July 7, 2025 • 6 mins
Reagan Reese talks with Mendte in the Morning about the signing of the Big Beautiful Bill before the weekend, and some of the most important parts of the bill.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
So let's talk to Reagan Reese White House correspondent for
the Daily Caller and Independent Women's Foreign Visiting Fellow about
all of that. First of all, Reagan, it was quite
a show he put on when he signed that bill,
wasn't it.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Yes, it was. I think it's perfect.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
And the administration completely lucked out with the fact that
the bill was in fact passed and made it to
President Trump's desk by July fourth, because it perfectly coincided
with everything he had planned to celebrate the birthday, the
birthday of our nation.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
It is amazing that they got it done exactly when
he maybe a few hours later. It was supposed to
be by at noon. They didn't make that, but it
was there fast enough, and it certainly was great for
the performance that he had in introducing the bill. Since then,
the bill, of course, has been slammed over and over again,
especially about medicaid cuts and some other things, but mostly
(00:58):
about medicaid and lost in all of the reporting, reag
and it seems like anything good in the bill. So,
can you list some of the things in the bill
that are good things since all we've heard about are
the bad things.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Well, I'll say this if the noise is too exhausting.
You know, it's typically the critics of President Trump who
are critiquing the bill. It's not the people who voted
for him that are going to be upset about this.
This is a piece of legislation that codifies a large
amount of President Trump's agenda, which is what conservatives, maga
(01:36):
Republicans have been kind of complaining about Congress not doing.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
And so what this bill does is it.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Puts in a permanent extension of Trump's twenty seventeen tax cuts.
It provides billions of dollars to new security, border security,
and defense spending. It does slash MEDICAIDS spending by about
a trillion dollars over a ten year period. And that's
really the bulk of it is is defense, border spending,
(02:06):
and tax cuts, and those are the big things that
it hits on.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
But the trillion dollars and saving in medicaid, which is
what is being hit on all of the time, more
than anything else on the bill, that's what's talked about.
From what I understand, You can tell me if this
is correct. Most of that, if not all of it
is getting people off that were off the rolls. That
(02:31):
can work that are able bodied and insisting that they
go to work and taking off those who are in
the country illegally. Does that make up all of it?
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (02:42):
From my understanding, I think Medicaid is a really tricky thing.
And we've seen the President go back and forth himself.
There's been numerous reports, and I remember writing a story
a couple of months ago where one day he said,
don't cut medicaid. I don't want it touched at all.
Do cut medicaid. You must touch medicaid, And then it
was back, don't touch medicaid. And so it's this ever
(03:05):
evolving issue that I just don't think is black and white, regardless.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Of how sensical it might seem to you.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
And I I think it's very complicated for these for Congress,
for the President, and I think that's been illustrated through
this battle for the big beautiful bill.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
But if they take off all of the people, I mean,
the people in this country illegally. If you hear numbers
between ten million and twenty million, but it's millions of
people we can agree on that. If they are getting
medicaid and you take them off, that could easily be
that trillion dollars right there.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
I do believe.
Speaker 3 (03:43):
I reported earlier this year that the Department of Government
Efficiency had actually gone through and found, you know, both
illegal immigrants and just immigrants who did not qualify for
medicaid who were on medicaid and took them off. So
it looks like this has been something the administration has
been working on over the last couple of months as well,
(04:05):
and including this Department of Government Efficiency.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
And let's get to your exclusive, because the last time
we talked to you had an exclusive. You seem you
have an exclusive every week. And this is the fact
that the State Department, and we're talking about cutting funds again,
cutting funds with some unnecessary people. We're talking about paying
underperforming diplomats, and in diplomats, it may not actually be
diplomats anymore, but they still get some funding and they
(04:32):
still get some money. The Trump administration wants to cut
that out.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Completely, right, Yes, the State Department is ending a program
that for decades has given benefits and funds to low
performing diplomats rather than phasing them out of the department.
So they're essentially not doing their duties anymore, they're not
working anymore. And instead of phasing them out of the
government the government has been supporting them, and we obtained
(05:00):
memo that was going throughout the State Department to notify
the State Department of this decision.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
And what's really interesting is that it's been.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
Advised time after time that this program is actually in
violation of the law and that it should be removed
from the State Department. And even in twenty eighteen, according
to this memo, Trump's first State Department had the opportunity
to get rid of this program and declined to do so.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
So, you know, I think there's a lot of talk
about this Trump.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Second term and how it's so much different and better
than that first term, and I think this is a
perfect example of how much more serious the second Trump
White House is compared to the per Trump White House.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
I think he listened to a lot of the wrong
people in the first time around, and he's learned from
that this time. Reagan Reese, White House correspondent for The
Daily Caller and Independent Women's Foreign Visiting Fellow. Thanks so much, Reagan.
Talk to you again next week.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
I'm sure you'll have another exclusive then too.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Well.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
Hopefully I need to figure something out to work on today.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Thanks Reagan.
So let's talk to Reagan Reese White House correspondent for
the Daily Caller and Independent Women's Foreign Visiting Fellow about
all of that. First of all, Reagan, it was quite
a show he put on when he signed that bill,
wasn't it.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Yes, it was. I think it's perfect.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
And the administration completely lucked out with the fact that
the bill was in fact passed and made it to
President Trump's desk by July fourth, because it perfectly coincided
with everything he had planned to celebrate the birthday, the
birthday of our nation.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
It is amazing that they got it done exactly when
he maybe a few hours later. It was supposed to
be by at noon. They didn't make that, but it
was there fast enough, and it certainly was great for
the performance that he had in introducing the bill. Since then,
the bill, of course, has been slammed over and over again,
especially about medicaid cuts and some other things, but mostly
(00:58):
about medicaid and lost in all of the reporting, reag
and it seems like anything good in the bill. So,
can you list some of the things in the bill
that are good things since all we've heard about are
the bad things.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Well, I'll say this if the noise is too exhausting.
You know, it's typically the critics of President Trump who
are critiquing the bill. It's not the people who voted
for him that are going to be upset about this.
This is a piece of legislation that codifies a large
amount of President Trump's agenda, which is what conservatives, maga
(01:36):
Republicans have been kind of complaining about Congress not doing.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
And so what this bill does is it.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Puts in a permanent extension of Trump's twenty seventeen tax cuts.
It provides billions of dollars to new security, border security,
and defense spending. It does slash MEDICAIDS spending by about
a trillion dollars over a ten year period. And that's
really the bulk of it is is defense, border spending,
(02:06):
and tax cuts, and those are the big things that
it hits on.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
But the trillion dollars and saving in medicaid, which is
what is being hit on all of the time, more
than anything else on the bill, that's what's talked about.
From what I understand, You can tell me if this
is correct. Most of that, if not all of it
is getting people off that were off the rolls. That
(02:31):
can work that are able bodied and insisting that they
go to work and taking off those who are in
the country illegally. Does that make up all of it?
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (02:42):
From my understanding, I think Medicaid is a really tricky thing.
And we've seen the President go back and forth himself.
There's been numerous reports, and I remember writing a story
a couple of months ago where one day he said,
don't cut medicaid. I don't want it touched at all.
Do cut medicaid. You must touch medicaid, And then it
was back, don't touch medicaid. And so it's this ever
(03:05):
evolving issue that I just don't think is black and white, regardless.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Of how sensical it might seem to you.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
And I I think it's very complicated for these for Congress,
for the President, and I think that's been illustrated through
this battle for the big beautiful bill.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
But if they take off all of the people, I mean,
the people in this country illegally. If you hear numbers
between ten million and twenty million, but it's millions of
people we can agree on that. If they are getting
medicaid and you take them off, that could easily be
that trillion dollars right there.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
I do believe.
Speaker 3 (03:43):
I reported earlier this year that the Department of Government
Efficiency had actually gone through and found, you know, both
illegal immigrants and just immigrants who did not qualify for
medicaid who were on medicaid and took them off. So
it looks like this has been something the administration has
been working on over the last couple of months as well,
(04:05):
and including this Department of Government Efficiency.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
And let's get to your exclusive, because the last time
we talked to you had an exclusive. You seem you
have an exclusive every week. And this is the fact
that the State Department, and we're talking about cutting funds again,
cutting funds with some unnecessary people. We're talking about paying
underperforming diplomats, and in diplomats, it may not actually be
diplomats anymore, but they still get some funding and they
(04:32):
still get some money. The Trump administration wants to cut
that out.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Completely, right, Yes, the State Department is ending a program
that for decades has given benefits and funds to low
performing diplomats rather than phasing them out of the department.
So they're essentially not doing their duties anymore, they're not
working anymore. And instead of phasing them out of the
government the government has been supporting them, and we obtained
(05:00):
memo that was going throughout the State Department to notify
the State Department of this decision.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
And what's really interesting is that it's been.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
Advised time after time that this program is actually in
violation of the law and that it should be removed
from the State Department. And even in twenty eighteen, according
to this memo, Trump's first State Department had the opportunity
to get rid of this program and declined to do so.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
So, you know, I think there's a lot of talk
about this Trump.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Second term and how it's so much different and better
than that first term, and I think this is a
perfect example of how much more serious the second Trump
White House is compared to the per Trump White House.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
I think he listened to a lot of the wrong
people in the first time around, and he's learned from
that this time. Reagan Reese, White House correspondent for The
Daily Caller and Independent Women's Foreign Visiting Fellow. Thanks so much, Reagan.
Talk to you again next week.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
I'm sure you'll have another exclusive then too.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Well.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
Hopefully I need to figure something out to work on today.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Thanks Reagan.
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