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'Yes, You Are,' Tlaib Tells Lawmaker Who Said Republicans Aren't 'Little Bitches' Doing Trump's Bidding
"This budget betrayal is the largest cut to Medicaid and food assistance in history to give billionaires a tax break," said the Michigan Democrat.
Jul 02, 2025
Progressive Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib on Wednesday clapped back at one of her Republican colleagues who suggested that the GOP effort to pass the so-called Big Beautiful Bill this week isn't in response to a directive from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has set a July 4 deadline.
“The president of the United States didn't give us an assignment. We're not a bunch of little bitches around here, OK? I'm a member of Congress. I represent almost 800,000 Wisconsinites," Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) told journalists near the back entrance to the House of Representatives chamber, according to Punchbowl News' Kenzie Nguyen.
Responding to Van Orden's claims on the social media platform X, Tlaib (D-Mich.) simply said, "Yes, he did, and yes, you are."
The Michigan Democrat also released a video explaining to constituents why she is voting "hell no" on the package, which would cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and strip an estimated 17 million Americans of their health insurance over the next decade while giving trillions of dollars in tax breaks to the ultrarich and corporations.
Tlaib wasn't the only House Democrat to notice the Republican's remarks. A fellow Wisconsinite, Congressman Mark Pocan, asked his followers on X, "Do you think Derrick Van Orden is right... that Congress is not a bunch of 'little bitches'?"
According to Politico's Samuel Benson and Mike DeBonis, Van Orden's comment came in the context of confirming he would vote for the budget reconciliation package, despite some critiques. The congressman reportedly said: "So this bill will pass. Am I happy about everything? No, but there's a difference between compromise and capitulation. We're not capitulating. We're compromising."
His remarks to reporters, and the backlash, came as the House considered a version of the megabill passed by the Senate on Tuesday, with help from Vice President JD Vance. GOP leaders in the lower chamber are struggling to get it past a procedural hurdle due to opposition from Republican fiscal hawks—plus all Democrats, who oppose steep cuts to the social safety net.
To protest the Republican effort to send the bill to Trump's desk by Independence Day, House Democrats on Wednesday formed a procedural conga line offering an amendment that would block cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.
Multiple Democrats also took to the House floor to rail against the package, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who declared that "this bill is a deal with the devil. It explodes our national debt, it militarizes our entire economy, and it strips away healthcare and basic dignity of the American people. For what? To give Elon Musk a tax break and billionaires the greedy taking of our nation. We cannot stand for it, and we will not support it."
"You should be ashamed," Ocasio-Cortez told the chamber's Republicans.
As Common Dreams reported earlier Wednesday, progressives outside of Congress are also working to block the bill. Advocacy organizations, including Indivisible, are urging Americans to call and email House Republicans and pressure them to oppose the package. The phone number for the House switchboard is 202-224-3121.
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As Israel Slaughters Gazans, US House Progressives Push 'Block the Bombs Act'
"Netanyahu and Trump are a lethal, unaccountable, extremist duo," said Congresswoman Delia Ramirez. "Congress needs to assert its oversight authority."
Jun 05, 2025
With over 54,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip killed by the Israeli assault and the 2 million survivors suffering from the ongoing bombings and blockade on essentials, nearly two dozens progressives in the U.S. Congress came together Thursday to call for passage of a bill that would withhold offensive weapons from Israel.
Like former Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden, Republican President Donald Trump has continued to provide diplomatic and weapons support to the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose forces have left the Palestinian enclave in ruins since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
"Netanyahu has laid siege to Gaza, killing at least 54,000 people, repeatedly displacing the entire population, and cutting off access to desperately needed humanitarian aid."
"Netanyahu and Trump are a lethal, unaccountable, extremist duo. Trump has bypassed congressional oversight on weapons transfers. The Israeli government is currently escalating attacks on the civilian population of Gaza. They are both out of control. Congress needs to assert its oversight authority," said Congresswoman Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) in a statement.
"Enough is enough," Ramirez declared. "By introducing the Block the Bombs Act, a broad coalition is listening to the American people who don't want their taxpayers' money to continue supporting gross violations of U.S., international, and humanitarian law."
Two former leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus—Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Mark Pocan (D-Wis.)—as well as Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) are spearheading the fight for the bill alongside Ramirez. Another 18 Democrats in the House of Representatives have signed on as co-sponsors, including current CPC Chair Greg Casar (D-Texas) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), the only Palestinian American in either chamber.
"For the last year and a half, Benjamin Netanyahu has laid siege to Gaza, killing at least 54,000 people, repeatedly displacing the entire population, and cutting off access to desperately needed humanitarian aid," said Pocan. "This commonsense bill will prevent more unchecked transfers of these offensive weapons systems that are used to violate international human rights laws and hopefully help bring this devastating conflict to an end."
Although there was a cease-fire in place for nearly two months earlier this year, Netanyahu abandoned it in March. Since then, negotiations for an end to Israel's annihilation of Gaza and the release of both Palestinians held in Israeli prisons and hostages taken by Palestinian militants in 2023 have been unsuccessful.
Throughout the war, efforts by progressives in both chambers of Congress—including multiple resolutions led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)—to block U.S. weapons that Israel uses to massacre civilians in Gaza also have not been successful. A growing number of critics across the globe condemn the U.S.-backed Israeli assault as genocide.
This morning @ramirez.house.gov, @sarajacobs.house.gov, @jayapal.house.gov, and @pocan.house.gov introduced historic legislation to stop sending bombs to the Israeli military. It should be common sense. We should not be supporting mass killing and starvation. Thank you all for your leadership.
