Richard Arnold: US Correspondent on Trump's tax and spending bill

The US President is facing questions over health coverage cuts in his tax and spending bill, which just passed the Senate 

The casting vote of Vice-President JD Vance was needed, but it still needs House approval before it can be signed by Donald Trump by July 4th. 

The Congressional Budget Office says 11.8 million people could lose health coverage if it becomes law. 

US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking that Trump originally said they wouldn’t touch Medicaid, which has turned out to be a lie. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Richard Arnold, very good morning to you, Good morning mine, JD.

Speaker 2 (00:03):
Required and we're back to the House.

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Yeah. So that's the headline of what a process. This is
politics as usual as subnew combo of cronies and bribes
and threats. Trump a short time ago muscled his tax
bill through the Senate. He squeaked it. The vote was
party line, fifty to fifty. Then, as you indicate, JD.
Vance device, President came in to cast a tie break
and push this along. So it goes back to the

(00:26):
lower House. No Democrat voted for the Trump measure, which
is expected to add, as we've noted, five point four
or five trillion dollars. Heill international dead on top of
the prison fifty nine point two trillion dollar debt if
we're lock into place earlier Trump tax cuts, but most
of those tax benefits will go to the wealthiest as well.
There is two hundred and eighty seven billion dollars for

(00:48):
immigration enforcement. There was an alert today that ICE immigration
agents in marks have been spotted in my own suburb.
They're showing up at schools and restaurants and car washers
and strawberry fields where they were chasing work. The other
day across the farms. One man, a doctor, is quoted
today saying he has had to drive his own kids
through sports practice because then nanny would not leave the house.

(01:09):
He says, quote it's like Ann Frank or something, referring,
of course, to the young Jewish girl who was in
hiding during World War II before being caught and dying
in Auschwitz. Anyway, the big losers from the Trump bill
are poor people who need food stamps money for food,
and poor people who need health care coverage Medicaid. Trump said,
re Medicaid. Here's what I want on Medicaid.

Speaker 2 (01:29):
We're not touching anything.

Speaker 1 (01:31):
Well, that was a lie. The bill's Medicaid restrictions are
expected to lead to the loss of healthcare coverage for
around eleven point eight million Americans over time. Republican Senator
Josh Harley said he was really worried about health care
in his state of Missouri, then he voted for this
thing anyway. Republican Senator Tom tillis who's at wealth so
notas said to be around eighteen million dollars in New Zealand,

(01:52):
so his food supply and health insurance are probably going
to be okay. Tiller said he would not vote for
the bill. Why do I.

Speaker 2 (01:58):
Tell sex hundred and six thousand people and two years
or three years when President Trump breaks his promise by
pushing them off of medication.

Speaker 1 (02:09):
So Trump said if Tilla supposed him, he Trump would
back someone else to replace him in the Senate. Take that. Well,
Tillis then said he wasn't going to run for reelection anyway.
So you take that, mister president, shows again that the
only Congress people these days with any guts of those
with big savings accounts who can't stand the game anymore anyway.
So Trump could not afford to lose more than three votes.

(02:29):
He lost three. And on the fence was Alaska Senator
Lisa mckowski, and she was bought off. They kind to
deal with her late in the game. So food stamps
still will be available in Alaska, but not in most
other states without extensive paperwork requirements. So she's fine with
that cutout for her own. If the rest of the
country has a tougher time, so be it. Then there's

(02:49):
the return of Elon Musk. Yeah, haven't heard from him
for a few days. Well's richest man says, if it's
the quote last thing he does on this Earth, he
will put some of his megabucks in to defeating any
of those who voted for the Trump bill. Elon says
he also will form his own political party, the America Party,
But Trump says Mask is only peeved because he doesn't

(03:10):
get cash for his electric vehicles under the bill, writes
the President, quote Elon may get more subsidy than any
human being in history by far. And without subsidies, Elon
would probably have to close up shop and head back
home to South Africa. Trump continues, quote no more rocket launchers,
satellites or electric car production. Perhaps, says the President, we
should have Doze, of course Elon's creation to take a

(03:32):
good look at this. Then it all perhaps big Buddy
to be saved. So the bromance Mike seems to be
in trouble. Maybe a bit of couple's therapy needed.

Speaker 2 (03:41):
This Idaho thing, is this a plea deal?

Speaker 1 (03:44):
It is, and it's a plea bill that's not making
everybody happy, you know, including some of the family members
of the four students who were stabbed to death in
this stabbing rampage in Idaho. This is the case of
Brian Coburger, whose mass murder trial was about to begin soon.
But now it's all been said, as some prosecutors have
made this a go. It was a killer who has
said he will plead guilty to the murders in court
tomorrow in order to avoid the death penalty. That means

(04:06):
execution off the table, and also there will be no
chance for the family to find out details of what
happened to their loved ones. One of the victim's families
that gone Salvi's family is very unhappy with this arrangement
and says they weren't even told till this was actually announced.
They failed me, they failed my whole family. Yeah. Now
the member of that family is calling the prosecutors' actions
shocking and cruel. So there's a lot of anger over

(04:28):
what has been done in this case. Mike, whatever people's
opinions are about capital all right, I appreciate it very much.
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