{"id":11578901,"date":"2025-07-26T05:00:43","date_gmt":"2025-07-26T09:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/?p=11578901"},"modified":"2025-07-25T14:34:32","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T18:34:32","slug":"immigration-epstein-and-the-obbb-what-the-house-did-before-summer-break","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/07\/26\/immigration-epstein-and-the-obbb-what-the-house-did-before-summer-break\/","title":{"rendered":"Immigration, Epstein, and the OBBB: What the House did before summer break"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON \u2014 A session defined by Republican wins concluded with a Republican rebellion<\/a> this week in the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers returned to their districts on Wednesday, earlier than anticipated. They were sent home by House Speaker Mike Johnson amid calls from the Democrats to vote on the Epstein files \u2014 which President Donald Trump reversed on his promise to release.<\/p>\n

“Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my past supporters have bought into this [bullcrap], hook, line, and sinker,” Trump recently posted on Truth Social<\/a>, referring to Democrats.<\/p>\n

The push has marked an interesting alliance between Democrats and Trump supporters, who have long called for transparency in the case, concerned that a cover-up was protecting Epstein\u2019s clients.<\/p>\n

Republican leadership had to toggle between the issue that their conservative base championed and the president’s current decision.<\/p>\n

Democrats insisted on releasing the files as Republican leadership tried to respond to the issue championed by their conservative base.<\/p>\n

“We want full transparency,” Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, told CBS News<\/a> on Wednesday. “We want everybody who is involved in any way with the Epstein evils \u2014 let’s call it what it was \u2014 to be brought to justice as quickly as possible.”<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also an ending to a session marked by some major victories for Republicans. Until they return in September, they\u2019ll tout their wins from the session to their constituents back home, as Democrats continue their own messaging campaigns against the Republican agenda.<\/p>\n

Though there weren’t many bills passed, the ones that were passed were largely partisan and focused on Trump’s priorities. House Republicans passed legislation on immigration. They jammed Democrats on government funding. And they finished the \u201cOne Big, Beautiful Bill Act\u201d \u2014 Trump\u2019s crowning legislative achievement.<\/p>\n

Immigration<\/h4>\n

In the first vote of the new Congress, 48 Democrats joined every Republican to pass legislation on Trump\u2019s foremost campaign promise: halting illegal immigration.<\/p>\n

The Laken Riley Act passed the House in early January, before Trump even took office. While the bill’s namesake was a Republican rallying cry throughout Trump’s campaign, 11 more Democrats supported the measure than in 2024, when it was last considered.<\/p>\n

The bill was named after Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student at Augusta University. She was murdered while jogging at the University of Georgia on Feb. 22, 2024. Her killer, Jose Ibarra, was a 26-year-old undocumented migrant from Venezuela. He entered the United States illegally during former President Joe Biden\u2019s administration in September 2022.<\/p>\n

Ibarra was later found guilty on all charges.<\/p>\n

The legislation adds shoplifting, burglary, larceny, and theft to the list of charges that would require the detention and, potentially, the deportation of undocumented immigrants who commit such crimes. Before he killed Riley, Ibarra had been arrested for shoplifting but not detained.<\/p>\n

After being amended by the Senate to include more severe crimes \u2014 assaulting a police officer or any crime that results in death or serious bodily injury \u2014 the House passed the final version of the bill in late January. Some 46 Democrats supported it, including Rep. April McClain Delaney of Frederick County. Trump signed it into law on Jan. 29.<\/p>\n

Immigration was also a focus of the Big, Beautiful Bill. It delivered $165 billion in border security funding to the Department of Homeland Security. That included $46.5 billion for the border wall; $14.4 billion for deportations; 6,000 new customs and border patrol agents; and 80,000 more beds for ICE detention facilities.<\/p>\n

Taxes and cuts in One Big, Beautiful Bill<\/h4>\n

The One Big, Beautiful Bill took up most of Republicans\u2019 legislative efforts during the first half of the year. It was the conservative version of the Inflation Reduction Act that became law during the Biden administration \u2014 a partisan, omnibus spending package that compiled the majority party\u2019s policy priorities into a massive grab bag of legislation.<\/p>\n

By using an opaque\u00a0parliamentary process known as budget reconciliation, Republicans were able to pass the bill without negotiating with Democrats.<\/p>\n

They did, however, debate amongst themselves. Moderates argued with conservatives for months over how much the bill would spend, which policies it would address, and which it would avoid. All the while, Trump and administration officials continued to apply pressure on congressional Republicans to complete the spending package before the July 4.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the final bill passed and became law after a group of conservatives \u2014 led by House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, an Eastern Shore Republican \u2014 negotiated a handshake agreement with the White House for future executive actions.<\/p>\n

