By KEVIN FREKING

WASHINGTON (AP) — A small government office with some 275 employees has found itself caught in the political crossfire as Congress debates President Donald Trump’s “one big beautiful bill.”

The Congressional Budget Office has projected that the legislation would increase federal deficits by about $2.4 trillion over 10 years. That’s a problem for a Republican Congress that has spent much of the past four years criticizing former President Joe Biden and Democrats for the nation’s rising debt levels.

The White House and Republican leaders in Congress are taking issue with CBO’s findings. They say economic growth will be higher than the office is projecting, resulting in more revenue coming into government coffers. Meanwhile, Democrats are touting CBO’s findings as evidence of the bill’s failings.

Here’s a look at the office at the center of Washington’s latest political tug-of-war.

What is the CBO?

Lawmakers established the Congressional Budget Office more than 50 years ago to provide objective, impartial analysis to support the budget process. The CBO is required to produce a cost estimate for nearly every bill approved by a House or Senate committee and will weigh in earlier when asked to do so by lawmakers.

It also produces a report each Congress on how to reduce the debt if lawmakers so choose with each option including arguments for or against. Plus, it publishes detailed estimates when presidents make proposals that would affect mandator spending, which includes programs such as Social Security and Medicare.

Lawmakers created the office to help Congress play a stronger role in budget matters, providing them with an alternative to the Office of Management and Budget, which is part of a Republican or Democratic administration, depending upon the president in office.

Is the CBO partisan?

CBO hires analysts based on their expertise, not political affiliation. Staff is expected to maintain objectivity and avoid political influence. In evaluating potential employees, the CBO says that for most positions it looks at whether that person would be perceived to be free from political bias.

Like other federal employees, the CBO’s staff is also prohibited from making political contributions to members of Congress.

The CBO’s director, Phillip Swagel, served in former Republican President George W. Bush’s administration as an economic adviser and as an assistant secretary at the Treasury Department.

Why is the CBO being attacked now?

The stakes are incredibly high with Republicans looking to pass their massive tax cut and immigration bill by early July.

Outside groups, Democrats and some Republicans are highlighting CBO’s analysis that the bill will increase federal deficits by about $2.4 trillion over 10 years and leave 10.9 million more people uninsured in 2034.

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Republicans spent much of Biden’s presidency focused on curbing federal deficits. They don’t want to be seen as contributing to the fiscal problem.

GOP lawmakers say the CBO isn’t giving enough credit to the economic growth the bill will create, to the point where it would be deficit-neutral in the long run, if not better.

“The CBO assumes long-term GDP growth of an anemic 1.8% and that is absurd,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. “The American economy is going to boom like never before after the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ is passed.”

Republicans began taking issue with the CBO even before Trump and the current Congress were sworn into office.

“CBO will always predict a dark future when Republicans propose tax relief — but the reality is never so dire,” Rep. Jason Smith, the Republican chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said in a December news release.

Recently, House Speaker Mike Johnson has been taking digs at the office.

“The CBO is notorious for getting things WRONG,” he said in a Facebook post.

What did CBO say about the tax cuts enacted in Trump’s first term?

In April 2018, CBO said that tax receipts would total $27 trillion from fiscal years 2018 to 2024.

Receipts came in about $1.5 trillion higher than the CBO projected. Republicans have seized on that discrepancy.

But the numbers don’t tell the whole story. Some of the criticism of the CBO ignores the context of a global pandemic as the federal government rushed to prop the economy up with massive spending bills under both Trump and Biden.

In a blog post last December, Swagel pointed out three reasons for the higher revenues: The primary reason was the burst of inflation that began in March 2021 as the country was recovering from COVID. That burst of inflation, he said, led to about $900 billion more in revenue.

There was also an increase in economic activity in “the later years of the period” adding $700 billion. Also, new tariffs added about $250 billion, with other legislation partially offsetting those three factors.

By MIKE CORDER, Associated Press

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch opposition parties called Wednesday for fresh elections as soon as possible, a day after anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders sparked the collapse of the country’s four-party coalition government.

Prime Minister Dick Schoof’s 11-month-old administration fell apart when Wilders withdrew his Party for Freedom ministers. Schoof and the ministers of three remaining parties remain in power as a caretaker Cabinet.

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof announced handing the resignation of the PVV party ministers in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 3, 2025, after far-right leader Geert Wilders pulled his party out of the ruling four-party coalition in dispute over a crackdown on migration. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

The government, with limited powers, now has to lead the country for months before new elections and during what could — again — be protracted talks to cobble together a new coalition in the fragmented Dutch political landscape after the vote.

Lawmakers can declare some policy areas “controversial” during the caretaker period. That restricts the government from taking concrete action on those issues.

