President Donald Trump declared Monday that the U.S. ‘will no longer tolerate profiteering and price gouging from Big Pharma’ as he signed an executive order implementing what his administration is calling ‘most favored nations drug pricing.’ 

‘The principle is simple – whatever the lowest price paid for a drug in other developed countries, that is the price that Americans will pay,’ Trump said at the White House. ‘Some prescription drug and pharmaceutical prices will be reduced almost immediately by 50 to 80 to 90%.’ 

Trump said that ‘starting today, the United States will no longer subsidize the healthcare of foreign countries, which is what we were doing. We’re subsidizing others’ healthcare, the countries where they paid a small fraction of what for the same drug that what we pay many, many times more for and will no longer tolerate profiteering and price gouging from Big Pharma.’ 

‘Even though the United States is home to only 4% of the world’s population, pharmaceutical companies make more than two thirds of their profits in America. So think of that with 4% of the population, the pharmaceutical companies make most of their money. Most of their profits from America. That’s not a good thing,’ Trump continued.  

‘I think, by the way, pharmaceutical – I have great respect for these companies and for the people that run them. I really do, and I think they did one of the greatest jobs in history for their company, convincing people for many years that this was a fair system. Nobody really understood why, but I figured it out. For years, pharmaceutical and drug companies have said that research and development costs were what they are, and for no reason whatsoever, they had to be borne by America alone,’ Trump said. ‘Not anymore, they don’t.’ 

The White House said that the executive order ‘directs the U.S. Trade Representative and Secretary of Commerce to take action to ensure foreign countries are not engaged in practices that purposefully and unfairly undercut market prices and drive price hikes in the United States.

‘The Order instructs the Administration to communicate price targets to pharmaceutical manufacturers to establish that America, the largest purchaser and funder of prescription drugs in the world, gets the best deal,’ the White House said.

‘The Secretary of Health and Human Services will establish a mechanism through which American patients can buy their drugs directly from manufacturers who sell to Americans at a ‘Most-Favored-Nation’ price, bypassing middlemen,’ the White House added. ‘If drug manufacturers fail to offer most-favored-nation pricing, the Order directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) propose rules that impose most-favored-nation pricing; and (2) take other aggressive measures to significantly reduce the cost of prescription drugs to the American consumer and end anticompetitive practices.’

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said alongside Trump, ‘I never thought that this would happen in my lifetime.’

‘I have a couple of kids who are Democrats, are big Bernie Sanders fans. And when I told them that this was going to happen, they had tears in their eyes. Because they thought, this is never going to happen,’ he said. ‘And we finally have a president who is willing to stand up for the American people.’ 

Trump said earlier this morning that drug prices would be ‘cut by 59%.’ 

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America trade group opposes the order, saying, ‘This Foreign First Pricing scheme is a bad deal for American patients.’ 

‘Importing foreign prices will cut billions of dollars from Medicare with no guarantee that it helps patients or improves their access to medicines,’ the group’s president, Stephen Ubl, said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. ‘It will jeopardize the hundreds of billions our member companies are planning to invest in America, making us more reliant on China for innovative medicines.’ 

‘To lower costs for Americans, we need to address the real reasons U.S. patients are paying more for their medicines. We are the only country in the world that lets PBMs, insurers and hospitals take 50% of every dollar spent on medicines,’ Ubl also said. ‘In fact, hospital markups in 340B and the rebates and fees paid to middlemen in the U.S. often exceed the total cost of medicines oversees. Giving more of this money to patients will lower their medicine costs and reduce the gap with European prices.’ 

Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.  

President Donald Trump defended the U.S. preparing to accept a jumbo jet gift from Qatar’s royal family to serve as a temporary Air Force One as Boeing failed to roll out a new Air Force One fleet in a timely manner. 

‘We’re very disappointed that it’s taking Boeing so long to build a new Air Force One,’ Trump said during a press conference on drug prices Monday morning. ‘You know, we have an Air Force One that’s 40 years old. And if you take a look at that, compared to the new plane of the equivalent, you know, stature at the time, it’s not even the same ballgame.’ 