The bill cost $3.4 trillion. It approved $350 billion in border and defense spending, permanently extended the current tax rates while adding temporary tax breaks for overtime and tipped wages, and boosted the state and local deduction cap to $40,000. The tax portion made up the bulk of the costs.<\/p>\n

It also cut over $1 trillion in Medicaid and SNAP funding by adding work requirements and more frequent eligibility checks. Roughly 246,000 Maryland residents are expected to lose their health care coverage by 2034.<\/p>\n

Rescissions, crypto and Epstein<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The last major pieces of the first stretch of Congress were a $9 billion rescissions package and new crypto laws to provide some structure for the growing industry.<\/p>\n

The rescissions package was a bundle of programs, totaling $9.4 billion of congressionally appropriated funds that Trump didn\u2019t want to spend. The package focused on clawing back funds from public broadcasting and foreign aid programs, including PEPFAR, an AIDS\/HIV assistance program started under President George W. Bush.<\/p>\n

It was another partisan process that ultimately passed along party lines after the PEPFAR provision, which cost $400 million, was removed. But even though they passed the rescission, many moderate Republicans expressed concern throughout the process.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the package passed the House on July 18 after a prolonged delay, dragging the vote past midnight. Two Republicans joined all Democrats in opposing the claw back.<\/p>\n

The delay was an early sign of the impending chaos that beset House Republicans over the Epstein files in the past two weeks. Since January, Democratic members have been relegated to bystander status on Capitol Hill. That changed with the rise of the Epstein debacle, which began when they tried to pass votes on the documents while Republicans tried to pass the rescissions package.<\/p>\n

The resistance flared up the next week when Republicans tried to pass the GENIUS Act, a bipartisan cryptocurrency bill that creates a regulatory framework for stable coins. Only two Maryland members supported it in the House: Reps. Johnny Olszewski, a Baltimore County Democrat, and McClain Delaney. It became law the next day.<\/p>\n

Even as the House progressed with its crypto plans, Republicans\u2019 Epstein files issue became a major problem. A committee hearing on July 17 escalated into a shouting match between a Republican and a Democrat, with both hurling insults and accusations that the other wasn\u2019t serious about protecting underage victims.<\/p>\n

Republican leadership faced a dilemma, unable to find a path that would appease Trump, their voter base, and their own members amid the growing clamor for transparency.<\/p>\n

“I told leadership last week, ‘If there’s ever an opportunity … to do anything realistically with the Epstein stuff, a majority of the committee’s gonna vote for it,” House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, said earlier last week<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As a result, Johnson ended the week early.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unlikely that the month-long recess will do much to dampen the calls for the documents\u2019 release. The conservative base has demanded the files for years. Democrats are using it to hammer Republicans. And a bipartisan petition demanding the Justice Department release the files will likely require a vote in September.<\/p>\n

Once lawmakers return, they\u2019ll have under a month until funding for the federal government runs out. The House has so far made little progress on reaching agreements on the 12 appropriations bills. It sets up a potential omnibus bill that would continue funding at the current levels, known as a continuing resolution.<\/p>\n

Democrats broadly opposed the current spending levels prior to the previous funding deadline in March. At least one Republican, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, has promised to oppose a continuing resolution.<\/p>\n

Have a news tip? Contact Ben Mause at bmause@baltsun.com.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A session defined by Republican wins concluded with a Republican rebellion this week in the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":267,"featured_media":11543155,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"2025-07-26T09:04:32Z","apple_news_api_id":"ede25fb3-825f-47e3-adef-730d23b7b14b","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-07-26T09:04:32Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A7eJfs4JfR-Ot73MNI7exSw","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"middle","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"subheadline":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[83,84,85,93],"tags":[26130,24457],"feature":[],"location":[223],"type-of-work":[],"coauthors":[26476],"class_list":["post-11578901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-headlines","category-local-news","category-news","category-politics","tag-maryland-politics","tag-social","location-maryland"],"post_status":"","edit_last":0,"edit_lock":0,"highlights":"","original_byline":"","original_canonical":"","original_category":"","original_email":"","original_id":0,"original_pubdate":"","original_source":"","primary_section":"93","primary_tag":0,"print_workflow_body":{"deck_headline":"","print_title":"Immigration, Epstein, and the OBBB: What the House did before summer break","print_subheadline":"","print_priority":"","print_placement":"cover","print_planned_ready":"","print_pub_date":"1753588800","print_slug":"TBS-L-CONGRESS-0724","print_budget_line":"","print_excerpt":"A session defined by Republican wins concluded with a Republican rebellion this week in the House of Representatives.","print_notes":"","photo_limits":"Photo limits are: 1 featured image, 5 featured gallery images, 5 embedded gallery images and 5 in-article embedded images. Articles that exceed these limits will not export. Please adjust images to reflect these limits.","print_featured_gallery_richtext":"","print_inline_galleries_richtext":"","print_inline_images_richtext":"","print_content":"

