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The bill allocates $75 billion to ICE and border operations, $45 billion to detain immigrants (including minors), and $69 billion for border wall construction. The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly approved President Trump’s controversial $1.3 trillion fiscal package, with a 218-214 vote after intense overnight negotiations. The bill redistributes wealth toward billionaires while cutting food aid for 5 million vulnerable Americans and stripping healthcare from 12 million.

House Speaker Mike Johnson faced a Republican rebellion, led by the conservative Freedom Caucus, which demanded guarantees on future amendments. A procedural vote was extended for hours as leaders negotiated with holdouts. Trump personally intervened, holding urgent meetings with dissenting lawmakers.

Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries staged a historic 8-hour, 44-minute filibuster to protest the bill, setting a new House record. Despite his efforts, the legislation passed, marking a key political victory for Trump ahead of his self-imposed July 4 deadline.

The bill makes Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent and adds new breaks, eliminating taxes on tips, overtime, and Social Security benefits. However, it slashes food assistance for nearly 5 million people and reduces elder care services, disproportionately impacting low-income families.

Medicaid reforms impose work requirements and cut federal cost-sharing, projected to leave 12 million uninsured over the next decade. Meanwhile, the plan adds $3.25 trillion to the national debt while granting $1.3 trillion in tax cuts to billionaires.

It allocates $75 billion to ICE and border operations, $45 billion to detain immigrants (including minors), and $69 billion for border wall construction. The bill also eases regulations on firearm silencers, drawing criticism from public safety advocates.

A temporary raise of the state/local tax deduction cap to $40,000 (reverting to $10,000 after five years) was included, along with a $5 trillion debt ceiling increase. Johnson hinted at a second reconciliation package later in 2025, signaling a broader fiscal strategy.

Only two Republicans joined Democrats in opposing the bill. Trump plans to sign it by July 4, enacting one of the most polarizing fiscal overhauls in recent U.S. history. The White House claims deficit reduction, but critics dismiss these projections as unfounded.

Former US President Joe Biden denounces Donald Trump’s newly approved tax bill, criticizing its massive giveaways to the wealthy and devastating cuts to essential social programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and food assistance.

Former President Joe Biden sharply criticized the recent approval of Donald Trump’s flagship tax legislation, calling it “reckless and cruel” for delivering enormous tax breaks to billionaires while slashing vital programs that support working-class and vulnerable Americans. Biden’s condemnation echoes widespread left-wing outrage across the Americas, where progressive voices warn that the bill deepens inequality and threatens the social safety net.

At the heart of the controversy is the bill’s massive tax giveaway to the richest Americans. Analyses from left-leaning policy groups show that while all income brackets receive some tax relief, approximately 60% of the benefits flow to the top 20% of earners, with the wealthiest gaining tens of thousands of dollars annually. Meanwhile, low-income households see only minimal tax cuts, and many will actually lose ground once cuts to social programs are factored in.

The bill enacts deep cuts to Medicaid and food assistance programs like SNAP, which millions of low-income families, seniors, and veterans depend on. According to the Congressional Budget Office, these reductions could result in millions fewer Americans having health insurance and receiving food aid. The legislation also threatens Medicare by proposing spending caps that could lead to significant cuts in the near future.

Furthermore, the bill includes increased spending on defense and border enforcement, including billions for expanding the border wall and hiring additional immigration agents, reflecting a hardline immigration stance that many progressives vehemently oppose.

Economic and Social Consequences: Rising Debt and Costs for the Majority

The Congressional Budget Office warns that the bill will add over $3 trillion to the national debt in the coming decade, exacerbating an already precarious fiscal situation. This growing debt burden is expected to drive up interest rates, making everyday expenses like mortgages, car loans, and credit card payments more expensive for average Americans.

Critics also highlight that the bill’s tax policies disproportionately favor states with low or no state income tax, such as Texas and Wyoming, while imposing caps on state and local tax deductions (SALT) that hurt residents of higher-tax states. This uneven treatment further entrenches regional and economic inequalities.

Prominent left-wing figures and organizations across Latin America and the US have denounced the bill. Democratic leaders like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries staged historic, marathon speeches to oppose the legislation, framing it as an attack on “children, seniors, veterans, unions, farmers, Dreamers, the working class, and the poor.”

Elon Musk, once a Trump ally, has also criticized the bill for its regressive tax cuts and for eliminating incentives for clean energy, calling it “political suicide” for Republicans.

The “Big and Beautiful” tax bill represents a stark choice between the interests of the ultra-wealthy and the needs of working people. As Biden and progressive voices warn, the legislation’s combination of massive tax breaks for billionaires, cuts to essential social programs, and increased militarization of the border threatens to deepen social inequality and undermine the fragile economic security of millions of Americans. The fight against this bill is part of a broader struggle for social justice and economic democracy in the Americas.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that he ordered the recall of John T. McNamara, the acting ambassador in Bogotá, on Thursday "following baseless and reprehensible statements from senior Colombian government officials." The State Department also called Colombia an "essential strategic partner" but said it would pursue "other measures to make clear our deep concern over the current state of our bilateral relationship."

In response, Petro said he would call back Ambassador Daniel García-Peña from Washington in order to "brief us on the progress of the bilateral agenda to which I committed myself from the beginning of my government."

Although Rubio did not elaborate on the alleged "reprehensible" statements, Colombian newspaper El Tiempo on Thursday published a letter allegedly sent to the U.S. House Committee on Ethics calling for an investigation into House Republicans, including Florida lawmakers Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, Rep. María Elvira Salazar, and Rep. Carlos Antonio Gimenez. The letter was signed by 30 Colombian representatives.

In it, the congressmen expressed "deep concern" about the lawmakers' conduct and said that "any unjustified interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign country undermines" the principles of mutual respect between nations.

Representatives Díaz-Balart and Gimenez were mentioned alongside Trump advisors including Rubio in recordings leaked to the Spanish newspaper El País that purport to show Petro's former Foreign Minister, Álvaro Leyva, seeking U.S. pressure to oust his old boss.

"I was in the United States with a top-tier figure: Mario Díaz-Balart. The Díaz-Balarts are the ones behind the Secretary of State," Leyva allegedly told an unknown person in the recording. (Rep. Salazar was not mentioned in the recording but Colombian lawmakers accused her of making public comments aimed at delegitimizing Petro).

According to El País, the White House never considered Leyva's proposal, and Díaz-Balart dismissed the claims, saying he meets with all kinds of groups including officials in Colombia's current government. "I laugh at so many fabrications, nonsense, and hypocrisy. It reminds me of the saying ‘every fool with his own agenda'", he said.

Gimenez sloughed off the accusations as a "media circus by Gustavo Petro and his henchmen" and said they shouldn't complain if the U.S. denies later denies them visas.

Concrete evidence of an actual coup plot remains elusive and analysts see the rhetoric from Colombia's government as problematic.

"The only proof that we have [of a coup plot] are Leyva's recordings… We do not even have real evidence of this happening from Leyva associates, which is problematic because it is not clear if these individuals were actively conspiring, especially as many of them have strongly denied these allegations," said Sergio Guzmán, director of Colombia Risk Analysis, a consultancy.

"The U.S. Congress doesn't want to remain silent nor let this slide," he added.

The recall of ambassadors is the most severe escalation yet in the tense relationship between Trump and Petro that has been brewing for months. Guzmán points to a number of factors deteriorating the relationship including Petro's treatment of the opposition; lack of political protection for presidential candidates; Colombia joining the BRICS development bank, and rising coca cultivation which could lead to U.S. aid cuts to combat drug trafficking.

The analyst said that Petro's impulsive foreign policy has made "Colombia increasingly isolated and less credible" with its ally the United States. His current Foreign Minister, Laura Sarabia, also announced her resignation on Thursday.

Senator Paola Holguín from the opposition Democratic Center party told the Miami Herald that Petro's "repeated disrespectful statements, lack of commitment to fighting drug dealing and terrorism, and the alignment of our country with anti-democratic regimes and U.S. rivals are creating growing hardships" between the two countries.

Meanwhile, Petro's supporters demand U.S. politicians respect Colombia's sovereignty and its democratically elected president. "Calling him a narco-terrorist and drug addict is more than an insult; it's also an unacceptable fallacy; it's an affront to our nation and its sovereignty," wrote Senator María José Pizarro Rodríguez of Petro's Historic Pact for Colombia political party on X.

Colombia and the U.S. have built strong bonds over two centuries but the relationship has been strained in the past - namely over Cold War politics and the war on drugs. This latest diplomatic row, however, is disconcerting for those who study the relationship.

"We are very worried over the current state of the diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Colombia," said Holguín. "The U.S. has been our main commercial partner, a great ally in our fight against narcotrafficking and terrorism, and an important humanitarian supporter."

Benjamin Gedan, Director of the Wilson Center's Latin America Program, echoed the concerns, stating, "For decades, Colombia has been the most strategic U.S. partner in the region, so it is troubling to see yet another diplomatic crisis."

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia on Thursday became the first country to formally recognize the Taliban’s government in Afghanistan since it seized power in 2021, after Moscow removed the group from its list of outlawed organizations.

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that it had received credentials from Afghanistan’s newly appointed Ambassador Gul Hassan Hassan. The official recognition of the Afghan government will foster “productive bilateral cooperation between our countries,” the ministry said in a statement.

Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry called it a historic step, and quoted Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi as welcoming the decision as “a good example for other countries.”

The Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021 following the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces. Since then, they have sought international recognition while also enforcing their strict interpretation of Islamic law.

While no country had formally recognized the Taliban administration until now, the group had engaged in high-level talks with many nations and established some diplomatic ties with countries including China and the United Arab Emirates.

Still, the Taliban government has been relatively isolated on the world stage, largely over its restrictions on women.

Although the Taliban initially promised a more moderate rule than during their first stint in power from 1996 to 2001, it started to enforce restrictions on women and girls soon after the 2021 takeover. Women are barred from most jobs and public places, including parks, baths and gyms, while girls are banned from education beyond sixth grade.

Russian officials have recently been emphasizing the need to engage with the Taliban to help stabilize Afghanistan, and lifted a ban on the Taliban group in April.