‘When I first came in, I signed an order to get (the new Air Force One fleet) built,’ he continued. ‘I took it over from the Obama administration, they had originally agreed. I got the price down much lower. And then, when the election didn’t exactly work out the way that it should have, a lot of work was not done on the plane because a lot of people didn’t know they made change orders. That was so stupid, so ridiculous. And it ended up being a total mess, a real mess.’ 

Reports spread Sunday morning that the Trump administration was expected to accept a $400 million Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from Qatar’s royal family. ABC News reported that Trump would use the jet until the end of his term, when it would be given to his presidential library. 

Trump confirmed Sunday evening on Truth Social that the Department of Defense would receive the 747 as a gift, while railing against Democrats as ‘world class losers’ for criticizing the gift.  

‘So the fact that the Defense Department is getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40 year old Air Force One, temporarily, in a very public and transparent transaction, so bothers the Crooked Democrats that they insist we pay, TOP DOLLAR, for the plane,’ Trump wrote. ‘Anybody can do that! The Dems are World Class Losers!!! MAGA.’

He continued in the press conference Monday that when he returned to office in January, his administration informed him construction on two new Air Force Ones was ‘way behind’ on the schedule for completion. 

‘If we can get a 747 as a contribution to our Defense Department to use during a couple of years while they’re building the other ones. I think that was a very nice gesture. Now, I could be a stupid person to say, ‘Oh, no, we don’t want a free plane.’ We give free things, we’ll take one, two, and it helps us out. Because again, we’re talking about we have a 40-year-old aircraft. The money we spend, the maintenance we spend on those planes to keep them tippy-top is astronomical,’ he added, calling the gift a ‘great gesture from Qatar.’ 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also brushed off concern over the Qatari royal family donating a Boeing jumbo jet to the U.S. Department of Defense, arguing on Monday there will be no quid pro quo arrangement and that the donation is under legal review to ensure full compliance with the law. 

‘The Qatari Government has graciously offered to donate a plane to the Department of Defense,’ Leavitt said on ‘Fox & Friends’ Monday morning. ‘The legal details of that are still being worked out. But, of course, any donation to this government is always done in full compliance with the law, and we commit ourselves to the utmost transparency, and we will continue to do that.’

When asked if the administration was worried that accepting the gift could lead to a quid pro quo situation where Qatar expects something in return, Leavitt shot down such a narrative. 

‘Absolutely not because they know President Trump, and they know he only works with the interests of the American public in mind,’ Leavitt responded. 

Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., wrote to the Government Accountability Office on Sunday, calling for an ethics investigation into the gift, claiming it would be the single most expensive gift ever received by a U.S. president. 

‘I am writing to express alarm over reports that President Donald Trump is poised to accept a luxury aircraft — a Boeing 747-8 — from the government of Qatar,’ Torres wrote. ‘The plane, so opulent it has been described as a ‘palace in the sky,’ is set to be made available to President Trump for official use as Air Force One and then for private use once he leaves office.’ 

‘This ‘flying grift’ is merely the latest chapter in a tawdry tale of presidential profiteering unprecedented in American history,’ Torres added.

Presidents have for decades circumvented the Emoluments Clause — which prohibits federal elected officials from accepting gifts from foreign governments or monarchs — by classifying gifts they receive while in office as gifts to the office of the president. Those gifts are then cataloged and stored as part of their presidential libraries after leaving office. 

While presidents maintain some level of access to the items in their libraries, they do not own them directly and must purchase them from the federal government in order to secure private ownership.

Leavitt said in a comment to Fox Digital Monday morning that all gifts received by a foreign government would be above board and in compliance with the law. 

‘Any gift given by a foreign government is always accepted in full compliance with all applicable laws,’ Leavitt said. ‘President Trump’s Administration is committed to full transparency.’ 

Trump is headed to the Middle East and is expected to meet with leaders in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. A Trump administration official confirmed to Fox News Digital that the plane will not be presented to the president nor accepted by Trump during his trip abroad. 

The current Air Force One fleet includes two aging planes, both of which are more than 30 years old and have been eyed for replacement since at least the Obama administration. 

