Congress
Trump takes a megabill victory lap at Iowa rally
President Donald Trump basked in victory Thursday, celebrating the passage of his sweeping domestic policy agenda in a demonstration of his dominance over Republicans in Congress.
The president capped what was arguably the most successful week of his second term with a campaign-style speech in Iowa, where he said the megabill would usher in a period of prosperity.
“There could be no better birthday present for America than the phenomenal victory we achieved just hours ago in Congress passing that one big, beautiful bill to make America great again,” Trump said, donning a ruby-colored USA hat and tie that matched a sea of supporters dressed in red apparel.
Just hours after House Republicans crossed the finish line on the megabill — which extends tax cuts and slashes funding for social safety programs — the president delivered a speech at the “Salute To America” event at the Iowa State Fairgrounds ahead of the 250th anniversary of America’s independence.
“I have another hat here that says ‘Donald Trump was right about everything,’ and I said, ‘No, no, that sounds a little bit too conceited,’” he said when boasting about the bill. “But it happens to be true.”
The speech was the culmination of an intense week of lobbying by the president and his allies.
Trump reportedly worked the phones on and off for 20 hours on Wednesday, making calls to GOP holdouts who objected to elements of the bill, including cuts to Medicaid benefits and the trillions it will add to the national debt.
A senior administration official said Thursday in a call with reporters after the bill passed that Trump did not make any threats to primary members of Congress — but the Republican caucus is more than aware of his clout.
“The membership well understands the president’s political power and ultimately they want his political power to be used for their benefit,” the official said. “The president always preserves his political prerogative, but he has already endorsed a number of members for reelection, and I expect he will endorse many more in coming weeks and months.”
Before departing for Iowa, Trump spoke with reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, where he was asked about his political power. “I think I have more power now,” he said, referring to his first term. “I think I probably do because we have a great record of success. My first term was very, very successful. We had the greatest economy in the history of our country. I think we are going to blow it away this term.”
Trump teased legislation that his administration is crafting to allow migrant workers without legal status to work on farms amid his mass deportation campaign. He gave no details but suggested they would not be subjected to enforcement actions under Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
“If a farmer is willing to vouch for these people, in some way Kristi [Noem], we’re going to have to just say, that’s good,” he said.
“Serious radical right people, who I also happen to like a lot, they might not be quite as happy, but they will understand.”
During the speech, Trump praised the Republican caucus for coming together on the megabill — while not mincing words on his feelings toward Democrats. “They wouldn’t vote, only because they hate Trump,” he said. “I hate them too. I really do. I hate them. I cannot stand them, because I really do believe they hate our country.”
He later attacked the media for quoting him without noting that some of his remarks are intended as sarcasm. “You can’t be sarcastic as a politician,” he said. “Well, if you’re me.”
Congress
Trump apparently shares Tom Cotton’s phone number in push to make Daylight Saving Time permanent
President Donald Trump appeared to share Sen. Tom Cotton’s phone number in a Saturday morning social media post imploring the Arkansas Republican to get behind a bill to make Daylight Saving Time permanent.
“Almost everybody wants “The Sunshine Protection Act” to pass, except for Tom Cotton,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “To the Great People of Arkansas, please let your Senator know it would be a GREAT Bipartisan WIN for the United States Senate, and for America, itself.”
The president has spent months personally pushing Senate Republicans to end the practice that sees Americans change their clocks twice a year, cementing more sunlight hours in the evening for all twelve months of the calendar. Cotton, whom Trump called “a friend of mine” in the Saturday post, has long argued that making daylight saving time permanent would leave children, farmers and other early risers in the dark for hours on winter mornings.
One of Trump’s key selling points on Saturday: the PGA tour.
“The PGA TOUR, as an example, needs more Daylight in the afternoon in order to finish their Tournaments,” he said, attaching a letter from PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp endorsing the bill. ”Likewise, regular Golfers, Tennis Players, Hunters and, perhaps most importantly, Farmers who want more Daylight to play or work.
A Blue Light News call to the cellphone number went to voicemail. A spokesperson for Cotton did not respond to a request for comment. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The current version of the bill was introduced in the House in January 2025 by Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.), with Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) leading the Senate version. The legislation would make daylight saving time permanent across most of the country, ending the twice-yearly clock changes. The legislation has been stalled in the Senate since July.
