rights. The Laken Riley Act was signed by Trump on January 29 2025, as his first piece of legislation. So it is now a Law.

(The Republicans didn't need the Dem votes to pass it, so the Dems who voted for this really wanted to. It's not like they bargained and got something for their vote.)

I couldn't find a list that included both the Dem Senators (12) and the Dem House (46) reps, so I wrote it out below. Senators rep the whole state and each House member reps a Congressional District (CD).

Again, this list is only the Dems because that is who I think might have some sliver of guilt about what is going on right now. And might be persuaded to do better. As opposed to the Republicans who are happy about the destruction of our country.

(look up your CD / House member here with your zipcode)

LIST OF 58 DEMOCRATIC LAKEN RILEY ACT SUPPORTERS (ordered by state):

--- ALABAMA ---

Shomari Figures - House - CD 2 - AL

Terri Sewell - House - CD 7 - AL

--- ARIZONA ----

Mark Kelly - Senate - AZ

Ruben Gallego (co sponsor) - Senate - AZ

Greg Stanton - House - CD 4 - AZ

--- CALIFORNIA ---

Josh Harder - House - CD 9 - CA

Adam Gray - House - CD 13 - CA

Jim Costa - House - CD 21 - CA

Derek Tran - House - CD 45 - CA

Dave Min - House - CD 47 - CA

Mike Levin - House - CD 49 - CA

--- CONNECTICUT ---

Joe Courtney - House - CD 2 - CT

Jahana Hayes - House - CD 5 - CT

--- FLORIDA ---

Jared Moskowitz - House - CD 23 - FL

--- GEORGIA ---

Jon Ossoff - Senate - GA

Raphael Warnock - Senate - GA

Sanford Bishop Jr. - House - CD 2 - GA

Lucy McBath - House - CD 6 - GA

--- ILLINOIS ---

Nikki Budzinski - House - CD 13 - IL

Eric Sorensen - House - CD 17 - IL

--- KANSAS ---

Sharice Davids - House - CD 3 - KS

--- MASSACHUSETTS ---

Stephen Lynch - House - CD 8 - MA

--- MAINE ---

Jared Golden - House - CD 2 - ME

--- MARYLAND ---

April McClain Delaney - House - CD 6 - MD

--- MICHIGAN ---

Gary Peters - Senate - MI

Elissa Slotkin - Senate - MI

Hillary Scholten - House - CD 3 - MI

Kristen McDonald Rivet - House - CD 8 - MI

--- MINNESOTA ---

Angie Craig - House - CD 2 - MN

--- NORTH CAROLINA ---

Don Davis - House - CD 1 - NC

--- NEW HAMPSHIRE ---

Maggie Hassan - Senate - NH

Jeanne Shaheen - Senate - NH

Chris Pappas - House - CD 1 - NH

Maggie Goodlander - House - CD 2 - NH

--- NEW JERSEY ---

Josh Gottheimer - House - CD 5 - NJ

--- NEW YORK ---

Thomas Suozzi - House - CD 3 - NY

Laura Gillen - House - CD 4 - NY

Ritchie Torres - House - CD 15 - NY

John Mannion - House - CD 22 - NY

Joseph Morelle - House - CD 25 - NY

--- NEVADA ---

Catherine Cortez Masto - Senate - NV

Jacky Rosen - Senate - NV

Dina Titus - House - CD 1 - NV

Susie Lee - House - CD 3 - NV

Steven Horsford - House - CD 4 - NV

--- OHIO ---

Greg Landsman - House - CD 1 - OH

Marcy Kaptur - House - CD 9 - OH

Emilia Strong Sykes - House - CD 13 - OH

--- OREGON ---

Janelle Bynum - House - CD 5 - OR

--- PENNSYLVANIA ---

John Fetterman (co sponsor) - Senate - PA

Brendan Boyle - House - CD 2 - PA

--- TEXAS ---

Henry Cuellar - House - CD 28 - TX

Vicente Gonzalez - House - CD 34 - TX

--- VIRGINIA ---

Mark Warner - Senate - VA

Eugene Vindman - House - CD 7 - VA

Suhas Subramanyam - House - CD 10 - VA

--- WASHINGTON ---

Marie Gluensenkamp Perez - House - CD 3 - WA

Kim Schrier - House - CD 8 - WA

A few highlights of the issues with the Laken Riley Law: "[it] require the mandatory detention of undocumented immigrants who have been charged with theft in the United States - even without a conviction." (x) It also has impacts on legal immigration, meaning some "with a valid visa could be removed without a chance to defend themselves." (x)

It was opposed by many groups, including the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

A better Democratic party would have immediately stripped the above Dems of funding and power, and basically kicked them out of the party. This should have been a hard line that no Dem crossed.

sources for votes: Senate and House

[yetisidelblog]

Social Security is one of the smartest, most effective, and most popular programs in American history. For nearly a century, through economic ups and downs, it has never missed a payment, always delivering benefits on time to every eligible American. We can be proud of how reliable and beneficial this system is.

