By Lauren Burke

By a vote of 218 to 214, the GOP-controlled U.S. House passed President Trump’s massive budget and spending bill that will add $3.5 trillion to the national debt, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S. With $175 billion allocated in spending for immigration enforcement, the money for more police officers eclipsed the 2026 budget for the U.S. Marines, which is $57 billion. Almost all of the policy focus from the Trump Administration has focused on deporting immigrants of color from Mexico and Haiti.

The vote occurred as members were pressed to complete their work before the arbitrary deadline of the July 4 holiday set by President Trump. It also occurred after Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries took the House floor for over 8 hours in protest. Leader Jeffries broke the record in the U.S. House for the longest floor speech in history on the House floor. The Senate passed the bill days before and was tied at 50-50, with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski saying that, “my hope is that the House is gonna look at this and recognize that we’re not there yet.” There were no changes made to the Senate bill by the House. A series of overnight phone calls to Republicans voting against, not changes, was what won over enough Republicans to pass the legislation, even though it adds trillions to the debt. The Trump spending bill also cuts money to Pell grants.

“The Big Ugly Bill steals food out of the hands of starving children, steals medicine from the cabinets of cancer patients, and equips ICE with more funding and more weapons of war than the United States Marine Corps. Is there any question of who those agents will be going to war for, or who they will be going to war against? Beyond these sadistic provisions, Republicans just voted nearly unanimously to close urban and rural hospitals, cripple the child tax credit, and to top it all off, add $3.3 trillion to the ticking time bomb that is the federal deficit – all from a party that embarrassingly pretends to stand for fiscal responsibility and lowering costs,” wrote Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY) in a statement on July 3.

“The Congressional Budget Office predicts that 17 million people will lose their health insurance, including over 322,000 Virginians. It will make college less affordable.  Three million people will lose access to food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). And up to 16 million students could lose access to free school meals. The Republican bill does all of this to fund tax breaks for millionaires, billionaires, and corporations,” wrote Education and Workforce Committee ranking member Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) in a statement. The bill’s passage has prompted Democrats to start thinking about 2026 and the next election cycle. With the margins of victory in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate being so narrow, many are convinced that the balance of power and the question of millions being able to enjoy health care come down to only several thousand votes in congressional elections. But currently, Republicans controlled by the MAGA movement control all three branches of government. That reality was never made more stark and more clear than the last seven days of activity in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.

7.2.25 via NBC 4 Washington

https://youtu.be/9oZc5Sz0jQQ

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

Target is grappling with worsening financial and reputational fallout as the national selective buying and public education program launched by the Black Press of America and other national and local leaders continue to erode the retailer’s sales and foot traffic. But a recent meeting that the retailer intended to keep quiet between CEO Brian Cornell and members of the Congressional Black Caucus Diversity Task Force was publicly reported after the Black Press discovered the session, and the CBC later put Target on blast.

“The Congressional Black Caucus met with the leadership of the Target Corporation on Capitol Hill to directly address deep concerns about the impact of the company’s unconscionable decision to end a number of its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts,” CBC Chair Yvette Clarke stated. “Like many of the coalition leaders and partner organizations that have chosen to boycott their stores across the country, we found that the explanations offered by the leadership of the Target Corporation fell woefully short of what our communities deserve and of the values of inclusion that Target once touted,” Congresswoman emphasized.  “Black consumers contribute overwhelmingly to our economy and the Target Corporation’s bottom line. Our communities deserve to shop at businesses that publicly share our values without sacrificing our dignity. It is no longer acceptable to deliver promises to our communities in private without also demonstrating those values publicly.”

Lauren Burke, Capitol Hill correspondent for Black Press of America, was present when Target CEO Cornell and a contingent of Target officials arrived at the U.S. Capitol last month. “It’s always helpful to have meetings like this and get some candid feedback and continue to evolve our thinking,” Cornell told Burke as he exited the meeting and walked down a long hallway in the Cannon House Office Building. “We look forward to follow-up conversations,” he stated. When asked if the issue of the ongoing boycott was discussed, Cornell’s response was, “That was not a big area of focus — we’re focused on running a great business each and every day. Take care of our teams. Take care of the guests who shop with us and do the right things in our communities.”

