Republican lawmakers are signaling they won't support the Biden administration's proposed $2.3 trillion infrastructure bill, but Democrats appear ready to plow ahead regardless.
"Republicans inside the Beltway can either get on board or they can watch Democrats pass one of the most monumental and important pieces of legislation on party-line votes," said Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass. 4th District), member of House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Auchincloss, a former Republican for a matter of months in 2013 and 2014 who then took the seat vacated by Joseph P. Kennedy III during his bid for Senate, is one of a younger generation of current Democrats seeing large-scale public investment as crucial to the country's economic future.
"Millennials are on track to be the first generation in American history who are worse off than our parents, and the American Jobs Plan can be the turning point," he said. "We can look to our kids and our grandkids and say America was in crisis, America hit a low point, and then we built back better."
The first-term congressman added that the bill could be a "starting point for a roaring 20s," alluding to a common refrain among those who are optimistic about the next decade of the U.S. economy.
Democrats are also pointing to polls that show widespread support for infrastructure spending, including a Reuters poll showing that 79 percent of Americans back a government overhaul of American roadways, railroads, bridges, and ports.
The representative noted that Democrats are willing to engage with Republicans in a healthy debate over how to prioritize investments and how to pay for the bill, but that they would not compromise on the size and scope of the legislation.
"We welcome a bipartisan conversation, but we're going to pass an infrastructure bill and it's going to be popular with the American people," he said.
Auchincloss pushed back against the argument that increasing the corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 28 percent, the proposal from Biden as a way to help pay for the massive package, would not hurt the overall economy.
"We know that the multiplier effect on a dollar of infrastructure spending outweighs the multiplier effect on a tax cut for high-earning individuals and for corporations," he said.
The newly-elected representative also didn't shy from taking a hardline position on China, which he said is outcompeting the U.S. due to lack of sufficient investment.
"We're entering a G2 world and increasingly companies are going to have to choose whether they want to orbit the United States economy or orbit the Chinese economy," he said.
Auchincloss said competition with China will have both economic and ideological shades and also compared the U.S.'s global efforts to its experiences during World War II and the Cold War.
"If the United States invests in our vision and our own economy, we're going to win," he said.
Many U.S. consumers say they’ve noticed higher than usual prices for holiday gifts in recent months, according to a a December poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. A contributing factor is the unusually high import taxes the Trump administration put on foreign goods. While the worst-case consumer impact that many economists foresaw from the administration’s trade policies hasn’t materialized, some popular gift items have been affected more than others. Most toys and electronics sold in the U.S. come from China. So do most holiday decorations. Jewelry prices have risen due to the cost of gold.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to block states from regulating artificial intelligence. He argues that heavy regulations could stifle the industry, especially given competition from China. Trump says the U.S. needs a unified approach to AI regulation to avoid complications from state-by-state rules. The order directs the administration to draw up a list of problematic regulations for the Attorney General to challenge. States with laws could lose access to broadband funding, according to the text of the order. Some states have already passed AI laws focusing on transparency and limiting data collection.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
House Republicans in key battleground districts are working to contain the political fallout expected when thousands of their constituents face higher bills for health insurance coverage obtained through the Affordable Care Act. For a critical sliver of the GOP majority, the impending expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits after Dec. 31 could be a major political liability as they potentially face midterm headwinds in a 2026 election critical to President Donald Trump’s agenda. For Democrats, the party’s strategy for capturing the House majority revolves around pinning higher bills for groceries, health insurance and utilities on Republicans.
