GOP eyes axing popular programs to cut taxes for the rich
House Republicans have put out a list of items they want to cut from the federal budget in order to pay for Donald Trump's tax cuts for the rich—all of which would hurt middle-class and low-income Americans.
Among the more than $5 trillion in cuts Republicans are proposing is slashing $151 billion from the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.
Republicans want to let expire Obamacare subsidies that Democrats passed which help middle-class Americans pay little to nothing for their health insurance. If Republicans let those subsidies expire at the end of 2025, as they are currently set to do, 4 million people would lose their health insurance, according to a report from the Urban Institute.
Also on the list is a proposal to institute work requirements for Medicaid, which provides health insurance to low-income Americans. Republicans say work requirements would cut $120 billion from the budget.
Currently, only one state ever implemented Medicaid work requirements: Arkansas, where 15.7% of the population lives below the poverty line. The Kaiser Family Foundation reported that Arkansas’ Medicaid work requirements led 18,000 people in the state to lose coverage—even though many of those Medicaid enrollees were working.
“While the vast majority of enrollees were working or qualified for exemptions, barriers with meeting reporting requirements led to people getting dropped from the program,” KFF reported.
What’s more, Republicans are also proposing to slash food stamps by nearly $300 billion by reforming the Thrifty Food Plan, which "estimates the cost of a healthy diet across various price points" in order to determine food stamp benefits.
All of these cuts would make life harder for poverty-stricken or low-income workers, all so that Trump could line the pockets of his billionaire buddies and deport a large chunk of the nation’s workforce.
The cuts will be necessary because Republicans want to use the budget reconciliation process to cut Democrats out of the process of passing Trump’s destructive agenda. Budget reconciliation requires legislation to either cut the deficit or be budget neutral—a.k.a. not add to the national debt. And because the tax cuts for the rich that Trump wants to pass would explode the national debt, Republicans have to find billions to cut from the budget in order to pass the bill under this process.
The possible cuts Republicans want to make were detailed in a document obtained by Politico that is circulating among Republicans as they prepare to meet over the weekend to discuss how to pass Trump's agenda. The meeting has the added bonus for Trump of earning taxpayer money because he’s hosting the gathering at his gaudy Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
Politico reported:
Five people familiar with the document said those provisions are options to finance Republicans’ massive party-line reconciliation bill or other spending reform efforts, including those being spearheaded by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
The cuts Republicans are proposing show just how difficult passing Trump’s agenda will be for the party, as the GOP has no votes to spare in the House and many of the proposed items on the chopping block could be politically damaging for Republicans in swing districts.
The proposals come as Elon Musk, who is running the toothless DOGE advisory committee, admitted that his initial promise to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget is likely impossible.
Meanwhile, the document Republicans are circulating that outlines the possible budget cuts is Orwellian as heck, labeling cuts to food stamps as "ending cradle-to-grave dependence;" cuts to Medicaid as "making Medicaid work for the most vulnerable;" and cuts to Obamacare as "reimagining the Affordable Care Act."
Apparently to Republicans, war is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength.