Friday Insights-May 23, 2025
One Big Beautiful Bill, ethical questions, and the war on Harvard rages on
America’s fiscal future took a turn for the worse yesterday when the House passed Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” by a vote of 215-214-1. The vote was a victory for Trump. The bill now goes to the Senate. Hill Republicans hope to send the bill to the President by July 4th.
Much has been written about the bill's content, but three “features” stand out: The bill extends 2017 tax cuts with modifications that include eliminating the tax on tips. Medicaid is cut dramatically via provisions that would go into effect after the 2026 midterms and eliminate millions from eligibility. The bill cuts over $265 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which currently aids more than 40 million American families.
Finally, the bill raises the debt ceiling by $4 trillion.
If enacted into law, this latter provision would ensure that Republicans will not face another vote on the debt ceiling before the 2026 midterms.
Passage in the Senate is not guaranteed, but the probability of some version of the bill passing has increased dramatically.
Trump (Kristi Noem) kicks 7,000 students out of Harvard
Donald Trump’s war on Harvard continues. Through Homeland Security Secretary Noem, he revoked Harvard’s certification to enroll international students. The Department of Homeland Security based its decision on allegations of antisemitism on campus and race-based discrimination.
Harvard has sued, arguing (correctly) that the action is politically based and was executed without cause or due process.
Why is Donald Trump hell-bent on attacking Harvard? Could it be because Barron’s application (if there was one) was rejected?
Donald Trump gets his 747
The Department of Defense has accepted Qatar’s “gift” of a 747 to the U.S. and, after Trump leaves the presidency, to Trump’s Presidential Library. Is the “gift,” allegedly solicited by the Trump administration, a violation of the Constitution's Emoluments Clause?
Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 of the Constitution of the United States:
No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will apparently oversee the modifications to the aircraft necessary for it to serve as Air Force One. He declined to give information on what those modifications will be or what they will cost, which is no surprise.
The plane was flown to San Antonio, Texas, five weeks ago. Had I known this, I would never have speculated that the controversy around the “gift” and the cost of retrofitting it to serve as Air Force One would result in the “gift” being declined.
Another Oval Office ambush
The President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, met with President Trump in the Oval Office yesterday. The meeting did not go well. During the meeting, Trump asked for the lights to be lowered and showed a video purporting to document “white genocide” in South Africa.
NPR commented on the video:
He [Trump] misrepresented a video showing a protest, where people placed white crosses in a field to commemorate a farmer and his wife who were murdered in a 2020 home robbery, as a "burial site." South African news site News24 said there are no bodies at the site and the number of crosses do not relate to the number of murders.
Trump also played clips of two controversial South African opposition politicians – who in no way speak for the government – singing songs from the struggle against apartheid, including one called "kill the Boer" – which means Afrikaaner or farmer.
Trump has granted refugee status to Afrikaaners in recent weeks, an action that has angered many in light of Trump’s aggressive program of deportations, almost all of which target people of color.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
Donald Trump announced that he is actively considering privatizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two government-sponsored entities that support the mortgage market. Trump indicates that both are “throwing off a lot of cash” and that it may be time to privatize them.
The announcement was not unexpected, but how the announcement was made (on Truth Social) raises questions about who knew Trump was about to make the announcement. Is anyone at the SEC watching for insider trading? If they find it, will they prosecute?
The stock rose by over 30 percent in trading on Thursday morning.
Donald $Trump’s dinner
Despite questions about the ethics of holding a “private” dinner with the top 220 “investors” in $Trump, Donald Trump’s meme coin, the dinner was held last night. I have only seen one of Trump’s comments at the dinner. He asked attendees, “Did you see the helicopter?” He was referring to Marine One, which transported the President from the White House to Trump’s Virginia golf club for the event.
“Brought to you by AI”
These words did not appear on a list of recommended summer reading in the Philadelphia Inquirer and Chicago Sun-Times. The Washington Post reports that the list, which appeared in the two newspapers, included nonexistent book titles and quotes from nonexistent experts. Wow.
I occasionally wonder how much of what I read on Substack is “untouched by human hands,” but unless there are major errors, as happened with the summer reading list, I am unlikely to catch AI-generated copy.
Thank you.
Thank you for reading today’s Friday Insights. I appreciate it.
There's never enough printable words to describe the contempt for this evil administration?