Before Social Security was created in 1935, nearly half of our nation’s seniors lived in poverty. Today, that number is down to 10.3 percent. In 2021 alone, Social Security lifted more than 18 million older Americans out of poverty. Despite this remarkable success, far too many seniors and people with disabilities still struggle to get by, while Republicans in Congress push for deep l cuts to Social Security benefits.

House Budget Committee Ranking Member Brendan Boyle reports that the Republican Study Committee’s released 2025 budget would “make Republican plans to gut Social Security a reality.” Forcing Americans to work longer for less, they would “cut Social Security benefits for 257 million people, or 3 in 4 Americans.”

This is the same proposed Republican budget that ends Medicare as we know it, attacks the Affordable Care Act, and slashes food assistance for children. And it offers all this destruction in order to pander to the ultra-rich with $4.5 trillion dollars in tax cuts.

Nearly 40% of seniors rely on Social Security for more than half of their income, nearly half of Americans 55 and older have zero retirement savings, and the average Social Security benefit is only $1,688 a month. The program has a $2.85 trillion surplus and can pay full benefits until 2035. Yet, some Republicans in Congress still claim Social Security is going broke.

It’s not going broke, but we can do better. Instead of cutting Social Security benefits just to line the pockets of billionaires, let’s find ways to increase benefits to all Americans and improve its solvency now, and beyond 2035. We can make Social Security stronger, not weaker>. This is the effect of legislation sponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Val Hoyle: the Social Security Expansion Act of 2025.

Now, the richest man on earth, Elon Musk, is working on a hostile takeover of Social Security, threatening $500 billion in cuts to Social Security and Medicare. If this bill had been passed when first introduced just four years ago, Musk would have paid $2.9 billion more in taxes, Social Security would have been solvent for 75 years, benefits would have increased by $2,400, and 93% of Americans wouldn’t have paid a penny more in taxes.

Show your support for the Social Security Expansion Act, and ensure that every American can retire with dignity and financial security. Sign on now!

So what exactly would the Social Security Expansion Act do? Its benefits will go straight to the American people, who – let’s be real – deserve it:

First, it will increase benefits for everyone. Social Security benefits would go up by $2,400 a year for both current and future recipients.

Provide Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLAs) that reflect seniors’ actual expenses. Older Americans aren’t out buying the latest iPhones or splurging on luxury goods. The biggest parts of their spending are on health care and essentials, and Social Security adjustments should reflect this.

Stop letting the richest Americans off the hook: Billionaires pay a far smaller percent of their income into Social Security taxes than the rest of us. Why? Because everything they earn beyond $176,100 has a Social Security tax rate of exactly zero. If a CEO earns $20 million a year, more than $19.8 million of that escapes the social security tax altogether. This bill will eliminate this gaping loophole.

Protect low-income workers from poverty. The bill increases the Special Minimum Benefit so that no full-career worker ends up below 125% of the poverty line (over $18,000 a year).

Ensure millionaires and billionaires pay in based on all their income. Right now, workers have 12.4% of their whole income taxed for Social Security, but the wealthy pay nothing on any of their investment and business income. This bill ensures the wealthy pay the same percentage on their whole income that wage-based workers do.

Restore student benefits for children of disabled or deceased workers up to age 22, and combine the trust funds for retirees and people with disabilities, ensuring a more stable future for everyone.

This is smart policy. It’s fair. And it’s exactly what Congress should be doing to protect and expand Social Security – not cutting it.

Sign your name now to support the Social Security Expansion Act! Let’s stand behind Social Security to make it stronger for all Americans.

Thank you for protecting this national treasure.

@upontheshelfreviews

@greenwingspino

@one-time-i-dreamt

@tenaflyviper

@akron-squirrel

@ifihadaworldofmyown

@justice-for-jacob-marley

@voicetalentbrendan

@thebigdeepcheatsy

@what-is-my-aesthetic

@ravenlynclemens

@writerofweird

@anon-lephant

@mentally-quiet-spycrab

@therealjacksepticeye

[mariacallous]

WASHINGTON ― The big legislation Republicans are trying to pass this week would shrink economic resources for the poorest Americans while boosting the richest, according to a new analysis by Capitol Hill’s official budget scorekeeper.

The Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, as it’s officially known, would shrink household resources for the lowest-income households by 2% in 2027 and 4% in 2033, mainly because of cuts to health and nutrition programs.

