International News
US Senate Approves Trump’s Domestic Spending Bill
The Republican-led US Senate on Tuesday approved President Donald Trump’s domestic policy bill following an extensive amendment session on the chamber floor.
The vote came after a marathon 24-hour “vote-a-rama,” during which Democrats proposed numerous amendments to key provisions of the bill. The final tally was 50-50, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune secured support from several moderate Republicans after extended deliberations.
The legislation now proceeds to the House of Representatives, where it is expected to face opposition from Democrats and some Republicans concerned about the bill’s projected costs and changes to federal health and nutrition programmes.
Trump’s bill proposes a $4.5 trillion extension of his first-term tax cuts, contentiously offset with $1.2 trillion in savings mainly targeting the Medicaid health insurance program, as well as federal food aid.
The health care cuts could see an estimated 12 million low-income and disabled Americans lose coverage.
The package also rolls back billions of dollars in green energy tax credits while providing a $350 billion infusion for border security and Trump’s mass migrant deportation program.
The president made clear that the goal remains to get the bill through the House in the coming days and sign it into law by Friday’s July 4 Independence Day holiday.
“It’s going to get in, it’s going to pass, and we’re going to be very happy,” Trump told reporters ahead of the vote.
‘Utter Shame’
Polls show the bill is among the most unpopular ever considered, and Democrats hope to leverage public anger ahead of the 2026 midterm elections when they aim to retake the House.
Backed by extensive independent analysis, they say the bill’s tax cuts would disproportionately benefit the wealthy at the expense of social safety net programs for the poorest Americans.
“Today, Senate Republicans betrayed the American people and covered the Senate in utter shame,” said Chuck Schumer, the leader of the Senate Democratic minority.
“In one fell swoop Republicans passed the biggest tax break for billionaires ever seen — paid for by ripping away health care for millions of people and taking food out of the mouths of hungry kids.”
A handful of senators in the Republican majority had threatened to upset the apple cart, voicing concerns that the bill would add more than $3.3 trillion to the nation’s already yawning budget deficits over a decade.
The most high-profile opposition came in the shape of tech billionaire and estranged former Trump aide Elon Musk, who balked at the bill’s debt implications and stripping of clean energy subsidies.
A furious Trump on Tuesday said he would consider deporting Musk — whose electric car company Tesla gives him extensive interests in green energy — and ending federal funds for his companies.
“Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa,” Trump posted on social media.
‘Focus On House’
Although the House of Representatives has already passed its own version of the bill, it will have to come back to the lower chamber for a final rubber stamp before it reaches Trump’s desk.
House Republicans were watching anxiously from the sidelines to see if their Senate colleagues would adopt changes that would be hard for Speaker Mike Johnson to sell to his lawmakers.
Fiscal hawks in the lower chamber are furious at what they say is $651 billion of extra deficit spending in the Senate’s tweaks.
A House vote could come as early as Wednesday but even with full attendance, House Republicans can only afford to lose three votes.
“The House will work quickly to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill that enacts President Trump’s full America First agenda by the Fourth of July,” Johnson said after the vote.
“The American people gave us a clear mandate, and after four years of Democrat failure, we intend to deliver without delay.”
German authorities deported at least 137 Nigerian citizens across five chartered flights between February and June 2026, according to migration monitoring reports.
Data from the DERS Team and Refugees4refugees.org shows the deportations occurred in phases, with 27 Nigerians returned in February, 37 in March through a joint European Union operation, 24 in April, 23 in May, and 26 in June.
The February operation departed from Stuttgart and landed at Lagos Cargo Airport, with Baden-Württemberg listed as a primary participant. The March operation represented the largest single return of Nigerians recorded over three years and was executed in collaboration with Spain, Austria, and Belgium.
The reports indicate a growing reliance on multi-national chartered flights by European states to repatriate undocumented or non-resident individuals to Nigeria.
The United States has condemned the killing of members of the family of Plateau-based cleric, Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, describing the attack as horrific and urging Nigerian authorities to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.
In a statement shared on X on Thursday, the US Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs expressed condolences to the victims’ families and called for stronger measures to prevent further attacks on vulnerable communities across Nigeria’s Middle Belt.
“The United States strongly condemns the horrific killing of members of Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo’s family in Plateau State, Nigeria. The continued violence targeting Christian communities and other vulnerable populations in Nigeria’s Middle Belt is deeply alarming,” the bureau said
The US said it had already engaged Nigerian officials on the worsening security situation, stressing that urgent action was needed to curb recurring attacks and hold perpetrators accountable.
“As I discussed last week with Nigerian officials, we must do more to prevent violent acts. The perpetrators must be held accountable, and urgent action is needed to strengthen security and protect Christians and other vulnerable communities,” the statement added.
The bureau reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to working with the Nigerian government to combat terrorism and violent extremism, stressing that Christians and other Nigerians should be able to practise their faith without fear of violence.
The statement followed the July 12 attack on Kum community in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State, where nine members of Rev. Dachomo’s extended family, including a two-month-old baby, were killed.
According to the cleric, the attackers, believed to be armed Fulani militias, asked for him by name before opening fire on his relatives.
Dachomo, who serves as Regional Chairman of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, said his family had repeatedly been targeted because of his outspoken criticism of the violence in Plateau State.
He recalled that his grandmother and an uncle were also killed in previous attacks, adding that days after burying his relatives, he received a written death threat from the same group, warning that he would be their next target.
Saudi Arabia has updated its tourist eVisa programme for 2026, limiting eligibility in Africa to only three countries as part of its list of 66 nations whose citizens can apply through the Kingdom’s online visa platform.
The move leaves most African countries, including Nigeria, outside the simplified entry scheme.
The electronic visa allows eligible travellers to visit Saudi Arabia for tourism, leisure activities, family visits and Umrah, excluding the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Applications are completed online, eliminating the need for embassy visits and lengthy visa processing.
Saudi authorities said the eVisa forms part of ongoing efforts to expand tourism, attract international visitors and simplify travel procedures through a fully digital application system. The visa is available only to citizens of approved countries and territories listed on the Kingdom’s official tourism portal.
Below is the list of African countries eligible for Saudi Arabia’s eVisa.
1. Mauritius
2. Seychelles
3. South Africa
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