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— Sunrise Movement (@sunrisemvmt.bsky.social) June 5, 2025 at 12:57 PM
The new bill is backed by dozens of advocacy groups that have spent the past 20 months sounding the alarm about the soaring death toll, starvation, and destruction of infrastructure in Gaza, including Amnesty International USA, Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), Council on American-Islamic Relations, Demand Progress, Human Rights Watch, IfNotNow Movement, IMEU Policy Project, Indivisible, Jewish Voice for Peace Action, Justice Democrats, Institute for Policy Studies, Progressive Democrats of America, Rabbis for Cease-Fire, Sunrise Movement, Win Without War, and Working Families Party.
"The Block the Bombs Act is a historic bill," but also "a straightforward challenge to United States complicity in Israel's genocidal campaign in Gaza as Israeli forces block humanitarian assistance and directly target schools, hospitals, and civilians," said CCR associate director of policy Brad Parker. "As the Israeli government escalates the murder, starvation, and forcible transfer of Palestinians with President Trump's full support, we recognize and appreciate the bold leadership of Reps. Ramirez, Jacobs, Jayapal, and Pocan."
CCR also encouraged supporters of the bill to visit blockthebombs.org, which features a tool enabling U.S. voters to write to their members of Congress and ask them to co-sponsor the legislation, H.R. 3565.
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Trump Plan to Accept Lux Plane From Qatar Condemned as 'Comically Corrupt'
"This is spectacularly corrupt, a level of greed and depravity that is breathtaking, even for Trump."
May 11, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump—no stranger to allegations of blatant corruption—faced an onslaught of criticism on Sunday in response to ABC News reporting that his administration is preparing to accept "what may be the most valuable gift ever extended to the United States from a foreign government."
Ahead of Trump's trip to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, sources told ABC that the administration "is preparing to accept a super luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from the royal family of Qatar—a gift that is to be available for use by... Trump as the new Air Force One until shortly before he leaves office, at which time ownership of the plane will be transferred to the Trump presidential library foundation."
The unnamed sources also explained that "lawyers for the White House counsel's office and the Department of Justice drafted an analysis for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth concluding that is legal for the Department of Defense to accept the aircraft as a gift and later turn it over to the Trump library, and that it does not violate laws against bribery or the Constitution's prohibition (the emoluments clause) of any U.S. government official accepting gifts 'from any king, prince, or foreign state.'"
"Even in a presidency defined by grift, this move is shocking. It makes clear that U.S. foreign policy under Donald Trump is up for sale."
ABC's revelations about the $400 million "flying palace" follow The Wall Street Journal reporting earlier this month that "the U.S. government has commissioned L3Harris to overhaul a Boeing 747 formerly used by the Qatari government... into a presidential jet."
The White House, Boeing, and L3Harris declined to comment on the Journal's report. Similarly, on Sunday, the White House, Justice Department, and a spokesperson for the Qatari Embassy did not respond to ABC's inquiries.
However, as The Associated Press reported Sunday:
Hours after the news, Ali Al-Ansari, Qatar's media attaché, in a statement said, "Reports that a jet is being gifted by Qatar to the United States government during the upcoming visit of President Trump are inaccurate."
"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," the statement said. "But the matter remains under review by the respective legal departments, and no decision has been made."
Amid the uncertainty, a range of people across the internet blasted the supposed plan, slamming it as "indefensible," "incredibly illegal," and "comically corrupt." Some critics pointed out that the reporting comes after the Trump Organization, the Saudi partner DarGlobal, and a company owned by the Qatari government last month reached a deal to build a luxury golf resort in Qatar.
Journalist Mike Rothschild said that "this is spectacularly corrupt, a level of greed and depravity that is breathtaking, even for Trump. Air Force One—the people's plane—is going to be a flying palace donated by Qatar. No American should accept this."
Some critics highlighted security concerns. One legal expert declared, "An emolument and security risk all wrapped up in one!"
Robert Weissman, co-president of the watchdog group Public Citizen, said in a statement that "Trump's plan to accept a luxury plane from Qatar is blatantly unconstitutional, a textbook violation of the emoluments clause. The concern with foreign gifts is that they can sway a president's policy and predilections—and there's little doubt that Qatar wants to gift Trump a 'palace in the sky' for exactly that reason."
Weissman continued:
"The legal counsel who advised that this gift is OK because Trump will take personal control of it (through his library) only after leaving office should resign immediately, in shame and disgrace. The situation is no different than if the Qataris gave $400 million in cash to Trump and told him to keep it under his bed until 2029, when he could spend it freely. Except possibly it's worse, because he will use the plane in the interim, at great cost to the U.S. taxpayer, who will have to upgrade it.
Even in a presidency defined by grift, this move is shocking. It makes clear that U.S. foreign policy under Donald Trump is up for sale. The juxtaposition with cancelled foreign aid grants and programs for poor and vulnerable people—cancellations that will cost millions of lives unless reversed—could not be starker or more morally grotesque.
"Is taking a gift from a foreign government this big a bribe or bad judgment? Or just Trump?" Congressman Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) asked on social media. "Wish the MAGA movement cared about ethics in their president."
Congressman Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) said: "The level of corruption from President Trump and his White House is unlike anything we have ever seen in American history. It is appalling and criminal. Openly taking bribes."
Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar (D-Texas) noted that the reporting comes amid issues at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
"While ordinary Americans' flights are grounded because of problems at the FAA, Trump is taking a $400 million bribe in the form of a 'palace in the sky' from a foreign government," Casar said. "Over and over: He gets paid. Everyone else gets screwed."
This article has been updated with comment from Ali Al-Ansari, Qatar's media attaché.
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