A national public education campaign on Target, spearheaded by Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the NNPA’s board of directors, and with other national African American leaders, has combined consumer education efforts with a call for selective buying. The NNPA is a trade association that represents the more than 220 African American-owned newspapers and media companies known as the Black Press of America, the voice of 50 million African Americans across the nation. The coalition has requested that Target restore and expand its stated commitment to do business with local community-owned businesses inclusive of the Black Press of  America, and to significantly increase investment in Black-owned businesses and media, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU, Black-owned Banks, national Black Church denominations, and grassroots and local organizations committed to improving the quality of life of all Americans, and especially those from underserved communities. According to Target’s latest earnings report, net sales for the first quarter of 2025 fell 2.8 percent to $23.85 billion compared to the same period last year. Comparable store sales dropped 3.8 percent, and in-store foot traffic slid 5.7 percent.

Shares of Target have also struggled under the pressure. The company’s stock traded around $103.85 early Wednesday afternoon, down significantly from roughly $145 before the controversy escalated. Analysts note that Target has lost more than $12 billion in market value since the beginning of the year. “We will continue to inform and to mobilize Black consumers in every state in the United States,” Chavis said. “Target today has a profound opportunity to respond with respect and restorative commitment.”

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

Donald Trump’s massive new spending measure, known by Democrats as the “One Big Ugly Bill,” is set to dismantle central pillars of the American social safety net and create the most expansive immigration enforcement system the country has ever seen.

The legislation advances $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act over the next decade, threatening health coverage for millions of low-income Americans. However, among the least discussed aspects of the measure, it effectively turns America into a police state.

The bill devotes more than $150 billion to expand the detention, surveillance, and deportation operations of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Under the bill, ICE’s detention budget alone would explode from $3.4 billion this year to $45 billion by 2029, surpassing the combined funding of all federal prisons.

Public records show that ICE’s arrests of immigrants without criminal records have surged by more than 1,400% in the past year. The agency has repeatedly deployed masked officers and National Guard troops in workplace and community raids, tactics critics say resemble authoritarian crackdowns.

The spending package also authorizes the creation of a federal citizenship registry, combining Social Security and immigration data into the first centralized list of U.S. citizens. Officials claim the database will help election authorities verify voter eligibility, echoing Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of widespread immigrant voter fraud. Privacy experts have warned that this system amounts to a national surveillance apparatus launched without any public debate or congressional hearings.

“This level of integration among federal agencies handling sensitive personal data has never existed before,” NPR reporters Jude Joffe-Block and Miles Parks reported. They noted that privacy advocates and even some conservatives have long opposed a government-run citizenship roster.

Polling from Pew Research shows that most Americans oppose several core pieces of Trump’s immigration agenda. Sixty-one percent reject the deportation of immigrants to prisons in El Salvador. Fifty-four percent disapprove of increased workplace raids. Yet a growing share—56%—now supports expanding the border wall with Mexico, a rise from 46% in 2019.

Inside the Republican Party, support for Trump’s enforcement push is nearly unanimous. Eighty-eight percent of Republicans favor expanding the border wall. Eighty-one percent back using state and local police to help deport immigrants. Among Democrats, overwhelming majorities oppose the policies, with only 27% supporting any expansion of the wall.

The bill’s most controversial provisions have drawn condemnation after Trump visited a new detention facility in the Everglades, where he joked that alligators and snakes would attack any immigrant attempting to escape. The Florida Republican Party has since begun selling “Alligator Alcatraz” merchandise. Historians have noted that such imagery recalls Jim Crow-era propaganda depicting Black children as bait for alligators—a tactic used to dehumanize and terrorize Black communities.

Despite widespread criticism, Trump has pressed forward with the measure, calling it a fulfillment of his long-standing promises.

“This is going to be the bill that finally puts America first,” Trump said during a rally in Florida. “No excuses.”

Nevada Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford called the legislation a direct attack on the health, safety, and dignity of Black communities across this country. “Stripping away Medicaid coverage while throwing billions into an unaccountable immigration dragnet is not fiscal responsibility—it’s reckless extremism,” Horsford stated. “We will not be silent as this Congress tries to reverse decades of progress and push people further into poverty and fear.”

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Washington Bureau Chief and White House Correspondent

“Ripping health care away from more than 17 million people. That disgusts me,” admonished House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries during a speech before the House vote on what he calls “The Big Ugly Bill.”

During Jeffries’ speech, Democrat Congressman Kwesi Mfume of Maryland told this reporter that “Johnson and Trump think they have the votes.” Jeffries notes that Democrats only need four Republicans to stand with them to defeat the legislation.

President Trump called all the Republican holdouts who were planning to vote against his “Big Beautiful Bill,” which the Congressional Budget Office says will add $3.3 trillion to the deficit.

The legislation’s provisions cut Medicare or Medicaid assistance for 16 million Americans as well as SNAP funding that provides food assistance to those in need, while codifying tax breaks for the wealthy, who need no assistance at all.

