U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), the Ranking Member of the powerful House Rules Committee, blasted his Republican colleagues for their support of President Donald Trump’s budget bill that will cut $1 trillion from Medicaid, hundreds of billions from Medicare, and greatly reduce the food program known as SNAP—also by hundreds of billions—while giving massive tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans.

As the House began voting on the legislation on Wednesday, giving members just one hour for debate in a rush to meet the President’s July 4 deadline, Rep. McGovern took to the floor.

The Massachusetts Democrat denounced Republicans’ “attack” on SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. “You can live without a lot of things, but you can’t live without food,” he reminded his GOP colleagues.

Speaking to “those Republicans who think that it’s okay to give [billionaire] Jeff Bezos a tax cut, and at the same time, cut food benefits for struggling families,” McGovern declared, “we don’t share the same values.”

READ MORE: Trump Threatens to Block NYC Democratic Mayoral Nominee He Calls a ‘Communist Lunatic’

“Unloading billions of dollars in new costs on states, money they do not have, will force them to cut benefits and throw needy people off of SNAP. It is a rotten thing to do,” he added.

“And I believe there’s a special place in hell for people who take food away from veterans, from seniors, from children, from foster youth, and from hungry families. This is sick. This is disgusting.”

McGovern: “For those Republicans who think it’s okay to give Jeff Bezos a tax cut and at the same time cut food benefits for struggling families, let me say clearly: We don’t share the same values… I believe there’s a special place in hell for people who take food away from… pic.twitter.com/t494m7ZxSq

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 2, 2025

He called the rushed floor vote “legislative malpractice.”

READ MORE: ‘This Is Fascism’: Trump Sparks Fury After Calling to Deport U.S. Citizens

“We are not on a deadline,” he reminded House members. “No looming crisis.”

“We’re here because Donald Trump wants a Fourth of July party to celebrate this garbage bill. He wants fireworks and flags and cameras, not for this country, but for himself. So he says, ‘Close your ears, close your eyes, and vote for this bill.’ Honestly, sounds more like a cult than a Congress to me.”

After listening to a Republican—who was standing next to a big poster of President Donald Trump and fireworks—call for members to support the bill, McGovern declared, “Cult much?”

McGovern: Cult much? pic.twitter.com/tq77GmonZc

— Acyn (@Acyn) July 2, 2025

Watch the videos above or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Surrounded by Sharks’: After Touring ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Trump Vows to Renovate Original

President Donald Trump on Wednesday, in what appeared to be a continuation of his extreme attacks on Zohran Mamdani, vowed to use the powers of the presidency to block the New York City Democratic mayoral nominee. The President did not use Mamdani’s name but did use the same slur he has used against him in recent days.

“As President of the United States,” Trump wrote on Wednesday on his social media website, “I’m not going to let this Communist Lunatic destroy New York. Rest assured, I hold all the levers, and have all the cards. I’ll save New York City, and make it “Hot” and “Great” again, just like I did with the Good Ol’ USA!”

It was unclear if Trump was suggesting he would attempt to block Mamdani from being elected or block his agenda should he become New York City’s mayor.

Trump has previously referred to Mamdani, who is not a communist but a member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, as a communist.

READ MORE: ‘Surrounded by Sharks’: After Touring ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Trump Vows to Renovate Original

On Tuesday, Trump threatened to arrest Mamdani if he interfered with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in NYC. He also threatened to deport Mamdani, who is currently serving as an elected New York State assemblyman.

“Well then we’ll have to arrest him,” Trump said when a reporter mentioned Mamdani might block ICE agents in New York City should he win the mayoral election, as The Washington Post reported. “Look, we don’t need a communist in this country, but if we have one, I’m going to be watching over them very carefully on behalf of the nation.”

“Trump’s attack on the mayoral candidate echoed language he has long used to lend credibility to falsehoods,” The New York Times reported:

“A lot of people are saying he’s here illegally,” Trump said of Mamdani. “We’re going to look at everything.”

Mamdani spoke out against Trump’s threats.

“The President of the United States just threatened to have me arrested, stripped of my citizenship, put in a detention camp and deported. Not because I have broken any law but because I will refuse to let ICE terrorize our city,” Mamdani said on Tuesday, The Post also reported.

“His statements don’t just represent an attack on our democracy but an attempt to send a message to every New Yorker who refuses to hide in the shadows: if you speak up, they will come for you. We will not accept this intimidation,” he added.