The president encouraged supporters of the bill, dubbed the “The Sunshine Protection Act,” to call Cotton to “let your Senator know it would be a GREAT Bipartisan WIN for the United States Senate, and for America, itself.”
During the 2016 Republican presidential primary, he publicly gave out the personal cellphone number of then-rival Sen. Lindsey Graham after the South Carolina Republican criticized him. Trump, who came to count on Graham as a reliable Senate ally after he won the presidency, revisited the moment during Graham’s funeral in July, acknowledging that sharing the number was something he “shouldn’t have done.”
Kelsey Brugger contributed to this report.
Sen. Bernie Sanders will hit the road for Troy Jackson in Maine starting Oct. 10, the first time the progressive leader will stump for the candidate this cycle.
The Vermont independent plans to hold three rallies with Jackson, according to an itinerary shared first with Blue Light News: first in Bangor on Oct. 10th followed by Lewiston and Biddeford on Oct. 11.
The Maine swing will kick off Sanders’ travel for the final stretch of the midterms, covering ground throughout October for House and Senate candidates, POLITICO reported.
“Bernie and Troy know that working people built this country and deserve a government that fights for them,” Jackson spokesperson Dan Gottlieb told Blue Light News. “Susan Collins has had nearly 30 years to deliver, and working Mainers are still getting squeezed while she serves the billionaires and corporate interests who bankroll her campaigns. Mainers don’t need another six years of excuses.”
Sanders campaigned ahead of major wins for progressives in the primary season, speaking at more than 60 rallies since last year’s Fight the Oligarchy tour and endorsing more than 90 candidates up and down the ballot.
He’s also opening his substantial $23 million campaign war chest, POLITICO reported, and contributing hundreds of thousands of dollars toMinnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan’s Senate campaign and others including Angie Nixon in Florida and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison,
Sanders will return to Maine after initially backing Graham Platner’s campaign for Senate. Allegations reported by POLITICO ultimately led him to call on the Democratic nominee to drop out of the race.
Sanders had not formally endorsed Jackson since he clinched the nomination from Platner, though he previously backed Jackson’s initial run for governor.
House Financial Services Chair French Hill said he has “no concerns” about winning back his Arkansas seat in the upcoming midterm elections, but the six-term House member acknowledged the political headwinds for his party.
“I consider the atmosphere a very tough political environment right now because of President [Donald] Trump’s lack of favorability at the top, and you know people are concerned about, as I say, what it’s like to live under an inflated economy the last four years,” Hill said in an interview.
Hill is in a solidly red district, according to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, and said he is up against a “weaker candidate this time than I’ve had in past races.” Polling in the district, however, has shown a tighter race. The two polls done this year placed Democratic challenger Chris Jones ahead of Hill by a few percentage points. Any perceived polling victory for Jones is still well within the margin of error, and one of the polls had a Democratic sponsor.
Stephannie Lane Baker, a spokesperson for Jones, said that “of all the Republicans in Congress, the chairman of the Financial Services Committee doesn’t get to dodge responsibility for this economy. He’s in trouble, and he knows it.”
Additionally, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s PAC, Ready for the Fight, committed more than $1 million in television ads through the next five weeks for Jones’ race in Arkansas’s 2nd District, Jordan Abudayyeh, a spokesperson for the PAC confirmed. Overall Democratic spending on advertising for the race was just over $1 million, primarily made up by contributions from the Ready for the Fight PAC, with Republicans spending almost $2.7 million on ad buys, according to AdImpact, an advertising tracking service.
Hill said he has addressed affordability concerns “head on” this Congress.
“My work on housing, my work on the Price Stability Act, my work to try to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse, and drop the federal budget deficit as a percentage of GDP,” Hill said. “All these things can contribute to a more affordable environment for people. So I’ve tried to make that a forefront of my campaign this year.”
Hill was a key architect of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, a bipartisan housing affordability bill that became law in July. The Price Stability Act, which is unlikely to become law this year, would narrow the Federal Reserve’s current dual mandate of pursuing maximum employment and price stability to focus exclusively on containing inflation.
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