Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ budget bill survives key hurdle in House

Legislation setting the stage for Republicans to pass a broad swath of President Donald Trump’s agenda survived an important hurdle on Wednesday afternoon.

House GOP lawmakers voted to allow for debate on the legislation, known as a “rule vote,” a framework that serves as one of the first steps in the budget reconciliation process.

It’s still unclear whether House Republicans have enough support to pass the legislation itself, though GOP leaders have indicated they’re moving full steam ahead in a matter of hours.

“I think we can get this job done. I understand the holdouts. I mean, their concerns are real. They really want to have true budget cuts and to change the debt trajectory that the country is on,” Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters ahead of the first vote..

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The legislation advanced through the procedural hurdle in a narrow 216 to 215 vote, with three Republicans – Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., and Mike Turner, R-Ohio – voting with Democrats to block it.

Trump has directed Republicans to work on “one big, beautiful bill” to advance his agenda on border security, defense, energy and taxes.

Such a measure is largely only possible via the budget reconciliation process. Traditionally used when one party controls all three branches of government, reconciliation lowers the Senate’s threshold for passage of certain fiscal measures from 60 votes to 51. As a result, it has been used to pass broad policy changes in one or two massive pieces of legislation.

Rule votes are traditionally not indicators of a bill’s final passage, and they generally fall along party lines. 

Several Republicans who voted to allow debate on the measure have said they will still oppose its final passage.

Passing frameworks in the House and Senate, which largely only include numbers indicating increases or decreases in funding, allows each chamber’s committees to then craft policy in line with those numbers under their specific jurisdictions. 

The House passed its own version of the reconciliation framework earlier this year, while the Senate passed an amended version last week. House GOP leaders now believe that voting on the Senate’s plan will allow Republicans to enter the next step of crafting policy.

But fiscal hawks have raised concerns about the differences in minimum mandatory spending cuts, which they hope will offset the cost of new federal investments and start a path to reducing the deficit.

The Senate’s version calls for at least $4 billion in spending cuts, while the House baseline begins at $1.5 trillion – a significant gap.

Conservatives have demanded extra guarantees from the Senate GOP that it is committed to pursuing deeper spending cuts in line with the House package.

“They don’t have a plan that I’ve seen. So until I see that, I’m a no,” Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., told Fox News Digital. 

SENATE GOP PUSHES TRUMP BUDGET FRAMEWORK THROUGH AFTER MARATHON VOTE SERIES

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Trump himself worked to persuade holdouts both in a smaller-scale White House meeting on Tuesday and in public remarks at the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).

He also fired off multiple Truth Social posts pushing House Republicans to support the measure, even as conservatives argue it would not go far enough in fulfilling Trump’s agenda.

“Republicans, it is more important now, than ever, that we pass THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL. The USA will Soar like never before!!!” one of the posts read.

Thousands of illegal immigrants leave US voluntarily amid Trump self-deport push

FIRST ON FOX: Thousands of illegal immigrants facing potential involuntary removal from the United States have instead opted to self-deport through an app provided by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The number of immigrants who have opted to self-deport over the last month using the CBP Home app is over 5,000, according to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) data shared with Fox News Digital.

The self-deportations come as the Trump administration has ramped up a messaging campaign aimed at encouraging illegal immigrants to leave the country voluntarily, most recently releasing a flyer addressed to “illegal aliens” that threatens new fines for those who choose to remain in the U.S. despite a deportation order.

“Self-deportation is safe,” the flyer reads. “Leave on your own terms by picking your departure flight.”

TRUMP ADMIN UNVEILS PLAN COSTING MIGRANTS MASSIVE FINE FOR EVERY DAY THEY DON’T SELF-DEPORT

The flyer warns that the administration plans to start fining illegal migrants who have received a final order of removal $998 per day if they continue to stay in the country, while fines of $1,000-$5,000 could be given to those who failed to self-deport after claiming they would.

America First Legal Senior Counsel James Rogers argued that the self-deportation push is working because of the “credible threat of enforcement.”

“Our nation’s immigration laws impose severe penalties on aliens who are illegally in the country. The only reason there is a large population of illegal immigrants residing in the United States is because prior administrations have failed to enforce these laws passed by Congress,” Rogers said. “Everyone knows this, including the aliens who have been illegally living here. The current trend of illegal aliens self-deporting proves that even just the credible threat of enforcement can be enough to get many illegal immigrants to comply with our laws and leave the country.”