READ MORE: ‘This Is Fascism’: Trump Sparks Fury After Calling to Deport U.S. Citizens

“He’s a communist,” Trump had told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo in an interview that aired Sunday. “I think it’s very bad for New York. I don’t know that he’s gonna get in. It’s inconceivable … but he’s a Communist, and he’s pure Communist. I think he admits it. I can’t imagine it, but let’s say this: If he does get in, I’m gonna be president, then he’s going to have to do the right thing, but they’re not getting any money. He’s got to do the right thing.”

Mamdani has directly denied being a communist, and likens his use of the term “democratic socialist” to remarks made by the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as HuffPost reported. He also commented on Trump’s attacks.

“I have already had to start to get used to the fact that the president will talk about how I look, how I sound, where I’m from, who I am,” Mamdani told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “Ultimately, because he wants to distract from what I’m fighting for, and I’m fighting for the very working people that he ran a campaign to empower, that he has since then betrayed.”

Watch a short clip of Trump’s remarks on Tuesday below or at this link.

Trump falsely suggests @ZohranKMamdani is in the country “illegally” calls him a communist (he’s a Dem socialist) and then then goes on to call @ericadamsfornyc a “very good person” who he “helped out a little bit.” pic.twitter.com/7tOoULgPek

— Gloria Pazmino (@GloriaPazmino) July 1, 2025

READ MORE: Trump Pushes Census Do-Over to Exclude Non-Citizens — and to Immediately Redistrict House
Image via Reuters

President Donald Trump toured “Alligator Alcatraz” on Tuesday, the federal immigration detention facility in the Florida Everglades that boasts alligators as part of a natural escape barrier. Now, Trump is vowing to renovate the original Alcatraz, just off the coast of California, a former federal maximum security prison that he claims is, or will be, “surrounded by sharks.”

Before jetting off to Florida, Trump joked with reporters (video below) about detainees facing deportation who would have to navigate around the alligators in the Everglades should they try to escape.

Later in the day, Trump posted to his social media website about his new inspiration.

“Because of the Violence and Criminality I have seen due to the Open Border Policy of Sleepy Joe Biden, in particular allowing millions of people into our Country who shouldn’t be here, I wanted something representative to show how we fight back, and then, it happened,” the President wrote.

READ MORE: ‘This Is Fascism’: Trump Sparks Fury After Calling to Deport U.S. Citizens

“I saw a picture of ALCATRAZ looking so foreboding, and I said, ‘We’re going to look into renovating and rebuilding the famous ALCATRAZ Prison sitting high on the Bay, surrounded by sharks. What a symbol it is, and will be!’ Conceptual work started six months ago, and various prison development firms are looking at doing it with us. Still a little early, but lots of promise!”

CNN’s Edward-Isaac Dovere remarked, “the president says he’s looking into spending federal money, in part, to put sharks into the San Francisco Bay.”

If Trump actually wants Alcatraz to be surrounded by truly dangerous sharks, as Dovere notes he may have to bring them there. The ones currently surrounding the tiny island reportedly may not be especially dangerous, according to the Pacific Open Water Swim Co.

Other critics blasted Trump’s remarks.

Investment banker Evaristus Odinikaeze remarked, “So we’re rebuilding Alcatraz based on… a vibe?”

“Trump saw a moody picture of a defunct prison and decided that’s the future of immigration policy, locking up desperate families on a shark-surrounded island like a Bond villain with zoning permits,” he added. “This cruel and reckless governance is nothing but a cinematic cosplay with real human lives at stake.”

READ MORE: Trump Pushes Census Do-Over to Exclude Non-Citizens — and to Immediately Redistrict House

Another social media user wrote: “Trump wants to bring back Alcatraz. Not to house mob bosses or war criminals, but to make a ‘symbol’ out of locking up desperate migrants. Sharks and spectacle. This isn’t immigration policy. It’s a twisted cruelty straight out of a 1930s Germany. You don’t rebuild a prison for the camera unless cruelty is the point. That’s not ‘fighting back’, that’s feeding fear and hatred to your base and calling it leadership. History already wrote this playbook, and it ends in concentration camps, not justice. We are better than this, no?”

Watch the video below or at this link.

Doocy: With Alliagator Alcatraz, is the idea that if some illegal immigrant escapes, they just get eaten by an alligator?

Trump: I guess that’s the concept. Snakes are fast but alligators— we’re going to teach them how to run away from an alligator. Don’t run in a straight line,… pic.twitter.com/xnGTUTALDr

— Acyn (@Acyn) July 1, 2025

READ MORE: ‘Panic Button’: JD Vance Blasted After Calling $1T in Medicaid Cuts ‘Minutiae’

Image via Reuters