Welcome to The Daily Politic Briefing! Good day, listeners. I'm your host bringing you the most significant political developments of July 1, 2025. Today we're diving into the GOP megabill challenges in the Senate, House Republican concerns, upcoming government funding battles, and several other critical political stories that are shaping Washington this week. In today's episode, we'll cover the Senate GOP's struggle to secure votes for their megabill, House Republican anxieties about the legislation, the approaching government funding deadlines, the Trump administration's controversial "pocket rescissions" policy, a pharmaceutical industry victory, and notable campaign developments including Elon Musk's primary threats. Let's begin with the Senate GOP megabill, which faces significant uncertainty today. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska has emerged as a key holdout, prompting Senate Majority Leader John Thune to conduct an intensive overnight whip effort. Murkowski's concerns center around Medicaid and food assistance provisions. While the parliamentarian has ruled that SNAP carve-outs for Alaska comply with the Byrd rule, Republicans continue to struggle with Medicaid provisions. Murkowski also supports restoring clean-energy credits through an amendment. Meanwhile, Senator Susan Collins remains undecided, expressing concerns about the bill's structure, and Senator Rick Scott's amendment to scale back ACA Medicaid expansion payments remains contentious despite leadership support. Turning to the House, Republicans are anxiously monitoring Senate changes to the megabill that might prove difficult for Speaker Mike Johnson to sell to his conference. Johnson attempted to reassure the Main Street Caucus regarding Medicaid provisions during a call with CMS Director Mehmet Oz, but sources report the call "did not go well." The House Freedom Caucus objects that the Senate plan would add $651 billion to the deficit without corresponding spending cuts. With a narrow GOP majority, Johnson can only afford to lose three votes when the bill returns to the House. Looking ahead to the next government funding battle, Senate appropriators plan to begin marking up fiscal 2026 government funding bills immediately after the Independence Day holiday. Subcommittee chairs including Senators Katie Britt, Jerry Moran, John Hoeven, and Bill Hagerty have expressed confidence in making progress in early July. Meanwhile, House Appropriations is scheduled to vote on Commerce, Justice, Science and Energy and Water Development bills on July 10, with Chair Tom Cole aiming to complete all 12 funding bills by the end of July. In executive branch news, the Trump administration has defended its controversial "pocket rescissions" in a new court filing, arguing Congress has tacitly endorsed the practice by not outlawing it. OMB Director Russ Vought is promoting this tactic to implement spending cuts by withholding funding for 45 days before the fiscal year ends, then treating funds as expired. Critics, including the GAO, consider this practice unlawful. The pharmaceutical industry secured a significant victory in the GOP megabill after the Senate parliamentarian permitted a provision expanding Medicare's drug-price negotiation exemption for orphan drugs to include medicines treating multiple rare diseases. Finally, in campaign developments, Elon Musk has threatened to primary Republicans who support the megabill, particularly backing Representative Thomas Massie's opposition. In North Carolina, Lara Trump's potential Senate candidacy is affecting the GOP race to replace Senator Thom Tillis, with RNC Chair Michael Whatley waiting on her decision. Senator John Cornyn's super PAC raised nearly $11 million for his reelection campaign against Ken Paxton, and Representative Dwight Evans' retirement has opened a scramble for his Philadelphia seat. That concludes today's Daily Political Briefing. We've covered the Senate's struggle with the GOP megabill, House Repu
