Big, Beautiful Bill Nears Tense House Vote

Summary

WSJ What's News: "Big, Beautiful Bill Nears Tense House Vote" Release Date: May 20, 2025

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1. House Republicans Push for President Trump's "Big Beautiful" Tax Bill

The episode opens with Azhar Sukri outlining the current legislative landscape as House Republicans gear up to vote on President Donald Trump's ambitious tax reform. The proposed "Big, Beautiful Bill" aims to encapsulate Trump's top priorities, ranging from border security and energy promises to significant tax cuts.

Key Points:

• Legislative Push: The bill seeks to unify the Republican Party by combining diverse policy areas into a single legislative package.
• Party Divisions: Despite Speaker Mike Johnson's optimism, the GOP remains split on issues like state and local taxes and Medicaid, with four holdouts potentially threatening the bill's passage.
• Strategic Importance: Congressional reporter Olivia Beavers emphasizes the bill's significance, noting that GOP members view it as a "legacy" achievement for Trump (01:03).

Notable Quote:

Mike Johnson (02:44): "I've seen lots of conjecture out there, but I wouldn't put much stock in that. I told all the members on a conference call this morning that this is a consensus building operation. It's been a bottom up process."

2. Empire Wind Energy Project Resumes After Administration Reversal

The narrative shifts to environmental and energy developments, highlighting the revival of the Empire Wind project off New York's coast. Initially halted by the Trump administration, the project, managed by Norway's Equinor, has been reinstated thanks to significant lobbying efforts.

Key Points:

• Project Impact: The Empire Wind farm is poised to create approximately 1,500 jobs and supply power to half a million New York homes in its initial phase.
• Economic Confidence: Ed Ballard, the climate change reporter, suggests that the project's revival restores investor confidence in U.S. offshore wind projects, a sector previously destabilized by the administration's uncertainty (03:27).
• Political Advocacy: New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams, along with labor groups, played pivotal roles in persuading the administration to restart the project.

Notable Quote:

Ed Ballard (03:55): "Clearly this is a major relief for the offshore wind sector in the US. Just looking at this one project, the fact that Empire Wind is back on again will secure jobs for an estimated 1500 people and provide enough power for half a million homes in New York."

3. Global Financial Movements: Australia and China Respond to Economic Pressures

The episode delves into international financial strategies as Australia and China take decisive actions to bolster their economies amidst global uncertainties.

Key Points:

• Australia's Central Bank: For the second time in 2025, Australia's central bank has reduced interest rates, a move aimed at sustaining economic growth by combating high inflation.
• China's Economic Measures: In response to the strains caused by Trump's trade policies, China has slashed its benchmark lending rate by an additional 10 basis points to stimulate domestic demand.
• Market Innovations: Chinese EV battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) made a significant impact with a $4.6 billion secondary listing in Hong Kong, marking the year's largest equity offering.

Business Highlights:

• Regeneron’s Acquisition of 23andMe: Biotechnology giant Regeneron has agreed to acquire 23andMe out of bankruptcy for $256 million, a substantial decrease from its 2021 valuation of $6 billion. This deal raises privacy concerns as Regeneron gains access to extensive genetic data. The company assures compliance with existing privacy policies, overseen by a court-appointed ombudsman.

Key Points:

• Privacy Assurance: Regeneron commits to upholding 23andMe’s privacy standards to mitigate concerns about genetic data handling.

4. Addressing the Skilled Trades Shortage Through Youth Recruitment

The episode addresses the persistent global shortage of skilled tradespeople and explores innovative strategies employed by U.S. employers to bridge this gap by engaging high school students.

Key Points:

• Employer Challenges: Industries ranging from automotive to manufacturing are experiencing difficulty in finding qualified workers, exacerbated by the retirement of baby boomers and an aging workforce.
• Recruitment Strategies: Companies are proactively partnering with high schools to offer part-time work, internships, and specialized training programs aimed at cultivating a new generation of skilled traders.
• Technological Integration: Modern trades increasingly require technical proficiency, including computer and programming skills, making younger workers appealing candidates due to their inherent technological fluency.

Notable Quotes:

Tipping Chan (07:23): "It's substantial. It's going to vary, of course, depending on where in the economy you're looking, but certainly you talk to any number of employers... they're really struggling to hire folk and to find qualified folk."

