Caitlin Reilly

US Health Care Premium Spikes to Squeeze Main Street Businesses Gladys Harrison, owner of Big Mama’s Kitchen and Catering, was already struggling to cover rising food prices for ingredients at the Omaha restaurant that’s been in her family for two generations. The...

Small business owners and workers, who make up nearly half Obamacare enrollment, will be hit hard when enhanced subsidies expire in Jan. I spoke to a few owners who are facing tough decisions about what do when their health care costs skyrocket next year. Free link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Republican to Pressure Trump to Reverse Some Treasury Job Cuts A top Senate Republican will push President Donald Trump to reverse firings at the Treasury Department that targeted the staff overseeing a fund for financial services in economically disadvantaged co...

Last week the White House acted on its threats to eliminate the CDFI Fund, laying off its entire staff.

But CDFIs have strong bipartisan backing, and at least one GOP senator is fighting back. Read @emilyflitter.bsky.social and @caitlinreilly.bsky.social: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

GOP Districts ‘Supercharged’ Obamacare Use Is Risk in Shutdown Fight The health insurance subsidies at the center of the US government shutdown fight disproportionately benefit areas of the country represented by Republican lawmakers, posing a potential vulnerability f...

I dug into @kff.org data on the expiring health care subsidies at the center of the shutdown fight and found their expiration would most affect residents in GOP states and districts, which could have implications for next year's midterm elections.

Free story here: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Tune into this conversation with my Bloomberg News colleagues Nathan Hager, @caitlinreilly.bsky.social and @steventdennis.bsky.social and me as we dive into the impacts of the government shutdown.

Link below 👇

Trump Readies Tax, Criminal Crackdowns on Liberal Groups After Kirk Killing The Trump administration is making plans for how to go after left-wing groups it says are fomenting political violence following the killing of Charlie Kirk, while nonprofits prepare to defend themsel...

A deeper look at how the Trump administration is targeting liberal groups, with @caitlinreilly.bsky.social and @simonefoxman.bsky.social: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

News: Hours after we published, Treasury shared a statement saying upcoming formal guidance would exclude tips connected to "illegal activity, prostitution or pornography" from the tax break.

The department did not respond to an earlier request for comment.

I guess tax is not sexy after all.

Podcasters and OnlyFans Creators Stand to Win Big Under Trump’s Tax Law Katherine Green, a dominatrix who creates online adult videos, wasn’t expecting a windfall from President Donald Trump’s signature push to make tips tax-free.

This is definitely the first time I’ve interviewed a dominatrix for a story. But OnlyFans creators and others in the digital content creation space could be big winners in the rollout of Trump’s no-tax-on-tips. Who says tax isn’t sexy?

Free link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Medicare cuts in play as Senate GOP hones budget bill - Roll Call As Senate Republicans go deep into reconciliation bill-drafting mode, Medicare is increasingly coming up as a potential pay-for.

Medicare cuts in play as Senate GOP hones budget bill.
(@jessiehellmann.bsky.social @sandhyawrites.bsky.social @caitlinreilly.bsky.social Roll Call)
rollcall.com/2025/06/05/m...

Full story on CQ: plus.cq.com/doc/news-81694…

Scoop: As House GOP huddled with Trump on reconciliation today, Senate Budget Rs quietly met to hammer out their budget blueprint, aiming for a Wednesday markup. The tentative plan includes $175B for border, $150B for defense and $17B for the Coast Guard over 4 years, fully offset.

Senate Majority Leader Thune was noncommittal when asked about reports that House and Senate leadership agreed to a one-bill reconciliation strategy. “Well, I think that discussion is always predicated on what we can get done,” he said.

Finance ranking member @wyden.senate.gov, D-Ore., seemed to indicate following the markup Democrats are in no rush to strike a deal with Republicans that would speed up Bessent's confirmation on the floor. “Every day seems to yield some additional questions,” Wyden said.

