Connections

Congressman Joe Morelle on the budget and more

By Evan Dawson,

Published June 20, 2025 at 5:27 PM EDT

Two men wearing headphones sit at a table in a radio talk studio: a man left has short grey hair and is wearing a blue blazer, white button-down shirt and pink tie; a man right has short dark hair and is wearing a black button-down shirt, jeans and brown shoes. — Joe Morelle with host Evan Dawson on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Friday, June 20, 2025

A smiling man with short dark hair wearing a blue button-down shirt and a grey blazer. He is holding a pair of eyeglasses. The word "Connections" appears on the left side of the photo in vertical letters.

President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” squeaked through the House of Representatives in late May. It would increase defense spending, cut Medicaid and SNAP, reduce health insurance coverage, and add trillions to the national debt, among other things.

Congressman Joe Morelle joins us to work through the details.

In studio:

Rep. Joe Morelle, New York District 25

Connections

Evan Dawson

Evan Dawson is the host of "Connections with Evan Dawson." He joined WXXI in January 2014 after working at 13WHAM-TV, where he served as morning news anchor. He was hired as a reporter for 13WHAM-TV in 2003 before being promoted to anchor in 2007.

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Megan Mack

Megan Mack is the executive producer of "Connections with Evan Dawson" and live/televised engagement programming.

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Julie Williams

Julie Williams is an associate producer for "Connections with Evan Dawson" and is also the office administrator for radio, news and technology and operations. She started at WXXI in 2019 and has been working on Connections since 2022.

See stories by Julie Williams