WASHINGTON \u2014 A session defined by Republican wins concluded with a Republican rebellion<\/a> this week in the House of Representatives.<\/p>

Lawmakers returned to their districts on Wednesday, earlier than anticipated. They were sent home by House Speaker Mike Johnson amid calls from the Democrats to vote on the Epstein files \u2014 which President Donald Trump reversed on his promise to release.<\/p>

\"Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my past supporters have bought into this [bullcrap], hook, line, and sinker,\" Trump recently posted on Truth Social<\/a>, referring to Democrats.<\/p>

The push has marked an interesting alliance between Democrats and Trump supporters, who have long called for transparency in the case, concerned that a cover-up was protecting Epstein\u2019s clients.<\/p>

Republican leadership had to toggle between the issue that their conservative base championed and the president's current decision.<\/p>

Democrats insisted on releasing the files as Republican leadership tried to respond to the issue championed by their conservative base.<\/p>

\"We want full transparency,\" Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, told CBS News<\/a> on Wednesday. \"We want everybody who is involved in any way with the Epstein evils \u2014 let's call it what it was \u2014 to be brought to justice as quickly as possible.\"<\/p>

It\u2019s also an ending to a session marked by some major victories for Republicans. Until they return in September, they\u2019ll tout their wins from the session to their constituents back home, as Democrats continue their own messaging campaigns against the Republican agenda.<\/p>

Though there weren't many bills passed, the ones that were passed were largely partisan and focused on Trump's priorities. House Republicans passed legislation on immigration. They jammed Democrats on government funding. And they finished the \u201cOne Big, Beautiful Bill Act\u201d \u2014 Trump\u2019s crowning legislative achievement.<\/p>

Immigration<\/h4>

In the first vote of the new Congress, 48 Democrats joined every Republican to pass legislation on Trump\u2019s foremost campaign promise: halting illegal immigration.<\/p>

The Laken Riley Act passed the House in early January, before Trump even took office. While the bill's namesake was a Republican rallying cry throughout Trump's campaign, 11 more Democrats supported the measure than in 2024, when it was last considered.<\/p>

The bill was named after Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student at Augusta University. She was murdered while jogging at the University of Georgia on Feb. 22, 2024. Her killer, Jose Ibarra, was a 26-year-old undocumented migrant from Venezuela. He entered the United States illegally during former President Joe Biden\u2019s administration in September 2022.<\/p>

Ibarra was later found guilty on all charges.<\/p>

The legislation adds shoplifting, burglary, larceny, and theft to the list of charges that would require the detention and, potentially, the deportation of undocumented immigrants who commit such crimes. Before he killed Riley, Ibarra had been arrested for shoplifting but not detained.<\/p>

After being amended by the Senate to include more severe crimes \u2014 assaulting a police officer or any crime that results in death or serious bodily injury \u2014 the House passed the final version of the bill in late January. Some 46 Democrats supported it, including Rep. April McClain Delaney of Frederick County. Trump signed it into law on Jan. 29.<\/p>

Immigration was also a focus of the Big, Beautiful Bill. It delivered $165 billion in border security funding to the Department of Homeland Security. That included $46.5 billion for the border wall; $14.4 billion for deportations; 6,000 new customs and border patrol agents; and 80,000 more beds for ICE detention facilities.<\/p>

Taxes and cuts in One Big, Beautiful Bill<\/h4>

The One Big, Beautiful Bill took up most of Republicans\u2019 legislative efforts during the first half of the year. It was the conservative version of the Inflation Reduction Act that became law during the Biden administration \u2014 a partisan, omnibus spending package that compiled the majority party\u2019s policy priorities into a massive grab bag of legislation.<\/p>

By using an opaque\u00a0parliamentary process known as budget reconciliation, Republicans were able to pass the bill without negotiating with Democrats.<\/p>

They did, however, debate amongst themselves. Moderates argued with conservatives for months over how much the bill would spend, which policies it would address, and which it would avoid. All the while, Trump and administration officials continued to apply pressure on congressional Republicans to complete the spending package before the July 4.<\/p>

