Trump’s Disastrous Budget Bill Is Even More Expensive Than We Thought

Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” would increase the total U.S. deficit by nearly $2.8 trillion over the next decade, according to a new analysis from the Congressional Budget Office.

Previous estimates suggested that the massive spending bill would add $2.4 trillion to the national deficit over the next 10 years, but a “dynamic” estimate published Tuesday takes into account how the legislation would affect the U.S. economy—and things got even  more dire.

The CBO projected that an increase in economic output would decrease the primary deficit by $85 billion over the 2025–2034 period, while also significantly boosting interest rates, which would push the federal debt to a whopping $441 billion. 

“Incredible—CBO says the House-passed GOP bill pays for only 3.5% of itself,” Bobby Kogan, the senior director of federal budget policy at the Center for American Progress, wrote on X Tuesday. 

Despite previous damning reports, MAGA Republicans backing the bill have continued to claim that the CBO is biased, rather than make any concessions, and have claimed that the CBO’s evaluations of the legislation’s cost don’t take the revenue from Trump’s sweeping global tariffs into effect. 

In a letter to Democratic lawmakers earlier this month, the CBO projected that Trump’s tariffs, as they were in mid-May, could decrease the deficit by $2.8 trillion—but said any projection came with some uncertainty, as Trump’s tariffs are ever-vacillating.

The newest analysis suggests that the costs will only go up after taking the economy into account. The CBO estimated that over the next decade, the legislation would affect the economy by increasing gross domestic product by an average of 0.5 percent, increasing the interest rates on 10-year Treasury notes by 14 basis points, and increasing inflation “by a small amount” through 2030, but not afterward. 

Embattled Senator John Fetterman continues to express his bloodlust on behalf of Israel.

Fetterman told Fox News that he would oppose Senator Tim Kaine’s Resolution to Prevent War With Iran, which states that, “It is not in our national security interest to get into a war with Iran unless that war is absolutely necessary to defend the United States.”

Fetterman responded sharply, “I’m going to vote it down.… I really hope the president finally does bomb and destroy the Iranians,” he said.

This comment from Fetterman, who has emerged as one of Israel’s staunchest loyalists in the Senate, is reminiscent of his call for the slaughter of “all” Palestinians, saying that you “can’t reform sour milk.” Those comments, like his Iran ones, come as Israel acts as the clear aggressor toward both countries. These troubling statements make it impossible to ignore his tumultuous mental health, as he has taken a sharp diversion from the progressive policies he ran on.

Fetterman tried to clarify his statement in the replies: “To be perfectly clear: destroying the Iranian regime,” he wrote. “Free the Iranian citizens from this cancerous, repressive, and authoritarian regime.”

It’s hard to imagine how to destroy the regime without killing many Iranians as well.

Masked ICE agents detained New York City Comptroller Brad Lander Tuesday. But rather than focus on the fact that federal agents are targeting American citizens, government accounts worked to add their own spin to the situation, trying to make Lander appear guilty of a crime that didn’t seem to occur.

Lander was dragged from Federal Plaza by immigration officers after he tried to escort a defendant out of immigration court, according to his wife, Meg Barnette. The tense situation was thoroughly documented as Lander was strong-armed down a hallway, calmly asking agents if they could display their warrant as he was manhandled.

“You don’t have the authority to arrest U.S. citizens,” Lander said. “I’m not obstructing, I’m standing right here in the hallway. I asked to see the judicial warrant.”

Yet within hours, the official X account for the Department of Homeland Security claimed that Lander had assaulted law enforcement officers.

“New York City Comptroller Brad Lander was arrested for assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal officer,” the account wrote. “Our heroic ICE law enforcement officers face a 413 percent increase in assaults against them—it is wrong that politicians seeking higher office undermine law enforcement safety to get a viral moment.”

Videos leading up to Lander’s arrest depict him gripping the individual ICE was trying to detain but did not show the comptroller assaulting anyone.