What happens now?

The Dutch electoral commission will schedule a general election for all 150 seats in the Second Chamber of parliament.

It is very unlikely to happen before the fall because of a parliamentary recess that starts July 4 and runs to Sept. 1 and that will be followed by several weeks of campaigning.

What does Schoof want?

In a statement to lawmakers, Schoof said he wants to keep control, even in caretaker mode, of vital policies over the coming months.

“As far as I’m concerned, it’s about security, both nationally and internationally, including support for Ukraine and everything that’s needed for defense,” he said.

He also wants to be able to act on the economy, including the global trade war unleashed since the start of U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, “because that can have a direct effect on the Dutch economy and on our business community.”

But Schoof acknowledged that some other policies will be put on ice until there is a new coalition.

“The last thing we want now is postponement, but it is unavoidable in some cases,” he said.

What do opposition lawmakers want?

They want to go to the polls.

“I hope we can organize elections as quickly as possible, in the shortest possible time,” said Frans Timmermans, the former European Commissioner who now leads a two-party, center-left bloc.

Frans Timmermans, of the center-left two party bloc of Labor Party and Green Left, looks on in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 3, 2025, after far-right leader Geert Wilders pulled his party out of the ruling four-party coalition in dispute over a crackdown on migration. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Timmerman’s bloc of the Labor Party and Green Left is challenging Wilders’ party for top spot in Dutch polls. Wilders won the last elections in November 2023.

Lawmakers used Wednesday’s debate to attack Wilders for failing to make good while in office on his 2023 election pledges — in what sounded like a proxy electoral debate.

“You turned your back on these people,” Jimmy Dijk of the Socialist Party said, suggesting that Wilders apologize to his voters.

And it’s not just the opposition that wants elections. Wilders also is looking forward to campaigning.

“Let’s go back to the voter,” he said.

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What about the NATO summit and support for Ukraine?

The government remains committed to hosting the meeting of government leaders from the NATO alliance in The Hague later this month.

Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp took to X soon after the administration’s collapse to stress that the meeting will go ahead despite the political turmoil.

“We remain fully committed to organising the #NATOsummit in The Hague. We look forward to welcoming all NATO Allies on 24 June,” he wrote.

He also said the Netherlands will continue to support Ukraine in its war against Russian aggression. The Netherlands has provided key arms to Kyiv, including F-16 fighter jets.

“We remain committed to European cooperation and security. Dutch support for Ukraine is a key part of that,” he wrote.

By KEN MORITSUGU and KANIS LEUNG

BEIJING (AP) — For most Chinese, the 36th anniversary of a bloody crackdown that ended pro-democracy protests in China passed like any other weekday. And that’s just how the ruling Communist Party wants it.

Security was tight Wednesday around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, where weeks of student-led protests shook the party in 1989. Under then-leader Deng Xiaoping, the military was sent in to end the protest on the night of June 3-4. Using live ammunition, soldiers forced their way through crowds that tried to block them from reaching the square. Hundreds and possibly thousands of people were killed, including dozens of soldiers.

The party has tried, with some success, to erase what it calls the “political turmoil” of 1989 from the collective memory. It bans any public commemoration or mention of the June 4 crackdown, scrubbing references from the internet.

In recent years, that ban has been extended to Hong Kong, where a once-massive annual candlelight vigil is no longer permitted. Police said they brought 10 people on suspicion of breaching public peace to a police station for investigation. Three were still detained late Wednesday, while the rest were allowed to leave. Police also arrested a woman for failing to show her identity document and a man for obstructing police officers from performing their duties.

It is only in Taiwan, a self-governing island that is claimed by China but runs its own affairs, that large June 4 gatherings can still take place.

The crackdown reinforced Communist Party control

Tiananmen Square is a vast space in the center of Beijing with monumental, communist-era buildings along two sides and the mausoleum of Mao Zedong, who founded the communist era in 1949, on the south end.

University students occupied this symbolically important site in the spring of 1989. Their calls for freedoms divided the party leadership. The decision to send in troops marked a decisive turning point in the evolution of modern China, keeping the party firmly in control as it loosened economic restrictions.

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Chinese officials have said the country’s rapid economic development since then proves the decisions made at the time were correct.

“On the political turmoil that happened in the late 1980s, the Chinese government has already reached a clear conclusion,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Wednesday. He added that China would continue along its current path of what it calls “socialism with Chinese characteristics.”

Tiananmen Mothers, a group formed by relatives of the victims, made an annual online appeal to the government. Signed by 108 members, it called for an independent investigation into what happened on June 4, 1989, including a list of all who died. The group also demanded compensation for the families and a legal case against those responsible for the deaths.

