MORNING HEADLINES | Members of the U.S. House this morning voted 215 to 214 to pass a sprawling Republican budget bill that would cut taxes for upper-income earners while slashing spending on health care and food assistance. The bill would add about $3.8 trillion to the nation’s $36 trillion debt.
No Democrats voted for the bill. Two Republicans voted against it, while three voted “present” or didn’t vote.
“We’re not rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic tonight. We’re putting coal in the boiler and setting a course for the iceberg,” said U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, one of the two Republicans who voted against the bill.
Meanwhile in South Carolina, S.C. House and Senate negotiators advanced a $14.7 billion state budget that includes a pay raise for themselves. House and Senate conferees quickly settled their differences over 2025-26 spending levels yesterday after new revenue projections gave them an additional $1 billion to play with. Lawmakers are expected to cast a final vote on the budget next week.
In other headlines:
CP NEWS: Charleston Symphony’s Sunset Serenade on Friday celebrates city spirit. In February, conductor Ryo Hasegawa made his Carnegie Hall debut conducting the Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestra. Now, he’s bringing that same magic to the first night of the Piccolo Spoleto Festival, conducting Sunset Serenade — an annual free concert held on the steps of the U.S. Custom House on East Bay Street.
CP FOOD: 10 Charleston-area restaurants that cover your Memorial Day catering. It’s not too late to plan your Memorial Day cookout — minus the cooking, of course — with catering options from local restaurants. From barbecue to cheese boards, these spots do all the work for you.
Charleston County may hire consultants to study why transportation tax failed. Charleston County Council will consider a plan tonight to hire an outside consulting firm to learn why voters rejected last year’s half-cent sales tax referendum and to “educate” citizens on the success of previous transportation projects.
County Council Vice Chair Larry Kobrovsky told the City Paper this morning that he was opposed to the idea: “We don’t need to pay a consultant to tell us what is obvious. It was fiscal madness. The response should be humility, honesty and transparency, not political consultants.”
15 candidates vie for 2 North Charleston council seats. North Charleston voters will go to the polls next Tuesday to replace two City Council members caught up in a federal probe. Fifteen candidates are vying for the District 3 and District 5 seats.
New S.C. laws will affect schools, teachers, students. Nearly a dozen new state education laws are set to go into effect this year, affecting everything from teacher and contract rights to school security and more.
SCDNR offers tips to stay safe from alligators. The S.C. Department of Natural Resources is banding together with 10 other states on GatorWise, a platform to offer citizens the information they need to stay safe during alligator season.
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