WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans released their budget blueprint this week, which advances President Donald Trump’s domestic priorities while threatening key social programs, a move that gave Democrats political fodder.
The GOP plan would renew most of the tax cuts that were passed during Trump’s first term in the White House but set to expire this year, at a cost of $4.5 trillion to the U.S. Treasury.
The blueprint also calls for a $4 trillion increase in the debt limit so that the United States can continue paying its bills.
Without identifying any individual programs, the proposal also directs a number of House committees to cut spending by at least $1.5 trillion.
For example, the House Agriculture Committee, which will try again to pass a farm bill this year, was told to cut $230 billion from its budget. That raised the specter of deep cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps.
“Instead of cutting SNAP to pay for handouts to wealthy donors, Republicans should prioritize helping working people and rural economies,” Rep. Angie Craig, D-2nd District, said in a statement. “Farmers and families are tightening their belts to make ends meet and cutting critical aid to our neighbors during a time of increased prices is not the answer.”
Craig, the senior Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, also said “if my Republican colleagues move forward with this plan, it will certainly make getting a bipartisan farm bill across the finish line more difficult.”
Meanwhile, the GOP blueprint called for the Energy and Commerce Committee, which handles health care spending, to cut $880 billion over the decade while the Education and Workforce Committee was asked to reduce spending by $330 billion.
The proposed cut to health programs, which would focus largely on Medicaid, prompted American Hospital Association President Rick Pollack to say in a statement that “while some have suggested dramatic reductions in the Medicaid program as part of a (budget) reconciliation vehicle, we would urge Congress to reject that approach.”
“Medicaid provides health care to many of our most vulnerable populations, including pregnant women, children, the elderly, disabled and many of our working class,” Pollack said.
The U.S. Senate has taken a different approach to crafting a budget. Its blueprint does not include cuts to domestic programs and increases spending for the military and border security issues. As far as extending the Trump tax cuts, Senate Republicans say they will take those up in a separate bill.
If Congress does not agree on a budget by March 14, when a stopgap bill that is now funding the federal government expires, the federal government will shut down.
House Democrats have won concessions from the House GOP the last few times the nation has been at the brink of a federal government shutdown and helped pass the stopgap spending bills that kept it from shuttering.
But with the loss of the U.S. Senate and the White House, there is no reason for Democrats to come to the aid of the GOP anymore and a shutdown is a real possibility.
Senate rubber stamps Trump appointees
The Senate confirmed two controversial Trump nominees this week, Tulsi Gabbard as director of National Intelligence and Robert F. Kennedy. Jr. as secretary of Health and Human Services.
Both were confirmed by largely party line votes, 52-48. In each case, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky was the only Republican to vote “no.”
In a statement, McConnell said a childhood bout with polio heavily influenced his decision to vote against Kennedy, who has been accused of being a vaccine-denier.
“In my lifetime, I’ve watched vaccines save millions of lives from devastating diseases across America and around the world,” McConnell said in a statement. “I will not condone the relitigation of proven cures, and neither will millions of Americans who credit their survival and quality of life to scientific miracles.”
Rep. Kelly Morrison, D-3rd District, an OB-GYN, joined other Democratic members of Congress in a press conference warning about RFK Jr.’s approach to medicine, which she said included his threat to medication that induces abortion in early pregnancy.
“We have to be clear-eyed about the threat before us: in his role as HHS Secretary, RFK Jr. — at the direction of President Trump — could increase restrictions on the abortion pill, he could pull it from the U.S. market altogether, and he could end access to this safe and effective option even in states where abortion is legal,” Morrison said.
She also said RFK Jr. “doesn’t stop there in his attacks on women” because he has called a vaccine that prevents cervical cancer “dangerous and defective.”
Since his inauguration less than a month ago, the U.S. Senate has confirmed 16 high-profile members of Trump’s second administration.
ICYMI:
- The other big news Thursday was Sen. Tina Smith’s announcement that she won’t run for re-election in 2026 – and the notable Democrats who say they are eyeing the seat.
- DFL Party chairman Ken Martin is now the head of the Democratic National Committee and MinnPost explains why it will be a tough job to lead a party in disarray.
- Also, Deanna Pistono talked to several Minnesota nonprofits about the potential for lost federal funding under the Trump administration.
- And we also interviewed a Canadian trade minister who visited Minnesota as part of a diplomatic effort by his country to head off Trump’s planned tariffs on Canadian goods.
Your questions and comments
A reader commented on our story about the Trump administration’s targeting of what it determines are “sanctuary cities” accused of protecting undocumented immigrants from deportation.
“Ask why the Justice Department is not investigating large “sanctuary companies” that knowingly hire undocumented workers as well as visa workers when American workers need not apply. The Trump family business is known to have done this,” the reader wrote. “They should focus on companies that commit additional crimes such as wage theft to increase their profits, also committing fraud by altering financial documents.”
We also received a note about our story on Ken Martin and the discord and disunity in the Democratic Party.
“If Democrats don’t unite and resist Trump (rather than each other), they will not achieve the landslide victory it needs to achieve in 2026. Martin is our party leader and his first job is to get Democrats to play nice. If necessary, fake it until you make it,” the reader said.
Please keep your comments, and any questions, coming. I’ll try my best to respond.
Ana Radelat
Ana Radelat is MinnPost’s Washington, D.C. correspondent. You can reach her at aradelat@minnpost.com or follow her on Twitter at @radelat.
The post D.C. Memo: Dems push back on House GOP budget plan that threatens social programs appeared first on MinnPost.
