Apple News Today: Inside the GOP’s Unprecedented Move to Claim Tax-Cut Extensions are “Free”

Release Date: July 1, 2025
Host: Shamita Basu

GOP’s Strategic Maneuver on Tax-Cut Extensions

In the primary focus of today's episode, host Shamita Basu delves into the Republican Party's latest strategy to extend expiring tax cuts, branding them as "free" initiatives. This tactic has stirred considerable debate within the Senate and among fiscal policy experts.

Republican Justification and Financial Implications

Richard Rubin, a tax policy reporter for The Wall Street Journal, provides clarity on the GOP’s approach:

“What Republicans are doing is basically saying, look, there's all these tax cuts that are expiring at the end of the year if we extend them even though they're scheduled to expire. That doesn't have a cost. That's like, we all know we're going to do it. It doesn't change anybody's taxes, really. So that shouldn't count as a cost against us in our bill.”
[02:23]

This reclassification transforms the Senate bill's impact from a $3.3 trillion deficit increase to a $508 billion deficit decrease over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). This adjustment enables the bill to pass through budget reconciliation, requiring only a simple majority in the Senate rather than the usual 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster.

Unprecedented Accounting Practices and Political Reactions

Rubin further explains the reconciliation process:

“That path of reconciliation, those simple majority bills come with strings attached. One of the big strings is if you're looking beyond the first 10 years, you can't increase budget deficits. And so Republicans are saying, well, yeah, like, because we're measuring against a world where the tax cuts are all permanent already anyway, then we're lowering deficits beyond the 10 years.”
[03:06]

This method marks a novel use of reconciliation, even more so than the 2017 Trump tax cuts. Lindsey Graham, the Budget Committee chairman, defended this approach:

“We voted to make that the case. So we're not doing anything sneaky. We actually voted to give me the authority to do this, and it passed.”
[03:32]

Democrats have sharply criticized the GOP's tactics. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer condemned the move as:

“Republicans are doing something the Senate has never done before, deploying fake math accounting. Gimmicks to hide the true cost of the bill.”
[04:05]

Rubin warns of broader implications:

“Congress creates things with expiration dates all the time... Democrats could create Medicare for all for two years and count the cost as two years worth and then say it's free. So some people have called this a Pandora's box sort of situation.”
[04:22]

With the national debt exceeding $36.2 trillion and projected to reach 250% of the country's annual economic output in the next 30 years, this legislative maneuver raises significant concerns about long-term fiscal responsibility.

USAID’s Integration into the State Department and Its Humanitarian Impact

A significant development today marks the end of USAID as an independent federal agency, now absorbed into the State Department. This restructuring follows six decades of USAID's operations and signals a major shift in U.S. foreign aid strategy.

Historical Context and Consequences

Shamita Basu recounts a farewell video featuring former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush. Obama notably criticized President Trump’s earlier efforts to diminish USAID:

“Shrinking USAID was a... colossal mistake.”
[04:05]

Under Trump, USAID faced severe funding cuts, staff reductions, and cancellations of grants, critically undermining humanitarian efforts, especially in conflict zones like Sudan.

Humanitarian Crisis in Sudan

Katherine Harold from The Washington Post details the dire situation in Sudan:

"They were having a funeral for this 3-year-old boy who unfortunately had just died because he wasn't able to get some basic medication."
[07:00]

The child, Omron, succumbed to a chest infection that could have been treated with basic antibiotics. The disruption in aid delivery, exacerbated by attacks on infrastructure, has left hospitals without essential medicines and water sources contaminated, leading to cholera outbreaks.

Nick Miroff adds:

“Imagine trying to take care of your kids and keep them alive in the middle of a desert and you don't know what's coming from day to day...”
[07:59]

The UN's top relief coordinator in Sudan emphasized the forced agonizing decisions:

“Every day is a new and terrible choice, both for the aid workers that are having to cut these budgets and for the people also that are having to decide which child am I going to feed today?”
[08:19]

The integration of USAID into the State Department has thus severely hampered ongoing humanitarian efforts, leaving vulnerable populations in precarious conditions.

