President Donald Trump’s “massive, lovely invoice”—which might reduce taxes for the wealthy whereas on the identical time slash well being care and meals stamp advantages for the poorest Individuals—is getting ready to collapse, with a number of Home Republicans saying they won’t assist the funds invoice that is set for a vote on Tuesday evening.
The funds—which seeks to partially pay for an extension of the 2017 Trump tax cuts that overwhelmingly profit the highest 1% of earners by chopping a whole bunch of billions from Medicaid, meals stamps, and academic grants—faces opposition from GOP lawmakers on all sides of the political spectrum.
Laborious-liners oppose the funds as a result of they appropriately level out that it might add to the federal deficit. These hard-liners need much more cuts to federal spending to pay for Trump’s regressive tax cuts.
“If the Republican budget passes, the deficit gets worse, not better,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who plans to vote in opposition to the invoice, wrote in a publish on X.
Rep. Thomas Massie
In the meantime, much less insane Republicans (as a result of let’s face it, there are not any reasonable GOP lawmakers) are balking on the huge cuts the funds would make to Medicaid and meals stamps.
The funds requires the Home Power and Commerce Committee to make $880 billion in cuts, that are largely anticipated to come back from Medicaid, the federal government well being care plan that covers greater than 72 million low-income Individuals. The funds additionally requires the Home Agriculture Committee to chop $230 billion, which might come largely from the Supplemental Diet Assistant Program, higher generally known as meals stamps.
A gaggle of eight GOP lawmakers despatched a letter to Home Speaker Mike Johnson on Feb. 19, urging him to not use Medicaid and meals stamps because the pay for tax cuts.
“For many families across the country, Medicaid is their only access to healthcare,” Reps. Tony Gonzales, Nicole Malliotakis, Monica De La Cruz, David Valadao, Juan Ciscomani, Rob Bresnahan Jr., James Moylan, and Kimberlyn King-Hinds, wrote within the letter. “Slashing Medicaid would have serious consequences, particularly in rural and predominantly Hispanic communities where hospitals and nursing homes are already struggling to keep their doors open.”
Finally, Johnson can afford to lose only one vote and have the funds go—assuming each lawmaker is in attendance.
And based on Politico, as many as seven GOP lawmakers are publicly voting no or leaning no on the invoice.
“I don’t know how you do it without cutting Medicaid seriously,” New Jersey turncoat Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew advised Politico. “And so that’s my concern, and that’s why, at this point, I’m a lean no.”
Rep. Jeff Van Drew
Democrats, in the meantime, are united of their opposition.
At a Home Guidelines Committee listening to on Monday evening, the place Republicans superior the funds to a vote earlier than the total Home, Democrats launched amendments that might stop the funds from chopping taxes to the richest taxpayers.
However Republicans voted every of these amendments down—regardless that exempting the richest taxpayers from tax cuts would permit Republicans to chop much less from Medicaid and meals stamps.
“Every single Republican on the Rules Committee chose more tax giveaways for billionaires over protecting their own constituents on Medicaid,” Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), the highest Democrat on the Home Guidelines Committee, wrote in a publish on X. “Don’t listen to what they say. Watch how they vote.”
The invoice is at the moment set for a vote at 6:30 PM ET on Tuesday. But when it appears to be like prefer it will not go, Republicans might pull the vote—which might be an enormous self-own and a horrible signal for the way forward for Trump’s legislative agenda.
Finally, it appears to be like like Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” is extra like one massive, lovely catastrophe.
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