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Acemoglu, Diamond, Hart, Johnson, Krugman and Stiglitz warned of the proposal’s ‘misplaced priorities.’ On Monday, six Nobel Prize-winning economists urged the U.S. Senate to reject President Donald Trump’s proposed tax and budget legislation.

In an open letter, Daron Acemoglu, Peter Diamond, Oliver Hart, Simon Johnson, Paul Krugman and Joseph Stiglitz warned of the proposal’s “misplaced priorities,” saying it “significantly increases the debt” while “reducing income for the poorest 40%.”

“The most immediate and severe harm resulting from this bill would be felt by the millions of American families who would lose key safety net protections,” they wrote, referring specifically to cuts to Medicaid, Medicare and food assistance programs.

These cuts “represent a troubling step backward in the country’s commitment to ensuring access to health care for all,” the letter continued. It was published on the Economic Policy Institute’s website.

Dubbed the “big, beautiful bill,” the sweeping legislation narrowly passed the House of Representatives by a 215-214 vote. It now heads to the Senate, where it faces a difficult path to final approval, amid pressure from the White House to reach Trump’s desk before July 4.

The ambitious plan seeks to extend Trump-era tax cuts from his first term (2017–2021) and introduces new breaks, including exemptions for tips and for purchases of domestically manufactured vehicles. It also boosts funding for enforcement of the president’s hardline immigration policies.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the legislation would add about US$3 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years. The national debt currently exceeds US$36 trillion.

To offset this increase, the plan includes more than US$1 trillion in cuts to social programs. According to the CBO, federal Medicaid funding would be reduced by nearly US$700 billion, and Medicare would see cuts of approximately US$500 billion. The nonpartisan office also warned that these figures may rise, and it projected a US$267 billion reduction in food stamp assistance.

“U.S. structural deficits are already too high… and these tax cuts overwhelmingly benefit higher-income households,” the six prominent economists said. They also predicted that “the resulting increase in debt and deficits will place considerable upward pressure on inflation and interest rates in the coming years.”

According to the Nobel laureates, the bill as currently written “fails to meaningfully address any of the country’s key economic challenges and, in fact, worsens many of them. The Senate should reject this legislation and start over with the budget.”

"I am going to decree the Popular Consultation. The Constitutional Court will undoubtedly decide, it may or may not decide, according to the existing norms", affirmed the head of State.

The President assured that the exercise of citizen participation will be issued via decree because there was never a favorable concept in the Senate of the Republic about the proposal.

Despite the fact that last May 14 the plenary of the Senate voted on the initiative and declared it sunk with 47 votes in favor and 49 against, the president assures that due to the cheating and irregularities that occurred at the time of the vote of the congressmen, it cannot be considered that there is a definitive ruling on the matter.

In Petro's opinion, this entity incurred in a formal defect by not reading his request for a previous concept and the text of the questions presented before the vote of the senators, in accordance with the provisions of the fifth law of the congressional regulations.

After announcing that he will call for the consultation by decree, he wished that the Constitutional Court would help to rebuild the concept of the Social State of Law, the search for equality and human freedom in Colombia.

"Hopefully the Constitutional Court, then, will help us to reestablish not only this principle of the Social Rule of Law, but also the principle of popular sovereignty, as stated in the Constitution, the only owner of power in Colombia is the people. And no one can silence the people", he said.

On the other hand, he asked the people to decide at the ballot box on the relevance or not of a labor reform.

"And if you doubt that the majority is not with the labor reform, let them vote on it and we will see who has the majority. It is up to the president to silence himself in the campaign. Only the No Committee and the Yes Committee will do the campaigning," he exclaimed.

The questionnaire designed for the consultation Petro refers to contains a dozen questions on labor.

The first question asks whether he agrees that day work should last a maximum of eight hours and not be extended beyond 18 hours, while the second question asks whether it is appropriate to pay a 100 percent surcharge for work performed on a day off, Sunday or holiday.

The content of the remaining ones refers to the extension of labor possibilities for the disabled, the granting of preferential credits for micro, small and medium-sized companies and that informal employees be formalized or have access to social security.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro accuses far-right groups and criminal networks of plotting to assassinate him and promises to expose those responsible.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has once again raised alarms about attempts to assassinate him, accusing far-right groups both in Colombia and the United States of orchestrating deadly plots.

Petro’s warnings come amid a tense political climate in Colombia, where the president has faced continuous opposition from powerful drug trafficking networks and extreme right-wing factions since taking office in 2022.

On social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Petro wrote, “Far-right allies have tried to kill me about 17 times during my government. Their posts only express hatred and their wish to see me dead.” These posts, known locally as “trinos,” often convey intense political hostility.

The most recent alarm was raised after authorities found an anti-tank rocket near the presidential palace, Casa de Nariño, in Bogotá. Although officials claimed the weapon was obsolete and had been discarded by a civilian, Petro rejected this explanation. “I don’t know what the anti-tank weapons were meant for, and I don’t trust the police version,” he stated. He also condemned members of the National Police for allegedly hiding the discovery, calling it “perhaps more serious than the weapon itself.”

Petro warned that “several meetings are being held to coordinate attacks” against him. He stressed, “Within the mafia-linked far right, the order has been given. My protection comes from the people.” Additionally, the president announced plans to reveal the identities of those behind these conspiracies.

This is not the first time Petro has spoken out about threats to his life. Since assuming office, he has repeatedly denounced assassination attempts linked to far-right groups and transnational drug trafficking mafias. He accused an international far-right alliance of “Colombian Nazis and North American Nazis” as responsible for ongoing plots against him.

Petro also criticized Guatemala’s Public Ministry after it issued arrest warrants against Colombia’s Attorney General Luz Adriana Camargo and former Defense Minister Iván Velásquez. He described the move as part of a “plot by the Guatemalan far right: Nazi, genocidal, deeply involved in narcotrafficking, with the help of Colombian stateless Nazis.” Both officials face Interpol red notices on charges such as obstruction of justice, although Guatemala has rejected the legal basis of these accusations.

The president recalled that in 2024, the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá warned him of a plot to assassinate him on Colombia’s Independence Day, July 20. Later that year, during the COP16 biodiversity summit in Cali, he avoided detection after two surface-to-air missiles (SAM-16) were smuggled into the country as part of a planned attack.

Petro blames these assassination attempts on a transnational criminal organization he calls the “narcotrafficking board,” allegedly based in Abu Dhabi and composed of mafiosos from multiple countries. According to him, this group controls prosecutors, the National Police, and the port of Buenaventura through Colombia’s Attorney General’s Technical Investigation Corps.

He also accused this group of orchestrating the 2022 murder of Paraguayan prosecutor Marcelo Pecci in Cartagena, asserting that Colombia’s Attorney General’s Office covered up the crime.

Since taking office, Petro has consistently highlighted the volatile political climate in Colombia and the ongoing threats to his life, underscoring the deep challenges the country faces amid its struggle against corruption and organized crime.