Tipping Chan (08:52): "One thing that you'll hear a lot of employers emphasize is that today's trades jobs are not the same ones that they were 10 or 20 years ago. They are much more tech infused."

Student Perspectives:

• High Compensation: Students are receiving lucrative job offers, with some securing positions that pay upwards of $70,000 annually even before graduation.
• Career Stability: The predictability of wages and the structured nature of union jobs are highly attractive to students seeking financial security amidst economic uncertainties.

Notable Quote:

Tipping Chan (10:42): "Among some of them, just a feeling of incredulity like, this is incredible that we are being courted in this fashion, that we have these jobs that pay so well."

5. Declining Approval Ratings for President Trump Among Broader Demographics

Concluding the episode, the focus shifts to the political climate surrounding President Trump, highlighting a significant decline in his approval ratings across various voter groups.

Key Points:

• Approval Decline: Trump's job approval has decreased by approximately 11 points, with disapproval rising as perceptions of his job performance worsen.
• Voter Demographics: While he maintains support among white working-class voters without a college degree and evangelical Christians, approval is waning among young voters, minorities, and even some of his staunchest supporters.
• Future Outlook: Aaron Zitner, a Washington reporter, suggests that Trump's approval ratings could either recover if inflation remains low or continue to decline if economic pressures persist, leaving room for potential shifts before upcoming midterms and presidential elections.

Notable Quotes:

Aaron Zitner (11:50): "A lot of people are kind of sour on Trump because they expect that his tariffs will lead to high inflation. If that materializes, his approval rating could sink further. But if inflation doesn't materialize, maybe they'll turn around and go into the next election with a more favorable opinion of the president and his party."

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This episode of WSJ What's News provides a comprehensive overview of pivotal political maneuvers within the House GOP, significant advancements in renewable energy projects, critical movements in the global financial landscape, innovative solutions to workforce shortages, and the evolving political support for President Trump. Each segment is enriched with expert insights and firsthand reports, offering listeners a nuanced understanding of the factors shaping today's economic and political environment.

Transcript

[Reba McEntire]

Isn't home where we all want to be? Reba here for realtor.com, the Pro's number one most trusted app. Finding a home is like dating. You're searching for the one with over 500,000 new listings every month. You can find the one today, download the realtor.com app cause you're nearly home. Make it real with realtor.com Pro's number.

[Unknown]

One most trusted app based on August 2024 proprietary survey. Over 500,000 new listings every month based on average new for sale and rental listings. February 2024 through January 20President Trump heads.

[Azhar Sukri]

To Congress today to push through his big beautiful tax bill. Plus an administration u turn means construction of a massive wind farm in New York is back on and we look at how the trade sector is winning over high school students.

[Tipping Chan]

What we've seen from a lot of employers in recent years is this feeling of look, we can't find the talent we need out on the market, so we kind of have to grow our own.

[Azhar Sukri]

It's Tuesday, May 20th. I'm Azhar Sucri for the Wall Street Journal. Filling in for Luke Vargas, Here is the AM edition of what's the top headlines and business stories moving your world today. House Republicans are on course to vote midweek whether to pass President Trump's agenda of tax cuts and spending reductions. The party remains deeply divided over key issues such state and local taxes and Medicaid to give his so called big beautiful bill a push. People familiar with the matter say Trump is planning to speak to the broader House Republicans conference on Tuesday morning on Capitol Hill. Congressional reporter Olivia Beavers says the bill is a key priority for Trump, with GOP members even calling it legacy.

[Unknown]

Defining this bill is extremely important for Republicans to get passed. It's includes President Trump's top priorities from the border, from his promises about energy to even taxes, no tax on tips, extending his tax cuts from his first administration. And so this is all wrapped up in one big beautiful bill. They tried to put it all into one bill with the hopes that it would be more successful in terms of pulling a very kind of disparate wing party together to get this through.

[Azhar Sukri]

The newly accelerated timeline for the bill means the House Rules Committee is planning to meet shortly after midnight tonight to try to send the package to the House floor for a vote on Wednesday. Last night, House Speaker Mike Johnson sounded optimistic about reaching an agreement.

[Mike Johnson]

I've seen lots of conjecture out there, but I wouldn't put much stock in that. I told all the members on a conference call this morning that this is a consensus building operation. It's been a bottom up process.

[Azhar Sukri]

According to our reporting, there are still four GOP holdouts. Mike Johnson can only afford to lose three votes in order for the bill to pass. Construction on the massive Empire Wind energy project off the coast of New York is back on after an abrupt about face by the Trump administration. The project, run by Norwegian energy group Equinor, was halted a month ago, sending a chill through the renewable energy industry. Here's our climate change reporter, Ed Ballard.

[Ed Ballard]

So it was always expected that the flow of new offshore wind projects would pretty much dry up with Trump in charge. But the sector was really rocked by the suspension of the Empire Wind project because it was already so far advanced. Approvals were granted last year and equinor had invested $2.5 billion as of March, so folks were really worried that other already approved projects might be cancelled as well.

[Azhar Sukri]

However, Ed says that worst case scenario now seems less likely.

[Ed Ballard]

Clearly this is a major relief for the offshore wind sector in the US Just looking at this one project, the fact that Empire Wind is back on again will secure jobs for an estimated 1500 people and provide enough power for half a million homes in New York just in its first phase. This will probably give other kinds of investors more confidence to invest in energy projects because the idea that the government could cancel projects that are already well into construction is a deterrent against committing capital.

[Azhar Sukri]

Equinor credited lobbying by New York Governor Kathy Hochul, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and other politicians and labour groups for the reversal. The company plans to start operations at empire wind in 2027, turning to markets now. And Australia's central bank has cut interest rates for the second time this year. The economy is generally in a good place thanks to easing inflation, but the central bank did warn of the potential impact of Trump's trade policies. And as we've reported on this show before, those tariffs are already taking a toll on the Chinese economy, where policymakers today cut its benchmark lending rate by a further 10 basis points in a bid to stimulate domestic demand. Shares of Chinese EV battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology, or catl, have soared on their Hong Kong market debut. The company raised $4.6 billion in the secondary listing, making it the world's largest equity offering this year. Its shares are already listed in Shenzhen, and biotech firm Regeneron has agreed to buy 23andMe out of bankruptcy. Regeneron is paying $256 million for the DNA testing company, a steep fall from the $6 billion valuation at 23andMe's peak in 2021. The acquisition raises privacy concerns as Regeneron will take control of millions of people's genetic information. Regeneron said it would ensure compliance with 23andMe's privacy policy, which will be reviewed by a court appointed ombudsman. Coming up with a shortage of skilled tradesworkers, we'll hear why companies are offering big money at high schools to find future hires. That story and more after the break.

[Reba McEntire]

Isn't home where we all want to be? Reba here for realtor.com the Pro's number one most trusted app Finding a home is like dating. You're searching for the one with over 500,000 new listings every month. You can find the one today, download the realtor.com app cause you're nearly home. Make it real with realtor.com Pro's number.

[Unknown]

One most trusted app based on August 2024 proprietary survey. Over 500,000 new listings every month based on average new for sale and rental listings February 2024 through January 2025.

[Azhar Sukri]

The shortage of skilled workers like plumbers, roofers and welders has been a global headache for developed countries for some time. But now Journal reporter Tipping Chan says some US Employers may have found a solution, pitching high school students on their workplaces. Our Kate Bullivant spoke to Tipping, who started by setting the stage on how bad the shortage of workers in skilled trades is right now.

[Tipping Chan]

It is substantial. It's going to vary, of course, depending on where in the economy you're looking, but certainly you talk to any number of employers, ranging from auto dealerships to manufacturers, and they're really struggling to hire folk and to find qualified folk. It's, of course become even more of an issue as we have seen so many more baby boomers retiring and we see the average age in a lot of these industries really having crept up a lot. And some serious questions over how many young workers are going in to replace them. And in some cases it might look like, say, in a manufacturing sense not being able to run a line because somebody's out sick or maybe someone's on vacation for a week and you stop production for a week. So the consequences can be really substantial and the challenges to hiring are very real.

[Kate Bullivant]

And so they are targeting a really young workforce to replace them.