The British and German Embassies in Beijing posted videos commemorating the anniversary on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform, but they were later taken down, presumably by censors. The Canadian and German Embassies displayed images of a single lit candle on large screens facing the main street.

Hong Kong’s once outspoken populace has been cowed

In Hong Kong, a carnival showcasing Chinese food and products was held in Victoria Park, where tens of thousands of people used to gather for a candlelight vigil to mark the anniversary.

Hong Kong authorities first shut down the vigil during the COVID-19 pandemic and arrested the organizers in 2021. The moves were part of a broader crackdown on dissent following monthslong anti-government protests in 2019 that turned violent and paralyzed parts of the city.

A former district council member, Chan Kim-kam, said customs officers questioned her at her shop on the eve of June 4 after she advertised small white candles for sale in an Instagram post titled “June, we don’t forget.”

“You know, Hong Kongers have become silent lambs after 2019,” said King Ng, who was at the park on Wednesday.

Police were out in force to try to prevent any protest, and took several people away from the park on Wednesday. They included a young woman wearing a school uniform and holding flowers, a man who lowered his head in apparent prayer, and a man wearing a white T-shirt reading “Vindication for June 4. It’s getting closer and closer.” Police also questioned a woman who lit up a mosquito lamp, but eventually let her go.

Rows of electronic candles lit up the windows of the U.S. consulate, and the British consulate projected “VIIV” — Roman numerals in reference to June 4 — on one of its walls.

The British and Canadian consulates earlier posted social media messages about remembering June 4. Hong Kong was a British colony until 1997. The U.S. consulate posted a message from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on its website.

“The CCP actively tries to censor the facts,” Rubio said, referring to China’s Communist Party. “But the world will never forget.”

Taiwan seeks support from democracies against China

Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te used the anniversary to position the island he leads on the frontline of defending democracy against authoritarianism. In a Facebook post, he drew a distinction between Taiwan’s multiparty democracy and China’s one-party rule.

“Authoritarian governments often choose to remain silent and forget about history, while democratic societies choose to preserve the truth and refuse to forget those who have contributed to the ideals of human rights and the dreams they embrace,” Lai wrote.

Taiwan transitioned from authoritarianism to democracy in a process that began in the late 1980s. It relies on support principally from the U.S., along with other democratic partners, to deter China from an invasion.

Several hundred people gathered Wednesday evening for a candlelight vigil in downtown Taipei’s Freedom Square. In the center stood a scaled-down model of the “Pillar of Shame,” a sculpture commemorating the protests that once stood on the campus of the University of Hong Kong.

Hong Kong authorities have placed bounties on some activists who have moved abroad. Other democracy advocates in the semi-autonomous Chinese city remain in jail or intimidated into silence.

Wu Lang-huang, a Taiwanese professor who was present when troops arrived on the square in 1989, said he will continue to document what happened and collect related artifacts.

“It’s not just about remembering what happened then but also for the lessons it tells us about modern Hong Kong and Taiwan,” Wu said.

One of the vigil’s organizers, who went by the name Mimi for fear of repercussions, said some may question why people born years after the 1989 protests still care.

“It’s about memory, which is itself a form of resistance,” she said.

Leung reported from Hong Kong. Christopher Bodeen contributed reporting from Taipei.

By SETH BORENSTEIN, CAROLYN KASTER and BRITTANY PETERSON, Associated Press

SHAMROCK, Texas (AP) — As severe storms once again soak, twist and pelt the nation’s midsection, a team of dozens of scientists is driving into them to study one of the nation’s costliest but least-appreciated weather dangers: Hail.

Hail rarely kills, but it hammers roofs, cars and crops to the tune of $10 billion a year in damage in the U.S. So in one of the few federally funded science studies remaining after Trump administration cuts, teams from several universities are observing storms from the inside and seeing how the hail forms. Project ICECHIP has already collected and dissected hail the size of small cantaloupes, along with ice balls of all sizes and shapes.

An approaching storm with a shelf cloud and rain shaft is visible during a Project ICECHIP operation on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, in Scotland, Texas. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Scientists in two hail-dimpled vehicles with special mesh protecting the windshields are driving straight into the heart of the storms, an area known as the “shaft” where the hail pelting is the most intense. It’s a first-of-its-kind icy twist on tornado chasing.

“It’s an interesting experience. It sounds like somebody on the outside of your vehicle is hitting you with a hammer,” said Northern Illinois University meteorology professor Victor Gensini, one of the lead researchers.

A team of journalists from The Associated Press joined them this week in a several-day trek across the Great Plains, starting Tuesday morning in northern Texas with a weather briefing before joining a caravan of scientists and students looking for ice.