Ultimately, the final bill passed and became law after a group of conservatives \u2014 led by House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, an Eastern Shore Republican \u2014 negotiated a handshake agreement with the White House for future executive actions.<\/p>

The bill cost $3.4 trillion. It approved $350 billion in border and defense spending, permanently extended the current tax rates while adding temporary tax breaks for overtime and tipped wages, and boosted the state and local deduction cap to $40,000. The tax portion made up the bulk of the costs.<\/p>

It also cut over $1 trillion in Medicaid and SNAP funding by adding work requirements and more frequent eligibility checks. Roughly 246,000 Maryland residents are expected to lose their health care coverage by 2034.<\/p>

Rescissions, crypto and Epstein<\/strong><\/h4>

The last major pieces of the first stretch of Congress were a $9 billion rescissions package and new crypto laws to provide some structure for the growing industry.<\/p>

The rescissions package was a bundle of programs, totaling $9.4 billion of congressionally appropriated funds that Trump didn\u2019t want to spend. The package focused on clawing back funds from public broadcasting and foreign aid programs, including PEPFAR, an AIDS\/HIV assistance program started under President George W. Bush.<\/p>

It was another partisan process that ultimately passed along party lines after the PEPFAR provision, which cost $400 million, was removed. But even though they passed the rescission, many moderate Republicans expressed concern throughout the process.<\/p>

Ultimately, the package passed the House on July 18 after a prolonged delay, dragging the vote past midnight. Two Republicans joined all Democrats in opposing the claw back.<\/p>

The delay was an early sign of the impending chaos that beset House Republicans over the Epstein files in the past two weeks. Since January, Democratic members have been relegated to bystander status on Capitol Hill. That changed with the rise of the Epstein debacle, which began when they tried to pass votes on the documents while Republicans tried to pass the rescissions package.<\/p>

The resistance flared up the next week when Republicans tried to pass the GENIUS Act, a bipartisan cryptocurrency bill that creates a regulatory framework for stable coins. Only two Maryland members supported it in the House: Reps. Johnny Olszewski, a Baltimore County Democrat, and McClain Delaney. It became law the next day.<\/p>

Even as the House progressed with its crypto plans, Republicans\u2019 Epstein files issue became a major problem. A committee hearing on July 17 escalated into a shouting match between a Republican and a Democrat, with both hurling insults and accusations that the other wasn\u2019t serious about protecting underage victims.<\/p>

Republican leadership faced a dilemma, unable to find a path that would appease Trump, their voter base, and their own members amid the growing clamor for transparency.<\/p>

\"I told leadership last week, 'If there's ever an opportunity ... to do anything realistically with the Epstein stuff, a majority of the committee's gonna vote for it,\" House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, said earlier last week<\/a>.<\/p>

As a result, Johnson ended the week early.<\/p>

It\u2019s unlikely that the month-long recess will do much to dampen the calls for the documents\u2019 release. The conservative base has demanded the files for years. Democrats are using it to hammer Republicans. And a bipartisan petition demanding the Justice Department release the files will likely require a vote in September.<\/p>

Once lawmakers return, they\u2019ll have under a month until funding for the federal government runs out. The House has so far made little progress on reaching agreements on the 12 appropriations bills. It sets up a potential omnibus bill that would continue funding at the current levels, known as a continuing resolution.<\/p>

Democrats broadly opposed the current spending levels prior to the previous funding deadline in March. At least one Republican, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, has promised to oppose a continuing resolution.<\/p>

Have a news tip? Contact Ben Mause at bmause@baltsun.com.<\/em><\/p>"},"print_workflow_exported_ts":"1753470085","print_workflow_exported_username":"Ayanna Alexander","print_workflow_shapes":"","print_workflow_side":{"print_section":"24225","print_status":"24232","add_export_buttons":"","print_endpoint":"tribune"},"really_short_title":"","short_title":"","syndication_source":"","market_neutral_title":"","social_title":"","dfm_hub_post_id":0,"paywall_level":"premium","featured_media_content":{"content_type":"image","content":{"id":11543155,"title":"APTOPIX_Trump_Congress_Tax_Cuts_92402","filename":"APTOPIX_Trump_Congress_Tax_Cuts_92402.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/APTOPIX_Trump_Congress_Tax_Cuts_92402.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/07\/04\/trump-signs-his-tax-and-spending-cut-bill-at-the-white-house-july-4-picnic\/attachment\/11543155\/","alt":"","author":"13","description":"","caption":"President Donald Trump bangs a gavel presented to him by House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., after he signed his signature bill of tax breaks and spending cuts at the White House, Friday, July 4, 2025, in Washington. 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