Lisa Desjardins:
All right, we have got some numbers, so I’m putting on my glasses here.
But, first of all, I want to say this hasn’t been easy, but Republicans finally cobbled this together today. It is a framework. It is a sweeping plan at the start. This is what they say they want to do as their outline, for tax cuts, $4.5 trillion worth of tax cuts over 10 years, spending cuts somewhere, between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion.
For the border and for ICE, detention, and deportations, $300 billion. That would be in effect almost immediately. Now, all of this, you put that together, Amna, and it would end up increasing the deficit by most estimates of $3 trillion.
Republicans, there’s an asterisk there, dispute that, because they say the economy will make up for that. We’re going to get into all that context, I think, as we get down the road. But the key part here is that Republicans are doing major tax cuts and also major spending cuts.
One of the programs that would be most on the chopping block potentially for spending cuts is Medicaid. Now, that is the 72 million-person program in the United States. Republicans say it’s full of waste and fraud, that they want more work requirements.
Democrats say no. But Speaker Johnson says even if that’s controversial, it’s a good start. He put out this statement saying today that he “remains focused on working through the process to deliver on promises made to the American people. There’s still much work to be done, but we’re starting on the right path.”
Now, that’s to say also this agreement isn’t entirely cemented. At the same time, Democrats are pushing back against this plan. They’re saying it would hurt working and middle-class Americans.