Victor Gensini, Northern Illinois University meteorology professor and a lead scientist of Project ICECHIP, right, and Logan Bundy, PhD Candidate at NIU and ICECHIP IOP assistant, look at cloud formations during a Project ICECHIP operation, Tuesday, June 3, 2025, south of Tipton, Okla. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Driving toward the most extreme forecasts

The caravan features more than a dozen radar trucks and weather balloon launching vehicles. At each site, the scientists load and unload drones, lasers and cameras and other specialized equipment. There are foam pads to measure hail impact and experimental roofing material. There are even special person-sized funnels to collect pristine hail before it hits the ground and becomes tainted with dirt.

Victor Gensini, Northern Illinois University meteorology professor and a lead scientist of Project ICECHIP, checks storm data in the command vehicle during an operation Tuesday, June 3, 2025, south of Tipton, Okla.(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Already in treks across Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, the team has found hail measuring more than 5 inches (13 centimeters) in diameter — bigger than a softball, but not quite a soccer ball. The team’s equipment and vehicles already sport dings, dimples and dents that scientists show off like battle scars.

“We got a few good whacks,” said forensic engineer Tim Marshall, who was carrying roofing samples to see if there were ways shingles could better handle hail. “I look at broken, busted stuff all the time.”

Victor Gensini, Northern Illinois University meteorology professor and a lead scientist of Project ICECHIP, speaks with Seth Borenstein, Associated Press science writer, as they stage in a Walmart parking lot before a Project ICECHIP operation Tuesday, June 3, 2025, in Atlus, Okla. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

At Tuesday’s weather briefing, retired National Weather Service forecaster David Imy pointed to potential hot spots this week in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. Computer models show the potential for a “monster storm down here near the Red River” later in the week, he said. Acting on the latest forecasts, Gensini and other leaders told the team to head to Altus, Oklahoma, but be ready to cross the Red River back into Texas at a moment’s notice.

A few hours after his briefing, Imy had the opportunity to chase one of the bigger storms, packing what radar showed was large hail at 8,000 feet in the air. Because of the warm air closer to the surface, the hail was only pea sized by the time it hit the ground. But the outing still provided good data and beautiful views for Imy, who was with a group that stationed themselves about a half-mile from the center of the storm.

“Beautiful colors: turquoise, bluish green, teal,” Imy said, pointing to the mushroom shaped cloud dominating the sky. “This is beauty to me and also seeing the power of nature.”

Hannah Vagasky holds a foam board hail pad covered with impact dents in a parking lot Tuesday, June 3, 2025, in Shamrock, Texas, as the team prepares for a day of hailstorm chasing. The hail pad is used to measure the size, angle of impact and intensity of hail. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

A costly but overlooked severe weather problem

This is not just a bunch of scientists looking for an adrenaline rush or another sequel to the movie “Twister.” It’s serious science research into weather that damages a lot of crops in the Midwest, Gensini said. Hail damage is so costly that the insurance industry is helping to pay for the mission, which is primarily funded by the National Science Foundation.

“These are the stones that do the most damage to lives and property,” Gensini said. “We want the biggest hail possible.”

Members of the University of Colorado Boulder’s Integrated Remote and In-Situ Sensing flight team stage in a Walmart parking lot before a Project ICECHIP operation Tuesday, June 3, 2025, in Atlus, Okla. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

A 2024 study by Gensini found that as the world warms from human-caused climate change, small hailstones will become less likely while the larger ones become more common. The bigger, more damaging ones that the ICECHIP team is studying are projected to increase 15% to 75% this century depending on how much the world warms. That’s because the stronger updrafts in storms would keep stones aloft longer to get bigger, but the heat would melt the tinier ones.

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The experiment is unique because of the combination of driving into the hail and deploying numerous radars and weather balloons to get an overall picture of how the storms work, Gensini said, adding that hail is often overlooked because researchers have considered it a lower priority than other extreme weather events.

Outside scientists said the research mission looks promising because there are a lot of unanswered questions about hail. Hail is the No. 1 reason for soaring costs in billion-dollar weather disasters in the United States, said meteorologist Jeff Masters, who cofounded Weather Underground and is now at Yale Climate Connections.

“Now a large part of that reason is because we simply have more people with more stuff in harm’s way,” said Masters, who wasn’t part of the research. “Insurance has become unaffordable in a lot of places and hail has become a big reason.”

In Colorado, hail is “actually our most costly natural disaster,” said Lori Peek, director of the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado, adding that “hail does such incredible damage to property.”

Victor Gensini, Northern Illinois University meteorology professor and a lead scientist of Project ICECHIP, right, and Logan Bundy, PhD Candidate at NIU and ICECHIP IOP assistant, left, stand at the command vehicle watching an approaching storm Tuesday, June 3, 2025, in Scotland, Texas. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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