Meanwhile, the flyer boasts of several benefits for those who opt to self-deport, including the ability to keep the money they earned while in the U.S., future opportunities for legal immigration, and potential financial assistance or flights out of the country for those who cannot afford it.

TRUMP TELLS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS TO ‘SELF-DEPORT’ USING CBP HOME APP IN NEW VIDEO

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“Illegal aliens should use the CBP Home app to self-deport and leave the country now. If they don’t, they will face the consequences,” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Tuesday. “This includes a fine of $998 per day for every day that the illegal alien overstayed their final deportation order.”

President Donald Trump himself has joined the messaging campaign, releasing a video last month that encouraged illegal migrants to use the CBP Home app to self-deport.

“Leave now and self-deport voluntarily. If they do, they could potentially have the opportunity to return legally at some point in the future,” Trump said in the video, adding that those who do not self-deport “will be found, they will be deported, and they will never be admitted again to the United States.”

“Using the CBP home app to leave the United States voluntarily is the safest option for illegal aliens,” Trump added, noting that self-deportation will also free up critical law enforcement resources that are better spent focusing on criminal aliens.

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Rogers argued illegal immigrants would be wise to follow Trump’s advice.

“They would be wise to do so, because leaving on their own will be far better for them than the many penalties they will face if they continue to remain here in violation of our nation’s laws, now that we have an administration willing to enforce the law,” Rogers said.

Michelle Obama addresses divorce rumors after skipping recent high-profile events

Former first lady Michelle Obama dismissed divorce rumors about her and former President Barack Obama during a podcast interview published Wednesday.

Michelle Obama had attracted attention and even prompted questions about her marriage after skipping recent high-profile events like President Donald Trump’s inauguration and the late President Jimmy Carter’s funeral, leaving her husband to attend on his own.

“But the interesting thing is that when I say no, for the most part, people are like, ‘I get it, and I’m okay,’ right?” she told podcast host Sophia Bush of how she spends her time. “And that’s the thing that we as women, I think we struggle with, like disappointing people. I mean so much so that this year people were, they couldn’t even fathom that I was making a choice for myself, that they had to assume that my husband and I are divorcing, you know? This couldn’t be a grown woman just making a set of decisions herself, right? But that’s what society does to us.”

The former first lady discussed how she has more opportunities now to do things that she really wants to do during the conversation on Bush’s “Work in Progress” podcast. 

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“If it doesn’t fit into the sort of stereotype of what people think we should do, then it gets labeled as something negative and horrible,” she continued.

She said she chose to do what “was best for me,” while saying she operated from “guilt” as a woman.

She also talked about how she’s been making more decisions for herself lately during the podcast conversation. 

“Now is the time for me to start asking myself these hard questions of, ‘Who do I truly want to be every day?’ And that changes,” she said. “So, who do I want to have a lunch with? How long do I want to stay in a place? Do I want to travel? If a girlfriend calls and says, ‘Let’s go here,’ I can say, ‘Yes, I can.’ And I’m trying to do that more and more.”

She said she still had time for her own projects and issues like education and her husband’s presidential library.

Obama started her own podcast, “IMO,” alongside her brother Craig Robinson in March. 

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During the first episode, Obama said her husband needed to adjust to leaving the house on time and being punctual.

“Well, Barack, you know, he had to adjust to what ‘on time’ was,” she told Robinson. “I’ve got this husband who’s like, when it’s time to leave — it’s 3:00 — he’s getting up and going to the bathroom. And I was like, dude, dude, 3:00 departure means you’ve done all that, you know?”

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“Don’t start looking for your glasses at the 3:00 departure,” the former first lady said. “But he’s improved over 30 years of marriage, but that was a ‘you must adjust.’”

Where Trump’s approval rating stands in a brand new national poll

Americans’ concerns over the economy, and specifically inflation and tariffs, appear to be partially fueling the downward trend of President Donald Trump’s approval ratings in a new national poll.

Trump stands at 41% approval and 53% disapproval in a Quinnipiac University survey conducted April 3-7 and released on Wednesday.

The president stood at 46%-43% approval/disapproval in a Quinnipiac poll conducted during his first week back in the White House, in late January. And Trump was slightly underwater at 45%-49% in mid-February. But the president’s approval ratings are basically unchanged from Quinnipiac’s previous survey, which was in the field early last month.

POLL POSITION: WHERE TRUMP STANDS WITH AMERICANS 11 WEEKS INTO HIS SECOND ADMINISTRATION

Most, but not all, of the most recent national public opinion surveys indicate Trump’s approval ratings in negative territory, which is a slide from the president’s poll position when he started his second tour of duty in the White House.