Revamped Biden-Era Immigration App: A Tool for Deportations

Shamita Basu shifts focus to immigration policy, discussing the Biden administration's repurposing of a prior asylum processing app into a tool aimed at encouraging self-deportation among undocumented immigrants.

Functionality and Intent of the CBP Home App

Originally designed as CBP1, the app facilitated scheduling asylum appointments, expediting the process for migrants seeking refuge. Now, it's been redesigned to:

• Encourage undocumented individuals to voluntarily leave the country.
• Integrate a psychological campaign portraying deportation as harsh and undesirable.

Katherine Harold highlights the administration’s propaganda efforts:

“It's really part of a broader kind of propaganda attempt... to entice people to take the government's offer to self-deport using that app.”
[10:26]

DHS is investing up to $200 million in advertising both domestically and internationally to promote the app, pledging:

• $1,000 incentives for self-departure.
• Subsidized airfare.
• Temporary protection from ICE enforcement for those who comply.

Despite claims of success, with over 7,000 sign-ups and 3,000 confirmed departures, transparency remains an issue as official data is scant.

Controversial Messaging and Human Impact

One referenced ad features deportees at El Salvador’s notorious Zakat prison, referencing individuals like Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who were deported despite lacking criminal convictions in the U.S. This approach aims to instill fear:

“DHS Secretary Kristi Noem urging people to use the CBP Home app to leave the country now and really threatening them with harsh treatment if they don't accept the offer.”
[09:30]

Further, social media campaigns display distressing images of migrants in shackles and depict the deportation process as punitive, intending to deter illegal entry by painting a grim picture of the consequences.

Additional News Highlights

Boulder, Colorado: Tragic Firebombing Attack

An 82-year-old woman, Karen Diamond, succumbed to injuries from a firebombing attack in Boulder last month. Participating in a march for the release of Israeli hostages, Diamond was among a dozen victims targeted by Mohammad Sabri Suleiman, who now faces first-degree murder charges and the possibility of the death penalty. Previously pleading not guilty to 12 federal hate crime counts, Suleiman’s actions have left a lasting mark on the community.

Extreme Heat Impacts on U.S. Roadways

As the U.S. grapples with record-breaking heatwaves, infrastructure faces unprecedented challenges:

• Asphalt roads soften, form depressions, and buckle.
• Concrete roads expand and crack, leading to hazardous driving conditions.
• States unaccustomed to such extreme temperatures lack the necessary infrastructure resilience, exacerbated by ongoing climate change.

Transportation experts note that regions like Texas have preemptively included expansion joints in their road designs, unlike states facing sudden heat stress, resulting in increased road damage and traffic accidents.

WNBA Expansion: A Historic Milestone

The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is set to expand by three new teams in Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia over the next five years. This expansion follows previous additions in Toronto and Portland, marking a significant growth phase for the league. Cleveland and Detroit’s teams represent a revival, as both cities previously lost or relocated their franchises. The Cleveland team is slated to debut in 2028, sharing a stadium with the Cavaliers, symbolizing a robust return to the WNBA landscape. This move coincides with the league experiencing record-breaking ratings and attendance, highlighting its rising popularity and influence in sports.

Conclusion

Today's episode of Apple News Today provided an in-depth analysis of the GOP's innovative yet contentious approach to redefining tax-cut extensions, the humanitarian fallout from the restructuring of USAID, and the Biden administration's strategic overhaul of immigration enforcement tools. Additionally, listeners were briefed on significant local and national events, including a tragic attack in Colorado, the impact of extreme weather on infrastructure, and the WNBA’s historic expansion. For comprehensive coverage of these stories and more, listeners are encouraged to explore the Apple News app.