(AFP) – Republican senators scrambled Friday to pass a budget plan that will unlock trillions of dollars for US President Donald Trump’s vision of radical tax and spending cuts. The Trump-backed blueprint has sparked bitter infighting over how deeply to wield the knife, with Republicans in Congress already wary of public anger over sweeping cuts led by Trump’s tech billionaire advisor Elon Musk.
The Senate and House need to adopt identical versions — a task that has proved beyond them during months of negotiations — before they can draft and pass Trump’s giant bill to extend his 2017 tax cuts, beef up border security, and boost energy production. The showdown has been complicated by Trump’s frenzy of tariffs on imports from countries across the globe, which have rocked equity markets and led to fears of a looming recession — making the case for reduced government spending a tough sell.
“It is now time for the Senate to move forward with this budget resolution in order to further advance our shared Republican agenda in Congress,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said in a statement. Republicans released a 70-page text on Wednesday that they hope the Senate will adopt on Saturday after a marathon all-night session of voting on amendments expected to be forced by the minority Democrats. Some of the amendments were expected to focus on Trump’s expanding trade war, forcing Republicans onto the record to affirm or reject his tariffs.
– ‘Smoke and mirrors’ –
If the plan gets through the Senate, it will still need approval by the House, with Republican leaders desperate to get it to Trump’s desk before the chamber begins a two-week Easter break next Friday. Democrats have slammed the framework, claiming it will trigger further major cuts to essential services. It would raise the country’s borrowing limit by $5 trillion to avoid a debt default this summer, staving off the need for a further hike until after the 2026 midterm elections.
Crucially, it would pave the way for Republicans to make the tax cuts passed in Trump’s first term permanent. Experts say this would add almost $4 trillion to the national debt through 2034. But the Senate blueprint includes a controversial accounting trick, known as “current policy baseline,” that would treat the tax cuts as costing nothing. This would allow for $1.5 trillion in further relief on top of the extension. The progressive Center on Budget and Policy Priorities think tank accused Republicans of “using smoke and mirrors” in its arithmetic, while the libertarian Cato Institute called the resolution a “fiscal train wreck.”
– ‘Poison’ –
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer decried a resolution he described as “poison,” cautioning Republicans against “crushing the health care of the young and old alike and squandering their future.” Trump, who has been talking up the plan on social media, offered his “complete and total support” for the text at a White House event on Wednesday. But Senate and House Republicans are oceans apart on spending cuts, with the upper chamber looking for modest savings of $4 billion, while House leadership is demanding a reduction of $1.5 trillion.
Republican Congressman Ralph Norman of South Carolina was asked about supporting the Senate resolution and told reporters: “To me, it’s dead on arrival.” Once the Senate and House have passed the budget resolution, they then move on to a massive spending bill codifying most of Trump’s domestic agenda into law. Republicans want to get a package to Trump’s desk by the end of May, although squabbling over spending cuts could draw out the process for months, perhaps even until the end of the year.
– Frankie TAGGART
© 2024 AFP