According to the new Quinnipiac poll, Trump stands at 40% approval and 55% disapproval on his handling of the economy. And asked how the president is dealing with the issue of trade, only 39% of respondents said they approved, while 55% gave Trump a thumbs down.

WHERE TRUMP STANDS IN THE LATEST FOX NEWS NATIONAL POLL

In the wake of Trump’s blockbuster announcement last week to impose tariffs on dozens of countries across the globe, nearly three-quarters thought the tariffs would hurt the U.S. economy in the short term, while just over half said the move by the president would also hurt the nation’s economy in the long term as well.

“A large majority of voters acknowledge the tariffs are delivering a bruising body blow to the economy in the near term. Will time reduce the pain? Some think it will, but a majority don’t envision that happening,” Quinnipiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy emphasized.

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Given a list of four economic issues and asked which one worries voters the most right now, 47% of those questioned in the poll said the price of food and consumer goods, with one-in-five saying the cost of housing or rent, 17% saying the stock market, and 6% pointing to their job situation.

“In a rare moment of political unanimity, Democrats, Republicans and independents in equal numbers worry most about the prices of what they eat and what they buy,” Malloy noted.

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According to the poll, voters were divided over which party they think cares more about the needs and problems of people like them.

A third of respondents said the Democratic Party, with an equal amount (33%) saying the Republican Party. Thirty-one percent answered that neither party cared more.

GOP senator turns tables on Dem narrative about Social Security and Medicare

EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., is clapping back against accusations from Democrats that Republicans are trying to make cuts to Social Security and Medicare benefits for seniors.

“The message to seniors is really pretty simple. We are going to strengthen Social Security. That is our goal. And one of the ways we’re doing that is by rooting out waste, fraud, abuse,” she told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview, saying the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been an effective tool for doing so.

The senator is touting the RETIREES FIRST Act, which would raise the income bar for somebody to be required to pay federal taxes on their Social Security payouts.

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“Now, there’s also legislation I have — and the president’s talked about this a lot — and it’s removing a federal income tax from Social Security benefits. And as we work on the tax package, you’re going to see this in one of those reconciliation packages,” she said.

“The left and the mainstream media continues to talk a lot about cutting Social Security, and we are not doing that,” she said. Blackburn’s office is circulating a memo highlighting a quote from President Donald Trump on “Sunday Morning Futures” last month saying he’s “not going to touch Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid. Now, we’re going to get fraud out of there.”

“What we’re doing is strengthening. We are not cutting. What we are doing is making certain that people that are defrauding the system, people who are abusing the system, are no longer going to be able to do that. People that have paid into Social Security deserve to get every penny that they are in line to receive as a benefit, and we want to make certain that that happens,” the Republican said.

ELON MUSK SCRAPS WITH CHUCK SCHUMER, SUGGESTING THE SENATOR PROFITS FROM GOVERNMENT FRAUD

Blackburn also took aim at the state of California, which made it a state law in 2024 to provide Medicaid, known in the state as Medi-Cal, to illegal immigrants. The program is now being partially blamed for the state going nearly $3.5 billion over budget for Medi-Cal, and the governor’s office has had to ask for billions in loans to cover the costs.

“So it’s all taxpayer money, and when you hear of a state like California who decided — they made a conscious decision, a very intentional decision — that they wanted to provide healthcare for those that were illegally entering the country, and they wanted the taxpayers to pay for it. And Tennesseans will say, ‘Well, we don’t want to shoulder that burden because that’s a policy we don’t agree with,'” Blackburn said.

DEMOCRATS HAVE BEEN ‘WRONG’ ON EVERY ISSUE: SEN. MARSHA BLACKBURN

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats in Congress have raised alarms about cuts made to the Social Security Administration, including 7,000 staff layoffs.

“Make no mistake: What Elon Musk is doing at Social Security is cutting benefits. And Senate Republicans are standing with him. They blocked our amendments last week to protect Social Security from DOGE and reverse the Social Security layoffs and office closures,” Schumer tweeted Monday.  

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However, Elon Musk said cutting benefits for people actually taking them is not the case.

“The intern running Schumer’s social media account is lying,” Musk said in response to Schumer’s post Tuesday. 

Dem lawmaker lashes out at Trump, refers to president using vulgar profanity

The reason the golf legend missed famed Masters Champions Dinner

While it was known Tiger Woods wouldn’t be participating in this year’s Masters tournament, the annual Masters Champions Dinner on Tuesday night might have been in the cards for the five-time winner.