”By contrast, resources would increase by an amount equal to 4 percent for households in the highest decile in 2027 and 2 percent in 2033, mainly because of reductions in… taxes they owe,” CBO director Phillip Swagel wrote in a letter to Democrats.

Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, requested the CBO analysis of the bill’s distributional effects for the top and bottom 10% of households by annual income.

“This is what Republicans are fighting for – lining the pockets of their billionaire donors while children go hungry and families get kicked off their health care,” Boyle said in a statement. “CBO’s nonpartisan analysis makes it crystal clear: Donald Trump and House Republicans are selling out the middle class to make the ultra-rich even richer.”

Democrats have been hammering Republicans for the bill’s not-so-populist economic impacts for weeks; the CBO analysis distills the legislation’s reverse Robin Hood dynamic in dry and authoritative terms.

[bllsbailey]

Secret Service Chief Noted a 'Zero Fail Mission.' After Trump Rally, She's Facing Calls to Resign

Exclusive | Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle landed job after push by Jill Biden's office

When Kimberly Cheatle led the Secret Service's operations to safeguard the American president and other dignitaries, she said she would talk to agents in training about the “awesome responsibility” of their job.

“This agency and the Secret Service has a zero fail mission,” Cheatle, who is now director of the agency, said in 2021 during a Secret Service podcast called “Standing Post." “They have to come in every day prepared and ready with their game face on.”

Now, the Secret Service and its director are under intense scrutiny over that “zero fail” mission following an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump during a July 13 rally in Pennsylvania that wounded his ear. Lawmakers and others across the political spectrum are questioning how a gunman could get so close to the Republican presidential nominee when he was supposed to be carefully guarded.

Cheatle, who will testify before lawmakers Monday after congressional committees and the Biden administration launched a series of investigations, told ABC News that the shooting was “unacceptable.” When asked who bears the most responsibility, she said ultimately it is the Secret Service that protects the former president.

“The buck stops with me," Cheatle said. “I am the director of the Secret Service.” She said she has no plans to resign, and so far she has the administration’s backing.

Democratic President Joe Biden appointed Cheatle in August 2022 to take over an agency with a history of scandals, and she worked to bolster diverse hiring, especially of women in the male-dominated service. The second woman to lead the Secret Service, Cheatle worked her way up for 27 years before leaving in 2021 for a job as a security executive at PepsiCo. Biden brought her back.

Now, she faces her most serious challenge: figuring out what went wrong with the agency's core responsibility to protect presidents and whether she can maintain the support — or the job itself — to make changes.

Details are still unfolding about signs of trouble the day of the assassination attempt, including the steps taken by the Secret Service and local authorities to secure a building that the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, climbed within an estimated 147 yards (135 meters) of where Trump was speaking. A ex-fire chief at the rally, Corey Comperatore, was killed and two others were wounded.

The Biden administration has directed an independent review of security at the rally. The Homeland Security Department's inspector general has opened three investigations and congressional committees have launched others as calls mount for Cheatle to resign. Two Republican senators demanding answers followed her as she walked through the Republican National Convention this past week.

“The nation deserves answers and accountability,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., posted on the social media platform X. "New leadership at the Secret Service would be an important step in that direction.”

In the House, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said on X that Biden should fire Cheatle immediately, noting Comperatore's death and saying that “we ... were millimeters away from losing President Trump. It is inexcusable.” Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., said in a statement Saturday that ”the evidence coming to light has shown unacceptable operational failures" and he would have no confidence in Cheatle's leadership if she were to stay in the job.

The House Oversight and Accountability Committee subpoenaed Cheatle to appear Monday, and she is expected to be there.

After the shooting, Cheatle and the female Secret Service agents who protected Trump have faced scathing criticism and questions about whether Cheatle lowered hiring standards. Supporters are adamant that has not happened.

“It is disrespectful to the women of the Secret Service of the Department of Homeland Security and to women law enforcement officers around the nation to imply that their gender disqualifies them from service to the nation and their communities,” said Kristie Canegallo, Homeland Security's acting deputy secretary.

Like many law enforcement agencies, the Secret Service has been wrestling with how to attract and retain agents and officers.

Women account for about 24% of the agency’s staff, according to the agency’s website. In a May 2023 interview with CBS News, Cheatle said she was conscious of the “need to attract diverse candidates and ensure that we are developing and giving opportunities to everybody in our workforce, and particularly women.”

Two years ago, Cheatle took over the agency of 7,800 special agents, uniformed officers and other staffers whose main purpose is protecting presidents, vice presidents, their families, former presidents and others. In announcing her appointment, Biden said Cheatle had served on his vice presidential detail and called her a “distinguished law enforcement professional with exceptional leadership skills” who had his "complete trust.”