Trump railed against a government deal with Boeing to build a new fleet of Air Force Ones ahead of his first administration, posting on social media in December 2016 that the ‘costs are out of control, more than $4 billion’ to build the two aircraft.

Trump in 2018 awarded Boeing a $3.9 billion fixed-price agreement to manufacture two new jets. The construction of the jets, however, is not expected to be completed until 2029. 

‘Boeing is proud to build the next generation of Air Force One, providing American Presidents with a flying White House at outstanding value to taxpayers,’ Boeing said in 2018 after ironing out a deal with Trump for the creation of the new fleet. ‘President Trump negotiated a good deal on behalf of the American people.’ 

‘The possible transfer of an aircraft for temporary use as Air Force One is currently under consideration between Qatar’s Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Department of Defense, but the matter remains under review by the respective legal departments, and no decision has been made,’ Qatari embassy official Ali Al-Ansari told ABC News Sunday. 

When not in office as president, Trump has traveled in his private Boeing 757 jet, dubbed Trump Force One. That jet is famously emblazoned with Trump’s last name and was frequently seen in the backdrop of campaign rallies.

China has agreed to ‘open itself up to American business’ following trade negotiations between Washington, D.C., and Beijing on Saturday, according to President Donald Trump.

The arrangement was arguably the most significant development stemming from the trade negotiations, Trump told reporters Monday at the White House. Plans have yet to be finalized and ‘papered,’ but Trump said that China is on board with the agreement. 

‘The biggest thing to me is the opening up,’ Trump told reporters Monday during an announcement regarding an executive order on drug prices in the U.S. ‘It would be, I think it would be fantastic for our businesses if we could go in and compete and compete with China. It would be a lot of jobs for China.’

‘I think it’s maybe the most important thing to happen, because if you think about it, we opened up our country to China,’ Trump said. ‘They come. We don’t. I mean, they have very few restrictions. and they didn’t open their country to us, never made sense to them. It’s not fair. And they’ve agreed to open China fully open…and I think it’s going to be fantastic.’ 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent launched trade negotiations with China in Geneva on Saturday, resulting in a deal that would temporarily ease up on tariffs for 90 days.  

Specifically, the trade deal stipulates that the U.S. will cut down its tariffs against Chinese imports from 145% to 30%. Likewise, China will reduce its tariffs against U.S. imports from 125% to 10%. 

However, tariffs against some Chinese imports will not lighten up, according to Trump. Existing tariffs against cars, steel and aluminum will still remain in place, he said. 

Meanwhile, Bessent signaled that more talks with China would occur in the near future and that both Washington and Beijing would like to continue advancing negotiations. 

‘I would imagine that in the next few weeks, we will be meeting again to get rolling on a more fulsome agreement,’ Bessent said in an interview Monday morning with CNBC. 

Bessent previously warned that the tariffs could cost China up to 10 million jobs, and said that it was up to Beijing whether it would loosen up the tariffs or not.  

‘I think that over time we will see that the Chinese tariffs are unsustainable for China,’ Bessent told reporters at the White House on April 29. ‘I’ve seen some very large numbers over the past few days that show if these numbers stay on, Chinese could lose 10 million jobs very quickly. And even if there is a drop in the tariffs that they could lose five million jobs.’

The deal with China comes days after the U.S. and the U.K. inked a trade deal of their own, which kept existing 10% tariffs in place against U.K. goods but removed some import taxes on items like steel and cars. 

‘With this deal, the U.K. joins the United States in affirming that reciprocity and fairness is an essential and vital principle of international trade,’ Trump said Thursday. ‘The deal includes billions of dollars of increased market access for American exports, especially in agriculture, dramatically increasing access for American beef, ethanol and virtually all of the products produced by our great farmers.’ 

Global stock markets are soaring in the wake of the trade truce between the U.S. and China.

The agreement, announced early Monday, implements a 90-day cooling-off period between the world’s two largest economic superpowers, bringing a temporary end to their tariff war that last month triggered a massive financial market sell-off. 

U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports, which were jacked to 145% last month as President Donald Trump hiked tariffs on countries around the world, will be scaled down to 30%, with Beijing lowering its tariffs from a retaliatory 125% to just 10%.