“The eligibility for the children’s health insurance program will also be diminished,” said Jeffries. He stressed that the legislation negatively impacts nutritional assistance programs and the nation’s farmers and is “an all-out assault on the healthcare of the American people.”

Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove of Los Angeles told this reporter, “The righteous indignation of these Republicans who are stealing taxpayers’ hard-earned money to give to the richest of the rich is beyond the pale.” She feels Republicans rushed this bill for votes. “A bill this large and impactful should have been given longer than 15 minutes in committee. It should have been given longer than the days we had to review it.”

In addition to her peers on the Hill, Dove wants more time for everyday Americans to discuss the legislation and its impact. “My hope is that we have special sessions across the country so that constituents across the nation know EXACTLY how they will be screwed by Trump and his sycophants.”

Jeffries issued a dire warning as he worked to galvanize those who were ready to vote, telling the membership that “all of us as leaders have a responsibility to make life better for the American people.”

Pointing an oratory finger at his peers across the aisle and the current presidential administration, Jeffries said that what we have seen from Republican leadership for “the first six months of the administration has been characterized as chaos, cruelty, and corruption that is not real leadership.” He notes instead that the leadership on this bill failed to demonstrate “courage,” “compassion,” or “commitment.”

The Big Beautiful Bill would also impact the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, which was signed into law by President Barack Obama.

Obama issued a statement in the lead-up to the House vote, stating, “More than 16 million Americans are at risk of losing their health care because Republicans in Congress are rushing to pass a bill that would cut federal funding for Medicaid and weaken the Affordable Care Act. If the House passes this bill, it will increase costs and hurt working-class families for generations to come. Call your representative today and tell them to vote no on this bill.”

According to Jeffries, Republicans are supporting a “reckless budget that is an immoral document” that tears people down — it is “an all-out assault on the American people.” The congressman from Brooklyn encouraged fellow Democrats and his Republican colleagues to “vote no” against the bill.

Shavon Arline-Bradley, President and CEO of the National Council of Negro Women, had this to say while Jeffries was addressing the nation. “We are in the fight of our lives. The Black Caucus, Black institutions, and leaders in media, politics, and civil rights are working diligently to hold the line on this Bill. The collective power of every mobilizing voice has held strong, resulting in some necessary ‘No’ Votes. If we can stop the bill, we can stop the health and economic burden on our most vulnerable.”

“Stand and Fight for the Future of America”

The following official statement from Democrats condemns President Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill:

“We believe in an America where hard work is rewarded, not punished. Where families can afford health care, put food on the table, and live with dignity.

“This fight is about more than budgets and numbers—it’s about whether we lift people up or leave them behind.

“We will stand and fight for the future of America. For working people. For families. For the next generation.

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

Sean “Diddy” Combs was convicted Wednesday of transporting two women across state lines for sex but acquitted of running a criminal enterprise and two counts of sex trafficking. The split verdict capped a weeks-long federal trial that exposed the hip-hop mogul’s private life to public scrutiny and left him facing prison time for felony convictions.

Jurors in U.S. District Court in Manhattan returned the following decisions after several days of deliberation:

• Count 1: Not guilty of racketeering conspiracy.
• Count 2: Not guilty of sex trafficking of former girlfriend Casandra Ventura.
• Count 3: Guilty of Mann Act transportation of Ventura.
• Count 4: Not guilty of sex trafficking of another former girlfriend, identified as “Jane.”
• Count 5: Guilty of Mann Act transportation of “Jane.”

Combs, who had spent decades cultivating a brand defined by luxury and influence, sat impassively as the foreperson read the verdicts in a quiet courtroom. His mother, several of his children, and other family members were present to hear the outcome. The defense secured three acquittals, including the most serious charge of racketeering conspiracy, which carried the possibility of life in prison. Jurors also declined to convict Combs of sex trafficking either woman.

Prosecutors alleged that Combs used his businesses and employees to arrange hotels, flights, and drugs for what witnesses described as “freak-off” encounters. They argued that his staff helped maintain control over the women through manipulation and intimidation. Defense attorneys countered that while Combs’ personal relationships were unconventional, they were consensual, and that the government had overreached by attempting to portray them as part of an organized criminal enterprise.

The two guilty verdicts on Mann Act violations are serious felony convictions, each punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled. Combs’ attorneys have now asked for bail because he’s no longer charged with racketeering. As Combs stood to leave, he turned to his family, blew a kiss, and said quietly, “I love you all.” One of his lawyers told reporters outside court, “Mr. Combs appreciates that the jury looked closely at the evidence. While we are disappointed in the convictions, we are grateful for the acquittals and will continue to fight at sentencing.”