Yet DHS claimed, “No one is above the law, and if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will face consequences.”

Lander’s arrest summoned immediate local backlash, with a wave of politicians and protesters descending on 26 Federal Plaza in the aftermath of the comptroller’s seemingly groundless detention. Included in the mix was mayoral front-runner Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani, who recently joined arms with Lander in their ranked-choice race to Gracie Mansion.

As the protest continued, Barnette posted an update on her 55-year-old husband: “Brad is still in ICE custody.”

It is not clear if Lander will face charges.

“This is profoundly unacceptable. Arresting Comptroller Lander for the simple act of standing up for immigrants and their civil rights is a shocking abuse of power,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James, calling the affair a “grotesque escalation of tensions.”

Good news: Bullying works.

Senator Mike Lee has deleted his three horrific social media posts mocking the assassination of a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband, and the attempted assassination of another Democratic state lawmaker and his wife.

The Huffington Post’s Jennifer Bendery confirmed Tuesday that Lee had deleted three posts on his X account addressing a gunman’s violent spree Saturday that claimed the life of state Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark.

Lee told journalist Matt Laslo that he’d decided to remove his posts after speaking with Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar. “It was important to her that I take it down,” Lee reportedly told Laslo. “We’re good friends. I took it down.”

The Utah Republican had suggested that’s just what happens when “Marxists don’t get their way.” The alleged shooter, Vance Boelter, has since been confirmed as a staunch Trump supporter.

“Nightmare on Waltz [sic] Street,” Lee posted again, referring to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

The disgusting tweets have summoned a tidal wave of criticism against Lee, who was seen fleeing from reporters attempting to ask him about them.

Minnesota Senator Tina Smith’s deputy chief of staff eviscerated Lee in an email to his office Monday, questioning whether his posts about Minnesota felt like a “successful day of work on Team Lee?” The senator herself cornered Lee on Capitol Hill that evening, telling him he had been “brutal and cruel.”

This story has been updated.

New York City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander was dragged from the hallways of a Lower Manhattan immigration court and detained by masked ICE agents on Tuesday. It is still unclear if Lander will be charged with anything.

In videos circulating on social media, Lander can be seen with his arms linked to an immigration court defendant as ICE agents attempt to remove him from the building. Lander and his staff can be heard repeatedly asking for a judicial warrant, saying he’d let go of the defendant once he saw one. ICE did not oblige, and instead detained him, pressing him against a wall and cuffing his hands behind his back. It’s clear from the video that ICE agents determined that the mayoral candidate was obstructing their work. If Lander is charged, it would suggest that any attempt to protest or even document ICE actions could be construed as an arrestable offense. It’s clearly already one worthy of detainment.

“You do not have the authority to arrest U.S. citizens,” Lander said multiple times while ICE tightened the handcuffs.

Lander’s detainment has been met with shock and condemnation. Multiple city leaders, including Lander’s wife, Megan Barnette, and fellow mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, held a press conference immediately following the incident.

“NYC Comptroller Brad Lander was just arrested by Trump’s ICE agents because he asked to see a judicial warrant,” Mamdani wrote on X. “This is fascism, and all New Yorkers must speak in one voice. Release him now.”

“ICE just arrested Brad Lander, the NYC Comptroller and one of the leading candidates for Mayor, without grounds. He was conducting routine immigration court work, escorting individuals from hearings,” New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Bluesky. “He asked ICE for their warrant—well within his legal rights. This is political intimidation.”

“I feel really rattled and scared, and my husband is a candidate for mayor, is an elected citywide official, is U.S. citizen,” Barnette said. He “has a U.S. passport, and I know in all likelihood he is OK. And all of the other folks in that building are risking having their families torn apart with inadequate explanation. And it’s an abomination.”

ICE maintains that Comptroller Lander was obstructing an arrest by linking arms with the defendant and asking to see a warrant.