White House official addresses criticism of Trump's ‘big, beautiful bill’



President Donald Trump has promised Americans he’ll be teaming up with congressional Republicans to pass a “big, beautiful bill” that’s chock full of campaign promises.

Of those campaign promises, “no tax on tips,” “no tax on overtime,” and major spending cuts stand out. However, the bill’s progress is dragging on — and the country is beginning to wonder what’s really going on.

Russell Vought, Trump’s director of the Office of Management and Budget, has some answers.

“I want to talk to you about the Republicans, because I believe they’re kind of a waste of space. They are not doing the things that I think the president promised, and that is, cut the budget and cut regulation in dramatic ways,” Glenn Beck tells Vought on “The Glenn Beck Program.”


“We’re working through it right now. The House, they’re trying to meet their instructions. They basically passed a budget that would have $1.5 trillion in savings and about $4.5 trillion in tax relief, and they are working through to get a bill that can pass,” Vought explains.

“So when are we expecting this to be voted on and possibly go through?” Glenn asks.

“My hope is next week that they pass it out of committee, the two big committees of ways and means and energy and commerce, and then go to budget and set up a vote thereafter on the house floor. That’s our hope, that’s what we’re working towards,” Vought says.

“We’re going to move as much as we can within the parameters of the law and the Constitution, we’re going to move as fast and aggressively as possible to change the reality on the ground with reductions in force, with reorganizations, with doing programmatic review of spending that doesn’t have to go out through the use of recisions,” he continues.

“There’s a whole set of tools in our box that we’re going to use aggressively to get Congress moving in our direction, because we cannot be in a normal situation as an administration where we just kind of send bills up and wait on them,” he adds.

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Trump sends mixed signals on possible tax hike



President Donald Trump allegedly urged House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) during a phone call Wednesday to raise the top tax rate, albeit at a much higher income level, and close the carried interest loophole amid Republican lawmakers' efforts to finalize their Trump agenda bill.

The president indicated a change of mind Friday morning, however, suggesting on Truth Social that "Republicans should probably not do it."

Last month, Trump and Johnson shot down the idea of a tax hike on the wealthiest Americans.

The president said in his April 22 interview with Time magazine, "I certainly don't mind having a tax increase."

'Our party is the group that stands against that traditionally.'

"I actually love the concept," continued Trump, "but I don't want it to be used against me politically, because I've seen people lose elections for less, especially with the fake news."

The following day, Trump came out against the idea more forcefully, telling reporters in the Oval Office that the idea of a tax hike was "very disruptive," as it might prompt wealthy individuals to flee the country, reported Politico.

"You know, the old days, they left states. They go from one state to the other. Now with transportation so quick and so easy, they leave countries. You lose a lot of money if you do that," said Trump.

Johnson similarly came out swinging against a tax hike on April 23, telling "The Will Cain Show" last month, "We have been working against that idea. I'm not in favor of raising the tax rates because our party is the group that stands against that traditionally."

A number of provisions enacted by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 are set to expire in December. Unless lawmakers extend the cuts, tax brackets will revert back to pre-TCJA levels. Accordingly the top individual, estate, and income tax bracket would return to 39.6% from the current rate of 37%.

One unnamed Republican source said to be familiar with Trump's Wednesday call with Johnson told NBC News that the president was considering allowing the rate to revert to 39.6% "to protect Medicaid and help pay for middle- and working-class tax cuts."

Multiple sources suggested to The Hill that while the White House advocated for allowing the top marginal income tax rate cut to expire, the administration wanted to see the 2017 cuts extended for Americans in the lower tax brackets. While the top income bracket starts this year at $626,350 per individual, the New York Times indicated the proposed restoration of the previous top rate would apply to individuals earning over $2.5 million annually.

The Hill noted that a spokesman for the House Ways and Means Committee declined to comment on any policy specifics under consideration, and the White House did not return the outlet's request for comment.

'I'm OK if they do!'

When asked about the proposed tax income increase on the upper brackets, Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, told "The Hugh Hewitt Show" Thursday that he was "not excited about the proposal but I have to say there are a number of people in both the House and the Senate who are."

Crapo added, "If the president weighs in in favor of it, then that's going to be a big factor that we have to take into consideration."

Trump noted in a social media post on Friday, "The problem with even a 'TINY' tax increase for the RICH, which I and all others would graciously accept in order to help the lower and middle income workers, is that the Radical Left Democrat Lunatics would go around screaming, 'Read my lips,' the fabled Quote by George Bush the Elder that is said to have cost him the Election."

"NO, Ross Perot cost him the Election!" continued Trump. "In any event, Republicans should probably not do it, but I'm OK if they do!"

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Tariffs Won’t Solve Washington’s Biggest Problem: Overspending

The ructions in financial markets over the past few weeks and Washington’s dependence on foreign entities to keep funding our (over) spending illustrate why lawmakers need to do something to get our fiscal house in order.
Trump’s Tariff Trap: Will Tax Cuts Save the Economy? | Ep 1050
play icon

Trump’s Tariff Trap: Will Tax Cuts Save the Economy? | Ep 1050

State GOP Lawmakers Move To Slice Taxes While Dems Raise Theirs

State Republicans have slashed income taxes

Why people are 'missing the point' on Trump's tariffs



The mainstream media have been in a state of doom and gloom over President Trump’s tariffs, but as usual, they’re missing the point.

And while the mainstream media fearmonger over the tariffs, Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts has faith that Trump’s plan will work.

“Just to be really objective about this, there will be an economic quarter or two where things are choppy. The treasury secretary has said as much, because what Trump is trying to do is reset the world economic order,” Roberts tells Sara Gonzales on “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered.”


“If I had to guess, as he gets into this negotiation with other countries and they recalibrate, because the administration is so good, they’re going to focus on the reciprocity part of this,” he continues, adding that alongside “deregulation, cutting the budget” and “making tax cuts” will get “America back on its feet.”

“There needs to be a zealous focus, a real target, on the worst abusers,” he says, noting that China and the European Union are among these abusers.

“The EU is the biggest protectionist racket in history, and they’re telling us we can’t place a tariff on them. That’s the kind of reset that Trump is doing. He deserves much more credit for it than he’s getting,” Roberts explains.

BlazeTV contributor Matthew Marsden is in full agreement.

“It’s just absolutely typical. Trump does something, the press loses their mind over it, and the problem is they’ve done this so much that people just don’t care any more,” Marsden says, adding, “If you just have reciprocal tariffs, then it’s very easy to say, ‘Well, hang on a second, the messaging is very easy. You have this, we have this,’ it’s just very simple.”

“But I think that Americans know now that we have to go through this, because we were being bled dry. We were going to go bankrupt, the country faced a very, very uphill battle to prosperity,” he continues.

“We know that we have to have some discomfort, and I think the majority of Americans that voted Trump in, we knew we were going to get that,” he adds.

Want more from Sara Gonzales?

To enjoy more of Sara's no-holds-barred take to news and culture, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Will Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs restore American manufacturing?



President Donald Trump has declared April 2, 2025, “Liberation Day” — but many Americans are worried that his reciprocal tariff plan will not liberate them but only make life harder.

While economist Stephen Moore can see why they’d be afraid, he also understands why they shouldn’t be.

“Trump does have a very important point,” Moore tells Glenn Beck on “The Glenn Beck Program.” “Which is that a lot of people don’t understand that we are the lowest-tariff country in the world right now, among all the major trading partners.”

“What Trump is simply saying is it’s not a level playing field. It’s not fair. These countries are not playing by the rules, and they need to trade with the United States, so they better get their act together. They better start treating us fairly, or he’s going to hit them with these tariffs,” Moore explains.


However, there will be rising prices for Americans as a result of these tariffs.

“Short-term pain for long-term gain,” Moore says. “I’m a little worried about it, but I will say this: Trump is the single best negotiator I’ve ever met in my life, and I think in the end, he will prevail.”

Glenn is concerned but optimistic as well.

“There might be some short-term effects because we could turn the negotiating power on pretty quickly,” Glenn says. “Or is he trying to bring manufacturing back?”

“These are complicated questions, and I can’t get in Donald Trump’s mind,” Moore responds. “Let’s start with why he won this election. He won the election by winning blue-collar, middle-class voters into the Republican Party, many of whom had voted Democratic but realized that Trump was the one who really stood behind them.”

Moore believes that what Trump is doing besides tariffs reflects why he was voted in.

“For example, an article in the Wall Street Journal this weekend, didn’t get a lot of attention on the front page, was that Trump is deregulating our economy. It’s going to reduce costs for American companies by as much as a trillion dollars. Makes us very competitive,” Moore explains.

However, Glenn would like to see Trump discuss tax cuts more.

“I’m not seeing enough about cutting the regulation and also tax cuts, because if you don’t have those to go along with tariffs, this isn’t going to work,” Glenn says.

“Great minds think alike,” Moore agrees.

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

‘I Never Met A Tax Cut I Didn’t Like’: Kudlow Examines Possible Benefits And Pitfalls Of Trump Tariffs

'This seems fair-minded and common sense'

EXCLUSIVE: Tom Emmer Thinks Senate GOP Is Moving Too Slowly To Pass Trump’s Agenda

'They're going to have to get a little urgency'

If Congress Doesn’t Preserve Trump’s Tax Cuts, Small Businesses Will Suffer

This president of a warehouse and trucking company warns that if Congress lets tax cuts expire, small businesses like hers could face devastating setbacks.