Officially Chartered by the National Federation of Republican Women and the California Republican Party
From the Desk of Lydia Kanno, CFRW President July 4, 2025
VICTORY SECURED
President Donald Trump's agenda bill passed Congress (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Congress sending Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' to his desk after dramatic all-night House vote
Congressional Republicans have met Trump's ambitious July 4 deadline
Congress has officially passed President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” on Thursday afternoon after back-to-back sleepless sessions for both the House and Senate.
The massive agenda bill now goes to Trump’s desk to be signed into law just in time for Republicans’ self-imposed Fourth of July deadline.
The bill – which advances Trump’s policies on tax, the border, defense, energy and the national debt – narrowly passed the House of Representatives in a mostly party-line vote. All but two Republicans, Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., voted for the bill, which passed 218 – 214.
It’s a commanding victory for Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and for the president himself, both of whom spent hours overnight trying to persuade GOP critics of the bill.
“The President is very engaged. He was very helpful in the process. He helped answer questions and articulate his vision and what this bill will mean for the country, and his agenda, and how urgent it is for us to get it done,” Johnson told reporters the morning ahead of the vote.
The House initially passed its version of the legislation by just one vote in late May.
Senate Republicans took the bill up late last month and passed it after their own marathon voting session, also by just one vote – though the legislation underwent key changes in the upper chamber.
House lawmakers were slated to return to Washington on Wednesday morning to begin debating the bill, which included a procedural hurdle known as a “rule vote.”
But even before the rule vote could begin, it was clear the legislation had been hemorrhaging support from both moderates and conservatives in the House GOP.
Moderate Republicans were among those concerned about the Senate bill shifting even more of the Medicaid cost-burden onto states that expanded their health benefit populations under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), while conservatives were irate that those cuts did not go far enough to mitigate what they saw as excessive spending in other parts of the bill.
But the vote that was initially slated to occur Wednesday morning eventually passed after 3 a.m. on Thursday, after which both Republicans and Democrats hurriedly began to debate.
It's a victory for Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Among Democrats’ delay tactics included a lengthy speech by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who attacked Republicans for their overnight schedule.
“If Republicans were so proud of this one big, ugly bill, why did debate begin at 3:28 a.m. in the morning? Republicans are once again, which has been the case, Mr. Speaker, through every step of this journey, trying to jam this bill through the House of Representatives under cover of darkness,” Jeffries said.
But even before debate, the legislation’s fate appeared in limbo for much of Wednesday as closed-door negotiations paralyzed the House floor.
Five Republicans had initially voted against proceeding with debate on the bill, while eight GOP lawmakers had not voted at all.
The bill’s future was uncertain on Wednesday evening, but rather than accepting defeat, House GOP leaders kept the vote open for hours as they negotiated with holdouts behind closed doors.
One House Republican told Fox News Digital that Trump was directly involved in trying to persuade holdouts.
The president, meanwhile, aired his frustrations on Truth Social, “FOR REPUBLICANS, THIS SHOULD BE AN EASY YES VOTE. RIDICULOUS!!!”
In the end, they returned to the House floor where nearly all Republicans – save for moderate Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa. – voted to begin debating the bill.
Johnson told reporters when asked about Fitzpatrick’s defection, “I talked with him at length. Brian is a very good and trusted friend, and he just has convictions about certain provisions of the bill, he’s entitled to that.”
Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told reporters that critics were made to understand the bill is their only option on the table.
“They recognized this is the vote that’s before us and it’s not going to change. There are other things we can do down the road, and we want to do. But we’ve got to get this bill done first,” Scalise said.
The bill would permanently extend the income tax brackets lowered by Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), while temporarily adding new tax deductions to eliminate duties on tipped and overtime wages up to certain caps. It also includes a new tax deduction for people aged 65 and over.
The legislation also rolls back green energy tax credits implemented under former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which Trump and his allies have attacked as “the Green New Scam.”
The bill would also surge money toward the national defense, and to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the name of Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants in the U.S.
The bill would also raise the debt limit by $5 trillion in order to avoid a potentially economically devastating credit default sometime this summer, if the U.S. runs out of cash to pay its obligations.
New and expanded work requirements would be implemented for Medicaid and federal food assistance, respectively.
Democrats have blasted the bill as a tax giveaway to the wealthy while cutting federal benefits for working-class Americans.
But Republicans have said their tax provisions are targeted toward the working and middle classes – citing measures eliminating taxes on tipped and overtime wages – while arguing they were reforming federal welfare programs to work better for those who truly need them.
Conservative groups also praised the bill, with Club For Growth CEO David McIntosh telling Fox News Digital, “By preventing the biggest tax hike in history, passing full expensing, and beginning to make key cuts to bloated programs and giveaways we are setting up our country to prosper in a new Golden Age.”
Top Republicans also praised the bill and Johnson’s role in its passage.
“We delivered historic tax relief for working families, unprecedented border security investments, unleashed American energy dominance, and massive cuts to wasteful federal spending,” Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital. “After years of failed policies, we stepped up to put Americans first and fulfilled our promises. On July 4th, 2025, we will return power to where it belongs—with the American people.”
House GOP Policy Committee Chairman Kevin Hern, R-Okla., said the bill “took an incredible amount of work to get this bill across the finish line, starting several years ago with field hearings, stakeholder meetings, and a lot of research into niche tax policy.”