‘We both have an interest in balanced trade, the U.S. will continue moving towards that,’ Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said after talks with Chinese officials in Switzerland.

While the initial agreement brought instant relief to the stock markets, for a president aiming to pass a sweeping agenda through Congress and hold onto his congressional majorities in next year’s midterm elections, it is the potential political payoff that may be of upmost importance.

The truce with China follows days after an initial trade deal with the United Kingdom – which is the first since Trump implemented tariffs last month. The president touted that the agreement with London would be ‘the first of many.’

‘It’s a positive first step,’ veteran Republican strategist and communicator Ryan Williams told Fox News.

Trump’s approval ratings have been sliding since he returned to power in the White House nearly four months ago and are now underwater in most national polling.

Most, but not all, of the most recent national public opinion surveys indicate Trump’s approval ratings in negative territory, which is a deterioration from the president’s poll position when he started his second tour of duty in the White House in late January.

Fueling the drop in Trump’s poll numbers are increased concerns by Americans over the economy and inflation, which were pressing issues that kept former President Joe Biden‘s approval ratings well below water for most of his presidency.  

Trump stood at 44% approval and 55% disapproval in the most recent Fox News national poll, which was conducted April 18-21.

Additionally, getting past the top lines, the president’s approval registered at 38% on the economy and just 33% on inflation and tariffs.

Front and center is Trump’s blockbuster tariff announcement in early April, which sparked a trade war with some of the nation’s top trading partners and triggered a massive sell-off in the financial markets and increased concerns about a recession.

In discussing his tariffs soon after he announced them on what he called ‘Liberation Day,’ the president touted that ‘these countries are calling us up, kissing my a–.’

‘They are dying to make a deal. ‘Please, please, sir, make a deal. I’ll do anything. I’ll do anything, sir!’’ Trump claimed.

A month later, Trump finally has a chance to show tangible results.

The president touted, ‘NO INFLATION!!! LOVE, DJT’ in a social media post Monday morning.

‘President Trump has argued that his agenda requires time for an adjustment and deal making. He’ll be given a period of time to execute deals to prove that his plans are working and the first major trade deal with a nation like the UK is at least a sign that some of the work has been going on behind the scenes thus and is starting to bear fruit,’ Williams said last week, following the announcement of the deal with the United Kingdom.

Williams added that the president will ‘have to back it up with more, but it is a positive first step for him in securing other deals.’

House Republicans released a sweeping plan late on Sunday to curb who gets Medicaid coverage and roll back former President Joe Biden’s electric vehicle (EV) mandate, among other measures.

The Energy & Commerce Committee, which has broad jurisdiction, including over federal health programs, telecommunications and energy, was tasked with finding at least $880 billion in spending cuts to pay for other priorities in President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill.’

Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., told House Republicans on a lawmaker-only call on Sunday night that the panel had found ‘north of $900 billion’ in savings, however – a significant victory for House GOP leaders who weathered attacks from Democrats about significant cuts to welfare programs like Medicaid.

However, Republicans largely avoided the deep cuts to Medicaid that were sought by some fiscal hawks in the House GOP Conference, a win for moderate Republicans who were more politically vulnerable to Democratic attacks over the issue.

The legislation would put a new 80-hour-per-month work requirement on certain able-bodied adults receiving Medicaid, aged 19 through 64.

It would also put guardrails on states spending funds on their expanded Medicaid populations. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) allowed states to expand Medicaid coverage to adults who make up to 138% of the poverty level.

More specifically, states that provide Medicaid coverage to illegal immigrants could see their federal Medicaid reimbursement dollars diminished, putting more of that cost on the state itself.

The bill would also require states with expanded Medicaid populations to perform eligibility checks every six months to ensure the system is not being abused.

Guthrie told House Republicans on a Sunday night call that the legislation was ‘ending’ the former Biden administration’s EV mandate. He said $105 billion in savings could be found in ending the mandate to have EVs account for two-thirds of all new car sales by 2032.