The Senate Finance Committee voted 16-11 to approve Scott Bessent’s nomination to be Treasury secretary, clearing the way for floor consideration. Democratic Sens. Mark Warner of Virginia and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire voted to advance the nomination.

Governors Tate Reeves, R-Miss., Glenn Youngkin, R-Va., Brian Kemp, R-Ga., Ned Lamont, D-Conn., Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., and Mike Braun, R-Ind., are down here too, as is former GOP Arizona senate and gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake. House and Senate spouses are also seated in the overflow space.

Here’s who we’ve spotted in the inauguration overflow viewing space in the Capitol Visitor Center so far:
Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang
Open AI CEO Sam Altman
MMA fighter Conor McGregor
Influencers Logan & Jake Paul
Podcaster Theo Von
NY Mayor Eric Adams
Former race car driver Danica Patrick

The list, which is one of various option menus floating around and doesn't represent any final decisions or even a comprehensive set of proposals, provides a more detailed look at trillions of dollars in potential spending cuts and revenue raisers than previously made public.

House Republicans are examining hundreds of policy options across 11 committees for possible inclusion in their one-bill reconciliation package, according to a document compiled by the House Budget Committee. Full story here: plus.cq.com/doc/news-815...

So it’s less clear whether it survives past this year. Bessent only committed to this filing season, which starts in a few weeks, and said he would review the program after that. It’s an uphill battle beyond that because Republicans (and tax prep software providers) are pretty dug in against it.

If the idea picked up enough steam among Republicans, which is probably a long shot, it could be a handy revenue raiser to offset the cost of extending more than $4T in expiring tax cuts later this year. The proposal also has the support of Senate Budget Chair Graham, R-S.C.

Sen. Cassidy, R-La., asked Bessent whether he would support imposing trade duties on carbon-intensive imports, a concept that in theory could find some support among Dems. Bessent called it an “interesting idea” that could fit within a broader tariff program.

A little news from this hearing: Bessent commits that the IRS Direct File program allowing taxpayers to file directly online with the IRS, a target of GOP attacks, will be available and operable this tax season.

"Either he and his lawyers take the position Treasury policy doesn't apply to the Treasury Secretary, or he blesses the loophole that lets Wall Street titans blow off their fair share of Medicare taxes," he said.

Ranking Dem @wyden.senate.gov painted Bessent’s handling of his taxes as emblematic of a system with one set of rules for the rich and another for the working class. “This is exactly the kind of abusive scheme that leaves Americans feeling disgusted with the tax code,” he said.

The defense comes in the wake of a leaked memo prepared by Democratic committee staff accusing Bessent of avoiding self-employment taxes and taking other deductions staff deemed questionable. Representatives of Bessent and Finance Republican staff denied the characterization.

Scott Bessent, Trump’s Treasury nom, is appearing before Senate Finance this morning. Chair Mike Crapo, R-Idaho,
opened the hearing, saying Bessent had cooperated with the committee on its “exacting” vetting process. “It’s clear you followed all applicable law,” Crapo said.

Now in front of the paywall: rollcall.com/2025/01/15/d...

A memo prepared by Finance Democratic staff alleges Bessent avoided paying more than $900,000 in self-employment taxes. A Trump transition official defended Bessent, saying the nominee paid his taxes and that committee staff provided no evidence he violated the law.

NEW: Senate Democrats are gearing up for a fight against Scott Bessent, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Treasury secretary, with questions about his fitness to hold the office based on a review of his tax returns. He's due before the Finance Committee tomorrow.
plus.cq.com/doc/news-815...

Anecdote courtesy of Roll Call reporters—@jimsaksa.com and me! rollcall.com/2023/10/04/p...

It's a major accomplishment for Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, as he leaves Congress, and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who took up the issue more than 20 years ago. The measure will cost about $196 billion over 10 years, and speed up the exhaustion of the Social Security trust fund by about 6 months.