Happy Wednesday, Democrats, and happy early 4th of July! Welcome back to our #TrumpCheck series, the LACDP's weekly newsletter that holds the Trump administration accountable for its lies, deception, self-serving actions, and crimes.
Friday is the 4th of July, and as folks light the grill and set off fireworks, Capitol Hill is all aglow in anticipation. Since he came into office in January, Trump has been promoting a July 4th deadline for his 'Big Beautiful Bill'.
Trump cannot seem to make up his mind about when he actually expects approval of the bill; he said on Tuesday that “I’d love to do July 4th, but I think it’s very hard to do July 4th,” Trump said, before adding that the goal is “somewhere around there.” In a Truth Social post the same day, Trump seems to advise legislators to "Keep it going, and be done before you and your family go on a July 4th vacation."
So, before we all go on our 'July 4th vacations' on Friday, let's unpack the truth of what is actually in the proposed budget reconciliation bill H.R.1 — 119th Congress (2025-2026).
- While facing criticism on how the spending bill will impact Medicaid coverage for Americans, Donald Trump said, "I have said it so many times, you shouldn't even be asking me that question.... read my lips, we aren't going to touch it."
FACT: The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which performs nonpartisan budget analysis for Congress, has reported that nearly 12 million Americans would be left without insurance over the next 10 years if the bill passes. Rural hospitals would be hit harder than urban hospitals by the cuts to healthcare, co-pays would increase for doctor's visits for many, and legal immigrants would lose access to affordable coverage.
- While on the campaign trail in August, VP Vance advocated for increasing the national child tax credit from $2,000 per child to $5,000 per child. "President Trump has been on the record for a long time supporting a bigger child tax credit, and I think you want it to apply to all American families."
FACT: The proposed bill, in fact, does the exact opposite; the current language lowers the child tax credit to its pre-2017 level of $1,000 per child.
This ugly little bill takes millions of dollars away from families with children, to put it directly towards tax breaks for corporations and high-income households. Vance easily abandoned his belief that it is the "task of our government to make it easier for young moms and dads to afford to have kids," as Vance was the tie-breaking vote in the Senate to take the bill to the House floor.
- Trump has, for over ten years, campaigned on the promise of lowering the national debt, blaming budget deficits on Democrats. "I'm the king of debt. I’m great with debt. Nobody knows debt better than me," Trump said during an interview with CBS's Norah O'Donnell in the lead up to the 2016 election. "We’ve got to get rid of the $19 trillion in debt," Trump said during a 2016 interview with The Washington Post.
FACT: Trump seems to have completely changed his tune on the national debt. As tracked by the CBO, the "Big Beautiful Bill" would add $3.3 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years. I guess being the 'king of debt' means he knows how to create it?
The federal government might be determined to attack everyday Americans with its budget plan, but Democrats are just as determined to stand up against these attacks.
The first step in fighting back against the Trump administration is setting the record straight; correcting misinformation is a job for us all. If you had this email forwarded, you can sign up for the #TrumpCheck newsletter here.
Stay safe, stay strong, and keep up the good fight, Democrats.
We'll be back at defending the truth next week. Until then, stay tuned to our social media channels, linked below, for updates on the LACDP's fight against Trump.
In Solidarity,
Team LACDP