Other savings are found in rescinding unspent funds in a variety of Biden green energy tax programs established via the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

It is not a full repeal of the IRA, however, as some conservatives had been pushing Republicans to do.

That had been another point of contention ahead of the bill’s release, with GOP lawmakers who have businesses in their districts that have benefited from the green energy subsidies pushing back on significant cuts.

On the other end of the energy divide, the bill would also boost Trump’s non-green energy goals by establishing a fast-tracked natural gas permitting route. The permit applicant would be required to pay $10 million or 1% of the project’s cost to be on the expedited track.

There is also a victory for social conservatives in a measure that would make certain large abortion providers ineligible for Medicaid funding. That measure was pushed by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., himself, and was backed by anti-abortion groups like Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. 

However, it could run into opposition from moderate Republicans – Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., called the provision ‘problematic’ and warned colleagues they were ‘running into a hornet’s nest’ on the matter in the Sunday night call.

The legislation does provide exceptions for places that provide abortions in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is at stake. It’s not necessarily clear, however, if providing voluntary abortions would disqualify those locations.

The Energy & Commerce Committee’s legislation accounts for the bulk of Republicans’ $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion spending cuts they are hoping to find in the budget reconciliation process.

House Republicans currently have a razor-thin three-vote margin, meaning they can afford to have little dissent and still pass anything without Democratic support. They are hoping to do just that, with virtually no Democrats currently on board with Trump’s massive Republican policy overhaul.

The budget-reconciliation process lowers the Senate’s passage threshold from 60 votes to 51, lining up the House’s own simple majority threshold.

Reconciliation allows the party in power to effectively skirt the minority and pass broad pieces of legislation – provided they address taxes, spending or the national debt.

Trump wants Republicans to use the maneuver to tackle his priorities on the border, immigration, taxes, defense, energy and raising the debt ceiling.

To do that, several committees of jurisdiction are working on their specific portions of the bill, which will then be put together in a massive vehicle to pass the House and Senate.

GOP leaders hope to have that final bill on Trump’s desk by Fourth of July.

JERUSALEM — With President Donald Trump set to leave for the Middle East on Monday, talks between the U.S. and the Islamic Republic of Iran concluded a fourth round of negotiations in Oman on Sunday over Tehran’s illicit nuclear weapons program. 

A day before the start of talks, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei welcomed chants of ‘Death to America’ in Tehran. ‘Your judgment is right,’ Khamenei told a crowd of supporters who called for the destruction of the U.S.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said the nuclear talks were ‘difficult but useful.’ A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations, offered a little bit more, describing them as being both indirect and direct, The Associated Press reported.

An ‘agreement was reached to move forward with the talks to continue working through technical elements,’ the U.S. official said. ‘We are encouraged by today’s outcome and look forward to our next meeting, which will happen in the near future.’

President Trump announced a 60-day time frame to reach an agreement with Iran over its illegal atomic weapons program. The first U.S. negotiating session with Iran commenced on April 12. 

Mardo Soghom, an Iran analyst and journalist, noted prior to the start of talks several months ago that Iran’s regime will go to great lengths to preserve its right to enrich uranium—the material required for a nuclear weapon. The Trump administration vehemently opposes a uranium enrichment program on Iranian soil.

‘Iran is trying to save its enrichment operation at a lower level and also not accepting any pressure to halt its anti-Israel stance. Khamenei’s speech [Saturday] highlighted that second point. But at this point, the main issue is dismantling Iran’s uranium enrichment,’ Soghom told Fox News Digital.

Khamenei also lashed out at Israel during his Saturday speech in Tehran, declaring about Israel’s war campaign to root out Iran-backed Hamas terrorists from the Gaza Strip that ‘The people of Gaza are not facing Israel alone—they are facing America and Britain.’

Jason Brodsky, the policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran, told Fox News Digital that ‘The Iranians, like last round, sound more downcast than the U.S. side, describing talks as difficult.’

In 2018, President Trump withdrew from former President Barack Obama’s 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), because the accord failed to prevent Tehran from building a nuclear weapons device, according to the first Trump administration.

President Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff recently stressed that Iran cannot have an enrichment program during an interview with Breitbart News prior to Sunday’s bargaining session. 