Jon Fleischman Jul 03, 2025
The Fraud That Shocked a State
During the pandemic, California paid $200 billion in UI benefits, but $20–32 billion was fraudulent, one of the largest scams in U.S. history. Most shocking was the $1 billion sent to prison inmates—people in California’s custody, including murderers and child molesters—showing the absurdity of EDD’s failures under Newsom’s appointed leadership. However, a small fraction of total fraud, amounting to a billion dollars lost to inmates unnoticed, is staggering. A 2021 audit revealed that the EDD auto-approved claims without identity checks, while 1980s systems and unlinked prison records allowed inmates, such as one individual filing 16 claims, to profit by $49,000. Organized crime, ranging from Nigerian groups to Chinese hackers, has utilized stolen Social Security numbers obtained from the dark web.
Gas Price Hike, Minimum Wage Increases and Airbnb Changes: New Laws in California July 1st
California State Capitol on March 11, 2022. (Photo: Kevin Sanders for California Globe)
Major new IVF coverage bill is also now in effect
By Evan Symon, July 1, 2025 2:35 pm
A new fiscal year began on Tuesday in California. And, like every year, the first day in the second half of the year brought in a bunch of new laws, taxes, fees, and other changes coming to the average person in the state. Here’s a quick rundown of what has changed today, starting with the one most people have worried about…
Fuel Price Changes
Both gasoline and diesel are going up on Tuesday. The state gas tax is increasing, as it now does every year to adjust the rate for inflation. According to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, the state gas tax is climbing from 59.6 cents a gallon, to 61.2 cents a gallon. Likewise, the diesel tax is going up from 45.4 cents a gallon to 46.6 cents a gallon.
However, that isn’t it. Changes to the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) Low-Carbon Fuel regulations that were adopted last year will also come into effect on July 1st. These new amendments specifically create a new blend of gasoline that is designed to help meet California’s emission goals in the coming decades. While the overall amount may start off low, at around 5 to 8 cents a gallon for gas, some projections have shown that it could climb as high as 65 cents per gallon. As of Tuesday, the LCFS price increase in July is currently estimated to be an additional 8 cents to 9 cents a gallon, with higher amounts still possible later this year.
Minimum Wage Changes
Several cities across California, mostly in the Bay Area and greater Los Angeles area, will see minimum wage increases on July 1st. While the state amount is set for $16.50 an hour for now, major city changes include the following:
- Alameda: $17.46 per hour
- Berkeley: $19.18 per hour
- Emeryville: $19.90 per hour
- Fremont: $17.75 per hour
- Los Angeles City: $17.87 per hour
- Milpitas: $18.20 per hour
- Pasadena: $18.04 per hour
- San Francisco: $19.18 per hour
- Santa Monica: $17.81 per hour
Unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County are also set for an increase to $17.81 an hour.
Some occupations will see significant increases as well. Workers at healthcare facilities with over 10,000 employees and dialysis clinic employees will see wage hikes from $23 an hour to $24 an hour. A similar increase is happening for employees who work at safety net hospitals, with wages going up from $18 an hour to $18.63 an hour.
Fertility Treatment Insurance Coverage
Fertility care in California expanded on Tuesday by requiring that most insurance plans include treatment for infertility and in vitro fertilization (IVF). SB 729 includes group plans of over 100 employees and makes sure coverage is extended to not only families, but single and LGBT individuals as well. The only exemption to the new law are religious employers like churches and religious non-profits, who are exempt from the law because of how SB 729 can clash with their beliefs.
Subscription Cancellations
A new law aimed at making it easier to cancel or leave subscription services and auto-renewing subscription service is now in effect as well. Signed by Governor Gavin Newsom last September, AB 2863 can now longer auto-renew subscriptions without clearly telling consumers the terms. Consumers now also have the ability to cancel a subscription through the same platform hey signed up on. However, older subscriptions will be grandfathered in, as the new law only covers subscriptions that are signed or renewed on or after July 1, 2025.
Bar Drink Lids
Bars are seeing a big change on July 1st too. Thanks to AB 2375 being signed into law last year, all bars will now have to supply customers with lids for drinks when requested. The law is put into place to help cut down on foreign substances like “roofies” from being put into drinks. However, lids may not be free, with the new law allowing bars to charge a “reasonable price” for the lids.
Short-Term Rental Service Fee Disclosures
Short-term rental services, like Airbnb, saw a huge law change on Tuesday. All fees and charges are now required by law to be disclosed of up front, under the penalty of fines that could go up to as much as $10,000 per individual violation. AB 2202 specifically targets the infamous “cleaning fees” and other fees that some Airbnb hosts are known for doing to nickel and dime customers. In addition, all penalties for lodging agreement violations must also be disclosed up front and not hidden behind small text or shown after the fact.
Student ID Card Changes
Adults in California are not the only ones affected by the new laws on Tuesday – kids and teenagers will be seeing some changes too. SB 1063 is officially law, meaning that all students currently attending both public and private schools in grades 7-12 will have ID card changes. Specifically, all new cards are to have mental health resources printed on them. The number for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is required, while a QR code linking to mental health resources may also be placed on there. The changes are in place to help better address the growing youth mental health crisis.
Mandatory Reporting Of Stolen Goods By Online Marketplaces
Finally, online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay will face a major new law in California designed to cut down on the amount of stolen goods being sold online. SB 1144 will create a stolen good policy at online retailers and marketplaces, especially in regards to third-party vendors. If the marketplace finds that the goods being sold to Californians online are stolen, they now, by law, have to tell law enforcement
Overall, the number of new laws coming into effect has not been as much as other fiscal year beginnings in other years. However, with a major new gas price bump, minimum wage changes, and other monetary-based laws up and running in the state, it has been shown to be a pricey one.
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