Politico got a hold of a memo being circulated by House Republicans, and it ain’t pretty:
House Republicans are passing around a “menu” of more than $5 trillion in cuts they could use to bankroll President-elect Donald Trump’s top priorities this year, including tax cuts and border security.
The early list of potential spending offsets obtained by POLITICO includes changes to Medicare and ending Biden administration climate programs, along with slashing welfare and “reimagining” the Affordable Care Act.
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 people, granted anonymity to discuss closed-door negotiations, said that the list originated from the House Budget Committee, chaired by Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas). Republicans involved in the reconciliation plans have been generally targeting the listed programs for several months, but internal GOP fights over trillions of dollars in potential cuts are just beginning.
As the Politico article states, it’s unlikely to pass given their narrow margins in the House, but they’re going to try to jam as much through as they can get away with.
Punchbowl News also reported that’s there’s some consternation between House Republicans because Arrington also “accidentally” pitched raising taxes in a presentation. The horror!
Behind the scenes. At a House Republican lunch this week, Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) was presenting a series of slides when he landed on a suggestion that sent people on and off Capitol Hill into a frenzy — raising the corporate tax rate.
Preserving the 21% corporate rate from the 2017 Trump tax cuts is a red line for plenty of Republicans. President-elect Donald Trump has even called for cutting it further.
But the idea of raising corporate taxes somehow made its way into the Texas Republican’s presentation. Arrington told us there was a “mistake” and he emphasized that such a rate hike “wasn’t even on the table” as part of his presentation.
Yet at that Republican Study Committee lunch, Arrington intentionally floated other examples of ways to raise revenue in the tax code.
These included clawing back clean energy tax credits from Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act — a common, though politically fraught, GOP goal — and a SALT cap for corporations. Addressing “corporate SALT” would entail limiting what companies can deduct in state and local income taxes, much like Republicans did for individuals in 2017.
There’s some frustration in GOP circles brewing with Arrington over his ambitious plans for cost savings, which include ideas under other committees’ jurisdictions.
This episode also underscores just how hyper-intense the Republican discussions already have become around their massive reconciliation package. And the really tough bargaining hasn’t even begun.
These clowns are incapable of governing. Arrington was all-in for Musk’s ridiculous proposal to cut $2 trillion from the budget back in October when he made an appearance on Fox Business Network, which you can watch in the clip above.
We’ll see how their MAGA constituents respond who rely on these services if they get their wish. All I can say is good luck with the backlash.