Witkoff said ‘First of all, we’re never doing a JCPOA deal where sanctions come off and there’s no sunsetting of their obligations. That doesn’t make sense. That was a mismatched procedure in JCPOA. We believe that they cannot have enrichment, they cannot have centrifuges, they cannot have anything that allows them to build a weapon. We believe in all of that. That was not JCPOA. JCPOA had sunset provisions that burned off the obligations and burned off the sanctions relief at inappropriate times. It’s never going to happen in this deal.’

Brodsky said that ‘All in all, both sides want to keep the process moving. The Iranians will usually say and do enough to earn another meeting as they stand to lose more by this process breaking down than the U.S. government. The negotiating process is as important to the Iranians as the agreement itself as the process offers insulation from the impact of sanctions—with the rial strengthening since talks started—and protection from a military strike.

‘This is why Iran will want these negotiations to continue for as long as possible. They will try to wear out and exhaust U.S. negotiators into concessions, which the Trump administration should reject. As President Trump said in a different context, Tehran does not have the cards here.’

The hot-button issue of uranium enrichment has plagued talks with Iran over the last few decades. The Europeans faced intense criticism when they agreed—independent of the U.S.—to allow the Islamic Republic to enrich uranium during the nascent phase of atomic talks during the early years of this century.

Brodsky said ‘The original sin of U.S. decision-making on Iran’s nuclear program was when the Obama administration changed the U.S. position from zero enrichment to tolerating enrichment at 3.67%. That laid the groundwork for Iran to retain the capability to continue to use its nuclear program to extort the United States and ultimately build a nuclear weapon.’

The nuclear expert noted, ‘That should end today, and recent comments from President Trump, Special Envoy Witkoff, and Secretary Rubio hopefully signal that this era is over. House and Senate Republicans were also very clear on this point over the last week. The Iranians say they want a durable deal. But a JCPOA 2.0—tolerating enrichment at 3.67% and no dismantlement of nuclear facilities—would not be one.

‘The Iranians are engaged in all kinds of gimmicks to dress up a variation of the same concessions they offered to President Obama. That should be unacceptable to American negotiators.’

The anti-American news outlet, Kayhan, that serves as the mouthpiece for Khamenei, published a full-page screed against Trump where it stated, ‘He is a framework based on narcissism, superiority delusions, and threat-based tactics.’

The talks on Sunday ran for some three hours in Muscat, the capital of Oman. Iran’s regime spokesperson, Baghaei, said that a decision on the next round of talks is under discussion.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A measure in President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ aimed at cracking down on federal payments for abortion providers could run into a buzzsaw of opposition from moderate House Republicans.

House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., held a conference call with GOP lawmakers on Sunday night unveiling his panel’s portion of the Republican reconciliation bill.

During the question and answer portion of the call, Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., asked for clarity on several aspects, including a provision to make ‘large groups who provide abortion services’ ineligible for federal Medicaid dollars, Fox News Digital was told.

‘You are running into a hornet’s nest,’ Lawler warned his colleagues.

The New York Republican, one of only three GOP lawmakers representing districts that Trump lost in 2024, questioned how those groups were being defined and said the language needed to be ‘looked over,’ Fox News Digital was also told.

Guthrie assured him that certain considerations were being taken in the language.

Lawler also pointed out that the Hyde Amendment already prevents federal dollars from going towards abortion services, Fox News Digital was told.

His concerns were echoed by another person familiar with House GOP discussions on the matter, who was granted anonymity to speak freely.

That person told Fox News Digital that several moderate Republican lawmakers communicated to House GOP leaders that they could oppose the final bill if that provision was included.

‘We’re not fighting a new fight on abortion when that’s kind of calmed down,’ the person recalled of the moderates’ argument.

Fox News Digital first learned of discussions about the potential measure last week. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., alluded to Republicans’ plans in a speech at the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America’s gala last month.

Johnson said the Republicans’ bill would redirect funds from ‘big abortion’ to ‘federally qualified health centers.’

The legislation itself refers to nonprofit organizations that are ‘an essential community provider…that is primarily engaged in family planning services, reproductive health, and related medical care; and provides for abortions.’

The legislation makes exceptions for facilities that only provide abortions in the case of rape, incest, or threats to the life of the mother.

It’s one of several efforts to rein in spending to pay for Trump’s other priorities via the budget reconciliation process.

House Republicans currently have a razor-thin three-vote margin, meaning they can afford to have little dissent and still pass anything without Democratic support. They’re hoping to do just that, with virtually no Democrats currently on board with Trump’s massive Republican policy overhaul.

The budget-reconciliation process lowers the Senate’s passage threshold from 60 votes to 51, lining up the House’s own simple majority threshold.

Reconciliation allows the party in power to effectively skirt the minority and pass broad pieces of legislation – provided they address taxes, spending or the national debt.

Trump wants Republicans to use the maneuver to tackle his priorities on the border, immigration, taxes, defense, energy, and raising the debt ceiling.

To do that, several committees of jurisdiction are working on their specific portions of the bill, which will then be put together in a massive vehicle to pass the House and Senate.

The Energy & Commerce Committee – which has a broad jurisdiction including Medicare, Medicaid, telecommunications, and energy production – was tasked with finding at least $880 billion in spending cuts out of a total $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion.

Guthrie said the bill released late on Sunday evening includes ‘north of’ $900 billion in spending cuts.

In addition to the measure ending Medicaid funds for large abortion providers, the legislation also finds savings in instilling work requirements for certain able-bodied beneficiaries of Medicaid expansion. 

Some Medicaid dollars going toward states that provide taxpayer-funded healthcare to illegal immigrants are also targeted.

It would also repeal certain Biden administration green energy subsidies, including the former White House’s electric vehicle mandate.

Fox News Digital reached out to the committee and Lawler’s office for comment on the specific measure.

Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com

Something extraordinary happened on Friday, but you likely didn’t see it in the headlines.

In Washington, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) quietly approved a $2.3 billion bailout package for Pakistan. On the surface, it was just another financial deal. But beneath the surface, this vote tied together three of the most pressing foreign policy theaters in the world: India-Pakistan, Ukraine-Russia, and U.S.-China.

And the common thread?

President Trump’s return to ‘Art of the Deal’ diplomacy.

The $2.3 billion IMF package included a $1 billion tranche under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and $1.3 billion under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). But many experts were surprised this vote even happened, let alone passed.

Just last year, Pakistan’s IMF bailout was contingent on its assistance in rearming NATO during the Ukraine war. The Biden administration leaned heavily on Pakistan to support weapons transfers, using routes like the Nur Khan Airbase to send munitions to Europe.

This time around, the vote looked shaky. The Trump administration has made it clear it wants to end the war in Ukraine—and all wars that bleed U.S. taxpayers without clear gain. Meanwhile, India was lobbying both the IMF and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to block funding to Pakistan, citing terrorism financing concerns.

And then came the vote.

India abstained. So did China and Russia. The ‘yes’ votes came from the United States and the United Kingdom.

If you’re wondering why the U.S.—under Trump’s second term—would back a loan to a terror-linked state in the middle of a war, here’s the answer: because the deal was far bigger than Pakistan.

Let’s unpack what likely happened.

India’s abstention puzzled many. It had taken a strong stand against the IMF loan, arguing that it violated basic principles of counter-terror financing. For India to let it slide signaled something else was in play.

Trump’s first major diplomatic focus post-inauguration was reworking America’s global trade deals, and India was high on the list. The president had long called India the ‘tariff king,’ and negotiations had been underway to reduce agricultural and industrial tariffs. In fact, Vice President JD Vance had been dispatched to New Delhi—not a low-level envoy.

There were signs a deal was close. But the momentum was disrupted by a major terrorist attack in Kashmir, which India blamed on Pakistan-based groups. The India-U.S. trade deal went into a holding pattern.

Now, India’s IMF abstention appears less like inaction and more like a trade-off: a quiet concession, in return for favorable terms in the broader trade agreement with the U.S.

