Weekly News Recap - July 6th 2025
All the news you've missed this week: Trump signs bill, Elon Musk forms new "America Party", and Russia hits Kyiv with worst attack since the start of the war.
20 Million Could Lose Healthcare: Trump passes his domestic agenda
Elon Musk creates new “America Party”
Russia attacks Kyiv
More news at the end of this post
Congress Passes Trump’s Bill -
20 Million Could Lose Healthcare Coverage
After days of arguments, the Senate and the House passed Trump’s domestic policy bill with razor-thin margins. Vice President JD Vance had to issue the tie-braking vote in the Senate after three Republican Senators defected. (All Democratic Senators & Representatives voted against it)
At least a dozen Republicans had publicly bashed the bill: Conservative spending hawks said they wouldn’t vote for a bill that increases the federal deficit, while Republicans with competitive seats worried about cuts to Medicare and Medicaid (healthcare). In the end, most of these Republicans gave in and voted for the bill without getting any concession. Democrats see the historically unpopular legislation as an opportunity to win future elections.
But even if electoral prospects have brightened since vulnerable Republicans voted to cut healthcare benefits, the mood among Democrats was grim.
That is because, with Trump’s new bill, up to 20 million Americans might lose their healthcare coverage over the next 10 years. Countless rural hospitals will be forced to close, and poor families will suffer from cuts to food stamps. It’s also an attack on what Democrats accomplished in the past decade with the Affordable Care Act (known as Obamacare).
At the same time, the tax cuts disproportionally favor the wealthiest while adding to an already problematic deficit. It’s a redistribution of wealth, taking from the poorest and giving to the richest.
Elon Musk Vows to Create New Party
Elon Musk said he would form the “America Party” in response to the passage of Trump’s signature bill. Musk has long criticized the bill, which cuts subsidies for his companies, for its toll on the federal deficit.
It's still unclear how serious Musk is and if he has filed the official paperwork that is required for political parties. He did, however, mention that he wants his party to compete in the 2026 midterm elections.
It is also questionable how much support Musk can gather around his party, but that may not be important. Musk and his right-wing policies are much more likely to attract Republican than Democratic voters. America’s winner-takes-all electoral system (both for Congress and presidential elections) can make third parties a big spoiler for any contender. If Musk’s party had only taken 2% of Trump’s vote share in 2024, Kamala Harris would be President right now.
Russia Hits Kyiv With Massive Strikes
Russia fired a record 539 drones and 11 missiles at Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, according to a statement published by Ukraine officials. It was the largest Russian drone attack since the start of the war in 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the strikes the most "demonstratively significant and cynical" attacks of the war. The attacks came after reports that US shipments of important weapons and munitions had been halted.
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