Worse than doing nothing
Congressional leaders have sat silent as Trump runs roughshod over democratic norms. But they readily answered the call to cut Medicaid.
Century illustration (Source images: Getty)
We’ve seen do-nothing Congresses before, but this is next level. Despite GOP control of both houses, this Congress has passed no major bills. It has kept silent as the White House runs roughshod over the separation of powers. It’s not clear what some members are doing with their time when they aren’t performing their fealty to President Trump, fundraising for the next election, or refusing to show up to a constituent town hall.
That said, there is one area where they’ve really put in the work. In May, House leaders whipped votes to squeeze through a budget proposal that takes billions from the poor, gives billions to the rich, and adds trillions to the national debt. (At press time, the Senate was still working on its version.)
We’ve seen awful budget bills before, but not like this one. Big cuts to both food assistance and Medicaid will do deep harm to millions of lower-income Americans. These cuts will also save a lot of money—or rather they would, were it not for the even bigger tax breaks for people earning more than $500,000 a year. Other provisions will end climate programs, quadruple the budget for detaining migrants, and more.