However, of the 35 chairs that were reserved for past champions of the illustrious major, Woods wasn’t among them.

Golfweek learned from 1971 Masters victor Charles Coody that Woods, who suffered an Achilles tear, still isn’t able to walk properly, hence his absence from the dinner. 

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“We were putting our jackets away, and the guys said that Tiger still can’t put weight on his foot,” Coody said. “They said his weight tolerance just isn’t there to climb up those stairs.”

Woods ruptured his Achilles tendon in his left foot last month, rendering him obsolete for at least the 2025 campaign as he endures extensive rehab. 

Woods announced the injury last month, saying that he felt a “sharp pain in my left Achilles,” while he was trying to train and practice at home to get back on the course. He underwent surgery shortly thereafter, saying he expects a full recovery. 

TIGER WOODS TEAMS UP WITH AUGUSTA NATIONAL TO BUILD PAR-3 COURSE AT THE PATCH

“I am back home now and plan to focus on my recovery and rehab, thank you for all the support,” he added. 

Woods had been playing in the TGL, a golf simulator league founded by himself and Rory McIlroy. Woods teamed up with Tom Kim, Max Homa and Kevin Kisner for that venture. 

While Woods hasn’t been on the course recently, he has made news off it, specifically after confirming his relationship to Vanessa Trump, the former wife of Donald Trump Jr.

“Love is in the air and life is better with you by my side! We look forward to our journey through life together. At this time we would appreciate privacy for all those close to our hearts.,” Woods wrote in his social media post with Vanessa.

Woods is also making some news this Masters week even if he’s not there. 

It was announced that he will be designing a nine-hole, par-3 course at Augusta Municipal Golf Course, which is more commonly known as the Patch, named for the vegetable gardens that were once near the property of Augusta National Golf Club. 

The renovation of the course will be funded by Augusta National as well as Woods’ foundation, which is building an educational center for local public students. The par-3 course will be known as The Loop, which honors Augusta National caddies who would gather there to play in their spare time. 

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“It’s a momentous day for all of us at the TGR Foundation to be able to have this moment, to be able to do this in conjunction with Augusta,” Woods said in prerecorded remarks on Monday, “and to do something at a place that has meant so much to me in my lifetime.”

Judge tears into man after realizing his attorney was AI-generated

An artificial intelligence-generated avatar was the source of contempt inside a New York courtroom after judges quickly realized the attorney arguing a case in front of them was not real. 

The scene unfolded as Jerome Dewald, a plaintiff in an employment dispute, approached the stand of the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division’s First Judicial Department on March 26. 

“The appellant has submitted a video for his argument,” Justice Sallie Manzanet-Daniels said. “We will hear that video now.” 

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The screen powered on, displaying a handsome young man wearing a button-down shirt, seemingly sitting in a home office. 

“May it please the court, I come here today a humble pro se before a panel of five distinguished justices,” the man said.  Suddenly, Manzanet-Daniels interrupted the video and questioned the authenticity of the apparent attorney. 

“Hold on,” Manzanet-Daniels said. “Is that counsel for the case?” 

LAWYER IN HOT WATER AFTER USING AI TO PRESENT MADE UP INFORMATION

Dewald confirmed the man was, in fact, his representative, and told the judges, “I generated that. That’s not a real person.”  The fallout was immediate as the judge clearly expressed her disapproval of Dewald’s choice to present an AI-generated video. 

“It would have been nice to know that when you made your application,” Manzanet-Daniels said. “You did not tell me that, sir.”

Dewald reportedly submitted a letter apologizing to the court, explaining he did not have a lawyer representing him in the case and had not intended any harm. 

LAWYERS BRACE FOR AI’S POTENTIAL TO UPEND COURT CASES WITH PHONY EVIDENCE

“The court was really upset about it,” Dewald told The Associated Press. “They chewed me up pretty good.” 

Dewald reportedly applied for permission from the court to play a prerecorded video and initially planned to use an avatar that resembled himself, but opted for a program created by a San Francisco tech company. 

The snafu was not the first time artificial intelligence has raised eyebrows in court. 

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Last year, two New York lawyers were each fined $5,000 by a federal judge after they used ChatGPT to conduct legal research, leading to them citing a fictitious case. 

Additional fake rulings were cited in legal papers filed by lawyers for Michael Cohen, a formal personal attorney for President Donald Trump. Cohen took responsibility for the incident, claiming he was unaware the AI-tool his firm was using was capable of “hallucinations.” 

Dewald did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.