[Tipping Chan]

What we've seen from a lot of employers in recent years is this feeling of, look, we can't find the talent we need out on the market, so we kind of have to grow our own. And what that looks like might Be going into high schools to start recruiting, to try and create partnerships with local schools to see if they can get kids working part time, gain some exposure, all kinds of different strategies. But yes, absolutely, we are seeing more businesses try and turn in that direction as a hiring strategy.

[Kate Bullivant]

And what is it about a younger workforce that they're seeing as beneficial?

[Tipping Chan]

One thing that you'll hear a lot of employers emphasize is that today's trades jobs are not the same ones that they were 10 or 20 years ago. They are much more tech infused. They require a lot more fluency with computers, with programming. And so not only is there an imperative to recruit, often from high schools or other kinds of labor pool that maybe they might not traditionally have hit, given the overall worker shortage, but also it can be really advantageous to do so because they are ultimately looking for workers that have a high degree of comfort using tech. And that kind of facility is not always something you're going to get with older workers. And so for them, there is sort of a double appeal.

[Kate Bullivant]

And so what are some of these companies offering these prospective employees?

[Tipping Chan]

It will range a lot, depending on, of course, where in the United States you are, what kind of role we're talking about. Everything is local, but in some cases, the offers that are being made are really substantial. Here in Philadelphia, I spoke with one high school, a Catholic private high school that launched a welding program. And in recent years, their graduates have just seen incredible demand. Job offers that at a minimum would pay $50,000 a year, and in some cases quite a bit higher. I spoke to one student who is 17 years old, a junior, so not even a senior at this point, but he has already gotten an offer for after he graduates that would pay him $70,000 a year. Many of these companies are offering paid vacation, retirement. One of the benefits for people going into the trades, especially if you're looking at a union job, is there's just a degree of predictability, right? And especially in a time when there's a lot of uncertainty about AI and the job market more broadly. That's something that students have said is really appealing, the sense that they know what they're going to make. It's written down, it's very clearly contracted in many cases.

[Kate Bullivant]

And teping, what do the students that you spoke to make of all this?

[Tipping Chan]

Is it working for the students that have been pursuing these paths? Among some of them, just a feeling of incredulity like, this is incredible that we are being courted in this fashion, that we have these jobs that pay so well. And in many cases amongst the students that I was speaking to, more than what their parents maybe would have made when they talk to their college bound peers. There's likewise the sense of wow, that's pretty extraordinary. And in some cases even a sense of I wish I'd known.

[Kate Bullivant]

A real change in sentiment, it seems. T' Ping, thank you so much for bringing us this story.

[Tipping Chan]

Thank you.

[Azhar Sukri]

Now, after broadening the Republican coalition in last year's election, President Trump is now at risk of shrinking it. Trump came close to winning young voters and made gains among black, Hispanic and other minority groups who've previously resisted the gop. He also improved his showing among seniors. But now that he's back in the White House, these groups and even his most ardent supporters have grown increasingly unhappy with his job performance.

[Aaron Zitner]

His job approval number has sunk significantly. People disapprove of what they're seeing rather than approve by about 11 points. Now, many of the people who give him low job approval ratings might still not be ready to vote for a Democrat. But still, there's really only two groups among which he has a positive job approval ratings, and that is white working class voters, those without a college degree. That's his core support and always has been. The second group is evangelical Christians who strongly support him. But among just about every other group, he is sinking.

[Azhar Sukri]

That's Washington reporter Aaron Zitner, who leads the Journal's polling coverage. He says that while Trump's approval ratings are sinking, there are opportunities to change voters minds before next year's midterms or even the next presidential election.

[Aaron Zitner]

A lot of people are kind of sour on Trump because they expect that his tariffs will lead to high inflation. If that materializes, his approval rating could sink further. But if inflation doesn't materialize, maybe they'll turn around and go into the next election with a more favorable opinion of the president and his party. So there's still plenty of time for things to change. But right now, Donald Trump has a bit of a hole to dig out from among some of the groups that swung toward him and were open to his message in 2024.

[Azhar Sukri]

And that's it for what's news for this Tuesday morning. Today's show was produced by Kate Bullivant and Daniel Bark. Our supervising producer is Sandra Kilhoff. And I'm Azhar Sukri for the Wall Street Journal, filling in for Luke Vargas. We'll be back tonight with a new show. Until then, thanks for listening.