Pakistan, for its part, was running on empty. It reportedly had only four days of ammunition left and faced near-total economic collapse. Though some NATO members had sent emergency aid, the U.S. itself has been moving to reduce entanglements with NATO and phase out military support in Ukraine.

But here’s where it gets more interesting.

The United States has long had an internal debate over Pakistan. During the Cold War and the war on terror, some intelligence factions saw Pakistan as a necessary partner—even when it meant funding terror groups like the Mujahideen. In more recent years, others have shifted toward India as the natural counterweight to China.

This division within U.S. security circles matters, because it means that the fight over Pakistan is both internal and external.

And yet, the Trump administration pushed the vote through.

Why?

One likely condition: a ceasefire in the India-Pakistan conflict.

But there may have been another condition—one that had China’s fingerprints all over it.

If there’s one country that stands to gain from Pakistan’s financial boost, it’s China.

Pakistan is deeply indebted to China through Belt and Road infrastructure deals. And more to the point, most of its military imports come from Chinese manufacturers. Any fresh IMF cash would likely end up buying Chinese weapons.

So why did China abstain from voting on Pakistan’s loan?

Simple: Because Trump likely barred it.

Sources close to the matter suggest that strict terms were placed on the loan—stipulating that IMF funds cannot be spent on Chinese or Russian weapons systems, only American ones. That alone would have removed China’s incentive to back the package.

Add to that the increasing chatter over Chinese versus Western arms systems in the India-Pakistan conflict—and China’s abstention begins to make a lot of sense.

By pushing this IMF package forward under strict conditions, the Trump administration appears to have pulled off a remarkable maneuver:

• Restarted the India-U.S. trade deal
• Brokered a diplomatic win and ceasefire in South Asia
• Weaned Pakistan off Chinese weapons dependency

All in one vote.

There were no headlines. No press briefings. No declarations of success.

But that’s often how real power operates.

Critics may scoff at the idea that Trump is capable of high-level diplomacy. But for those tracking the architecture of global influence—this vote was not noise. It was signal.

It was a reminder that American power, when wielded with strategic clarity, doesn’t need to announce itself loudly.

It just needs to move the board. Quietly. Completely. Effectively.

And if you were watching this one closely, you saw just that.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday promised to increase trade with India and Pakistan after the two nations agreed to a ceasefire to end the conflict with each other.

‘While not even discussed, I am going to increase trade, substantially, with both of these great Nations,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social. ‘Additionally, I will work with you both to see if, after a ‘thousand years,’ a solution can be arrived at concerning Kashmir. God Bless the leadership of India and Pakistan on a job well done!!!’

The fragile ceasefire was holding on Sunday after several days of intense fighting, with dozens killed as missiles and drones were fired at each other’s military bases. The deal was reached after diplomacy and pressure from the U.S., but artillery fire was witnessed in Indian Kashmir within hours of the agreement.

Attacks were witnessed in cities near the border under a blackout, as was the case in the previous two evenings.

The fighting began on Wednesday after 26 men were killed two weeks prior in an attack targeting Hindus in Pahalgam in Kashmir. Both countries rule part of Kashmir but claim full control.

Late on Saturday, India accused Pakistan of violating the agreement to stop firing and that the Indian armed forces had been told to ‘deal strongly’ with any continued firings.

Pakistan blamed India for violating the truce and said it was committed to the ceasefire.

The fighting and explosions reported overnight had quieted on both sides of the border by dawn on Sunday.

‘I am very proud of the strong and unwaveringly powerful leadership of India and Pakistan for having the strength, wisdom, and fortitude to fully know and understand that it was time to stop the current aggression that could have lead to to [sic] the death and destruction of so many, and so much,’ Trump said in his post.

‘Millions of good and innocent people could have died! Your legacy is greatly enhanced by your brave actions. I am proud that the USA was able to help you arrive at this historic and heroic decision,’ he added.

In the Indian border city of Amritsar, a siren sounded Sunday morning to resume normal activities.

Officials in Pakistan said there was some firing in Bhimber in Pakistani Kashmir overnight, but there was no fighting anywhere else and no casualties were reported.

The two countries have gone to war three times, including twice over Kashmir.

Reuters contributed to this report.