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DocOnTheRange's avatar

Very remarkable how much power Trump has over Republicans in Congress—I don’t remember Obama, Bush, or Clinton having this much sway. Is Trump the most powerful president since… FDR?

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Michael Kupperburg's avatar

LBJ had the same power after the 1964 election, and reasonably close in 1964. It was only after the 1966 election that his power in the Congress got shorted and quickly so.

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DocOnTheRange's avatar

Very cool factoid, thank you!

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Michael Kupperburg's avatar

Your very welcome.

LBJ had enough Democrats in both Houses of Congress, that if they had agreed on something, he probably could have passed a Constitutional Amendment. Check out the results of the 1966 election and compare that Congress to the present one.

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Micael Kemp's avatar

One of the aspects of this bill that most concerns me is the huge influx of dollars into ICE. Am I being paranoid, or is this Trump building a gestapo-style police force loyal only to him and holding facilities where there is little to no independent oversight? I can't find a way to see this that doesn't seem to echo Germany in WWII. I think you see him more impartially than I do. I would deeply value your opinion on this.

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Mollie's avatar

My fear as well. I basically see this as them taking money away from hard-working Americans and handing it to ice so they can deport whoever they don't like. Funny thing is how they campaigned on the other parties giving too much money to immigrants vs the American people.

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944932's avatar

What preparations are Trump and his minions making to derail elections in 2026 and 2028. We should keep an eye on them.

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William m Gaffney's avatar

It’s don’t do anything not don’t do nothing. Don’t do nothing is a double negative unless Trump changed those rules too

My mother, the retired school teacher, is rolling in her grave

Geez this younger generation:<)

Have a great 4th Gabe

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Jill Metlin's avatar

I don’t understand. Didn’t Trump run on reducing the deficit instead of increasing it AND raising the debt ceiling? Please explain. Ty

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Ethan Stone's avatar

Yeah, he lied. And for once, it’s not a lie unique to Trump. The data generally shows that republicans add more to the deficit and democrats reduce the deficit for the past 30 years or so.

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Jeff R's avatar

We hear a lot about the tax cuts being "permanent"--but if democrats regain majority and the presidency they could reverse via reconcilaiton, correct? Or congress could change in the future (although unlikely if fillibuster continues), right?

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Miranda Freeman's avatar

Could the OBBA provisions get overturned by Congress once the party in power changes, just like the act overturns some parts of the IRA?

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menehune's avatar

ALOHA...

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raven's avatar

Can you go into depth on the overtime tax and tip write offs? Its all the talk at work and I'd like to be more informed about it

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Judy L. Murphy's avatar

Is there anything in this bill pertaining to the Military? Specifically, benefits for veterans and

retired military members?

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Mollie's avatar

Problem is that Trump has so.much power over his party, and his followers would find a way to say this bill is good even if it hurts them.

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John's avatar

How can we be certain that we will have elections in 2026 and 2028?

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Kristi Schwickerath's avatar

I’m wondering why more democrats didn’t follow Rep Jefferies’ use of the “magic minute” to keep the bill from meeting Trump’s self-imposed deadline?

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Emily's avatar

The "magic minute" is only for the party leaders (so Jeffries and Johnson). The public comments from all other Reps are actually time-limited.

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Kristi Schwickerath's avatar

Thank you!

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Susan Walker's avatar

The Big Abomination Bill that #47 is signing today makes tax cuts for the wealthy "permanent." What exactly does that mean? Could a new legislature with a Democratic president reverse those cuts? And, if so, why didn't the legislature and President Biden do that in 2021, rather than keep the tax cuts for the wealthy and large corporations in place until 2025?

Thanks, Gabe.

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Ethan Stone's avatar

“Permanent” is this context means that they removed the end-date, the date that that specific tax policy would end. So it’s permanent unless someone changes it, unlike before when it would end on a certain date.

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Patty S.'s avatar

Happy July 4th, Gabe.⭐️🇱🇷⭐️🇱🇷

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Betsy Connell's avatar

When do the changes to student loans start. . .now or after the midterms?

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