Cheatle took the reins from James M. Murray as multiple congressional committees and an internal watchdog investigated missing text messages from when Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The Secret Service says they were purged during a technology transition.

Going back further, there have been other problems at the Secret Service, including a prostitution scandal before President Barack Obama's trip to Colombia in 2012 and a man who jumped over the White House fence in 2014 and made it into the building.

The Homeland Security Department did not make Cheatle available for an interview, but Canegallo defended her work. Canegallo said Cheatle advocated for a law passed this year that authorized overtime pay for Secret Service agents and successfully oversaw nine high-profile events such as political conventions. The agency under her watch protected Biden during his trip to Ukraine without problems, Canegallo said.

During the podcast, Cheatle talked about how much planning goes into events that the Secret Service oversees — from bad weather and COVID-19 to threats of violence.

“It’s our job to kind of sit back and ‘What if?’ every potential threat and scenario,” she said.

Cheatle applied for the Secret Service while she was still in college. She was told to wait until she had graduated and said in the podcast that it ultimately took a little over two years to get hired: “I was pretty persistent.”

After training, she was assigned to the Detroit office where she spent a little over four years. Cheatle transferred to Washington where she served on the Treasury secretary's detail and protected Vice President Dick Cheney, including on 9/11.

Other positions during her time with the agency include special agent in charge of the Atlanta field office and special agent in charge of the agency’s training facility in Maryland. She became the first woman to be named assistant director of protective operations, the division that provides protection to the president and other dignitaries where she oversaw a $133.5 million budget.

[the-sayuri-rin]

House Republicans unveiled a budget blueprint on Tuesday that proposes trillions of dollars in federal spending reductions over the next decade, specifically targeting Medicaid and federal nutrition assistance for steep cuts.

House Budget Committee Republicans' new resolution also calls for the establishment of a "bipartisan debt commission" to examine and propose changes to "the drivers of U.S. debt... such as Social Security and Medicare." (Social Security does not, in fact, contribute to long-term federal deficits.)

"MAGA Republicans are driving our nation towards a costly government shutdown because they want to make cruel cuts to everything from healthcare to education, and this MAGA Budget doubles down on their extreme cuts," Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, said in response to the new proposal.

[partisan-by-default]

"The word Medicaid is not even in this bill," Scalise (R-La.) declared, waving the text of a budget resolution that House Republicans went on to pass over unified Democratic opposition.

But an analysis released late Wednesday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) makes clear that deep cuts to Medicaid would be required under the House GOP resolution, which President Donald Trump has endorsed.

The analysis, produced at the request of leading House Democrats, shows that Medicaid accounts for 93% of projected mandatory spending under the jurisdiction of the House Energy and Commerce Committee over the next decade, not including Medicare.

That means Republicans would have to cut Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), or Medicare to achieve the $880 billion in spending reductions that the House budget resolution instructs the energy and commerce panel to impose between fiscal years 2025 and 2034.

"This analysis from the nonpartisan CBO confirms what we've been saying all along: Republicans are lying about their budget," said Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee. "Their plan would force the largest Medicaid cuts in American history—all to pay for more tax giveaways to billionaires."

[aunti-christ-ine]

Yes, this is a proposed Act of Congress.

In case you missed it back then ... 

[yetisidelblog]

House Republicans just unveiled a budget that would steal from working Americans to give the wealthy another massive tax break. Their plan includes deep cuts to healthcare, food assistance, and essential social programs, all to fund tax handouts for billionaires and corporations. It’s not just reckless—it’s cruel and inhumane.

The budget slashes Medicare and Medicaid, threatening healthcare for millions of seniors and low-income families. It guts SNAP (food stamps), taking food away from struggling families, children, and the elderly.

At the same time, Republicans are doubling down on Trump’s tax cuts for the rich, which have already exploded the deficit while leaving working families behind.

Sign the petition to reject Republicans' cruel and inhumane budget plan. Click here to add your name.

Rep. Brendan Boyle, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, summed it up perfectly: "If you've been waiting for a plan to sell out American families to line the pockets of the ultra-rich, then look no further."

This budget doesn’t just hurt Democratic voters—it will devastate the vast majority of Americans, including most of the people who voted for Donald Trump. We cannot let Republicans rip away healthcare, food, and basic services to give billionaires another round of tax cuts. Congress must reject this cruel budget plan and demand a fair approach that invests in working families, not corporate greed.

Sign this petition to tell Congress: Reject the Republican budget and protect essential programs for the American people. We won’t stand by while they steal from working families to enrich the wealthy.

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